Give Up Serving Mammon

How realistic is it to touch your nose with your toes? That's it; impossible! The same is applicable in living both for God and for worldly riches and gains. It's either one or the other; you can't serve two masters.

Our Lord Jesus made this clear in the Gospel according to Luke that “No servant is able to serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other… You cannot serve God and mammon [riches, or anything in which you trust and on which you rely]” (Luke 16:13). Many today devote most of their time chasing shadows, garnering fleeting treasures of little or no eternal relevance. Their daily goals centre on making a living that they eventually forget to live.

A sad reality in the world today is that people have placed the love of money and riches (mammon) higher than the love for God in their hearts. Men turn blind eye towards the need for God; their desires for the manifestation of His glory have been shattered. Self-sufficiency is enthroned, and what do we see? Entropy reigns.

For such puerile pursuit, families wallow in agony. Marriages have stooped to divorce. Togetherness, oneness and other tenets that strengthen family ties have been jostled to the rear because mummy has to work and daddy has to meet up with deadlines. Relationships are now anchored on money, thus the twisted axiom: 'for better for stay, for worse for go'.

Apostle Paul tagged such people as those whose god is their belly (Philippians 3:19). They forget the words of the Preacher: “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver, nor he who loves abundance with gain….” (Ecclesiastes 5:10-11).

Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, sounded a warning against such trifling pursuit of money, telling us to pay more attention to what counts for eternity. He said “…Guard yourselves and keep free from all covetousness; for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15).

When our lives are driven by the thirst for wealth and abundance or possessions, we scorn the purpose of God for our lives and subject His grace and love to ridicule. However, God is not against us having money and prospering in life. But He is against whatever will take His place in our hearts. And if God is displaced at the centre of our hearts as one whom we serve and live for, crisis, chaos, depression, disappointment and misery are inevitable.

“Do not gather and store up for yourself treasures on earth, where moth and rust and worm consume and destroy, and where thieves break through and steal… But gather for yourself treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).We are to “set our affections on things that are above, where Christ, is seated at the right hand of the God…” (Colossians 3:1-3).

The world is rushing on to perdition. All you see today may not be there tomorrow. “Vanity upon vanity, all is vanity”, says the Preacher. But have you counted the cost if your soul is lost due to money and the things of this world? What shall it profit you if you gain the whole world and lose your soul? (Mark 8:36-37).

If Christ is all you have, then you have everything. Remember what He promised that “there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God who will not receive in return many times more in this world and, in the coming age, eternal life” (Luke 18:29-30; Matthew 19:29).

“We brought nothing into this world and obviously we cannot take anything out of the world; but if we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who crave to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin. For the love of money is a root of all evils…” (1 Timothy 6:7-11).“Let your character be free from the love of money and be satisfied with your present situation…”(Hebrews 13:5).

If you are among the influx of people caught by the web of the love of money and are only concerned about life on earth forgetting eternity, now is the time to “seek the Lord while He may be found… and He will have mercy on you” (Isaiah 55:6-7).
Make this hymn your daily prayer as I do:

Thou, my everlasting portion,
More than friend or life to me;
All along my pilgrim journey,
Saviour, let me walk with Thee.

Close to Thee, (x4)
All along my pilgrim journey
Saviour, let me walk with Thee.

Not for ease or worldly pleasure,
Nor for fame my prayer shall be;
Gladly will I toil and suffer,
Only let me walk with Thee.

Close to Thee, (x4)
Gladly will I toil and suffer,
Only let me walk with Thee.

Only to walk with God, serving Him in spirit and in truth, and living for His glory by faith in Christ alone should be your purpose in life. All other things really do not count. Live everyday of your life with eternity in view and pressing forward to attain that crown of righteousness Apostle Paul talked about (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

“All has been heard (read); the end of the matter is: Fear God and keep His commandments; for this is the whole of man [original purpose under the sun] and the whole duty for every man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; Romans 2:16).

If God is whom you truly serve, faithfully continue. If you have made mammon your lord, desist and defeat it in the name of Jesus.Now is the acceptable time to give up serving mammon!Standing at the crossroad is one dangerous place to ever be. You have to make a choice between God and mammon. The truth remains that you can't serve two masters.  It's either God or mammon. What will it be?

Reference: Amplified Bible
==Written by: Jacobs Adewale ===

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A Ransom Was Paid

"For even the son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many"(Mark 10:45).

The word 'ransom' connotes a form of payment paid to get a relief by someone or offered to get freedom. It was extremely quintessential for this to be done. To be done by who? For whom? What is the ransom? For what?

A ransom was needed to be paid or was paid by JESUS on man's behalf to atone for his sin and to be restored back to his creator. The price of this restoration is to die on the cross of Calvary, as a son of man (mortal) not as a God (immortal), which makes it very difficult.

In the beginning, man through Adam committed sin which brought about the wrath of God and condemnation of man together with his accomplice -- the woman. This led to an embargo of destruction placed on man by God.

However, God was weary, so unhappy; He could not just put out what He created in his image. A strong wave of love was rekindled in God and God changed his mind about man's disobedience. One thing we must understand here is the infinite love of God. God is so magnanimous in mercy and in love. That is why it was very difficult for him to wipe out his resemblance creation.

God is unlimited, God is almighty, God is awesome, God is all-powerful; but one thing could limit him -- sin. Sin and God are sworn enemies. God hate to behold sin; when man committed sin in the Garden of Eden, God was seriously exasperated by the action of man. So God asked himself, "am I going to renege on my principle not to behold sin, even if Adam is my creation?" "No!" God retorted and decided to punish Adam and Eve for their misdeeds.

After a while, God was seriously troubled. God felt heartache, and on this particular day He assembled the council of elders, angels and arch-angels, the other two members of the trinity (Jesus & Holy Spirit) and other important personalities in heaven.

The meeting began; the presiding officer (God) announced the agenda of their gathering. Tranquility was what enveloped everybody present after hearing the brief for their meeting.

God spoke thus: "I have placed an embargo of destruction (death) on man after they disobeyed my commandment. My wrath is on them because I hate to behold sin which is now a tattoo on their skin. Sin is now permanently engraved on their body which will forever forbid me from interacting with them. However, since they are my creation, I'm emotionally attached to them, who will go and redeem them back to me?"

Heaven was totally silent over the utterance of God. Quietude was felt at every corner, knowing how weighty this assignment would be. In continuation of the meeting, God further spelt out the demand of this great assignment.

God said -- "Whoever will go, will or must live like a man. Whoever will go, we live in a mortal body, prone to carnality. Whoever will go must feel what man feels. Whoever will go, must carry the burden (sin) of man. That person will be a ransom, atonement for their sin, for their redemption to take place. Who is ready to pay the price for their soul to be restored back to me?" God sounded in a loud voice.

Looking at the weighty demands of God, there was anxiety and palpitations amongst members of this impromptu meeting. All remained silent but one. Who? St. John 1:1 tells us in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word is God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. I guess you know the person? Jesus of course!

Jesus the WORD, a member of the triune Godhead, courageously, boldly, selflessly, audaciously volunteered to prosecute God's assignment. Members of the council of elders trembled in awe of Jesus decisive decision that eventually sealed the fate of man for redemption. "And the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).

Now, what does this price to restore man back to God entails?

1. A sacrificial lamb to cleanse man of his sin (a price to let man go of his guilt).

2. Cover up the wrath of God that was hitherto definite & connecting them back to God (a linking channel between the creator and the created).

The journey of Jesus to the world eventually started but guess what? "He was in the world and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not" (John 1:10-11).

Above was the situation that unfolded at the arrival of the redeemer, whom the world despised so much. The world had expected him to come in His glory. The world expected the son of man to come in a chariot of army. To their utter dismay, He chose not that way, but an ordinary, mortal, fleshy body of man to execute His assignment.

Such is the way of God; the world did not know that the battle to restore man to God, need not an immortal but a mortal like them, to feel what they feel and to lead by example according to God's principles.

Moreover, has it not come to your understanding or reasoning that God Himself through Jesus actually laid His life for our atonement. He couldn't overlook man's sin despite His affinity with man. God created man in his image, we are His handiwork and it will be extremely unpleasant for Him, if man is destroyed. The unlimited God became limited by sin, so He had to offer His life to win us back to Himself. Don't forget, in the beginning, man was an immortal, man was a demi-god on earth, man was supposed to live forever before sin destroyed all these wonderful plans envisioned by God. This made God so bitter because a sinful body can no longer remain in the gathering of immortals, hence, the banishment. However, God saw a need for a mortal body to restore back man's immortality but not through an immortal messenger.

"But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name which were born not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God"(John 1:12-13).

Also, "And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away" (Isaiah 35:10).

In conclusion, a ransom was paid for you and I to be restored back to God. God initially banished us from His presence; He excommunicated us because of our sin. But luckily, luck shined on us, the word of God (Jesus) came down to the earth to bore our stripes, to feel our pain, to be buffeted by men, to borne our guilt, to be insulted by men, to carry our weighty cross(sin), and the ultimate--to die on our behalves. He could have declined but for His love and passion for us to be saved, He volunteered to be a sacrificial lamb. Beloved reading, there remained no more sacrifice or ritual, a ransom was paid already for you and I. It will be calamitous if this offer is rendered useless.

==Written by ODUNAYO EMMANUEL O. (Guest Writer) ==

Feel free to share and leave your comments. May the grace of the Lord be with you. God bless!

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True Spirituality

Text: Philippians 3:3
 

...who put no confidence in the flesh. Phil 3:3b

The measure of true spirituality is in contrast to those who put confidence in some self-effort. Paul says, we "put no confidence in the flesh." We are living in an age that continually strives to get us to put confidence in the flesh. We are taught from childhood that the way to become proficient and competent and accomplish our aims and desires is to develop our self-confidence. This is what destroys human life. Self-confidence is not intended to be our strength, but rather it's to be our confidence in God. We were intended to face life recognizing we are weak, ineffectual, and unable, that it might drive us back upon the one who is totally adequate, and can be our total strength. This is the way God intended us to live. Therefore, the spirit of self-confidence is the most deadly lie that has ever been perpetrated upon the human race.

Now there is self-confidence that is based on God in us, but when it comes from something in ourselves, something we have learned or achieved, it is deadly. Paul says we have learned at last to put no confidence in the flesh. Even in religion there is strong emphasis on putting confidence in the flesh, or perhaps I should say, it is especially in religious areas we encounter this pressure.

Just this week (years ago) I read from from a pamphlet that is widely distributed monthly through the nation, which purports to be a guide to developing the Christian life. The writer said, "What I didn't know and had to discover the hard way is that if you don't have faith in yourself you hardly can have faith in people in the world, or in God. I had to see that God created us in his image, and we must have faith in the image. If we achieve that then we have his spirit within us and we can accomplish anything, even ridding ones self of sin."

That is the kind of perverted philosophy that is being widely purveyed today, that is literally holding millions of people in continual bondage to the flesh. It's no wonder that the spirit of the apostle flamed with indignation against this thing. Knowing the liberty that is in Christ Jesus, he puts the matter frankly. It begins with faith in God, and eliminates faith in self. When we have no confidence in the flesh, then we discover we can have full confidence in him who is able to do anything through us.

Do you see how any confidence at all in the flesh is over-confidence? We fear we are going to get over-confident. We don't mind a little, but we don't want to become over-confident. But Paul says any confidence at all is over-confident. He has no confidence in himself to do anything. None in his background, training, talents, accomplishments, no confidence in the time he spends in prayer, the number of chapters of scripture he reads, the number of verses he memorizes. No confidence in the power of his eloquence to persuade people or his devotion to move them. Furthermore, he has no confidence in anyone else who trusts in these things. The only one in whom he has confidence is Jesus Christ.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to share and leave your comments and reactions. May the grace of the Lord be with you.

Copyright Raystedman Ministries | www.raystedman.org

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The Chess Board of Faith

Christians nowadays are playing Russian Roulette...
With their questionable Faith acting like on a stage play;
Living like a Saint only on Sundays...
Playing in the Devil's playground on weekdays!

The Saints are now seen in the Temple of Hypocrisy...
Teaching the Word but living with the World in trickery;
There are wolves amongst the chosen sheep's of God...
Walking freely on the ground of Gilead!

Beware of those who said they are of God;
But their fruits are rotten on the tree of triad;
The Devil...the lies...the mockery...
True believers of Christ are seen through their fruits in Trinity!

The hands of the Devil are working too...
Grabbing those who are weak and doubtful with their Faith;
Snatching those who are sleeping with sin...
The King of the Damned is plotting without disdain!

The hands of God is cradling you...
But you choose to turned your back and to let go;
From the clasped of righteousness and Holiness...
You choose to participate and play on..

**Copy Written All Rights Reserved (c) Erah Oalind/Rhea Alidon 2014**

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Divine Illumination

TEXT: PSALM 119:17-24

Key Verse: “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law” (Psalm 119:18). 

Charles H. Spurgeon said: “We would be abler teachers of others, and less liable to be carried about by every wind of doctrine, if we sought to have a more intelligent understanding of the Word of God. As the Holy Spirit, the Author of the Scriptures alone can enlighten us rightly to understand them, we should constantly ask His teaching and His guidance unto all truth.”

“When the prophet Daniel sought to interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, what did he do? He set himself to earnest prayer that God would open up the vision. Therefore, if you desire to be “filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,” remember that prayer is your best means of study. “Like Daniel, you shall understand the dream and its interpretation when you have sought God. You may force your way through many barriers to understanding with the leverage of prayer. Thoughts and reasoning are like the steel wedges which give a hold on truth, but prayer is the lever which forces open the treasure hidden within.”

The essence of this divine illumination propelled the psalmist in our text today to, among other things, offer a supplication to God for Him to open his eyes to behold wondrous things out of His law. The psalmist knew that God’s mind, which is revealed in the Scriptures, was deeper than the deepest ocean. Therefore, he prayed earnestly to God to show him the light in this strange and dangerous world of darkness.

A natural man, by nature, is blind to the things of God. There are wonderful things which God has hidden in the Scripture from the casual readers of the Bible. Yet, the same Bible passages give eternal life to those whose eyes are opened by God. He is ready to reveal more of Himself to you. But are you ready? Seek His face now in earnest prayer and He will bring divine illumination upon your life.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: God’s word is the fountain of living waters to the sincere seeker. 

See more at: <<daily manna>>. Feel free to share and leave your comments and reactions. We would love to hear from you. God bless.

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The Secret Place

Come with me to the secret place, where I have found rest and contentment. In this secret place, everybody is welcomed. There are no persona-non-grata. Howbeit, the owner of the secret place might leave you wandering around or unattended to, if you are found wanting.

Many times you must have heard people talk about strong room or secret room. Better still, you are a friend to someone, who always resists your suggestion or attempt to use a particular spot in his house. Or you are a daughter or son from a wealthy background whose father or mother will yield to any request but one -- the secret place (the secret place in this context does not necessarily mean a diabolical room. It can be for any other purpose). If you are or not, you'll know that serious conditions are always attached to such spots.

Please don't be scared from following me to my own secret place. My own secret place is devoid of such stringent conditions. Anybody can come, at any time, at any day. You don't even need anybody to follow or guide you. You can always find your way there on your own. So fear not!

The secret place is indeed very secretive. It is you alone to your own fate. Nobody will question you why did you do that, why did you do this. But be warned, whenever your attitude fail to measure up to desired standard, the owner of the secret place might be deaf ear to you. Hence, exercise some form of courtesy.

What and where is the secret place? Who own the secret place? The word of God is the secret place. You can only find it when you go to the presence of God Himself. And of course, God is the owner of the secret place. So we are clear, isn't it? Shall we? Join me let's go together.

Knowing Him

Read the Scripture: Philippians 3:9-11

"I want to know Christ — yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death Phil 3:10"

Paul says he is quite ready to give up the usual status symbols of the Christian for the personal knowledge and friendship of Jesus Christ. This is not an academic subject. This is not a course in Christology or on the person of Christ. This is not knowing about Christ. This is knowing Him. As Paul Rees says, "Knowing about has value; knowing has vitality." This knowledge the apostle is talking about is not simply a casual contact now and then. You don't get to know your friends that way. The friends you know best are the ones you have spent most time with, or at least you have gone with through deep experiences.

This knowledge of Christ comes by continual sharing of experiences together. It comes by the two of us, Jesus and I, living our lives together, moment-by-moment sharing experiences. It comes by gazing on the face of Jesus Christ as he appears in the pages of scripture. It comes by allowing every circumstance to make us lean back on his adequate life, hiding nothing from his eyes, by bringing every friendship and every loyalty to his gaze, for his approval or disapproval, by walking every day reckoning upon him to be with us. That's the secret of a successful ministry.

That is exactly what Paul says comes of knowing Christ. First there is that "power of the resurrection." It is a risen Lord who dwells within us, and we have that power which is able to do in us "above all that we ask or think, according to that power which works in us." This is the power of Christ's resurrection. It is power that is perfectly adequate for every possible circumstance. It is confidently acting in full assurance that he is acting with us simultaneously, and that risen power is ours!

The second thing that stems from this knowledge of Christ is the "participation in his sufferings." The remarkable thing about the sufferings of Christ is that they are always for someone else, never for one's self. This is that compassion we all earnestly long for. It doesn't come by trying. It comes by knowing him; by simply entering into what he is to you. That makes you compassionate. This is the primary reason why Christians suffer. Not so much for you, but for others. Have you ever noticed that when a Christian gets desperately sick and he takes it as an opportunity to manifest the grace of Christ, that Christian becomes the center of victory and hope and blessing to everyone who visits him?

Then the last thing is, "becoming like him in his death." What does that mean? The death of Jesus Christ was the end of the old life of sin and self-pleasing. We know that there was no sin nor self-pleasing in his own life, but on that cross he was made to be all that we are, sinful and self-pleasing, and then it was put to death. The cross was the end of that. That is liberty, because for the first time if we accept this as being true, we are set free from our selfish, ease-loving, luxury-seeking. We are free to be real men, real women-uncluttered, if you like. Unbound, delivered, no longer constantly concerned about what happens to us, but only concerned about what happens to Christ.

What a ministry this is! What a marvelous ministry among people the apostle Paul had. Yet it is freely offered to every believer in Christ. I must stress, this is not achieved by trying, struggling, striving. It comes as a by-product of knowing Christ.

Copyright Raystedman Ministies | www.raystedman.org

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I Gave My Life For Thee

I gave My life for thee, My precious blood I shed,
That thou might ransomed be, and raised up from the dead
I gave, I gave My life for thee, what hast thou given for Me?
I gave, I gave My life for thee, what hast thou given for Me?

My Father’s house of light, My glory circled throne
I left for earthly night, for wanderings sad and lone;
I left, I left it all for thee, hast thou left aught for Me?
I left, I left it all for thee, hast thou left aught for Me?

I suffered much for thee, more than thy tongue can tell,
Of bitterest agony, to rescue thee from hell.
I’ve borne, I’ve borne it all for thee, what hast thou borne for Me?
I’ve borne, I’ve borne it all for thee, what hast thou borne for Me?

And I have brought to thee, down from My home above,
Salvation full and free, My pardon and My love;
I bring, I bring rich gifts to thee, what hast thou brought to Me?
I bring, I bring rich gifts to thee, what hast thou brought to Me?

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The Challenge Of Faith

“Faith is the (substance) substantiating of things hoped for”.

"Substantiating" means that I have a certain power or faculty that makes that substance to be real in me.

... Of course we cannot substantiate Divine things with any of our natural senses; but there is one faculty which can substantiate the “things hoped for”, the things of Christ, and that is faith. Faith makes the real things to become real in my experience. Faith ‘substantiates’ to me the things of Christ. Hundreds of thousands of people are reading Romans 6:6: “Our old man was crucified with him”. To faith it is true; to doubt, or to mere mental assent apart from spiritual illumination, it is not true.

Let us remember again that we are dealing here not with promises but with facts. The promises of God are revealed to us by His Spirit that we may lay hold of them; but facts are facts and they remain facts whether we believe them or not. If we do not believe the facts of the Cross they still remain as real as ever, but they are valueless to us. It does not need faith to make these things real in themselves, but faith can ‘substantiate’ them and make them real in our experience.

Whatever contradicts the truth of God’s Word we are to regard as the Devil’s lie, not because it may not be in itself a very real fact to our senses but because God has stated a greater fact before which the other must eventually yield.

... As soon as we have accepted our death with Christ as a fact, Satan will do his best to demonstrate convincingly by the evidence of our day-to-day experience that we are not dead at all but very much alive. So we must choose. Will we believe Satan’s lie or God’s truth? Are we going to be governed by appearances or by what God says?

So whether I feel it or not, I am dead with Christ. How can I be sure? Because Christ has died; and since “one died for all, therefore all died” (2 Cor. 5:14). Whether my experience proves it or seems to disprove it, the fact remains unchanged. While I stand upon that fact Satan cannot prevail against me. Remember that his attack is always upon our assurance. If he can get us to doubt God’s Word, then his object is secured and he has us in his power; but if we rest unshaken in the assurance of God’s stated fact, assured that He cannot do injustice to His work or His Word, then it does not matter what tactics Satan adopts, we can well afford to laugh at him.

“We walk by faith, not by appearance” (2 Cor. 5:7, mg). You probably know the illustration of Fact, Faith and Experience walking along the top of a wall. Fact walked steadily on, turning neither to right nor left and never looking behind. Faith followed and all went well so long as he kept his eyes focused upon Fact; but as soon as he became concerned about Experience and turned to see how he was getting on, he lost his balance and tumbled off the wall, and poor old Experience fell down after him.

All temptation is primarily to look within; to take our eyes off the Lord and to take account of appearances. Faith is always meeting a mountain, a mountain of evidence that seems to contradict God’s Word, a mountain of apparent contradiction in the realm of tangible fact—of failures in deed, as well as in the realm of feeling and suggestion—and either faith or the mountain has to go.

They cannot both stand. but the trouble is that many a time the mountain stays and faith goes. That must not be. If we resort to our senses to discover the truth, we shall find Satan’s lies are often enough true to our experience; but if we refuse to accept as binding anything that contradicts God’s Word and maintain an attitude of faith in Him alone, we shall find instead that Satan’s lies begin to dissolve and that our experience is coming progressively to tally with that Word.

==Written by Watchman Nee ==

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To Live Or Die?

Text: Philippians 1:19-26

"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! Phil 1:21-22"

The Christian view of death is given in just four words in this passage: "with Christ, far better." That sums it up. But before we look closer at that, it's important that we see what this man's view of life is, because these are not the words of a man who is sighing after heaven but resigned to living on earth. This is not the utterance of someone who is fed up with living and couldn't take life any longer so now the only hope is that heaven is close at hand. For Paul, to live is Christ, and that is exciting! Living, he says, means fruitful labor, in which I can take the greatest delight. The prospect of continuing to live is not an unwelcome prospect here, in fact he says "I hardly know which to choose", both prospects are so enticing and inviting. The Christian is not so neurotically desirous of death that he no longer wants to live. We sometimes give the wrong impression. We sing these wonderful songs about the glory up there but sometimes, unfortunately, Christians leave the impression that this is really all they're living for is what comes at the end.

The Christian does not live with some unutterable longing to escape, to evade life, to run from it. No! Paul is not at all saying that! He says, "to live is Christ" — I love it! And evidently the Spirit of God tips the scale here in favor of life, so he goes on to say, "convinced of this I know that I shall remain, and continue with you all" — because you need me and I will have the joy of coming to you again. But facing the possibility of death does not mean he is tired of life, but that death can only mean a more wonderful and deeper companionship with Christ. That is what makes life worth living. He says, "to die is gain", and you can only say that if you are prepared to say, "to live is Christ"!

What do you think is really living? What kind of circumstance do you have to have before you can say "Oh, now I'm really living"? What do you substitute for "Christ" in these words of Paul? "To me to live is money"? Then to die is to lose it all, isn't it? "To me to live is fame"? To die is a name in the obituary in the paper and never have it there again. "To me to live is pleasure"? To die is to go out into an unknown. "To me to live is health"? To die is to lose my health. You see the only thing that makes sense in life is to say with the Apostle, "for me to live is Christ," because then you can say "to die is gain." The truth about the Christian faith is that heaven begins down here.

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