The relationship builds.
I moved beyond words into presence.
I hunger to go beyond description into
dwelling.
I desire to ride knowledge into
communion with the Christ.
These are the tools –
Words
Description
Knowledge
This is the result –
Presence
Dwelling
Communion
Only then is it real and sanctifying.
Only then am I right(eous).
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with patience forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call. Ephesians 4:1-4
You, my dear, have a unique advantage in that you have been called and then taught the divine ways, maybe even since birth. You have held the power of prayer in your heart and mouth, the wisdom of God's Word in your mind and hand. The strength of the unity of the fellowship of believers as family and friends, knowing you've got each other's back has given you a place to live out Truth.
The full knowledge of that Truth, which overcomes every insignificant and misplaced idea that comes out of people in the city square or the body politic, does not sway you. Only the full grace of living within God's care can sway you, because, most of all, you bear the name of the Creator of the universe. His image is pressed within you AND you live within the living presence of His Spirit.
It is a high calling to represent Him. You must understand to do so will require that you lay down your earthly strength and your worldly knowledge in favor of His.
How could you not?
Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heaven!
Praise him for his might works;
praise his unequalied greatness!
Praise him with a blast of the ram's horn;
praise him with the lyre and harp!
Praise him with the tambourine and dancing;
praise him with strings and flutes!
Praise him with a class of cymbols;
praise him with the loudest of cymbals!
Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
Do you have any celebrations that look like this? At church? At home? At small group? I bet not. I've seen this in marching band and at rock and roll concerts, but not about God. I really think we are missing the point of the kind of celebration that God deserves and expects. Especially in David's time, we see this joyful spirit of festivity. I think of David as a party animal when it comes to his sense of thanksgiving and celebration. Seventy plus times in the Old Testament, God commands a celebration.
This kind of celebration requires deliberate planning, particularly dedicating everything to God.
This celebration is in the form of thanksgiving, in gratitude for past good and coming good, maybe in the form of daily dedications.
This kind of celebration can also occur by claiming God's promises. There are 3000 promises listed in various passages.
There is a communal nature of celebration where godly leaders lead joyfully, where everyone contributes, defining what is corporate worship because responding to the evidence of biblical truth is an encouragement for others' faith.
Celebration denotes a sacred space where belief is renewed with the music, the dance, the scripture, which can be used to revive the soul and make one wise through the exploration of God's truth. And it's the best party ever when Jesus is the star!
The heavens proclaim the glory of God:
the skies display his craftsmanship!
Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound of word;
yet their voice is always known.
Their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world.
The instructions of the Lord are perfect,
reviving the soul.
The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
The commandments of the Lord are clear,
giving insight for living.
Reverence for the Lord is pure,
lasting forever.
The laws of the Lord are true;
each one is fair.
They are more desirable than gold,
even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
even honey dripping from the comb.
They are a warning to your servant,
a great reward for those who obey them.
May the words of my mouth and
the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
most of Psalm 19
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So, let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God and he will give it to you without hesitation. But let him ask in faith, with no doubt, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. Such a double-minded person, unstable in all his ways, who not receive anything from the Lord. James 1:2-7
What a great promise! The assurance that God wants to give us what we need during times of trial! The question is whether we want the same thing God does. This is seen in James' use of "doubt." Only doubt will keep us from the wisdom to get through difficult times.
The word is not being unsure but rather being sure...of yourself. Of thinking that your answer is the only answer for relieving the stressor, thinking that you can dictate to God what you want for a solution.
Doubt - diakrino - dia+ krino - with prejudice, with judgment; to withdraw or oppose other offerings.
In my interpretation, doubt is to already know, to be assured of one's assessment, against God's assessment and judgment. "Ask in faith, not resting on your own assessment of the situation as if you know, thus, never hearing from God..."
How many times have I told God what to do!
How many solutions I have offered him!
That is not the door to wisdom. That thinking shuts the door to receiving God's thoughts and solutions to a difficult situation. What it takes to cause us to finally give up on ourself and finally be willing to listen to God can be harrowing.
An adult student of mine, who through years of addiction and drug dealing, finally faced the moment when all he could do was listen to God. As the prison doors shut, he realized that no one could help him. He was getting his just dues. He said, "I realized that I had nothing, no one...but God. I knew he was not likely to get me out of prison. I had committed the crime and now I was going to do the time. So, I asked for the one thing I knew from scripture that I could claim: 'Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction...' So, I prayed for the comforting presence of His Holy Spirit. I didn't ask for privilege or protection, just His presence."
Finally seeking what God wants is the way to wisdom. I put aside my prejudice and predetermined answers/solutions. I have found that when I have asked, He has told me yes or no and sometimes He has told me, "Better than this." And the best is always His presence.
God wants a full house.
He has a table of plenty;
He sets the table for plenty to join.
It’s ready.
He’s eager for the communing and the
community.
So, He employs his servants to lure the
people to the table.
“Come!”
The table is set.
“Come!” There’s room for all.
“Come!” Let no one miss out.
You, too.
Take your place:
Be part of the call or heed the call.
Make the table full.
“[John the Baptizer]: I baptize you with water for repentance,
but after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not
worthy to carry. He will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit and fire….Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be
baptized by John, but John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized
by you and do you come to me?” Jesus
replied, “Let it be so now. For it is
proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” So, John consented. Matthew 3:11, 13-15
John’s mission on the Jordan
river was well attended in his ministry.
The Jews had the practice of mikvoh, a Judaic ritual bathing that
had language around what we understand as baptism. People would step in and out: they went in unclean
and came out clean. They even used the language
of “new birth,” especially for Jewish converts who wanted a marking
ceremony.
John the Baptizer expanded the
meaning to include repentance and conversion, ladening the waters as an
expressing of God’s forgiveness and grace.
This conversion was expressed in the Greek word metanoia, which
means “change of mind”, but was expanded it to mean a change of heart, of
values and of lifestyle.
For me, the burning question
that arises around Jesus’ baptism is this:
Why did a sinless Jesus ask John to baptize him? I think one answer lies in Jesus’ task on earth
in living among people and bringing their identity into his. He wanted to identify with sinful people – “The
Son of Many came to seek and save the lost… (Luke 19:10) So he started where they needed to start – at
the place of repentance and conversion. Since
Jesus asked others to follow him, he included the baptism waters as a path.
But there is more.
Jesus’ baptism was a defining
act of his obedience to God. It demonstrated
his commitment by the announcement of baptism, a public display of his truth
and relationship with the Father. Its
import is announced by the Father, himself:
“As soon as Jesus was
baptized, he went up out of the water.
At that moment, heaven was opened and he saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and alighting on him.
A voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16-17.
Jesus used it to demonstrate his
allegiance to God and God used it to announce to the world his relationship
with Jesus. The dove is a symbol or metaphor for the visitation or inhabitation
of God’s Holy Spirit.
This was a turning point for
Jesus. Things would never be the same
thereafter.
How
was your baptism a defining act?
How was
your relationship with God changed by your baptism?
With
what symbol would you mark the receiving of the Holy Spirit in your life?
Do not speak harshly to an older man, but speak to him as a father; to younger men as brothers; to older women as mothers; to younger women as sisters - with absolute purity. 1 Timothy 5:1-2
Since we have been adopted as sons and daughters, the sibling relationship emerges as prominent in describing how the family of God should operate. I am thinking that our own sibling groups may often fall short of a being a guide. Some of the biggest contentions in our life might be with our siblings.
Yet, in the New Testament the relationship between believers is referenced as "brethren." It comes from the Greek word, delphos, which means "from the womb." It is cast as our commonness with Christ as if brothers/sisters by blood, hailing from the source of life of the Trinity: a common bond intended to honored.
Since our sibling groups on earth aren't always the best example, how does the Bible describe this sibling group?
First, the sibling ethos rests in mutual love. In John 15:12-13, "Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." This means to go the distance for each other, to be in service to the ones we love. Here are ways to do this:
- be of service to your siblings (Galatians 5:13)
- cause no one to stumble; don't get in the way of faith for anyone 1 Corinthians 8:11-13
- look to the interests of others (Romans 14: 15, 21; Philippians 2:4)
- share resources (Heb 13:16; 6:9-10; 10:24 -25)
- to the point resources are shared so there is equity (Acts 4:32, 34-35; Acts 11:29)
- hospitality is a top priority, a core-value (3 John 1:5-8, 9-10)
- act in unity, since in being one-minded and one-hearted (1 Peter 3:8 (Please note that this is "harmony" - of a blended chord not a single note and of same motivations - not self, but Christ's.)
- Paul censures all rivalries - pitting one against the other - selfish ambition and disunity. (Philippians 1:27-30; 4:2-3)
Paul's treatise on this unity is in Philippians 2: 1-5, finally declaring Christ as our ultimate example in verses 6-11. The sibling question becomes one of who is really in charge and that equity is to rule our relationships because the honor or loss of one is felt by the entire kinship group, as seen in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27. "If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it."
These seem to be the most demanding choices of the faith, to be in full allegiance with the family of God: No black sheep, no first born privileges (except Christ), no exclusions. We need this solidarity with each other is the ultimate expression of love when we all live a caste-based society with a hierarchy, which often results in the sequestering of human sustenance and privilege.
Also, we need this solidarity because it becomes the greatest tool for evangelism.
I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles. Psalm 145:5
We have long pursued the
“knowing” of God. To truly connect with the reality of the divine is no small
pursuit. Scripture gives us facts, and life offers us glimpses of his presence.
Yet the question remains: can we hold those moments long enough for them to
blossom into a deeper life with him?
Meditation is the doorway.
Reflecting on God—his splendor, his miracles, his care—multiplies our awareness
of him. For centuries, the church has tried to guide this pursuit. Stained
glass windows, sacred icons, even modern films attempt to bridge the gap
between human perception and divine reality.
And yet, no human creation can
equal the presence of God himself. Consider the difference: a photograph of a
mountain versus standing at its base; a video of waves versus feeling them
crash against your body; a picture of a stadium versus lying on the 50‑yard line. Images can point,
but they cannot replace immersion.
I remember lying at the foot
of El Capitan—how holy and arresting it felt. I remember the tide lapping at my
feet, and the terror of a riptide. I remember the roar of the crowd as my team
burst onto the field. No picture or video captures those moments. They hold
only a fraction of the emotion. No replica will do.
Even God’s Word—clear,
illuminating, and true—is not meant to replace the indwelling presence of the
Holy Spirit. The printed page comes alive only when the Spirit breathes it into
our lived experience. Meditation becomes the bridge, carrying truth from the
page into our hearts where Christ dwells.
Gratitude is a simple example.
Think of a meal or drink you enjoyed this week. How does that provision reflect
God’s care? Think of someone who showed you love today. Where do you see God in
that gift? To pause and re‑enter
those moments is to meditate.
The Psalm invites us: “Taste
and see that the Lord is good.” Our senses—God‑given and deeply human—become conduits for knowing him. Through
them, meditation moves us beyond words into presence, beyond description into
dwelling, beyond knowledge into communion with Christ.
So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law. Galatians 5:1
It is time for
the freedom, for which Christ died, to be part of the body of belief that we
teach to those we lead and nurture. I am
reminded of my Romanian roommate’s stories of the years of release from communism
after the revolution of the 1980s. She
said that the older people who had been accustomed to rules and dependence are not
faring well in a free-market economy that requires initiative, personal
commitment and hard work. It was easier
to be told what to do, to let someone else be creative and interactive with the
system. Now it requires personal
responsibility.
Jesus died for freedom’s sake. Paul urges us to stay free (Galatians 5:1) and to pursue Spirit-led living instead of law-driven living (Galatians 5:16-25). It might mean initiative, personal commitment and hard work, all required for relationship-building with any person, including our Lord. And if it is true that “union with God” is our primary goal, would this not make complete sense.
Jesus turned to his host. "When you put on a luncheon or dinner, don't invite your friends, brothers, relatives and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back and that will be your only reward. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you."
A man sitting at the table with Jesus exclaimed, "What a blessing it will be to attend the breaking of bread in the Kingdom of God!"
[The famous Great Feast parable follows - including the surprised of who it will include.]
Jesus told this parable: A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, "Come the banquet is ready." But all the guests began making excuses. One said, "I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please, excuse me." Another said, "I have just bought five pairs of oxen and I want to try them out. Please, excuse me." And another, "I now have a wife, so I cannot come."
The servant returned and told his master what they had all said. His master was furious and said, "Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame." Even after the servant did this, he reported, "There is still room for more."
So, his master said, "Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. For none of whom I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet." Luke 14:12 -25
I have often heard this preached as a warning to the wealthy, the hosts. Here we find that the original guests allowed other demands to take precedence over meeting the conditions of saying "yes" to an invitation. In this shame and honor culture, such events were highly significant...and turning down such an offer was quite offensive to a host. Yet, the first guests let economic opportunities, relationships and bad planning interfere with their first commitment.
What is the quirk of human nature that causes us
to miss out on the greatest invitations?
Yet, I find myself in the crowd of those not usually invited to such galas. The usual avenues to feeling like I am welcome, too, in religious circles feel awkward to me. I feel like I am outside of the invitation circle. I think all have felt like an outsider at some point, but God is intent on going to great effort to include us in his blessing banquet.
The servant, who is put in charge of the second wave of invitations, knows all the haunts to find people who really need the bread. This host even uses references of homelessness I understand: behind the hedges, along the roads. I've been lost down the backroads, hiding behind the boundaries, too.
The host, God, wants a full house. He has a table of plenty. He is using his servants to lure the needy to the table. Take your role. Be part of the call or heed the call. Make the table full!!
Your
way ran through the sea; your path cut through great waters, yet no one
can spot your footprints. This is how you lead your people:
obviously and invisibly. Psalm 77:19
So many
are searching. Christians often live in a continual awareness of seeking the
leading of God. He gives us his Word—solid, trustworthy, life‑giving—yet the
movement of his Spirit within us can still leave us wondering. How do I know
the “voice” I hear isn’t simply my own? How do I distinguish God’s
way from the world’s way, beyond the obvious sins we know to avoid? What should
my career be? Who should walk with me in life? Where does ministry fit in a
world overflowing with need?
This
metaphor from the Psalms steadies me. A path through the sea? Footprints
in the ocean? I’ve seen something like that in real life. I come from an area
where there are many gravel pits, the digs of the mounds of fill and silt
dropped by the glaciers during the last ice age. Before conservation
laws came into effect, gravel was often dug right up to the riverbanks,
swallowing sections of the river into the widening pit and leaving behind
a lake where land once stood. It looked as if the river had vanished.
But I
learned something: if you stand in just the right place, at just the right
time, you can see the river’s path running straight through that man‑made lake.
Invisible from most angles, but unmistakable when you know where to look.
That’s the key—knowing when and where to place myself so I
can catch God’s truth. That becomes the work: searching for that
vantage point, positioning myself with intention, waiting for the
moment when the hidden becomes clear. Just like an eagle who must
put themselves in the right place to soar and catch the wind, so must
I. And when I do—when I wait, observe and ready myself - God's
leading becomes astonishingly obvious. The revelation comes, and
with it, the action that follows.
Prayer:
Lord, teach me where to stand.
Quiet my striving so I can see
the path you cut through the waters.
Help me trust your leading
even when your footprints are hidden.
Make me ready for the
revelation—and the obedience—that follows.
Amen.
Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and he will be called Immanuel, which means "God with us." Matthew 1:23
"With" in the Greek is "meta," which simply translated means "among." It has other intonations, though, that includes participation, proximity, association and union. It signifies a personal union of the human and divine, symbolizing a symbiotic presence of the divine with humanity.
Do you remember the definition of symbiosis from biology class? Symbiosis is the interaction between two different organisms, denoting a mutually beneficial relationship. This really usurps ideas about "it's all God" I have heard. God intends a give-and-take.
This raises a huge amount of questions.
How does this mutually beneficial relationship develop? How are God and I impacting each other? God benefits from being in relationship with me?
I think about the very definitive description of "God is love." With him, love is not a one-way street. Love is God's way of being with someone. To return the gesture (symbiotically), how do I "be" with God? How do I place myself into God's desires?
So, how about this comparison (and expand it for yourself):
God "with" me Me "with" God
Presence - availability Seek out his Presence
Offer of the Holy Spirit Be aware of the movement of the Holy Spirit
Purpose Seek out his purposes
Triune-nature: community Seeking community of others
I'm not trying to fit the eternal and expansive God in me, but rather find my place in Him, his presence. I am not going to confine God to a "God-shaped-hole" in me, but rather find, live and grow into the space in God's presence and creation that he has for me.
God has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on the face of the earth...so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each of us: for in Him we live and move and have our being..." Acts 17: 26-28b.
I love the metaphor of water: submerged, I find I am in the water and it is in me.
Lord, submerge me in you, your ways, your presence, your movement. Let me bear no resistance to the full presence of You! Carry me and sustain me. Amen
Psalm 74
A lament during the exile to Babylon
What is our exile?
It feels as if the democracy “experiment”
has failed. It is crumbling from within. Its one success was that it spawned an ideal of
self-governance and liberty around the world, but now it fails to protect
itself.
Though it did not hail from religious beginnings, it was from the faith of men wanting self-rule. A flawed beginning held together by a construct/a mythology that slowly spread, sporadically and imperfectly, to all people within the boundaries that freedom mattered. That mythology did not hold, though, because forces of old – greed and power – used an inherent hierarchy to reinvent a system of control over the masses. Freedom and equity (whether of power, sustenance, health, opportunity…) would no longer exist, if it ever did.
Maybe the Republic was just a false front.
Did we invest too much in the
man-made structure of democracy? Is that
our torture now? Did we make freedom and
self-governance a sanctuary that only served those who thought to sequester the
power, pretending it was for all?
We claimed our identity around
the altar of democracy. Did the Republic
even define our “religion”?
Self-governance took you, O God, out of your rightful place among
us. We valued freedom and happiness as
first pursuits when You should have been our first pursuit – then you would
have defined and given freedom and happiness in a more encompassing way.
Is this what the Republic has
done?
·
Was it a lion that claimed the inner sanctum (of
being and import) in each of us for itself?
·
Did the Republic rip to shreds culture groups’ and
people groups’ purpose and protection? (Ask the American Indian, African slave
and the immigrant.)
·
Did the democracy “scorch” all the places where
God can meet His people? (In the name of
advancement and financial growth, did earth pay the price for settlement and
expansion?)
And now the experiment of
democracy crumbles. Will it soon go up
in flames with only ash and smoke remaining?
The deconstruction of the
American Republic might be God’s effort to reorder the culture and bring people
back to the right place of salvation on the land, with God in the lead. What power is needed to finish off bad
governance, misdirected ideology? We are
watching inherent evil do it for us.
Power belongs to God. Can’t you see it in the cycle of life on the
earth? Even the cycle of the universe –
day and night – belongs to God.
Don’t forget that the enemy has
taunted You and we, as a company of fools, have snubbed you, O Lord. Bring back our focus and renew our spirits
such that we turn again to You. Don’t
forget us and Your true intention for all. Put us again in a position to give
You praise!
Lord, rise up and defend your
cause. Reveal and remove our foolish
pursuits.
I dare not say
what I might write
if just left to
pen and light.
I dare not think
of what I’d do
if bereft of
love and thought of you.
I’m overtaxed
with sight and sound
And filled with
dread of greater wrongs.
So, I move my
attention
give attention
pay attention
pay the price by
moving my thoughts into the debit column of your offering.
It’s in your
hands now
and with head
bowed,
divested of
being in the center,
I lay at the
edge
no longer in
torment.
Shouldn't we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life? If the old way [under the law], which brings condemnation, was once glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way. 2 Corinthians 3: 8-10
Life's questions - determining the answers for who we are and what we should do - often revolve around the wrong theme. What if life's questions revolved around God? (not the church and its rites and rituals nor us and our misplaced affections)
What was God's purpose for creation?
What was God's purpose for me?
What does God intend for this day?
How do I get involved with those intentions, both externally in the world and internally in me?
What does God want me to become?
How can I move towards that "becoming"?
How can I "be" in him, for him, of him?
God's good intentions are for this "new way," a "good" way thas new definitions:
1) communities of belonging for all
2) personal experience of belonging with God and his people
Life's big questions usually revolved around me. NO. Time to ask the questions of life with God in mind. That would be glorious!
I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles. Psalm 145:5
We have long pursued the "knowing" of God. To connect with the reality of the divine is quite the pursuit. Oh, we know the facts that we read in the Bible. We might have an experience of him in our lives, but can we hold that experience and let it flower into a deeper life with him?
I believe that proper meditation of God - his splendor and miracles for each of us - deserves to be multiplied. It's an effort that the church has attempted to guide for a long time. The stained glass of the buildings, the religious icons artfully presented, even the movies that we make today attempt to provide a bridge to realizing God's presence.
Yet, there is a difference between those man-made presentations and the actual presence of God. Think about the difference between seeing a picture of a mountain or standing at its base. Compare a video of pounding waves with swimming in them. Note the difference between a picture of your team's football stadium or laying on the 50-yard line of the field.
I remember the holy presence of laying at the foot of El Capitan. It is breath-taking and focusing. There is nothing like the lap of the tide at your feet or the terror of being caught in a riptide. I have joined in with the crowd at the entrance of my team onto the football field. No distant picture or video compares...and barely holds the emotions of the original act. No replica will do.
Even God's word - clear, illuminating and truth-telling - is no substitute for the indwelling of the presence of God through his Holy Spirit. The printed word comes alive only when the voice and movement bears its truth in our lives. Meditation can provide that movement as we take a printed or spoken truth and remember how its truth is portrayed in us.
Gratitude is an easy meditative example. Think of a delightful meal or drink you had this week. How does that provision remind you of God? What person presented love and care for you today. How do you see God in that gift? To take the time to re-live those moments is to truly meditate.
The Psalm says, "Taste and see that the Lord is good." Our senses, given by God, can supply us the conduit for meditation. We know best with our senses. Thus, meditation moves us from the printed Word - though good - into our heart where Christ dwells.
Someone came to Jesus with this question: "Teacher, what must I do, what good thing must I do, to have and hold eternal life." Matthew 19:16
We are looking for that "eternal life" and I think most of us don't even know what we are looking for. Eternity is often explained and thought of as something in the future, but according to the Greek, it is more. The implications of the language make it clear that this life is current. It is life now. It is life for now as much as in the future, which I like to call "life-before-death" because too many times we think this culminated life is only futuristic - after our death.
"Eternal" - aionios - with no beginning and no end. So, this timeline doesn't start in the future, but has been ongoing. This fulness has been possible all the time, the future only being an extension of what we have gained now.
"Life" - Zoe - being in the state of vital living - in absolute fulness. It is life active and vigorous: blessed and animated for the causes of community and God. It is sometimes translated as "lifetime."
"What must I do" - agathos - sometimes translated as "good deed," but not really. It's more positional - having a good constitution or nature; being good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful; upright or honorable.
What if salvation, resurrection and eternal life is in the present: us living our fullest life of goodness within our beings and within our surroundings....as God intended. That is righteousness - literally "rightness" - to be as God intended, as he created us to be. Jesus loves me just as he created me and then died to bring me closer to the divine. He likes what I am. He enjoys my presence, guards my journey.
Psalm 37:3-4 Trust and do the good* thing (for yourself) and live into what God provides and rest/keep company in his faithfulness. Take joy in the Eternal. His gifts are coming and they will meet your heart's needs.
* good - tob - pleasant, better, well, merry, prosperous, precious, beautiful, glad; of rich moral character.
God wants the best for me now and into eternity. I don't need to hit the wall of goodness after death, but live fully now in the life he has ushered in for me through the life and death of his Son.
Make me ready to receive!
From an adult student: "Our attitudes cannot be situational. They must come from deep inside of who we are, otherwise, we are just pawns - victims of our circumstances. This is life-diminishing."
Have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think it was his place to seize that role as an opportunity; he did not cling to that identity for his advantage.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges, took on the humble position of a slave and submitted to being born a human being as he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross. Philippians 2:5-8
While Christ understood who he was, he also understood what his role was while on earth. He came to save the least and the lost and could only do that by joining the community of humanity. I wonder if it was a devastating loss just to leave heaven and become human...but he didn't stop there as he embrace his path and his human end, all for the cause of God's people.
Have that same attitude. The Greek word is phroneo. It means to be wise and mindful of one's role. And it means to set one's affections and determinations to direct one's mind and actions toward the right cause, towards God's cause.
To do so based on knowledge and commitment of what God says about us removes us from the whims of the world. We won't be blown this way and that, but can stay steady, firm on the word we get from God.
Since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. He understands because he faced those same tests as we do. Go to him and find grace to guide and help you when you need it most. Hebrews 4:14-16
Look on me with a heart of mercy, O God, in line with your great compassion (fondness, mercy, cherished as if "from the womb"). Wipe away my sin and any consequences thereof. Thoroughly wash me (cleanse me and purify) of all my sin (and my sin nature.) (Take away the consequences as a symbol of my return to purity.)
For I am fully aware of all I have done wrong and my guilt is there staring me in the face. It was against you and you alone that I have sinned...and I did it right in front of you.
You are right: when you speak, when you judge, your judgments are based on just causes and pure motives. I, on the other hand, was guilty from the day I was born, a sinner from the time my mother became pregnant with me. Despite my bad beginnings, you want desire and take pleasure in the following:
