Let Heaven Fill Your Thoughts

Colossians 3:1,2    “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God’s right hand in the place of honor and power.  Let heaven fill your thoughts.  Do not think only about things down here on earth.”
Some years back I was at a bible study and we were talking about heaven.  I made the comment that I didn’t think much of heaven.  Well that got everyone laughing, the way I said it, it came across as my saying that heaven was not all that great.
Didn’t think much of heaven, isn’t that where most of us find ourselves.  We are so busy with the day to day aspects of our lives that thoughts of heaven rarely enter or minds let alone “fill our thoughts.”  How that changes as we grow old and death and heaven seem a little more real.  I went to visit a elderly friend the other day.  In our conversation we  talked of heaven.  I reminded her of what she said a couple years before, “Heaven, I can’t wait.  I am looking forward to it.”  I remarked how her face glowed as she said it.  She said, “I start talking to people about death and heaven and they want me to stop, they don’t want to talk about it.”  Death? heaven? Not now, not today.
Throughout Paul’s letters he urges us to talk about death and what awaits us afterwards.  To not think about, talk or share with others the reality of heaven, is to not share the heart of the gospel of Christ.  Paul says this, “And now, brothers and sisters, I want you to know what will happen to the Christians, who have died so you will not be full of sorrow like people who have no hope.  For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus comes, God will bring back with Jesus all the Christians who have died. ---16-18 First all the Christians who have died will rise from their graves.   Then we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with Him forever.  So comfort each other with these words.”    1 Thessalonians 4:13,14 & 16-18
Jesus said,  “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.”  This is good news, heaven is real, let it fill your thoughts, preach it to everyone.

Satan Owns The Fence

1 Kings 18:21 “Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

A couple of weeks ago this column printed a poem by David Sakawski he is 15 years old. In his poem he said this, “The swords have been drawn, There's a line in the sand, Now is the time to decide. For which side do I stand?” David only 15 years old, yet he sees that he must make a choice. There is an old preacher’s saying that say’s, Sitting on the fence isn’t an option because Satan owns the fence. Charles Spurgeon said this, “There is a man who was almost saved in a fire, but he was burned. There was another who was almost healed of a disease, but he died. There was one who was almost reprieved, but he was hanged. And there are many in hell who were almost saved.”

Spurgeon also challenged his congregation to get alone that evening and think upon their relationship with the Lord. He challenged them to write down one of two words, if they thought they were not right with the Lord to write down Condemned. If they thought they did believe in Jesus and had put their trust in Him, to write down Forgiven. He then goes on to tell the story of a young man who took up this challenge and upon looking at his life he had written down the word Condemned. He said, “There it was. I had written it myself; Condemned. As he looked, the tears began to flow and the heart began to break. And before long he fled to Christ, put the paper in the fire, and wrote down Forgiven.” 

As David asked in his poem, “For which side do I stand?” I challenge you today to take up the challenge offered by Spurgeon over 100 years ago, to think upon your relationship with the Lord. To take a piece of paper and write down one of the two words, Condemned or Forgiven.  David finished his poem with these words, “I cried, "Who am I to stand before you?" I fell to my knees and wept with remorse. But the being said, "Rise, I mean you no harm, I sent my Son to die for the worst of the worst. I stood up and looked into his eyes. I did not gaze in fear nor did I flee. He looked down with a smile on his face. I lifted my hands and said, "Please, help me." So he took me with his hand, His strong and mighty hand. And on that fateful day, I crossed the line in the sand.” Condemned or Forgiven on which side do you stand?

In a Moment

Jeremiah 4:20 “Waves of destruction roll over the land, until it lies in complete desolation. Suddenly, every tent is destroyed; in a moment, every shelter is crushed.”  

Revelation 18:17 “And in one single moment all the wealth of the city is gone!” I thought of this verse while watching videos of the destruction in Japan. The destruction is overwhelming, like watching a scene from a bad disaster movie. One video I watched, was shot by a local Japanese man, within his 3 1/2 minute video I watched as small items were were being washed through the streets then cars, trucks and finally the houses were washed off their foundations and swept away. People were clinging to the tops of cars and to the roofs of buildings. Within a span of less than 4 minutes all that they owned and felt secure in was washed away. “Suddenly every tent is destroyed; in a moment every shelter is crushed.”  I read an account from a 16 year old who said, “I never took the annual tsunami drills seriously, I thought the towns harbor walls would protect against any big wave.  But the wave was beyond imagination, There was nothing to do but run.”

“I never took the drills seriously.” The worst part of this disaster is that of the 10,000 presumed dead, statistics say only 6% are Christians. Leaving 9,400 of the dead having placed their hope in themselves, government, money or false gods. They are now separated forever from God. Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” The population of Japan is 127,560,000. Meaning 119,906,400 people are facing eternal punishment unless they turn to Jesus Christ. The worlds population is 6,775,235,741, 34% of the worlds population is said to be Christian, leaving 4 1/2 billion people facing eternity in Hell. According to New Tribes Missions in the next 60 seconds 36 souls go to a Christ-less eternity, that is 51,840 each day. The Japanese people need our help, but they, like the world, really need Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” 

A Dirty Rag

A Dirty Rag

“Matthew 7:3-5  “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?  How can you think of saying, Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye, when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?   Hypocrite!  First get rid of the log from your own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”

Leo Tolstoy wrote a short story titled The Godson.  In one scene from this story the Godson is watching a woman washing a table with a dirty towel.  The more she scrubs the dirtier the table becomes.  She scrubs and scrubs until she is all spent.  The Godson tells her to wash out the towel and then try again.  The women does so and she quickly cleans off the table.  What was impossible before now becomes possible.

The same is true with us.  We try to fix, to clean up the lives of people around us, whether it be friends or family.   And just like the woman we try and try until we are all spent.  God speaks to us as the Godson spoke to the woman, and He says; “Why worry about the speak in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?  First get rid of the log from your own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”

Do not we, like this woman need to ask God to wash out the dirt from our lives?  God can then use us, to help change the lives of our family and friends.  What was impossible before now becomes possible.

Economic Stimulus Package

2 Corinthians 4:2 “We reject all shameful and underhanded methods. We do not try to trick anyone, and we do not distort the word of God.  We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know that.”

“We do not try to trick anyone.”  The Apostle Paul wrote these words, he preached the Gospel of Christ wherever he went.  He did not whitewash it, making promises of riches and rewards in this life.  Instead he talked of Christ’s suffering of his own suffering.  He preached of life’s trials, of not giving up.  Paul spoke truth, if someone was being disobedient to God, Paul let them know. He called them out on the carpet.   Paul did not play games, no underhanded methods.

Would Paul approve or disapprove of our methods?   People young and old are looking for truth in today’s world.  A friend of mine is a Gideon, (you know the people who put Bibles in hotel rooms) he told me he has never seen so many Bibles disappear from the rooms.  People are looking for answers.  They are not looking for another program or an emotional high that fades over time.  Jeremiah 6:14 says this, “They offer superficial treatments for my people’s mortal wound.  They give assurances of peace when all is war.”

We are in a war, a battle. Truth is no longer heard in the streets. Morality no longer matters. We cry out to men to help us, “fix this economic mess we are in.” We cry, “Give us back the good times, let us continue as we were.”  Whom are we serving? God or money?

Politicians are scrambling, they are looking for answers. A way to stimulate our economy.  God has an “Economic Stimulus Package” It reads like this: “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sins and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

Peace With God Through Faith

“Peace with God Through Faith” by Darren Forsythe. October 20, 2010.

Darren teaching youth God's word

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient,but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18ESV)

Over the past decade the effects of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) have advanced in my body causing constant pain, fatigue, muscle weakness and a host of other symptoms. MS is a chronic, progressive, incurable disease that affects the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). I have an area of disease activity in my neck which, if it gets worse would radically change the way in which I experience life. I now use a power wheelchair every day and know that quadriplegia is a distinct possibility in my future.

Often, when I tell people about my medical status I can see their faces turn from a happy disposition to that of serious concern. “Where is God in all this? How can you believe He loves you? If He did,

wouldn’t life be better for you? Why wouldn’t He just cure you? How could you trust a God like that?” Those questions are precisely what I would like to address in this brief series of articles. But, please do

not just take my word for it – I ask that you open up your Bible to see if what I’m saying is true as the Bereans did in Acts 17:11-12.In this age of skepticism and unbelief, people want to be able to see God before believing in Him. It is easy to see evil, but what about good resulting from the bad that comes into a person’s life (Genesis 50:20)? My hope and prayer is this: that I can show you biblically how suffering in the life of a Christian can bring glory to God (Romans 5:1-5) and result in salvation for those who endure to the end in faith (Matthew 24:9-13). That life, lived out in total trust of God, often speaks volumes to the people around them and can show the powerful working of God in their lives.

I was an unbeliever when God brought MS into my life. He used it to first break down my resistance to Him, turn me from sins and trust in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Now, He uses suffering to draw me closer to Himself each and every day. I never would have chosen this path in life; however, since this is the path He has chosen to lead me into His glorious presence for all eternity, who am I to complain?

In John’s Gospel many of Jesus’ disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him when His teachings were too difficult for them to accept. “So Jesus said to the Twelve, ‘Do you want to go away as

well?’  Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have he words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.’” (John 6:67-69 ESV) I can do

no less in my own life.

__________________________________________________________________

Darren 2nd article 11-5-2010

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV)

Before I was a believer, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Within a year I had to quit working and file for disability. The following year, I was divorced and needed to move back to my hometown. Friends were no longer interested in my life, and I found myself alone and isolated. The physical toll of powerful medications combined with the sudden loss of everything I had worked for and hoped to achieve caused me to spiral into major depression for about three years. Since I believed in the theory of evolution at the time, I thought that I was one of the weak links in humanity. I had moved from Michigan where the news was filled with accounts of how Dr. Jack Kevorkian had assisted in the suicides of many people with MS. I was disabled, depressed, in pain, and without hope. I wanted to die. The story did not end there, however. In December of 2005, when I was fully broken and acknowledged that I need a Savior and surrendered my life to Jesus Christ, He stepped in and transformed my life!

As December of 2010 approaches, I still have Multiple Sclerosis. I am much more disabled than in 2005, suffer even more physical pain, and have also developed Fibromyalgia. Due to physical weakness from MS, I use a power wheelchair and need help with many of the daily tasks that I once took for granted. I’m considered homebound because the only places I usually go to are the doctor and church – everything else is just too punishing upon my body to make the trip. I need to rest the day before and after leaving my home. I have good days, and bad days because of my disability. I consider it a good day as long as I can shower and brush my teeth.

You may be wondering what has changed for the better in my life since God intervened. The answer is the most profound of all: I now have new life in Christ Jesus my Lord and Savior. God has also blessed me with a wonderful, godly wife. When I wake up these days, I thank God that I can still see. I am also grateful that I can walk far enough to get out of bed and into my power chair without help. I am no longer

depressed. My wife and I have the blessed hope (Titus 2:13) of perfect, glorified bodies when Jesus comes back to reign on the earth (1 Cor. 15:51-52). If I die before His return, I’ll immediately be in His presence and will no longer have any pain or sickness (2 Cor. 5:8).  God has become our treasure (Matthew 13:44). We pray that He will be yours as well.

Dead Men Talking

Matthew 27:51-53 “At that moment the curtain in the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead after Jesus’ resurrection. They left the cemetery, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.”

Can you imagine? People long dead and buried, now walking around the city. The bible says they appeared to many people. What did they say?

Jesus after being crucified and buried, rose from the dead. He appeared to over 500 of His followers and to His disciples who had seen Jesus crucified. They had seen him die. Now here was Jesus standing before them. He was alive! What Jesus said was this, “With my authority, take this message of repentance to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem.  There is forgiveness of sins for all who turn to me. You are witnesses of all these things. And now I will send the Holy spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”
Power from heaven, the Holy Spirit did come upon his disciples and followers.  From that day on they poured themselves out, sharing the message of the Gospel. They brought life to people dead in their sin.
Last year I was in New Orleans, while there I heard many stories of men and women who had been rescued from drugs, alcohol, homelessness, prostitution, they were dead in sin, now they are alive. They are changed people, filled with the Holy Spirit, because someone came and told them the Gospel, “this message of repentance.” They now walk the city streets, searching out the lost. Delivering this message of hope, this message of new life.

People once dead now walking through the city. Delivering this message, “Christ died for our sins, just as the scriptures said, He was buried, and He was raised from the dead on the third day.  (1 Corinthians 15:3,4) Delivering one message, the necessity of turning from sin and turning to God, and faith in our Lord Jesus.”  (Acts 20:21)

We as Christians are people once dead. We are now walking around the city, we appear to many people.  What are we saying?

Mob Mentality

Acts 17:11 And the people of Berea were more open minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to check up on Paul and Silas, to see if they were really teaching the truth.

I recently attended a Christian rock concert.  Unexpectedly I enjoyed it very much. The music was loud, yet it was good and the stage show was spectacular.  

Yet as I stood there looking at the crowd I was taken aback at the mob mentality. All the lead singer had to do was mention the name, Jesus, and the crowd would scream it’s approval. It occured to me the power that these people on the stage have. To use for good or for evil.  

C.S. Lewis in his book The Screwtape Letters, a fictional account of letters written between two of Satan’s demons.  Screwtape, a senior Demon and his nephew Wormwood. Screwtape gives Wormwood advice on various methods of undermining faith and promoting sin in the life of a British man Wormwood is assigned to. In one of the letters Screwtape says this, “Every dictator or even demagogue--almost every film star or crooner-- can now draw tens of thousands of the human sheep with him. They give themselves (what there is of them) to him; in him, to us. There may come a time we shall have no need to bother about individual temptation at all, except for the few. Catch the bellwether, and his whole flock come after him. But do you realize how we have succeeded in reducing so many of the human race to the level of ciphers?” (cipher defined as: A person or thing of no importance, esp. a person who does the bidding of others and seems to have no will of their own.

C.S. Lewis published The Screwtape letters in 1942, Hitler was attempting to rule the world, he had captivated a nation with his personality, swaying the masses through his speeches. “Hitler stated many times that the only way to use propaganda effectively was to aim it at the stupidity of the masses rather than the intellectuals. He used short slogans repeated again and again to drive ideas home into the minds of his followers.” 

Unless we study God’s word, unless we know what the Bible says, unless we know the truth, we will be taken in by the world’s lies. We, like sheep, will follow whomever has the loudest or sweetest sounding bell. Search the Scriptures day after day, check up on those you are listening to, and see if they are really teaching the truth.  

Line in the sand

Joshua 24:15 “But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

A friend sent me this written by his son.
The Line in The Sand
 by David Sakowski, age 15

The swords have been drawn, There's a line in the sand, Now is the time to decide.
For which side do I stand? The devil with all his cunning, guile, and lies, Lurks to one side and awaits my choice. Do I go with the world and join his ranks?
But, alas, from the other side there came a voice! A voice of holiness, A voice of pure light, A voice that says "I will help you in your plight! I looked and saw, While the devil shouted, "No!" The splendor of a being, with a face that's aglow!
I cried, "Who am I to stand before you?" I fell to my knees and wept with remorse.
But the being said, "Rise, I mean you no harm, I sent my Son to die for the worst of the worst."
I stood up and looked into his eyes. I did not gaze in fear nor did I flee. He looked down with a smile on his face. I lifted my hands and said, "Please, help me." So he took me with his hand, His strong and mighty hand. And on that fateful day, I crossed the line in the sand.

Charge Into The Fray

Job 39:19  “Do you give the horse his strength or clothe his neck with a flowing mane? Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting.  He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength, and charges into the fray.  He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing;  he does not shy away from the sword.  The quiver rattles against his side, along with the flashing spear and lance.  In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground; he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.  At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, 'Aha!'  He catches the scent of battle from afar, the shout of commanders and the battle cry.
A friend of mine recently said, “It seems like we cannot fight against the world, there is so much my kids see and hear, at school, movies, magazines. My seven year old daughter came home and told me of a seven year old classmate who described to her details of having had sex in her home with another seven year old. I reported it to the school. It is overwhelming, it is an impossible battle to win.”
We have been fighting this battle since Eve took that first bite of the forbidden fruit in the garden.  Satan has one goal and that is to destroy us, to let us feel that the darkness around us is so deep and black that we cannot stand against it.  Satan wants to blind us to the reality that he exists, that we, not him, are the source of this darkness.  It reminds me of Goliath strutting back and forth shouting to the Israelites I dare any man to fight against me.  Look around you, you are outnumbered you cannot win.  He wants us to be swallowed by the darkness, he wants us to give up the fight.
Yet here lies the secret to victory in the battle, David heard Goliath threats, David a young boy saw Goliath with his own eyes.  A nine foot tall giant, a living breathing machine of death.  Yet David said this to Goliath, (condensed version) “I come to you in the name of the Lord almighty--the God of the armies of Israel-- today I will kill you and cut off your head--And everyone will know that the Lord does not need weapons to rescue His people, It is His battle not ours.  David then ran out to meet Goliath, David triumphed over the Philistine giant and he cut off his head.” 1 Samuel 17:45-51 The Israelite army drew courage from this boy David and they joined him in the battle and the enemy was routed.
Jesus like David has defeated the giant (Satan) who struts before us. Jesus ran to the battle, he hung on the cross and he died for us. The trumpet is sounding, we mustn’t stand still, Aha! Laugh at fear, charge into the fray, “For the ones that win this battle against the world are the ones who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.” 1 John 5:5

You Did for Me

Matthew 25: 34,35  Then the king will say to those on the right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.”  The righteous reply “When did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing?” And the king will tell them, I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!”

For the past few months two friends and I have been kayaking down the Brule river. Well, last month (December) the river got the best of my two friends and they landed up in the water. They tell me it was cold, I’ll take their word for it. We lost a paddle (I know, I should have brought an extra one) so two of us met up down at our car and my third friend was going to walk out to the road and we would pick him up.  When we went to pick him up he was warm and dry and sitting in the car with a man who lives on the Brule river. This man invited us into his home, gave us hot coffee, cookies and dry socks!  We sat and talked and heard how he has helped other people who had lost their battle with the river, but “never in the winter” he told us. At the expense of my two friends getting cold and wet we were able to see this verse from Matthew played out. This stranger feed us, gave us something to drink and clothed us (dry socks). And now we are no longer strangers. In a side note I had also been praying that God would put me in touch with someone who lives on the river a place to meet if needed, that would allow another measure of safety when I bring people on the river. So again, at the expense of my two friends getting wet, God answered my prayer. 

God is watching us and He takes notice of even the small things we do for each other and he remembers. Jesus said, “When you did it to one of the least of these my brothers you were doing it to me!” Every day we are presented with opportunities to help people around us, it is up to us to do it.