Day 2470 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.


Philippians 3:20 NIV

I'm thankful that this world is not our home. I'm thankful that this part of our journey doesn't last forever. I'm thankful that there is something better still to come. This is something that I've felt for a while now and it's only growing deeper as we move forward toward the impending unknowns that lie ahead. This is one of those posts that may sound a bit harsh at times, but being honest and truthful is the only way I know to do it.

At times I wonder if I've become too cynical. I catch myself reeling toward this place of despair and despondency. Constantly surrounded by negativity, rudeness, anger, division, and our society’s growing desire to make sin seem enjoyable and acceptable just wears on you. I know that I'm not the only one that feels like that or notices the things that I'm talking about. It's not hard to see, and when you see it and when you realize how sketchy things are getting, it just makes you all the more eager for our Lord's return.

We are in the world but no longer of the world. The greed, the lust, the desires for power and popularity, the misplaced priorities and fascination with all things wicked will grow more acceptable as this world continues following the evil desires of a fallen heart. And those things will only continue to lose our interest as we grow closer to Christ and deeper in our faith. This world will continue losing its grip on us and it’s going to take some getting used to.

God calls us to walk on the edge of this world. He is asking us to walk away from everything that it seems like everyone else is running toward. He ignited this fire in our hearts to seek something that cannot be found while we're here. He's pulling us to live differently and that's bound to make things interesting while we spend the remainder of our time here growing increasingly different while the world around us keeps going the direction that it's chosen to go.

My friends, this isn't a message of pity to help make us feel better about how weird things may become for those of us who choose to walk a different line. It's an encouragement to keep at it. It's a celebration of the courage to be different. It's a joyous realization that God is in fact doing an amazing work in our hearts and in our lives that will one day lead us to the fulfillment of every single promise that we have maintained hope in for so long.

Our time spent following Christ through a world that's going the opposite direction will not be easy. We're going to continue to be surrounded by people who have prioritized petty and pointless pursuits that the world says matter. Be different. Be bold enough to continue walking the other direction. Hold on to the promise you have in Christ that our reward is one that isn't found on this globe in these lives but is yet to come in the form of an eternity of peace. Don't trade that.

No, it's not going to get easier. The feelings of growing more out of place will only become more common. But in those moments, remember the promise and the hope of this verse in Philippians. This is not our home. This world and our lives within it are only temporary. And what comes next is worth the effort and strife that come with fighting the good fight and continuing to be different from the world around us.

So just hold on my friends. We're getting closer to where we belong!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 2016 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Image
Matthew 6:20 NIV Yesterday I posed a very big question: have you ever thought about the vastness of eternity? I'm just afraid that so many people are living for these lives only, and that's going to lead to quite a shock when we reach the end of this leg of the trip only to find that something else really does come next. So I just want to encourage everyone to take today's verse to heart. This is one that my mom likes to quote and share quite often. And it's really a very important lesson that everyone needs to learn and always keep in mind. While we're surrounded by all kinds of messages, things, wants, and desires, we need to always keep our priorities in line. We can't afford to let ourselves become distracted by all the wares that our world offers up. The thing that I think we've fallen for is this idea of value. We're told that all this worldly stuff is highly valuable. Now if that's the case, then we automatically think that having it or going
Read more

Day 2018 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Image
Luke 6:27 NIV I was presented the chance earlier today to experience one of those amazing opportunities to realize that I'd been wrong. You see my family and I had bought some Bibles to send to a couple of people, and we just hadn't gotten around to sending them yet. Since the time that we bought them, we kind of had this weird and unfortunate falling out of sorts with one of them. And I'm embarrassed to admit that it had me second guessing whether or not to send the gift.  Seeing as how this difference of opinion has gone, I had gotten it in my mind that I didn't want to send something to someone only for them to throw it away. But all along, my mom has been there saying no, we need to send it anyway. And today, we finally got them boxed up and sent out. But if anything, I may have ended up getting the biggest gift out of everyone involved. We don't get to decide who is worthy of our kindness. We don't get to pick and choose who we're going to do good thing
Read more

Day 3362 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Image
Matthew 15:8 NIV It seems as though perhaps the distance from our heads to our hearts is, at times at least, much the same as the separation we so often feel between here and hope. For though our lips are geographically close to the hearts which pound inside a craving for more than we can say we need, say we know, yet sadly despite their being so near to our knowing what we need, we find that our mouths and our hearts are existing as if in two foreign places. Because while our heads may hold lips that let on that we know we need Heaven's hope as having come in Christ, our hearts remain among the ultimate deceivers as they lead us daily back into the brink wherein we break away all over again into disbelief as designed inside a heart’s desires kindling fires forsaking that faith which yearns only for a fellowship with He who is everything we could ever need. Indeed, it seems to matter not what our tongues here confess as our hearts head us always into following the path our mouths c
Read more