The Invisible Man

HYMN: "Open My Eyes, LORD, I want to see JESUS"

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:6-9

"In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls." (New American Standard Version)

Harry Potter wasn't the first to use a cloak of invisibility. Invisibility has been around for a long time in literature and in the movies. The book and movie "The Invisible Man" have been around for decades, as well as Wonder Woman in her invisible plane and others. And some of these fictional people found out that invisibility could be difficult when they wanted to be seen but suddenly couldn't.

There are a lot of people living invisible lives today, as well. We go about our business which no one notices and live lives of little impact on the world. Maybe we're waiting for an e-mail, a phone call, a letter, that never comes. Maybe our opinions are discounted while the opinions of others who have no corner on wisdom are sought out and validated.

If you haven't felt, or don't feel, the pain of being invisible you know someone who does. But perhaps you don't see those people yourself, oblivious to the needy, the poor, the disabled, the silent and invisible all around you.

But, whether invisible yourself or unable to see those who matter around you, I have good news for you today. You are seen by GOD. And He can open your eyes to see the invisible.

The truth of the Bible tells us of folks with what could be called invisibility, too. Zacchaeus, for example. In Luke 19:1-10 the very short Zacchaeus ran ahead of JESUS and the huge crowd that followed Him and climbed a tree to see Him well when JESUS came to Jericho. But I'll bet Zacchaeus also wasn't anxious to be seen by the crowd. We know he was considered a sinner and known for cheating and lying against people (Luke 19:7, 10). Being swept up in a sea of those who hate you would not be a safe place for a puny publican who might be "accidentally" hurt or killed in the undertow. So Zacchaeus was up in the tree, invisible to the crowd, but JESUS saw him. And JESUS sees you today. Though you might be invisible to everyone else, He looks you straight in the eyes as He did with Zacchaeus and calls you to relationship. He told Zacchaeus it was necessary, important, a "must" that they meet. And it's no less important for you to look into the eyes of JESUS every day through Scripture and prayer and to feel His eyes on your soul. It made all the difference to Zacchaeus, who stood up (one wonders if it was on a chair or a table!) to shout before everyone in the house what a difference JESUS had made in him.

Another person with unintentional invisibility in the Bible was Lazarus the beggar at the gate of the rich man (Luke 16:19-31). Lazarus was invisible to society and to the rich man whose food crumbs he longed to eat. The only ones who noticed him were dogs and that was only to lick his wounds, mercifully or hungrily. The man who got all the attention of the world was an unrepentant sinner and lands in hell, while Lazarus is brought by angels to what we would call paradise or heaven, the bosom of Abraham, not because he was poor, but because he kept his righteous faith in spite of it. So we know the attention or the so-called good things of the world are not signs of living the life that pleases GOD. Lazarus did nothing fancy, was noticed and sought out by no one, but angels knew his address and carried him to his true and eternal Home. And so it is for us. Though we may have nothing in this life that the world counts as important, though people pass us by every day as people passed to and fro through that rich man's gates ignoring the suffering Lazarus beside it, though we are for all intents and purposes invisible despite our begging to be seen and heard, GOD knows where we are. GOD sees. He understands. And there will be no trouble in His angels finding us when it's our turn, too, to go Home.

Finally, another Person with what we could call invisibility in the Bible is JESUS Himself. In fact, He may have literally made Himself invisible in Luke 4:30. Having spoken in the synagogue, He explained what His mission was on earth, to bring sight to the blind not just physically but spiritually. And not only to the Jewish people, but to all who would seek the eternal Life He offered. Although they had stared at Him with fascination when He said what they liked (verse 20), when He showed Himself to them as Savior of the World, the crowd in the synagogue became enraged. They couldn't see Him for Who He is. Instead, they tried to kill Him by pushing Him off of a cliff, but He suddenly passed through the crowd, perhaps physically invisible.

JESUS came to earth as the visible expression of invisible GOD (Colossians 1:16, 17). He is LORD of all creation, including the invisible and those who think they are, for He sees all. And He calls us, in our feelings of not counting, of not being seen or heard, to hear Him, to see Him, and get our validation from Him and the Life He offers us though no one of this world ever takes note of us.

Through His Presence through the Holy Spirit in every Believer (Colossians 1:27), JESUS stands invisible among us today even as He physically sits at the right hand of the Father in glory. In some sense, His nail-pierced feet stand unseen between you and every neighbor, every family member, every stranger. He sees you, hears you, knows you. He calls you to let others know you see Him and them in His Name.

A Long Road to "Ah Ha!"

HYMN: WE THREE KINGS

Main Scripture:

Matthew 2:1 1 "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem..."

Do you feel weary this morning? Are you tired of traveling, seeking out the blessing you know GOD has called you to, the fulness of Life you know is out there but has eluded you so far, no matter how hard you've chased after it? If so, I have good news for you today. It is a long road to "Ah Ha!" It is a long journey to the full glory of the promise. But GOD says that when it is a promise He has made, He will fulfill it and you wil have joy at the end of the journey after all.

These promises are all over the Bible:

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." (Galatians 6:9)

"Those who sow in sorrow will reap with joy" (Psalm 126:5)

"Weeping may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning." (Psalm 30:5)

And we could go on.

Most people know the story of the Three Kings, even if they don't read the BIble or attend church very often, if nothing else from the song "We Three Kings" that we just sang. Of course, those who fancy themselves more learned, or those who listen to a lot of radio or TV sermons, will take issue that there were not necessarily three kings, and that they weren't kings at all. But the main point is that these men came from far away. The statement that they came from the east infers that it was far to the east of Israel, a foreign nation. They didn't just step next door asking "What up?"

It was a struggle for these travelers to get to Jerusalem. In fact, if we read further...

Mattthew 2:16 "Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men."

I believe that the wise men had started out on their journey two years earlier. They were led as far as Jerusalem. Knowing it was the capital and where you'd expect to find a king, they came asking for him. Then, once Herod of all people sends them to Bethlehem, they suddenly see the star again. Now things move rapidly toward their goal.

This happens to us as well. We can struggle for years, searching for answers from GOD. Then, suddenly, the heavens open and we are given a clear path on the road He has for us. And sometimes it's from the most unlikely sources, like here where it's the person who hates Christ most who directs the wise men to Him.

If your road seems hard and bitter, check yourself. Have a "sit down" with GOD, in total sincerity, and check whether the road you are traveling is the road He wants you to travel. These obstacles you're facing may be GOD-given, like the angel blocking the way of Balaam who would have killed the wayward prophet had not the faithful donkey acted on his behalf. (Numbers 22:23) Check with others, with godly counselors, to see whether you are deceiving yourself. But once you know you are going GOD's way, let nothing stop you, just as these wise men did not let anything keep them from Christ.

These wise men also brought gifts to the new king. We could conjecture on what these gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh symbolized. But what matters is that they were given as an act of worship (Matthew 2:11). The wise men came seeking the King of the Jews but they found the King of Kings and LORD of LORDS, the Christ, the Savior of the World. And giving the gift of themselves, they were changed, and in the integrity of their heart they went another way rather than return to Herod. (Matthew 2:12)

Somehow they knew that this little boy would be the hope of the world, not just for one nation. This is the same hope that Simeon had when he met JESUS in the arms of Mary and Joseph in the temple the day JESUS was dedicated (Luke 2:25-35). Simeon was apparently an old, old man who should have died by all accounts long before, yet GOD promised that he would not die until he saw JESUS with his own eyes, and as long and hard as that road was, it eventually came to pass. Anna, too, (Luke 2:36-38) an elderly prophetess, had the honor of having her hope fulfilled.

If it is a promise of the Bible, it will be fulfilled, no matter how long it takes. Some of us won't see the fulfillment of our hopes and dreams until we step out of this life into eternity. With Job (Job 19:25) we must acknowledge here and now that we have a living Redeemer, but that we may not see the full effects of His promises until He returns. Yet He will return, of this we are certain, and we shall behold Him with our own eyes, in a new body, with joy.

So, whatever these gifts meant that these wise men brought with them, the greatest gift they brought, like Simeon, Anna and Job, was themselves. And that is what we are called to do. GOD promises that we will find Him if we seek Him with all our heart (Jeremiah 29:13). When we seek the Father, we will find Him, and when we find Him, we find JESUS, Who says that if we come to Him, He will never cast us out. (John 6:37)

It is a long road, a long, weary way to the "Ah Ha!" of having what we hoped for fulfilled. In fact, we're warned in the Bible against saying "Ah Ha!" too soon. (Psalm 35:21, Psalm 40:15, Psalm 70:3, Isaiah 44:16, Ezekiel 25:3, 26:2, 36:2). In every case, it was said by the enemies of GOD against Him. But when we trust Him at His word, JESUS will fulfill all of His promises. Someday soon, no matter how long or rough our journey has been, it will end. And we will be able to say "Ah ha! So this is Life everlasting!" in the presence of GOD.

The Weight of Glory

2 Corinthians 4:17
"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;"

It didn't look heavy on the internet. When I saw the nativity set, all one unit of the holy family (JESUS, Mary and Joseph...and no, I'm not saying that expression because I just hit my thumb with a hammer) together, I thought it was one of those light plastic hollow things you could put a light bulb in and put out on the lawn. But I was going to put it in front of my fireplace instead of decorating the living room with a Christmas tree. Using a nativity set or creche instead of a tree probably goes back to my Roman Catholic upbringing. Like cringing at the sight of rulers remembering when nuns from the order of "Our Sisters of Perpetual Pain" used them on our knuckles or whatever they could reach at the time...But I digress. Bottom line is, I should have understood that "resin" in the description of the statue didn't mean plastic...or lightweight.

So when I saw this huge box sitting on the ground in front of my garage as I pulled up after work and I began spewing ugly thoughts toward the lazy mailperson who didn't leave it on the porch instead, I should have known better. After three attempts (and much back pain) trying to get the box into the house I realized the best thing to do was unwrap it there in the garage. This left a box the size of a casket...nearly my own...as I huffed and puffed trying to get this rock a third of my own height into the house. I don't know if "bad touching" counts with statues, but I got to know Joseph a little better than either of us would probably like to admit struggling up the stairs with my fingers up his nose and around his waist.

I finally got it into place and gently lowered it onto my toes, catching myself before I cursed in front of the Virgin Mother. After thanking the LORD for not letting me have a heart attack in the process I took a moment to catch my breath and think.

That thing sure was heavy...but not as heavy, I bet, as being JESUS, having been Spirit for eternity past, waking up encased in heavy flesh. I thought of the clay we used as children molding it into little people perhaps as GOD fashioned Adam and Eve from the mud of the Garden and the horror it would be to be encased in clay and try to live in it when you'd never felt physical weight or pain before. And even more than that, to be the GOD of eternity, able to spin solar systems at will, having your arms held so tight at your sides with baby swaddling cloths that you couldn't move...to protect you from yourself and scratching our eyes out. And then the weight of the cross, years later, and all that put Him there... the heaviness of hatred, greed, lust, guilt...none of which He earned but all of which He took upon Himself for love of us and of the Father who wanted us Home with Himself.

Today's verse tells us that no matter how painful and heavy our trials here on earth seem to be as we struggle to live a life honoring to Christ, not because we have to, but out of love for Him for what He has done for us, our pains here can't compare to our joys in eternity with Him. Those thoughts, of His Glory and love so intense willing to do so much for us and of the greatness He offers us freely in the midst of the struggles He shared and for a pain-free forever, should weigh upon us so heavily that it's no wonder we drop to our knees in prayer.

Why Should we care about Christmas? (Or, God is coming...So what?)

Hymn: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Scripture: Isaiah 40:10 (also 62:11); Matthew 21:5

"Behold, the Lord GOD will come with might, With His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him And His recompense before Him."

Christians recognize this passage and others like it as a reference to the birth of Jesus Christ, Whom the Bible says (in John 1 and elsewhere) is God in the flesh (while remaining fully God). Christmas is the celebration of God coming to earth to live as a man and die for us. It also points to the time when the resurrected JESUS will come again.

But...

Why does Christmas matter? GOD is coming...So what?

Forget your canned theology

What are you looking forward to this Christmas? What do most others say they are looking forward to? Anywhere in the world, Christmas means three things:
Longing...A Deliverer...A gift

Whatever you answered as what you're looking forward to, this Christmas or in your ideal Christmas, they can be summed up with...

EMOTIONAL TIES...MEMORIES OF/WITH OTHERS...WHO GAVE YOU THOSE TIES OR WITH WHOM YOU HAVE THOSE TIES.

THE LONGING...

That is what we long for, emotional ties, security. Even as children, the warmth we remember was SECURITY, PEACE. You could relax with your toys because YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WHAT TO EAT, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN, ETC. YOU WERE PROTECTED AND CARED FOR. YOU WERE LOVED ENOUGH TO GET YOUR DESIRES MET...PROTECTION FROM FEAR...PROTECTION FROM LACK; SAFETY FROM DEATH AND HARM...COMFORT AND JOY.

That's what people are looking for today, Someone to give them peace, power, protection. Someone who says they matter, someone to keep them from death and harm.

THE DELIVERER...

Who can we turn to to give us these things?

Arguably, the most powerful person in the world is President Bush. Yet some, when given an opportunity to meet him, would be uninterested. Why? Because what they heard from the news media didn't impress them. They have little regard for the man, or the opinion of him they've derived from what they've heard. Meanwhile, others think of him as a hero. From what this second group heard about President Bush, he is a man of faith, honest, with integrity, and works hard to deliver those things we long for...peace, power, protection. What you expect of him, your desire to meet him or the lack of that desire, depends on what you believe about him and what you believe about him depends on what you've heard about him.

Even if you're an admirer of President Bush, compare how you would feel awaiting his visit to how you felt as a child awaiting the visit of Santa Claus. As much as you admire President Bush, I'd conjecture you felt a lot more excited about Santa Claus.

Now compare how you felt about the coming of Santa Claus with the soon return of Jesus Christ. Do you have the same excitement about the imminent return of JESUS as you did as a child for the arrival of Santa Claus? Why? Why not?

In the Scripture today we see that GOD Himself promises to be our Deliverer. JESUS is identified in Matthew 21:5 as this same LORD GOD who came to earth as a Man to deliver us, to rescue us.

You can bet Herod was excited about JESUS being born for all the wrong reasons. Because it represented a threat to the perception of peace and prosperity he thought he had as ruler. He believed more in Scripture than some of us do because he knew that the coming of the king meant changes.

If we are less excited about the return of JESUS than we were as children about Santa Claus maybe it's because we don't talk about JESUS as much, about His first arrival or his second coming, and the effects that will have. We have given Santa a lot of good press about delivering all good things, but we don't seem to talk about JESUS, the true Deliverer, from sin and to the joys of life, nearly as much.

The longing is for peace, relationship, love. The real Deliverer of all of that, which we hoped for in Santa, is actually fulfilled in JESUS. He brings the fulness we sought with every toy under the tree. He brings the warmth of heart we felt each time we sang a Christmas song. He delivers the ultimate connection that we sought in connections to each other and in families.

THE GIFT...

What's the greatest gift you ever received? The Bible says GOD is bringing Himself. That is what is so exciting about Christmas...

GOD Almighty created us for fellowship with Himself. He wants us back in that relationship. The Second Person of the Trinity, One GOD in three Persons, came to earth as JESUS CHRIST, fully GOD and fully Man to pay what we couldn't pay to bring us back to the Father, to bring us comfort and joy here and now, knowing our sufferings here are only for a moment, and eternal joy awaits better than any Christmas morning, a peace more profound, a joy more exhilerating, a companionship and relationship which those we cherish here only foreshadow.

The greatest Gift is GOD Himself, given to us in JESUS not only in Bethlehem as a Baby, not only here and now, but forever when He returns to take us Home with Himself. All other relationships, gifts, all other tidings of comfort and joy, are only the byproducts, the wrapping paper.

Everyone gets excited as children thinking of Santa coming because he brings what we long for and that reassurance that if we get what we long for we must be loved and can feel secure in that worth. JESUS is so much more. In fact, it was for love of JESUS that a man named Nicholas who we came to know as Santa Claus (Saint Nicholas) gave gifts to the poor and inspired the mythical Santa of today. He knew the joy of the greater gift, GOD Himself, wrapped in his heart and soon coming back with a reward for those who long for His appearing.

GOD is coming...JESUS will be here soon...He is bringing the fulfillment of more than you can imagine and your wildest childish hopes for comfort, companionship, and completeness, if only you will take Him at His word that He paid it all for you.
GOD is coming...REJOICE!

Dig Deeper

Scripture: Deut 33:26-27
Song: "What a Fellowship" (Leaning on the Everlasting Arms)

I don't know about you, but this has been a rough couple of weeks for me, with a lot of questions.

How can God, the God whom I love and whom I have served, the God that I thought I knew after so many years, the God whom I trust as my best friend, how can He allow a woman who gave herself in service to Him become pregnant with the joy of triplets and have not one of them live through birth? How can the God whom I trust with all of my heart and for all of eternity allow my friend to choose death over life?

I thought of Moses, who went through the same challenges to faith. And I came up with the same answer that I think he found. "Dig Deeper." Why? Because underneath any situation, underneath every appearance of hardship or difficulty, are the everlasting arms.

In Deuteronomy 33:26-27, Moses is addressing the people of Israel before he departs from them to go to the mountaintop and die. Moses is the leader who did not want to be a leader, leading a people who did not want him to be their leader, who don't want to be led anywhere, who are being led into a place they don't want to go. And because of their rebellion, the LORD is going to take Moses' life when their obnoxiousness finally overcomes Moses' patience, and he disobeys God's orders out of frustration with them.

Moses addresses the children of Israel as "Jeshurun", a pet name for Israel meaning "Upright and straight." If you've read your Bible you know that the people of Israel were anything but "upright and straight." They wandered into crooked ways for 40 years. That's why they had to wander through the desert all that time. And yet Moses addresses them as the way God envisions them, the way they are intended to be, just as the angel who finds Gideon in the book of Judges hiding in a winepress from his enemies as "you mighty warrior." Just as JESUS addressed the two young men who had to have their mother make requests for them as "Sons of Thunder." Moses, the angel, and JESUS called upon these people to dig deeper to whom they were in the power of God rather than on the surface. Underneath their appearance of rebellion, fear and shyness, the everlasting arms of God stood to empower them.

Above us every day is the LORD's majesty, but underneath are the everlasting arms. WHy underneath? Because there is a "fundamental" nature to the ground, "rock solid." Genesis 1:1, John 1:1-3, Acts 17:28

The pain of loss is because of the joy we knew from these things we lose, and it is God who gave us these joys to begin with. We wouldn't know them without Him. But we judge Him when He chooses to take them away. We focus so much on the gift that we forget the giver. We are disillusioned and disheartened, disappointed with life and with God because we have turned our focus onto the situation rather than God who is behind it all.

So when we get disappointed with God we need to dig deeper and realize that underneath the situation we can't understand are still the everlasting arms. We don't understand, and perhaps we never will, but we know that because God was before all and is beyond all, there is more to the issue into eternity than we can grasp here and now. Just as we can trust Him to handle eternity which we don't understand, we can trust Him to resolve those things that confuse us here and now and resolve them in eternity.

Does digging deeper save us? No. We know that salvation comes only from God, from the finished work of JESUS. His finished work, the salvation He offers for the believing, is that rock-solid foundation we can depend on.

I'm not much for secular illustrations, but there is one that I think will make my point here about the fundamentalness of the everlasting arms of God. It's in the movie "Ben Hur." The crucifixion of Christ is taking place, and his blood is running down the cross. A huge rainstorm is going on and the downpour is washing the Blood of JESUS into the ground, down rivulets which run through the countryside and into a cave where Ben Hur's mother and sister are hiding with leprosy. The water bearing the blood runs into the cave and the leprous women are healed. The Blood of JESUS is underneath any of the situations we face in life. No matter how horrible the circumstance, it stands on the blood of JESUS beneath it. Those everlasting arms are the arms of God Himself who came to earth as fully God and fully Man, nailed to cross for you and beneath any situation that you face.

Despite the death of children, despite the tragedies of life, GOD who is the author of life is still good. He is not good because of what He does for us. He is not good because of what He does not do to us. He is good because it is His fundamental nature to be good. Some folks say "God is good...all the time." But we must be careful not to make it a trite saying but to realize it is a powerful reality in the face of the caustic circumstances and caskets of death in the midst of life.

Whenever a soldier, a child, a friend is laid into the ground, underneath that casket are the everlasting arms of God. When your time comes, if the LORD does not return soon, and your body is laid into the ground, if you are a Believer in JESUS Christ for the eternal life He offers as God Himself, your body is not just being lowered into the earth, but into the eternal arms of the Father who loves you and suffered death Himself so that your death becomes simply a passage into His Presence.

(SIDE NOTE: This is a bit of conjecture, but as a high school student I studied Egyptian hieroglyphics and the Egyptian Book of the dead. In hieroglyphics. the arm extended meant offering, or giving. The arms in a pyramid shape meant "kah", the soul. The Egyptians buried their kings in pyramids of the same shape to preserve them into eternity. The Star of David is a star comprised of pyramid shapes in different directions, and the Kaballah, the mystical study of Judaism, portrays the Star of david as 3D, spreading in every imaginable way. The sense in each case is a depiction of all points being covered.

Now did Moses, raised as a prince of Egypt, learned in all of the ways of the Egyptians, use this phrase "everlasting arms" as some connection to this people who were leaving Egypt? Was he saying to them that behind their misunderstanding and false gods of Egypt there was a fundamental truth they were missing about the True God?)

In Matthew 15:46 JESUS talks about a pearl buried in a field being discovered by a man. Who buried the pearl? It's not on a shoreline where nature buried it under the waves and sand. Someone put it there. Although the passage discusses the kingdom, in second and third order effects, we can see that if we dig deeper under any problem, there are treasures awaiting discovery in the presence of God and in the Word of God which points to Him. There is a plan we might never otherwise discover without the trauma that had us dig deeper to find the underlying arms of God's support.

When God's word seems cold to you and doubts arise, dig deeper until you understand that God is a Person. Underneath all of creation, all perplexities, are the everlasting arms of God. He will hold you, He will catch you, He will sustain you. And "if you seek Him, you will find Him, if you seek Him with all your heart."

A Home in Glory

A HOME IN GLORY

Click here to listen to the song

I've got a home
A home in glory
That JESUS bought for me.

I've got a home
A home in glory
That JESUS bought for me.

In this world I have sickness and sorrow
but after tomorrow
He sets me free!

I've got a home
A home in glory
that JESUS bought for me
where I'll live eternally

I've got a home
A home in Glory
Where I'll live forevermore

I've got a home
A home in glory
Where I'll live forevermore

In this world I may be lonely
for a few decades only
but soon I'll soar

I've got a home
a home in glory
where I'll live forevermore
with the God whom I adore

I've got a home
A home in glory
where my joy will never end
I've got a home
A home in glory
where my joy will never end

In this world I have no one to love me
or who thinks much of me
but wait till then!

I've got a home
A home in glory
where my joy will never end
with my eternal Friend

I've got a home
a home in glory
that JESUS bought for me
I've got a home
A home in glory
that JESUS bought for me

In this world I have sickness and sorrow
but after tomorrow
He sets me free

I got a home
A home in glory
that JESUS bought for me
where I'll live eternally!

You can't tell by my singing it, but this song has meant a lot to me these last few weeks since I wrote it. I woke up singing it one morning and it hasn't left my heart or head yet.

I just heard about another friend getting married in a few days. Normally I'd be jealous that yet another couple has found what I've been begging GOD for these many years. And I'm still alone. But I can't bring myself to be jealous (at least not for long). Because, as the song says, no matter how lonely I am in this life, it won't last long. Nothing in terms of eternity. But JESUS tells me that as a Believer in Him, He has gone to prepare a place for me and for other Believers like me and will return to take us Home with Him. (John 14:2-3) So no matter how rough this life gets, I have a Home in Glory nothing in this life can take away or diminish.

Life is fleeting. And though the pain of not having what others have seems as if it will last forever, it won't. But my home in glory will. There is no tent in this world that can have more appeal than that.

And the same applies to you. No matter what your body does to you or doesn't do. No matter what others say or do or don't say or don't do. If you believe Christ for the eternal life He has died and risen to give you, if you trust Him for that Home He has prepared for you, you have a Home in Glory waiting for you when all the things you think you want in this life are dust and memories.

I can't have the lives that others have. But I can have what JESUS has given me, now and for eternity. And that is plenty.

Identity

I enjoy watching a new television show called "Identity." Contestants must match a group of persons with their individual identities (butcher, baker, etc.). While watching the other night, I wondered...What if JESUS were standing there? Would anyone recognize Him? Oh, I guess most people would go for the guy that looked the most like the Shroud of Turin stereotype. But then again, we do tend to try to make GOD out to be in our own image.

That's probably why the world is in such a mess. We each try to mold GOD into what we want Him to be (if we're homosexual, He must be "the GOD of Love" exclusively and not judgmental, so we don't feel guilty; if we are female and want power, He must be...wait, She must be, either female or neuter or at least not like this misogynist sounding Bible. As those feminists who fashioned "Sophia" are noted to have said "We don't need a bleeding male God", or something to that effect.) Or we imagine gods we can control or who won't cramp our style, like Buddha. Or we use our own guilt and shame to bludgeon ourselves with fearsome gods who are too high and holy to sacrifice for us but we must always strive to appease, like Allah or the millions of Hindu gods and goddesses.

But who would we not pick out on that stage? He would not be very attractive, that we would take note of Him; a man of sorrows, well acquainted with grief. And like one from whom humanity hides their eyes, He would be despised and rejected. (Isaiah 53:1-3). In other words, we would never pick JESUS out of the crowd.

The irony is that He offers us His identity. That is why He came to earth as a human being (as well as God), to identify Himself with us by accepting our frailties and faults as His own to overcome all their implications and results, and to identify us with Himself, His purity and blamelessness. He came to exchange identities with us, guiltlessness for guilt, "Shalom" (peace) for shame. And He says for nothing more than the belief that He has done all of this on our behalf by His sinless life, death and resurrection, we will some day beyond days "see Him as He is, for we shall be like Him" (1 John 3:2).

A Believer in JESUS CHRIST, a child of GOD...Is that your identity?