What You Believe About Tomorrow Affects Your Health Today!

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Philippians 3:20-21)

When we are born again into God's family and enter the Kingdom of Light, we obtain a new citizenship and a new future. We become citizens of heaven, and aliens (or foreigners) here on earth. We remain here on earth in the natural realm to accomplish God’s purposes in our life. Our pilgrimage here on earth ends either when Jesus returns physically to earth to set up a new physical kingdom, or when we go through physical death and go to heaven to be with Jesus. At that time our “lowly bodies” will be transformed into “glorious bodies.”

Therefore, we no longer belong here on earth. It is not our permanent home. We should never allow our hearts to become too attached to earthly things, since they will all be destroyed in the future anyway. That includes our physical bodies. They are a part of the natural realm, and we will have new spiritual bodies in heaven. So any sickness or disease that we have to endure now is only temporary.

The first Adam, made of earth, came from the earth; the second Adam came from heaven. Those who belong to the earth are like the one who was made of earth; those who are of heaven are like the one who came from heaven. Just as we wear the likeness of the man made of earth, so we will wear the likeness of the Man from heaven. What I mean, friends, is that what is made of flesh and blood cannot share in God's Kingdom, and what is mortal cannot possess immortality. Listen to this secret truth: we shall not all die, but when the last trumpet sounds, we shall all be changed in an instant, as quickly as the blinking of an eye. For when the trumpet sounds, the dead will be raised, never to die again, and we shall all be changed. For what is mortal must be changed into what is immortal; what will die must be changed into what cannot die. So when this takes place, and the mortal has been changed into the immortal, then the scripture will come true: "Death is destroyed; victory is complete!" "Where, Death, is your victory? Where, Death, is your power to hurt?" Death gets its power to hurt from sin, and sin gets its power from the Law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! So then, my dear friends, stand firm and steady. Keep busy always in your work for the Lord, since you know that nothing you do in the Lord's service is ever useless. (1 Corinthians 15:47-58)

So our current body of “flesh and blood” is a body weakened by sin, and as such we groan and eagerly wait for the day when we will come to receive our inheritance and receive a new body:

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:22-23)

But knowing what is heading our way in the future gives us a whole new perspective on our current life of pain and suffering! Based on the incredible promises of God, we know that we are co-heirs with Christ in inheriting the Kingdom. Therefore, we can patiently endure the pain and struggles of this life knowing they are temporary in nature! In the meantime, we have God’s Spirit living inside these sickly bodies renewing our spirits as we wait for our glorious future!

For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:24-28)

The Holy Spirit gives us power to endure anything this life throws our way, as we wait patiently for our time to come. We now take on a new perspective to all the lousy events and happenings in this life, knowing that it is all part of a grand scheme that God has put into place, and that the end results are going to be wonderful for those of us trusting in him. That new perspective is called “faith”: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Those without faith see the events of life as a result of impersonal random “luck” or “bad luck” produced by evolutionary processes, where life is seldom “fair.” Only the strong and powerful survive. The future offers no hope, but only despair, fear, and doubt. This view of the future usually has negative physical consequences in our body. “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22)

But for those of us walking by faith, we see everything as happening according to a master plan where justice is ultimately served at a future time, and where the weak and helpless can become strong and confident in the present, based on our view of the future and God’s ultimate purposes becoming reality at a future time.

For those of us walking in the Kingdom of Light in faith, and following a path of spiritual renewal, we no longer fear sickness or physical death, because our hope is for the future. As we walk in faith, we also begin to see that this Spiritual power that we now have at our disposal can also have a dramatic effect on our physical health in the present. Things that are “impossible” or cannot be explained in the physical realm can actually become common events in the life of a believer who is being transformed in the Spiritual realm! So we stop running to physical solutions as a first course of action for our problems, and instead look to unleash God’s love and power into our daily problems through faith. We are not limited to the small realm of scientific processes for our knowledge which is based simply on the observations of the physical realm and the faulty premise of evolution. We have the power of knowledge and wisdom that comes through a changed life and a relationship with our Creator. And as we learn to listen to God speak to us and allow him to direct the course and events of our life, we find that nothing is impossible!

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:29-39)

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Physical vs. Spiritual Health: Which is More Important?

The Problem

For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death… What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? Let it not be said! But I did not know sin except through the Law. For also I did not know lust except the Law said, You shall not lust. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, worked in me all kinds of lust. For apart from Law sin was dead... And the commandment, which was to life, was found to be death to me. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. So indeed the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good… For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (Romans 7:5-24)

This passage of scripture written by Paul in the book of Romans clearly states the problem we all have with our physical bodies, or our “flesh.” Our flesh is weak and sinful, and totally incapable of obeying the perfect, spiritual Law of God that was given to the Israelites through Moses. As sin works through our bodies via lusts (and pride: see 1 John 2:16), it separates us from God and kills us spiritually, working towards its ultimate outcome, physical death. Our ultimate problem in our bodies is one of sin – our inability to keep God’s laws. We find ourselves in bondage as slaves to sin and its working in our bodies, which results in sickness and disease along the way, the by-products of sin.

The Solution

The solution to this problem in our bodies is a spiritual solution – not a physical solution:

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-- for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (Romans 8:1-14)

Jesus’ physical death and resurrection broke the power of sin, and he now offers us the solution to our problem of sin and physical bondage. The solution is to receive the Spirit of Christ into our lives through the spiritual rebirth process, so that our spirits will be recreated. The wonderful truth of Christ’s breaking the power of sin and death on the cross is that God’s Spirit can now live in our sinful, imperfect body! AWESOME!!

But notice that this process of spiritual rebirth, where God’s Spirit comes to live within us, is said to “also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” The text is very clear here. It is not referring to the future when we die the physical death and take on new immortal bodies. (See 1 Corinthians chapter 15 for the wonderful details about this.) It is referring to the present time. It refers to those of us alive physically right now and living in our “mortal” bodies, which Paul calls “this body of death” at the end of Romans chapter 7. The Spirit of God living in us can make even these corrupt, sickly bodies alive! It is not a once for all event like dying the physical death will be, but instead it is a process where we are led by the Spirit of God to be “putting to death the deeds of the body” in an ongoing process of spiritual renewal.

So once we are reborn spiritually and become a part of Jesus’ spiritual kingdom, our life is to be a process of learning how to live by the Spirit, as opposed to living by the flesh: “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace..” (Romans 8:5-6) “Living by the flesh” is living in bondage to the lusts of our bodies where sin still exists. But the spiritual process of “living by the Spirit” is to consume our life, as opposed to being consumed by the lusts of our flesh. Paul addresses this very clearly in his letter to the Galatian churches:

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:16-25)

Considering the fact, therefore, that our spiritual life is what gives life to our physical/mortal bodies, what is more important: our spiritual health, or our physical health? What good is spending all our time and financial resources to purchase physical “health” for a “body of death” that is going to completely die sometime in the near (compared to eternity) future anyway? Taking care of our bodies and respecting it as the “temple” (dwelling place) of God’s Spirit is certainly something everyone needs to do, but are our bodies more important than our spiritual life? Are we to be totally consumed with taking care of our bodies to the exclusion of our spiritual health? What effort are you taking today to either obtain spiritual life, or to nourish the new spiritual life you already have and to be constantly “putting to death the deeds of the body?”

We need to be led by the Spirit of Christ and follow him on a daily basis! He is our personal counselor who will guide us each day in the way we should walk, (the sins we need to confess, the relationships we need to repair, the people we need to show love to, etc.) and empower us to follow him on the specific path he has just for us. That path is a path to health and fulfillment, but it is also a path to suffering as we constantly wage war against the sin in our flesh and the kingdom of darkness around us. Our hope is not for this life, the current physical life, but for the eternal life to come after our physical death, when we receive new perfect bodies:

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Romans 8:15-25)

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Who do You Run to When You are Sick?

The words of King David:

O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. (Psalms 30:2)

The LORD sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health. (Psalms 41:3)

David is one of the most amazing people in the Bible, because he was a simple person who had a simple faith. We have more text about David than anyone else in the scriptures, because we have both historical narrative about his life, and numerous Psalms written by David himself which give us great insight into his child-like faith. The wonderful thing about the account of David’s life that we find in the Bible is that he was a person with a lot of faults who made a lot of mistakes, just like you and I do. He made terrible mistakes as a husband and father, with his failures clearly recorded, and at times he did not follow the Lord’s leading in his life and abused his power as king. He actually lost the kingdom for a while and that to a rebellious son. He often blew it, just like you and I do. But his trust was NOT in himself. It was in God’s unfailing love for him. He freely confessed his sins before God. As king, he felt it was his duty to lead the people to praising and serving God, not himself. As he wrote in Psalms 40 after being rescued by the Lord from his enemies: “He taught me to sing a new song, a song of praise to our God. Many who see this will take warning and will put their trust in the LORD. Happy are those who trust the LORD, who do not turn to idols or join those who worship false gods.” (Psalms 41:3)

One other thing I have noticed while studying the writings of David, is that he was often sick – physically sick. The cause of his sickness is varied. Sometimes it was because of stress and attacks by his enemies (sins of others). Other times it was because of his own sin.

Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet-- I can count all my bones-- they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. But you, O LORD, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid! Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog! (Psalms 22:12-20 – Sickness from sins of others)

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. (Psalms 32:1-5 – Sickness from his own sins)

In all these circumstances where he was physically sick, he saw the cure the same way he saw the remedy for all other troubles he went through: God’s unfailing love and forgiveness. He did not deal with physical problems on just a physical level, and he did not turn to “health authorities” to purchase health.

Interestingly, we do have an account of one of David’s descendants who became king many years later that DID deal with his physical sickness by turning to “health authorities” instead of trusting in God’s unfailing love. That was King Asa.

King Asa started out as a good king, trusting in the Lord as his forefather David had. Early in his reign the Lord gave him a great victory:

And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God. He took away the foreign altars and the high places and broke down the pillars and cut down the Asherim and commanded Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment. He also took out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the incense altars. And the kingdom had rest under him. He built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest. He had no war in those years, for the LORD gave him peace. And he said to Judah, "Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the LORD our God. We have sought him, and he has given us peace on every side." So they built and prospered. And Asa had an army of 300,000 from Judah, armed with large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin that carried shields and drew bows. All these were mighty men of valor. Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and came as far as Mareshah. And Asa went out to meet him, and they drew up their lines of battle in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. And Asa cried to the LORD his God, "O LORD, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, you are our God; let not man prevail against you." So the LORD defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. (2 Chronicles 14:2-12)

By trusting in the Lord, Asa was able to defeat an army that was attacking him which was almost twice the size of his own army, because the Lord intervened in answer to his faith and trust in him.

But sadly, Asa did not continue to trust in the Lord. Later on in life he had another threat to his kingdom, but this time he trusted in his wealth and the strength of alliances with other countries rather than trusting the Lord:

In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and started to fortify Ramah in order to cut off all traffic in and out of Judah. So Asa took silver and gold from the treasuries of the Temple and the palace and sent it to Damascus, to King Benhadad of Syria, with this message: "Let us be allies, as our fathers were. This silver and gold is a present for you. Now break your alliance with King Baasha of Israel so that he will have to pull his troops out of my territory." Benhadad agreed to Asa's proposal and sent his commanding officers and their armies to attack the cities of Israel. They captured Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah, and all the cities of Naphtali where supplies were stored. When King Baasha heard what was happening, he stopped fortifying Ramah and abandoned the work. At that time the prophet Hanani went to King Asa and said, "Because you relied on the king of Syria instead of relying on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Israel has escaped from you. Didn't the Ethiopians and the Libyans have large armies with many chariots and cavalry troops? But because you relied on the LORD, he gave you victory over them. The LORD keeps close watch over the whole world, to give strength to those whose hearts are loyal to him. You have acted foolishly, and so from now on you will always be at war." This made Asa so angry with the prophet that he had him put in chains. It was at this same time that Asa began treating some of the people cruelly. (2 Chronicles 16:1-10)

Then came his physical disease:

In the thirty-ninth year that Asa was king, he was crippled by a severe foot disease; but even then he did not turn to the LORD for help, but to doctors. Two years later he died… (2 Chronicles 16:12-13)

Maybe the doctors were able to manage his disease for a couple more years before he died, but they apparently were not able to heal Asa using whatever healing arts they performed and sold to the king. On the spiritual level, King Asa did not turn to the Lord for help. He died in failure.

Who do you run to first when you are sick? Who do you trust to bring you healing? Do you seek first the Creator of the universe who made you and knows you better than anyone else, or do you turn first to “health experts” who may or may not know you, and who can usually only deal with health on a physical level based on human knowledge? Do you willingly pay huge sums of money to these “health experts” for access to their limited knowledge? Who do you trust the most? As we noted in last week’s devotional, physical death is a certain event in your life, and simply trying to delay that event will not deal with the more important spiritual issues in your life that will carry you into eternity. Like David, we don’t have to be good people to call upon God in our weakness. We simply need to trust that God created us, that he put us on this earth, that he loves us, and that when we call upon him he hears us and takes care of us, just like David did - over and over again. And if you feel overwhelmed by your sickness or problems and think you don’t have enough faith to trust God, find others who have faith and ask them to pray for you! That is your first step to healing.

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (James 5:13-16)

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Death is in Your Future: have you prepared for it?

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened--not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. (2 Corinthians 4:16-5:9)

There are many important events throughout our life that require a great deal of preparation: marriage, the birth of a child, moving to a new home, taking on a new job or business, etc. The most important event in our life, however, is our physical death – the end of our life when our physical body can no longer support our spirit. It is also an event that we have little or no control over. We cannot prevent it. At best, we might possibly delay it for a short period of time (although even that point is debatable, see Psalms 139:16). Death is a certainty, and it is not very predictable. After our body dies, we go on living into eternity. And yet an event as important as this seldom gets the attention in preparation that other less important major events in our life receive.

So have you made preparations for this inevitable future event in your life?

Unfortunately, we live in a day where the physical is exalted and the spiritual is denied. We have a multi-billion dollar economy built around trying to fix our decaying bodies and delay the most important event in our life. Our culture does just the opposite of what is written in the verses above, which states: “we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” Our culture worships “science” and the visible world, usually denying the unseen world, and ignoring anything in our future beyond the most important event in our physical life – our physical death.

But as we have written previously there is an unseen world, and in that world currently exists two kingdoms: the kingdom of darkness (Satan’s realm) and the kingdom of light, where Jesus rules. All of us are spiritual beings, and currently exist in one or the other of these two kingdoms in the unseen world. When we are born physically, we inherit the sin of Adam and Eve passed down to us through our parents, and are naturally part of the kingdom of darkness, separated from God. We can be reborn spiritually into the kingdom of light as God’s adopted children by accepting God’s Spirit in an act of faith, which pleases God.

So each person actually experiences two deaths in their life: a physical death of our body, and a spiritual death. Those who spend all their energy in this life concentrating on the physical world which can be seen, and ignore the spiritual world, will experience the spiritual death after their physical death. And it won’t be pleasant (see Revelation 20:14-15; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Matthew 13:40-42; Matthew 25:41-46). But those of us who are born again have already died the spiritual death, because Christ died it for us:

Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:3-11)

So for those of us currently in the kingdom of light, we should be looking forward to our physical death, knowing that physical death is a transformation to a better life, just as our spiritual death was: “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling…. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (Quoted from the passage above - 2 Corinthians 5)

In last week's devotional we looked at Jesus’ teaching about our attitude towards our current life in this world, and the principle he instructed us to live by is a principle where we trust God for our daily needs. This principle is stated in Matthew 6:33: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” In relation to the physical body he stated: “do not be worried about… your body, as to what you will put on. Is not… the body more than clothing? ... And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?” Jesus was addressing the physical life, and the physical needs of the body. We should not focus on this, because God knows it needs to be taken care of, and if we spend our time seeking out how we can please God and fulfill his purpose for our life, the purpose for which we were created, then he will take care of all these things, including the physical needs of the body.

But in the passage above in 2 Corinthians, Paul talks about the more important unseen things in life, and he addresses our “spiritual clothing”: “For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened--not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.”

When we die our physical death, which is an inevitable future event in all of our lives, those who have not already died the spiritual death with Jesus and have not been reborn through the Holy Spirit, will be unclothed (spiritually naked) before God. But if we have been born again spiritually and have already died the spiritual death, we will be “further clothed” with a new immortal body in the new kingdom (see 1 Corinthians chapter 15 for a lot more details about this.) The Holy Spirit in our lives today is our guarantee of this future event, which allows us to live today by faith in that future event!

So if our bodies are decaying and we have a new immortal body waiting for us in God’s eternal kingdom prepared especially just for us, why is it that those of us walking in the kingdom of light as God’s children are spending so much time and money supporting a “health care” system that has no eternal value?? Why don’t we share Paul’s sentiment as written in the passage above that “momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”? Why do we behave and value our current bodies so much that we are often willing to spend most of our time and almost everything we own during a health crisis to keep that body functioning just a little bit longer? Why do we act like physical death is something to be feared and avoided at all costs, rather than focusing our minds and energy on pleasing God and preparing for this most important event in our life? Why don’t we share Paul’s desire that “we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.”? Is it possible that if we concentrated our minds and efforts on pursuing God’s kingdom and righteousness that most of our health problems would not even be an issue, because God would be the one responsible for keeping us healthy enough to accomplish his purposes here on earth before we left?

Death is in your future. Are you preparing for this event? The first step is to make sure you die the spiritual death before you die physically, so that you do not stand spiritually naked before God on that day! The next step is to “seek first his kingdom” and “make it our aim to please him” in fulfilling God’s purpose in the rest of our physical life here on earth. Yes, death is in your future, and it is a certain event that is NOT under your control in terms of the timing! So readjust your priorities and passions in this life to prepare for this event and your future life in eternity.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4)

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Where is Your Financial Security?

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:24-33)

These words of Jesus best sum up the biblical teaching on finances. As the Creator of the universe, Jesus knew what made people tick. He knew where their passions and motivations were held. And he knew that people could not both pursue financial security and pursue God’s purpose for their life. There is only room in life for one devotion; one master. And if you are pursuing financial security and wealth, your life is backwards. Wealth and finances are given to us as a blessing while pursuing God’s purpose for our life, as stated in verse 33 in the passage above. Unfortunately, too many people have it backwards, and feel like they need to pursue wealth and finances in order to fulfill God’s will for their lives.

When reading the opening two statements of this passage by Jesus: “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” – it would seem that he is addressing the rich and wealthy. And while this principle certainly applies to the wealthy, in this context he was not addressing the wealthy, but instead the poor. Probably the most common motivation in pursuing finances among the poor is the desire to have “security.” If you don’t have a lot of money like a lot of the people in Jesus’ time, you are probably worried about where you next meal is going to come from, or how you are going to cloth your growing children, etc. You want the peace of mind and security to know you have enough money for the basic necessities of life, so you pursue at least some measure of financial security. For others, they may want the security of knowing that they will have funds to live off in their time of retirement, when they are not sure if there is going to be someone around to take care of them. Or some may seek funds for their children’s future education. So they seek financial security for their future by building up wealth for the future.

But Jesus doesn’t want us seeking our security in wealth or finances! He wants us to depend on our loving heavenly Father and his care for us day by day. He created us for a purpose, and he loves us very much. As we pursue knowing God and his purpose for our lives, he supplies the financial means we need to fulfill that purpose.

Co-heirs with Christ

When we are born again into the Kingdom of light where Jesus rules, we become co-heirs with Christ in his Kingdom. This inheritance is the same inheritance promised to Abraham and his descendants.

And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. (Galatians 3:29)

This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. (Ephesians 3:6)

As heirs, our inheritance makes us instantly wealthy, as we inherit all the blessings promised to Abraham. Jesus was the ultimate seed of Abraham, and he was from the line of David in order to fulfill all of the promises, but his physical rule over the earth is still in the future. His way to the fulfillment of the Abrahamic blessings was the way of the cross – a way of pain and suffering. As we are now co-heirs with Christ, we not only inherit the all blessings, but also the sufferings of Christ in this life.

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:16-17)

Because we are members of the Kingdom of Light which is currently a spiritual kingdom with its source in Heaven, and the predominate kingdom here on earth that we clash with is the kingdom of darkness ruled by Satan, we may often be delayed in receiving all the material blessings that will eventually come our way. But our purpose in this life is to seek first God’s Kingdom and rule. We are not to pursue wealth. We are already wealthy in the spiritual realm – the inheritance is already ours. Material wealth in this world is not that important, since it is all decaying anyway. It only has value if it aids us in promoting the Kingdom of God.

Therefore, we are to live a life worthy of our calling as co-heirs with Christ, serving him honorably as we manage the resources God may send our way to accomplish his purpose in our life and in the Kingdom. Our road in this life may be paved with wealth that needs to be managed to accomplish God’s purposes in advancing his Kingdom. At other times the road may be paved with pain and suffering where we seek God’s purpose in our lives as we sow spiritual seeds that will reap a harvest in due time. No matter what financial condition we are in currently, the ruler of the opposing kingdom will always attack us and try to destroy us, and the one area he works hard in is trying to get the heirs of the Kingdom to get side-tracked and start pursuing wealth. Don’t be tempted! Don’t start running backwards pursuing wealth! Jesus’ words are clear: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Look ahead to the future that awaits you in God’s eternal kingdom and press on ahead to fulfill the calling of God on your life and the purpose for which you were created.

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. (Colossians 3:1-2)

I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me... And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:12-13; 19)

This devotional is adapted from the article: The Creation of Wealth

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Do You Have Heart Disease?

See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. As has just been said: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief. (Hebrews 3:12-19)

We have an epidemic of heart disease in our society today. Unfortunately, it is seldom diagnosed properly, and the cure is a very simple remedy. Yes, while an entire medical empire exists today armed with expensive drugs and equipment to manage high blood pressure and heart problems in the physical realm, a far deadlier disease rages out of control threatening to destroy your very existence: the disease of an unbelieving, hardened heart.

We saw in previous devotionals how this disease wiped out an entire generation within the nation of Israel, as their dead bodies were buried in the sands of the desert outside of the “promised land.” These former slaves who had been miraculously rescued from the mighty King Pharaoh and his army just could not overcome their hardened hearts of unbelief to receive all the good things God had in store for them in the Promised Land, a land flowing with “milk and honey” rich in natural resources that did not exist in Egypt. They continued to act like oppressed, miserable slaves, and their heart disease eventually led them to their graves in the desert. They could never accept the remedy for their disease, which was to simply believe that God had rescued them and delivered them out of slavery, and had made them into a nation more blessed and more prosperous than the nations that were currently living in the Promised Land. Their hearts were too hard, and the heart disease was too advanced, so that they missed out on being able to enter the land that God had already promised to them.

This same condition of heart disease exists today, as the writer of Hebrews warns us: See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. (Hebrews 3:12) Today, it is not the Promised Land that God is offering to us. It is a place in His eternal kingdom, currently setup in the spiritual realm where Jesus rules. The physical kingdom will be established later, after the current earth and heavens are destroyed. But we can enter the spiritual kingdom right now, by being born again spiritually through faith. Once we are reborn, we receive a new heart: “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26) The prophets in the Old Testament looked forward to our day, the day when Christ would come and redeem God’s people through his sacrificial death on the cross and setup the new kingdom.

They referred to this time as the time of the “New Covenant.” The “Old Covenant” was given through Moses, and included the extensive written law as recorded in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The New Covenant, by contrast, allows us to have a direct relationship with God through the Holy Spirit, where God’s laws are now written on our new hearts and in our minds:

For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. For he finds fault with them when he says: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more." In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. (Hebrews 8:7-13)

So the remedy for this current epidemic of heart disease is the same as it was for the Israelites who came out of Egypt: faith. An unbelieving and hard heart must be replaced by a heart that trusts and believes in God. We learned in the devotional last week that without faith, it is impossible to please God. We please God by believing in him (and having a healthy view of God as was written about in this devotional), and by believing that he rewards all who sincerely seek him. The difference under the New Covenant is that we can have a new heart – a heart transplant that gives us new life! This spiritual heart transplant is MUCH more valuable than a physical heart transplant, because a new physical heart (or repaired heart) will still wear out. But a new spiritual heart will live forever! Fixing physical hearts is big business today, and people are often willing to spend all they have to fix their physical hearts which will only prolong physical death for a very short moment in the eternal scope of things. How sad that spiritual heart disease is much more epidemic today, and with much greater consequences. Unfortunately, so few are willing to spend the time to fix their spiritual hearts which will have eternal benefit as opposed to momentary benefit. Expensive man-made medicines and technology cannot heal a spiritually hardened heart. Faith is the cure, and it is free.

What is the condition of YOUR heart today? Is a spiritual heart transplant your last hope?

"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:7-12)

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 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. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

How Can We Please God?

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Is it possible to please God, to make him happy? Are God’s feelings toward me affected by anything I can control? Yes! Starting with the truth that God exists and that he created us, the way we think and the way we live our lives, most certainly do affect the way God feels about us. So how can we please God?

To answer this question positively, it is important to first review what we can NOT change about God by anything we think or do. We can NOT change God’s love for us by anything that is within our power to think or do. This may seem like a contradiction to the opening statements in the first paragraph, but that is probably because of the limited understanding we have in modern culture around the word and concept of “love.” It is most often associated with a “feeling” of love.

But when we read the English translations of the Bible and read the English word “love”, there are actually many Greek words (Greek was the language the New Testament was written in) that are translated by our English word for “love.” The three most common ones are: philia, eros, and agape. “Philia” describes a “brotherly” love one has for family and friends. “Eros” describes a passionate or romantic love such as exists between a husband and wife. But the word used for “love” most often in the New Testament is “agape”, which often represents an unconditional love that is completely independent of feelings. It is the word that is used, for example, when Jesus tells his disciples to not hate their enemies, but to love them (see Matthew 5:43-44). Such an act of love is done independent of feelings (who “feels like” loving their enemies?!) It is an act of the will. When Jesus went to the cross to die for our sins as an act of the most supreme love ever demonstrated, the Bible records that he prayed to God to remove that hour of darkness from his life in the moments leading up to that event. He didn’t really “feel” like going through with it. In fact, he was in agony and sweated drops of blood. But he prayed “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42) That is an example of agape love, which is a love shown and done independent of “feelings” of love. God loves us with this kind of love, and nothing we do can change that: “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

So how do we affect God’s feelings towards us? How do we please him? The verse quoted above in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews states it as plainly and simply as it can be stated: And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6) This chapter in Hebrews is full of examples of men and women who pleased God through their faith.

As this verse states, faith starts by believing that God exists. This is in contradiction to the foundations of modern culture which are based upon a belief in evolution. Secondly, after we believe that God exists, we must have a proper belief about the way God acts towards us. This is what trips up most people. We must believe that God rewards those who sincerely seek him out. We are dependent and needy creatures created by God, and God is our provider and sustainer. Every breath that we breathe, every drop of blood that our heart pumps, is a gift of life from God who sustains us with his Word. When we need or want things, we must believe that he loves us and is going to give us what we ask and need. When we need things and don’t seek him out, it affects his feelings towards us. We break his heart, just as any child breaks the heart of their parents when they go their own way and trust in people and things that cannot help them, instead of going back to their parents who have the authority and ability to give them everything they need.

One of the best stories Jesus told, as recorded in Luke 15:11-32, is the story of the prodigal son. The story clearly illustrates the principle of love and faith, and how a son can please his father. The prodigal son took his part of his father’s inheritance and left to go spend it in “reckless living,” while the older son stayed home working for his father. Was the father pleased when his son left home to squander his inheritance? No. Did the father ever stop loving his son, even though he was living a sinful life? No! So how did the younger prodigal son end up being able to please his father? He returned to his senses and went back home, having faith that his father would accept him back, even if only as a hired servant. What was the father’s reaction?

And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate. (Luke 15:21-24)

The father of this prodigal son was pleased that his son came back. The only thing the son had to do to make his father pleased, was to come back home – an act of simple faith. The son believed that his father existed, and that he would reward him if he came back to him. He came back home with nothing! He had squandered all of his inheritance on reckless living, but his position in his father’s family was secure. He could not stop being his father’s son, and he had the benefit as a son to enjoy all the good things of his father’s house. All he had to do was to go back home in faith, believing that his father would receive him and take care of him. I can think of no clearer picture painted in the Bible that illustrates Hebrews 11:6 than this simple, yet profound story that Jesus told.

Now, imagine if the son had first thought to himself: “I cannot go home empty handed! I need to find a better job somewhere so I can pay my father back for all things I took from him.” – and then proceeded to stay away from home for several years until he could earn enough money to pay his father back. Would his father have been pleased with that? No! He just wanted his son to come home!!

Or what if after the son came home, he would have taken off the best robe his father had put on him, and taken off the ring and shoes, and had refused to eat the feast prepared for him, because he wanted to follow through with his plan of living like a slave in his father’s house, because he felt so unworthy of all the nice things his father was doing for him. Would his father have been pleased with that? No! His father would only be pleased with his son if he came back home, and accepted all the wonderful things he wanted to give and do for his son. Nothing else would have pleased the father more.

And yet, that is just how most of us treat God. Some of us don’t believe God would accept us because of certain things in our life, so we don’t come back home to him. Or we come home and try to “make it up to God” for our past mistakes, and we refuse to believe that God would actually just give us good things when we don’t deserve them. We “believe in God,” but we act like slaves instead of his privileged children. The result is that we do not please God, and in fact we break his heart and make him very sad. Not because we are bad people (even though we are!), but because we simply refuse to believe that God could be that good to us, and we refuse to receive what God wants to give us.

So do you want to please God? Do you want to make him happy? There is only one way to do that: go to him and receive everything he wants to give you with simple faith! It does take repentance (a change of mind) and humility. Remember the story of the prodigal son. He became so humiliated that he ended up feeding pigs for a living, and was so hungry he ate the same food he was feeding the pigs. And during that whole time, all he had to do was change his mind (repent), swallow his pride, and run back home to his father to receive all the wonderful blessings that his father had for him in his house. How about you? Do you want to please God? His heart yearns for you…

"What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"-- (1 Corinthians 2:9)

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. (Jesus in John 14:1-3

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