That Which Remains

 Job 13:15 “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.”

Before going into this post, a paragraph has been stuck in my head for about four days now. It’s found at Scottish Warriors site although it was written by W E Smith and it reads as follows:

“For students of the bible, the concept of the wilderness should be most familiar. Abraham left his homeland and family to venture forth into an unknown land of promise. Moses left the palatial comforts of Egypt to dwell among the rocks and wild beasts. The tribes of Israel wandered 40 years in the wilderness prior to occuplying the land of Caanan. Job lost everything that he might glimpse the Eternal One at the edege of the valley of death.”

I just visited the site LIVINGWALK for the first time as to ensure that the above link works properly. PLEASE check it out. There are some really thought provoking postings on this site. It’s now on the blogroll and I just printed a copy of the latest post, “The Beginning of Sorrows”  to read at work tonight.

For most of us, the abandoning, from the heart, of everything of temporary design is little more than a theological exercise that transpires within the seemingly controlable environment of our earthly kingdom. A place where, despite our professing to trust completely in the Lord Jesus, most of us unwittingly place a great deal of confidence in our education, our career, the stability of the economy, and a status quo which has remained in tact for as long as any of us can remember. Most of us don’t have a clue as to what a true wilderness experience is. A place where everything familiar and warm has been replaced by a most unfamiliar landscape. Here we undergo a deep pruning which trims away everything that we’ve been clinging to; leaving nothing but us and our Savior in whom we are complete. To have the sentance of death in ourselves and place all of our confidence in the Lord Jesus; regardless of what comes to pass in the natural.

Ones take on such a thing will depend on their general outlook. If one loves their life in this world, it will seem a horiffic thing and they will rush to all of the verses that the prosperity crowd routinely twist in order to promote unlimited earthly acquisition. If one has a romantic outlook on such transpirations, they may embrace, and even proclaim, the concepts at the outset without truly grasping what those “concepts” may entail. This is my danger zone; that of embracing such spiritual concepts, but not truly grasping their meaning. It’s easy to proclaim “I’m ready to testify of Jesus; even if it means death” when nobodys pointing a gun to our head and saying “prove it.” As such, the ponderings in this posting are from a theological standpoint and are designed to bring about pondering, examination, and a deeper desire to get in close to Jesus.

It’s too early to go into detail, but transpirings have recently taken place in my ambience that could result in a total collapse of our present situation. Theatenings that would have the average person (perhaps even the average christian) resorting to nuttiness as events appear to be unfolding that would undo everything which, over the years, has been assembled into a seemingly stable platform. And yet, while the temptation is there to be “apprehensive” so to speak, I’m finding something much deeper in play. I’m finding a contentment in Jesus that whatever happens; even to the point of living in a cardboard box under a bridge, my heart is fixed on the everlasting. Again, time will tell if I’m truly in such a place spiritually or if this is just a romantic notion, but at the moment, there’s a heavenly song in my heart. The kind that doesn’t have an earthly counterpart and defies all attempts to outline.  

There’s a post in my mind that. if it ever comes to the blogosphere, will be entitled “Reckless Abandon.” It will talk of being committed to the Lord Jesus to such a degree that events or losses in the physical realm don’t even cause us to so much as flinch concerning our faith in Christ. It’s the kind of steadfast committment that often causes well meaning brethren to say “Don’t be so heavenly minded that you’re of no earthly good” even though such a thing isn’t possible. (In all fairness, however, this phrase is usually issued out of good intention and concern for anothers well being.) It “is” possible to be so earthly minded that we’re of no heavenly good, but this doesn’t work in reverse. A truly heavenly minded person will not only have their affections on things above, they will be about the business of compelling those without God to come to Jesus before it’s too late. A truly heavenly minded person will count all that is in the world as loss that they may win Christ.

Yesterday while cleaning out the truck, I saw the fruits of my “positive tract flow” policy. (This is where for every hundred tracts that are distributed, more than a hundred are ordered to replace them because someday they will no longer be available.) If we lose everything in this world, I’ll have a lot of time to get these tracts out. (Because they’re not doing any good sitting in boxes in the back of the truck.) And this is where my heart is at; getting the gospel out and talking with whosoever will listen about eternity and their place in it. It was last year, while in downtown Kalamazoo that the Lord placed something on my heart while I was noticing some of the features of a particular street. “All of this is going to pass away. The only thing here that will last forever is the souls.” Furthermore, a complete loss of trappings may be just the thing that finally brings the rest of the family on board. When all of the distractions of an earthly kingdom are removed, that which remains will be all that truly matters.

I know that I’m not making a lot of sense at the moment; especially with the continual referrals to a presently fluid situation; both at home and at work. But the reason for typing out this impromptu posting without doing much checking for errors is to encourage everyone who professes Jesus as Savior to let go of the superficial and lay hold of that which is eternal. I’m loking at what many would view as a potentiual calamity and my heart instantly heads into heavanly spaces. When we can abide in a place where the ambience no longer affects us, those without will know that our Jesus is real and some will be certain to inquire. Yesterday during my adventures in cleaning, I came across printed copies of two testimonies; one of Annie Finton and the other of Donalyn Vaughn. Both are former wiccans who had previously been turned off by much of what passes for christianity these days, until they had an authentic encounter with the Lord Jesus. In both cases authentic saints were instrumental and the Lord granted the increase.

These testimonies reminded me of how important our witness is. When we are abiding in Christ and not affected by events that will cause most to come unglued, it will be undeniable that we serve a risen Savior who is able to deliver in times of trying. As such, all of the transpirings over the past three days have brought forth a renewed desire to get in close to Jesus and “let go of that which cannot be maintained anyways. (Someday we will no longer live at 10468 Quaker st. This is a simple fact.) Well I must be going for now. I apolagize for the chopiness of this writing but my mind is racing with thought and time is slipping away quickly. I pray that we would all be granted understanding as to just how quickly time is slipping away and that we would respond accordingly.

Blessings always in Jesus name.

II Corinthians 4:17-18 “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”