Just suppose.
The other day a young man died in a car wreck as he left church. He hadn’t expected to meet the Father that day, but he lived every day as though he might. Mark served in his local church. Returned the tithe of all he made. He even volunteered at the soup kitchen and supported a child in China. You could definitely say this man was a model Christian.
His death was so unexpected, but the mourners had no idea the joy he was experiencing that very moment! Passing through the gates of pearl, Mark erupted in jubilant praise, taken by the full spectrum of God’s presence. He’d never felt God like this before! Christ walked up to him, smiling, and asked Mark if he’d like to go for a walk.
Oh the beauty! The colors, the smells … all of Mark’s senses were piqued with the splendor of Heaven. Nothing on Earth could compare. As they meandered down a winding sidewalk through a quiet neighborhood, Mark told Jesus that Heaven was more than he ever expected it to be.
What a lovely cottage.
Passing by a particular house, Mark stopped and took notice. He praised the detail, the construction, the style, even the yard decorations. It was the most beautiful home he’d ever seen! “Like it?
” questioned the Lord.
“Like it?!
Mark exclaimed. “I love it! It’s perfect!
”
“Good,
” Jesus replied, “Because it’s yours.
”
Mark was ecstatic! To think, this was his house for the rest of eternity! Wow! He rushed inside, flinging open the door (which quietly came to rest against the stopper), and he gasped at the wonders to behold. There were artifacts in his new home for which there are no words. And the most amazing array of flowers lived on the left wall in the foyer. He was utterly speechless. Christ strolled in behind him, and told Mark to enjoy himself. Then He disappeared.
Back at the wreck.
The driver of the other car also died, before the ambulance driver even made it to the hospital. Her name was Latoya. Latoya was also a model Christian, singing in the choir on Sundays, and teaching in children’s church. She was always giving her time to help others. Her life echoed the heart of the Father: “Souls.
” She served people with as much vigor and passion as any person could.
Her entrance into Heaven was glorious. She sang with the angels in chorus, “How great Thou art.
” Her eyes tightly shut, tears gushing down her face as she sang, she didn’t noticed Jesus walk up. And He didn’t want to disturb her; He was enjoying her singing too much! She finally did notice her audience, and was startled at His beauty.
“Lord!
” she exclaimed, “You’re more beautiful that I ever imagined!
”
Jesus smiled, and said, “You’re as beautiful as the day I made you. Would you care to go for a walk?
”
“Of course! Anything to be with You.
”
An afternoon stroll.
Arm-in-arm with the Lord, Latoya had never felt more at peace. The beauty around her was awesome, but it was the presence of Jesus she treasured most. A Mockingbird flying above sang a tune as they walked. Toya had always dremt of what she’d ask God when she got to meet Him, but in this moment all those questions faded into the distance. All she wanted to do was look at Him.
Jesus stopped in front of a particular house, and Latoya gasped, bringing her hand in front of her mouth.
“Latoya,
” Jesus said to her, looking into her eyes, “This is your home.
”
“It’s beautiful!
” she cried. “It’s more beautiful than any house I’ve ever seen!
”
They walked toward the house together, still arm-in-arm, through the wrought iron gateway entwined with yellow and white Honey Suckle in full bloom, past the front courtyard where the smells of Lavender and Sage and Rosemary filled the air, and through an arched doorway that looked like it could have been taken from a fairy tale. Inside, Latoya began to cry, awe-struck by how wonderful her new house was.
A far-fetched reaction.
Mark was making himself well at-home. He walked upstairs to admire the view from the dormer windows which faced the street, and he opened them to let the cool breeze blow in. And that’s when he noticed “her.” Watching Latoya walk into her new home directly across the street from his, Mark said to himself, “Uh oh. They are moving in. *sigh* There goes the neighborhood. And to think, this was the perfect house. I guess I need to ask Jesus if I can move.
”
Do you think this is going to happen in Heaven? Will there be racism there? It’s absurd! It’s laughable. No one would imagine such a ridiculous scenario would actually happen. But what about here? Why is it okay here, but not there? This is a Double Standard, applying one set of morals or values to one group, and a completely different set of morals or values to another group. It’s also known as hypocrisy.
We have to quit fooling ourselves into believing it’s justifiable or acceptable or even right to dislike an entire group of people based solely on complexion. We have to end the hatred, because it’s only skin-deep. And you know what? God made our skin all the colors of the rainbow on purpose. Because He likes it that way.
~Jonathan
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September 20th, 2007 · Permalink · Back to Top · Comments (2) · Tagged: Articles, Fiction, Racism
Note:
I wish I hadn’t changed it. I tried making some modifications to my database, and down she went. For a month. I finally decided to delete everything and start from scratch. So, if you notice anything missing that used to be here, drop me a line. And, sorry for the extended leave.
-Jon
Prayer meetings at the church have been increasingly fun. There’s nothing like spending time with God, but lately it seems we’re making headway toward something. Monday night was especially successful, and I came out of there a changed person. I’m not trying to belittle corporate prayer to the likes of a fast-food joint; it’s just that being in God’s presence—with a sole intent to pray out some things—garners personal change as well. And this night was no exception.
Three different people had an inspired word for the group Monday night, and I was thrilled to be one of them. I’ve always loved being used by God in speaking. I don’t know what it is about the vocal gifts that so intrigues me, but I have a longing for inspired utterance more than any other spiritual gift. And I suppose that’s scriptural; Paul told the Corinthians: “…Earnestly desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.
” (I Corinthians 14:1 WEB)
The neat thing is that all three of us spoke what God had put in our hearts at an earlier part of the meeting, yet everything said flowed together as if it were being said by the same person. There’s lots of scripture I could put here to back this up, but no one likes drudging through all that to get to the meat of the story. :o) So, moving on…
What I had was something that fell into my heart toward the beginning of the service about the totality of true servanthood, something I’d never seen before, and something I thought was just for me. But at the end of the service I felt the gentle nudge of the Spirit to share it with the group; it just seemed right to do so. I knew that when I spoke to them what I had written down, other words would flow. So, after waiting for the right place in the service (you don’t just start blurting out when you have something to say; that’s rude), I asked if I could share what I had on my heart.
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August 12th, 2007 · Permalink · Back to Top · Comments (0) · Tagged: Articles, Relationships
What’s a confession? I’m not talking about a Catholic sitting down with his priest and telling him all he’s done wrong. Confession is anything we say with our mouth, right? Well, what God has been telling me lately has me rethinking this. And, honestly, for a long time I’ve known in part what He’s saying; I just didn’t admit it, or maybe I overlooked this aspect of it. The question God asked me is, what’s your blog saying for you?
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August 4th, 2007 · Permalink · Back to Top · Comments (7) · Tagged: Articles, Blog, Brazil, Missions, Thailand
When I was in Bible School we were made to say a prayer over ourselves every morning. It was quoted straight from the Bible, prayers which the Apostle Paul prayed over the churches he started. The concept of self-prayer is that you shouldn’t take a que sera sera attitude toward your future. If you don’t strive for God’s plan for your life, then you will simply float downstream, bumping into whatever gets in your path. I’d rather take a more proactive approach, actively seeking out what God has for me.
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July 22nd, 2007 · Permalink · Back to Top · Comments (5) · Tagged: Articles
I met a man the other day named William. At first, our conversation was about the mechanics of fitting a Pentel eraser to the aft end of a Zebra 301 pencil. But it soon turned toward God and the sheer goodness and awesomeness of His plan.
It’s always so refreshing to run across people like that, who take time out of their day to not only help you accomplish what you set out to do, but also make it simply pleasant. There’s nothing more energizing than talking about God!
I’ve been focusing lately on getting God in my conversations. I continually think nowadays about who around me needs what I have to give. Just asking someone where they go to church or telling them Jesus loves them can make their day. You have no idea the benefit it is for them when you take just a couple seconds to tell them about the Lord.
Something that seems so small and almost insignificant to us can be the world to the one you’re telling it to. For instance, the “God bless you” I said to Daniel. What does it cost you to ask a person if he knows Jesus? Or what liability is it to you to smile at them and tell the good news that Jesus loves them? Hardly any, but the returns are astronomical!
This past Sunday afternoon I had some time to myself and I spent it at the bookstore. I grabbed a couple of my favorite magazines and a Chai Latte, and I sat down for a treat. Then a fellow at another table spoke to me; John was his name. He asked me are those reading glasses I’m wearing? No, I said, and then the conversation turned almost immediately toward the Lord. I still don’t know how that happened.
But for the next thirty minutes or so we talked about God and our need to spread His love. We spoke earnestly—and with quite a bit of volume—about the call to take the Gospel to the lost. We lamented the state of Christianity, that no one cares about his fellow man’s eternity. We boldly spoke that the only way to salvation is through our Lord Jesus Christ. All of this at a coffee shop inside Borders.
I later attended a service at a nearby church. (We don’t have service on Sunday nights, so I wasn’t playing hooky!) Well, this church had a guest minister in, and boy, was he a fireball. He preached on being frozen in the fire. We Christians, if we don’t watch ourselves, can become complacent and lackadaisical with our relationship with God—even in the midst of revival. He gave some symptoms of a freezing Christian. One of them was having no compassion for the lost. Was God trying to say something to me that day?
To top it all off, this morning on the radio I heard Dr. David Jeremiah speak about the fact that there is a “proxyism,” as he calls it, concerning missions. A Proxy is something that stands in the place of another, and there has appeared in recent years a proxy for Christ’s Great Commission. People have said that if you can’t go, then send a substitute. Send money to a missionary, and that will be just the same. But God never said that! That’s not in the Word. The only thing mentioned in the word is “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.
” (Matthew 28:19 NKJV)
It’s an absolute lie that we don’t have to speak to others about Christ so long as we are putting money in the offering plate. You’ve got to do both. So, I encourage you to try it. Go out, find someone, and just start talking. Open up with something goofy, like inquiring about the genre of their spectacles! :o) You don’t have to pack up and move to Thailand or Timbuktu, but you do have to tell your neighbors wherever you are.
~Jonathan
June 24th, 2007 · Permalink · Back to Top · Comments (2) · Tagged: Articles, Missions
Burn this feed.
