Tag: eternity

a chip on His shoulders

 “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”  1 Corinthians 6:20 (NKJV)

Have you ever purposefully bought something you knew was defective?  I never thought I’d find myself doing that, but that’s what happened a few days ago.  And unexpectedly, there was Jesus wonderfully right in the middle of my conversation with the cashier about my improbable purchase.

If you read my last post, “Humilability,” then you already know I’ve had the Japanese art form known as Kintsugi on my mind.  So much so that I decided I wanted to try my hand at it.  I was in the process of buying something at the last minute for my art-venture when a “refreshing summer rain” moment of understanding in the checkout lane occurred.

Let me refresh your mind about Kintsugi before moving on with this story.

Kintsugi is a Japanese art form that takes shattered pottery and makes it whole by mending the broken pieces together with glue typically containing silver, gold, or platinum.   Upon completion, the revitalized object becomes more valuable and desirable than it was initially.  Those who follow this style of art delight in the object’s history as revealed by the repaired joints.  In other words, the rejuvenated vessel tells a story of hope through its rebirth that is cause for much celebration.

Returning to the story, I had already bought everything I thought I needed for my project but still had one last stop to make for my wife before heading home.  She had asked me to buy a clay pot, so I stopped by the local gardening center knowing they would have a good selection.  While looking for just the right clay pot for her, I noticed a chipped and cracked one.  As soon as I did, a light bulb immediately went off in my head, and I realized it’d be a great addition to my collection of Kintsugi project material. Why smash up something in perfect shape when I could break up something that was already flawed?   So, I happily picked up the broken pot along with a good one for my wife and headed to the checkout lane.

After a short wait in line, I placed the two pots I wished to purchase on the counter.  As the cashier scanned the items, she paused over the broken one and looked up at me with a questioning expression on her face. 

Cashier: “Did you know this pot is broken?”

Me: “Yes.”

Cashier: “And you still want it?”

Me: “Yes, I have plans for it.”

No sooner had those words been said when a spiritual sonic boom stirred my soul, recrystallizing the reality of a precious gift I far too often fail to acknowledge and cherish rightly.  Indeed, just as I had plans for the broken pot, how much more so does Jesus have plans for broken me?

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV)

There is a huge difference, of course, in the method of payment for these items.  Jesus purchased me with His life, while all I did was hand over a few dollars for the flowerpot.  He gave all, I gave little.

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”  John 15:13 (NKJV)

Before I stepped into the picture, the trash heap was that defective clay pot’s only future where it would join countless other items also considered worthless and of no use.  However, the funny thing now is it sits next to me on my bookshelf in plain sight as a treasured reminder of where I’d be right now without Jesus.  There now was no way I was going to bust it up as I had initially planned after being gifted with such a beautiful flash of insight.  God has such a wholly (holy!) excellent way of turning my thoughts and plans upside down, you know?  

“A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”  Proverbs 16:9 (NKJV)

How did this broken pot land in a position of honor in my office instead of lost in a landfill?  Simply put, I had plans for it where no one else did and was then willing and able to do something about it.  That is the sole reason this little clay pot has a new home beside me.

“Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”  Isaiah 43:19 (NKJV)

As a believer, the soul (yes, that’s purposeful spelling on my part) reason I now have an eternal future overflowing with hope is that Jesus saw my need and was willing and able to do something about it.

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”  John 1:29 (NKJV)

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed;’” Luke 4:18  (NKJV)

He put my brokenness, my chips, if you will, on His shoulders at great cost to Himself.  And He’s done the same for you.

“All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”  Isaiah 53:6 (NKJV)

“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”  Isaiah 53:5 (NKJV)

What are the Lord’s plans for you, my brother and sister in Christ, and for me?  He has prepared a place of honor for us with Him.

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”  John 14:3 (NKJV)

“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”  John 14:2 (NKJV)

But there’s more, so much more.  It’s beyond astonishing when you think about it!  

 “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”  Romans 8:29 (NKJV)

Have you sincerely thanked God today for His active presence in your life, for the priceless gift of rebirth out of brokenness He has bestowed upon you through His Son, our Savior, Jesus?

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”  2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)

Come to the Table by Sidewalk Prophets from the album “Something Different.”

end-fluencer

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”  Matthew 5:16 (NKJV)

Influence.  It’s something we all possess, so that makes every one of us influencers to some degree.  Regardless of the amount of sway we hold with others, how seriously do we take that responsibility?  More pointedly, to what end is our influence wielded? Is it for ourselves or something more significant?

“In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  Matthew 6:9-10 (NKJV)

“How many of your plans take an unending future into account?”  John Eldredge, The Journey of Desire

As believers, how might we conduct ourselves differently if we envisioned ourselves more conscientiously as “end-fluencers” with our eye on the future instead of mere influencers focused on the here and now?  A perspective of thinking about tomorrow instead of today emphasizes a heightened big-picture awareness of our potential personal impact on all of those the Lord puts within our reach.

“Teach me the happy art of attending to things temporal with a mind intent on things eternal.” Christlikeness, from the Valley of Vision

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”  Jim Elliot

Essentially, in this forward-thinking, other-centered mindset, we become investors with genuine “skin in the game” regarding other people.  Or to borrow my purposeful misspelling methods one more time, as “end-vestors” in people.  In doing so, we are putting aside our needs and wants and taking personal responsibility for helping guide others to be everything God has called them to be.

“Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”  Philippians 2:1-4 (NKJV)

Allow me to share an example of an authentic “end-fluencer” with you.  The stirring words of my mentor, 2 Tim, as I like to call him, continually ring out loud and clear in my head like Christmas morning church bells gloriously chiming for all to hear, “I want my life to count for eternity!” 

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”  Romans 12:2 (NKJV)

“while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18 (NKJV)

2Tim has been passionately and faithfully pursuing a life of eternal significance since becoming a believer as an eleven-year-old boy.  These words have been his consistent mission statement for decades, shaping all of his choices along the way.  They have been his ever-present rudder steering him in the way he should go.   When these are your marching orders to be carried out coram Deo (before the face of God), there is only room for integrity, character, and honor.  

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Philippians 4:8 (NKJV)

Over the years, hundreds of people have learned to be disciple-makers directly under 2Tim’s hands-on, watchful and purposeful teaching as he pours himself into equipping others to lead in the same manner. The Biblical truth of what he teaches is delightfully contagious, end-fluencing those disciples, who in turn teach others what they have learned.  And so it goes like a baton passed from one relay team runner to the next in a never-ending, ever-growing circle of Spirit-connected hearts to encourage people to participate in furthering God’s Family proactively.

“Not that I have already attained or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14 (NKJV)

How many have been impacted by 2Tim’s discipleship ministry, directly or indirectly?  That’s impossible to say, of course, but it’s likely in the thousands.  It’s what inevitably happens when reproducers reproduce, as he loves to say.

“And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” 2 Timothy 2:2 (NKJV)

So, the question inevitably becomes for each of us as sons and daughters of God, as followers of His beloved Son, our Savior, Jesus, are you an influencer, or are you an end-fluencer?

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”  Matthew 28:19-20 (NKJV)

1!1!1!

 “Speak the Name” by Koryn Hawthorne from the album “Unstoppable.”

Power Washing

Power Washing

Wherever a power washer is employed, a dramatic and significant change for the better happens as evidenced by this recent photo taken by Steve Wiggins.

It’s an obvious difference-maker that results in a startling night and day, dark and light, dirty and clean contrast between the before and after. 

And this for perishable, earthly things in desperate need of thorough cleaning.  How much more urgent is the heart-wrenching cry for the necessary cleansing embodied in our eternal souls for those who seek an everlasting relationship with God?

 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 (NKJV)

“Not of works, lest anyone should boast.”  Ephesians 2:9 (NKJV)

Unclean and incapable of saving ourselves, how, then, can we ever hope to come into His holy presence?

Unwilling to leave us in our hopeless state of darkness, God has graciously provided us with the means of a soul-scrubbing, power-washing rescue, a pathway leading directly to Him.

What is this unique pathway?

 “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”  John 1:29 (NKJV)

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (NKJV)

What is Jesus’s mission here on earth?

“to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.”  Acts 26:18 (NKJV)

Jesus is the River of Life.  Jordan Feliz, “The River” from the album “The River.”

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”  Romans 3:16-17 (NKJV)

Has your soul been set free by the Lamb of God’s sacrifice?

“that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 8:9-10 (NKJV)

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,” Ephesians 2:8 (NKJV)

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”  Colossians 1:13-14 (NKJV)

Where do you stand spiritually? Are you still in the “before Jesus” darkness, or have you stepped into the “after Jesus” light of His power washing grace?

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.  By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.  And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.”  Hebrews 10:19-22 (NLT)

Michael W. Smith, “Washed Away” from the album “Surrounded.”

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