Brown's Daily Word 8-7-09

Good morning,
Praise the Lord for the mystery and wonder of it all. The Bible declares, "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known." ( 1 Corinthians 13:2) Life in Christ Jesus is a pilgrimage. We see the parallel between the journey of the people of God from Egypt to the Promised Land, and the pilgrim's journey to the celestial city. We read in the Book Of Joshua, that the people of God stood at the border of the Promised Land. Hundreds of years had passed since this land was first promised to Abraham. A whole generation wandered the desert on the other side of the border, but finally, after so much promise, it the promise was about to become reality. Joshua received final instructions before going in and claiming the promise. The Christian life is about inhabiting the Promised Land- the Kingdom of God. It is the understanding of the 'now and not yet' aspects of the kingdom of God in this world and in our current lives. On the one hand, the kingdom has not come in its fullness. We wait for the promises to be fulfilled. We know that, in the last day, we will be victorious and our hearts and sin will be completely cleansed; we will be righteous and we will stand in the full presence of God. Until that time, creation continues to groan, and we struggle to persevere and grow in our faith and righteousness. On the other hand, the kingdom of God has come in Jesus Christ. God is with us. We can fully know God even now, just as we are known by him. This is the place of full relationship with God that we can know even now. We can see the face of God and know every moment that he is with us and have our lives transformed dramatically into his image with the glow of the glory of God reflected in our faces as we keep our eyes on him. The Israelites stood on the very edge of the promise. In many regards we also are still in the desert, so close - the Spirit is in our hearts; it is so real and palpable, and we can see our promised land right in front of us. 1 Peter has a good picture of this in chapter 2, verses 11-12, “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world.” That is what we are. We are aliens and strangers in this world because we are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. Heaven is already in us. Peter went on to give us directions how to live on this border of the Promised Land, “abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” Peter spoke of war with the kingdom of this world. In preparation for that war, we have the words God gave to Joshua as he stood on the banks of the Jericho. Three times in this short passage, he said, “Be strong and courageous.” Herman Wouk was a famous novelist, who was also a Jew. In 1955, he visited Israel and had the opportunity to spend some time with David Ben-Gurion, who was the first leader of Israel when it was re-established after World War 2. Ben-Gurion was asking Wouk in subtle ways during their time together to move to Israel during those frightening times. Wouk wrote, “When we were leaving, he came out with his straight Zionist line, no more hints. "You must return here to live," he said. "This is the only place for Jews like you. Here you will be free." "Free?" I ventured to reply. "Free? With enemy armies ringing you, with their leaders publicly threatening to wipe out 'the Zionist entity,' with your roads impassable after sundown—free?" "I did not say safe," the old man retorted, "I said free." So often we think that becoming a Christian, even a mature Christian, means that things are going to get safer. In the respect that nothing can finally harm us, that is true. In that respect, we are of all the most free. But we are not safe. Being a Christian should never, ever be safe. Crossing the Jordan and moving more and more fully into the Promised Land is not safe. If we are trying to make our lives and our churches safe, we are heading the wrong direction. The fulfillment of God’s promises, the blaze of his glory, is not safe. There is a great picture in the great children’s books, "the Chronicles of Narnia" of this truth. Jill Pole ("The Silver Chair") finds herself in a position where she feels she is dying of thirst. She sees a river of beautiful water, but then she sees a lion lying on the other side of the water. She hears a voice saying, “If you’re thirsty, you may drink. …For a second she stared here and there, wondering who had spoken. Then the voice said again, ‘if you are thirsty, come and drink,’ …and she realized it was the lion speaking. …She had seen its lips move this time, and the voice was not like a man’s. It was deeper, wilder, and stronger; a sort of heavy, golden voice. It did not make her any less frightened than she had been before, but it made her frightened in rather a different way. “Are you not thirsty?” said the Lion. “I’m dying of thirst,” said Jill. “Then drink,” said the Lion. “May I – could I – would you mind going away while I do?” said Jill. “The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience. The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic. “Will you promise not to – do anything to me, if I do come?” said Jill. “I make no promise,” said the Lion. Jill was so thirsty now that, without noticing it, she had come a step nearer.“Do you eat girls?” she said. “I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms,” said the Lion. It didn’t say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it. “I daren’t come and drink,” said Jill. “Then you will die of thirst,” said the Lion. “Oh dear!” said Jill, coming another step nearer. “I suppose I must go and look for another stream then.” “There is no other stream,” said the Lion. It never occurred to Jill to disbelieve the Lion – no one who had seen his stern face could do that – and her mind suddenly made itself up. It was the worst thing she had ever had to do, but she went forward to the stream, knelt down, and began scooping up water in her hand. It was the coldest, most refreshing water she had ever tasted. You didn’t need to drink much of it, for it quenched your thirst at once. Before she tasted it she had been intending to make a dash away from the Lion the moment she had finished. Now she realized that this would be on the whole the most dangerous thing of all. She got up and stood there with her lips still wet from drinking. “Come here,” said the Lion.
We stand at the river's edge. We have known the thirst of the desert. We have tasted the refreshing water of salvation. Now it is time to cross that river and enter the Promised Land. The Lion of Judah looks us in the eye and says, “Come here.” The Promised Land is the full presence of God. And we have this word from God : “Be strong and courageous.”
In Christ,
Brown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsxNPM4P0w4