Seasons of Life

For some time now I've wanted to post a new blog but I haven't had the time, or made the time, to sit down and write it out.  I've been busy lately.  And haven't we heard that before?  Really it's true.  It's true that I've been distracted for some time from Spiritual things.

I've been thinking about the seasons or stages of life and how there are distinct times in our lives when we're hard-pressed with certain activities at the expense of all other things we could be doing.  This seems to be normal, yet at times we seem to be on a conveyor belt of life that takes us places whether we like it or not.

We know there are chronological seasons that we can begin with.  When we're young we run through the high school years and then decide to go off to college.  This is an influential time as we discover what we like and what we're interested in, and hopefully, we combine them together to pursue our life's work.  It's also a time to meet people with common interests and desires, making friendships and relationships that will influence our entire adult life.

Then there's the family stage of life when we find a spouse and the kids begin to spring up out of nowhere.  Life doesn't slow down as we start a career or build a business to pay for things and stuff for our family.  It begins to move in fast forward as there's much to do with little time to do it.  We soon realize life is always going to be this way if we seek to uphold the responsibilities that we've begun at the beginning.  And we sometimes ask, is this all there is in life?  Is life a type of carousel, or rather, is it like an upward spiral staircase?

There are other seasons in life mixed in with the youth, teenage, college, young adult, career, parenting, middle-aged, and beyond.  There are Spiritual seasons of faith as well.  There are times of confidence and doubt, seasons of fruitfulness and barrenness, of floods and droughts, profitability and want.  There are seasons of happiness and disappointment, of health and sickness, of birth and death.  All these are mixed in together as we travel through the stages of life.  Do we see the Spiritual seasons of birth, growth, testing, failures, victories, praises, and glories in life?  Do we seek these Spiritual realities?

Focusing on the Spiritual life takes us through all the other seasons of life in the best way.  We cannot control many circumstances in our lives but we can accept them in faith as we accept God's providence.  We can look back on the past and forward to the future, and we can look up to God.  God teaches us, as we've seen so many times, that he is in control and he is benevolent.  He is the One who doesn't change even as we change and everything in our world changes and then changes again.

Our best seasons are when we seek Christ in faith, trust, and prayer and ask that he would teach us and sanctify us through it all.  When we focus on Christ all the seasons of life become secondary as we discover the Spirituality that is primary.  And this is still a challenge for me.  But I seek to remember that Christ has created us, redeemed us in grace, sanctifies us in his image, and will bring all things to consummation.  He calls us upward to him for our Spiritual growth so that we not only go through life but we would walk with him in faith in every season of life.  Amen.

FAITH TODAY:  Colossians 2: 6-7, "Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Our Affections

Making decisions about the numerous questions we face every day is usually a small matter of what's the next thing to do, or what's my schedule priority for the day.  But making decisions on a larger scale, for life decisions and knowing God's will for our lives, is a little bit more complex.  One of the questions many pastors and Christian teachers face from their people is, "What is God's will in this matter, or for me personally?"  It's never an easy answer to know the particulars.

One of my favorite ministries is John Piper's, Desiring God Ministries, DGM.  His materials and blogs can be found at www.desiringgod.org.  Just today I was reading this blog and found "Why God's Will Isn't Always Clear," April 30.  It caught my attention for several reasons not the least of which is that I struggle to know what God would have me do sometimes.  In fact, if the whole truth is told, I've struggled with this all my life, and I look back and realize I've made some mistakes in key decisions, or so it would appear.

This article is written by Jon Bloom and he covers some good territory in a short time.  For we know that God wants us to "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him," Col. 1:10.  But this doesn't address the particulars in our lives, and the big decisions we make.  Bloom explains, "But one reason why God usually doesn't give us specific guidance in our sometimes-perplexing decisions is that he places a higher priority on our being transformed than on our being informed in order that we will be conformed to the image of Jesus, (Romans 8:29).  This can be difficult, and he also says, "It means that God has a design in the difficulty of our discerning."  Really?  Why would God allow us to struggle with the hard decisions?  What design is worth all the difficulties?

In the big picture of life, I am also reminded that all the difficulties, brokenness, struggles, and hardships of life are not God's fault.  All the sins, disappointments, setbacks, and even death itself are not part of God's original design.  In the Garden of Eden God made it clear that if (we) ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we would surely die.  And Adam and Eve represented us as we would have acted in the same way they did, and as a result, we received their sinful natures.

But from the beginning, God has created a personal relationship with humanity for his glory, as we are made in his image to be like him.  We were to be his church, his bride, and the faithful people that worship him.  And Bloom describes, "But the father is not seeking workers, but worshippers (John 4:23).  And he knows that if he made his will for our specific decisions more explicit more often, we would tend to focus more on what we do rather than what we love."  God is interested in our hearts and minds so that we would have a personal relationship with him.

God is still seeking worshippers of what is truly worthy of our lives.  We are called in general to seek after God and his kingdom, and this develops a pattern of decisions that are based on our highest priority.  "But if we really love Jesus, we will increasingly love what he loves - we will be transformed by renewed minds.  And our love for him and his kingdom will be revealed in the pattern of small and large decisions we make."  This pattern of godliness is God's will.

God does not dictate our decisions but he reveals his grace and truth to us to show us not only what is best for us but also what we were created for.  Our affections will never be ultimately discouraged when we place them on God and the pattern of seeking him in all our lives.  Bloom concludes, "And someday, if we really seek to love him and trust him, we will see that he really was leading us through the confusing terrain of difficult decisions all along."  Amen.

FAITH TODAY:  Romans 12:2, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

He is risen, He is risen indeed!

Easter is in just a few days and I love to remember the resurrection and new life in Christ.  Here are the notes I hope to use for Sunday school.

He is risen, He is risen indeed!  This is a salutation I first heard on Easter Sunday in 1976 when I first became a Christian.  It was a greeting of sorts where the first person would say, "He is risen."  And the second believer would respond, "He is risen indeed."  We still celebrate our faith in Christ this way because we look forward to our own resurrection from the grave one day.  This greeting is always delivered with great enthusiasm as we understand its significance and as we seek to encourage one another in the faith.

Let's look at "He is risen" from the Scriptures.  First, we see the narrative of the resurrection from all four of the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  This is a fourfold perspective.  The resurrection of our Savior also distinguishes Christianity from all other religions where their leader is dead and gone.  We not only remember our leader with us, but we also declare that He is risen from the dead and is alive forever more.  Where can we find these truths in the Bible?

In Mt 28:5-6, "But the angel said to the woman, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  He is not here, for he has risen, as he said.  Come see where he lay.'"  One of the greatest commandments in Scripture is "fear not."  The angel comforted Mary for she certainly did not expect to see him, nor did she expect to find the Lord's grave empty.

In Mk 16:6, "And he said to them, "Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen; he is not here.  See the place where they laid him.""  Again the angel calms Mary with words of comfort for she is in shock.  It is a great shock still today for many to know that Jesus was not in the grave or that someone could rise from the dead.

In Lk 24:5-6, "And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but has risen.""  The last thing the women expected was to find angels in the graveyard saying that Jesus was among the living and not the dead.  But isn't this exactly what we also hope for, to find life after the grave?

In Jn 20:16-17, "Jesus said to her, "Mary."  She turned and said to him in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).  Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me, for I have not ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.""  Jesus gives evidence of his resurrected state to Mary and proclaims he will yet ascend into heaven.  It is significant that Mary was given the great honor of announcing to the disciples that Jesus was indeed alive I believe, because she showed the most love to Jesus.

This is the record of the resurrection of Jesus from the grave and it is historically reliable.  It was not fabricated as it shows genuine personality and perspective.  It gives us great confidence that there is hope for those with faith in Christ, and that we too will rise from the grave someday as well.

We also say, "He is risen indeed," to emphasize this great truth.  We can see even more truth in Scripture about Christ in heaven, both now and in the future.

What will heaven be like?  That can be a difficult question because we don't have that much knowledge.  But we see many glimpses from the book of Revelation in some key chapters.

In Rv 1:10-18, v. 10, John says, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, "Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches."  We see John who heard Jesus speaking from heaven to explain things to come.  John was in the Spirit in a transcendent way.  John had a transcendent vision as heaven is not a place but a realm.

In Rv. 4:1-11, v.2, "At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne."  Here we see God the Father seated on the throne, with angels and elders worshipping him as, (v.8), "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty."  There is a throne in heaven that is the center of attention for everything.  In 1 Peter 3:22, we see, "(Jesus) who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him."  How significant a place does God the Father have?  What position does Jesus hold in heaven?

In Rv 5:1-14, v.5, "And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals."  We see that Jesus has been resurrected and he has conquered, he is the Lion of Judah and the Root of David.  He is the fulfillment of all Messianic prophecies.

In Rv 21:1-27, v.6, Jesus says, "And he said to me, "It is done!  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.  To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.""  This is the Spiritual life that Jesus is speaking about.  Are we thirsty for the water of life?  How can we drink the water of the spring of life?

In Rv 22:1-22, v.7, "And behold, I am coming soon.  Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book."  From this we see that Christianity is not something just of the past, it is of the present and the future too.  We also see that we are blessed if we keep the words of the Book, the whole Bible.  They are our life and they give us Spiritual life.

There's another saying that pertains to the resurrection of Christ that is so beneficial to remember at Easter.  This is the saying, "The already, but not yet."  By this we mean that the kingdom of God has already begun, Jesus has been raised from the dead, he is the king and he has begun his Spiritual kingdom.  But it is not yet consummated, it is still to come in fullness in the future.  From this, we can live the Spiritual life today, as we know Jesus alluded to in Rev 21:6, "To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment."

The apostle Paul teaches us in many places how to live the Spiritual life today.  The book of Ephesians is especially significant for the life of the believer and thus the life of the church.

In Ep 4:17-32, v.17-18, "Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.  They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart."  Paul makes a connection between the head and the heart in that we can be darkened in our minds because of the hardness of our hearts.  The Spiritual life requires both the head and the heart given to God.

In Ep 4:23, "and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds..."  We all grow weary and discouraged, yet Paul explains that we must be renewed in our minds, this is the key point.  We must have the Word of God refreshing our minds as this, in turn, connects to everything else in our lives.  We must learn about God through his Word primarily, and we cannot just hear it from someone else, we must ingest it.

Easter Sunday is absolutely my favorite holiday of the year as it gives us "A past forgiveness, a present strength, and a future hope," as I remember a pastor proclaimed many years ago. This is all because Jesus rose from the grave, He is seated at the right hand of God in heaven, and the Holy Spirit empowers our lives with faith today.  In my conscience, I know there is more to life than just the here and now, and the Holy Spirit gives me the confidence of eternal life when I die.  This is a great hope and it all comes from the resurrection of Jesus from the grave on Easter Sunday.

FAITH TODAY: Revelation 21:6, "It is done!  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.  To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment."

True Spirituality

There are many great books written by Christian authors that can assist us in understanding how to live the Christian life.  One of my favorite teachers is Francis Schaeffer who lived in the twentieth century and had a great impact in the evangelical church.  Schaeffer was described as a philosopher, theologian, lecturer, and evangelist.  He was known particularly for starting a Christian study center in the Swiss Alps named L'Abri, where for several decades young people have gone in search for answers to life and understanding Christianity.

Perhaps one of the best books Schaeffer wrote and that has impacted my life was True Spirituality.  In this book he describes the essence of spirituality in the life of the Christian, which can often become cold after the initial conversion experience.  This spirituality is much more than an academic pursuit of knowledge or an external obedience to the commandments of God.  But rather it is a joyful relationship that is based upon a true repentance with God by accepting his Word in our hearts.  Particularly Schaeffer focuses on a Spirituality that is inward and causes us to grow in sanctification.

As Schaeffer describes in his preface, "In going further, I saw something else which made a profound difference in my life.  I searched through what the Bible said concerning reality as a Christian.  Gradually I saw that the problem was that with all the teaching I had received after I was a Christian, I had heard little about what the Bible says about the meaning of the finished work of Christ in our present lives."

Schaeffer had experienced a spiritual crisis of sorts in that he had lost his initial joy in his faith and wondered if Christianity was true at all.  It was in his reevaluation of the teachings of Scripture that he discovered the true spirituality that we live by.  In his first chapter he describes living out the Christian faith as he compares natural birth and life to spiritual birth and life, pages four and five.

"After we are born, the important thing is the living of our lives in all their relationships, possibilities, and capabilities.  It is exactly the same with the new birth.  In one way, the new birth is the most important thing in our spiritual lives, because we are not Christians until we have come this way.  In another way, however, after one has become a Christian, it must be minimized, in that we should not always have our minds only on our new birth.  The important thing after being born spiritually is to live.  There is the new birth, and then there is the Christian life to be lived.  This is the area of sanctification, from the time of new birth, through this present life, until Jesus comes or until we die."

Here Schaeffer emphasizes the importance of living out our faith and growing up in the faith just like a child after he is born begins to grow and mature in his natural life.  This spiritual growth takes Spiritual food and nourishment, exercise, and practice.  It takes living out our faith in fear and trembling, in humility and in boldness, in prayer and in obedience.  But to say one believes without action in faith is not true faith or true spirituality.  And we will be the ones left with anemic growth and malnutrition if we choose not to respond in our lives to the teachings of Scripture.

All of the Christian life can be attributed to grace as even the gift of life is given to us by God.  But what we do with the gifts we have been given is the life of faith, realizing that we all are limited in our gifts and callings, but we all are empowered when we live by the Holy Spirit.  Life in the Spirit is a pursuit of the godliness of Christ as we grow into his likeness in all things.  Some of the first traits that can be identified in true spirituality are humility, teachability, contentment, and thankfulness.  We must also be honest with ourselves to confess our sins and forgive other people.

I believe this true spirituality is difficult in our modern world to be sure, but it is by far the most rewarding and joyful life that could possibly be lived.  It is the life of sanctification and maturing in the faith of Christ and his truth.

FATIH TODAY:  Colossians 1:11, "May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints of light."

A New Year

We are well into the new year, 2015, even though it seems just like a couple of weeks ago it was 2014.  And it was, as time flies by when you get older and you remember many 'new years'.  'Time waits for no one' as the old saying goes.  But a new year is the time to take review of things accomplished and to set new goals with fresh optimism for the future.  So, Happy New Year!

One of the resolutions I've made for myself and my wife is to have more margin.  There's a good book entitled "Margin" from Richard A Swenson, M.D., that we read some twenty years ago as we were in the thick of raising six kids, holding down jobs, and being active in the church.  The book's thesis is "Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, And Time Reserves To Overloaded Lives."  It was a great idea so it seemed at the time, but we didn't do so well as it's always difficult to accomplish.  Yet it was just the prescription we needed to find a balance in our crazy busy lives.

Now it's 2015 and we are way down the road and have become empty nesters with much different time demands from our kids.  Certainly, there's no argument that we cannot change gears and come out of overdrive and slow down.  Isn't it time to smell the roses at least a little bit?  So we've decided to seek a little more 'margin' and work for more quality and less quantity in our activities.  Not a bad idea I believe as we look at the wider scope of life and how quickly life changes and people can be missed.  It's good to see the big picture when making resolutions if we can.

The big picture I believe includes seeing God's priorities and perspective.  This has always been a factor in setting goals for our lives and we need to make adjustments with every new season of life.  Twenty years ago it was good to seek a margin but that may have resulted in a thirty-minute break after the kids go to bed.  Now it may mean taking three days to go to a conference for spiritual and fellowship renewal.  And that is a great blessing indeed.

The Bible is the greatest book and has lots to say about our time, and also eternity.  One must wonder if eternity is an endless amount of time or the absence of time altogether.  Either one is hard to imagine.  But here and now we can make the most of our time with God's wisdom.  We can see a greater perspective from God's Word than from our single day-to-day perspective of the here and now.

In Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 we read, "To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven.  A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance."  These interesting parallels continue through verse eight, and they all relate to everyday life.

In this passage we see a litany of comparisons from one activity to another as there is a season for everything.  The overall perspective is that God is in ultimate control, he is the one who sees the end from the beginning and he is above all time and events.  He is eternal, omniscient, and benevolent.  And thus we can trust him as we live for him in his grace and truth, in this year and the next.

FAITH TODAY:  Ecclesiastes 3:11, "He has made everything beautiful in its time.  Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end."  

The Incarnation

There are many different pictures of Christmas as we know of the tree, the star, the presents, the garland, the carols, and the eggnog of course.  These are just some of the symbols we associate with like Mary and Joseph and the baby.  Other pictures of three wise men on camels making a journey to Bethlehem also come to mind as we think of Christmas.

Possibly the most significant symbol of Christmas is the nativity scene, and even at the center of the nativity scene is the baby in the manger.  He is the one described as "baby Jesus" or the "Christ child" and given the preeminence in the true meaning of Christmas.  Ironically though some nativity scenes don't even have a picture or replica of the baby in the manger as they are modified to become symbolic of the symbol itself.  But it would not be Christmas if there was no baby as he is the incarnation of God.

The doctrine of the incarnation is the teaching that God has come to the world "in the flesh" or in the body.  It was recently described in a sermon that the incarnation is not the coming of God to the world as it is often understood to be.  But the incarnation is the coming of God to the world as a man.  It is God becoming a human being, to be one of us, from the very beginning of life, and to experience every aspect of human life, even the birth as a baby.

The incarnation is a great, wonderful, and even mysterious doctrine in many ways.  It boggles the mind to even try to think of who God is in all his awesome existence and majesty.  But it can be even more amazing to think that the God of the universe has become a man, the God of creation has become part of creation.  And why?  To relate with humanity, to identify with us, and to live a perfect life so as to provide salvation for us in faith.  We know from Scripture that God has sent his only begotten Son into the world to save us from our sins, John 3:16.  God himself has come at Christmas.

Clearly, without the miracle of the incarnation there could be no Christianity at all.  Each year Easter is given great attention as Jesus laid down his life for us.  But without Christmas there could be no Easter, without the incarnation of God as a true man there could be no justification through his sacrifice.  Because Jesus lived a life without sin, in holiness, he alone is able to stand before God as our substitute.  Even more, without the miracle of incarnation there would be no miracle of resurrection, and we could not experience new life in Christ and grow in faith and sanctification.

Truly the celebration of Christmas is a celebration of life, the greatest life that ever lived in Jesus who is the Christ, our Savior.  This Spiritual life can also be 'incarnated' in us, that is, brought into our flesh, our lives, through our acceptance and faith in him.  The Holy Spirit can bring to us the same Spiritual life that was in Jesus of Bethlehem.  We will never be perfect and we will always be in need of Christ as our Savior, but we can become like Jesus through the ongoing work of the 'incarnation' of his life into ours.  He has gone before us and can sympathize with our weaknesses, and he can graciously restore us to our creation image.  He can change us through Spiritual growth and maturity as we live out his teachings in our lives.

The incarnation of God in Jesus was one of the most significant points of history and we celebrate this miracle at Christmas.  God invaded the world to become a man and live the life we could not live by ourselves.  We can experience this miraculous gift of life in Christ, and it all begins with faith in the incarnation of the Christ child at Christmas.

FAITH TODAY: Luke 2:10-11, "And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.""

Discipleship

As we study the Scriptures we see that Jesus chose twelve men to be his disciples.  A disciple is a student, one who learns from another in a specialized way as he is dedicated to that person as his teacher.  Jesus was well-recognized as a great teacher, and he also had other followers that accepted his words and learned from him.  But only twelve were called to be his primary disciples.  One of the initial men betrayed Jesus and was replaced, and then these twelve disciples became apostles, or the ones who established the foundation of the church. 

The discipleship Jesus taught his first students is also taught to every Christian.  Although there were only twelve initial disciples every Christian is called to a teacher-student relationship with Christ even today.  And there are great blessings for those who learn from Christ as we learn the truth of God and the path of righteousness in a world of sin and brokenness.  Even more, we discover that the teachings of Christ are eternal as God doesn't change through the ages of men.

One of the primary requirements then is to learn from the teachings of Christ himself.  We must read the Scriptures directly to know what it says.  We must ask ourselves 'What does it say, what does it mean, and how does it apply to life.'  To be sure of what it says we should compare translations one to another and even reference the original language.  To know what it means we must not ask what it means to me, but what it means objectively, or to God.  We need to know the immediate context historically and grammatically, and then compare this with the plenary context.  Also, we should cross reference each passage with other similar teachings as Scripture interprets Scripture.  God's truth is never contradictory, and we must not read a pretext into the text or context. 

We also see that Christ calls all believers to a certain amount of sacrifice.  To the fishermen Andrew and Peter, Jesus called them to leave their nets and follow him as he would make them fishers of men.  The sacrifices the disciples made in the physical world were repaid abundantly in the spiritual world as they won great numbers of followers.  This discipleship also requires dying to ourselves and picking up our cross in the same way so that we deny sinful activities and learn spiritual strength. 

In the same way Jesus calls his disciples to a life of obedience.  In order for any person to learn from another they must do what that teacher says and not just say they believe.  We cannot learn to pray by only studying prayer academically, we must pray.  We cannot learn to be responsible at work by sleeping in from our jobs or skipping out from practice in sports.  We must be diligent to be on time and earnest in our obligations. 

As Christian disciples we become lifelong students of the Word of God and develop a worldview that places Christ above all things.  We learn to think Biblically and not be conformed to the pattern and principles of the world.  In the power of the Holy Spirit we seek to worship Christ as both Creator and Savior in our everyday lives.  In short, we see the preeminence of Christ in all of life as we learn that He is the Lord of life. 

Our faith in Christ cannot grow or mature if we are partially committed to Christ.  But because of the truth we know from Christ in Scripture, we learn to accept the sacrifices, obedience, and Lordship that he calls us to live by.  We come to realize we can only have true faith if we first fall before him in repentance and submission.  Jesus calls us to be his disciples in our hearts and minds so that we would live out our faith in every aspect of the world.  And this is a joy, not a burden to live for Christ as he has told us, "my burden is easy and my yoke is light." 

FAITH TODAY:  Luke 9:23, "And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.""

 

Inspiration

Everyone needs inspiration and Christians need the inspiration of Christ.  From the Old Testament, we learn that God has created mankind in his own image.  Even more, God has created the entire universe to reveal his existence and thus the greatness of his power and glory.

Sunrise at Perdido Key - Oct 2014

In Psalm 19:1-3, we read, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handiwork.  Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge.  There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard."  King David teaches us that every day we can be reminded of God's existence, power, and glory.

We can have a personal relationship with Christ as we learn from Romans 8:1-2, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death."  To be "in Christ" we must accept and receive Christ and then walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh.  He is the God of creation and he can recreate our souls to be restored to the image of Christ as we were made to be.  The Apostle Paul teaches us that we can live in new life by being in Christ and walking in his Spirit.

We find more inspiration through the Light of the Word of God as we see in 1 John 1:5-7.  "This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.  If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin."  John exhorts us to walk in the light of Christ which we can find in the truth of Scripture.  And if we sin there is a remedy, for, "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness," v.9.  The Apostle John gives us great inspiration to know we can walk in truth and we can be forgiven from our sin.

From both natural and special revelation, we find inspiration from God in Christ through the Holy Spirit.  David, Paul and John all remind us that Christ is the Light of the world and in him, we can find the inspiration of eternal life.

FAITH TODAY: Psalm 27:1 - "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

The Promises of God

One of the key areas for finding Spiritual growth is to learn and believe the promises of God in Scripture.  Often life can be difficult with our many responsibilities to fulfill and difficulties to overcome.  But we are not alone, we are not without hope or guidance.  God is the eternal wellspring of hope in all the universe.  There's an encouraging thought!  He sees the end from the beginning and everything else in between.  And he's in control.  He has a plan and has promises for those who love him. 

Early on in Genesis, we read that Abraham was called to leave his homeland and go to a new country to serve the Lord.  Genesis 12:2, "I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great."  Abraham was called to follow God to the "promised" land.  He was to be the father of the faith and his lineage would lead to the promised Messiah.  Genesis 12:7, "Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, 'To your descendants I will give this land.'"  The Lord often reminds us of who he is so that we can trust in him.  Genesis 15:1, "Do not be afraid, Abram.  I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward."  Abraham needed to trust that God would protect him, and God needed to assure Abraham that there was great reward in trusting him. 

Yet on such a pilgrimage Abraham must have been unsure of his future on many occasions.  When he asked how he could believe that God would bless him in his old age with a son and the descendants that were promised, God directed Abraham's attention to the heavens.  Genesis 15:5, "Then He brought him outside and said, 'Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.'  And He said to him, 'So shall your descendants be.'"  And in verse 6 we read, "And he believed in the Lord, and he accounted it to him for righteousness."  Here we see the great promise of faith, the righteousness of God given to Abraham unto salvation. 

The author of Hebrews also speaks of people with faith who trusted the promises of God throughout the Old Testament.  In Hebrews 11:9-10 we read, "By faith he (Abraham) dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise, for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God."  And in v.12, "Therefore from one man (Abraham), and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude – innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore."  Here we see a key point about the promises of God.  Sometimes we receive them here in this life, sometimes we do not.  But they are always fulfilled.  As we see about from Hebrews 11:13, "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them from afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."  These people of faith in Hebrews 11 were people who were called from an earthly country and their promise was the "exceedingly great reward" of being with God in the heavenly country. 

One other great promise of God we should meditate upon from time to time is found in Paul.  In Philippians 1:6 we see, "Being confident of this that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."  We can be sure that God will not leave any work unfinished or incomplete.  He promises to be with us and to work with us until the day we meet him.  He is the Alpha and Omega of the faith.  He will keep his promises because he delights to work in us as we walk in faith, and therefore to be glorified in us.  Let's remember from time to time the great promises of God.

FAITH TODAY:  Genesis 15:1, "After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, 'Do not be afraid, Abram.  I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." 

Desiring God

One of my favorite books that has made a huge impact on my life is John Piper's Desiring God.  The subtitle is "Meditation of a Christian Hedonist."  It would be difficult to summarize the whole book but to highlight a few points I would encourage you with these.

Christian "Hedonism" sounds suspect on the surface and Piper describes it on p.28, (revised edition), as a philosophy of life built on finding our happiness or pleasures in God.  It might also be called a theology of life in finding our happiness in God.  A small difference perhaps but it helps in discovering a theocentric view of life, and, that God seeks our pleasure in him.

Hedonism by definition is a philosophy of seeking self-directed pleasure for ourselves.  Is it inherently sinful?  For selfish reasons alone I believe it would be.  But Christian Hedonism by definition is seeking joy and pleasure in God.  Our sinful natures however can easily twist this pleasure in God to become pleasures from God.

Desiring God is not the same as just desiring pleasure though.  From God, and in Christ, we not only can receive our joy and pleasure, we also can receive - strength, wisdom, peace, reconciliation, redemption, purpose, dignity, hope, eternal life, and even life abundantly here and now, life indeed!  It's much more than just pleasure.

But hedonism is a good term in one sense, in that we can connect pleasure with God.  Often we cannot see the connection but believe God wants to take away our happiness.  Piper shows us this connection in Scripture and that this is a central doctrine and truth from God.  He shows us that finding our pleasure in God drives out our desire for sin.  It's purifying when we develop a thirst for God that cannot be compared to anything this world has to offer.  And this is redemptive, it brings us back to who we were created to be, and it sanctifies us in the image of Christ.

The world however shows us the emptiness of seeking pleasure from temporal things.  This pleasure does not last and it does not satisfy our souls because we were made to find our happiness with God.  But we can find joy in all things that God has created when we see God as the source and Giver of all good gifts and Christ as the Redeemer of our souls.  The world severs the gifts from the Giver.  The Christian hedonist connects the gifts and the Giver, and because of this, we seek to glorify God as the Creator and Giver of all good gifts.

Football?  Sports?  Music?  Romance?  Jurisprudence?  Academics?  Yes, indeed!  The sport, competition, fun, fellowship, teamwork, purpose, drive, goals, commitments, justice, mercy, hunger for significance, missionary work, all this can glorify God when we use our talents for him.  But the Christian should never sever these from God and for his glory.  And in a broken world, we must not forget his commandments, which are not burdensome when we have his joy.

A biblical faith drives us to desire God in all things.  God has created all the universe for the good of knowing him.  God is the Creator and Redeemer and he seeks our praise, he seeks our fellowship and our glory in him.  This theocentric perspective of life is exactly what Desiring God is all about.  To desire God and to know him and glorify him in all things is exactly what God is seeking.  He seeks our praise, and in fact, he delights in his glory above all.  And this is amazing.

FAITH TODAY:  Psalm 37:4 - "Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

Be Transformed

Possibly one of the greatest aspects of the Christian faith is being transformed into the image of Christ.  The Apostle Paul calls Christians to this life of transformation in Romans 12:1-2.  

Paul says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”  

This life of transformation is a Spiritual life that is oriented to God and brings humility and peace through a changed heart and mind.  Our hearts change as we see ourselves as sinners and hopelessly lost without Christ.  For Paul describes in Romans 3:10-11, "As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God."  

In Romans 3:21,23, Paul further explains to us, "But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed ... through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe."  Because it is by faith it is not by works, it is a gift from God, we cannot earn it, and we must receive it and live by it.  This gift of salvation should humble us completely.  

The transformed life begins then with being led by and filled with the Holy Spirit. In Romans 8:12-14, Paul explains, "Therefore, brethren, we are debtors - not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.  For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God."  Our sinful nature can be changed or transformed only by the Holy Spirit working within us.  But we must submit ourselves to Him.

We are also commanded not to conform to the world.  The ways of man may seem right to us but we must not accept accommodation to anything that is opposed to the God of the Bible.  God is holy and even as we are saved by grace we are also called to be faithful to Christ.  How can we know?  Clearly, we can know God's will by examining Scripture and then our motives.  Are we willing to be different from what is popular and fashionable?  The changing norms of culture reflect the progress and priorities of man.  And even though we have technological progress we who are in faith must always uphold the Moral Law of God.  

This life in the Spirit is the life that is being transformed into the likeness of Christ.  We can be transformed when our hearts are regenerated and our minds are steadfast upon the Word.  The Lord will remind us of the truth and we must set aside our selfish desires in order to obtain the Spiritual life.  It is only through our submission to Christ, as we are in Christ, that the Spirit of God will transform us into his image.  Amen, it is true.

FAITH TODAY: John 14:15 - "If you love Me, keep My commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever - the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you."

Top Five?

Way back in college, I had to take a course that introduced the basics of leadership in order to become a Resident Assistant, or an RA, in my dormitory.  That was a long time ago but I've never forgotten the discussion on our priorities in life and how important it is to maintain those priorities when the schedule gets busy.

If you've ever been entangled with the tyranny of the urgent you'll know firsthand how difficult maintaining priorities can be.  But, they're important.  So, what are your priorities?  Here are mine.

God, Family, Work, Ministry, Extra.

These can be broken down a bit and described in different ways as each of these can be a little vague as we first look at them.

First of course, at least for the Christian, is making God the center or top priority in our lives.  In other words, our faith comes first as we are called by God to live for him and even make him the Lord of our lives.  And as time has gone by I've seen modifications to my priorities in that I've defined them a bit differently since I first began.  Now, I would say that God means theology first, or knowing God as he truly is described in Scripture.  My faith then proceeds from this truth or knowledge of God.  And this faith and knowledge of God are absolutely essential for all other parts of life, especially when the inevitable challenges and tribulations of life come.

Secondly, and this isn't much of a stretch for most people, would be Family.  But how do we define family?  First, it is in marriage and then it is in our children and relatives.  Marriage comes first as we see God created Adam and then Eve, as a help meet, or as a companion.  This companionship or friendship is the heart of marriage, and marriage is the core of a family, and family is the fundamental institution for society and culture.  Companionship also shows the oneness that God created in marriage as a practical illustration of the heavenly marriage between Christ and the church.  It is of utmost importance and central to the marriage relationship.  But, then there are the kids, who we raise to grow up and go out, to start their own families as well.  Even more, there is the extended family of siblings and relatives.  All of our family is defined and constituted by our faith and knowledge of God.

Thirdly, we see that our Work, or vocation, is a high priority with God.  This is our calling as God has gifted each of us with a unique set of interests, talents, and skills.  The reason God has given us these gifts is so that we would use them and become productive in our lives.  We find great significance in life when we are doing the work we are good at, or what we are interested in doing.  It can be difficult at times to develop our gifts as we can lack the opportunity to get an education or the time and money.  But, discovering and developing those skills must become a priority for us to grow to maturity.  Finding our talents leads to inspiration in life as we grow in our faith and knowledge of God.

Fourthly, is our calling to Ministry.  This priority may be a debatable point in two ways.  First, there are many who believe that ministry must be a higher priority in our lives, after all that's why God created us, right?  And there are others who would argue that it should not be a priority at all if we are not in the full-time ministry.  But if we look carefully at Scripture we see that all Christians are called to some sort of ministry.  One of the great doctrines of Scripture is "the priesthood of all believers" where we know that all our work in essence is part of our ministry or vocation.  So if we are gifted to be an accountant but not gifted as a preacher, we can see a great part of our ministry is to become the best accountant or business person we can be.  We also are always called to use our gifts to bear Spiritual fruit and serve all people in works of mercy and service.

Lastly, and in a general way, is the category of Extra.  This was first described in college as extra-curricular and anything that was over and above academic work.  But in all of life, it stays the same, we have to have a category for fun, relaxation, refreshment, social times, vacation, sports, hobbies, etc.  This usually is difficult to keep as the fifth priority because it is so tempting to let it creep up on the higher priorities.  But, it needs to be there, and it needs to be there as the fifth priority.  We have to have some fun in order to flourish or thrive.  We can't be all work and no play.  It's even part of the doctrine of Sabbath rest and worship.  Our souls need refreshment, plain and simple.

It is imperative to also understand that these categories are not only sequential, they are interchangeable at times.  The fifth priority doesn't have to always come after the fourth, or else it may never come.  We may need to go for a jog after work before we go to a committee meeting at night.  We may need to start work at 2am and yet get a quiet time in Scripture later that afternoon.  We may need to put in ten hours a day at work for a season, but sooner or later, we have to seek a balance with work to help our family grow and thrive.  It's always a delicate balance, but without a plan or a priority list, it becomes impossible to keep life together.  This leads us back to priority One, to God who can keep all of life together as we keep Him the highest priority in all things.

FAITH TODAY:  Colossians 1:17 - "He is before all things, and in him, all things hold together."

The Greatest Gift

What a year 2013 has been, and now, it’s Christmas!  What a tremendous time of the year it always is.  The family is home, the presents are under the tree, and the smell of breakfast casserole arises from the kitchen on Christmas morning.  It’s a time to celebrate the Giver of gifts and the greatest gift in the world.

Because there are so many gifts and blessings we enjoy it would be good to count them one by one.  First we have family, a big family, and a growing family.  In our family picture there’s our two new grandsons, Michael & Elijah who were born this year in July and November, respectfully.  Michael was born to Valerie & Tim sitting on the right, and Elijah was born to Carolyn & Jason sitting on the left.  In the back row there is Leanne and Daniel on our left, and Andrew and Alison to our right.  In the middle there is Sue & me, and we celebrated our thirtieth anniversary this year.   Wow, what great blessings, and how the time flies. 

The greatest gift of course is the gift of Christ who left the glory of heaven to become the Savior and live a sinless life for us.  The incarnation is complicated but it is made very tangible through the birth of Jesus as a baby in the manger.  The immortal became mortal so that we could have immortality if we receive him in faith.  This is the gift of the eternal life of Christ, the greatest gift of all. 

As we celebrate giving gifts to each other at Christmas let’s remember to see the gift that God gave in Jesus Christ.  Let’s receive this gift afresh and live out this faith throughout our whole lives so that we can help others to also receive the greatest gift of all. 

FAITH TODAY:  Luke 2:10-11, Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

Commitment to Christ

In this blog, Faith Today, I seek to promote and develop our faith through the grace and truth of Christ.  There are many different aspects of our faith that we experience and need to recognize.  Perhaps the most important part of growing in faith however is to be committed to Christ throughout our life.  He is the one we need to be committed to in a constantly changing world. 

 

Our commitment to Christ however will not be the first thing we do as we come to know God.  The commitment to Christ is a conclusion that we come to after learning both the greatness and grandeur of God and after we experience the many hard knocks and difficulties life will bring.  

 

To be practical, life is filled with good times and hardships in many ways.  They both can cause us to forget who Christ is or what he has called us to do.  When times are good we tend to believe we don't need God.  And then, it is easy to forget God when we are overwhelmed with many real problems every day.  The tangible often overshadows the theoretical.  But let the tangible be a witness to the unseen.  

 

Both in the good times and the challenges we need to be committed to Christ because he is the source of all life, and he is the author and perfecter of our faith.  We are called to live for Christ and not ourselves because he is building his kingdom.  When we take his perspective instead of our own we find our lives take on new meaning and purpose.  We see problems as opportunities for ministry and the good times as an opportunity for praise to him.  When we see our lives as something we own we lose sight of God's reality and Christ's salvation.  

 

Be committed to Christ then because his purposes are the key.  His life is the greatest life that brings joy, and it is eternal life.  Consider the many faithful people who have come before us to show us the way.  Consider the Psalms in times of discouragement as they point us upward to the majestic presence of God.

FAITH TODAY: Psalm 16:8-11,  “I have set the LORD always before me, because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.  Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices, my flesh also will rest in hope.  For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.  You will show me the path of life, in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”  

Back to the Basics

From time to time Christian leaders need to assess a situation and make a call to "Back to the Basics".  What are the basics of the Christian faith?  At the center of the faith is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Christ is alive today and gives Spiritual life and renewal to his people if we call out to him.  In fact, he delights to bring restoration to his children in grace and through the Holy Spirit.  We must emphasize in Christian renewal that the Christian faith is a Spiritual life in Christ, we cannot live this life in our own strength.  This is why we need Spiritual renewal.

 

It is absolutely fundamental therefore that we seek the Holy Spirit to come to us through the Word of God.  It was the Holy Spirit that inspired the writing of the Word, and it is this same inspiration that brings us alive to the Word today.  We find in Scripture many different words of encouragement and inspiration.  The Bible brings us comfort and rest, as well as correction and reproof.  

 

King David tells us in Psalm 23:1-3, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.  He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”  David knew the importance of taking time to rest and be restored in his soul.  He found that renewal in who God is and what God has done.  First, we must find Spiritual rest.

 

The Apostle John also sees a key element in the Spiritual life through walking in the light, or the truth, and turning away from the darkness.  In 1 John 1:5-7, we see, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.  If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.  But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His son cleanses us from all sin.”  

 

John shows us that fellowship with God is always fellowship in the Light, which is a metaphor for truth.  But it is more than just intellectual truth, it is Spiritual Life, the truth of living in the Spirit.  And we must be actively walking in the Light.  The second fundamental for renewal is to turn away from darkness and walk in the Light.

 

John continues to prescribe another essential element in Spiritual renewal.  He also teaches us in chapter one, (v.8-10), “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say that we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.”  These verses contain some of the most precious truths and stern warnings in all of Scripture.  

 

It is absolutely essential to acknowledge sin in our lives to be forgiven and then to be restored to fellowship with Christ.  Even more, if we claim that we have no sin, we in essence are saying that God is a liar, and then the Word of God has no place in us.  The third fundamental of renewal is to confess and repent from any sin in our life.

 

We see that the Word of God is tantamount to a vital Spiritual life.  We must have the Scriptures in us, in our hearts as we rest beside the quiet waters, as we seek to walk in the Light, and as we confess and repent from sin.  These three fundamentals are essential to return to the basics and find the renewal of Spiritual life.  

 

FAITH TODAY:  1 Peter 2:1-2, “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.”

Easter Resurrection

Just this last Sunday we celebrated Easter again.  This is absolutely my favorite holiday of the year.  Not only do we get to celebrate our faith that we have eternal life in Christ and we will experience resurrection after we die, but we also have the opportunity to evangelize this "good news" to unbelievers in the here and now.

First and foremost I do rejoice in the faith that I have.  It is a gift that has been given to me by the grace of Christ.  And I accept it gladly.  Probably the greatest need anyone has is to find eternal life so that they know they will not perish when they die.  The Bible clearly teaches in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  The primary issue for all people is to know that we will not perish, but have eternal life when we die.

But there's more as you can imagine.   The Christian faith transforms our whole life in the here and now. By accepting the Son of God we receive his Spiritual life and that causes us to be born again and become a new person.  This is the "resurrection" life even now in Christ.  And with this new life, we are able to tell people they too can be saved.  It often comes spontaneously because we are living a different life, we are filled with the Holy Spirit and have a Spiritual nature that spills out.

The resurrection life sounds like "pie in the sky" and idealism to some but it really comes down to earth when we experience its power.  We can live differently than the secular culture because we have experienced a Spiritual rebirth.  Even though we will never be perfect in this world we have tasted the sweet Spiritual blessing of Easter resurrection.  This touches at the deepest point in our souls, we have found God through the grace of Christ.  We can experience the life of Jesus because of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

He is risen, He is risen indeed!

FAITH TODAY: Mark 12:26-27, "But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him saying, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?"  He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living."

Faith Anniversary

On one of my other posts, Veritas Fellowship, (veritasfellows.blogspot.com), I described that today is my anniversary or birthday for becoming a Christian.  Thirty-seven years ago, on March 21, 1976, I was asked about my faith and a pastor led me to the Lord.  My life was forever changed, and I still have "faith today".

Many things have changed since 1976 when Jimmy Carter was the Democratic candidate, gasoline was .59 a gallon, and you had to be connected to a "land line" in order to make a phone call.  Bell bottoms were something everyone still knew about, Rocky was the first in a series of Stallone movies, and the beloved Red Sox lost to the Reds in the world series.  Even more, Steve Wozniak designed the Apple I, in March, and together with Steve Jobs, they founded Apple Computers on April 1.  Just a year earlier, Paul Allen and Bill Gates wrote the first computer language for personal computers (PCs), which was a form of BASIC designed for the Altair.

We live in a fast-paced technological revolution that is changing the world.  But interestingly, it really is only changing culture, the world is being discovered technologically.  Christianity hasn't really changed throughout all the cultures or centuries either.  Because cultures are different and do change our view of truth, our faith in God can change.  But God never changes. 

Personal lives change as well and in 1976 I was a freshman in college when I became a Christian.  Later I would change schools and go on to graduate with a Bible degree at a Christian college in 1980 and work for a couple of years as a youth pastor in Massachusetts, before running off and joining the Navy to fly the P-3 and chase Soviet subs in the Atlantic during the Cold War.  As you can imagine, there was a girlfriend in my life, and that turned into a wedding in 1983, and then the kids, in 1985, '87, '88, '90, '93, and 1995.  Yup, a six pack.  It wasn't my idea, but they were too big to throw back.  And I love them all forever.

My Spiritual life has seen some highs and lows with steady progression I hope.  "My theology" has changed at least seven times, starting at conversion when I thought believing in God was good enough, and then realized I needed to accept Jesus as the Savior and Lord.  Probably the most important theology I have ever learned, however, is that it is a Person we want to know.  We want to know God and to be known by him.  And we need God.  He has sent his son Jesus into the world as the God-man to show us who he truly is.  But we don't want to really know about him as much as we want to know him personally.  And he wants us to know him, and to seek him and recover the relationship we lost in the fall of man.

Still in faith after all these years.  And I can't possibly describe how great it is to know the triune God, even in such a limited or small way.  He reveals himself in the creation and in the Bible.  He is eternal and trustworthy.  He created us and can redeem and sanctify us.  We are blessed when we walk in faith with him, even as the people of faith before us lived by faith and were blessed.  God is the goal.

FAITH TODAY:  Hebrews 11: 13, "These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth."