Read Psalm 8:3-9 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
In his excellent book The Voice of the Heart, Chip Dodd makes this penetrating observation about our obsession with our own worth and value: “We’ve been insanely taught that we can create our own worth. We spend our lives forever building our self-esteem; having it destroyed and building it back up again. The tragedy is that anything that can be constructed can be deconstructed. Self-esteem is something we manufacture in order to create a sense of control on our achievement only. ‘I did, therefore I am.’ This is the opposite of what God made us to be, ‘I am, therefore I do.’”
When we struggle with our worth and value, we need to revisit what God has to say about us. I think that’s what Dodd is saying. In fact, when I read his quote, I thought of Psalm 8: “You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all all things under his feed, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea” (vv.5-8).
God estimate us highly. We are of incredible value to Him. He created us a little lower than the angels, crowned us with glory and gave us dominion over the earth. In all these things, He demonstrated His love for us.
The apostle Paul talked about our incredible value to God when he said, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). This is what God says about us.
We all might have devastating experiences in life. And if we look to where we are or where we will be tomorrow to give us a sense of value and worth, we are in big trouble. The good news is that what God says about us is permanent and sure, and you can go to the bank with it.
-Crawford W. Loritts-
Responding - Do I base my self-esteem on the things I do rather than in who God made me? Do I feel as if I have to work to earn my self-esteem?
Following – What God says about us is far more valuable than what we say about ourselves.
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Read 2 Corinthians 5:1-9 1 Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 We live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.
My wife Martie and I will never forget the days we spent traveling in open-topped, four-wheel-drive vehicles through the wide African plains all the nights spent sleeping in tents under the endless sky. For months beforehand, we devoted hours to preparing for this once-in-a-lifetime experience. We pored through good travel guidebooks and consulted with the safari company about what to bring, the weather and other aspects of such an adventure.
After months of planning, we thought we knew what to expect, but it was so much better than we imagined! To be alone in God’s creation with majestic lions and massive elephants, and to see the beauty and grace of giraffes, zebras, and other exotic wildlife in their natural habitat was a thrilling experience. The African night sky was breathtaking. And the guide’s explanation of the amazing way the entire ecosystem worked made us want to break out in songs of worship to our Creator.
Obviously, the experience was far more enjoyable than the preparation, but the trip wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t carefully planned for the journey. In a sense, it’s life that with heaven. The planning and preparation starts now, beginning when we place our faith in Christ alone for salvation. With the end in view, we read His “guidebook” and pray daily. But thankfully God does the planning. As Paul states in 2 Corinthians 5:5, God is active in preparing us for the new heaven ad new earth. In this world, the Spirit guides every step of faith, while Jesus is busy preparing a place for His followers (John 14:2).
When we get there, it will be infinitely better than we imagined! The bible tells us enough about heaven to make us eagerly anticipate the place where every tear will be wiped away and where God’s brilliance and glory will negate the need for the light of the sun. His throne will be surrounded by worshipers who delight in worshiping him with unhindered joy and satisfaction.
God wants us to appreciate and enjoy this search until He calls us home. But heaven is a better place to prepare for – and we’ll have an eternity to explore it. It’s a trip worth preparing for!
-Joe Stowell-
Responding - What can I do to focus my heart more on heaven today?
Following – Don’t forget to plan and prepare for your eternal destination.
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Read 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
I love the scene in the movie version of C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, when Lucy encounters the faun, Mr. Tumnus, he curiously asks, “What do you do with it?”
“You shake it,” Lucy replies, to which the faun exclaims, “Why?!”
In today’s global society these kinds of awkward moments are not so uncommon. When we bump into people whose customs, greetings, and language are unlike ours, we experience a flash of culture shock. Once while on a trip to West Africa, in spite of feeling welcomed and befriended by the warmth of the people there, my wife and I were keenly aware that we were different. We did not fit in and found ourselves longing for the familiarity of home.
Which makes me wonder… If we are “new creation” people – citizen of heaven whose real home is yet to come – why do we so often feel at home in this old world order? Why are our lives still in the grip of our fallen culture? Why are we so likely to lean toward greed and self-centeredness? Why does pride easily set up residence in our heart while Christ’s humility seems so foreign? It seems to me that we should feel a little more spiritual culture shock when we rub shoulders with the world!
The cultures of the heavenly and earthly kingdoms are mutually exclusive – totally incompatible. The apostle John states it bluntly: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). And yet it is surprising how vulnerable we are to the lure of this fallen world system.
Jesus gave His life to redesign us from inside out as His new creations. If we would get a handle on this reality, every time someone would walk from the dark, doomed, world, into our homes or our churches, they would get a refreshing glimpse of heaven. They would experience a taste of the new kingdom and the new creation – the presence of Jesus Himself – in our lives.
Go ahead – surprise someone with a taste of heavenly culture shock!
-Joe Stowell-
Responding – Do I resemble more of the heavenly kingdom or the earthly one?
Following – Don’t get too comfortable… this world is not your home!
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Read Isaiah 43:9-12 9 All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Which of them foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things? Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, “It is true.” 10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. 11 I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior. 12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed — I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “that I am God.
When I first began to research the biblical history of captivity among God’s people, I kept running into a conspicuous common denominator: idolatry. I don’t know why it was such a news flash. God warned His people over and over that if they did not resist the false gods of the nations surrounding them they would be snared, and He would ultimately allow them to be taken captive. They didn’t and He did. One sobering aspect of the faithfulness of God is that He keeps His promises. The book of Isaiah constantly seems to plead the question, “Why in the world would you worship idols when you were chosen by the sovereign God to be His own?” (See Isaiah 43:10-12).
As believers in Christ, you and I also have been chosen to know, believe and understand that He is God. Our lives have been sanctified by the one true God. Heaven is His throne. Earth is His footstool. Awesome creatures never cease to sing, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!” Lighting flashes from His Throne. The winds do His bidding. The clouds are His chariot. The earth trembles at the sound of His voice. When He stands to His feet, His enemies are scattered. He is transcendent over all things. Absolute. Uncontested. Omniscient. The Lord God omnipotent reigns. He is God and there is no other. And yet this very One is our Father. He demands, deserves, our respect.
Virtually every kind of stronghold, or unholy fortress of sin, involves the worship of an idol. For example, the stronghold of pride is associated with the worship of self. The stronghold of addiction is associated with the worship of a substance or habit. In one way or another, something else has become “god” in our lives, the object of our chief focus. Until we turn from our idols to the one true God, we will never find liberty, for “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17).
As long as our minds rehearse the strength of our stronghold more than the strength of our God, we will be impotent. We must believe that in our weakness He is strong, and that as we bend the knee to His lordship, God is more than able to deliver us.
-Beth Moore-
Responding – Am I serving someone or something other than God? What is my idol?
Following – Turn from idols to the one true God.
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Read Matthew 5:10-16 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
There’s truth to the saying “opposites attract.” And while our “oppositeness” can create tension – being different also has the potential to make an incredible impact.
When Jesus introduced His followers to the concept of being salt and light, He knew that being different would create tension, but it was the key to making a difference.
Early Christians knew what this was all about. They were misunderstood and maligned in many ways because they were committed to Jesus. So how is it that these early Christians, many who were mere peasants with no political leverage, would one day convince the Emperor Constantine to declare Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire? It was the power of salt and light of their lives.
In ancient times, salt was a valuable commodity. It added flavor to food, and preserved meat. As there was no electricit, oil lamps were essential for light.
Historical scholars believe that, among other dynamics, it was the Christians’ acts of compassion over the course of time that eventually transformed Roman society. The Romans had legalized “death by exposure,” in which an unwanted baby could be left in a garbage dump to die. Christians were known to rescue these abandoned children. When serve plagues ravaged the empire, townspeople fled to the mountains leaving behind members of their own family who were dying. It was the Christians who risked their lives to stay in the villages and minister to the victims. Their good works made a recognizable difference as they preserved precious lives and shone the light of Jesus’ love i the darkest places.
As we face the tension of living for Jesus in our post-modern society, think of the incredible contribution we can make with our oppositeness – acts of love instead of self-centeredness, integrity amid an often-dishonest world, and generosity in the face of greed.
Fill the salt-shaker and dust off your old lamp… it’s time to attract others to the difference of Jesus today!
-Joe Stowell-
Responding – Be intentional – pray for an opportunity to contribute the difference of Jesus to someone today.
Following – In spite of tension, it’s the difference that makes a difference!
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