Beam Me Up, Jesus!

Tonight while I was gathering together with my prayer partners, one of them mentioned that she was struggling with a question: Why doesn't God just beam us up to heaven after we become Christians? She expressed that she was having a hard time figuring out what her role is for God's Kingdom, but even more, what God's purposes are for the world in general.

Her question made me reflect on how I might answer that question based upon what I know from the Scriptures. She suggested that I post my thoughts on my blog, and so that is what I will do now. :-)

Love Conquers All

Our highest calling as people on this Earth is to love. To love means to treat others the way you want to be treated. To love means to give up what you want or need for someone else's benefit.

We are called to love each other the way that our Creator loves us, for we are created in His image. He loved us so much that He became a human--lived among us--and suffered injustly (unto death!) so that the chains of evil could be ultimately defeated and so that we could be reconciled to our perfect, holy God.

While Jesus lived on Earth, he set many people free from the chains of sin and physical suffering. And his mission never ended. Those who choose to follow Jesus's example are called to share God's love and POWER to the whole world so that we may ALL may live in the way that God originally intended--in pure love and blessing. This is something that we should all strive to make a REALITY: "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago" -- Ephesians 2:10, NLT.

Letting Go - Part 2

I've been realizing that God wants me to let go of my goals. Now don't misunderstand, it's good to have goals--but when those goals take priority over God's goals for my life, then I need to let go of them. I'm brewing with energy to finish my latest redecorating project or to check my new email messages. But when was the last time I was brewing with energy to share Jesus' love with my friends, family, or neighbors? Hmmm. Let's just say that I'm doing better now than I was a few months or years ago.

God has given each of us a unique set of responsibilities for building up His kingdom. Oftentimes we get so focused on building up our monetary, material, or relational security that we forget what the end goal of all our efforts is. The goal isn't to build up for ourselves money, possessions, and good relationships--it's to use our resources to spread God's love over all the earth!

So, I'm going to try something new for once: I'm going to obey God by renewing my mind to have His goals. Maybe you should try it, too.

Worshiping God

I was reminded today that "worshiping God" isn't confined to singing songs at church or praising God during prayer. We can worship God in every word and deed. How? By speaking and acting out of love. God is love, so the best way to worship, respect, and obey Him is to imitate Him by living a life of love. I don't mean "love" as in the fluttery, ooshy-gooshy feeling you get when you're around someone you like. I mean the "love" that drives a husband to protect and provide for his family, a mother to comfort her baby at her own inconvenience, a friend to lend a listening ear, and a stranger to risk his life to save someone in harm's way. When we worship God in love, how much more will He desire to shower blessings upon our lives! Let's worship God in love so that we'll gain the ability to love at even greater depths than ever before.

Releasing Fear

This week my sister has been staying with us. I'm very glad that she was able to be here with us this week, as we've had lots of time to connect relationally--sister to sister. It's amazing to me how much my sister has stored up in her heart that she needs to share, and I'm glad that I can be here to listen.

On the very first night of her stay, my sister confessed things from her heart that had been gnawing at her for a long time. She even expressed fear that God didn't love her anymore. I encouraged her by sharing God's Word with her and proving to her that God does love her and that she doesn't need to worry. Then I commanded evil spirits to flee by the authority of Jesus. Since that time, she has reported that her mind has been free of dark, haunting thoughts. She feels free, like a burden has been lifted from her shoulders. Praise Jesus for His victory over the evil one!

I have also been praying for my sister's physical well-being while she's been here. One remarkable difference she's noticed is that she hasn't had a stomach ache since she's been here. This is truly remarkable, as she gets stomach aches all the time. She's even been ingesting dairy, wheat, and coffee... the three major suspects thought to be causing her aches. So, that's cool.

My sister presently has two obvious and observable physical issues that I am praying against: pain in her shins (from an accident awhile back), and an irritating bump on her wrist bone. While I was praying for her shins last night, she said that they felt numb. In the morning, they felt worse, though! I had the distinct thought while I was praying for her shins that the pain is connected to a deeply-ingrained fear... so I am going to continue battling for her shins by first praying for God's perfect love to fill her up and drive out all fear. There's been no noticeable effect on the bump on her wrist yet.

My mission this week is to reveal to my sister how much I and her Heavenly Father love her, no matter what she has done. I will also keep encouraging her to cast all of her fears unto God. When we let go of our fear, we are able to fully appreciate how much God watches out for us. How can we let go of fear? By allowing God's perfect love to touch our hearts (1 John 4:18). God is love. That's why John tells us that he who loves is born of God (1 John 4:7)! Let's all get closer to the heart of God today by loving someone in an extra special way.