“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14

A lot’s changed in 3000 years since God made this promise to the earthly nation of Israel. God made this promise to King Solomon at the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem. That temple is long gone. That nation is long gone and modern-day Israel isn’t the same.

Today, God’s people include anyone of any land who believes in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. For God’s people, our primary citizenship is in heaven rather than any earthly country. Our true, undying land is in heaven and the renewed earth. God didn’t make this promise to any geographic nation that exists today. The ultimate healing of EVERY land will occur when Jesus returns to defeat Satan and usher in the new heaven and new earth. Moreover, every Christian is now a mobile temple of God as the Holy Spirit lives within each of us!

What hasn’t changed is the character of God. He remains unchangingly, unfailingly good, faithful, loving, gracious, kind, merciful, just, holy, and so much more. Therefore, if His people who are called by His name (everyone who follows Jesus) humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways, we know with complete certainty that He’ll hear from heaven and forgive our sins (1 John 1:9).

Moreover, if your heart is broken by the evil, sinfulness, violence, division, injustice, hatred, rebelliousness, materialism, immorality, or ungodliness of your earthly homeland, it’s entirely appropriate for you to pray for and anticipate God’s healing your land by bringing many in it to faith in Jesus Christ. Through the turning of many stony hearts to Christ, earthly nations have been and will be transformed. While this isn’t the ultimate healing to come at Christ’s return, it’s a healing and transformation God certainly desires for every nation on earth, including ours. Let us pray…

“Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” – Luke 10:20

The disciples were flying high because of the extraordinary power Jesus had given them. Then He took them by surprise with simple good news. They were thrilled to be miraculously healing people and casting out demons. Ordinary people like them suddenly had authority over demons! They were thrilled about all they could do for God and for people. It was truly an exciting moment.

Then Jesus reminded them of something even more special and more important…. Their faith in Him meant their names were written in heaven. They were in God’s Book of Life. They had an eternal future in God’s presence waiting for them after death. As great as their impact on the world was going to be, there was something even more delightful ahead!

If you’re a follower of Jesus, if you’ve trusted in Him, then this simple, wonderful statement is also true of you. Jesus’ instruction applies to you. Whether you’ve done extraordinary, attention-getting things for God’s Kingdom or simply serve quietly and faithfully year after year, don’t rejoice in what you’ve done or how God’s used you. Rejoice that God always loves you, has fully forgiven, embraced, and adopted you by His grace, and that your name is written in heaven.

As good as your earthly accomplishments for the Kingdom may be, the greater joy is that you will be loving, serving, worshiping, and enjoying Christ’s company and feasting at His table for billions and billions of years to come!

“But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.” – 1 Thessalonians 2:2

The Thessalonian church was planted under difficult and discouraging circumstances. Paul and his friends had been badly treated in Philippi where they’d previously been working. Once they arrived in town it wasn’t long before they were once again run out of town. Yet in a very short period of time, God did a mighty and lasting work. Gospel seeds were planted that thrived long after Paul was sent packing.

This is a reminder of God’s power to work amidst the most discouraging circumstances. Lives can be changed even when we feel like we’ve completely failed and paid the price for our failure. When Paul left town, he assumed the worst, yet God did amazing things! How did God do this? Through the continued boldness of Paul and his friends during their brief stay in town.

After a bad experience in Philippi, Paul could have easily gotten quiet, desiring peace and calm for awhile. But he didn’t and God used that powerfully! When your service to the Lord gets difficult and painful, it’s tempting to become quiet, timid, beaten down, and discouraged. It’s normal to long for a peaceful retreat from your God-given responsibility to make disciples. Resist such temptations! Don’t become discouraged by opposition, rejection, and conflict. Simply be faithful to what God’s called you to do. Be faithful in sharing Jesus. Be faithful in loving people even when they don’t love you back. Be faithful in declaring and living the good news. Let God work through you in ways you may not see or understand.

“For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” – 1 Thessalonians 1:9

Never forget that if you’re in Christ, you serve the living and true God! God is LIVING. He’s real, He’s present, He’s faithful, He’s loving. He isn’t distant, abstract, or unconcerned with your life or human affairs. God is alive. The false gods of our culture: fame, wealth, health, sex, entertainment, politics, status, power, and so forth aren’t alive. They can’t help you, they’ll inevitably fail you. Keep your eyes, mind, and heart focused on the living God of the Universe.

God is TRUE. We live in a world where everyone imagines they can make up their own truth. We pretend that if we believe a lie hard enough and repeat it to ourselves and others often enough, it becomes true. There’s no such thing as “my truth” or “your truth”. There’s only truth and God IS truth. All the other authorities and idols you might be tempted to look to will eventually lie to you, but God never will.

Finally, please remember that you SERVE God, not the other way around! Many Western Christians live life as if God were a cosmic ATM: insert prayer request here, receive desired outcome immediately, rate God based on His performance. Our practice of faith can literally turn our relationship with God upside down to our everlasting detriment. God is the sovereign King of the Universe. We aren’t. He is all-wise. We aren’t. He is perfectly good and just. We aren’t. We serve Him and must adjust our expectations and evaluations based on that reality. You know what? That’s actually a good thing!

May the report about you be the same as the report about the Thessalonians. May you serve the living and true God with joy and delight all of your days!

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” – Luke 9:24

The life you live in the flesh will end one day. Either death will find you or Christ will return. Either way, what you’ve known since birth will end and what comes next will be dramatically different. That’s what Jesus warns us of in this verse. Whatever measures we take on our own to extend, preserve, or cling to this mortal life will ultimately fail us. We we’ll eventually die. If we hold back from committing our life to serve and follow Christ, we’ll eventually die. If we hold back from really living out of fear, we’ll eventually die. Death is inevitable unless Christ returns first.

However, when we yield our life to Jesus, trusting Him as Lord and following Him no matter the risk, cost, sacrifice, or suffering then we gain eternal life. Though death will find us, it’s no longer an enemy nor is it to be feared. For the follower of Jesus, death is simply the gateway to an eternity (that’s WAY longer than 70-100 years) spent with Christ. In that life, there will be no suffering, sorrow, sickness, or death.

More than that, when we devote our life to Christ, living for Him during this brief mortal life, then we truly live. By yielding our life to Jesus, our life takes on tremendous Kingdom purpose, significance, meaning, and joy. We live in union with Jesus Christ! By yielding our life to Jesus, we live a life of love for God and neighbor while walking the road toward death. In Christ, we live by faith in the Son of God Who loves us and gave Himself for us. If you haven’t already, save your life by losing it to Christ!