What Will Heaven Be Like? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in John 14:2-3,

"My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."

The NIV Quest Study Bible points out that Jesus' description of heaven here, with "many rooms", speaks to unlimited space and permanence.

I'm certain we all wonder what our heavenly abode will be like. We have not been given many details. We have descriptions of the incredible blessing it will be to have the Lord to commune with us there. We know that we will exist eternally, and that existence will be marked by "no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:4b.

I often think we already have an example of what our eternal abode with the Lord may look like: where we live right now! (Albeit a greatly damaged example due to mankind's sin and the resulting impact.) The garden of Eden on planet earth was the environment God chose for his new creation of mankind and following his creative week, "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." Genesis 1:31.

I suspect many of us tend to think in terms of what we would like heaven to be, given the sparsity of detail we have in the Scriptures. Perhaps we define heaven in terms of not being like what currently frustrates us about this life.

There are different aspects of our eternal life to muse on. Our relationships with others, social interaction, our proximity to the Lord, hobbies, habits and vocations, and the environment itself. 

Thinking about the environment, I'm sure we all would like to see those elements of what we do find attractive and desirable here: a tropical paradise, a lush old growth forest, beautiful beaches, mountains, rivers and fish filled creeks, etc. I suspect one of the reasons there is not a lot of heaven's environment described is that the Lord is looking for those who want him, not the real estate he provides. But... It is fun to think about.

As you consider our coming existence in heaven, what comes to your mind? This is our great hope as believers and something good for us to muse about from time to time. "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." Colossians 3:1-4.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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The Intended Betrayal of Jesus by Judas - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in John 13:19,

"I [Jesus Christ] am telling you [his disciples] now before it [Judas' betrayal] happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am."

Jesus prepared his disciples for the events that took place at the end of his earthly ministry. It appears the seeking for Jesus by some Greeks may have been the event Jesus was looking for to know when the time for his passion had come. In John 12:20-23 we read, "Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. 'Sir,' they said, 'we would like to see Jesus.' Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. Jesus replied, 'The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.'"

Prior, in John 8:20, John says, "He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come." Likewise in John 7:30. In John 7:6-8 Jesus told his brothers, "My time is not yet here; for you any time will do... You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come." And, of course, you recall Jesus telling his mother at the wedding in Cana (Jesus' first recorded miracle, turning the water to wine), that his hour had not yet come, John 2:4.

But when the Greeks came looking for Jesus, that changed, and now "his time" had come. The crowning achievement for his earthly ministry was to offer himself as a sacrifice, to provide a way for people to have their sins forgiven, enabling a way to enter into his kingdom. We read in Hebrews 2:17, "For this reason he [Jesus] had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people."

We read of this in Isaiah's prophecy, "Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:4-6.

Jesus came to die on that cross. That was his primary mission (among the other things he achieved) and he did not want his disciples to misunderstand and think that events, out of his control, had overtaken him. Jesus intentionally enraged the leaders of the Jews, motivating them to seek his death. He also arranged to have a man, consumed by avarice, Judas Iscariot, betray him in the way he did. It was all planned and executed flawlessly.

People yet today misunderstand Jesus' death on the cross. They think because of his message of love and challenge to the religious authorities, he was put to death as something not intended, that he was a helpless victim. Not so! As he prepared his disciples for his betrayal by Judas, he did not want them thinking he was a helpless victim, and, so Jesus told them, "I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am." He went on to say, "Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me." Verse 21.

When Jesus said I am who I am, he meant that he was the Son of God, in full control of all events taking place. Nothing happened to him he did not intend, plan and execute.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

He Sealed His Fate - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in John 12:4-6,

"But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 'Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages.' He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it."

Judas' complaint followed an act of worship by Lazarus' sister, Mary, in pouring perfume, a year's wages worth, onto Jesus' feet and drying them with her hair. Jesus' response to Judas' complaint was, "'Leave her alone,' Jesus replied. 'It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me."

John explains that Judas, later to betray Jesus, really didn't care about the poor. What he cared about, as treasurer of the ministry, was the money bag that he pilfered from time to time.

Of course Jesus knew Judas didn't care about the poor, and rather than calling him out, Jesus used the opportunity to continue his preparation of his disciples for his coming death on the cross. Jesus had Judas in place for the specific purpose of using this corrupted man as an informant so the Jews could arrest Jesus at the timing of Jesus' own choice.

Jesus also knew, good and well, that Judas was a thief. As such, Jesus kept Judas for his purposes by allowing Judas to pilfer the money bag. Judas was a corrupted sinful person. I'm quite certain Judas had no idea that Jesus knew all about him and his thievery, and I also have to think, because it was a recurring behavior, that he felt he was not under scrutiny for it.

Sin has a way of deceiving us. We just may think, when we sin, that what we are doing escapes the Lord's notice. Nothing could be further from the truth, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." Hebrews 4:13.

Who knows if their "little" sin today just might morph into something worse later on? Judas thought he had a good thing going as the keeper of the money bag... little realizing at the time that it was his sinful impulses that eventually sealed his horrible fate when he later betrayed the Lord for thirty pieces of silver. 

We certainly don't want to be that man!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

--

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

"Yet to all who did receive Jesus Christ, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." John 1:12

Where's the Faith? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in John 11:47-48,

"Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. 'What are we accomplishing?' they asked. 'Here is this man performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.'"

This was the response of the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of the Jews, when told of Jesus raising a man, Lazarus, from the dead. I note in their response their concern that the Romans would destroy both the temple and the nation if they were to allow Jesus to carry on. I'm quite certain they were also concerned they might lose their own exalted positions among the people.

What I don't detect is an ounce of faith within them for the God they professed to worship. They claimed to be mindful of the law given to Moses by God and enacted their own regulations to prevent the breaching of it (the traditions of the elders). They were careful to memorize, study and teach the Scriptures on Sabbath at the temple and synagogue. 

These Pharisees and Sanhedrin leaders were very religious, claimed to be God's people and yet the thought never struck them that in light of these startling miracles of Jesus, his forceful teachings and the following he gained, that maybe they should check in with God about both Jesus as well as the welfare of the temple and the nation.

What these leaders demonstrated was that the only deliverance they thought they could possibly count on was what they might provide themselves through their own craftiness and politics. With the notable exceptions of Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea (and possibly a few others?) this group of leaders didn't seem to have gathered for a prayer meeting, didn't inquire of God, didn't search the Scriptures as the reports about Jesus came in.

Their thought was, "How do WE fix this?" Not a hint of faith in the God they claimed to worship! They never appear to even check in with God. Sounds like a lot of church leaders today, doesn't it?

As we face big problems today, where do we take them, who do we count on? Is our faith on display?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

The Master Communicator - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in John 10:6,

"Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them."

Why was it that people could not understand the figures of speech Jesus used? The NIV Quest Study Bible has an interesting comment on this: "People who earnestly sought the truth could find profound spiritual insight in Jesus' figures of speech. For others, they were little more than fascinating but puzzling riddles. Those who were resistant to Jesus' message often misunderstood his meaning or, if they could infer what he intended, they rejected the implications."

In John 16:25 Jesus acknowledged to his followers that he was speaking to them figuratively as well, "Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father."

In Matthew 13:10, Jesus' disciples asked why he spoke to the people in parables. His answer is a fascinating one. "Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them." Verses 11-12.

As a master communicator, Jesus often spoke openly but filtered his hearers by how he conveyed what he had to say! A master of communication! He then quoted Isaiah 6:9-10, "'Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.' In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'"

Although I do like the comment from the NIV Quest Study Bible, I think they missed this point a bit. At least at times, Jesus spoke openly, but masterfully targeted what he was saying by the figures of speech he used. In the John 10:6 passage, Jesus never intended the Pharisees to understand his figure of speech - what he told them was for us. I guess my thought here is that the Pharisees didn't understand Jesus, not because they were so dull (although the Isaiah passage speaks to that kind of issue), and that Jesus was unintentionally or unknowingly speaking over their heads, but rather that he intended they not understand him. His purpose was to communicate what he was saying to others.

I also suspect many things Jesus told his followers were not intended for the moment but for later. In this way he cloaked his message as well. An example of this might be the two angels explaining to Jesus' disciples who had gone to the empty tomb on that first Easter morning, "'He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: "The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again."' Then they remembered his words." Luke 24:6-8. 

Here is an interesting example of Jesus making communication possible, not by his speech, but by manipulating minds. "Then he [Jesus] opened their [his disciples] minds so they could understand the Scriptures." Luke 24:45. Jesus could have opened their minds to the communication in Scripture any time during his earthly ministry, but waited until after he was resurrected. In this case he manipulated his disciples minds to communication (from the Scriptures) they were unable to access previously.

As believers, we benefit greatly from Jesus' ability to convey what he wants to say to us with a power and a skill no one has ever come close to. Our Master Communicator!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

The Walking Dead - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in John 9:39-41,

"Jesus said, 'For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.' Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, 'What? Are we blind too?' Jesus said, 'If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.'"

This exchange between Jesus and some Pharisees took place just following Jesus' miraculous healing of a man born blind. The Pharisees heard of it and investigated the matter. The conclusion of the investigation was unsatisfying to the Pharisees who subsequently threw the formerly blind man out. Jesus found him, revealed himself to him and invited the man to place his faith in him, which he did and worshipped Jesus right on the spot.

What catches my eye this morning is Jesus' statement to the Pharisees, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind." It appears Jesus is saying two things here: because of his coming those who are spiritually blind will gain new spiritual insight, and those who supposedly have spiritual insight will "become blind."

I'm just musing here, but I wonder if that "become blind" is related to the Lord hardening the hearts of some people following their rejection of Jesus, but who are still in this life. In 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 we read, "For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness." That happens in this life.

Another passage I think of is Paul's description of lost and fallen mankind that reject the Lord, and how God gives them over to their sinful desires, Romans 1:18-32.

Paul also talks about the hardening of Jewish hearts that opposed God, "What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, as it is written: 'God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear, to this very day.'" Romans 11: 7-8 where Paul quotes Deuteronomy 29:4 and Isaiah 29:10. He also quotes Psalm 69:22-23, "May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever."

In quoting Isaiah 6:10, John spoke of some in Jesus' day who rejected him and now had their hearts hardened by God so they had no hope of salvation in this life, "Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: 'Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?' For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: 'He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.'" John 12:37-40. At first they wouldn't believe in Jesus and, while still in this life, their hearts were hardened by the Lord so they could not believe in Jesus. The "walking dead."

I also wonder about the "woke" crowd we see so much of these days. This "wokeness" may be expressed in the political arena, but make no mistake, it has its origins in the spiritual lives of these people. A change has taken place, and that change is anything but friendly to Jesus Christ and those who are his. I wonder if the better term for them, rather than "woke", is the biblical term "hardened".

As I say, just musing here today.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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Jesus Christ: "I AM" - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in John 8:58,

"'Very truly I tell you,' Jesus answered, 'before Abraham was born, I AM!'"

Jesus was asked, "Who are you?" by the Jews, verse 25. In the exchange that followed, Jesus told them, "Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad." Verse 56. In that Abraham lived 2 millenia before the birth of Jesus Christ, they found this an outrage, "'You are not yet fifty years old,' they said to him, 'and you have seen Abraham!'" Verse 57.

To this, Jesus said what he did in verse 58, that prompted them to attempt to kill him on the spot, "before Abraham was born, I AM!" The passage tells us, "At this, they picked up stones to stone him..." Verse 59. You will have to read the account to find out what happens next.

Jesus' statement was a claim of existence prior to that of Abraham, that he was eternally self-existent. Beyond that, it suddenly became crystal clear to them that Jesus was claiming to be the very God they claimed to worship.

We read in Exodus 3:14, when Moses asked God what his name was to tell the Israelites, God told him, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" God went on to tell Moses to tell the Israelites, "This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation." Exodus 3:15. God's name is I AM.

It is astonishing to hear some say that Jesus Christ never claimed to be God. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Here are some of my favorite passages about Jesus Christ:

"In the beginning was the Word [Jesus Christ], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." John 1:1-3.

"The Son [Jesus Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." Colossians 1:15-20.

"In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son [Jesus Christ], whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs." Hebrews 1:1-4

"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:5-11.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.