Higher Ground

"Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13-14)

I think that I have recently had an epiphany, beloved.  Or perhaps "clarification" would be a better way to put it.  I was thinking once again of these words of the Apostle Paul to the believers in the ancient city of Philippi.  As these God-breathed words ran through my mind, I found myself focusing upon the word "upward" almost as if I had never noticed it before.  For most of my Christian life as an adult I have considered this word to refer to gaining heaven one day through faith in Jesus Christ.  "Upward" is a directional word indicating eternal life in glory with the Lord Jesus Christ.  And I am quite sure that such a divine final destination was uppermost in the apostle's mind as he wrote these words.

And here is where my "epiphany" of sorts comes in, beloved.  It occurred to me that Paul was not only talking about our final destiny in glory, but also about the upward journey we travel on our way to what God has so wondrously prepared for us.  As the full impact of this truth unfolded in my mind the words of an old hymn whose lyrics were written almost a century ago by Johnson Oatman Jr. came to mind:

I'm pressing on the upward way,

New heights I'm gaining every day;

Still praying as I onward bound,

"Lord, plant my feet on higher ground."

Lord, lift me up and let me stand

By faith on heaven's tableland;

A higher plane than I have found,

Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

What God has made known to me about myself, beloved, and that which I want to share with you here is that I want to live my life on higher ground.  I want to walk daily before my King at a higher level of love and fellowship and service and, yes, even sacrifice than I have found so far.  And so the simple phrase "higher ground" has become my watchword, my inward prompt or reminder the next time that I find myself taking the lower path spiritually.  I want to be able to know down deep in my heart that I am in truth "pressing on the upward way."  I know that heaven is coming and that nothing and no one can keep us from that if we know Jesus Christ by faith.  But I am talking now about the journey.  I want so very much to have my Master plant my feet on higher ground.  How about you?

Ron  

Here, Use My Name 

"And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch.  And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch"  (Acts 11:26)

 Have you ever been surprised to see your name appear on a movie marquee or list of credits, beloved?  Recently I was watching an old Clark Gable film and just scanning through the cast of actors and actresses playing roles in that production.  I was surprised to see the name of well-known actress Marjorie Main playing a character in the film whose name was "Mrs. Varner."  Now you must understand that I don't see our family name appear in many public venues such as that so it was a bit unusual and caught my eye!  It certainly made me wonder, since I had not seen anything but the end of the film, just what kind of character "Mrs. Varner" had been.

The history of the early church tells us that followers of Jesus Christ first began to be known as "Christians" in the city of Antioch in Syria.  Christians.  Now there is a name by which to be called!  It is as if Jesus has said to each one of us who have chosen to trust Him and serve Him, "Here, use My name."  And as idly curious as I may have been recently in wondering just what kind of character "Mrs. Varner" turned out to be, you can rest assured that the Lord Jesus Christ is imminently more interested in what kind of people we as Christians are in our living as we bear His name!

You see, beloved, when Jesus said to us, "Here, use My name," He wasn't just sticking a name-tag on our chest for all the world to see.  He was associating Himself with us as surely as we by faith through grace have associated ourselves with Him.  One reality that we seem to forget all too easily today, myself included, is that it is a big deal to be called by the name of Jesus Christ. In fact, there is no "bigger deal" in the whole world than that!  And do you know why wearing the name of Jesus is so important?  Because those early believers in Antioch did not get tagged with that name simply because a group of people got together one day and someone said, "Hey, I've got an idea!  Let's call these guys Christians!"

The early believers came to be known as "Christians" because of the way they lived, beloved, and for no other reason than that.  When you wear someone's name, you take on that person's interests and priorities.  That is precisely why Jesus told His followers what their primary goal in life should be.

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you"

(Matthew 6:33)

So Jesus has said to each one of us, to you and to me - "Here, use My name."  And in so doing He has the right to expect us to live up to that name, to live for the glory of the One whom that name represents.  He expects us to be everything that He in His heart desires for us to be.  I may not ever find out what kind of character Marjorie Main was in playing the role of "Mrs. Varner" in that movie, beloved, but I sure do know what kind of person I need to be as I wear the name of Jesus Christ as my banner before my world!

Ron   

Sweeter Than Honey

'How sweet are Thy words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Psalm 119:103)

The power of God's word to nourish and uplift, beloved, came home to my wife and me this past week in a wonderful and heart-touching way! She was sitting in the living room and I working at my desk on some notes for an upcoming message. Suddenly, I stopped still and began to listen. My mother-in-law was singing! She was not merely repeating words said to her but was actually singing on her own as she lay in her hospital bed to which she has been confined for a very long time. You must understand that at this stage in her 92-year old life her bedroom is pretty much her whole world. For the most part she lies in bed either sleeping or watching television or eating a meal. That is her life. That is her world.

But it was not primarily the fact that she was singing that caught our attention as we both stopped what we were doing to listen in amazement. It was what she was singing! I rose from my chair and went to the door of her room, standing just outside in the hallway so that I could hear every word. Again you must understand that Bev's mom does not speak, not on her own anyway. All she can say in response to anything is "No way." But this time she was singing - her choice of words without prompting and her choice of song. Would you like to know what she was singing?

At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away;
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day.

Grammy was worshiping the Lord, singing to Him the love of her heart, and that with a body that has been greatly damaged by stroke and seizures. As limited physically as she certainly is, unable to do much of anything for herself anymore, she was demonstrating that her spirit knows no bounds, that her heart is as free and flying as high as it could possibly be. Instead of bemoaning her fate, she has chosen to sing to the Lord about her redemption and to glory in the cross that gave her that redemption.

I cannot tell you in words that will convey it the joy that flooded over me as I stood outside her door and listened to her song of praise. And as I have thought about that moment in the several days that have passed since it happened, these words of the psalmist came to my mind. In her own special way, Bev's mom was telling her Savior "how sweet" His words are to her taste, how much sweeter even than honey they are to her. How often have I, when suffering far less than what she has suffered, forgotten to give glory to God and to sing His praises in the midst of my circumstances. What a wonderful lesson I learned in that moment, beloved! I want to never again forget how sweet are God's words to my spirit, how even sweeter than honey they are to me. I want to focus all the time on what God in His grace and because of His mercy has done for me. I want to join Grammy in her song and praise His lovely name!

Ron

Open Wide!

"Therefore, we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day" (2 Corinthians 4:16)

Ok, I admit it! I am getting older. This morning I learned that I need to undergo a dental process known as receiving a "partial." Now not that it matters one bit, mind you, but my wife has worn a partial for a number of years. And she's younger than I am! The stark reality in any case is that I am aging and that parts of me are wearing out and in need of either replacement or repair. Can I get a witness?

Actually, the Apostle Paul told everyone this a long time ago when he wrote to the believers in Corinth and reminded them that we are all "decaying" day by day. Now I'll be the first to admit that, in our native tongue, "decay" is not a very palatable term. But there it is, the reality of life for all of us. We're decaying! In the original language of the New Testament, this word means literally "corrupt across" or "corrupt throughout." Passively, as it appears here, it refers to that which is perishing and which will ultimately end in death.

Wow, now there is some really good news for a Tuesday morning, isn't it? Actually, beloved, that isn't even Paul's point at all. The good news we find in his contrasting statement that, though we are all indeed dying slowly, we can all be undergoing a marvelous divine renewal at the very same time! This renewal is taking place in our "inner man" in our personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We are growing more and more like Jesus as and to the extent that we allow His Spirit to carry on this glorious work of renewal within each of our hearts. We of all people have reason to rejoice, then, for we are being prepared moment by moment to live with Jesus Christ forever!

Oh yes, and about that "decaying" thing? Paul told those same Corinthian believers that even our physical bodies will undergo divine transformation in preparation for living together eternally with our Redeemer.

"For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality" (1 Corinthians 15:53)

How, then, do you view your daily life, regardless of the chronological age at which you find yourself right now? As I see it, we have two choices: to view our living as dying or to view our living as divine transformation. Personally I choose the latter. Bring on that "partial," then, and I'll wear it with pride! There is something going on in my life that outshines every possible vestige of "decay" that I might have to undergo. I'm getting ready for eternity. How about you?

Ron