Wow, Isaiah 57.15 has an interesting statement (made by God) in it. "I live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble." I have a question and it is relative to what I have been thinking about predestination and the whole time/space quandary: Who is God talking about living with here? Angels? Or not? If not, then we have to explain this and the only real way to do that is to acknowledge that in God's presence time no longer exists. What this means is that all that was, is, or ever shall be... simply "is" with God. God only knows one tense: present. The past and future are both present with God. Let that soak in.
Now we come to the fifth group of people to whom the apostle Paul communicated via pen and ink, the Philippians. As in Paul's other letters, there is no uncertainty here of Paul's undying affection for the people he discipled. However, there is further, even more evident proof of Paul's commitment to these people found in verses 15-19. Some were preaching the Gospel message out of pure spite to further secure Paul's bondage in prison! AND YET, Paul was thankful because indeed the message of Christ was being preached. (Now, that puts a whole new meaning to the scripture verse, "In every thing give thanks..." 1Thessalonians 5.18.)
Then (talk about faith!), Paul further elaborates in verses 20-21, "For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better."
Pause and think...
God! Please! Help me; help us all to have the same attitude of Paul about the meaning of our lives. Help us fully dispose our lives to the work of Your kingdom (loving God - loving man)! Only by Your grace will this happen - give us more grace!
1 comment:
I thought the part in today's reading about the Sabbath was interesting. My roommate in college at one point read a book about having a "day of rest," and she went for quite a while trying to put it into practice. I don't remember if her day of rest was Saturday or Sunday, but she would make sure that she had everything "work" done by that day, and she would just relax and enjoy the day. It seemed to really help her stress level. Anyway, sometimes I wonder if God didn't intend for us to have a day of putting everything of our fast-paced lives aside and thinking of the things that really matter. I know that we aren't under the law (being required to keep the Sabbath), but I do know that our fast-paced lives often keep us so focused on "now" that we can hardly think of heavenly things or remember that this world is not our home.
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