Not Of This World

Back in 1995 I was blessed with a 17 day trip to France and Italy.  I was caught up in the excitement of so many things: packing for 17 days in a suitcase that only held clothes fo 7 days; currency rate exchanges; a new committed love (Frank); putting together materials for teaching I was going to do; a new deepening romance (Frank); did  I mention a blossoming, wonderfully newly committed relationship with Frank?  I was so torn between going and staying.  I was so caught up in my preparations and romantic life that I was prepared for what hit me when I arrived in Paris, Frances:  the oppressive feeling of spiritual darkness.  Like Jenna (who recently returned from Paris, France), I was enamored with the beautiful cathedrals of Europe.  I distinctly recall each time I passed the threshold of a cathedral.  I was filled with immediate and conflicting feelings of awe and sadness.  These beautiful houses of worship had once been, in many cases, the places of great revival breaking out across Europe.  As I visited them, they were polished, refreshed, retouched and dead.  I could never shake the feeling of waking into a tomb.  The Creator of the universe was not the focus of these cathedrals...rather the earthly artists, sculptors, stain-glass makers and polished marbles were.

 

I also distinctly remember the feeling of coming back to the United States.  Sure, I was "home."  I was eager to see Frank (did I mention we'd just secured that committed relationship thingy?).  But there was something more on the spiritual level that revived me...almost like I had been holding my breath too long and then suddenly gasping in a breath of much needed air!  I could "feel" the spiritual light of home.

 

Never forget, this world lives in darkness.  Every moment is a battle of spiritual warfare.  Although we may "feel" at home in our churches, small groups, Youth groups, ect., remember...that is just a glimpse or "taste" of our eternal home with our Lord Jesus forever!

 

As you go into your weekend, I hope you dwell on this fact if you are a citizen of the Kingdom of God.

 

Be thankful.

This world is not my home I'm just a passing through
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore
Oh Lord you know I have no friend like you
If heaven's not my home then Lord what will I do
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore
I have a loving mother just up in Gloryland
And I don't expect to stop until I shake her hand
She's waiting now for me in heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore
Oh Lord you know...
Just over in Gloryland we'll live eternaly

the saints on every hand are shouting victory
Their songs of sweetest praise drift back from heaven's shore
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore
Oh Lord you know...

(Albert E. Brumley)

PlanetWisdom.com Devotionals

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Fearful Strangers Posted: 11 Jun 2009 02:40 PM PDT "Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear." (1 Peter 1:17) Have you spent any time in foreign countries? I remember being in Italy once and feeling very "American." After a few days, my wife and I bought some Italian clothes, worked on our accents and a few Italian phrases, and tried to blend in a little. But we couldn't hide; it was obvious we weren't locals. The day after you became a Christian, you woke up in a foreign country. You might not have felt it, and probably nobody could tell, at first. But your citizenship had been transferred to heaven, the kingdom of light. You had become a stranger here. Peter wants us to live like we're from somewhere else. He wants us to stop trying to blend in to our worldly culture. He wants us to stand out, trying harder to honor our King back home than the customs of this land. He wants us to remember that the King is watching, and He is a fair judge of our choices. Think: Do you ever feel like a stranger in your world because of your commitment to God through Jesus? How can that be a good thing? Pray: Ask God to help you live your life here in reverent fear for Him. Do: Listen to how the writer of Hebrews 11:13-16 expresses this same idea. Visit PlanetWisdom.com for more great resources!