Life Patterns: Living as Citizens of Heaven

 Have you ever felt like you don’t quite belong in the world around you? As disciples of Jesus, that sense of disconnect isn’t a mistake—it’s a reminder of where our true citizenship lies.

In this post at Paul’s Ponderings, I reflect on Philippians 1:27–30 and share three key life patterns that help us live as citizens of heaven: loyalty, courage, and awareness. These aren’t lofty ideals—they’re practical ways to show the world who we really are and what kingdom we represent.

I invite you to read, reflect, and respond—and to ask God for the strength to live faithfully, no matter what comes your way.

Read the full post here: Life Patterns: Living as Citizens of Heaven

The Life We Imagined

We all carry an ideal image of what life should be—but for many of us, reality falls short, leading to disappointment and frustration. While hardship is undeniably part of the human experience, settling for a survival mindset may cause us to miss something greater: the life God truly intends for us. In this post, we’ll reflect on the Apostle John’s words in 1 John 2:24–25 and explore two powerful truths—true life flows from obedience to Jesus, and it is found in fellowship with God. This “eternal life” isn’t merely about duration; it’s about depth. It’s a life of meaning, purpose, and redemption—and it’s available to all who walk with God.

Read The Life We Imagine vs The Life God Offers.

Far Too Easily Pleased

Uncover the life God dreams for you in Shattered Dreams: Far Too Easily Pleased, the powerful finale of our 4-part series. Explore five transformative traits from John 13–17—servanthood, love, abiding in Jesus, Spirit-led guidance, and unity—that reveal God’s vast vision beyond our fragile plans. Inspired by C.S. Lewis, this post challenges us to trade mud pies for infinite joy. Read now and awaken to the unshakable purpose waiting in your brokenness!

Shattered Dreams: Far Too Easily Pleased

The Loyal Leader

William Barclay in his Daily Study Bible: the letter to the Hebrews wrote: 

The real leader, if need be, dies in loyalty. He shows men how to live and is prepared to show them how to die. Jesus, having loved his own, loved them to the end; and the real leader having loved Jesus, loves him to the end. His loyalty never stops halfway. (p. 195)

Wow! What a thought. 

The best Christian leaders are people whose loyalty to Jesus gives them the courage to live a life worthy of Jesus and his sacrifice. These leaders understand that their lives are an example on how to live. This also includes preparing to die well.

This raises the question: Am I prepared to show other people how to die? 

To be honest, it isn’t something have really considered. My main focus has been on how to live well because death isn’t something I have had to face. It is hard to be an example to someone when you haven’t had to experience it yourself.

Maybe that is the wrong way to think about it.

Rather than thinking about the end of life, perhaps we should think about life. When we do something well to the best of our ability we can walk away confident that we did well. If we apply this to the end of life, we can face death with no regrets when we lived by faith, remaining loyal to Jesus.

The true leader in the Church is the person who is loyal to Jesus. 

Doubts may come, hardships may arrive, and persecution may be present, but that leader remains committed to Jesus. He or she is an example of what it means to live by faith, even if that commitment takes them to their death. 

No matter what, they will not forsake their King.

If I am to be the leader my family and church needs, then I have to be an example of loyalty and faith no matter what happens in my life. Attendance my rise and fall, but my confidence remains in Jesus. Health issues may creep in, but I remain faithful to Jesus. 

Loyalty and faith are not fickle. They are committed through the ups and downs of life.

A good leader realizes that his life is on display and that his actions are a powerful testimony of his faith. As people follow his example, they are constantly preparing for the end of their life, because they can face death with no regrets.

What Really Matters

Remember the t-shirts that had the message: “______________ is life, the rest is just details” written on it?

It is not uncommon for people to have one or two passions that dominate their lives.

Some live as if football is life and others live as if politics were life and still others live as if family were life. We have a tendency to make something the focal point of our lives. 

Disciples of Jesus need to recognize our tendency to elevate a passion to the ultimate position in our lives. It could be a good thing like family and career or it could be a destructive thing like drugs and partying. 

It doesn’t matter what it is. What matters is that we recognize our ability to do this.

Perhaps that is one of the reasons Paul’s prayer for the Philippians is for knowledge and understanding: Paul wanted his readers to know what really mattered in life. 

For Paul what mattered in life wasn’t whether or not the Republicans controlled the government, who was going to play in the Super Bowl, how much you weigh, or the amount of money you make. 

It is not that these things don't matter, but at most they are secondary issues.What ultimately matters is the way we live. 

In other words, Paul wanted to make sure that his readers lived lives that represented Jesus and honored God.

This is hard to do. 

We usually think in terms of how we can avoid bringing dishonor to God’s name. Trying not to dishonor God is not the same as intentionally doing things that glorify Him. 

I think this is where many of us are at in our walk with Jesus. 

We are satisfied with trying not to sin, trying to avoid what God prohibits, and we miss truly demonstrating God's character to the world. We are content with not hating our neighbor rather than truly loving him.

What we need is a shirt that says, “Following Jesus is life. The rest is just details.”

Following Jesus through the ups and downs of life is the way we demonstrate his character in this world. 

That is precisely what we are created to do.

Sunday Prayer: Connect Me to You

 

Dear Jesus, I love you. I worship you. I trust you.

I want to bear the image of God in this world and I come to you, Jesus, so my connection with you can be restored. The only way I can demonstrate God's character is to have your life flowing through me. I need your love, your grace, and your wisdom in me so I can live a life that is worthy of you.

Jesus, you are the vine and I am the branch. You are the source of my life and I need to be grafted onto you. I want to be filled with your life, love, and wisdom. Fill me with you, Jesus, so I can overflow with your love and bring glory and praise to God.

Jesus, connect me to you, for apart from you I can do nothing.

Keep Making Progress

 

This year has been, at least emotionally, the most difficult year of my life.

It started last November with a difficult situation within our church community that caused me to doubt my leadership abilities.

Then we moved into winter, that dark time of year that causes depression in many people, myself included. My heart, mind, and soul were heavy.

We all know what happened as winter began to turn into spring - pandemic and lockdowns. I was faced with trying to pivot and provide online worship and resources for people, while not being able to meet face to face to figure things out.

In May my right leg began to hurt. I lived with the pain for a week, trying to convince myself that it wasn't what I knew it was - a blood clot. This was my second clot and I knew that I would now be on blood thinners the rest of my life.

During this time came BLM and protests, and the added pressure of trying to figure out the right things to say about an important moment in America. One of the difficulties of being a pastor is the expectation to have a position or at least a thought about everything that happens.

As things began to open up we had the great mask debate and the discussion of whether our not churches should follow the lockdown orders. After all, I was told, President Trump declared churches as essential, so we should be meeting in person.

This was followed by several families informing me they were leaving. Which again had me doubting my ability to do this job as pastor.

Even during the summer, when I am usually depression free, I found myself sinking deeper into depression.

By the end of August, I realized I needed to make a change. Not only was I depressed, but my health was being affected. I was the heaviest I had ever been in my life, I was not sleeping well, and the simplest activities were exhausting me.

The change started with my wife Jenny telling me about an app from Ransomed Heart that was created in connection with John Eldredge's book Get Your Life Back (which I haven't read) called One Minute Pause. I started doing the app every day, usually more than once a day. It helped me to reorient my life back to God.

Doing The Pause app reminded me that through the Wild at Heart website John Eldredge has a resource of prayers. I began daily praying the Daily Prayer for the Head of Households. This practice helped me to start reading the Bible daily again.

After about a month of putting prayer and Bible reading back into my daily rhythm of life, I was ready to start focusing on my physical health. There were a couple of false starts as I tried to figure out the best way to implement what I knew I was supposed to do. Even though I knew the right things to do I was having trouble doing them.

That is when I found out about another app called Noom. This app/program is designed to help you make a lifestyle change so that you can live a sustainable healthy life. Last week one of the readings that Noom had me read dealt with understanding that there would be setbacks and struggles through this process. To combat that reality I was asked to write an "Oh well" statement that I could use when I stumbled. Mine is, "Oh well, I am still making progress." 

The next day I saw this Dave Ramsey tweet:

It is a wonderful thing that we can decide to make changes in our lives. We can make today the day that change begins. It is crucial to remember this.

I also think it is crucial to remember that change is hard. It doesn't happen over night and it doesn't happen just because you know the right thing to do.

Things like overcoming depression, losing weight, getting out of debt, or decluttering your house takes time. If we expect this change to go smoothly, for our habits to shift right this moment, and for our life to be perfect tomorrow we are setting ourselves up for failure.

Making these positive changes in our lives requires time and effort, and more than likely we are going to have a moment or two when we binge on Moose Tracks Ice Cream or put a shopping spree on the credit card, or do something else dumb that we have trained ourselves to do.

That is why we have grace. 

God is not expecting us to be perfect. After all He made allowance for repentance and confession. What God is after is our continued progress towards being like Jesus.

I believe in our quest to make changes in our lives the best thing we can do is to give ourselves grace and to remember that we will stumble along the way. Understanding this helps us to own up to our failure and move on by saying, "Oh well, I am still making progress."

The Commitment of our Hearts

One of the amazing promises of the Gospel is that new life is available in Jesus Christ.  This is the life that God created us to live.

In John 10:10, the very passage Jesus declared his purpose to give people abundant life, Jesus called Satan a thief who steals, kills, and destroys the life God has given to people. Through Jesus, God gives life, but Satan is out there to make sure that life is not enjoyed.

One of the ways Satan robs us of life is to convince us of lies about who we are. When we believe these lies we are prevented from taking the next step forward, we are held down with oppressive guilt, and we are impeded from developing relationships that bring accountability and encouragement into our lives. It is hard to step out in faith when you believe that you are fatally flawed in your character.

The reason these lies are believable is because we know our weaknesses. Each one of us have sin in our lives that we have struggled with for years, and yet have not overcome.

You may have tried to stop gossiping, but every now and then you can’t resist the temptation to pass along a particular juicy bit of information. Perhaps you have tried to quit telling “dirty” jokes, but when you get together with the guys you can’t seem to pass up the opportunity to join in. Then there are the things that you do when no one else is around, from what you look at on the internet to the movies that you watch. All followers of Jesus have sin that seems to stick with them, no matter how much they hate it and struggle to overcome it.

Please remember, this is a common experience for everyone who follows Jesus. Yes, God wants us to overcome the sin in our lives. Sin hinders our relationship with Him and is a stumbling block in our effort to reach out to others with the grace of God.

It is true that God desires sinlessness, but it is also true that God has also promised us forgiveness. John wrote:

If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. (1 John 1:8-9; NLT)

What John wanted his readers to understand is that God knows we are going to sin, and so He promised to forgive those people who confess and repent. That is great news, and should be a welcome relief in the midst of our guilt and shame.

I believe the implication of this reality is that God is pleased when we enter the battle against sin and start to take action against those behaviors that hold us in bondage. It is through this struggle with sin that God shapes us into the people He wants us to be.

Every sin you commit doesn’t make you a moral failure. As long as we live in these bodies of flesh in a world that is dominated by evil (things opposed to the life God wants us to live) we are going to sin. We need to remember the amazing grace of God, for without the safety net of grace every sin would result in our destruction.

Not only is God patient with us, but He is also actively at work to give us the ultimate victory from sin. We cannot undo the consequences of our sin. This means our only hope is to be rescued from sin. That is what Jesus accomplished through his death and resurrection.

This rescue operation doesn't happen overnight. It is a life long process, and this is why the New Testament says we are saved, we are being saved, and that we will be saved. Our rescue began the moment we put our faith in Jesus and it continues until Jesus comes again.

The reason for this long process is because we habits that have been ingrained into our lives through years of repeated behavior, and therefore it will take months, if not years, to overcome these behaviors. In this struggle we are going to win battles and we are going to lose others. It is an act of faith, and it pleases God, when we engage the enemy and begin the long campaign to rid our lives of sin. This is the process needed to develop holy character.

The writer of Hebrews wrote about this truth:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won't become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.(Hebrews 12:1-4; NLT)

These witnesses to the life of faith all struggled with sin in their lives. The great icons of faith in the Old Testament (Abraham, Moses, and David) had periods of life when they disobeyed God and sinned, but God still counted them as righteous. Why did God do this? Because their hearts belonged to Him and they were willing to follow God wherever He led them.

What matters most to God is the commitment of our hearts.

We can beat ourselves up because we still have sin in our lives, but God is pleased when we faithfully follow Him. I am not saying sin is unimportant, what I am saying is that when our hearts belong to God then sin becomes insignificant.

Sin is insignificant because it is no longer our identity. By trusting Jesus our true identity is found in him and we are now counted as part of God's Kingdom (Colossians 1:13-14).

Satan will attack us and try to get us to doubt our salvation by reminding us of the sin we cannot throw off. He wants us to get frustrated and give up.

The Gospel declares that Satan doesn't have the final word. The final word belongs to God, and He has declared that everyone who follows Jesus is Holy (Colossians 1:22). That is the word that we need to hold on to in our effort to become the people God created us to be.

If you enjoyed this post go to Paul's Ponderings for more great content.

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Loyalty and Leadership

Being a leader is a great responsibility.

People in leadership, whether it is by their example or their position, have people who are follow them. That means leaders have a moral obligation to the people they are leading. As a Christian leader I understand that obligation is to show those following me the way to life.

Peter wrote; “For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.” (1 Peter 1:18-19; NLT; italics are mine)

Peter reminds us that the life we receive from the world is an empty life. The sad reality is that this life is the only life most people know. That is why I am obligated to show, through teaching and by example, that there is a better way to live life.

See more at: Paul's Ponderings | Loyalty and Leadership 

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A Life that Shines

Apologetics, the discipline of defending the Christian faith, is an essential discipline for the survival of the Church. Christians need to have confidence that their faith is rooted in truth. Non-Christians need to know that following Jesus is not taking a blind leap into the dark, but is based on truth supported by evidence.

As important as apologetics is to the life of the church, it is not the primary reason people become Christians. For many people the obstacle to following Jesus is not an intellectual obstacle, but a pragmatic obstacle. People want to know if following Jesus makes any difference in their lives.

In An Unstoppable Force Erwin McManus made this point:

"For too long we have hidden behind the rightness of propositional truth and have ignored the question or whether or not it works. Does the faith you advocate get you to God? If people are observing your Christianity and reserving allegiance to see what team actually wins, is there enough evidence in your life to cause a person to see Jesus as sufficient? What an incredible opportunity we have in a world of uncertainty! We know that God is and that Jesus is his name. There are many things that we don't know, but what we know is enough." (p. 58)

Finish reading at A Life that Shines » Paul's Ponderings

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Time to Go to the Beach

Have you ever felt like there was more to life?

You fall into a routine and you get comfortable as you navigate the responsibilities, joys, and frustrations of every day life. Yet, even in the midst of the comfort, there is a gnawing in your heart causing you to wonder if you are missing out on something larger.
I know I have.

C. S. Lewis wrote; “We are halfhearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

I have settled for a life that is far less than the life God desires to give me. This isn't about how successful my life is, but about how closely I am living out God's purpose for my life. I am content to live a moral life and enjoy time with my family, but often I miss out on the life that God is calling me to live.

This is true for many American Christians. Our lives are so easy and smooth most of the time that we are able to live life on cruise control and pay little attention to God. We have settled for a life of moral living (when it suits us), attending Sunday worship (when we have nothing better to do), and giving $10 (if we can spare it). We have made Christianity something we do rather than who we are. In the process we have settled for life in the slums, when God wants to take us to the beach.

Finish reading at Paul's Ponderings: Time to Go to the Beach

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Stay Alert

Life has a way of dulling our senses. With our responsibilities and commitments we often miss out on the wonder and majesty this world has to offer.

It is important for us to be responsible: to do the work that we were hired to do, to pay our bills, and to take care of our families. It is also important to open our eyes to the world around us and be reminded that as the Creator, God is present in all of it.

The danger of missing the joyous and beautiful aspects of life causes us to miss seeing God in the world. That is why many of us could be called Deists. Yes, we believe that God exists, but we don’t believe He is in this world or cares about what happens to our lives. This is one reason why we struggle with experiencing God as our loving Heavenly Father. We don’t truly believe that God is present.

On the flip side of this, when we allow life to dull our sense, we miss seeing the Enemy at work. Not only have made God distant from our reality, we have convinced ourselves that Satan doesn’t even exist. There might be some faceless evil out there that is responsible for everything from cancer to genocide, but there isn’t a personality directing it.

Finish reading at Paul's Ponderings: Stay Alert

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God's Promise of Life

{Isaiah 1:18-20; ESV}

“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient,

you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

One of the wonderful promises God has made to us is that He will remove our sin and make us new. Let me put it another way: God will redeem our lives!

God will take all the junk, the sin, the pain, and the tragedies and exchange them for eternal life. This promise speaks to the heart of many people because we want our lives to have weight to them.  We want our lives to matter!

At this moment many of us feel like our lives are being wasted. The consequences of sin hold us in bondage and the addictive nature of sin has turned us into people we don’t want to be. Our hearts come alive when we discover that God promises to change this reality.

There is another side to this coin. God has promised to help us, to re-create us, and to take away our sins, but He also expects us to accept the help and redemption that He offers. The key to receiving God’s help is faith. Faith is not just about having a belief in God, but it is trusting God. I like to say that belief + action = faith.

See more at Paul's Ponderings: Experiencing God's Promise of Life 

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Trust God with Your Life

{James 1:1-4; ESV} 

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 

 It is no secret that life is filled with heartbreak, disappointment, tragedy, and an assortment of other troubles. We understand that God has not promised us an easy life. We are also aware of His ability to use the junk of our lives to mature our faith and transform us into the people He created us to be. The reason we should find joy in our suffering, is because God redeems our pain to make us new creations.

Yet, we also know that this is easier said than done. When our lives are going smoothly, or at least manageable, we can say, “I trust God no matter what happens.” It is easy to trust to God when things seem to be easy.

 When the clouds descend and the storm hits often our trust in God disappears. If we are not careful we may even begin to question God's heart. We may even begin to question His existence.

 How do we encourage each other in the midst of trials without sounding like a cheerleader? You know the person who says, “Just try a little harder. You can do it. Hang in there.” That type of encouragement is worthless. It is like trying to encourage a guy with a compound leg facture to get up and run a marathon, “You can do it. I am in your corner. I will pray for you.” We would recognize such behavior as cruel, and rightly so, because the problem isn't a lack of effort but a broken leg.

See more at Paul's Ponderings : Trust God with Your Life

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Morning Prayer 1.0

{Matthew 6:9-13; ESV}

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

My Lord and My God, I praise You for being who You are. You are my Creator and I thank You for giving me life. You are my Heavenly Father and I love You for bringing me into Your family.

{Psalm 16:11; ESV}

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Good Shepherd, as I begin this day I ask that You will lead me on the path of life. It is so easy for me to become distracted by the things of this world. Everything from politics to sports to responsibilities to emergencies distract me from my true calling, and I find myself constantly wandering away from You.

Watch over me, pursue me when I wander, pick me up when I stumble, and correct me when I disobey. I want to live the life You created me to live.

Lord, show me the futility of a life based on the things of this world. Remind me that the things of this world pass away, so my true desire can be eternal things. Put into my heart the longings for love and truth so that my supreme desires can only be found in You. I surrender my life to You, Christ Jesus. Guide me to true and eternal life.

{Colossians 3:1-4; NLT; Personalized}

Since I have been raised to new life with Christ, I set my sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. I think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For I died to this life, and my real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is my true life, is revealed to the whole world, I will share in all his glory.

Holy Spirit, You know my heart and my mind so I ask that You will reveal to me the earthly and impure thoughts, motives, and desires that reside in me. Help me to say no to these things so I can set my sights on the things of heaven.

Renew my heart and mind so I will desire heavenly things. Strengthen my will so I can say no to the things of this world. Give me eyes to see from an eternal perspective. Empower me to live a life that glorifies you. This is the true desire of my heart.

Help me Father to pursue You with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Help me Lord Jesus to live a life that honors You. Help me Holy Spirit to be guided by You each day.

See more at Paul’s Ponderings: Morning Prayer 1.0

 

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Don't Let Time Slip Away

As I grow older the more aware I am of the passing moments of life. The younger you are the easier it is to put things off by saying, “I will do it tomorrow”.

With each passing day time slips through our fingers. We have to remember that we only have a limited supply of tomorrows, and we don't know when they will run out.

The good intentions that we have will remain undone if we don't begin to make an effort to accomplish them today. Intentions only become accomplishments through action.

We all have dreams, goals, and passions that we would like to accomplish. Maybe you want to improve the relationship you have with a distant brother/sister or maybe you want to start a romantic relationship with a long time crush. Perhaps you want to write a book or go back to college. Maybe you want to change careers or start your own business. Perhaps you want to serve God in a new capacity or go on some type of missions trip. We will not accomplish any of it unless we put forth the effort to accomplish them.

Tomorrow will not be any less busy than today is. We can be certain that tomorrow will bring with it a new set of troubles and expectations.

See more at Paul's Ponderings: Don't Let Time Slip Away

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Commentary: Freedom from Fear

Fear is a common human experience.  Fear is beneficial when it leads us to not take unnecessary risks, but often fear robs us of the life God created us to enjoy.  How can we experience freedom from our fears? That is the question I attempt to answer in this commentary at Paul's Ponderings.

I grew up on a farm in northwest Iowa. There is no better place for a boy to grow up than on a farm, there are so many different ways for him to explore his creativity, curiosity, and sense of adventure. The farm is a great place for a boy to learn to become a man.

Another benefit for me of growing up on the farm was the opportunity I had to face some of my fears.  One summer I had to face two of my greatest fears at the same time: heights and rats. We had a big white barn that was  infested with rats.  This type of infestation is not uncommon where you have large amounts of grain stored, a great source of food the the rodents.

I had developed a fear of rats after hearing an old radio show on Sunday at the Memories that was about a light house that was over run by these killer rats.  A story my uncle Phil told about a rat running up a person’s pant leg sent chills up my spine didn’t help matters.

That summer I was required to go into the barn, climb a ladder, walk along a 2×4, descend into the right bin, and shovel oats into a bucket to feed the horse.  I got a knot in the bottom of my stomach every time I went out to do this chore.

Continue reading Freedom from Fear » Paul's Ponderings.

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Living the Best Life

Life rarely lives up to our expectations. I suspect even if we were able to live the life of our dreams it would still leave us unsatisfied. The reason is true life is only found in Jesus.

Each one of us has an image of what life should be like. Some might picture the best life to be a mansion on a hill and millions of dollars in the bank. Others might define life as a two-story house with a white picket fence and a loving family. Still others might think the ideal life is the party scene with lots of friends.No matter what our image of life might be, we have all had those moments when we have thought, “Now this is the life!”

Outside those momentary glimpses of the life we desire, how many of us are living the life of our dreams?

I can say that I am content with my life, but there are still areas that I long to change. I still have dreams I want to accomplish, places I want to visit, and events I want to experience. On top of that reality I continue to desire to grow in my relationship with God and become the person He created me to be.

Finish reading Living the Best Life » Paul's Ponderings

 

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Video: Living a Life that Matters

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Jesus Alone Can Heal Us

J. Heinrich Arnold wrote; "Jesus alone can heal us and give us a new heart.  He came to restore us through his blood, and every heart, however tormented, can find comfort and healing in him" (Freedom from Sinful Thoughts).

Part of the human condition is to look for life apart from God.  At one time or another everyone resembles the church family at Laodicea.  These Christians believed that because of their wealth, their continued prosperity, and their industry that they needed nothing.  They clung to the belief that their hard work, their great economy, and their wonderful city provided for them everything they needed.

The problem was God saw things differently.  They saw themselves as fashionable and wealthy, but God knew they were poor, pitiful, and pathetic (Rev. 3:17).  Their source of life and healing was nothing but a broken cistern, unable to give them what they truly needed.

The counsel Jesus gave to this church was to turn to him and he would give them real wealth, real healing, and real fashion.  These Christian would rather make do with the things of this world than to experience the real life Christ delivered them to live.

So many of us continue to insist on finding hope, healing, and life on our own.  The question Erwin McManus asked in the podcast I listened to two weeks ago seems to apply here: "Why do we continue to search for life in dead places?"

We search for life in good things like relationships, jobs, and traditions.  We search for life in evil things like drugs, pornography, and immorality.  Everything from education to politics to entertainment can be turned into a source of life, healing, and hope.  As we do this we continue to discover that they do not satisfy.

Sooner of later we need to come to the realization that the apostle Paul came to:

I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God's way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death,11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! (Philippians 3:7-11; NLT).

This brings us back to the quote from the start: Jesus alone brings healing.  The condition attached to the healing Jesus offers is that we need to set aside what we are clinging to now and come empty handed to him.  It is not easy to break free from the things we have clung onto for so long for identity, life, hope, and healing, but it must be done.  That is what repentance is all about.

The great news is that healing and true life is available to everyone.  It does matter who you are and what you have done, Jesus offers you healing and life.  Come as you are to Jesus, and he will give you the healing your heart desperately needs.

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