Promises and Prophecies

Yesterday the weather prediction was for an 80% chance of rain. While my husband and I were out early running errands we got some misty sprinkles, and that was it for the day. NOAA recorded 0.08 inches of rain for the day. Somebody’s prediction was wrong. Predictions often fall short – prognostication is not an exact science. Ask Punxsutawney Phil.
That is why I am so thankful that the Bible is a book of promises and prophecies, not predictions. Whatever the Lord says will happen just as He declared. That is because He is operating from a position of sovereignty and providence. Those are words we don’t use much in our contemporary religion, but they are powerful and carry a rich and significant meaning. The word “sovereign” speaks to God’s rightful authority over every created thing – which covers everything that exists. Likewise, the word “providence” is speaking to God’s charge over everything He has made. I take great comfort in that.
We can see God’s supernatural hand in all through Scripture. The Lord promised Israel a land of their own and He gave them the Promised Land in Canaan – which is still their God-given territory no matter what men say. He prophesied exile in Babylon for Israel – and restoration after seventy years. Every word came to fulfillment. And He promised that, despite enemies, imprisonment, a shipwreck, and a snakebite, Paul would preach in Rome. Luke reported, “And so we came to Rome” (Acts 28:14). God does everything He declares.
When I come to passages that prophesy Christ’s return, I have one eye always looking to the east, anticipating His appearance (Matt 24:27). One day He will break open the sky and it will roll back like a scroll (Rev. 6:14). He will set His feet on the Mount of Olives and it will be split in two “from east to west, forming a great valley” (Zec 14:4). “The Lord will be King over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and His name the only name.” (v. 9).
Jesus said, “Behold, I am coming soon” (Rev 22:7). If you do not know Jesus as your Savior and Lord, that is a frightening prophecy, but if you are in Christ, His return is an exciting promise. Beloved, you can take Him at His Word; He is on His way. Will you join me in declaring, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20).

Heaven

This morning, I was listening to a song about heaven – “No More Night” by the incredible David Phelps, and the Lord pricked my spirit and said, “Tell them what is to come.”
In heaven there is no more night and no more pain and no more sadness, grief, or shame (Rev. 21:4). There is no fear or anxiety. There is no cancer or heart disease or paralysis or diabetes. In heaven there is no abuse or war or anger or evil of any kind (v. 8, 27).
My knees will not hurt anymore and I won’t need glasses.
My husband will be able to breathe freely.
Joy will have two perfect hands.
In heaven no one will struggle with mental issues.
You will never be depressed.
Your child will no longer battle addiction.
There is always plenty to eat and no food is off-limits in heaven.
You will never be lonely.
You will never fall in heaven – except to your knees in worship.
You will never face temptation and you will not have the urge to sin.
No one will hurt you or criticize you.
You will live in a place prepared especially for you by the Master Carpenter (John 14:2). And no bank will ever foreclose on it.
My mom and Dad and big brother will greet me and we will never be separated again. Mom and I will explore the most amazing flower gardens.
Your child who left way too soon will be there.
We will be reunited with dear friends.
I will finally meet Dorcas, whose name I share, and Ezra who inspired me to ministry, and Deborah who is just the coolest lady in the Bible.
Oh, and Jesus will be there. JESUS WILL BE THERE! I will see Him face-to-face. I will run into His arms and thank Him a thousand times for saving a wretch like me. And I will know that I am home forever.
There is a throne in heaven and on it sits the Lord God Almighty, the Eternal One, the Creator of all things (Rev. 4:1-11). A sea of people will gather around that throne in worship “from every nation tribe, people, and language. And the angels will be there worshipping (Rev. 7:9-10). And so will we.
It will be a place of extraordinary, unfathomable beauty. All things will be new – including heaven and earth (Rev. 21:1). And me and you. Beloved, hold fast to Jesus in this journey of life; the best is yet to be.
And so we say, “Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20).

Heaven

It was so foggy one recent morning, I could only see a few feet in front of my car as I drove to work. Pea soup fog, the old folks called it. I drove with extra caution, especially at every intersection. It was very scary. I knew if I couldn’t see approaching cars, they couldn’t see me either. I made the turns as I remembered them. I couldn’t even see the campus until I was almost upon it. If I hadn’t been there before I would question whether the school existed at all because the fog was so heavy it hid the buildings. I had no visual proof that it was there.
As the sun got brighter, the fog around my campus burned away and everything was clearly visible. I saw the buildings. I saw students walking into their classrooms. I saw cars in the parking lots. I saw the lake down the hill with ducks splashing away. And I saw the chapel, that place where worship and the Word meet to encourage and challenge the BUF family. It was there all along; it had just been hidden.
God has called us to a place we cannot yet see. A place we’ve heard about, but never witnessed with our own eyes. A place that seems like a far-off dream. The fog of this world has hidden heaven from us and we wonder sometimes, as we travel through this wicked realm, if it’s really there at all.
Let me assure you – it is. Heaven is more real than this earth that will one day pass away and cease to be. Jesus promised, “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me” (Jn 14:2-3).
The Son of God is coming again, and when He appears in all His majesty and glory, He will burn away the fog of sin and death and we will behold our heavenly destination. We will see that everything the Lord said is true – has always been true – it was just hidden from our eyes.
Heaven is your forever dwelling place, Beloved. Don’t doubt God’s promise just because you can’t see it now. The fog will lift, the Son will shine, and you will be home.

On Earth as it is in Heaven

I’ve been in many worship services where “The Lord’s Prayer” is recited by the congregation. One part always makes me want to shout, “Wait! Do you understand what you’re saying? Is this really your heart’s desire?”
“Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Mtt 6:10).
Have you ever stopped to think about what that means and why Jesus included it in His model prayer?
I believe Jesus wanted us to recognize Him as King and His rule as sovereign. The king’s will is the law of the land he governs. God – Jesus – is Creator and King of the entire universe – He governs the heavens which includes the angels and the earth which includes human beings. In heaven, His will is the absolute priority of every celestial creature. When we repeat this prayer we are saying the same of ourselves, that His will is our absolute priority, that we have no other will except His.
The question of God’s will has been a constant theme for generations. We want to know God’s will for our lives, but this verse invites us to look for the bigger picture and how we fit into it. While God does have a will – a plan and purpose – for our individual lives, that will is encompassed by the greater will of God: to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under the sovereign authority of Christ (Eph

1:10). The ultimate purpose of all existence is the Lordship of Christ Jesus. God’s plan was firmly fixed from before time began. All of human history has been moving toward one result: the coronation of Jesus Christ as the King of kings with “authority, glory and sovereign power, everlasting dominion, and a kingdom that will never be destroyed” (Dan 7:13-14).
So when we pray “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, we are surrendering our will to the will of God and committing to being part of ushering in the Kingdom of God and Christ. Like the angels in heaven, we are swearing our total allegiance to the authority and rule of the only rightful Ruler of the universe. This is God’s will for your life. He created you to be part of His eternal kingdom. Beloved, as you consider the words of this prayer, ask yourself, “What would the world, my neighborhood, my home, church, and workplace look like if God’s will was done on earth as it is in heaven – in me?”

Advent 2023: Joy to the World!

“The Lord will be King over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and His name the only name” (Zech 14:9).
Joy to the world!
The Lord is come; Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heav’n and nature sing, and heav’n and nature sing,
And heav’n and heav’n and nature sing.
“Joy to the World” is one of our most beloved Christmas songs, but it isn’t about Christmas at all. Isaac Watts originally penned these words in anticipation of the return of Jesus. Notice that verse 1 above calls Him the King, if you read the full hymn, you will see that verse 2 celebrates His reign, verse 3 tells of the end of the curse, and verse 4 proclaims Him as the righteous Ruler of the world.
We love the Baby in the manger; He is the embodiment of God’s holy love for mankind. But we must let Jesus grow out of the swaddling clothes and into the crown of thorns to understand the full impact of Christmas on the world. We must envision Him on the cross with the weight of your sin and mine pressing down on the nails that held Him there. We must stand outside the tomb and watch the soldiers roll the stone in place. And we must see Him as the risen Lord standing in the Garden and look to the skies as He ascends back to heaven. Only then can we grasp the fullness of His coming.
And still, that is not the last the world will see of Jesus. Paul said “The Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God . . .” (1 Thes 4: 16). And Zechariah 14:4-9 describes the scene: “On that day, His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west” (v. 4).
The world missed His first advent, but there will be no missing His second. “Every eye will see Him” (Rev 1:7)! Christmas brings us Joy as we remember Jesus’ birth, but the greatest rejoicing will come when the King of Kings returns to earth to claim His people and His rightful rule over all creation.
Jesus promises, “Behold, I am coming soon!” (Revelation 22:7). And so we say with the Bride and the Spirit: “Amen. Come Lord Jesus!” (v.20).

At the Name of Jesus

The great philosopher John Lennon once remarked in the mid-sixties, that the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus.” Christians took great offense at his statement and the Beatles’ albums were burned and smashed to pieces. It was an inflammatory statement, but the truth is, Lennon was probably correct. In the sixty years since, he has been proved right with any celebrity, sports star, or politician you want to name. Even in the church, Jesus is not the most popular figure in the world, at least not the Jesus of the Bible. There are variations of Jesus – the political Jesus, the benevolent Jesus, the social justice Jesus (he seems to be the one most folks like), the anything-goes Jesus, and on and on. Just pick your Savior.

But are those the “real Jesus?”  The Jesus of the Bible is at the same time humble and holy. He is gentle and fierce. He is gracious and confrontational. He is tolerant and intolerant. He accepted women with bad reputations and chastened the religious leaders who were lauded for their (self)righteousness. He is unpredictable and yet He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8). He was wildly popular – until He wasn’t. The same crowd that greeted Him as Messiah on His way into Jerusalem, shouted for His crucifixion. Throughout human history far more have rejected Him than accepted Him. He may be worshiped in small bands but He is scorned in the public square. But one day . . .

The Bible says that Jesus will come again, splitting the sky and riding the clouds like a wave. And every eye will see Him. Every person will know exactly who He is because God has exalted Him to the highest place and given Him the name that is above every name. One day, that name will ring out -across the universe, and then “every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9-11). Every knee. Every tongue.

Yes, you will bow and you will confess. Will it be an act of delight that you have practiced often, or will it be one of shock and horror, when you realize Whom you rejected? The choice is yours – now, Beloved. Are you ready?

Jerusalem

God called a man named Abram to “Leave your country, your people, and your household and go to the land I will show you.” He promised to make Abram “a great nation . . . and a blessing to all the peoples on earth” (Gen 12: 1-3). Why Abram? Simply because he was God’s sovereign choice. Abram and his wife Sarai obeyed the Lord and set out for an unknown destination. God changed their names to Abraham and Sarah and promised them a child of their own. But after twenty-five years and no baby, she insisted that Abraham sleep with her servant Hagar who would bear a son for Sarah. This they did and they were pleased with the boy named Ishmael. Until.

Sarah miraculously conceived in their very old age – she 90 and he 100 and gave birth to Isaac, the promised child of the Lord. Abraham sent Hagar and Ismael away to protect Isaac’s inheritance. And this is the root of the unrest in the Middle East and the hatred for Israel. The nations that descended from Ishmael – the Arab and Muslim nations today – contend that as Abraham’s firstborn son, he – and thus they – are the rightful heirs to the land God gave his father, the territory of Palestine. But Isaac’s son, Jacob – renamed Israel – and his descendants are heirs to the land according to the Lord.

But the war on Israel goes even deeper than Isaac and Ishmael. It goes back to the Garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve sinned, God declared the destruction of satan through the “seed” of the woman: “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Gen 3:15). One of Eve’s sons – Seth – was the line through whom Abraham and the nation of Israel came. A Jewish baby – a descendant of Seth and Abraham and Isaac and Jacob/Israel was born. Jesus, who is also the Son of God is the seed of the woman from Genesis 3:15. Until his birth, satan used Israel’s enemies to try to obliterate the Jewish people and stop his destroyer from coming. (See Pharoah’s attempt to kill all the Jewish baby boys and the story of Esther.) But He came anyway. Satan thought he had won when Jesus died and was buried, but He came back to life. Prophecy declares that He will come back again and complete the destruction of satan which God proclaimed way back in the Garden. But the Jewish temple – which the Romans destroyed in 70 AD – must be rebuilt on its original site in Jerusalem before He returns (See Rev. 11). That site is the current location of the Islamic Dome of the Rock – the Muslim’s most holy temple.  

Satan is still trying to destroy the Jewish people – the nation of Israel – to prevent the rebuilding of the temple – and Christ’s return. That is why we must “Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6). It is about so much more than a strip of land in the Middle East. It is about the return of the Lord, the destruction of evil, and the ushering in of Christ’s eternal rule and reign. Don’t be afraid of what you see in the world, Beloved. God has not lost control. Not even for a second.

Eternity

Several years ago we lived in a run-down trailer in a dismal area. I drove past a very affluent neighborhood filled with fine houses and mini-mansions every day. By the time I got home, I was so depressed. Then I got to know a woman who lived in one of those grand homes – and was miserable. It blew me away. She had everything I wanted, and it wasn’t enough. She thought she should have more. I thought about her this morning as I read Ecclesiastes 2.Solomon had it all. The most powerful king in the ancient world, he had women – 700 wives and 300 hundred concubines. He built houses for himself, planted vineyards, made gardens and parks, owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem, amassed silver and gold, acquired slaves and singers – he said, “I denied myself nothing . . .” (2:4-19). He studied much to gain wisdom and was considered the wisest ruler in the land. (1:12-15). Yet for all he had and all he did, he surmised, “everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind” (2:10).Solomon’s mistake was that he chased after everything “under the sun” (2:11). That means he pursued the world and his own pleasures. There is nothing more meaningless than that. In fact, Solomon uses the phrase, “under the sun,” 27 times – always about some pointless, fruitless, useless activity of man.God has been driving home one main point for me for several years: it’s all about eternity. This life is a blink, a moment, a flash. Eternity is – well – eternal. It’s forever and ever and ever. It’s the only thing that counts. This “eternal mindset” blends well with yesterday’s devotional – that this life is not a drill. What you choose and what you do has eternal consequences. What does inconvenience mean if someone gains eternal life? What does persecution mean if God is glorified? What does it mean to struggle or be harassed in contrast to a place in heaven with Christ Jesus? What does a mansion, a Corvette, the latest high fashion, or the best vacations gain you in eternity? Not a thing. But faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God gains you everything.The world’s glitz and glitter are tempting but they cannot compare to the glory and beauty of God’s heaven. Invest your life in eternity, Beloved. “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last” (C.T. Studd).

Thy Will Be Done

How many times have you prayed the Lord’s Prayer and said “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”? Have you ever stopped to think about what that really means and why Jesus included it in His model prayer? You can be sure it is not there to give the prayer rhythm. It is there to remind us that the will of God is supreme. It must be our highest priority as His people.

The question of God’s will has been a constant theme in Christendom for thousands of years. We all want to know God’s will for our lives, we want to do what we were created to do. Isn’t that what Ephesians 2:10 says? “We are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” That’s not at all a bad thing, but Jesus’ prayer invites us to look for the bigger picture and how we fit into it. While God does have a will – a plan and purpose – for our individual lives, that will is encompassed by the greater will of God: to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under the sovereign authority of Christ (see Ephesians 1:10). This is the fulfillment of the times—the ultimate purpose of all existence is the Lordship of Christ Jesus. God’s plan was firmly fixed from before time began. Understand that God isn’t making decisions and altering events as they unfold. All of human history has been moving toward one result: the coronation of Jesus Christ as the King of kings with “authority, glory and sovereign power, everlasting dominion, and a kingdom that will never be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14).

So when we pray “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” we are surrendering our will to the will of God and committing to be part of ushering in the Kingdom of God and Christ. Like the angels in heaven, we are swearing our total allegiance to the authority and rule of the only rightful Ruler of the universe. This is God’s will for your life. He created you with so much more in mind than you can conceive. He created you to be part of His eternal kingdom. Beloved, as you consider the words of this prayer, ask yourself, “What would the world look like if God’s will were done on earth through me?”

Beauty From Ashes

Here’s your good word for the day: God brings beauty from ashes. He really does. Just consider the biblical account of human language. In the beginning of human history, men spoke in a unified language. In Genesis 11, in their ego and disobedience, they determined to build a tower “that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth” (v. 4). In response, the Lord confused their language so that they could not understand one another and He scattered them across the earth. Man’s pride brought division to humanity.

Acts 2 reports how the Holy Spirit filled the believers and they “began to speak in other tongues” (v. 4) – languages that were not native to them. Because it was Pentecost, an important religious holiday, Jerusalem was filled with multiple nationalities, and suddenly everyone could hear and understand the Gospel in their own language. “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own language . . . declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues” (vv. 7, 11). Three thousand people were saved that day!

In Revelation 7:9 John, in his heavenly vision saw “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language” standing before the Lamb.” The throne room of heaven rang with Christ’s praises – in every language – languages that came to be because God had to punish man’s rebellion and sin back in Genesis 11. Image the glorious sound – praise to Jesus, the Lamb of God in every tongue known to man. God has been working throughout human history for one purpose: the glory of His Son. Everything is leading up to this scene.

That’s awesome on the grand cosmic scale, but what does this mean as stare at the ashes of your life? The God who controls human history also controls your life. He uses every heartache, every grief, every sorrow, and every tear. He even uses our rebellion and sin and the sins committed against us to bring beauty and gladness and praise from ashes and mourning and despair (Is 61:3). Nothing is wasted in the hands of the One who holds it all. And just as a multi-language song of praise will fill the heavens, all things in your life will come together in a beautiful, multi-color picture of God’s glory and grace.  Beloved, be assured – He is faithful. You can trust Him with the ashes.