Tag Archives: Bible study

Heaven Pt. 158:So Very High

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The Heaven posts are a devotional word study through the Bible using every reference to the word “Heaven”.

The Way By the Cliffs of Moher

The Way By the Cliffs of Moher

“he does not treat us as our sins deserve
    or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love for those who fear him;”

Psm. 103:10,11

Sometimes in my place of prayer I become overwhelmed with a sense of my own sinfulness. I feel like Isaiah standing in the Temple of the Lord,  who said “ “Woe to me!…I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” Isaiah 6:5

Does that ever happen to you?

At such moments I could easily be swallowed alive by the feelings of guilt if it were not for a truth buried even more deeply within me. That truth is Jesus loves me! Jesus forgives me! Though my sins were as scarlet He has made them white as snow! AND If Jesus has forgiven me who am I not to forgive myself?

The truth is His love is higher than the Heavens. How high is that? Well I guess it depends on which Heavens we are talking about?

Is it higher than the first Heaven the Heaven which the birds fly in? Well then that is about a mile high. That’s pretty high but I think God’s love is bigger than a mile.

Then is it higher than the second Heaven. the Heaven where the planets and stars dwell? Well that is much higher. We are talking light years not miles. And who knows where the end of the universe is? Well no one on this planet, but still our universe is measurable. I think God’s love for me is even bigger than that.

It is higher than the third Heaven, a place beyond the boundaries of time and space, framed in eternity a thing itself unaffected by time. The distance to it cannot be measured by any of our human standards. That is the love God has for me, immeasurable by my standards and yet it is even higher than that!

Let’s suffice it to say God’s love is so big and vast and immeasurable I cannot lose it. If I don’t want God’s love I purposely have to throw it away because there is no other way to get rid of it. Now there’s a guilt killer if ever there was one!

A Photo A Week Challenge: White

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Nancy’s challenge to us this week is all about the word: WHITE

http://nadiamerrillphotography.wordpress.com/2014/12/03/a-photo-a-week-challenge-white/

As soon as I saw the word my mind went immediately to….. SNOW

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But honestly snow is not all bad. Isaiah the prophet speaking for God said,

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” Isaiah 1:18

The Wrapper

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As I was meditating in this mornings group prayer session the Lord keyed me in to the beauty of a particular song playing in the backgorund.

His voice echoed in my ear, “I wrap myself in beauty like you wrap yourself in clothing. Just remember my wrapping is only an outward expression of a deeper reality. The surface beauty you can perceive overlays a deeper beauty that you cannot.”

The Scripture came to mind, “Eye has not seen and ear has not heard the wonderful things God has prepared for those who love Him.” Corinthians

He may wrap Himself in beauty but He is more than that. He is beauty incarnate.

He may wrap Himself in light but He is more than that. “God is light and in Him is no shadow of turning!” I John

 

 

 

Pastor Wrinkles: Laboring To Rest Pt. 3

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Me reclining after walking up the "Rocky" stairs at the Philadelphia Art Museum.

Me reclining after walking up the “Rocky” stairs at the Philadelphia Art Museum.

We have been discussing the paradoxes of Scripture in church these last several weeks. Yesterday I got to speak on the paradox of “laboring to rest” which we find in Hebrews 4:11. This post is the conclusion of the matter. So f you missed the first two section s they can be found at the links below:

https://josephelonlillie.com/2014/11/30/pastor-wrinkles-laboring-to-rest-pt-1/

https://josephelonlillie.com/2014/12/01/pastor-wrinkles-laboring-to-rest-pt-2/

What we have learned to this point is that the work…the labor we are called to do as Christians is the work of having faith in a living loving God. We are called to do that in a world that is constantly trying to steal our faith and get us to believe only in our own strength.

The writer to the Hebrews in the verses leading up to our opening verse in Hebrews 4: 11 makes this clear when he writes,

“Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. 2 For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. 3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,” Hebrews 4:1-3

Our work our labor is to believe and have faith in God and to allow that faith to propel us through life rather than our own strength.

Some people scoff at this way of living saying it makes God a crutch. They would say that God helps those who help themselves. But the truth is that we are a people who need a crutch.The world, and even our own inner monologues often tells us that we have to save ourselves, that we cannot rely on God so we have to trust in ourselves, our own strength. The problem is that every time we follow this line of advice we end up in trouble. Some people have gone so far as to make even going to Heaven a work that man can accomplish in his own strength. Others following that advice of working their way to Heaven have worked their way right out of trusting Christ and into Hell. I had one man tell me that if in fact he could not get to Heaven on his own merits he was not going to rely upon someone else’s sacrifice to get him into the pearly gates. That man died and for all his labor he ended up with an eternity of torment.

When the Bible tells us to labor to enter into rest it is not talking about a list of do’s and don’ts but about laboring to build faith in the work of Christ in our lives and this is indeed a labor for the whole world is set against it:

The world tells us to work to get ahead. Christ says trust me and obey me and I will give you the life I intend for you to have.

The world says work hard and pay your own way. The Lord says trust me, pray and do the things I tell you to do and I will supply all your needs.

The world says do good works and God might be impressed enough to let you into Heaven. Jesus says come unto me and trust my work on the cross to save you and then you can rest from your labors.

In the end we have a choice about how to labor. Laboring in our own strength leads us to exhaustion and ultimately failure. Laboring to trust God and His way for our lives leads to rest and peace and ultimately success. It seems like a no-brainer to me but which will you choose?

Pastor Wrinkles: Laboring To Rest Pt. 2

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This post is part two in our sermon from Sunday 11-30-14. If you missed part 1 you can find it here:

http://wp.me/p39vIx-1mB

Our leading Scripture is found in Hebrews 4:11

“ Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest lest any man lest any man fall after the  same example of unbelief.”

 

So what does laboring to rest mean?

Does it mean that if we work hard eventually we will get to rest in Heaven as a reward for our labors?

Some say that Christianity is a religion of “do’s” and “don’ts”, that if we are ever to make it to Heaven we have to work very hard for it.

They might say something like,”Be good.Be saintly and God might just find you good enough to let you enter Heaven.”

Many people  labor under the false idea that God  is up in Heaven with a calculator right now tabulating good works versus bad works. When asked if they expect to go to Heaven their answer is that they hope that they are basically good people and that God will find their good works to outweigh their bad works and so He will let them into Heaven; But this is not biblical and it is certainly not what Jesus or the writer to the Hebrews meant when they suggested that we labor to enter into rest.

Paul the apostle Paul questioned

 “What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage?”

And he was right when he concluded

” Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. 10 As it is written:

 “There is no one righteous, not even one;

11     there is no one who understands;

    there is no one who seeks God.

12 All have turned away,

    they have together become worthless;

there is no one who does good,

    not even one.” Romans 3: 9-12

Later he wrote:

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Eph. 2:8-10

The work and the labor spoken of do not speak of our own works or of Heaven.

Good works can never earn us entrance into Heaven. Our works will never be good enough to earn us a place in Heaven. Our place in Heaven is only guaranteed by our faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus , himself,said “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

So we see that what God requires of us in order to get into Heaven is not a list of good works but a daily living faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul the apostle wrote in Romans 10 that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame. 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

And again in the book of Ephesians chapter 2 He tells us it is by grace you are saved through faith.

Have you realized what we are to labor at yet? Tune in tomorrow!

Pastor Wrinkles: Laboring To Rest Pt. 1

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Me reclining after walking up the "Rocky" stairs at the Philadelphia Art Museum.

Me reclining after walking up the “Rocky” stairs at the Philadelphia Art Museum.

Today in our church we continued our study through the paradoxes of Scripture. As our  Lead Pastor, Barry Risto,  has shared many times over the past few weeks:

a paradox is simply- Something that is made up of two opposite things that seems impossible but that is actually true or possible.

Here are some examples of paradoxes.

 

“You are never too old to become younger!”

― Mae West

 

“The Universe is very, very big.

It also loves a paradox. For example, it has some extremely strict rules.

Rule number one: Nothing lasts forever.

Not you or your family or your house or your planet or the sun. It is an absolute rule. Therefore when someone says that their love will never die, it means that their love is not real, for everything that is real dies.

Rule number two: Everything lasts forever.” Craig Ferguson

Today’s Scriptural paradox  says, “If we are ever to find rest then we must labor for it.”

This is found in Scripture verses like Hebrews 4:11

“ Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest lest any man fall after the  same example of unbelief.”

And Ma 11:28-30

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

 

So how do we find ourselves laboring to rest? How is it possible to work hard and rest at the same time? How can we labor to enter rest? How can we take on a yoke (a burden a chore) and find rest?

Let’s start by talking about some of the myths about Christian labor and rest. Let’s talk about what it does not mean.

  1. Laboring to rest does not mean that Christians never get weary. Some people say if you labor for God perfectly and in the things that God wants you to really do, then you will never get tired. Some say that any sign of weariness means you are not listening to what God is really telling you to do because if you were you would have enough energy.
  2. and not be tired.

But even Paul the apostle said he had served the church…

“In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.” 2 Cor. 11:27

We will get weary.

Isaiah 40 says, “Even princes get weary… but they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.”

Weariness is to be considered a normal part of this life.

  1. Neither does laboring to rest mean we should never rest. Some people say that the Christian life is all about exhausting every bit of energy you have and never resting.  I have heard Christians say “I’ll rest when I’m dead. There are souls to save.”

But we are not the savior and the same Lord that told us to go out into the harvest field said “The Sabbath the day of rest was made for man.”

What are some myths you have discovered about labor and rest in the Christian life?

Open Books

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In our denomination a normal church service will consist of: lots of prayers, at least a half hour of singing, a sermon, an altar call where people can approach for personal prayer and sometimes a spontaneous sharing from a member of the congregation called a word of prophecy.

The college plays host to The Book Of Kells, the world's most famous illuminated manuscripts.

This week one of our elders gave “a word” about how God was making our lives to be open books for the world to read. I got to thinking about what that means for us. Now, while I am sure I don’t have the full understanding of what it means to be an open book several things do come to mind.

First, all books whether open or closed, have authors. Books don’t write themselves. I know this because I have had occasion to leave empty notebooks on shelves for months  hoping that somehow they would spontaneously generate completed stories given enough time. Each time the results have been the same. Nothin’!

If we are to be proper stories we have to let the Author of Life write His words on our hearts. Otherwise all our life’s work will amount to nothing.

Second, books are written with a purpose in mind. The open book that you are has three eternal purposes: First to make famous the name of the God of Heaven; Second to strengthen the faith of those who have faith; Third to be a testimony to those who do not believe, that God is real!

Finally books, at least really good books, are filled with tension, conflict, successes and failures. This is an important point because so often we think that if the story of our lives is less than perfect, we are nothing more than damaged goods unable to be used by God. Listen! The chapter of your life which God is writing right now may be filled with sadness, madness or badness, but your life is more than a chapter; It’s a book and no one reads a book for chapter 10. They read a book to get to the end, to know the whole story. So don’t make too much of the chapter you are in right now whether it’s good or bad. Your life is a story God is still writing. You are a character in process. You are meant to be an open book whose Author intends to change the world. He will use you to do just that if only you surrender to Him and let Him keep writing.

Heaven Pt. 157: A Cry For the Persecuted

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The “Heaven Posts” were originated as a word study through the Bible. The thought is  to bring a devotional thought from every section of the Bible that mentions the word “Heaven”.

100_5388

Here is today’s

Let this be written for a future generation,
    that a people not yet created may praise the Lord:
19 “The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high,
    from heaven he viewed the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners
    and release those condemned to death.”
21 So the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion
    and his praise in Jerusalem
22 when the peoples and the kingdoms
    assemble to worship the Lord. Psm 102: 18-22 NIV

Many will deny it today but the truth is that the world at large is at war with Christianity. Here in the West we can easily hide from the fact that most of the Christian church across the planet faces hardship on levels that we would consider harsh persecution, but western denial does not change the fact that the gospel is now and has always been a message under siege.

Jesus said it would be so and truthfully none of the biblical writers ever had opportunity to consider an unpersecuted faith. The biblical text is proof positive that faith in the One True God has always attracted enemies. So what is the church to do in the face of persecution?

We are to pray and not give up! Where we can we are to comfort the hurting…And we are to continue to spread the Good news NO MATTER WHAT!

God will not forget us. Let us not forget Him!

Soaking In the Presence

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I am enjoying the slowing down thing a lot. In  the last two days I have rested, caught up on some TV shows, started to fix  some broken shingles on the house and I have washed my dogs (much to their chagrin).

My dogs really don’t like baths. It got me thinking of all those times I have been in services where the Holy Spirit of God has moved profoundly. In my circles we call that “soaking in the presence of God”.

Some people really seem to love it and others…well let’s just say they take to the Presence about as well as my pups take to water. I can’t help wondering if it’s  not for the same reason. Some folks consider the moving of the Presence of God just another opportunity to swim in the current of miracles. Others know only too well that when God puts in a powerful appearance at church they are about to be doused with the shampoo of conviction and confronted with the Scissors of the Holy Spirit to cut out some of the sin mats they have been carrying around.

Bath time is not fun for my dogs. It’s also not much fun for me. I usually come away covered in dog fur, soaked to the skin and needing to clean and mop the bathroom. I wonder sometimes if God doesn’t feel the same way in dealing with us. Do you think there might be times when God sighs and says to Himself before our church services, “Well this is not going to be pleasant.”?

Still He moves knowing in advance that what must be done must be done, just like I know that no matter what, my dogs must be washed.

It seems a silly analogy but I just wonder how much faster bath time with my dogs would go if there wasn’t as much splashing and jumping out of the tub and I wonder…well I guess you can imagine what I am wondering about us humans and church and such.

They are dogs. We are humans. I suppose there ought to be a difference in how we take a good soaking.