“some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” John 16:17

AHA!!!!! I finally got it! But what I got really isn’t what I really wanted!

For YEARS I have pondered a spiritual question that seemed to have no real solid answer. And by that I mean, an answer that ‘I’ was satisfied with! As so often happens, when I have one of these ongoing research questions, the answer seems to come when I am not immediately looking for it! Now that it is here, I don’t know what to DO about it! “Is God an ‘IMMEDIATE Gratification,’ or a ‘DELAYED Gratification’ kind of person?”

My personality is kind of simple. I want it all and I want it NOW! If I have to WAIT for it, I’m really not that interested…patience not being my strong suit! Stick-to-itivness, focus and perseverance are not naturally arrows in my quiver. I’ve long since traded them for a candy bar! Now that I have need for that arrow, I’m stuck here calling out for God’s help! It seems…He’s been waiting for me to catch up!!!!

I’ve known lots of folks who were savers. My brother was one. When we got our allowance as kids, he immediately put his in a piggy bank. I immediately ran to the candy store. He was usually right there with me… asking if he could borrow a nickel! Not that that was bad. After all, when it came down to it, he HAD money. I didn’t! It was no surprise he went into the area of banking and finance!

Maybe it’s the time change this year! At 65 I don’t recover as fast as I did at 18. I’m still playing catch-up! Maybe it’s that I have so much to do? The clock is ticking on the Easter Holy Week and taxes are due soon as well. I’ve put off the taxes until I have time! Which is exactly what I do EVERY year! This only proves that ‘I’ AM an ‘instant gratification’ guy. Who has just realized that…God is not!

As a believer in Christ, I am ALWAYS moving forward, TOWARDS something I do not yet have. A stronger or better life in Him, a spiritual treasure yet unopened, more fruit of the Spirit and ultimately…HEAVEN! All things coming ‘in a little while!’ Which means that I am, I guess, always supposed to be MOVING FORWARD! I guess! But how do I do that when I’m pretty worn out?

I’d LOVE to spend more time on this, but I have someplace to be and I’m outta time! 

 So….what do YOU think?

“The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst (within you). “

Driving my 265 horsepower truck yesterday, I had things to do and places to be! I came up on a vehicle doing 10 mph slower than the speed limit. Moving over into the passing lane, I came up on a Ford Mustang doing exactly the same thing! Once I passed the first car, I moved over into the middle lane to pass the second. But the angry Mustang would have none of it! It sped up, using it’s 310 horsepower, then slowed down to 15 MPH below when I got behind it! It kicked ME…so I murdered it by getting angry (Mt. 5:22)! Then I felt bad!

It ain’t easy being me! I don’t run around looking for trouble, but it seems to find me when there is no reason for it! Apparently…Mustang’s goal was to be FIRST no matter what! Possibly because it COULD! Me? I just wanted to get where I was going to do the job I needed to do. My anger subsided and was replaced with a smile when God reminded me that I was wearing a hat with a big Cross on it!!! I don’t know the HorsePower of ‘conviction,’ but I DO know…it FLIES!!!

When Jesus said today’s words, “The Kingdom of God is within you,” He was speaking to everyone. Pharisees and unbelievers included! The power of His Kingdom of Truth lies within ME. But it also lay within ‘Mustang’ as well. We BOTH had a choice to allow THAT Kingdom to rise, or to rebel against it. Having often rebelled against God’s kingdom in times past, I have learned that fighting Him is of no use! Because He ALWAYS wins in the end! Which leads to a question!!

Does God want, demand, desire and command that we put Him first because He CAN? Is God foolishly arrogant and just WANT to be ‘top horse?’ If so, then God is no better than Mustang in His demanding and requiring ANYTHING that puts Him first! Even if it is unreasonable and selfish! Or is God First because He is PERFECT…therefore unable to be surpassed? My smile and conviction was proof enough that the latter is true. Evil, unjust selfishness may be in front of me for now, but God’s Kingdom is a marathon…not a sprint!

Soon we will celebrate the ultimate challenge between an angry mustang and the Godly Human…Jesus Christ. Easter is when He voluntarily laid aside His rights and allowed Himself to suffer and die in the place of under-horses…like me! His Kingdom comes with an invitation, at His own request, to join Him on the journey to His perfection! His only requirement is that I give up my own kicking rights!

What’s inside of YOU making YOU run? 

“Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth?” Job 38:33

I’ve known where I was going to be, this last weekend, for over a year. It was back then that I was asked by my niece if I would marry her. Which really ISN’T strange, since I’m a preacher, and her request was to officiate her wedding to her fiancé. The wedding was in North Carolina, which makes me wonder if she really KNEW what she was asking?

When asked, I didn’t hesitate. I simply asked them if they wanted Jesus at their wedding! When they said, “yes,” everything just fell into place. Time, money and resources converged to make her 1 sentence request, and my 1 word answer, a reality. Thursday, ten of my family members packed up our rented vehicles and drove the 11 hours to make it to ‘The Wedding.’ It’s Monday…and for us, the wedding is over. But for them…it’s only just begun!

George Moore, a long dead Irish novelist, said that, “The difficulty in life is the Choice.” I love that line because ‘I’ have discovered it to be TRUE. As George discovered, THAT is the way things ARE! Years later, Christian Missionary, E. Stanley Jones said, “In this moral universe, we are free to choose, but NOT free to choose the results of our choosing – they are in hands other than ours.” A scary fact that ought to make every thoughtful person…cringe!

I realize man is NOT a creator. At best, we are puzzlers…taking pieces and parts of the universe and assembling them into…something. We are DISCOVERERS…capable of evaluation and decision…but not in control of consequence. Which is NOT a funny matter. God created the systems of sowing and reaping… of reason, choice and judgment! He even takes HIS loving time to WARN us in advance. It is often unheeded!

I love to write about fun, and funny, stuff. But after spending so much time and money these last 4 days, over an event that OFFICIALLY lasted less than 30 minutes, I am compelled to look at MY own life’s decisions and wonder, “what am ‘I’ going to reap after all my years of sowing?” This last weekend, after seeing my wife and family through the lens of other people’s ‘choices, and KNOWING what God has taught me these many years…I smiled! ‘Thank you God for EVERYTHING!’

What say YOU?

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.“ Jeremiah 29:13

My wife was passing a TV in a restaurant when she saw a notice that the International Space Station would be visible last night in Florida. Making note of the time, she set the alarm on her phone. Having seen the ISS SEVERAL times this last year, it was going to be a revisit with a wave and a goodbye. It happens that FAST. Or…it’s SUPPOSED to!

At precisely the right time, she fired up her phone and held it in the direction the cellphone compass had stated. As we looked to the southwest, her concern grew. I heard her say, “No Space Station? Where did it GO?” Her tone changed when she looked at another app. “OH NO…WE MISSED IT!” It had already descended below the horizon in the northeastern sky! We were looking…180 degrees in the WRONG DIRECTION!

Until tonight, I would have voted her “Space Station Groupie of the Year! Not now! Which led me to think about the Bible verse today and the Easter season approaching. What if God would have set a star in the sky for the ordeal of Christ’s Resurrection with the message…”HE’S OVER HERE!!!?” I wonder how many people would have bothered to go look? Well…actually, I don’t have to wonder at all!

The Old Testament Prophet Jeremiah took a memo from God in Chapter 29. You can read the whole thing yourself. Written in the 7^th Century BC, it’s pages have been around for a LONG time. In it, God sets the standard for those who truly want to find Him. It’s not really a SEARCH as much as it is RESEARCH! It’s not like He’s HIDING. It’s more like He wants to be WANTED enough to be DISCOVERED! It isn’t HARD. It just takes heart!

I met a young man the other night and asked Him if he KNEW God and if he knew for CERTAIN that he would go to heaven when he died? He was uncertain and started making up religious sayings, presumably to convince me that he really wasn’t THAT uncertain. I suggested he relax and that if he really WANTED to know, I could point him in the right direction toward discovery! As he left, I think he thought I was a wacko! God was more disappointed than me!

ALL people know they are sinners…and that perfect heaven is OUT of the question for ‘they’ like ‘we!’ What we DON’T know or understand is just HOW much God loves and wants us TO BE with Him. But the price of imperfection is FAR too high for us to pay. So He sent His son and paid it Himself…then made an offer! “It’s all yours FREE…just come find me and ask! I’ll prove it to YOU!” Sad thing is…most people are looking at something else…180 degrees opposite of the greatest treasure in the Universe!

What are YOU lookin’ at? 

“For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him.” Colossians 1:16

A friend called to ask help with an electrical issue in his home. Grabbing tools, I went to help him replace, and run power to, a current outdoor light fixture. He had lived his long life without having to learn the principles and how-to’s of home electrical wiring. A fact I discovered when we got closer to the black and white wires. He was genuinely nervous!

After setting up the ladder, I reached up to start working on the old light. Suddenly he let out a holler, ”WAIT WAIT WAIT…I gotta turn the power off first!” His words were comforting, as they proved he cared about my welfare. I also found them intriguing because his fear was far more than was necessary. I had an inductive electrical tester in my hand at the time!

After he got back from the electrical panel, I was going to show him how an inductive electrical tester worked. When I asked where a live electrical outlet might be he said, “I shut the power off!” “To the WHOLE HOUSE?” I asked. “Yup, I ain’t takin’ any chances!…” he said that to ME, up on the ladder, MY hands near the wires! My friend is a funny man!

Having done electrical work many times in my life I have learned, often the hard way, how to handle it’s power! I have a healthy respect of what it can do and have been shocked numerous times. One old timer even told me years ago, “it’s good for ya!” And power IS! Without it, we wouldn’t enjoy lamps, stoves, air conditioning or indoor plumbing! Of course I’m kidding on that last one…KIND of!

The most POWERFUL source of power in the universe is God! He shares that power with both His Son Jesus and with the Holy Spirit…AND ME!  If you have been anywhere NEAR a REAL Christian believer you can, and should, get an inductive sense that there is a power there that is unusual and intriguing. A power that either calls to come closer…or repels in fear.

I am a friend of God! I know Him. I have learned, sometimes the hard way, about His intentions and how He works. I LOVE learning more about Him and drawing closer to Him. I have a healthy respect for Him and know that He has power that He wants to share with me in the form of Love, Trust, real Hope and Joy! His power genuinely blesses me when I genuinely get closer to Him. And…just like my inductive electrical tester…I CAN tell when He’s close!

Can you?  

This Article was so well written, I had to share.  I hope you enjoy it as well.  And Be careful!!!  Eternity is FOREVER!!!

Article by Greg Morse Staff writer, desiringGod.org

My dear Globdrop,

I have received your perspective concerning your man’s most recent incident. He drew swords with his atheist classmate and succeeded, did he? He made the Enemy and the hope of a hereafter seem almost “reasonable”? In those ten minutes, the clouds pulled back and heaven appeared to triumph over hell, did it? You call it “a true embarrassment . . . a humiliating defeat.” You repeatedly assure me that you “take full responsibility.”

O my dear nephew, what’s next? Did you, borrowing a human expression, require a shoulder to cry on? A nodding head and listening ear? Words of affirmation? Stand upright, soldier. Yours is not the only name to be pulled down into disgrace.

All is far from lost. Though you slouch in shame with your talons curled, consider that mere “reasoning” does not frighten us (though we do not encourage it). A “reasonable” God, a “reasonable” eternity, and a “reasonable” heaven are still no God, no eternity, and no heaven — so long as “reasonable” goes unaccompanied with “desirable.” A God and a heaven no one wants are the only kind we will approve.

Just a Few More Hours

This unwelcomed eternity is, from all indications, your man’s current conception. The heaven he hotly debates is not the heaven he really wants. He is not one to strive to enter the narrow gate. He is “a few more hours” kind of man.

I remember that splendid night like it was yesterday. One of their comedians took the stage to joke that he feared the Enemy would return on his wedding night. How would he respond when his “Lord” came to meet him? “Give me a few more hours.” The audience bellowed uproarious laughter. This, Globdrop, is comedy! Dark, damning, delicious.

What this man said captures the subtitles of their lives: “Lord, give me a few more hours to make my mark on the world!” “Give me a little longer to get married and have children!” “Lord, let me grow old and spent. Then return!” Not yet, Lord — give me just a few more hours!

For all the “Christian” talk (or debating), great masses of them still consider heaven an intrusion, a cloud moving over their day at the beach, a mere shadow interrupting the earthly substance. Their decaying bodies, grey hairs, and slowing minds trigger fear, not anticipation, for what lies ahead.

These are runners who slow near the finish line, soldiers who do not want the war to end, farmers who groan at the first signs of harvest, prodigals looking back longingly at the city they can no longer afford. Their hearts are here; their heaven is earth. If not forced over the cliff by death, many would say, “a few more hours” for all eternity.

Demon’s History of Heaven

The secret, then, is this: we do not need to waste time trying to make atheists of those who stubbornly believe that the Enemy or heaven is real; we need only convince them that it’s nothing to leave earth for. And thankfully, we do not need to deceive them on this point.

I was just a young devil during the Rebellion. The humans scratch their furry heads, perplexed how we could have ever sinned; they gaze up at the stars, wondering how perfect creatures could ever fall. They never consider that our Father Below “fell like lightning from heaven” in a grand escape from their precious heaven. Sure, the Enemy was well at hand to twist the story, labeling it as our being cast out in defeat, but what he calls an insurrection, we know as emancipation.

We could not linger for one more millennium locked in that kennel he calls heaven. Our Father discovered (almost too late) that the Enemy allows only spaniels in that place, puppies wagging their peppy tails, yapping incessant praises, jumping up and down for that eternal belly scratch he calls joy. Our Dark Lord Lucifer, deciding then that he would not allow us to be of the servile breed, snapped the leash from such a place.

Here again, the thinkers of men scratch their heads wondering why they — and not we demons — were sent “redemption.” As their preachers drool with self-congratulation, they would be shocked to discover the truth: we wouldn’t want it if he offered it. We know what “heaven” on his terms means. Were the door to swing open to us, we would slam it once again. We’ve had enough of his ball-fetching.

Danger of Desire

Yet the vermin actually applaud when he takes them for slaves. He, of course, gives each chain a pretty name — joy, peace, goodness, love, and the rest. What effective propaganda that he even goes so far as to move the Warden of his own presence into them to ensure they live as he demands, all the while convincing them that this is some precious gift.

It is when they begin to see things in this concussed way — God, heaven, holiness as a treasure — that things get dangerous. Humans in this condition have been known to do more damage to our Father’s kingdom than ten thousand of those who, for all their talk, just want a few more hours. Men have sung on their way to the gallows. Women have crossed oceans to tell news of the Enemy to subjects we thought firmly in our grasp. Young children even, giving up a life unlived because of this infection. The hope of heaven to them has been a shield against our most reliable weapons: suffering, grief, sickness, and pain.

The servitude that they mistake for freedom would almost make us laugh — if it did not rob us of our supper.

Floating Clouds, Plucking Harps

Heaven must remain — if it must remain — as merely the next best thing when they are evicted from this earth. Keep heaven in the peripheral: a blinding blur; the butt of a joke; a hazy, undesirable existence of floating in clouds and plucking harps. Let them think they are praying “on earth as it is in heaven” when they really mean “in heaven as it is on earth.”

Far from fainting at such a belief, we see in it the opportunity to glorify our Father Below. When they refuse the Enemy’s feast to check on the fields and oxen they bought, or when they excuse themselves because they just got married and need a few more hours, all see the truth. How those howls shook hell when that young rich man — and every rich man since — finally turned away dejected.

So yes, dear Globdrop, allow heaven to be “reasonable” to your man, at least for now. But never allow it to be more. Let him contest for the idea of heaven and drop the thought once he sits down to eat lunch, scrolls mindlessly through his phone, or watches a movie with his girlfriend — send him immediately back to our world. The only heaven we can endure — and the only heaven that will deliver your patient safely to us — is the heaven for which no one really wants to leave earth.

Your unamused uncle,

Wormwood

In The Globdrop Letters, a senior demon (Wormwood) corresponds with a junior demon (Globdrop) to advise him in the evil art of subtle deception. The series follows in the large footsteps of C.S. Lewis in his classic work, The Screwtape Letters.

Greg Morse is a staff writer for desiringGod.org and graduate of Bethlehem College & Seminary. He and his wife, Abigail, live in St. Paul with their daughter.

“But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” Colossians 1:22

I’ve got a problem, an issue, a job to do. I’ve got dust, dirt and stone in the bottom of my pool that must be removed. If all of it were on the pool DECK, I could easily sweep it up and throw it away. But it’s underwater! Stirring it up will only move it around and NOT RE-move it! I’ve got a dirty pool!

After the pavers went in and the pool pump broke, my next job is to un-dirty my dirty pool! I’ve got a filter for that. But getting clean, clear water requires the dirt be removed and sent THROUGH through that filter. It is going to require a special tool to get that debris from inside the pool to the filter. I am working on that contraption and have a couple ideas.

It takes water to clean water. The water I want cleaned must be picked up, moved, dirt REmoved and the clean water put back into the pool. In essence…it takes water, plus a tool, plus movement, to clean water! Which makes me think of a deadly serious something that is living inside ME. Something that, if NOT REMOVED…will eternally pollute my eternal life. It’s called sin!

To the world, sin isn’t a big deal. It’s everywhere and, much of the time, collecting it can even be fun! But God cannot tolerate even the slightest little bit of the stuff! Holy God will not cohabitate with dirty blooded me. Since TRYING to clean myself up only clouds the real issue, cleaning me up HAS to be done by HIM. That process is called ‘reconciliation.’ The tool He uses is the Cross. It takes blood to reconcile or cleanse blood!

It is not possible for me to throw the pump and filter into the pool and have it all be automatically cleaned. It takes MOVEMENT to get the water to and through the filter. That movement is something I have a part in. It’s called FAITH! God supplies all the expertise and tools, ‘I’ have the choice and responsibility to LET Him. That comes by my choosing to invite Him in and allow Him access to my blood pump…my heart!

Cleaning a pool takes tools and is a long drawn out process. Cleaning ME is impossible without God’s Blood. He’s got to start someplace, somehow and sometime! And He did! On Calvary, with His Son’s blood on a Cross, 2000 + years ago. I am SO grateful and honored to not only be cleaned, but made part of His Reconciling team!

What about YOU….how is YOUR heart looking??? Because I know a Guy!

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Jesus Christ Luke 11:9-10

Rarely do I have reason to walk around to that side of the building. There is really nothing of value or import over there that would require my time or interest. But one thing led to another thing and soon, there I was, standing and looking up at something I did NOT want to see! Apparently it had been there for quite some time…laying undiscovered. Until I discovered it!

The conditions of discovery had to be just right. It was raining and HAD been for some time. The odds of me being outside, over there, and looking up in such conditions, were pretty low! But the discovery was made, and ‘discovery’ now led to the NEXT step of the process. Now it has become a ‘Question of Responsibility!’ What CAN and WILL I DO about it!

I can’t unsee what I saw. Once discovery is made, discovery can exit the stage. I didn’t invent rain, buildings, gravity or vision…though all of those nouns were involved in the ‘discovery process.’ Their existence moved me from ignorance to a real problem. One that requires even MORE questioning, involvement, discovery, knowledge and…POSSIBLY…wisdom. Suddenly, a thought from the land of ‘stupid’ hit me…”I wish I hadn’t seen that!”

I KNOW that it is not a crime to be ignorant about a subject. It just means I DON’T know something. Stupidity camps out when, after ‘discovery’ has made an appearance, the choice to STAY ignorant enters my brain. I am not responsible for rain or gravity. But I WILL suffer the consequences, and inherit guilt, if I choose to ignore what I have discovered!

There are universal laws in play that SCREAM out, “we have a problem.” I KNOW God exists! That I am created for more, that I am sinful, that this world is not an accident and that there HAS to be an answer to the hollowness of life. God is calling…SCREAMING even! Just to ‘look up’ and catch a GLIMPSE of His Godliness immediately removes me from the ignorant to the guilty!

Jesus came along and baited His Father’s trap with the famous words of today’s Bible verse. He implies, ‘how badly do you WANT to know the Truth and how far are you willing to GO to DISCOVER it?’ Because now that I am no longer ignorant, He’s next statement simply says…”Now it’s YOUR move!”

So??? WhatdaYOUknow???

“My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:2-3

I saw Ethan and his friends at the gym yesterday. He was pressing weights I had NO capability of even lifting. When he was done lifting the weights he lifted his eyes and saw mine…and smiled. I called him over to a cabinet against the wall. ”Hey tough guy…come here and show me what you’ve got!” Extending my arm, we locked hands for some arm wrestling. But I already KNEW what was going to happen!

I am honored to call Ethan my friend. He is a senior in High School and reminds me of my own sons when THEY were that age. Sharp, smart, strong and motivated, I KNOW he is going to be a blessing to the world. So I felt bad when I beat him…kind of! He was very polite and kind when we finished. But I couldn’t let my friend ‘feel bad’ for long. Even if he said he didn’t! I called him over again and told him the truth. ”I cheated!”

Ethan has a fractured foot from a biking accident. I used that to my advantage and took the side of the surface that gave him ZERO leverage! Physics was on MY side…not his! I told him that wisdom had won. Not physical strength. Then I asked for his email address and told him I was going to write about ‘him’ today!

There are things I think…and things I KNOW. The most important one is…I PERSONALLY KNOW ‘The God of the Universe!’ His name is Jesus! He IS strength, power, love and wisdom! I know that my life would be a waste, and useless, if it weren’t for HIS living HIS life through me. THAT is what I want my new friend Ethan to know more than ANYTHING in this world! It is the ONE thing that will guarantee his success!

The Book of Colossians may only be 4 chapters long, but it is 4 chapters of nuclear God power! Christ holds, in HIS hands, all the treasures of wisdom and the knowledge God. The mysterious became clear to ME, as a young lad, when I wrestled with Him over my sin and inadequacy. And WON! I learned FIRST HAND that with God, losing is winning! That dying to self is finding ‘His Life’ at its REAL meaning! I just wanted to tell my friend that!

So….how smart, rich, strong and wise are YOU???