The Really Big Picture - Becoming the Gift

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 6:23

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves -- it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:9

The lost sinner who hears God's Word that Christ died for his sins and places his trust in Him receives the gift -- the supreme gift of all -- restoration to God and eternity with Him.

And then one day, that redeemed sinner catches a glimpse of the bigger story.

Note these words from Christ's prayer, just before His arrest and crucifixion, to His Father, in John, chapter 17.....

"I have revealed You to those whom You gave Me out of the world. They were Yours; You gave them to Me....

"I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those You have given Me...

"Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, and to see My Glory..."


So this is the really big picture....

Once we receive the gift, we become the gift!

We come to God through Jesus Christ's atonement for us -- it is His gift to us -- and then God presents us as a gift to His Son!


Once we receive the gift, we become the gift!



            And this is the biggest story of all!

What Makes Angels Celebrate? (Part 2)

 So what do the angels know that we don't know that makes them celebrate with such exuberance when a sinner repents?

Back to Max Lucado --

"They know what heaven holds. They've seen the table, and they have heard the music, and they can't wait to see your face when you arrive.

When you arrive and enter the party something wonderful will happen. A final transformation will occur. You will be just like Jesus. Drink deeply from 1 John 3:2: 'We have not yet been shown what we will be like in the future. But we know when we see Him we will be like Him because we will see Him as He is.'

Of all the blessings of heaven, one of the greatest will be you! You will be God's magnum opus, His work of art. The angels will gasp. God's work will be completed. At last you will have a heart like His.

You will love with perfect love.

You will worship with a radiant face.

You will hear each word God speaks.

Your heart will be pure, your words like jewels, your thoughts will be like treasures.

You will be just like Jesus. (And so will all the people around you!)

You will, at long last, have a heart like His.

There is another reason for the celebration. Part of the excitement is from our arrival. The other part is from our deliverance. Jesus rejoices that we are headed to heaven, but He equally rejoices that we are saved from hell.

One phrase summarizes the horror of hell: 'God is not there.'"

---From Just Like Jesus

What Makes Angels Celebrate?

In Luke 15 we read Jesus' parables about a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost boy. 

The point is clear -- all of heaven rejoices when the lost is found. 

At the end of each one Jesus describes a party, a celebration. The shepherd throws a party for the lost-now-found sheep. The housewife throws a party for the lost-now-found coin, and the father throws a party in honor of his lost-now-found son.

The shepherd, when he finds his sheep, happily puts it on his shoulder and goes home. The housewife tells her friends, "Be happy with me for I have found the coin I lost." And the father of the prodigal tells his other son, "Be happy. He was lost but now is found."

Jesus speaks about the great rejoicing in heaven when the lost is found!

Max Lucado comments on this -

"We don't always share such enthusiasm, do we? When you hear of a soul saved, do you drop everything and celebrate? Do we call out a band, cut the cake, and throw a party?

When a soul is saved, the heart of Jesus becomes the night sky on the fourth of July, radiant with explosions of cheer. 

Can the same be said about us? Perhaps this is an area where our hearts need some attention.

Why do Jesus and His angels rejoice over one repenting sinner? Can they see something we can't? Do they know something we don't?"

(Will continue in my next writing...in the meantime, think about your own heart...do you respond like Jesus and His angels? Why or why not?)

The Departure

For to me, to live is Christ and to die gain. If I am to go on living in the  body, this will mean fruitful labor for me.

Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!

I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far, but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.

Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.

Philippians 1:21-26

Death held no terrors for Paul.

It simply means "departing."

When used by soldiers, it meant, "to take down your tent and move on."

Paul elaborated on that image in 2 Corinthians 5:1-8:

     Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed,

we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven,

not built with human hands. (verse1)

What a beautiful picture of death: The "tent" we live in now will be taken down and the spirit will go home to be with Christ in heaven.

After all, a tent is a temporary dwelling. It is not designed to be permanent, at least not in our culture.

The tabernacle in the Old Testament was a tent that was carried around in the wilderness until the Jews entered the Promised Land. 

It was a very important tent - it housed the altar, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, with the Ark of the Covenant. But it was not meant to be permanent.

Sailors at the time of Paul also used the word for departure:

it meant to loosen a ship and set sail.

Alfred Lord Tennyson expressed this idea in his memorable poem, Crossing the Bar.

Sunset and evening star, and one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar, when I put out to sea.

But such a tide as moving seems asleep, too full for sound and foam,

When that which drew from out the boundless deep, turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell, and after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness of farewell, when I embark.

For though from out our bourne of Time and Place the flood

may bear me far

I hope to see my Pilot face to face, when I have crossed the bar.

But departure was also a political term: it described the setting free of a prisoner. 

God's people are in bondage down here on earth, to the limitations of the body and temptations, but at death, we will be set free for ever!  Or earlier, if Christ comes while we are still inhabiting our earthly tents!

Departure was also used by farmers.  It meant "to unyoke the oxen."  The day's work was finished. Free the oxen and feed them, giving them rest.

Paul had taken Christ's yoke, which is a easy yoke to bear (Matthew 11:28-30), but look how many burdens he carried in his ministry.  Look at some of them he tells us about in 2 Corinthians 11:22-12:10.

To depart and be with Christ would mean laying aside all our burdens, because our work is finished, and going to be with Jesus for our eternal rest.

No matter how you look at it, death cannot steal our joy.

Paul was single-minded. He had a Godward Heart. Death could not trouble him - he looked to the hope God had given him.

Warren Wiersbe suggests a simple test to show us what we value most - what gives us the most pleasure and makes life worth living for us.

Take the verse in Philippians 1:21: "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain."

Leave two blanks: For me to live is_______________

and to die is___________.

Fill those blanks in for yourself.

For me to live is....money.....and to die is to ...leave it all behind? Or For me to live is....being famous....and to die is to...be forgotten...?  To live...is power....and to die is to....leave it all behind...?

How do you fill in the blanks?

FDR and D-Day

                                              June 6, 1944 -- D-Day..

Today is the 82nd anniversary of D-Day. 

My mother remembered that day most of her life. What she recalled especially was FDR in a radio broadcast praying for our soldiers that day. She reminded us of that prayer often.

Within  11 months the war in Europe was over. Hitler was dead. FDR was dead. Truman was President and the horrors of the Nazi concentration (death) camps for Jews were being exposed and documented.

And the war in Asia was nearing its end.

Here are some words from FDR's prayer broadcast that day -- 82 years ago today.

He began, "In this poignant hour, I ask you to join me in prayer.

Almighty God, 

Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity. Lead them straight and true, with steadfastness in their faith. They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again and we know that by Thy grace and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph..."

(We still refer to these brave men as 'The greatest generation'!)

Today, the 82nd anniversary of that crucial day, is another great day to remember to pray for our nation....