Church Angel?

“The secret of the seven stars you saw in My right hand and of the seven gold lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”

Revelation 1:20

Does your church have an angel? If it is like one of the churches in the book of revelation it does. Is the angel symbolic or literal? The lampstands represent literal churches, so why would the stars not represent literal angels? The Holy Spirit through John goes on to address seven churches by addressing each letter to “the Angel” of that church. Incidentally, it is not just the churches that are doing well who have an angel.

Since specifics of what the angel of your church does besides receiving letters from Jesus about the status of the church are not detailed, it is good not to speculate. But the bottom line is simple. There is much more going on spiritually and even cosmically than we have ever imagined. As you move through this day recognize that there is an eternal reality that is focused on your day, your every thought and every action even as your prayers enter the throne room scene of Almighty God!

Lose it for Jesus!

“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me and the gospel will save it.”

Mark 8:35

If you lose your life for Jesus then you are a winner. This is one of the paradoxes in the Bible. If you lose your life you will save it, but if we want to save your life you will lose it.

How can that be? It is simple. We were born to eternity. Our existence will go on past this life, but the state and condition of that existence is the question. Without Jesus our life will be one of eternal death. It is unthinkable and truthfully unimaginable. With Jesus our life will be one that is eternally lived in the presence of Jesus. We will be filled with the joy of the Lord at every turn.

You cannot save yourself no matter how hard you try. And you cannot lose your life if you lose it for Jesus.

God Given Name!

“For this reason I kneel before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. [I pray] that He may grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power in the inner man through His Spirit,  and that the Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith. [I pray] that you, being rooted and firmly established in love,  may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth [of God's love], and to know the Messiah's love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us.”

Ephesians 3:14-20

When I meet someone with a unique last name I am always tempted to ask where their name came from. I suppose my interest stems from the fact that my name has Norwegian roots and if I ask someone about their name then I may get an opportunity to declare the origin of “Steensland.” Pride is a very subtle vice isn’t it?

According to Ephesians 3 every family on earth has a name that comes from God Himself. I can’t explain how that works, but I can trust that it is true. There are no questions about who I am in the mind of God. He made me, named me and has orchestrated life itself to draw me to Him. God does not force Himself on me, but woos me with tender love that makes the greatest love story on earth seem small indeed.

Here is a miracle. We are to know the Messiah’s love even though it surpasses knowledge. Stepping into the realm of eternity is to know the unknowable, see the unseen, and hear the sounds that no one else can even perceive and touch the face of God in the mirror of eternity. Then we are only seeing the shadow of Heaven as we wait for His Glorious Return! Come quickly Lord Jesus!

Called to be an Image of God!

“When the Lord first spoke to Hosea, He said this to him:
‘Go and marry a promiscuous wife
and [have] children of promiscuity,
for the land is committing blatant acts of promiscuity
by abandoning the Lord.’
So he went and married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.”

Hosea 1:2-3

I have always felt sorry for Hosea. Here was a man who obviously wanted to be a faithful man of God. God told him to marry a woman who would bring him great heart ache. Why would God want to ruin the life of Hosea for the sake of making a point? It is difficult enough to be married to someone who has a serious moral flaw, so why would God instruct Hosea to seek out such a wife? The reason can only be understood when you look at it through the eyes of the Lord.

The suffering of Hosea was a reflection of the suffering of God Himself. God was calling Hosea to be an image of Him. The desire of a righteousness man is to be like Jesus in His purity and holiness, but what about His suffering? Sin is the mother of all suffering, and my sin brings pain and suffering to God Himself. When the bride of Christ is unfaithful, oh the pain that shoots through the vast expanse of the cosmos!

My obedience brings great joy to God even as my sin brings grief. So when I am tempted to sin I must think about Hosea and his wife going out for another of her promiscuous encounters. I must not ignore the suffering of God when I sin.

Give a Hand not a Crutch!

“Brothers, if someone is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual should restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so you also won't be tempted. Carry one another's burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But each person should examine his own work, and then he will have a reason for boasting in himself alone, and not in respect to someone else. For each person will have to carry his own load.”

Galatians 6:1-5

These verses present what appears to be a paradox. They tell us to carry one another’s burdens and to carry our own load. Which is it? We fulfill the law of Christ when we carry another’s burdens, especially when they are caught in wrongdoing and need to be gently and carefully helped out. But there is also a warning about carrying our own load. When you are the recipient of help from a brother there is the “welfare mentality trap” that tempts us to rely on others rather than be responsible for ourselves.

A good father may gently pick up a child who has fallen, but he does not give the child crutches so that he will never stumble again. A good father expects his child to learn to walk on the two legs God gave him!

When you help a brother be sure and give a hand not a crutch!

The Ocean of God!

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”

Galatians 5:6

I the book of 1 Corinthians Paul declares that the greatest of faith, hope and love is love. In Galatians 5:6 he tells us that faith expresses itself through love.

Some years ago I decided not to carry a card in my pocket that would give a doctor permission to “pull the plug” on me if he thought I was too far gone to recover. The reason I don’t carry such a card is love. I know such a decision may need to be made, but I want the person who decides that to be someone who loves me! If you love me, I can trust you to do the right thing. You see it is not competence but love that must rule in life. Without love even faith and hope are flawed and incomplete.

Perhaps the most mystifying statement in the entire Bible is “God is love.” (1 John 4:8) Whenever you see the word “Love” as you read the Bible mentally replace it with “God.” It will help you step into the deeper water of knowing Him. So when you love you are swimming in the ocean of God Himself!

Spiritual Appetizers

“Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

1 Peter 2:1-3

When you taste that the Lord is good you simply whet your appetite for more of Him! Milk is just the beginning of your spiritual appetite fulfillment. There is fruit and bread and meat and there are all kinds of unimaginable delights in craving to know Him. Some folks only eat spiritual appetizers. They never get down to a full portion of the main dish. They sample, taste and nibble on the things of the Lord, but never imbibe deeply of the blessings that are in Him.

I really believe that every physical eating disorder is a mirror of a spiritual eating disorder that keeps us from being healthy as followers of Jesus. We are thin and emaciated and yet believe that we are fat! We eat a big meal and then regurgitate so that we lose any benefit from the food.

Set your mind and heart to feed on Jesus and let His Word be the food that sustains you and gives you strength for every moment of this day.