Flash Forward

1 Corinthians 14:5
I wish you could all speak in tongues, but even more I wish you could all prophesy. For prophecy is greater than speaking in tongues, unless someone interprets what you are saying so that the whole church will be strengthened. (NLT)

We have been watching Flash Forward on television. The show is a takes place after the blackout. During it the entire population of the earth lost consciousness for a few minutes. During their blackout time, everyone had a vision of themselves three months into the future. They woke up remembering their vision and knowing what the future held.

When God speaks through someone else directly to us, it is like He showing us our own Flash Forward. He gives us a glimpse into our future. But this not His only kind of prophesy.

Many Christians today believe that prophecy is no more-God does not speak to His people through prophetic word. They were taught that the gifts went away when the first Apostles passed away. However, we have had firsthand experience with the gifts and with prophecy today and know a number of believers gifted in that way. We have also seen God speak through believers that are not usually gifted in this way, but the Holy Spirit used them as He desired to speak life into another.

As I see it, there are three types of prophetic word -- past, present, and future.

When God speaks prophetically, He may do so to confirm something we have done so we know it was His plan for us all along. Have you ever had deJa vu? This is when you feel you have been there or heard that before. It is like when you walk into a store for the first time and feel you have been there before. We believe that is God letting us know we are in the right place at the right time-we are supposed to be there and this is the time to pay special attention because He has placed us there for a purpose.

Often we are unsure of what decision to make. We pray about it. We create all sorts of logical analysis about it listing the good points and the bad points of deciding. We do everything we know in the natural. We pray some more, but are not hearing for ourselves. Then someone calls us out of the blue and tells us they have heard something from God for us. God speaks to our present situation and gives us clear guidance so we can make the right decision.

Deuteronomy 18:21-22
'How will we know whether or not a prophecy is from the Lord?' If the prophet speaks in the Lord's name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the Lord did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared. (NLT)

The one we hear about the most has to do with the future. God speaks about things to come. He calls forth our future as an encouraging word of truth for us to hang on to. But how do we know the words are from God?

Of course this is the one that seems to parallel the work of fortune tellers. Can they predict the future? Are they from God? Should I do what they say? Should I even seek them out?

I do not believe fortune tellers are from God. Many are charlatans who have learned to read body language and ask just the right questions to formulate a fortune that will make you satisfied. It like ordering Chinese takeout and after the meal opening a fortune cookie. How many think those words are really about them? Probably the same ones that read their horoscope each day.

Some really to hear things, but not from God. The enemy also sees in the spirit world, but he is not given to encouraging. His task is to knock us down and lead us into temptation. When he gives, he then takes something away. The Bible warns us to stay away from fortune tellers and horoscopes.

So how do we know it is from God? One thing I have found God do is to begin speaking about something only I can know about. This may be something I have been thinking and have not spoken to anyone. It might be something that happened in my past that few if any have heard about. He sets His word up on past truth so I may know that what comes next is from Him.

What do I do with the word after I get it? I write it down and read it over and over to understand what He is telling me. I test the word with the Bible. Is what has been said Biblical Truth? Then I put in on the shelf knowing God has a plan for my life.

As decisions are made and my path changes, I can look back on that word and say "this is that which was spoken". What I do not do is use the prophetic word as a thing to do list. God does not give the word for us to make the plan. We are to listen to the Holy Spirit and let Him guide our steps. The prophetic word encourages us by letting us know where those steps will take us.

So let's embrace the prophetic. Let God encourage us by confirming our past decisions, helping us in your present choices, and encouraging us in our future direction.

Test Yourself

2 Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. (NLT)

I am not a fan of tests; even the ones that come in emails for the fun of it. I take them, but do not always do that well. My students in college did not like tests either. As a matter of fact, I cannot say anyone I know really likes them. But we have to take them to show what we know.

I had to take a test get my driver's license. The first time I did that was when I was sixteen. The registry of motor vehicles had booklets for you to study before taking the test to get your drivers permit-the first step to obtaining a license to drive. I skimmed the booklet and figured I knew it all. You guessed it. I failed the test and had to reschedule it before I could get behind the wheel to learn to drive.

Satan tested Jesus and failure would have caused Jesus to fall into sin. The first Adam was tested and he fell. I am tested all the time with temptations to move off the path God has for me. I am tempted to sin daily as I go about my daily life. I wish I could say I never fall, but like all of us I am mortal working out my salvation. Only one man was perfect and He died for my sins and yours over two thousand years ago.

We need to look back over our life and notice the changes. As we do we can see the path God has taken us on. We can see where we veered off that path and how He got us back on it. We can see where the enemy tempted us and how we either overcame or fell into the trap. And we can see how every time God was there to pick us back up.

As the body of Christ, a group of Christians bonded together, we should see evidence of Jesus amongst us. We see the fruit of the Spirit in each other's lives. We feel the presence of God amongst us as we get together and praise Him. If not, perhaps we have failed the test of genuine faith.

Bragging

2 Corinthians 10:18
When people commend themselves, it doesn't count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them. (NLT)

Commending oneself is "patting yourself on the back". It is finding some way to praise yourself so many will notice. Some charities send you a sticker to put on your vehicle so you can brag about not only that you gave, but what level you gave at. The color of the sticker displays your level of commitment in dollars to that cause.

Most areas have a person or more that gives to their community. Everybody knows about them because they have buildings and events named after them. They are not only bragging about their good deeds, but attempting to affix their place in history.

Please do not get me wrong, I am not saying any of these examples are wrong. From societies point of view these are normal ways to act. We all see the bumper stickers that announce that "My Child is on the Honor Roll" at such and such school.

When we became believers, we took on a new position. We became new creatures with new goals led by the Holy Spirit. We were given a commission to go to the unsaved and tell them about the gospel. Those that believed are also saved and go on to tell others.

Nowhere does Jesus tell us to keep score and announce it to the world. He keeps score. He sees all that we do and commends us by the new opportunities He places in our path as we go forth on this journey of life. As we go, we grow.

The more time we spend in seeking recognition from others, the less we are spending listening to what God has for us to do next. We are wrapped up in patting our self on the back instead of hearing from Him.

Be Generous

2 Corinthians 9:10-11
For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. (NLT)

He reminds us here of the fact that God is the one that provides. God has made the opportunities available to us to have the jobs we have. He is the one who makes it possible for us to put bread on the table, purchase that new wide screen television, get that SUV, go to the movies, have cable, put cell phones in every family member's pocket, and more.

Being generous is about being willing to give money, help, or time freely.

All God wants in return is for us to be generous with what we have been given. He wants us to give out of our abundance. The hard thing for most of us is to identify our abundance. We look around and do not see all that we have as abundance. We need the cell phone, the new car, the swimming pool, the vacation to a far off place, and so forth. We worked hard and earned it. There is no abundance to give away!

Find a local food pantry or homeless shelter. Help feed some of those who go without. Get to talk to them and you will find what little we really need to live and be happy. Anything past a roof over our head, food on the table, and clean clothes is abundance.

Sure we need a vehicle to get around; especially to get to our place of work. The TV with the full cable package? The vacation to Europe? The full featured cell phone? These are things we want that are not necessary for our happiness.

Do not get me wrong. These things are not bad, they are just extras. We must not let our wants for these things overshadow our giving to others. And as we are generous with what God has given to us, He will increase our opportunities and show us more places where we can be generous to others.

A Willing Gift

2 Corinthians 9:5, 7
I want it to be a willing gift, not one given grudgingly. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure. "For God loves a person who gives cheerfully." (NLT)

We have been to churches that preach a giving sermon once a year. This is part of an annual pledge drive. Everyone decides once a year how much they will give for the year. When the drive is over, the budget is finalized and weekly envelopes handed out for people to place their offering in.

We have seen baskets passed on Sunday morning to collect the offerings during the service. At other places the members are expected to walk forward to place their offerings at the front while everyone watches. Then there are the few churches that have an offering box at the rear of the church and you just have to know about it and place your offering on your way in or out.

I cannot count how many times, just before the baskets are passed, that I have heard "God loves a cheerful giver". How many take that as meaning you will be cheerful if you give something? In reality it means we are to give cheerfully or not at all. If we do not want to give, we should not give just because it is time to do so. God and our heart must be in it or all we are doing is paying another bill.

Then I have heard the thirty minute mini-sermon on giving. They are well crafted to pressure you into digging deep and giving more than you usually do. It is like the salesman that gives you a deal but you have to decide right now. There is no waiting until you can think about it.

If you do not want to give, don't. In order for our gift to be meaningful to God, it must be a gift pleasurably offered. A gift you are giving willingly because you want to support the ministry that is visiting or that you are visiting. The same goes for the place where you are being fed spiritually. It is there that you give your tithe.

Share It

2 Corinthians 8:14
Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal. (NLT)

One of the difficult things to teach a young child is to share with others. When they are an only child, everything belongs to them. When the second child comes along, they do not want to give away rights to their things. But they are told to share by us parents.

As adults we have the same challenge. How many families have his and her vehicles and discourage each other from switching. You drive your car and I will drive mine! And how many homes have one person self appointed to control the TV remote control? You watch what they want because they do not want to share it.

When we have extra, do we find someone in need and share it with them? Maybe leftovers from supper or half of that cake we really shouldn't eat anyhow. No, we use it to get some more things for our collection of things.

I believe God is telling us to make more than a little effort to giving from our abundance to those who are in need. He is not speaking about just anyone. He is speaking about those we are in relationship with-those fellow believers that make up the body of Christ we are a part of.

Give where there is need and when the tables are turned and you are in need, others will be able to share with you.

Just Give

2 Corinthians 8:12
Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don't have. (NLT)

This is a subject that turns many a believer off. Do not tell me what to give and do not preach on giving for an hour before every offering is probably what you are thinking. Whenever I hear a message like that it makes me want to wrap my wallet with duct tape.

I let the Holy Spirit guide me in what to do. When I do and then ask my wife what she heard, we often are at the same number. Her number confirms what I thought I heard from God. I am speaking of giving an offering-usually a love offering after someone ministers.

We believe in the tithe and that the first tenth should go to God. All of it is His and this is the only thing God said to test Him in-our finances. We are blessed daily and God does not do that as the direct result of our giving. He was blessing us before we were led to tithe. But, after we began to tithe, we noticed a difference. There was always money to pay the bills and some leftover to bless others.

We have not been on a fixed income for many years. Working for ourselves we had to balance the budget based on a variable income stream. Some weeks were good and others not so good. When in need He always supplied more opportunity for work.

And giving does not have to always be money. We should be giving to others in other ways. Perhaps we can volunteer at a soup kitchen or pantry once a week, or at a non-profit that serves others. If we have a lot, we should be giving more than the average person. But if we have little, we should never consider going into debt to give. We do not believe in using our credit card to give in an offering. That is creating debt and giving what we do not have.

No Pain No Gain

2 Corinthians 7:10
For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There's no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. (NLT)

Throughout my life I have had numerous challenges. Challenge is a nice way of saying problems, difficulties, calamities, etc. Things did not go as I would have like them to go. Some things were a direct result of poor choices on my part. Some were circumstances resulting from poor choices of others. Others were just part of being human. Stuff happens!

I learned from every situation I have encountered in my lifetime. I grow as a direct result of each of them. Some experiences taught me to do things differently the next time. Some put me in a new direction in my vocation. Others made me want to hang a big sign on the wall so I would remember never to do that again!

None of us like to get hurt either physically or emotionally. It happens. Through it all, the Holy Spirit is with us to comfort us and to direct our steps. Not only do we learn from the experience we gain a new understanding about our relationship with the Lord. We see how committed He is to us.

Do not get the title wrong. We can certainly gain without pain as long as we are moving forward with the Holy Spirit's help on the right path. However, where there is pain there can be great gain. We have to look for it and grab a hold of it. We have to let the Holy Spirit teach us and then go forward with our new knowledge.

Clean Up

2 Corinthians 7:1
Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God. (NLT)

My mother taught me that cleanliness is next to godliness. You may have heard the same thing. And before we sat down to eat a meal I had to wash my hands to clean them of all the dirt of the day. We did not want all that dirt mixed into the delicious meal she had prepared.

Now we are told in the newspapers, on television, and on email how important it is to wash our hands throughout the day. What we pick up from shaking someone's hand, handling money, pumping gas, and even just opening a public door can give us something we may not want. It is a way that viruses get propagated throughout society-anything from the common cold, to the H1N1 virus, to AIDS.

As believers we want spiritual food and look to the Holy Spirit to help us obtain it. We want all we can get but often forget about washing up before eating. Just like soap and water before a natural meal, we need to clean up our act if we expect to move out spiritually.

How can we keep doing the things we did before we were saved and expect to fully receive all that God has for us? He has promised us much, but we need to cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. Not some things, but everything. This is how we work toward complete holiness.

Your Team

2 Corinthians 6:14
Don't team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? (NLT)

When I was growing up I played sports. Little League baseball was my first experience of being on a team. I played second base and sometimes shortstop. I fielded the ball well, but hitting was not my strong point. I either walked to first or was struck out. I just could not connect with the ball.

We were a team and we stood up for each other. Nobody got on my case when I struck out or missed a catch at second. We learned to encourage each other and stick together. If the other team was short handed, we did not switch sides to help them out. A team stays together.

When I was first saved, that is when I first let Jesus be not only my Savior but the Lord of my life as well, I had many friends that did not believe. I was making new friends of the believers I met at church on Sundays.

Spending time with the new friends was different than the old ones. The jokes were clean and the spoken words free of profanities. When we got together we did not have to have a few beers to feel good and our conversations were about godly things instead of gossip about friends that were not present.

I had found a new team to belong to. It was a team that encouraged me toward God. The old team I had been associated with tempted me away from God. I knew this now. What did I do with those old team members? I still keep in touch, but I do not spend the same amount of time with them. I would like to see them able to come onto my new team, but I do not let them influence me.

I believe that In Christ we are all on the same team. Just because we go to a different church on Sunday mornings, we are still on the same team. We are still followers of Jesus. The team is Christ, not Church.

Serve God

2 Corinthians 6:8
We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. (NLT)

I grew up in a godly home. My parents brought me to church every Sunday and they went to a midweek service on Wednesday evenings. Their friends were also involved in church, but not always the same one my parents went to. And they had a few friends that Dad new from work. But it was not a religious life. It was a God centered life. I thought that is what everyone had until I got out on my own.

Years ago, when I was first married, I can remember thinking it strange when people would be so religious. That is what I called it, but now I know the difference between being godly and being religious. We are to be who we are in Christ and that does not have to come across to others as being religious.

So you were normal if you went to church and religious if you stood on a street corner and preached about Jesus. Feeding the homeless at a shelter was weird and part of that religious stuff. Only those Jesus people did that. They were those Born Again folks who raised their hands and sang far out songs about Jesus. I did not know about having a relationship with Jesus.

We do tend to stay away from those who are unlike us. It is easier that way. And if unlike us they must we weird and wrong. We live in a box with walls made from our life experiences and the teaching we have sat under. Even entire countries have the same box mentality.

My parents did not have God in a box, but I did. Logic put God in a Sunday box even though I believed He was everywhere. If I ignored that fact, I could keep Him in His box. I tried to live my worldly life and even stayed away from the God box for years. It was too religious. It would bring me too far away from those I called friend.

Now I know that what I want is for God to call me friend. I want a closer relationship with Him. I want to serve Him every day and to be open to hear His call-open to meet the opportunities He places in my path.

Christ Character

2 Corinthians 6:6
We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. (NLT)

When I was growing up I wanted to be just like my Dad. He was my hero and my role model. As I grew into my teen years, neither of my parents was on my "I want to be like them" list. As I grew older, I realized how foolish those thoughts were. They were wonderful examples of Christ's love in all they said and did.

I hope my life today shows purity, understanding, patience, kindness, and sincere love to others. That is a big piece of pie to eat. I don't think I can honestly say I excel in any of those attributes, but I desire to. I try each day to live up to the character of Christ. That is who I want to be like.

I see now that my parents really did live up to those qualities in all I can remember them doing. They lived a pure lifestyle, were filled with understanding, were patient especially with me, showed kindness in everything they did, were led by the Holy Spirit daily, and showed sincere love to all.

Stumble

2 Corinthians 6:3
We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. (NLT)

I remember when I was in High School. Many of my friends were trying alcohol by tapping into their parents supply. I did not have a parents supply because they did not drink. I managed to find some and left it in the car. Like my parents could not find what I left in their car. Hello! Yep, you guessed it. I got caught and there went the privileges to the car for a while. I just wanted to be like everyone else and was willing to stumble along with them.

When we volunteer to work at a soup kitchen or some other place where the homeless or less fortunate will be we dress down. It would not be good to get on our Sunday best to serve spaghetti and meatballs and would project the wrong image about how we saw them. They are equals in Christ to us.

More to the point is what we order when we go out to eat dinner with friends who have had a problem with alcohol in the past. They may be active in a 12 step program. This is not the time to order a beer with dinner. Our doing so may just give them the excuse that if we can, they can. We would be messing up their commitment to life with drinking. We could cause them to stumble.

Drinking is not the only thing. What comes out of our mouth could be even worse. How often would it be easy to gossip about someone else? How often could we get angry? How often could we curse someone when we are driving? Our sins could validate another's weakness and cause them to stumble.

Ignoring the Gifts

2 Corinthians 6:1
As God's partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God's kindness and then ignore it. (NLT)

As a child is growing up we see the natural gifts that God has given them. For some it is a gift of music. They are talented and can play an instrument almost by just picking it up. Others can draw. They seem to be able to just look at something and then make it appear on a piece of paper. It is like they are a copy machine.

Our system is such that people are more interested in a high paying profession then pursuing the talents God has given them. They look at the numbers and decide what they want to be. Gone are the desires to be a fireman or an astronaut. College looms on the horizon and they have to make up their minds. They ignore their talents.

God has also imparted us with spiritual gifts. Paul speaks of these in 1 Corinthians. The Holy Spirit will give them out on certain occasions as He needs them used. However, we each have been given some to use all the time.

His biggest gift to us was sending His Son Jesus so we could be reconciled to God. It was in His kindness that he did this. Yet how many ignore it? Paul speaks of accepting it and then ignoring it. What is that all about?

How many accept the gift of salvation and then sit back and wait? It is not a gift to be left on the shelf. We are call to GO and tell others what He has done for us. We are to talk about the Jesus we know.

Reconciling

2 Corinthians 5:18, 20
All of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. We are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God!" (NLT)

How difficult it is for us to be reconciled to others with whom we have had issues in our past. According to Encarta, to reconcile means to bring two or more people back into communications with each other after a dispute or estrangement and return them to a friendly relationship.

We know we need to forgive others for any past wrongs and ask them for forgiveness from ours. That is not reconciliation; that is forgiveness. We cannot have reconciliation without forgiveness occurring first.

Now that we are believers, God has given us the task of reconciling people to Him. Sure, you say, that all sounds good, but I am not God. How can I speak for Him? We have to. As Christ's ambassadors, we have the right and the authority to speak on God's behalf. He makes His appeal to them through us.

How can they be reconciled if they never believed, you say. They knew God before they were born. They still had communications with Him when they were in the womb and after they were born. Life on this earth in our human form takes us away from God. We need to come back to Him. And we are the vessel God uses to tell others about Him. We have been given the task of reconciling others to Him.

Human Point of View

2 Corinthians 5:16-17
We have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (NLT)

I remember back when I was out of school and first married. We used to think about that far off age of 50 and the possibilities of being retired by then. It was such a long way off, we thought. Well 50 has come and gone for me. And retirement did not come at 50. We are older now and our children's children have been having children!

As humans it is not easy to see others from another point of view. For many, even at my age, it is difficult to look at our children as equals, as adult humans. They are our children and we helped them grow up. But now they are grown up and are equals with us in life. They have made their share of mistakes just as we have. But, they are their issues and not ours to worry about. They will get to the other side of issues in life as we have with Christ by our side.

As each of us became believers, we were born again, new persons in Christ. The hard thing to grasp is that we are new even though in these old mortal bodies. Our spirits are alive and communicating with our Father God.

God even sent the Holy Spirit to live inside us to comfort and guide us into Truth. We have the right to a relationship with Jesus Christ. All we have to do is start the communication process. He is ready.

As we look at our fellow believers in the Body of Christ, we need to look past the mortal view and the knowledge we have of them before they met Jesus. We need to see them as our Father God sees them for the old life is gone and a new life has begun.

Judgment

2 Corinthians 5:9-10
So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body. (NLT)

We are each judged all through our school years; judged on how we do on the tests we are given. Even playing sports, we are judged by our coach based on his experience. He decides if we make the team or not. Then he decides our participation in the games.

When we go for a job interview we are judged first off by how we appear. Our chances of getting the interview or not could be decided on what we chose to ware. Come to an office job interview with shorts and a T-shirt wearing a baseball cap could get us back on the street before we get to see anyone about the job.

The opposite can occur as well. If we are looking for a job in construction, we do not want to show up in a suit and tie as if we were going to church on Sunday. They want someone ready to work on the job site, not in the office.

In either case, if we know the right person and they vouch for us, the judgment could go the other way. Who you know does count.

At the other end of life, when our days on earth are over and we cross over to the other side, who we know counts as well.

Christ will greet us and either hug us like the friend we have been in relationship with or he will wonder who we are. The interview will not go well if He does not know us for then we will be judged on all the evil we have done.

Live by Believing

2 Corinthians 5:7
For we live by believing and not by seeing. (NLT)

Most of us have probably said "I will believe it when I see it!" As Jesus has shown us in the gospels, many did come to believe in Him because of the miracles He did. Others believed because of what they had heard about him. Few just believed.

I came to know Him because my family new Him. They believed so I did. I was too young to question it. God was in my life and He was always there for me. Over the years I have learned a couple of things.

The first is that knowing without seeing that God is real is not the same as having a personal relationship with Him. It is through that relationship that we grow closer to God and partake in the promises He has given us.

The second is that most people grew up without a family belief in God. They have grown up with a "show me" mentality. They must have something proven before the can decide to believe. Perhaps they are similar to those Jesus encountered. They believed because they saw.

No matter how we come to believe, the important thing is that we do believe. And once we have gotten over the initial hurdle of belief, God does not have to prove Himself. Our belief opens a door to living by faith, by believing and not by seeing.

The Guarantee

2 Corinthians 5:4-5
While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it's not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit. (NLT)

I am reminded of getting prepared for a marriage. This is one of the biggest events in a couple's life together. The man asks the women for her hand in marriage. When she says yes, he places an engagement ring on her hand guaranteeing his commitment to her.

Months of work precedes the actual wedding day. The venue has to be decided upon and the date must coincide with availability.

The musicians must be contracted for as well as the videographer. The couple goes through a series of counseling sessions with the minister to insure they know what they are getting into with each other and to confirm their relationship with the Lord. All this happens to get to a short ceremony where they are pronounced husband and wife.

As believers we are also preparing for a marriage. We are the brides to be and Jesus is the groom. Like out earthly marriage, the first step is saying yes to the marriage proposal. When we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior and decided to follow Him, we said yes.

Better than a five carat diamond ring, He sends the Holy Spirit to live in us as His guarantee that we will be His bride when we pass over from this earthly realm to eternity.

Looking Ahead

2 Corinthians 4:18
So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. (NLT)

How difficult it is to not see the elephant in the room! When problems are in our life it is hard to look past them. And so we get so entangled in them we have time for nothing else. We constantly think about the issues and how we can solve them.

It is not just the troubles that take our gaze away. What about that new flat screen television? When you first installed it, I bet you had to sit in front of it every evening to enjoy it. Everyone was so big and the picture so sharp you just had to enjoy every minute you could.

Next you upgraded to a Blue Ray DVD player and surround sound. WOW! Bring on the new movies. It is almost like being in the movie theater. Once again we fix our gaze on what we can see.

Now that we have the new large screen set, we can get a WII with tennis, golf, exercise programs, car racing and lots of other cool stuff. We do not have to leave the living room to see movies or play golf or be in a super fast car race. We are wrapped up in what we can see and touch.

Our troubles are temporary and are things are just that. When we pass over to the other side we leave all our troubles and all our things. They are temporal, but the things we cannot see will last forever. We need to start looking ahead and fix our gaze on what we cannot see.

Never Give Up

2 Corinthians 4:16
That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. (NLT)

I am reminded of Winston Churchill's famous World War II speech where he said: "Never, never, never, never give up." Giving up is the easiest way out of most situations. Woman give up today by having abortions. Husbands and wives give up by getting divorced. School children give up by settling for the average grade. People who overeat give up by giving in to their addiction.

I am retired now, meaning I am collecting on the over fifty years of paying into the social security system. I am still doing the Lord's work and never intend to stop that. But as the years go on I have to admit I am not as agile as I was forty years ago-not even twenty years ago. I thank God every day for my healthy body and mind.

However, the condition of our mortal body has nothing to do with our reaching out to the lost. It has nothing to do with our God given talents. It has nothing to do with the fruits of the Spirit evident in our everyday living. Out spirits are being renewed every day.