Sometimes we feel the need to be crippled, inside. We like to be cared for, and cared about, not venturing beyond what can be gained for ourselves in our daily walk. Our attention focuses on small rewards and away from inner growth and outward responsibility. When the gains from remaining crippled seem great we don’t consider the greater reward found by striving for excellence. Yet those who strive will eventually benefit their fellow man, while those who remain crippled inside will need to be cared for.
Who will reach for the high calling of his destiny? These matters are settled in the hearts of men. If a man will struggle against his own selfishness and overcome, he will care about others and plot the course of his life accordingly. His life will glorify God because he will become godly.
We find that godliness is the sixth virtue in 2 Peter 1:5-7. It comes after faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, and perseverance. Without it we will fail to progress to brotherly kindness, and love. But if we press on, we will keep our faith active, productive, and effective. Peter points out that we become near-sighted when we stop in our growth of faith, forgetful of Christ’s great forgiveness of our sins. How could a man forget something so valuable, except that the small rewards of this life and its small fleshly gains become more valuable to us. Truly Christ is our gain, and our high calling is our prize of greatest worth (Eph 3:7,14). Let us lift our eyes upward to Him today. Amen.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Sea of Glass
Yesterday I awoke having had a wonderful dream. I was standing in a clearing with forested area around it. Looking up, I saw what looked like a body of clear water, its boundary forming a flat ceiling above me. It looked heavy and full. I tried to touch it, but it was just out of reach. I jumped up and tried to touch it twice, but it was still out of my reach. Then I went and got my husband Dave, as he is taller. I showed him the water in the sky and asked him what he thought it was. He said “It’s the sea of glass, isn’t it?”
In the next scene I was near the clearing, in a house. Dave came inside and said “It’s sprinkling outside.” This was the end of the dream.
Though I thought the sea above me looked heavy, as if its weight could crush us, the Lord “sprinkled” us with its contents. This morning I spent time in the scriptures, looking at references to the sea of glass. Here is what I found;
• Ez 1:22 – God and His throne were above it, and the living creatures were below it. In this vision Ezekiel says that he saw the likeness of the glory of the Lord (vs 28).
• Hab 2:14 – The knowledge of the glory of the Lord is said to cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. Preceding this verse is a description of the Lord burning up the labor of men that was not done in righteousness (building with bloodshed, and establishing with crime) vs 12,13.
• Rev 4:6 – vision of throne room
• Rev 15:2 – sea of glass is mixed with fire, and the saints who overcame are standing next to it
I believe that the Lord is drawing near with His glory to cover the earth with knowledge of Himself, and the purifying knowledge of His ways. He will cause this to sprinkle down on us for His desire is to have a people who are holy, spotless, and ready for Him. Amen.
In the next scene I was near the clearing, in a house. Dave came inside and said “It’s sprinkling outside.” This was the end of the dream.
Though I thought the sea above me looked heavy, as if its weight could crush us, the Lord “sprinkled” us with its contents. This morning I spent time in the scriptures, looking at references to the sea of glass. Here is what I found;
• Ez 1:22 – God and His throne were above it, and the living creatures were below it. In this vision Ezekiel says that he saw the likeness of the glory of the Lord (vs 28).
• Hab 2:14 – The knowledge of the glory of the Lord is said to cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. Preceding this verse is a description of the Lord burning up the labor of men that was not done in righteousness (building with bloodshed, and establishing with crime) vs 12,13.
• Rev 4:6 – vision of throne room
• Rev 15:2 – sea of glass is mixed with fire, and the saints who overcame are standing next to it
I believe that the Lord is drawing near with His glory to cover the earth with knowledge of Himself, and the purifying knowledge of His ways. He will cause this to sprinkle down on us for His desire is to have a people who are holy, spotless, and ready for Him. Amen.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Heroes
By nature we are spiritually lazy. People want to appear nice. If they aspire to be a hero, they will comfort others by saying everything is all right. Spiritual laziness does not want to go through the foot-work of being a real hero and taking the steps to make things right.
The lazy hero will not be on his knees much, nor increase his knowledge and skill level. He will selectively ignore efforts at things he has no interest in and call them unimportant. He will not like those who do these things as the efforts of a true hero will make him look like he is standing still.
As willing as we are to hang in there with Jesus, our fleshly nature is weaker than the size of most problems He is working to solve. Willingness to have things go well will not make it so, anymore than willingness to stay up and pray with Jesus will keep us from spiritual slumber. The dullness that enters our souls is merely a companion of those things that seem unimportant to us.
As spiritual beings we need constant refreshing in the Holy Spirit. By practice, those things we prefer will give way to those things on God’s mind. By practicing the setting aside of our worldly affections and preferences we are transformed in both thought and obedient action. This refreshing of our mind will cause a readiness for the acts of God to move through us. These are the heroes God is making today.
The lazy hero will not be on his knees much, nor increase his knowledge and skill level. He will selectively ignore efforts at things he has no interest in and call them unimportant. He will not like those who do these things as the efforts of a true hero will make him look like he is standing still.
As willing as we are to hang in there with Jesus, our fleshly nature is weaker than the size of most problems He is working to solve. Willingness to have things go well will not make it so, anymore than willingness to stay up and pray with Jesus will keep us from spiritual slumber. The dullness that enters our souls is merely a companion of those things that seem unimportant to us.
As spiritual beings we need constant refreshing in the Holy Spirit. By practice, those things we prefer will give way to those things on God’s mind. By practicing the setting aside of our worldly affections and preferences we are transformed in both thought and obedient action. This refreshing of our mind will cause a readiness for the acts of God to move through us. These are the heroes God is making today.
Our Living Sacrifice
We have received great mercy and forgiveness of sins from our God. When He baptized us in His Spirit we received His nature in us. Yet often we find a war inside ourselves, a struggle between the old nature and our new identity in Christ (Rm 7:23). There is a force at work in us that is contrary to God’s ways, and it keeps us from obedience. We see the answer to this dilemma when Paul says to “offer (our) bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God . . . “ (Rm 12:1) This will change the way we think, leaving our fleshly ways behind and pressing forward into His thinking. Therefore, we understand the will of God in our lives, because we become spiritual (verse 2).
A person must offer himself in a way that is acceptable to God. God’s ways and calling do not readily come to our natural way of thinking at first because His thoughts are higher than ours. We might think to do an act of service, a good work to please Him. But God is asking for our obedience, and to obey God we must hear what He is saying to us.
God’s thoughts are imparted to us by His Holy Spirit (1 Cor 2:14). Without the Spirit, or we should say, in the natural way of our thinking, we do not understand God’s thoughts (1 Cor 3:1). This is because they are spiritual, as He is. If we have not discarded our fleshly ways and thinking, we do not understand what God is saying to us. The way God changes our thinking is through our living sacrifice, for this causes a “renewing of (our) mind.” If we will be a people who daily sacrifice our own ways for His ways then we will hear His thoughts and know how to please Him with our lives. It comes down to our surrender and willingness to obey what we hear God say to us. There is no other way to be “spiritual” (1 Cor 3:1) except to shed our former fleshly acts and thoughts.
A person must offer himself in a way that is acceptable to God. God’s ways and calling do not readily come to our natural way of thinking at first because His thoughts are higher than ours. We might think to do an act of service, a good work to please Him. But God is asking for our obedience, and to obey God we must hear what He is saying to us.
God’s thoughts are imparted to us by His Holy Spirit (1 Cor 2:14). Without the Spirit, or we should say, in the natural way of our thinking, we do not understand God’s thoughts (1 Cor 3:1). This is because they are spiritual, as He is. If we have not discarded our fleshly ways and thinking, we do not understand what God is saying to us. The way God changes our thinking is through our living sacrifice, for this causes a “renewing of (our) mind.” If we will be a people who daily sacrifice our own ways for His ways then we will hear His thoughts and know how to please Him with our lives. It comes down to our surrender and willingness to obey what we hear God say to us. There is no other way to be “spiritual” (1 Cor 3:1) except to shed our former fleshly acts and thoughts.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
establishing the Kingdom
We think of grace as “unmerited favor” from God. Today the Lord brought to my mind the miracles He did in the Wilderness for His wandering people, the Hebrews. Then He said “This was their time of grace.” The children of Israel wandered for 40 years and their shoes didn’t wear out. God brought them food from heaven, manna. And they drank water from a rock, twice. He not only promised them a land of their own, but He was with them during their wandering after their rebellion, caring for their needs. God gave them grace.
The Hebrews had lessons to learn in the wilderness. They needed to learn to walk in faith, trusting and obeying God. In coming out of Egypt, they needed to let go of those things that they liked about Egypt. God was not only teaching the Hebrews to become His people, but He was also putting fear of His name amongst the nations surrounding the Promise Land. Because of His mighty works during the exodus from Egypt, God’s miracles made Him known everywhere the Hebrews went. He protected them as His own while they were in the Wilderness.
Next, the Lord said that the Promise Land was a picture of God’s Kingdom, and we Christians enter it by overcoming God’s enemies. We must do warfare against enemies we do not see, such as sickness, slander, and poverty, to name a few. In the Kingdom of God we seek out the boundaries of our inheritance and establish His righteousness there. We stand on God’s personal word to us and overcome our enemies by faith in that word and by persevering in our faith. We learn discernment so that we can discover the enemy spies of falsehood and lies. And we test our building materials so that our works may stand. Each overcoming brings authority over our enemy, and little-by-little we push him back, out of our territory.
What the Lord said next surprised me. “Sometimes Christians want to continue their Wilderness relationship with Me. They want the Kingdom but they want Me to fight their battles for them.” I understood that, though the Lord teaches us to be dependent on Him, dependency can become crippling if we don’t learn to accept responsibility. If we want the Lord to hand the Kingdom to us we do not grow in the responsibility that comes by putting our heart and effort into winning it. The Lord takes us through a period of grace wherein we get to know Him, and the world gets to see that we are His. But there comes a time when our enemies need to see God’s authority in us, and that time is when we are entering into the promises of God for our lives.
In Hebrews chapters 3 and 4 there is a warning quoted three times; “Today, when you hear His voice do not harden your hearts as they did in the wilderness . . .“ The first generation of Hebrews were seen as rebellious and unbelieving because they lacked the willingness to go into the Promise Land and fight their enemies. They didn’t think they could win. Yet this warning comes to Christians also. Do we have faith to win against our enemies, or are we unwilling to try? Our enemy already fears God. He knows Jesus’ name and obeys Him. Does our enemy know our name, and will he submit to our authority in Christ?
The first generation of Hebrews were sad about wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, never to enter the Promise Land. We are sad also when we wait for the promises of God to be fulfilled in our lives. We try to improve our walk with Christ, and be busy doing things for Him as well as others. It’s as if we believe that we have to be good enough to enter the promises of God. But the truth is, we have to be obedient enough. The Hebrews did not fail to enter the Promised Land because they were a weak, whiney bunch of people; they failed because they hardened their heart and did not obey the voice of God.
The Christian walk of self-improvement, much like wandering, is unsatisfactory. We have moments of reflection where we say, “I just wish I knew what God wanted me to do!” Based on what the Lord has been saying tonight, I believe that He wants us to walk in His promises. He wants us to establish His Kingdom in our hearts and in our lives. And, He will help us once we begin to fight against the wrongful inhabitants of our lives. But we need to go from grace, where God does mighty acts independently from us, to faith, where God does mighty acts through us. Our thinking needs to change from one of expecting God to fight our battles for us, to one of walking in faith as the Lord fights our battles with us. When we understand that God’s purposes are to make us strong and victorious we will leave behind our unsatisfying attempts at self-improvement and take the Kingdom by force.
The Hebrews had lessons to learn in the wilderness. They needed to learn to walk in faith, trusting and obeying God. In coming out of Egypt, they needed to let go of those things that they liked about Egypt. God was not only teaching the Hebrews to become His people, but He was also putting fear of His name amongst the nations surrounding the Promise Land. Because of His mighty works during the exodus from Egypt, God’s miracles made Him known everywhere the Hebrews went. He protected them as His own while they were in the Wilderness.
Next, the Lord said that the Promise Land was a picture of God’s Kingdom, and we Christians enter it by overcoming God’s enemies. We must do warfare against enemies we do not see, such as sickness, slander, and poverty, to name a few. In the Kingdom of God we seek out the boundaries of our inheritance and establish His righteousness there. We stand on God’s personal word to us and overcome our enemies by faith in that word and by persevering in our faith. We learn discernment so that we can discover the enemy spies of falsehood and lies. And we test our building materials so that our works may stand. Each overcoming brings authority over our enemy, and little-by-little we push him back, out of our territory.
What the Lord said next surprised me. “Sometimes Christians want to continue their Wilderness relationship with Me. They want the Kingdom but they want Me to fight their battles for them.” I understood that, though the Lord teaches us to be dependent on Him, dependency can become crippling if we don’t learn to accept responsibility. If we want the Lord to hand the Kingdom to us we do not grow in the responsibility that comes by putting our heart and effort into winning it. The Lord takes us through a period of grace wherein we get to know Him, and the world gets to see that we are His. But there comes a time when our enemies need to see God’s authority in us, and that time is when we are entering into the promises of God for our lives.
In Hebrews chapters 3 and 4 there is a warning quoted three times; “Today, when you hear His voice do not harden your hearts as they did in the wilderness . . .“ The first generation of Hebrews were seen as rebellious and unbelieving because they lacked the willingness to go into the Promise Land and fight their enemies. They didn’t think they could win. Yet this warning comes to Christians also. Do we have faith to win against our enemies, or are we unwilling to try? Our enemy already fears God. He knows Jesus’ name and obeys Him. Does our enemy know our name, and will he submit to our authority in Christ?
The first generation of Hebrews were sad about wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, never to enter the Promise Land. We are sad also when we wait for the promises of God to be fulfilled in our lives. We try to improve our walk with Christ, and be busy doing things for Him as well as others. It’s as if we believe that we have to be good enough to enter the promises of God. But the truth is, we have to be obedient enough. The Hebrews did not fail to enter the Promised Land because they were a weak, whiney bunch of people; they failed because they hardened their heart and did not obey the voice of God.
The Christian walk of self-improvement, much like wandering, is unsatisfactory. We have moments of reflection where we say, “I just wish I knew what God wanted me to do!” Based on what the Lord has been saying tonight, I believe that He wants us to walk in His promises. He wants us to establish His Kingdom in our hearts and in our lives. And, He will help us once we begin to fight against the wrongful inhabitants of our lives. But we need to go from grace, where God does mighty acts independently from us, to faith, where God does mighty acts through us. Our thinking needs to change from one of expecting God to fight our battles for us, to one of walking in faith as the Lord fights our battles with us. When we understand that God’s purposes are to make us strong and victorious we will leave behind our unsatisfying attempts at self-improvement and take the Kingdom by force.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Holiness
God is holy. Who is He keeping Himself set apart from? When He asks us to be holy, set apart from the world, we are being taken out of darkness into light. But God is light already, so what does it mean for Him to be holy? These were my thoughts this morning, and here are the words the Lord brought to me afterwards;
I am set apart from people, to not be changed by them. Yet I am near to them, that they might be changed by Me. I have the Spirit of Holiness (Rm 1:4), which is power . . . power to change from darkness to light. If a man’s affections for this world will be set aside and he comes to Me, he will know Me and My holiness. If I was not holy, he could not know Me, for I would be an ambiguous spirit, affected by the times. But I am not ambiguous. I affect the times. By the power of Who I am I change destinies. I plan eras and My motives come from My holy heart. My purposes are good and holy.
When a man can be touched by the afflictions of another and deeply care about him, acting on his part and yet not becoming like him, this is the beginning of his holiness. If the same man will realize that the Life that raised Jesus from the dead lives in him (Phil 3;10) for the benefit of the afflicted person, he will not want to compromise that Life by trying to change its nature. For the Spirit of holiness is the Spirit of the power of that Life which changes all things it comes into contact with, yet it is changed by nothing.
Because My holiness has the power of Life and affects all it comes into contact with, I am offended when men make it common. When they set My word aside as nothing, they lose the power of all that proceeds from My holiness on their behalf. When they fill their meetings with chatter, yet call on My Name, their stirring of their own spirits by their own words hinders Me, for their hearts are not single.
A single heart is united in its purposes. You might say that the man with a single heart is ‘sold out,’ (Mt 13:44). He has decided that what I have to offer him is more important than all he has. He gives up his chatter for the worth of knowing Me. This man becomes acquainted with My holiness; the Life that changes. (2 Cor 4:7). He will stand in My presence.
I am set apart from people, to not be changed by them. Yet I am near to them, that they might be changed by Me. I have the Spirit of Holiness (Rm 1:4), which is power . . . power to change from darkness to light. If a man’s affections for this world will be set aside and he comes to Me, he will know Me and My holiness. If I was not holy, he could not know Me, for I would be an ambiguous spirit, affected by the times. But I am not ambiguous. I affect the times. By the power of Who I am I change destinies. I plan eras and My motives come from My holy heart. My purposes are good and holy.
When a man can be touched by the afflictions of another and deeply care about him, acting on his part and yet not becoming like him, this is the beginning of his holiness. If the same man will realize that the Life that raised Jesus from the dead lives in him (Phil 3;10) for the benefit of the afflicted person, he will not want to compromise that Life by trying to change its nature. For the Spirit of holiness is the Spirit of the power of that Life which changes all things it comes into contact with, yet it is changed by nothing.
Because My holiness has the power of Life and affects all it comes into contact with, I am offended when men make it common. When they set My word aside as nothing, they lose the power of all that proceeds from My holiness on their behalf. When they fill their meetings with chatter, yet call on My Name, their stirring of their own spirits by their own words hinders Me, for their hearts are not single.
A single heart is united in its purposes. You might say that the man with a single heart is ‘sold out,’ (Mt 13:44). He has decided that what I have to offer him is more important than all he has. He gives up his chatter for the worth of knowing Me. This man becomes acquainted with My holiness; the Life that changes. (2 Cor 4:7). He will stand in My presence.
Friday, November 6, 2009
God's timely caring
God’s goodness is often manifested in how He nourishes those who depend on Him. Whether man or animal, God cares for His creation. He gives us our meat in due season, and satisfies our desires (Ps 145:15,16). God’s intimate knowledge of us and the timeliness of His actions are perfect.
In Strong’s Concordance the word for God’s “season” in which we are nourished represents the proper time, or season, for an action to occur. The word occurs in Isaiah’s passage concerning our Messiah, “The Lord hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary . . .” (Is 50:4, KJV). Not only is physical meat given at the proper time, but spiritual meat, or words, are given at the proper time.
Jesus carried this concept of timely ministry to us in His parable of the faithful servant. This servant was found “feeding his fellow servant their meat in due season,” (Mt 24:45 & Lk 12:42). Ministry given at the right time appears to be a heavenly principal. When Jesus was in Bethesda we see that an angel visited a pool there at a certain “season,” (Jn 5:4). Each of the words translated “season” in these New Testament examples signify “proper time.”
God feeds us both physically and spiritually at the proper time. He is not casual or neglectful over our care. God knows that His words will bring deep satisfaction to our soul, just like a good meal brings satisfaction to our bodies. In looking at Isaiah again, we can see that God puts the seeds of nourishment in the words He speaks, and in the words He gives us to speak to others. He provides “seed for the sower and bread for the eater,” (Is 55:10b). The seeds of His Word, being planted in the one who hears them, become nourishing, like bread. God’s words “will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it,” (vs 11).
God’s goodness is manifest through us in how we care for our brother, nourishing him in the proper time. Let us be faithful to speak to the weary and encourage each other today, and always, in God’s perfect timing. Amen
In Strong’s Concordance the word for God’s “season” in which we are nourished represents the proper time, or season, for an action to occur. The word occurs in Isaiah’s passage concerning our Messiah, “The Lord hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary . . .” (Is 50:4, KJV). Not only is physical meat given at the proper time, but spiritual meat, or words, are given at the proper time.
Jesus carried this concept of timely ministry to us in His parable of the faithful servant. This servant was found “feeding his fellow servant their meat in due season,” (Mt 24:45 & Lk 12:42). Ministry given at the right time appears to be a heavenly principal. When Jesus was in Bethesda we see that an angel visited a pool there at a certain “season,” (Jn 5:4). Each of the words translated “season” in these New Testament examples signify “proper time.”
God feeds us both physically and spiritually at the proper time. He is not casual or neglectful over our care. God knows that His words will bring deep satisfaction to our soul, just like a good meal brings satisfaction to our bodies. In looking at Isaiah again, we can see that God puts the seeds of nourishment in the words He speaks, and in the words He gives us to speak to others. He provides “seed for the sower and bread for the eater,” (Is 55:10b). The seeds of His Word, being planted in the one who hears them, become nourishing, like bread. God’s words “will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it,” (vs 11).
God’s goodness is manifest through us in how we care for our brother, nourishing him in the proper time. Let us be faithful to speak to the weary and encourage each other today, and always, in God’s perfect timing. Amen
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
heaven's currency
Heaven’s Currency
11-3-9
We seldom think about there being money in heaven. Though we know that God bestows gifts on men, what would heaven’s currency look like? The gifts of the Spirit cause us to operate in a heavenly realm, thinking and speaking like Jesus did and does through us. But there is also a system of currency mentioned in the scriptures, and today I would like to talk about it. Why? Because Jesus had this currency, and we need to learn how to use it.
In 1 Cor 6:20 and 7:23 we read that we were “bought with a price”. We know that price was Jesus’ life. What He purchased was our salvation, and Jesus paid for this on the cross when He was crucified. He dies for us when we had not yet known Him, offering forgiveness of sins. His forgiveness abolished a set of ordinances that we could not meet, rules and regulations that we could not keep. Besides forgiveness offered at the cross, Jesus also lives now to intercede for us (Heb 7:25), forgiving and washing us in His Spirit so that we can abide with Him. We have been paid for before we knew Him, and after we accepted Him as Savior and Lord, by forgiveness. This is heaven’s currency.
When we look at the great cost to the Son of God for us to be forgiven, we must also realize that His sacrifice is a solid, valuable currency. It is unaffected by inflation or any circumstances in our lives. His shed blood is so strong that our enemy can no longer accuse us to God about the past sins of our lives. If we remain current in receiving forgiveness for our weaknesses and daily offenses, He is just and fair to forgive us. It is as if He has taken His heavenly Father’s money and invested it in us.
In investing in us, Jesus also gives us a share of His currency to invest here on earth. It is one of the ways that we make this world His kingdom: making heavenly investments. Jesus asks us to forgive our brother 7 times 70 (Mt 18:22). He established that giving forgiveness is necessary to abide in God’s kingdom when He shared the parable about the unforgiving servant (Mt 18:23-35). We forgive because He forgave us (Mt 6:14).
What He is asking us to do is follow His example. He purchased us with the currency of forgiveness, and keeps on investing forgiveness in us. We are also to forgive others. Will heaven’s currency be honored in our hands? It seems that this worked for Jesus due to the fact that He was the Son of God, and because He died on the cross for us. Let’s look at John 20:23. This scripture says that, when Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit on people, He told them “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven: if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” I believe heaven is listening to our hearts. If a brother sins against us, we have the same powerful currency as Jesus did and can spend it, forgiving him. But just as it cost Jesus the sacrifice of His life to purchase us from the kingdom of darkness, it also costs us our fleshly life to purchase from darkness those who sin against us. When a brother humiliates you in front of your friends or important superiors, you might phrase this experience as “crucifying”, and yet, you are still alive. Indeed, being sinned against leaves wounds where no one can see them. At that point we can choose to forgive, or we can choose to not forgive. Being willing to forgive will actually “put to death”, or crucify fleshly desires for revenge, slander, and resentment (to name a few).
The cost we pay to forgive begins with acknowledging we forgive the one who sins. By forgiving we are putting our brother’s sin under the same blood Jesus shed for our sins. It is a transaction honored in heaven because our life has been offered as a living sacrifice (Rm 12:1). We, like Jesus, then must intercede for the brother in sin. This is how heaven’s currency establishes the kingdom in our heart. From our heart, His kingdom works its way outward, establishing itself in the land through forgiven souls . . . lives we have touched by His investment in us.
Jesus has shown us heaven’s currency by the example He set for us; purchasing us through the sacrifice of His life, and forgiving our sins. We as Christians have been given a lot of this same currency to spend on this earth. He leaves us with the work of establishing His kingdom here, in partnership with Him. Let’s go on spend freely today, offering forgiveness, even as He forgives us. Amen.
11-3-9
We seldom think about there being money in heaven. Though we know that God bestows gifts on men, what would heaven’s currency look like? The gifts of the Spirit cause us to operate in a heavenly realm, thinking and speaking like Jesus did and does through us. But there is also a system of currency mentioned in the scriptures, and today I would like to talk about it. Why? Because Jesus had this currency, and we need to learn how to use it.
In 1 Cor 6:20 and 7:23 we read that we were “bought with a price”. We know that price was Jesus’ life. What He purchased was our salvation, and Jesus paid for this on the cross when He was crucified. He dies for us when we had not yet known Him, offering forgiveness of sins. His forgiveness abolished a set of ordinances that we could not meet, rules and regulations that we could not keep. Besides forgiveness offered at the cross, Jesus also lives now to intercede for us (Heb 7:25), forgiving and washing us in His Spirit so that we can abide with Him. We have been paid for before we knew Him, and after we accepted Him as Savior and Lord, by forgiveness. This is heaven’s currency.
When we look at the great cost to the Son of God for us to be forgiven, we must also realize that His sacrifice is a solid, valuable currency. It is unaffected by inflation or any circumstances in our lives. His shed blood is so strong that our enemy can no longer accuse us to God about the past sins of our lives. If we remain current in receiving forgiveness for our weaknesses and daily offenses, He is just and fair to forgive us. It is as if He has taken His heavenly Father’s money and invested it in us.
In investing in us, Jesus also gives us a share of His currency to invest here on earth. It is one of the ways that we make this world His kingdom: making heavenly investments. Jesus asks us to forgive our brother 7 times 70 (Mt 18:22). He established that giving forgiveness is necessary to abide in God’s kingdom when He shared the parable about the unforgiving servant (Mt 18:23-35). We forgive because He forgave us (Mt 6:14).
What He is asking us to do is follow His example. He purchased us with the currency of forgiveness, and keeps on investing forgiveness in us. We are also to forgive others. Will heaven’s currency be honored in our hands? It seems that this worked for Jesus due to the fact that He was the Son of God, and because He died on the cross for us. Let’s look at John 20:23. This scripture says that, when Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit on people, He told them “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven: if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” I believe heaven is listening to our hearts. If a brother sins against us, we have the same powerful currency as Jesus did and can spend it, forgiving him. But just as it cost Jesus the sacrifice of His life to purchase us from the kingdom of darkness, it also costs us our fleshly life to purchase from darkness those who sin against us. When a brother humiliates you in front of your friends or important superiors, you might phrase this experience as “crucifying”, and yet, you are still alive. Indeed, being sinned against leaves wounds where no one can see them. At that point we can choose to forgive, or we can choose to not forgive. Being willing to forgive will actually “put to death”, or crucify fleshly desires for revenge, slander, and resentment (to name a few).
The cost we pay to forgive begins with acknowledging we forgive the one who sins. By forgiving we are putting our brother’s sin under the same blood Jesus shed for our sins. It is a transaction honored in heaven because our life has been offered as a living sacrifice (Rm 12:1). We, like Jesus, then must intercede for the brother in sin. This is how heaven’s currency establishes the kingdom in our heart. From our heart, His kingdom works its way outward, establishing itself in the land through forgiven souls . . . lives we have touched by His investment in us.
Jesus has shown us heaven’s currency by the example He set for us; purchasing us through the sacrifice of His life, and forgiving our sins. We as Christians have been given a lot of this same currency to spend on this earth. He leaves us with the work of establishing His kingdom here, in partnership with Him. Let’s go on spend freely today, offering forgiveness, even as He forgives us. Amen.
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