Tag: on earth as it is in heaven

Don’t Lose Heart! Meditation on Matthew 10

King Jesus is revealed as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He sent his followers intentionally as sheep among wolves in order to display the glory of the kingdom of God on earth. Somehow, the presence of sheep who are filled with the Spirit of the Lamb of God provokes and exposes the deadly wolf-like ways in the world.

As in the days when the New Testament was written, the good news about the arrival of God’s kingdom still causes upheaval. It is good but usually not predictable or pristine. God’s presence exposes everything that is against the New Creation and anti-renewal. In the end, the wolves are seen for who they are in the presence of the Lamb of God.

As I meditate on my life of identifying as a child of God in life-union with Jesus, I need to make a confession. My experience is that the Lamb of God has to expose the ways that I am a wolf in sheep’s clothing. That is the way to enter into eternal life. There is no other way.

The beautiful, overwhelming truth is that my sins have been forgiven and I live in Christ for God’s glory. But, the place of connection is agreeing with his assessment of my ways, even when he exposes what is out of line with His heart in me.

It is a profound thing to invest our lives in God’s will on earth as it is in heaven. We do that only by God’s grace. As we live in the Spirit, the wolf-like ways in the world will come to light. We can’t allow that to discourage us. Instead, we must focus on Jesus, the Lamb of God and trust His presence more than ever. Somehow, He uses our lives in those moments as evidence of His kingdom’s life and resilience. Don’t lose heart!

(Inspired by Matthew 10)

Prayer to SEE in 2020

God, I come before you through faith in Jesus. You have taught me to believe in my heart that I have been rescued out of a dead, meaningless existence. My sins have been forgiven because of your faithfulness expressed in Jesus. I do freely and willingly confess that you are King of heaven and earth. Your kingdom is present everywhere and the increase of your government will never end.

At the beginning of a new decade, I pray that the eyes of my heart would be healed, restored and renewed. I long to see with 20/20 vision on earth as it is in heaven. King Jesus, I long for you to help me admit my blindness in any form and to receive your healing touch. In your mercy, touch my spiritual eyes so that I will see what you see, go where you send me, and say what you want me to say.

May the year 2020 mark a shift in my perception of your kingdom on earth as it is in heaven here and now. By your grace, I admit my need for gold refined in the fire, purified clothes from heaven to cover my shame, and healing ointment for my eyes. These things can only come from you. (Revelation 3:17-18)

Prepare me to serve in your overwhelming season of harvest in all nations. In a fresh way, help me see how you are manifesting the glory of your Name as you flood all creation with your Presence. I hear your knock at my door and your voice asking to come in. In the fear of the Lord, I gladly throw the door open again trusting you to come renovate, restore, and transform my life as a living temple in all that I say and do.

At the start of a new year and a new decade, this is my prayer.

Amen

A thought for those who want to father and mother on earth as it is in heaven:

Fathers and Mothers in Christ are accessible to everyone in the house. Never inaccessible. This is their challenge and joy. The impossibility of this drives them into the realm of the miraculous as they must depend on the resources of heaven in Christ to avoid burning out. Kingdom of God fathering and mothering is accomplished not by might or power but by God’s Spirit in the name of Jesus. It is their responsibility to manage life in such a way that even when their necessary boundaries may make them physically unavailable, their influence is never absent from those who depend on them. It is a high calling but indispensable.

Unrefined ponderings on a tired midweek morning…

Holy Spirit, reside in me, in us.

In Jesus, I am in heaven. Because Jesus is in me, heaven is on earth.
It is a “right here, right now” thing. The living, breathing, moving union of heaven and earth is overflowing with the glory of God.

Somehow to live every moment in the faith that in Christ, heaven and earth have been joined.

Transformation happens at the pace of a plant growing. And it grows up out of the mess and chaos of our lives.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made. Thank you, Jesus, for your faithful, undying, life infusing presence in us and with us especially when we think we are at our worst.

Teach us to see in every moment at least a hint of your kingdom flowing on earth as it is in heaven.

Amen

Your Life is Not a Test

Your life is not a test. In Christ, it is a masterpiece that God is creating. Your calling is to surrender and discover that God is good regardless of your circumstances. If we will trust in the resilience that only Jesus can bring, the potential of what can happen through us in His name is mind-blowing. We would not need His perseverance if living for God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven was easy. God wants you to know that he is crafting an incomparable work of art with your life. That is not the same as creating a life of ease for you. This is not easy to accept. But, it is the truth. You and I were created for more than a life of ease. Left to ourselves, we would never fulfill our calling as God’s image-bearers. But, in Christ, we have joy in any circumstance because we know we are a part of his story, his workmanship. (inspired by Ephesians 2:10)

Giving up our lives? – inspired by 1 John 3:16

King Jesus did SOMEthing that changed EVERYthing. What he accomplished re-launched creation. He gave up his life for us.

But, don’t let that overshadow the greater glory he achieved by rising again from the dead. By giving up his life, he actually opened a massive door for heaven to mesh with the earth that will never be closed. When he rose again, the life he had surrendered began to multiply. As a result, the increase of his government will never end.

What is our call… our response to this? God is awakening people and nations because King Jesus gave up his life. For all of us who say yes to becoming God’s daughters and sons, there is an expectation. It is more than an expectation… it is a fire that we fan with the wind of the Holy Spirit.

Because Jesus gave up his life, we must also give up our lives. It is time for us to blow up the myth that Jesus gave up his life so that we are free to live for ourselves. You and I actually get to give up our lives to increase the legacy of King Jesus… now and for generations to come!

Whatever it costs you today to give your life to what matters, it won’t go unnoticed in heaven. We praise God for you and for the life you are living for the glory of Jesus.

In Christ, you are a blessing!

Seeing differently

People often ask, “If God is real and present with us, why doesn’t he do something about the evil and destruction in the world?”. The prophetic voice asks, “Because God is real and present with us, what am I doing?”. Communing with the Holy Spirit will always change you into more of a living expression of heaven here and now.

God is talking to us today, revealing more of his dreams to us. He is focused and intent on his family in all nations finally growing up until the whole world sees King Jesus. The Holy Spirit is inviting you to trust him, not with the seemingly insurmountable challenges of tomorrow but in the middle of your next steps today. Invite him to show you where and how the light of heaven is streaming into your dim and dark places. God is building us together in Christ. Somehow in his incredible mercy and creativity, he is shining in us and creating a masterpiece on earth as it is in heaven. – inspired by Ephesians 4:11-16

Because Christ is in you, even your most challenging times contain the light of God’s presence. God is real, He is not avoiding your life or your space. Open our eyes, King Jesus to see this day on earth with the vision from heaven. – AMEN

If you feel overwhelmed…

We are designed to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. Our bodies are created for the presence of King Jesus. God is intent on living in His family, His bride, the church. His church is people. It is you and me.

Something begins to happen as a result of surrendering our lives to Jesus. He starts changing things… changing us. The living Holy Spirit is constantly renovating and upgrading us BECAUSE we are the temple of the living God. For His glory to fill this temple, we need to be made ready.

God is right now renovating the church in all nations, preparing us for a more profound and intense manifestation of the glory of King Jesus. The challenging times and the unprecedented upheavals around the world are happening because all things must come into alignment with God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

As we, His temple, surrender to him we will shine with His glory and increasingly find others drawn to us to find hope. Lately, I have been experiencing more renovations in my own life. God has been aligning the attitudes of my heart and calling me to higher levels in prayer. He needs to do that in me because of what He wants to do through me.

Maybe you have been wondering why life has been harder than usual lately. In the middle of amazing times with God, things seem to be more chaotic. I want to encourage you. If you have surrendered your life to King Jesus, you are in his care and He is with you… not just surrounding you but within you.

He is not working on you out of frustration, but out of a passionate desire to prepare you to shine even more with the fire of His presence. I know it is hard and maybe impossible to find the courage to go on when you are looking at your own strength. We HAVE TO focus on Christ in us in order to find grace in our time of need.

I pray that right now, the eyes of your heart will be opened and you will hear from the Spirit of God that you are not alone. All of the perceived challenges in front of you are only there to make you more amazing for the glory of Jesus. You are not alone and today is a day when we win in Christ.

Heaven’s expanse and limits

One of the keys to the unprecedented renewal movement of God on earth is surrender to the ruling presence of God. I have done a lot of wrestling with religious rules and standards over the past 50+ years… both breaking them and keeping them.

In great frustration, as an eighteen-year-old boy, I came to a crisis moment of surrender. I prayed a simple but gut-level honest prayer; “Lord Jesus, I don’t know if this pleases you or not, but you are stuck with me because I can’t live without you.” I didn’t realize it at the time but from that moment, the Holy Spirit was able to establish God’s authority in my inner world. My allegiance shifted from a set of earthly, religious rules to a living, moving “alignment” with God’s presence.

Do you trust God’s presence to govern and renew all things including your being and doing?

Following Jesus means allowing the living, dynamic presence of God to rule in your heart. It means that your whole being and doing is governed by the peace and message of Christ. You will be forever blessed by both the expanse and the limits of God’s judgments. (inspired by Colossians 3:15-16)

It’s still a narrow path

Today I was drawn into thoughts about moving forward in spite of challenges. I remembered that Jesus said something about the narrow path. One of the more difficult realities we face is that freedom is a narrow path. The most empowered people are wise enough not to demand their own way.

I decided to search “the narrow way”. I landed in Matthew 7:12-14. There, Jesus taught us about a narrow path and a small gate that only a few even find. THAT sounds hard. He explained that life involves choosing which path you will walk… same circumstances, same challenges, different paths.
What is the mindset of someone who is on the narrow path? Well, first of all, it is tough-minded. It is intentional and pre-meditated. According to Jesus, it is all about staying awake to the way you want to be treated and then giving others what you want for yourself. He said, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12)

My mind goes to another place where Jesus said that loving others as you love yourself and loving God with your whole being sums up the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 22:37-40) I am left with this; The life I am starving for is a narrow path, the narrow path is love, love is DOING to others what I would have them DO to me.

Or… I can shut my eyes, block my ears and take the broad path and be a trainwreck.

Considering my choices, once again I realize how grateful I am for the sound of the Spirit of God knocking on the door of my life, asking to come in and join me. Every day is about grit, grind, and grace. And because of all that Jesus has done, we have access to everything we need for the narrow path.

So, my friend, if the only option you see in front of you is either blind and deaf denial of reality or facing the narrow path, don’t buy the lie that you have uniquely broken your life, that everyone else is on the better path, or that there is no hope.

Instead, join those who have discovered deep friendship with the only One who can provide all that I need to make it all the way through… Jesus!