Even in "This"

One night this past week I woke up with a doozy of a case of heartburn, officially called acid reflux. Ouch, those tasty ribs I enjoyed at dinner came back to bite me. New rule, I guess: no more ribs for me. Another ouch. On top of that, I had a bad dream, maybe related to the heartburn, who knows. So a pretty tough night, but, here is what I have learned: even in that, God can work, or at least in spite of that, God can work. My tough night did not  have to define the new day.

Treasure in Jars

 First, I want to thank all of you who have been so encouraging and supportive during this time after my father’s death. Your words have been much appreciated.

This week I want to let the words of our good friend Linda Brumley encourage us. Linda has a new book titled My Beggar’s Purse, and as you read it, you find that God has filled her purse with lots of wisdom. Today I want to share with you this gem from Chapter 2.

Thank You, Dad

This has been a difficult week. After a number of years of failing health, my father died on Monday night. Knowing this day would likely come, I had tried to prepare myself  for it. To some extent I had done that, but, then one can never fully prepare.

New Heaven and New Earth

With this week’s episode we will wind up our moments related to our new book on the Kingdom of God. One of the key truths about the Kingdom is that it is both now and not yet. It broke into history in Jesus. It is being lived out in history by the disciples in the church who pledge alliance to King Jesus. But while it is now, it is also not yet. It is not yet in its ultimate fulfillment.

As exciting as it was to explore the meaning of the Kingdom in our lives today, it may have been even more amazing to write about the consummation of the Kingdom in the new heaven and new earth. Some of our concepts of heaven are sadly influenced more by Greek philosophy than by Scripture leaving us with vague ideas not much related to experiences we find meaningful.

The Unshakable Kingdom

 Those who have entered the Kingdom of God now have their citizenship in heaven. They pledge allegiance to Jesus as King and Lord, but because the Kingdom of God with its age-to-come quality is so different from this world, its citizens will be, in Peter’s words, aliens and strangers in this culture. It’s like they will be from another planet.

But that brings us to our mind-changing, even mind-bending, thought for today and it comes from Hebrews 12:28-29: