WHEN THE GLORY DEPARTS

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.

Hebrews 9:27 (ESV)

We see the glory of man all around us. Whether it's an athlete, singer, actor, CEO, architect or someone who accomplished some other admirable accomplishment, we can see the glory of man all around us.

We may receive great awards or the accolades of other men. Yet one day, we will stand alone before God to be judged.

In that moment, we will be required to leave every bit of our own glory behind us. We will not be allowed to bring money, trophies, popularity, awards or any other rewards of this life with us. Not even our clothing can tag along for the ride. People who have great pride in their bodies will be disappointed if they assume that they can stand before God naked. We must stand before the Great and Mighty Living God and Righteous Judge - even without our bodies!

In that day, the angels will not get excited that the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) in some field is coming to be judged. All we will judged on is our personal relationship with Jesus Christ! God is not - and cannot be - impressed by any man or woman - ever.

That moment will be a grave awakening for many. They will fully realize that all they did was for the glory of man and not for the glory of God.

However for the child of God, it will be a glorious awakening. God will complete the work He has begun in us and will fully reveal His glorious Kingdom to us.

This may seem narrow minded or pretentious to some. But it is the truth of the gospel. None among those of us who are in right relationship with God also will have any of our own glory to bring before God.

We are saved by God's free gift and by His supernatural work alone. Jesus paid it all!

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23 (ESV)

With that in mind, which awakening do we want in that day? Will we stand in realization that our own glory has departed and all we have done is worthless in His sight. Or, will we awaken to have God share his own Glorious Kingdom with us. 

While we are still here we can receive that free gift of God, accepting His rule over us, or will we continue to be the master of our own destiny and ruler of our own hearts?

God will change our hearts if we invite Him to be our Master!

The thought of anyone being our master may sound distasteful to many. But know that God is a good Master and the only one worthy to be.

Trust Him now to come in to your heart, change it and rule over it. It is the greatest and most important decision you will ever make!

SEASONS

Seasons

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (ESV)

In the proper season, crops can be harvested and fruits picked. If we try to bring in the harvest or pick fruit when it is not the right season, we will come up empty or have fruit that is too immature or too ripe.

We must plow, plant and harvest in the proper seasons that God has ordained.

We must also move in the proper seasons of our lives!

For example, a college student is in the season of learning. Normally, he or she should not be buying a house, traveling the world or binge watching TV. He must focus on learning and work hard at it. A college student should not be overly discouraged if he is not making a huge salary at that time or volunteering at the local homeless shelter. That will come in another season.

Perhaps a person has been obligated by circumstance to be the caregiver for a sick relative. This can be a very demanding task. The caregiver should not be dismayed or feel guilty if he or she cannot partake in many other activities or responsibilities. It is the season of caregiving.

If we can learn to discern the seasons of our lives, we can also learn to focus on what is required in that season!

Queen Esther was in a position to ask the king for favor for her people. Her Uncle Mordecai helped her to see the importance of her opportunity:

For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. AND WHO KNOWS WHETHER YOU HAVE NOT COME TO THE KINGDOM FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS?”

Esther 4:14 (ESV, capitalization added)

Esther was given the time, place, season and opportunity to act Her intervention resulted in saving many of her people - the Jews!

There are only twenty four hours in a day. We are limited by time, energy and resources.

Let us ask God to give us wisdom regarding what time, place, season and opportunity he has given us. Then we can focus on that and not be overly concerned about the rest!

GUARANTEED SALVATION!

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

Ephesians 1:13 (ESV)

When we receive Christ, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit!

He dwells in us and we become partakers of His Divine Nature! (2 Peter 1:3-5)

Christ in us is the hope of glory! We are in Him and He in us! (Colossians 1:27)*

* We must not confuse this powerful theological fact with the new age concept that God is in all of us.    

  Nor does this mean that we can ever be in any way equal to God! Many great books have already been written to clarify the differences. But it is critical that we do understand this important distinction!

To be sealed is to be stamped or marked - similar to the mark of a signet ring used by ancient kings to seal a document as a proof of its authenticity. We have been stamped or marked by The Holy Spirit's Himself dwelling within us.

How significant is this sealing mark? 

The very next verse tells us:

14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 1:14 (ESV)

The Holy Spirit Himself is our GUARANTEE - the DOWN PAYMENT on our inheritance!

God has put a down payment on our salvation. It is inconceivable that He will not return to claim His own.

UNTIL...

Vs. 14 tells us that our further inheritance is still yet to come! And again, He has personally guaranteed it. There is no small print or "legalese" - the kind man includes in his contracts and guarantees.

Yes we already have an inheritance. But there is a further, greater inheritance to come.

And it has been GUARANTEED by the Creator and Ruler of the Universe - the ONE, TRUE, LIVING GOD!

If you have the Holy Spirit in you through the new birth - your salvation is guaranteed and you have eternal life!

11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

12 WHOEVER HAS THE SON HAS LIFE; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. (capitalization added)

1 John 5:11-12 (ESV)

UNDERLYING SINS

14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
 James 1:14-15 (ESV)

What moves us to sin?

We often think of sins in simple terms. If I just stop doing this, I will not sin. If I just move away, I can avoid that.

However, this can be like pulling weeds. Any gardener or farmer knows that pulling the tops off of weeds does not solve the problem!

Sin can be very much the same. It is not merely the outward practice of sin that solves the problem - it is often the "root sin" or underlying sin in our hearts that will once again rear its ugly head if we don't deal with it.

The first step is salvation through Jesus Christ. He must regenerate our hearts through the new birth! However, after that we must still rule over sin day by day. This means overpowering sin through God's Word and the Holy Spirit. For the Christian, this often starts with identifying the real sin beneath the above ground sin.

For example, bitterness may be the underlying cause of certain addictions. We can open the doors to some sins by companionship with the wrong people. Anger toward a brother or sister might be causing emotions that will lead to other sins.

Sins of omission, such as neglecting the Word of God, prayer or fellowship can lead to sin. Wrong attitude leads to sin. First the underlying sin must be dealt with in order to gain dominance over the outward sin!

Did you know that an airplane has an attitude as well as an altitude? The altitude is the height of the plane. The attitude is the front to back tilt of the plane. It should be flying straight. If it is pointing too far downward or upward, it can lean to a severe crash!

The pilot does not know the tilt of his aircraft without his instrument panel.

The Word of God is our instrument panel to lead us correctly in the everlasting way!

David prayed that God would reveal his secret sins:

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;

Try me, and know my anxieties;

24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,

And lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalms 139:23-24 (NKJV)

We should ask God regularly to show us what underlying sins may be the causes of our outward sins!

FINDING THE BOOK

Josiah was one of the good kings of Israel who followed the Lord with all his heart. His father, Manasseh, was one of the most wicked.

King Josiah ordered repairs on the house of the Lord. As the work progressed, something interesting was found...

Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.

2 Kings 22:10

What was Josiah's reaction?

When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes.

2 Kings 22:11

King Josiah had a shocking revelation after reading the book...

"...For great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”

2 Kings 22:13b

This revelation moved Josiah to enact sweeping reforms. He tore down, crushed and burned idols, removed false worship and changed the status quo!

Our nation needs the book! The world needs the book! The Church needs the book! The Christian needs the book.

If we actually read, study and meditate on THE BOOK with with a humble heart, we too might reach the same conclusion as King Josiah.

...that we have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.

Would this renewed dedication to God's Word also move us to make sweeping reforms in our own lives?

Start your journey today in God's Word!

NEVER GIVE UP ON UNDERSTANDING GOD!

DESCRIBING SURGERY

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Galatians 6:9 (ESV)

A seemingly apocalyptic snowstorm is paralyzing the city.

A patient tries to wait patiently for a complicated life-saving surgery. The surgeon scheduled to operate has no way to get there as the snow piles up. The surgeon calls to inform the staff and asks if another surgeon is available. The staff informs him that no one else is available. Sadly the other surgeons are in the same predicament. The only person there is the UPS delivery driver who is stranded at the hospital.

The surgeon hesitates and asks to speak to the delivery man. He tells him he will describe the surgery over the phone. The driver agrees and the surgery is successful!

Wait! What?

Too incredible to believe? Absolutely!

Why? Because the delivery man cannot jump from point A to point Z. He has no medical training.

We often do that very thing when it comes to understanding God. We expect to ask a well educated, highly experienced pastor or teacher to give a short answer to a complicated question and we will walk away with a full, deep understanding.

Learning about God however takes a long time - indeed a lifetime is not enough.

The good news is that we can PROGRESS! We can know more about, and understand more deeply, about God next year than we know now.

As in the case of the UPS delivery driver, we cannot jump from point A to point Z. We must steadily progress day by day, month by month year by year.

It can be difficult in this instant gratification culture we live in.

But never give up! The fruits of you labor will bear fruit eventually. Perhaps not as fast as we would like - but IT WILL COME!