Where Is Jesus Right Now?

God gives us some information that brings us great joy! Jesus, our resurrected, glorious Savior, is in heaven, at the right hand of God the Father. Right now!

1 Peter 3:22 -- "Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand -- with angels, authorities, and powers in submission to Him." 

And Mark 16:19, "After the Lord had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven, and He sat at the right hand of God."

Luke 24:51 and Acts 1:9-11 describe His bodily ascent into heaven - while the disciples gazed in wonder.

There are many other references to Jesus' presence in heaven, "seated at the right hand of God."

Acts 7:55 describes Stephen's vision of Christ in heaven as he is being stoned to death -- this one is a little different: Christ is "standing," not "seated," at God's right hand. 

(Maybe He is standing because, as Stephen is dying, Christ is getting ready to receive him into His glory and kingdom - personally greeting him, welcoming him  --- honoring him for his sacrifice.  ?)

Anyway, Jesus is in an actual place called heaven, a place of glory, surrounded by angelic hosts.

He is honored and glorified at God's right hand!

Our Savior, the tortured, mocked and crucified One, is now receiving cosmic glory. (We can only imagine!)

What joy we have! Our crucified Savior is now bring worshipped and adored -- and will be forever. 

And someday we will be there, too!

How to Get Ready for Church

I get my hair done on Saturday and make certain my clothes are ready, preparing to go to church Sunday. But I don't seem to be  as concerned about preparing spiritually to join my church family in worship of our Creator God of the Universe! 

I fix my hair, but not my heart! I clean my clothes, but not my soul! How silly is that! 

Before there can be honest, true worship, there must be honest, true hearts.

Max Lucado talks about preparing our hearts for worship through cleansing our hearts of sin as we prepare to come before our holy, sinless God, and it begins with confession:

"Confession does for the soul what preparing the land does for the field.

Before the farmer sows the seed he works the acreage, removing the rocks and pulling the stumps. He knows that seed grows better if the land is prepared.

Confession is the act of inviting God to walk the acreage of our hearts. 'There is a rock of greed over here, Father, and I can't budge it. And that tree of guilt near the fence - its roots are long and deep. And may I show You some dry soil, too crusty for seed?'

God's seed grows better if the soil of the heart is cleansed.

Confession invites the Father to work the soil of the soul, digging and pulling, preparing the heart to produce fruit."

                          So now we can get ready for church!

Re-Quotable Quotes for Today

 "God only wants for us what we would want for ourselves, if we were smart enough to want it." - Adrian Rogers

"If I were ever prosecuted for my religion, I truly hope there would be enough evidence to convict me!"-- John Wooden

  "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:34). Max Lucado says about this verse: "The key is this: meet today's problems with today's strength. Don't start tackling tomorrow's problems until tomorrow. You don't have tomorrow's strength yet. You simply have enough for today!"

  "Have we reached the ultimate stage of absurdity where some people are held responsible for things that happened before they were born, while others are not responsible for what they themselves are doing today?"  -- Thomas Sowell

The Scientist and the Theologian

Where did the scientist find the theologian? 

What's the end of the story?

Robert Jastrow's nightmare:

Robert Jastrow was a famous and highly influential astronomer and physicist. He was the founder and director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. He was a self-described and proclaimed agnostic, and sometimes atheist. He died in 2008. But before he died he wrote this:

    "For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He had scaled the mountain of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the highest rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries."

Working For God or With God?

 

Here's what Max Lucado says about it --

   "It's a wonderful day indeed when we stop working for God and begin working with God.

For years I viewed God as a compassionate CEO and my role as a loyal sales representative. He had His office and I had my territory. I could contact Him as much as I wanted. He was always just a phone or fax away. He encouraged me and supported me. 

Then I read 2 Corinthians 6:1 -- We are 'God's fellow workers.'

Fellow workers? Co-laborers?  God and I working together?

Imagine the paradigm shift this truth creates. Rather than report to God, we work with God. Rather than checking in with Him and then leave, we check in with Him and then follow. 

We are always in the presence of God. We never leave church. There is never a non-sacred moment. 

His presence never diminishes. Our awareness of His presence may falter, but the reality of His presence never changes." 

   From Just Like Jesus, Chapter 5, by Max Lucado

Each day, not "What do I have on my schedule today?"

But, "God, what we are doing today?"

That's because we are working with God now, not for God!