Yet...

“However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves….”

Humanity is frail- even the strongest person dies. Life is compared to a vapor Psalm 39:5 and the grass (Psalm 103:15-16). This present life on earth doesn’t last forever. However, because we are frail, the Light of the Gospel- God’s message of good news to everyone- can show through us. Then the “grandeur and exceeding greatness” that show through are obviously not from us- it is God’s power!

That is so wonderful! When I feel weak, or even when I feel strong, it is God’s power that can work through me- shinning out- that is the amazing thing seen. It’s not me.

“…We are hedged in (pressed) on every side [troubled and oppressed in every way], but not cramped or crushed; we suffer embarrassments and are perplexed and unable to find a way out, but not driven to despair; We are pursued (persecuted and hard driven), but not deserted [to stand alone]; we are struck down to the ground, but never struck out and destroyed; Always carrying about in the body the liability and exposure to the same putting to death that the Lord Jesus suffered, so that the [resurrection] life of Jesus also may be shown forth by and in our bodies. For we who live are constantly [experiencing] being handed over to death for Jesus' sake, that the [resurrection] life of Jesus also may be evidenced through our flesh which is liable to death. Thus death is actively at work in us, but [it is in order that our] life [may be actively at work] in you. Yet we have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, I have believed, and therefore have I spoken. We too believe, and therefore we speak, Assured that He Who raised up the Lord Jesus will raise us up also with Jesus and bring us [along] with you into His presence. For all [these] things are [taking place] for your sake, so that the more grace (divine favor and spiritual blessing) extends to more and more people and multiplies through the many, the more thanksgiving may increase [and redound] to the glory of God…”

The list of things at the beginning of this part doesn’t sound fun, does it? These are things we might normally try to avoid…pressure, trouble, oppression, embarrassment, being perplexed, being unable to find a way out, persecution, being struck down…not something many people would sign up for. But then look at the reason for all this…Paul, the writer here, says all these things are for the sake of the Corinthians, those he was writing to. Also, so that more of God’s favor and spiritual blessing could reach more and more people, and that thanksgiving to God will increase. His focus was not on himself as much as he focused on the benefit for those he was ministering to, those who still needed to be reached, and bringing glory to God.

How often do we get so concerned about the stresses in our own lives and consumed with thinking about ourselves. There are so many people who have not yet experienced or heard the Good News. Many people have never even had the chance to see the Light of the Gospel- because we haven't let that Light shine out of us. We are the light of the world when we have Jesus Christ inside us. (Matthew 5:14) He is the LIGHT, and we get to let it shine out of us! There are people who’ve never heard and never seen the Light of the Gospel all over the world- they could live next door to you, shop at the same places you do, or they could be on the other side of the world. Wherever they are, we can let the LIGHT shine to all we come in contact with.

“…Therefore we do not become discouraged (utterly spiritless, exhausted, and wearied out through fear). Though our outer man is [progressively] decaying and wasting away, yet our inner self is being [progressively] renewed day after day. For our light, momentary affliction (this slight distress of the passing hour) is ever more and more abundantly preparing and producing and achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory [beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease!], Since we consider and look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are visible are temporal (brief and fleeting), but the things that are invisible are deathless and everlasting.” 2 Corinthians 4:7-18

Because we are doing everything for God’s glory and not focusing so much on what we are going through, we don’t become discouraged, exhausted, or wearied through fear. Yes, our physical bodies get older and wear out eventually, YET our inner self- spirit man- is being renewed every day. The things we see won’t last; it’s the unseen that will last. So, let’s look at the things that are unseen by our physical eyes, and let our light shine to everyone we are around (Matthew 5:16). Again, let's be more eternity minded, (more about that here).

Simply Embrace...

“God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn't deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all. The law code, weakened as it always was by fractured human nature, could never have done that. The law always ended up being used as a Band-Aid on sin instead of a deep healing of it. And now what the law code asked for but we couldn't deliver is accomplished as we, instead of redoubling our own efforts, simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us…”

Let’s pause here a sec and think about that… Jesus left heaven and came into normal human life with all our problems and messes. He did that so that He could make things right again- something we never could have done on our own! Now instead of trying to work really, really hard to fix our “bad habits” or the mess ups we just can’t seem to get past- we simply embrace what Jesus has done. I like that “simply embrace”…it’s whole hearted acceptance, like greeting a best friend you haven’t seen in a while- it’s full of joy and enthusiasm…lots of smiles! So, we can embrace what the Holy Spirit is doing in us, based on what Jesus did. The first step in this is to accept Jesus as your Savior and Lord- that means He’s rescued you and is now in charge of your life. Okay, let’s keep reading…

“Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God's action in them find that God's Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn't pleased at being ignored. But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won't know what we're talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells—even though you still experience all the limitations of sin—you yourself experience life on God's terms. It stands to reason, doesn't it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he'll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ's!” Romans 8:3-11 (Message)

Have you ever found yourself “obsessed with measuring” your “moral muscle”? That could look like comparing yourself with someone and thinking something like, “I’d never do that…that’s horrible!” Or it could look like trying to reach impossible standards on your own. Do you think you can get everything right in your life on your own strength? Well, you can’t. However, if you’ll trust in God’s action- what He’s doing in you by the Holy Spirit, you’ll find the living, breathing God is in you! What an amazing thought! The Almighty GOD living and breathing in you and working out things in your life! When you focus on yourself, you’ll find a dead end- no hope. Yet, if you’ll put your attention on God, you’ll find yourself free- endless hope! It’s like being in a dense forest, then suddenly walking out into an open field- no restriction on which direction to go. God, when He lives in you, can do the same thing He did in Jesus- bring you to life! =) Then your dead life, without hope, is over and your free to live as the person God made you to be. It is so fulfilling to live out as you were created!

In short, embrace what God wants to do in you and focus your attention on Him…then you’ll find yourself in a great place of freedom in God!

The Heart of the Matter...

“…Take care not to do your good deeds publicly or before men, in order to be seen by them; otherwise you will have no reward [reserved for and awaiting you] with and from your Father Who is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1)

“…and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you in the open. Do not gather and heap up and store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust and worm consume and destroy, and where thieves break through and steal. But gather and heap up and store for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust nor worm consume and destroy, and where thieves do not break through and steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:18-21)

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise and be against the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (deceitful riches, money, possessions, or whatever is trusted in). Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing?” (Matthew 6:24-25)

“For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all. But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given to you besides. So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:32-34 )

God took me to these verses today and I can see how we need to be more eternity minded in our everyday lives. We often can find ourselves seeking after things that aren’t going to last. We want the latest clothing styles, or just new clothes that we aren't tired of, or this certain food that we’re really craving right now. We do need clothing and food to live, but it says here, that’s not what we’re to seek after. God knows we need clothes to wear and food to eat. Our focus though is to be on the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, or His way of being and doing right. (We don’t measure what is right by the culture around us or even what we think and the standards we’ve set for ourselves. We measure what is right by His way of being and doing, which is found in the Bible.)

We are not to be anxious or uneasy about our lives. We are to seek the Kingdom of God. Then all these things will be given to us. When we are actively pursuing the Kingdom of God, and not worrying about our own lives, God has no problem getting everything together that we need. It is not like He needs our worrying to know what we need or to be able to get it for us. In fact our worrying can actually be hindering God’s work in our lives. When we completely surrender to God, each area of our lives, He has the freedom to put everything in order and provide exactly what we need- the perfect fit for that area.

Our focus is to be on eternity, not here on earth. If you’re familiar with teaching on giving, often times we tend to think about what God will do for us when we give. Well, sure, it’s true that we receive a harvest when we plant, and we should expect a harvest, but that isn’t to be our main focus. Here it talks about storing up treasure in heaven. So, yes, there is a harvest on earth that allows us to keep sowing more and continuing the cycle, but we’re storing up treasure in heaven- where it won’t be lost, stolen, or destroyed.

We can’t take things with us when we die, we have to send them ahead, and get it taken care of before we die. Getting people saved, giving, and so on, all have to be done before we die…and that sends our treasure to heaven. And if your treasure is in heaven, that’s where your heart will be too! However, if your treasure is on earth, that’s where your heart will be…and this world is not worth setting your heart on…it will all fade away. Take your energy and this time that God has given you and store up treasure in heaven. You’ll find that it is worth the effort.