The Power of Words

Words. Words can bring great joy.

"Will you marry me?" "It's a boy!"

Or great sorrow. "It's cancer." "I'm sorry. He didn't make it."

Words have begun wars and ended them. Words can hurt or words can heal. Words make the world go round. Consider these facts. There are over 55 million newspapers delivered in the United States on a daily basis. Over 300 talk radio shows air on a daily basis. No one has accurate number of websites currently on the World Wide Web but it is estimated at 100 million. Facebook and MySpace, social utility sites for connecting individuals, both have over 110 million users. Words are vital to our daily lives and yet we often toss them around carelessly. The Bible has a great deal to say about our words and the use of our tongue. James says in James 1:26, If you claim to be religious but don't control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.

Jesus himself says that we will give account for every careless word we say. "Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation." Matthew 12:35-36 (The Message)

The Lord has been working on me lately about my words, how I use them, how I say them, and what I say. One of my greatest desires is to be a mature believer, one who glorifies the Lord. James says in his epistle that a mature believer is one who can control his tongue. James goes on in chapter 3 of his epistle to tell us how difficult that it is to control the tongue and the words that proceed from it.

James 3:7-8. This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can't tame a tongue—it's never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer.

I grew up in a family where sarcasm was our family sport. We teased and poked fun at one another often, but it was always in love. However, when I became an adult and used this tactic with others it sometimes went very wrong. I have had to learn to control my sarcasm and my tongue and it has not been easy. Proverbs 12:18 says, Speaking recklessly is like the thrusts of a sword, but the words of the wise bring healing. I regret to say that I have used my words like a sword to cut and wound others.

Reading the book of James, I wonder if the writer also had this problem. James was the half brother of Jesus. Did he ever use his tongue sarcastically to belittle his older brother? Can you imagine growing up in the shadow of a "perfect" brother? Talk about a family being ripe for sibling rivalry! Yet James writes this about the power of words:

James 3: 3-5. A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it! It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.

Did James write these words from experience, I wonder? Did he know what it was like to throw out a careless or wrongly placed word? Proverbs says, Death and life are in the power of the tongue. All of us at one time have been the recipients of words which have felt like death to us.

Before we came to FBC, Mike pastored a church in another city. We left that pastorate in 1994 and six months later we received a very hurtful, ugly,anonymous letter in the mail accusing us of ruining the church. We were already grieving the loss of our church and church family The letter came at a very low time in our lives and for years was a painful heartache for us.

James 3: 9, Sometimes our mouths praise our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. 10 And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!

With the invention of the personal computer, the internet, and email have come another way we abuse one another with our words. How easy it is to fire off an angry email at someone saying things and using words we might never say face to face. We think that email is impersonal and less confrontive when actually it is more harmful. There is no way of knowing the "tone" of an email and so we tend to read our own bias into it. We curse those "made in the image of God" through our words in an email.

What are we to do, then, to control this tongue? Shall we remain mute to keep from sinning? Jesus said that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. If we wish to change our speech, we must first change our hearts. This is something we cannot do but through the power of the Word of God. We must pour the Word of God into our hearts and let it change us from inside out.

My husband used to love to visit a restaurant called Cahoots on Park Street. He would go every Thursday and order the Thai Chicken Salad for lunch. When I came home on Thursdays, I knew what he had for lunch because of the "fragrance" of garlic around him.

Our lives are to give off the fragrance of Christ. What we put into our lives is what will come out. James tells us that our outward lives should reflect our inward beliefs.

James 3:13, "If you are wise and understand God's ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom."

How are we to obtain this wisdom? James says if you lack wisdom, ask God for it.

We are to pour scripture into our life. We are to prayerfully ask God to convict us of our sins, change our hearts, and give us wisdom on how to live holy lives that reflect his glory.

I can't help but think that it was through prayer that James was able to control his tongue. James' nickname was "camel knees;" a name he given to him because he spent so much time on his knees in prayer.

Oh how I desire words of blessing to come from my mouth; words that might bring life to another. The prayer of my heart is found in Psalm 19:14. I hope it is your prayer too.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

Proverbs 17: 27

A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered

Proverbs 25: 11

Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances.

Proverbs 21:23

Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue, keeps himself out of trouble.

Proverbs 10:11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life.

"Let my words be sweet for tomorrow I may have to eat them."

The Lord of the Harvest

October is harvest time on the central coast of California. From Santa Margarita to San Miguel, vintners are harvesting their grape crop. They are reaping the rewards of their hard labor. They have spent many hours planting the vines, pruning the vines, watering the crop, weeding, and controlling the pests which could threaten the crop and destroy it. The grower worries about how the weather will affect his crop. Rain is good but not too much rain. Hot dry weather is good but not too hot and not too soon in the growing season. Cool nights are good for the grapevines but if it is too cold frost will destroy the fruit. Then the fruit must be harvested. This too takes a certain amount of calculation. The grape must be harvested when the fruits' sugar is at a certain level to produce the necessary results. Harvesting too soon or too late can be disastrous.

My husband fancies himself a farmer. He spent many boyhood years on the family farm. He feels a deep connection with earth. Because of this he thoroughly enjoys mowing the lawn. I think it helps him to rekindle his connection with dirt. Shortly after we moved to our home on Vine Street, the farmer in him came out and he planted some grapevines in our backyard. Our grapevines however do not look like the ones I see spreading over the hills of Paso Robles. The vines which dot the hills around the North County are healthy, green and lush. They are pruned and tied to grow in a certain direction. They produce lush, lovely, and abundant fruit.

Sadly, our grapevines have not been taken care of. Though my husband desired to grow lush lovely grapes, he lacked the time to take care of them. I have endeavored to care for the vines, but I hate yard work. Our grapevines do not produce lovely fruit. They hardly produce any fruit at all. We rarely prune them so the branches are spreading in every direction. The leaves have spots on them which is probably a fungus of some sort. They do get water, sometimes, and they are so sad looking that even the pests leave them alone. We have yet to harvest a crop for our grapevines.

In John 15, Jesus compares our relationship with Him to a grapevine. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (v. 5) The branches cannot bear fruit on their own. They must be connected to the vine. In the same way, we cannot bear fruit on our own. We must be connected to Jesus Christ; we must abide in Him, get our nourishment from Him.

Jesus also tells us in verse 1 that God is the vinedresser."I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit." The vinedresser is in charge of caring for the vines. It is his job to cut away the dead branches and prune the good ones. By cutting away the unnecessary branches, more nourishment can be directed to the healthy part of the vine thereby producing sweeter and more abundant fruit. It is quite a skill to prune grapevines. One must know just the right branches to cut away and which to leave. Because God knows us intimately, he knows which branches in our lives to cut away. He prunes our lives with skill and love so not to leave us downtrodden. He uses His Word, His church, and His people to convict us of our sin and shed those things in our lives which keep us from bearing sweet, lovely, lush fruit.

The branches do not bear fruit to please themselves. The vinedresser harvests the fruit to give away to others. Such it is with the fruit that Christians produce. We serve others by bearing fruit. We also glorify God. John 15:8 says, "By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples." The loveliness of the branches and the quality of the fruit is a testament to the hard work and care of the vinedresser. By bearing quality fruit in our lives, we testify to God's love and care for us. As Christians, it is our job to stay attached to the vine, Jesus Christ. We do this not only by cultivating our personal walk with Christ, but also by being a vital part of a local church body. Both elements add to our nourishment which allows us to bear fruit. The producing of fruit comes naturally to a healthy branch.

The grapevines in my yard are not productive because I did not want to do the work necessary to produce good grapes. When I look at my spiritual life, I do not want to be a shriveled, barren branch. I desire to be a healthy branch that produces much fruit. So I will abide in Christ, and I will submit to the Father's pruning, knowing that His loving hands will prune only what is necessary; not too much and not too little. And I will spread my branches out in the direction the Father desires and watch as He harvests the sweet and lush fruit for His glory.

Gods Waiting Room

At some point in our lives most of us will find ourselves in what I call God's Waiting Room. It is a time when life as you know it comes to a screeching halt. You are thrust into a waiting room experience where God is often silent and feels distant or absent from your life. It is not unusual to feel that you are the only one to ever have this waiting room experience.

The Bible has several stories of prophets and saints who also spent time in God's waiting room and the book of Habakkuk is one of them.

The book of Habakkuk was written when the country of Israel had been divided in two. The North Country, Israel, had been conquered by the Babylonians, who now had their eyes on the south kingdom of Judah. Judah was ruled at that time by Jehoiakim, an evil, ungodly, rebellious king. It is in this context of war and strife outside the country, and violence, greed, and injustice within the country, that Habakkuk records his very honest conversation with God.

"How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen? "Violence is everywhere!" I cry, but you do not come to save." Habakkuk 1:1-3

Most of us have felt ignored or angry with God at some point in our lives. I know I certainly have. And yet there is often an unsaid principle in the Christian world that it is wrong to be angry at God and to express those feelings is nigh to blasphemy. Well, guess what? He already knows how you feel! Ps 94:11 says the "Lord knows the thoughts of man." So who are we fooling when we are less than honest with God. Habakkuk is not afraid to spill out his innermost feelings and frustrations. He feels that God is not doing His job and there is chaos all around him.

We often want God to control and bless us with good things but not have control over our lives if it entails trials and hardships. We want 2 things which cannot exist together; God's absolute control and life's absolute freedom. We know that's not possible but we still try to wrestle that control from God. Some of us are pretty stubborn and do not give up easy. Habakkuk is facing that question here. He wants God to be control; he knows that God is in control but he looks around and sees chaos. He doesn't understand why God willfully chooses to do nothing. Then the Lord replies to Habakkuk, "Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn't believe even if someone told you about it." Habakkuk was amazed for God goes on to say that He plans to use the Babylonians to destroy Judah and it will be ruthless and quick for they will (in v. 11) "sweep through like the wind and pass on." This puzzles Habakkuk even more and this certainly was not the answer he was looking for.

Habakkuk's focus at the end of chapter 1 changes from the problems surrounding him to the person in control. Habakkuk does not understand what God is doing. He does not understand why God has been silent. And He demands answers. So he says in chapter 2:1:

His attitude reminds me of a toddler who crosses his arms and sticks his chin out and says "You'd better give me what I want, cause I am going to wait here until you do!" So He waits. He does not know what the answer will be or when it will be but he waits. Like Jacob who wrestled the angel and didn't give up, Habakkuk waits on the Lord.

What are you waiting for? We will all be in God's waiting room at sometime in our lives. Waiting for an answer, yet hearing only silence. In the waiting room we often experience the silence of God and a feeling that He has deserted us. There is no joy there when we first arrive, only sorrow, bewilderment, darkness and despair. We ask many questions yet receive no answers. We feel abandoned and alone. No one, we think, not even God, knows how we feel. We need to realize that even when God is silent and His face cannot be found, He is up to something in our lives.

Be assured that most of God's saints have spent some time in that waiting room. You are not alone. Habakkuk was there. David was there. David writes in Psalm 13:1-3, "O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand? Turn and answer me, O LORD my God! Restore the light to my eyes, or I will die."

Darkness surrounds David. He cannot see where he is going or where life is leading him.

Job was there. Job's intense frustration was not just the devastation that visited him but his inability to find God. He reached a point of utter despair when God's face was hidden from him.

In Job 23:3, 8-9 he says, "If only I knew where to find God, I would go to his throne and talk with him there….. "I go east, but he is not there. I go west, but I cannot find him. I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden. I turn to the south, but I cannot find him."

God has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us. Charles Lamb says we sometimes experience the "mumps and measles of the soul;" and though our life may feel out of control, our ship is still anchored to the Rock. God is still good and gracious and loving.

When Habakkuk received God's grim news he was terrified. But he relied on his knowledge of God. Someone said, "There is grace in the unanswerable why for it leads us to the heart of faith; a patient trust in God." Habakukk learned this principle. Hab 2:4 "The righteous will live by his faith" (cf. Rom. 1:17).

We do not know how long Habakkuk kept watch but he did receive an answer from God and chapter 3 of this discourse is a hymn of praise to God that signals the end of Habakkuk's journey. In Chapter 1, we see Habakkuk's anger and he questions God. In Chapter 2, he demands a answer to his question but patiently, reverently waits for God's reply.

Then, Chapter 3 is a prayer and song of praise to the Creator of the Universe. Did Habakkuk's circumstance changes? No. What changed was Habakkuk. He had a glimpse of God. He had come to the realization that no matter what his present afflictions, they will never outweigh the importance of his devotion and worship of God. Catherine Marshall said, "I need you and your presence in my life more than I need understanding…I trust You to give me understanding and an answer to my Whys only if and when You choose." This is the supreme lesson to be learned in the waiting room: that His presence in our lives is more important than our comfort.

I have found that in my darkest hours, God has been silent. I have yet to understand why, but I know that in those days my faith narrows so that I focus only on Jesus. My faith seem to go backward as I cling to His promises with a baby-like faith that says, "I don't know much about You or what You're doing, but I know I need You. And I am unwilling to choose the alternative of facing a life without You." I have often thought that the upheaval in my life, that the pain I was experiencing was just too costly. I wasn't willing to pay that high of a price for spiritual growth. But how can I tell my Savior that the pain of my present trial is too costly when it cost him everything.

If you find yourself in God's waiting room today know that you do not wait alone. God waits with you along with many wonderful saints. And God will answer your questions in His time. What was his answer to Habakkuk? "But the Lord is in His Holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him." Hab. 2:20 God is good and God is faithful and He will see you through whatever difficulty and hardship He brings into your life.

"Therefore do not lose heart. for a momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison." 2 Corinthians

Letting Go

It is almost September again, the time of year when mothers and fathers are sending their children off to pre-school, kindergarten or college for the first time. Some children will laugh and run right into their class. Some will hang on tightly to mother's or father's hand. Some parents will be celebrating their new freedom; some will be mourning the loss of a childhood. Whatever the scenario, I've come to realize that letting go of our children is a natural progression of life.

I remember several years ago when we dropped our son off at college for the first time. We packed all his worldly belongings into a 1995 Ford Taurus and headed for Biola University in La Mirada, California. He was almost 21 at the time and had worked and gone to junior college for several years before transferring to the university. He was ready to go and I felt confident that he would do well there. I was ready for him to go; ready for him to experience life outside of our small town; ready for him to know what it is like to live on his own; ready for him to meet new people and make friends whom he will hopefully have for a lifetime. And yes, ready for him to meet a "nice Christian girl" and settle down. I was ready to let go.

Letting go is a process. Their first step, their first sleep-over, the first day of school, to their first trip without you is a progression of trust for both parent and child. The child trusts that mom and dad will still be there when they return and will joyfully welcome them home. The parents trust that the child will remember what they've been taught and wear clean underwear.

Each new adventure our children have tests our parenting skills and our faith in God. It is through the raising of our children that we learn about God and about ourselves. Our children teach us how to live and love like Jesus. We learn what it means to love unconditionally. We learn how to care about someone other than ourselves. We know how it feels to love someone enough to give our life for that person. We learn how to trust God more completely as we must now trust him with our most precious possession. We learn how to pray.

After my son Joel preached at our church for the first time, I received many compliments. "You have done a great job parenting", people said. "You have raised him well." The truth is he has raised me well. He has made me a better parent, a better person.

They say when you become a parent your heart is never again your own. I suppose this is true as it feels that a part of my heart is now at Biola. The humorist Erma Bombeck said children are like kites. "You spend a lifetime trying to get them off the ground. You run with them until you're both breathless ... they crash ... you add a longer tail ... they hit the rooftop ... you pluck them out of the spout. You patch and comfort, adjust and teach. You watch them lifted by the wind and assure them that someday they'll fly. Finally, they are airborne, but they need more string and you keep letting it out. With each twist of the ball of twine, there is a sadness that goes with the joy because the kite becomes more distant, and somehow you know that it won't be long before that beautiful creature will snap the lifeline that bound you together and soar as it was meant to soar -- free and alone. Only then do you know that you did your job."

I am ready to stand back and watch my son soar to new heights and a new direction knowing that his kite string is still fully in hands of his Heavenly Father.

As I finished this article my phone rings. It is my son. He needs my help, he frantically says. "What is wrong!" I reply. I am already calculating how long it would take me to get to La Mirada. "I've gotten a piece of dental floss stuck in my tooth and I can't get it out!" he exclaims. As I try to contain my laughter he continues, "It is not funny, Mom! I have class in an hour and this piece of floss is so big you could hang something on it."

Ever the loving supportive mother, I give him some tips on removing the floss, but not before I ask him to send me a photo of his predicament with his camera phone. As my cell phones beeps again with the incoming photo, I sigh. "Ah, my son still needs me."

Theres No Place Like Home

"Close your eyes and tap your heels together three times and say "There's no place like home, there's no place like home…"With those words, Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz is transported back to her beloved home in Kansas.

The word "home" evokes warm memories and feelings for most of us. Home is where everyone longs to be. Where we are loved, nurtured, and unconditionally accepted with all our faults.

After the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade center all the travelers who were stranded just wanted to go home. It did not matter where home was or what it looked like. Home could have a high-rise apartment in Manhattan or a farmhouse in Kansas. They just wanted to go home. Did you know that God makes His home in you? Jesus told the disciples in John 14:23

Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

God makes His home in us! Imagine the Creator of the universe living inside us! What a privilege and honor to be the dwelling place of the King of Kings and Lord of Lord.

In our home on we have entertained many guests from missionaries to the town mayor. When those occasions occur, I drive my family nuts by insisting that the house be spotlessly clean. When I consider that the God of creation makes his home in me, I realize how little I pay attention to the cleanliness of His home – me. Just as we need to clean our earthly homes every day so we need to clean our spiritual lives every day. Sin creeps in one cobweb at a time.

Many years ago we had a roof leak in our home. The leakage caused some plaster to fall down from the ceiling in the entry way to our home. It left a barren patch of lath boards about two feet by three feet. Each day I would come home and look up at that barren patch wondering when it would get fixed. It was left in disrepair and pretty soon I stopped noticing it. Months later someone would come over and comment on the hole in our ceiling. "Oh", I'd say, I'd forgotten it was there." Sin is like that. If you live with it long enough you don't notice it.

Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

2 Corinthians 7:1

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:9

We need to cleanse ourselves and God's home on a daily basis, not just of the little sins but the big ones too. Often we focus in on the small sins in our lives and overlook the obvious larger ones. Are we treating our families with love and kindness? Are we following His commandments? Are we living for God and not the things and pleasures of this world? Are we staying sexual pure in mind and body, whether married or single? Do we allow anger, envy, and pride keep us from glorifying God?

Take a daily inventory of your spiritual life. It is easy to let the world's standards become ours. Jesus gives us in the book of John a different definition of home. He did not have an earthly home in his adult years. Christ was at home with God no matter where his body was. Jill Briscoe says "Home is the will of God for the child of God." The most wonderful earthly home would become a miserable dwelling place if we are living outside the will of God.

God makes His home with us but He is also preparing another home for us. Christ said in

John 14:2-4, "There are many rooms in my Father's home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know where I am going and how to get there." (The Living Translation)

This world is not our home yet many of us put down roots like it is. We try to fill our longings with material and worldly pleasures.

"Most of us find it very difficult to want 'Heaven"' at all – except in so far as 'Heaven' means meeting again our friends who have died. One reason for this difficulty is that we have not been trained: our whole education tends to fix our minds on this world. Another reason is that when the real want for Heaven is present in us, we do not recognize it. Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts would know that they do want and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise." C.S. Lewis

The world does not satisfy for we were made for another world. Our eternal home is with Christ in heaven and as pilgrims on a journey we long for that home. Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz had the power to go home all along and did not know it. We have the power to be at home with God every day while on this earth and the privilege to spend eternity in His presence.

Oh to be home! To bask in the presence of the Almighty- To be free from our earthly pain – To be reunited with loved ones – To see and touch the nail scarred hands – To worship at the throne – to be Home!

"These last few days! Every little nuisance every stale or tiresome bit of work every feeling of that estrangement which I never quite get over in another country serves as a delightful reminder of how different it will all be soon. Already one's mind dwells upon the sights and sounds and smells of home…."

In The Good Old Summertime

About the middle of June on a warm summer day, thousands of children wait with anticipation. They anxiously watch the slow ticking clock. Somewhere in the background, a teacher's voice drones on and on. They do not hear the words as they wait expectantly for The moment to arrive. The moment when they will all experience the euphoria of "Summer Vacation."

I grew up in the San Fernando Valley in the '60's and early '70's. The "Valley" at that time was suburbia at its finest. The streets were safe and clean, the schools were safe, and there was no such thing as gang violence. Most of us had dads that worked and moms that were home. The "Valley" in the sixties was the hub of many a western movie, especially Roy Rodgers and Gene Autry. Life, as a child, was good, simple, and fun.

The day after school got out I would bug my mom to drive me to the local library. She usually dropped me off as I would spend hours searching for just he right books for my summer reading. I would check out 8 books each week (the maximum you were allowed to check out) and take them home. I would settle myself on my bed, or out in yard on a blanket if the house was too hot, and read to my heart's content. When I finished my pile of books, I would return to the library and choose some more.

During my childhood, summer was play time. We would gather near the home of April Showers (that was her real name) and play baseball, dodge ball, and football. When it got too hot we would go to my house where my mom always had home-made Popsicles in the freezer made with a plastic Tupperware set and Kool-aid.

Once a week we were allowed to go to the local pool to swim for the afternoon. Admission was 25 cents which seemed like a lot of money to me then. Our pool had a high dive which was my favorite. I loved the excitement of jumping off that high tower and feeling the pit of your stomach lurch up into your throat. Once you came up for air though you always had to dig your swimsuit out of certain places but it was worth the "rush."

Summer vacation seemed to last forever. Next to Christmas, it was the best time of the year. But September always came. Nine long months we had to wait until summer came again.

As good as summer was, it pales in comparison to what Heaven will be like for those who know Jesus. Revelation 21:2-4 talks about the New Jerusalem which is a picture of what Heaven eaven will be like.

"And I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a beautiful bride prepared for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever." Rev 21:2-4

The endless joys of summer vacation cannot compare to spending eternity with God and having the joy of living with Him. Hebrews 12 describes heaven as the "city of the living God," where there are "thousands of angles in joyful assembly."

Christian artists, MercyMe, have written a powerful song about the day we arrive in heaven.

I can only imagine What it will be like When I walk By Your side I can only imagine What my eyes will see When Your face Is before me I can only imagine

Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel Will I dance for You Jesus or in awe of You be still Will I stand in Your presence or to my knees will I fall Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all I can only imagine

I can only imagine When that day comes And I find myself Standing in the Son I can only imagine When all I will do Is forever Forever worship You I can only imagine

We can only imagine what that day will be like. But I imagine that it will be an endless summer vacation in the presence of the living God!

The Greatest Mystery of All

Summer is here; the most anticipated time of year, next to Christmas! For some it means family vacations, trips to the beach and the lake, ice cream for dinner, or lazy days at home. For me summer has always meant summer reading! When I was in grade school I couldn't wait for summer to arrive for it meant that I could spend my days reading endlessly (after my chores were done of course). I would spread a blanket outside under the big shade tree and devour the latest mystery I had borrowed from my local library. When I begin a new mystery I can hardly wait to get to the end of it so I can discover the answers to all the secrets.

There is one mystery that I have discovered though that continues to baffle and amaze me. It is found in the book of Colossians. Paul writes to the church at Colossi about a mystery which has been kept secret for generations. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 1:10-11 that even the prophets of old wondered about this mystery and wanted to know when this mystery would be revealed.

What is it?
This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God's people. For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. Colossians 1:26-27 (NLT)

The mystery is first that the gospel message, the good news of salvation, is not just for the Jews only but also for the Gentiles. That's most of us! And second, that the Creator of the Universe, the Son of God, the visible image of the invisible God, lives in us.

When we come to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He comes to live in us. And in Jesus lives the fullness of God. There is a popular movie out where one character is called "mini-me." Mini-me is a mini version of the main character. Jesus is not a mini-God. He is all God. "For God in all His fullness was pleased to live in Christ." (Col. 1:19)

These concepts are so wonderful, so profound, that Peter says in the book of 1 Peter these are "things into which angels long to look." Angels long to understand, know, and to experience this mystery. But it is a mystery preserved for you and me. Christ in you; the hope of glory.

I have a difficult time wrapping my brain around this. It is not just that Jesus lives in me, but that he would want to live in me. Somehow he guides me, directs me, and empowers me to do the things he has called me to do. Because of this mystery, I am able to experience the very presence of God, an experience most of the world is longing for.

Frederick Buechner says it better than I in his book the Magnificent Defeat.

"For what we need to know is not just that God exists, not just that beyond the steely brightness of the stars there is a cosmic intelligence of some kind that keeps the whole show going, but that there is a God right here in the thick of our day-today lives who in one way or another is trying to get messages through our blindness as we move around down here knee deep in the fragrant muck and misery and marvel of the world. It is not objective proof of God's existence that we want, but the experience of God's presence. And that is also I think the miracle that we really get."

As I mediate on the fact that Christ lives in me and I live with Him, it causes me to be profoundly grateful. I am grateful for all I have, for all He has done for me, and grateful for the very breath of life He has given me. It also keeps me on my knees in humble adoration for the miracle and the mystery of Christ in me, the hope of glory.