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Heaven for the Comfort, Hell for the Company

This is a phrase that I heard as a kid. It means: I want to go to heaven to physically feel good and escape Hell’s torment and pain; but I want to socialize with people in Hell because they are “real” and not hypocritically thinking they are better than me. There is a lot of truth to this phrase.

Some people in church are hypocrites. Talking Jesus but without accepting others as they are, not giving mercy, love, forgiveness, acceptance and grace. The problem is these same people usually haven’t experienced the unconditional love that Jesus offers. They think what makes them a “christian” is going to church, obeying rules (that is, the ones they want to obey and ignoring the others), and being accepted by other “christians”. They have missed everything. And that “everything” is a personal relationship with Jesus.

When a person truly knows Jesus they don’t think they are better than you. In fact, they believe they are your servant and put you first. Not just if you are another Christian but regardless of who you are, what you believe or what you’ve done. That’s because that’s what Jesus did… and still does. Jesus counted Himself among sinners and is not ashamed to call us His brothers and sisters.

People don’t become true Christians by following rules and pretending they are perfect. Rather they become true Christians by surrendering themselves to the Jesus they have learned to trust and love because they have seen Him love them first hand through one of His followers.

If you can’t find a true Christian perhaps you want to consider investigating becoming a true Christian yourself? Pray to God and tell Him you want to know Him. Read the Bible starting in John (you can use the index to find it) and learn about Jesus’ character and love for you and others. Pray that God would lead you to one of His true followers, that they might help you know God better. You can explore if Jesus is someone you want to spend your life and eternity with. And being with Jesus is what makes heaven, heaven.

Wisdom, Humility and Real Life

James 1:5 NKJV

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

James 4:6 – 10 NKJV

6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Naturally, in and of myself, I don’t have any wisdom at all. I become painfully aware of this sometimes when God removes His wisdom from me. Then I realize that if my own wisdom was dynamite I wouldn’t have enough to blow my nose. God is the source of all true wisdom.

I used to write these posts for the local newspaper, accompanied by a meaningful photo. After writing them weekly for two years I became proud, thinking I was writing them out of my own wisdom, out of my own power, out of myself. I knew I was getting proud, but I couldn’t shake it. My pride got in the way of hearing from God to write the posts. And eventually I had to quit writing them. And I couldn’t write another until eight years later.

There is a relationship between wisdom, love and pride. Wisdom is the practically working out of love for God, others and ourselves in our daily lives. Pride is the opposite of love. Pride cuts off the ability to hear God’s wisdom because we seek glory for ourselves and so it results in a fall, or the destruction of our lives.

God knows we all have a problem with pride. That’s why He sent Jesus to take the punishment for our pride. God said to humble ourselves under His mighty hand and in due time He will lift us up. He doesn’t lift us up the way this world does, that is, by making ourselves “greater” than others. He lifts us up by making us like Himself, by making us able to be a loving servant like Him. Humbling ourselves and loving and serving others is real glory. And this real glory, when we humble ourselves, and love God with all that we are and others as much as ourselves, is just breaking even in God’s sight. It is the minimum God expects from each of us. We are no “greater” than anyone else.

And that’s the way we would want it isn’t it? We want others to love us as much as they love themselves. But, we don’t want them to feel “greater” than us by doing so. It is just what is expected.

But loving others this way is impossible in our natural selves. When we are born our spirits are dead. But, when we confess our sins to God and believe that Jesus paid our sin debt in full (when He died and rose from the dead), God gives us the Person of His Spirit that is alive and willing and able to do all that God asks. We then are able to choose to follow God if we want to follow Him. And when we choose to follow Him we find out the reason He made us. We find real life the way God intended it to be.

1 John 5:11-13 NKJV

11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

Matthew 10:39 NKJV

He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

Today, right now, Jesus is calling you. And if you listen to Him, and respond to Him, you will never be the same.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

I’m glad I didn’t get what I wanted

Jesus said that even in abundance our life does not consist in what we have. I just updated my Linked In account to reflect my new job. For my job description I put that I serve the mentally ill of which I am one. At one time I wanted to be a CEO or president or anything that at that time I thought commanded respect. I despised my mental illness and the stigma and “shame” that came with it. Now I thank God for the experience of mental illness though I would not want to go back to having no meds. I get to meet some of the neatest people through my job. And what used to hold me back now I use to join with others in moving forward. Jesus’ kingdom truly is upside-down when compared with how this world thinks. If God would have granted me a healthy brain and given me my desire to “be important”, I would be lonely, frustrated, and friendless. Instead He gave me defective brain chemistry, pain and sorrow, and a new life that values other people instead of what I think other people think of me.

What do you value? Are you happy? The Bible says that Jesus, took the form of a servant, and for the joy set before Him, endured the cross to pay for our sins. What did He value? You and me, and His Father. He was never elected to public office, never wrote a book, and didn’t travel the world. He did however, humble himself and obey His Father. And He is happy. If you want to follow in His footsteps you can. Just confess your sins to Him. Tell Him you’re sorry for them and that you are turning from them with His help. Tell Him you believe He died for your sins and rose to give you new life. And then tell someone about the forgiveness and new life God has given you. Read the Bible and pray. And love and obey Him. You will experience His peace, love and joy.

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