"... 'The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him'" (Lam. 3:24, NIV).
Coming to Christ is not an investment in our temporal life, but an opportunity to make good on the investment of what eternity has to offer. When we live in light of eternity, we live life to the fullest and are properly oriented to reality and can put our troubles and adversities into perspective. Jesus came that we can have life, and life more abundantly (cf. John 10:10), but this life starts in the here and now, though we are in a pilgrimage through time with spiritual green cards preparing for and making a tryout for heaven's stage.
If our hope is in this life alone, we ought to be most pitied, but we know our hope is real through the objective historical fact of the resurrection, and the subjective personal experience we have in Christ--to know Him is to love Him. The proof of the pudding is in the eating! As it is written: "Taste and see that the LORD is good" (cf. Psalm 34:8).
Grace is, by definition, the unmerited favor of God, and there is nothing we can do to earn it, deserve it, nor repay it, and we must learn to become grace-oriented. Salvation is free but not cheap--it will cost everything you have because God wants you! And grace is not cheap, because it will cost you something to live the Christian life, but putting things in perspective, our afflictions are but shots at greatness if we can overcome. In this life we will have troubles, Jesus said, but we are to "be of good cheer" because He has "overcome the world" (cf. John 16:33)--and Christ's victory is transferable to our account and portfolio.
We never waste time in serving the Lord, but it is a wise investment in our future and an eternal investment with high payoffs. No matter how much we suffer in this life, our crosses pale in comparison to Christ's and what He did on our behalf. In the end, we can be assured that it is worth it and we are laying up treasures in heaven. Christianity is not an economic decision that we think God will make us rich, famous, or powerful, but He will make us successful in serving Him!
The so-called prosperity theology, whereby Jesus wants us to get rich, money-wise, is a heresy, and God makes the poor as well as the rich, and if we get rich or blessed financially, we must recognize that it is God's blessing and not our own ingenuity, creativity, or entrepreneurship (cf. Deut. 8:17). God brings bad times as well as good (cf. Job 2:10). It is God who gives us the power to get rich--"... 'I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go'" (Isaiah 48:17, ESV). God does promise to bless our doings in the name of the LORD and when we do God's will and follow our calling.
God never promised us a bed of roses or a rose garden, and our walk is not Pollyanna, and life is not meant to be a picnic, but an adventure with Christ. Christ was honest enough to tell us ahead of time of the trials, troubles, afflictions, temptations, adversity, discipline, and suffering we'd have, if we are serious to pursue Him, and this is because we must be willing to take up our cross and follow Him (this is what Lordship entails).
Paul had a lot to lose to become a believer, and he counted all his credentials and accomplishments as rubbish compared to knowing Christ as Lord. In becoming a believer, we have nothing to lose and eternity to gain! When we go through our troubles we can avail of the promises of God and know that He is with us and we have all of heaven's resources at our disposal.
Don't focus on this world and what it has to offer--we're only passing through. He who is the friend of the world is the enemy of God (cf. James 4:4), and if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him (cf. 1 John 2:15). We need to live above our circumstances and to keep our eyes on Jesus as we march along our spiritual journey. We are never really poor in God's eyes, but rich in what matters most--the things that money cannot buy! Soli Deo Gloria!
Coming to Christ is not an investment in our temporal life, but an opportunity to make good on the investment of what eternity has to offer. When we live in light of eternity, we live life to the fullest and are properly oriented to reality and can put our troubles and adversities into perspective. Jesus came that we can have life, and life more abundantly (cf. John 10:10), but this life starts in the here and now, though we are in a pilgrimage through time with spiritual green cards preparing for and making a tryout for heaven's stage.
If our hope is in this life alone, we ought to be most pitied, but we know our hope is real through the objective historical fact of the resurrection, and the subjective personal experience we have in Christ--to know Him is to love Him. The proof of the pudding is in the eating! As it is written: "Taste and see that the LORD is good" (cf. Psalm 34:8).
Grace is, by definition, the unmerited favor of God, and there is nothing we can do to earn it, deserve it, nor repay it, and we must learn to become grace-oriented. Salvation is free but not cheap--it will cost everything you have because God wants you! And grace is not cheap, because it will cost you something to live the Christian life, but putting things in perspective, our afflictions are but shots at greatness if we can overcome. In this life we will have troubles, Jesus said, but we are to "be of good cheer" because He has "overcome the world" (cf. John 16:33)--and Christ's victory is transferable to our account and portfolio.
We never waste time in serving the Lord, but it is a wise investment in our future and an eternal investment with high payoffs. No matter how much we suffer in this life, our crosses pale in comparison to Christ's and what He did on our behalf. In the end, we can be assured that it is worth it and we are laying up treasures in heaven. Christianity is not an economic decision that we think God will make us rich, famous, or powerful, but He will make us successful in serving Him!
The so-called prosperity theology, whereby Jesus wants us to get rich, money-wise, is a heresy, and God makes the poor as well as the rich, and if we get rich or blessed financially, we must recognize that it is God's blessing and not our own ingenuity, creativity, or entrepreneurship (cf. Deut. 8:17). God brings bad times as well as good (cf. Job 2:10). It is God who gives us the power to get rich--"... 'I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go'" (Isaiah 48:17, ESV). God does promise to bless our doings in the name of the LORD and when we do God's will and follow our calling.
God never promised us a bed of roses or a rose garden, and our walk is not Pollyanna, and life is not meant to be a picnic, but an adventure with Christ. Christ was honest enough to tell us ahead of time of the trials, troubles, afflictions, temptations, adversity, discipline, and suffering we'd have, if we are serious to pursue Him, and this is because we must be willing to take up our cross and follow Him (this is what Lordship entails).
Paul had a lot to lose to become a believer, and he counted all his credentials and accomplishments as rubbish compared to knowing Christ as Lord. In becoming a believer, we have nothing to lose and eternity to gain! When we go through our troubles we can avail of the promises of God and know that He is with us and we have all of heaven's resources at our disposal.
Don't focus on this world and what it has to offer--we're only passing through. He who is the friend of the world is the enemy of God (cf. James 4:4), and if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him (cf. 1 John 2:15). We need to live above our circumstances and to keep our eyes on Jesus as we march along our spiritual journey. We are never really poor in God's eyes, but rich in what matters most--the things that money cannot buy! Soli Deo Gloria!