Get ready to start a journey…a journey through the pages of the Bible and the pages of your life.
We can get settled in this life of ours. We describe our activities with words of permanence. We get married and “settle down.” We become “established” in our careers. We “build” a house. We acquire stuff—some cool stuff—that we appreciate and enjoy…sometimes a little too much.
Following the death of her infant daughter and husband, Sarah Winchester was crippled by grief. She tried to ease the heartache by building a house. Money was not an issue for the widow of the gun magnate, William Winchester. Each morning, she sat down with her architect to explain what she wanted done that day.
I grew up believing that I could lose my relationship with God. I could be a child of God in the morning, sin at lunch, and be kicked out of his family by the afternoon. I walked on spiritual eggshells. Insecurity characterized my spiritual walk. Sometimes, I was certain of heaven; other times, following an act of sin, I was on my way to hell.
“Condemned”—it’s a solemn word with heavy consequences. Often, it precedes the words “to die.” Condemned to die. Condemnation conveys hopelessness. In Scripture, the word describes physical death accompanied by spiritual and eternal death as well.
Jesus understands. He gets what it’s like to be misunderstood. He dealt with being mistreated. Jesus understands the pain of rejection, even having his closest friends abandon him in his time of need. Jesus experienced what it feels like to lose a loved one, a dad, a friend. Jesus understands physical pain. He knows what it means to cry…and cry out to God.
Our sin leaves us in a similar condition as Anna Lyndsey. Life is spent in the spiritual realm of darkness. But Jesus changes everything. Here’s what the apostle Paul tells us.
Do you ever watch those murder mystery series that follows the search for the killer and subsequent trial? The suspense comes when the evidence has been given, and everyone is waiting for the verdict from the jury. Can you imagine standing there waiting to hear the words— “guilty” or “not guilty”? In the next moments, your destiny is revealed—prison or freedom.
The disciples had just received very disturbing news. Jesus was going away, and where he was going, they could not come, at least for the time being.
Who are you? What gives you identity? What’s your brand?
Just wait…. You are a foreigner in a foreign land. Your citizenship is in heaven. You are not home yet! Just wait….
For the last few days, we have been considering an interaction between Jesus and the rich young man who desired to know how to have eternal life.
The rich young ruler had an urgent question. He asked Jesus how he could somehow grasp eternal life.