ASCENDING THE IMPOSSIBLE – May 1

“Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God.’” John 3:3

I just returned from another business trip to Mount Rainer National Park. Unlike my last trip (Knowing Greatness without Sight), the skies were clear and I was able to behold clearly the mountain. I gazed upon the heights of the mountains with a yearning eye.

The clarity of the skies promised an unimpeded view to anyone at the pinnacle of such a mountain. I so wanted to see that view. Yet, I knew that neither I nor anyone else would behold the view on that day. The snow is still too deep and the trails too treacherous to ascend Mount Rainer. Therefore, the prize of the glorious view from its pinnacle was not beheld by any mortal man on that clear day.

There is another site that is even more unattainable than the wintry panorama of Mount Rainer’s peak. No man can ascend to God’s presence and behold the Kingdom of God. For this site, Jesus told us that we must be born again.

How does one ascend to a peak that has no trail?
How does one scale a summit whose base cannot be found?
How does the flesh accomplish that which is born of the Spirit?

It is impossible. It is impossible for man to find access or even to see the Kingdom of God from the pinnacle of any human accomplishment. No one can ascend to heaven.

No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. (John 4:13-15)

This is the glorious good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The ascent to heaven, access to the Kingdom of God, is now possible – not by any work of the flesh but by the work of the Spirit.

We can stand at the pinnacle of the mountain of God and see His Kingdom. We can enter into His rest and eternal life. It is an ascent that we cannot make but was accomplished for us. The prize of this summit is a gift given to all how believe in the Son of Man, Jesus Christ.

Praise be to God who has made the impossible possible. May we marvel at the miraculous heavenly things of God Almighty!

PRAYER: Father, thank you for making a way to your holy presence. Thank you for making the ascent to your Kingdom for us.  Thank you for the work the Spirit that I might be born of the Spirit.  Forgive me for my lack of marvel at the gift of eternal life that you have given me.  You are great and greatly to be praised.  I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen

“YOUR GOD REIGNS” – July 22

“How beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”  Isaiah 52:7

This world has an abundance of hurting and disillusioned people.

What words can be spoken to the defeated?
What direction can be given to the oppressed?
What encouragement can lift up the suffering?

There are words for those who are battling, the unhappy, the discouraged, the doubting – “Your God Reigns!”

Although this world may not be unfolding as we had hoped – Our God Reigns!

God is reigning over chronic pain.
God is reigning over the loss of a loved one.
God is reigning over addiction.
God is reigning over finances.
God is reigning over helplessness.
God is reigning over failure.
God is reigning over waiting.
God is reigning over unbelief.
God is reigning over uncertainty.

Although this world may appear chaotic, God reigns.

We have not been abandoned to cosmic forces.
We are not subjected to the merciless winds of fate.
We are not forced to drink the cup of meaninglessness.

The good news for those who have been adopted as children of God resides in the everlasting hope flowing from the reign of our God.  He reigns over all.  There is none like Him.  There is none equal to Him.  Nothing is too small for Him.  Nothing is too large.  Nothing is beyond His dominion.

English: White-Crowned Sparrow / (Zonotrichia leucophrys). Français : Bruant à couronne blanche (Zonotrichia leucophrys). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

He has not forgotten the falling of a sparrow – because He reigns!

We are of more value than many sparrows.  Nothing can force Him to abandon us –because He reigns.

We can have confidence that nothing is outside His control; nothing is a surprise; nothing is beyond His will.

“Your God reigns,” are sweet words to the redeemed.  Hopelessness has no home while God reigns.  The knowledge of God on His throne banishes all anxiety and worry.

There is no valley too deep or too long for the one who is loved by God.
Our God reigns over all – valleys and mountains.

May we live in the joy and happiness that our God reigns!

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for reigning over all!  Thank you for keeping an eye on me.  Thank you not abandoning me.  Thank you for valuing me more than a sparrow.  Forgive me for worrying while you are firmly on your throne.  Forgive me of the unbelief that I show when I am anxious of tomorrow.  Help me to walk in faith.  Remind me that you are on your throne.  Grant me the peace that only your reigning can give.  I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ.   Amen.

“COME TO THE GATES” – July 21

“Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called!  I am he; I am the first, and I am the last.  My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth together.”  Isaiah 48:12-13

Here stand the gates of the Kingdom of God. 

God is everything.

He is from the first to the last;
He is from the east to the west;
He is from the beginning to the end.

There is no place beyond His knowledge.
There is no place beyond His presence.

Every step that we take is because of His hand.
All that we lay our hands to has first been touched by Him.
All that we see is the result of His work.

The universe functions in obedience to His commands.

Star Trails Northern Hemisphere (Photo credit: Kiran Photographic)

What am I to say?

Woe is me!  For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. 

I am nothing; I have nothing; I can do nothing.
I am poor.

I have nothing that I have not been given.

All that I am;
All that I have;
All that I can do;

Comes from the Almighty.

It is here that we kneel at the throne of the Great I Am, in the blessings of the knowledge of our own poverty.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  (Matthew 6:3)

How many struggles have we wrestled through because we forget our condition?
How many worthless battles have we fought because we think that we are worthy or deserving?
How remedial our education has remained because we do not believe that our spirits really do exist in abject poverty.

Christ’s work within us flowers when we relinquish our false sense of entitlement and embrace the poverty of our condition.

Come back to the gates of the Kingdom. 

There is nothing too hard for Him.
There is nothing more desirable than His presence.
There is nothing more valuable than Him.
We have nothing to add; come and receive!

Come and behold the King of kings!

PRAYER: Lord, you are my everything.  I have nothing to add.  I have nothing that you have not blessed me with.  Forgive me for forgetting my condition.  Thank you for the poverty of my soul.  As I enjoy your blessing, remind me of my poverty.  May I never lose the gratitude of a blessed servant.  Give me eyes to behold you glory and greatness!  I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ.   Amen.

“AIN’T DUTCH, AIN’T MUCH” – July 18

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, …” Ephesians 2:19

NETHERLANDS HOLLAND (Photo credit: LachieB1)

I have never been around more Dutch people than in the Church of my youth.  It was generally know as the “Dutch Church” while there was actually only one family from the Netherlands.  The vast majority of the other members had been born and raised in the United States.  However, many could claim a Dutch ancestry but their motherland dead-ended in Minnesota.  They knew very little of the actual Netherlands much beyond windmills, tulips, and canals.

However, that did not prevent a very real ethnic identity within that Church.

Netherlands (Photo credit: Vicki Devine)

There was distinct passion and pride for all things Dutch.  Most members’ homes contained some knick-knack, trinket, or lawn ornament paying homage to Holland.  I remember one family friend who wore a baseball cap emblazoned with “If You Ain’t Dutch?, You Ain’t Much!”.   Many in this small community held that opinion and those outside felt its sting.

It was a bit ironic how fiercely loyal they could be to a heritage which was more American than Dutch.  Most had no idea of the providence in the Netherlands, from which their ancestors migrated; that there actually are providences; that there is no country called Holland; that the Kingdom of the Netherland extends to the Caribbean; that Rembrandt, Vermeer and Van Gogh were Dutch painters; that the war of the United States of Independence was significantly financed by the merchants of Holland.  They do not know anything of the politics, geography, or culture of their heritage but they sure were proud of it.

I don’t think that my experience was unique.  Every major city has ethnic neighborhoods.  There is little, Saigon, Pakistan, Italy, Moscow, Manila, and Poland, just to name a few.  There is Chinatown, Germantown, Koreatown, Japantown, and Frenchville.  All are areas with a very distinct ethnic identity; an identity for a place that is not the inhabitants’ current home.

I realize that there can be a lot of negatives associated with these communities.  However, there is one aspect that I like:

The zeal for a place that most in the community have never known.

The Apostle Paul writes that all who are in Christ are citizens of the Kingdom of God.  Now, there is a reason for some zeal.  The Kingdom of God is better than any kingdom of this earth; being a child of God is better than being a member of any nationality.  Fierce loyalty is an appropriate response of someone who has been adopted as a fellow heir with Christ.

I should be zealous for this place that I have never been.

The good news is that this place of my hope and zeal is not exclusive.  My heritage is Dutch.  My son and daughter are Korean.  They can never be Dutch.  I can never be Korean.  Yet, the origins of our pasts do not prevent us from being fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.  The community of God does not have barriers of discrimination or superiority.  God’s kingdom is open to all who will come to him regardless of race, gender, or nationality.

That should get us passionate about who we have become in Christ.

How can any of us “ho-hum” this place of our hope?

How can any follower of Christ prefer the world more than the place of our new citizenship?

We should be fired up about who we are in Christ!

While it is silly to think that if you ain’t Dutch, you ain’t much, it is true that if you ain’t got Christ, you ain’t got anything.  We should want others to be like us because it is better to have eternal life.

Our zeal for the Lord should fire us up to boldly proclaim our true citizenship and call the world to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

PRAYER: Lord, you have given me a heritage that is far better than anything this world has to offer.  Father, thank you for adopting me into your family.  Thank you for giving me an inheritance and a hope.  Thank you for saving me.  Lord, may my zeal for You be seen.  My hope in you be evident in all that I do.  Help me to boldly proclaim the free gift of citizenship that You are offering to all people.  May your name be praised and glorified.  I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ.   Amen.

Fun and Informative Video on the Netherlands:  Holland vs the Netherlands

IT IS JUST WEIRD – Feb. 13

“Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” John 18:36

It would be a little weird if I came over to your house and crawled into your bed to take a nap.

It would be a little weird if I came over and started to rearrange your furniture or repaint a few walls.

It would be a little weird if I put on some of your clothes, made myself a sandwich, and started to edit your family photos.

I do all that in my home. The reason it would be weird doing what is normal in my home in your home is because I don’t belong in your house.  It is not appropriate for me to treat another person’s belongings as my own.  There are laws that prevent me from doing that.  People take their personal possessions very serious.  They treat them like they’re personal.

Jesus never treated this world like it was His personal possession.  He was very clear that this world is not His kingdom.  If it had been His kingdom then He would have fought for it.  His servants did not fight for this world because this was not the world of Jesus’ possession.

This is a lesson that I have to continually re-learn.  I have a bad habit of fighting for this world.  I am perpetually making myself at home in this world like it is my personal possession and it is just weird.  It is never satisfying.

We have such a tendency to cling to the things of this world like they’re our entitlement.  We can become so passionate about this world’s stuff as if it is a matter of life or death.  We can become preoccupied with the thought that our happiness is connected to what this world has to offer.

It is an attitude that is just weird for an heir of a different kingdom.

Our kingdom is with Christ.  It is a kingdom that surpasses this world in ways that we cannot even imagine.  It doesn’t make sense for us to spend extensive amounts of time preoccupied with the things of this world.  It doesn’t make sense for us to live like this is all there is when we have a far better kingdom awaiting us. It doesn’t make any sense to fight for this world.

This world has nothing to offer to an heir of God’s kingdom.

We are merely ambassadors of our King in this world.  We are here to serve Him.  Let’s stop trying to make ourselves a home in this world; it is just weird.

PRAYER: Lord, forgive me for desiring the things of this world like this is all there is.  Forgive me for living like this is all that I am called to.  Forgive me for caring for this world more than I care about your kingdom.  Father, open my eyes to the reality of the kingdom that you have made me an heir to.  Father, please continue to cleanse me of all that binds me to the world.  You are so much better than anything this world has to offer.  I long for the day when I can be with you in your kingdom.     Amen