This Light Affliction

"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life."

Matthew 19:29

This is a remarkable verse, especially poignant for those who have left all to follow Jesus.  As true as it remains for the foreign missionary, it rings just a true for the man who never physically leaves his house or country.  When a person decides to follow Jesus, he must leave all.  Nothing in his life is to have precedence or influence above his LORD and Savior.  The allurements of riches, personal ambition or goals, pursuits of pleasure, and all which competes with loyalty and love for Christ must be put away.

We do not leave all to follow Christ for the purpose of receiving a reward.  If this is our motivation we can know for certain we are moved by selfishness rather than love.  By responding in the flesh we forfeit the hundredfold which the LORD desires to give.  Scripture affirms we will receive a reward, and we rejoice in the grace of God to provide abundantly beyond what we could ask or think.  But this is tempered by the realization we are undeserving of any reward or gift for our service.  Can man repay God?  All the works of a million lifetimes could not repay God for the gift of a single breath we draw.  Shall a man earn eternal life?  We cannot.  But man is offered this priceless gift at Christ's expense, who once for all died for the sins of the world.

I am coming to the conclusion that the leaving of family, house, and country is as hard on other people as it is for me, perhaps even harder.  I and my family have been called to serve God in Australia, a country foreign from our birth.  Yet parents and siblings on both sides of our family will stay behind, not sharing this specific call to be physically uprooted.  Though we labour in prayer on opposite sides of the globe, we labour together for God's glory.  Is their pain of separation any less pronounced than mine?  By God's grace they can share in the reward of suffering lack for the sake of the Gospel, being separated from children and grandchildren for Christ's name sake.  This hardness is shared by all.  2 Timothy 2:3-4 says, "You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. ⁴ No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier."  We are called and are able to endure hardship by the grace of God for His glory.  Instead of being broken under a weight of depression, our strength can be renewed like eagles when we wait upon the LORD.

Jesus is worth all the sacrifices we might be called to endure while we remain on this earth.  He does not grant us eternal life because of our sacrifice but because of His own!  To be partakers of Christ's heavenly nature is grace beyond measure, much less the gift of eternity in His presence!  These light afflictions last for a moment and are not to be compared with the glory of our Savior.  2 Corinthians 4:16-18 reads, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, ¹⁸ while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."  This eternal perspective is the proper one!

The End?

This week at Calvary Chapel El Cajon we finished the last chapter in the Bible, Revelation 22.  I compared the bottom of the final page of scripture with my wife's Bible.  Though hers was blank, mine read "THE END."  I like that.  There is nothing to add to the Word of God.  There will be no divine inspiration that is to be written down and added to the text of my Bible.  It is not an ever-expanding volume conditional on the passing whims of men.

But does the final chapter of my Bible mark the last of God's word to mankind?  Certainly not!  God still speaks to us with His still, small voice.  Jesus makes this clear in John 16:12-14: ^"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you."  After Jesus ascended to the Father, the Holy Spirit was sent to anoint, fill, and overflow believers for the glory of God.  Whatever He hears, He speaks.  No man can declare something without speaking.  Announcements do not occur in the dark, but are intended to bring facts to light.

Jesus says in Revelation 1:8:  "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."  This makes me like "THE END" of my Bible even more!  Jesus is LORD, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.  Because the lives of Christians are redeemed through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our lives will never end.  Though our bodies will likely wither, die, and rot in the ground, our souls will dwell forever in His presence clothed in new incorruptible bodies.  John 11:25-26 reads, "Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. ²⁶ And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"  If we are willing to repent and believe, we may freely receive of His life.  Our lives will never draw to an end though our bodies depart this earth in death.

People all over the world experience a lifestyle devoid of life.  They remain unsatisfied, disillusioned, empty, and thirsty for meaning.  This life can only be found through Jesus Christ as it is written in John 14:6, "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."  Once Christ revealed Himself to me through His Word and the power of the Holy Spirit, my search for life found the End.  Jesus Christ IS the End, the purpose for this life.  It is in Him we live, breathe, and have our being.  It is He who has created us, saved, sanctified, preserves our souls, and will someday glorify us.  I thank God for His Word and for Jesus who is the Word who became flesh.  Our lives are complete in Him! 

Gimme the Original!

I recently watched the "new" Robin Hood movie directed by Ridley Scott starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett.  Though it started with promise, in my opinion it ended in complete disarray.  For those of you who have not yet watched the film and hope to, you might want to skip the next couple paragraphs because I will no doubt spoil it for you.  For others I am only saving you the trouble of having high hopes dashed!  Robin Hood is a well-known character in English folklore who "robbed from the rich and gave to the poor."  This movie was a departure from that character.  It seemed like Scott didn't know whether to have Russell Crowe return to his role in Gladiator or impersonate Mel Gibson in Braveheart.  But what really bothered me was how Maid Marion was depicted in the latter part of the film.  It seemed she was directed to channel Éowyn from Lord of the Rings swinging a sword and riding into battle accompanied by chain-mail clad Friar Tuck!  And there was the new King John flamboyantly riding away from his egocentric character into battle...an absolute disaster.

The film may have been well-shot in beautiful locations with world-class actors and actresses.  But it was a movie about Robin Hood that bore little or no resemblance to Robin Hood!  The movie was a departure from the original characters I have enjoyed since my childhood.  The comedy "Robin Hood Men in Tights" is more true to the fabled folklore than the Ridley Scott version!  I understand it can be hard to do something which has already been done, perhaps even overdone.  When musicians "cover" a song, they like to make it their own.  But when a song departs so far from the original it becomes plagiarism rather than a cover!  If I watch a movie about Robin Hood, I want it to be about the Robin Hood the world has enjoyed plays, books, and movies about since the middle ages.  The "new" Robin Hood is a handsome impostor.  Big names, famous people, and 200 million dollars couldn't hide the flaws.  Of course, this is my opinion.  My convictions will not allow me to see it differently.

Unfortunately, this kind of departure from the original is nothing new.  This has happened with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  When it comes to the Gospel, I only want the original!  Sometimes pastors feel like they have to put their own "spin" on God's Word to liven it up a little.  Man can't come up with anything that can add anything of value to the Gospel.  God is holy, man is wicked.  Man deserves death for his rebellion from God, and because God loves mankind He sent His Son Jesus Christ to be the Savior of the World.  John 3:16 reads, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  If man will repent and trust in Jesus Christ, he can be born again by the Holy Spirit and regain fellowship with God for eternity.  This is not man's idea - this is the creation of God.  He has offered to meet a need we did not know we had.

We can have different opinions about movies, music, or the Gospel.  But the big difference is movies are fabricated and the Gospel is fundamental truth.  The legend of Robin Hood has morphed and changed over time.  There is a big difference between Kevin Costner's Robin Hood and the Disney animated version!  But when it comes to the Gospel, there is no room for the opinions of men to alter it.  These are aspects I love about God:  He does not change, and His Word endures forever.  Refuse to accept a "modern adaptation" of the Gospel, for this is no gospel at all!  Go to the Word, o seeker!  Repent, trust in Jesus and be saved!

The latest...

After price watching for seemingly weeks on end, I have purchased tickets with United Airlines to fly to Sydney, Australia. We will drive up to Carlsbad, fly up to Los Angeles, and begin the non-stop trip into Sydney.  Sitting on a plane for 14 hours is not great, but it certainly beats a four week voyage through the Pacific!  I plan to return on December 14th, and I will remain in San Diego for the Christmas holiday.  Then we'll pack up the family and make the big leap together, trusting God will provide our necessities concerning the religious workers visa and everything else.

Laura went to a Pastor's Wives Retreat this week and God has continued to lead her in the direction of homeschooling the boys, at least at the start.  This will not only save some money but will also ease the culture-shock of transition.  My schedule will likely provide opportunities for me to assist as well.  Again, we find ourselves in the familiar position of knowing one more detail of the many which remain unknown.  We rejoice in the fact that we know the God who has called us, will provide, guide, and enable us to fulfill His will.  Isaiah 54:17 reminds us, "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me," says the Lord."  God is good, and His mercy endures to all generations!