A Religion of Formulas

    I am admittedly a recovering (I hope mostly recovered) legalist. No, I never believed that I earned my salvation by how good a person I was. I never would have agreed with anyone that I could somehow save myself. But somehow, I still fell prey to the lie that my standing with God was dependent on how good a person I was.

    And I use the word "good" very loosely, as I will explain through this article. See, for myself, and several other young homeschoolers in similar circles, as I have agreed, the "good" that God was looking at was not my heart. No, God had much higher aims than that! No, I looked at God with a much more formulaic approach.

    See, the God I believed in was a God of formulas. If you used, for example, courtship to find your spouse instead of dating, you were in some way superior and more deserving of God's favor. Take it a step further, if you did a no kiss courtship, wow, God must really be wanting to bless you. If you did a no touch courtship, double wow! God's ultimate formula has been kept, and now He is actually pleased with you.

    In this system of thought, God has different measures of pleasure, one, say, for the Christian who simply gives as he as extra money, a second, deeper pleasure for the one who tithes scrupulously, and even a third for the one who gives generously.

    It is not a religion of grace and unmerited favor, but rather a religion based solely on formulas and opinions, standards and skewed misconceptions. My view of God was not the majestic Creator who lowered Himself to His creation, but rather a Lord who died for our sins and was resurrected in order to watch us struggle harder and harder to earn His favor.

    It's not just in this way that we show the formulaic basis of many of our beliefs. For one thing, we show it everyday when we use phrases such as "That shouldn't have happened to him! He was such a nice guy..." or "he had it coming!" We have it ingrained in our minds that good things happen to good people because they innately deserve it, and bad things happen to bad people because they innately deserve that!

   However, when we meet Jesus, our new understanding of the world should strike a blow to this whole concept. Suddenly, the world is not as black and white as it once was, because evil man that I am, I am blessed for something I didn't do, and the righteous Lamb died horribly for something He did not do. The gospel itself is the complete antithesis of formulaic faith, because it broke every formula.

    The cross shatters a deathblow to this idea of man getting what he deserves based on his actions. Frankly, the Bible teaches that men, since we are all evil, deserve only the wrath of God in hell. But completely against every recognized system of thought, perfect goodness suffered in order to bring blessings and goodness to ultimate evil. That's inconsistent with the formulaic view of faith.

    Unfortunately, many of us, like me, unintentionally carry over these ideas into our saved life and begin treating our relationship with Christ similarly. If I want God to be happiest with me, I need to enforce the highest standards on my life. Another manifestation of this mental concept is to fall pray to the building of strict, extra-Biblical systems to prevent sin or even temptation.

    The problem? Intentional or otherwise, when we combine formulas with faith, faith gradually falls away. There's a very reasonable explanation for that. Formulas are things we do ourselves, think up ourselves, and implement ourselves. They're the tangible, safe methods of the Christian walk. They're the mental checklist to save me from sin, the safe, solid ground when I'm uncertain.

    Faith is the direct opposite. Faith is trust in something outside ourselves and must be given by One greater than ourselves. Faith is the call to the dangerous in the Christian life. Faith is the call to jump off the safe, solid ground and into the arms of Jesus.

    When we try to build a formulaic religion, the word that comes to mind is "safe". Suddenly, your life is planned out! When you meet girl Sally (I use that name cause I don't know any Sally's) you want to marry, she must be like this and believe this. You will ask her this question, and this question, and check off the boxes on your checklist. You'll ask her father this and this, and then you'll do this and this...

     And life is so safe. It's clean and risk free. As long as the formula is met, then she must be the girl for you, or this job must be God's will for you. But you may see the problem. Amid all the formulaic questions and checklists, where is the dependence on the Holy Spirit? Where is the need for a trust in God beyond my human understanding?

    See, a life lived by formula, by a checklist of high standards that will keep me from falling into sin is much easier, much more simple than a life lived by faith and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. To follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to do things that break those checklists is to live a life of faith, faith in a God who leads us sometimes into situations that are difficult to understand.

    A mental checklist of right and wrong extra-Biblical standards is very easy. As an example, I've heard of the standard people apply to their lives to never speak online to a member of the opposite gender after 10:00 at night. Okay, fine. Sure, go for it! But what about when a friend goes through surgery and is stuck at home for hours, and the only convenient time to talk to her is at night? Suddenly, the checklist is now defining how much of a friend I can actually be.

    Checklists are fine. High standards are fine. But when they begin to replace faith in the guidance of the Holy Spirit in your life, you got trouble. A religion of formulas doesn't need Jesus, because sin can be prevented by my formula!

    The Christian life doesn't work that way though. Life with Christ is not a journey made by more and more self-effort and higher set standards than everyone else. And His favor cannot be purchased by your painfully strict standards.

    Because His favor has been given! You don't have to earn it! God's love can't be earned by checklists, standards, morals, or anything else; it's given. And a life lived by faith is a life radically surrendered to follow Jesus' leading regardless of the intellectual and logical sense of His commands, or even the perceived wisdom in following through with them, even by the church.

    Formulaic Christianity leaves very little room for the working of Jesus Christ in our lives. If we already have our checklists laid out and our standards formed, and that's where our confidence lies to protect us from sin, then Jesus becomes simply a bonus to our morality rather than the basis of all goodness in us and blessings to us.

    Faith and self-reliant morality cannot walk together. Unmerited favor and merited love cannot stand side by side. If you are someone who struggles or has struggled with trying to define your religion by higher standards or checklists, please, please, please! -Jesus Christ is all you need. He gives His Word to guide and His Spirit to lead into all truth. You don't have to stay in bondage to an extra-Biblical rule sheet!

When Life Breaks Your Heart

“When you can’t see past the tears, trust His heart” – C.H. Spurgeon

Usually when we hear the term “broken heart” we think of it in terms of a broken romantic relationship, but the truth is our heart can be broken when anything our heart has hoped in is disappointed. We hope for a job, promotion, or opportunity and we don’t get it; we hope for a certain direction in life and are dissuaded by sickness, finances, family problems, or who-knows what else; we hope for happiness but often trials and heartache find us instead. Proverbs says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick,” (Prov 13:12) and when hope is disappointed the heart is indeed as if “sick,” we just tend to use the term “broken”. Emotional pain is very real… and you can’t put a band-aid on it. If it is not dealt with it can lead to depression and even physical illness. And then you can lose hope altogether which is why it has led some to their death or to the taking of their own life. It is possible to die from a broken heart.

However, as a Christian who believes in both the complete sovereignty and perfect goodness of God, I have often sought to understand His purposes for my trials. The path of pain is often mysterious but we do know that in all things God has one ultimate purpose, to conform His children to the image of Christ (Rom 8:28-29). Each time as I have allowed the Lord to work in my heart He has revealed things in my heart that He wanted to correct. This is not to say that we always bring hardship or pain on ourselves because of our sin, although that is sometimes the case. Often the Lord simply allows us to go through hard circumstances in order to grow our faith. If we never struggled, we would never grow. “No pain, no gain” is a motto that the Apostle Paul exemplified.

While there have been many things that I've learned through seasons of brokenness, the correction (teaching) has often centered around one question the Spirit whispers to my heart, “Beloved, where is your hope?” Psalm 42:5 says, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.” I chose to use the KJV here because I love the beautiful language of the command “Hope thou in God”. In Psalm 27:13-14 it says this, “I would have lost heart unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait I say, on the LORD.” Without hope we lose heart, so we must believe. Believe in what? In the goodness of God! Hold on to your faith that God is good and that one day all will be made right. A.W. Tozer wrote, “Whether we are happy or unhappy at any given time is not important. That we be in the will of God is all that matters. We may safely leave with Him the incident of heartache or happiness. He will know how much we need of either or both.” Yes, feelings matter. And we shouldn’t just dismiss the hurt that someone feels. But feelings are not truth. We must look beyond how we feel to Christ who, by the way, suffered more than we ever could.

Jim and Elisabeth Elliot are two of my heroes. Despite their love and desire to marry they waited about 4 years before Jim finally sensed the Lord’s timing and leading them to be joined. Then, less than 2 ½ years later (when their daughter was only a year old) Jim was killed by the natives he was trying to reach with the Gospel. A few years later Elisabeth spent several years in the jungle with the very men who had murdered her husband teaching them the Scriptures. She remarried fourteen years later but then lost that husband to cancer after only 4 years. Having had her share of intense trials, loss, along with struggles with trusting God and forgiving those who had hurt her, she wrote this, “God never withholds from His child that which His love and wisdom call good. God's refusals are always merciful -- "severe mercies" at times but mercies all the same. God never denies us our hearts desire except to give us something better.”

I am awed by that truth, are you? It’s one of those truths that can be really hard to believe, but yet we must, for it IS true. And there is great comfort in that – that no matter what pain we go through, God has something bigger in mind. May God help us to embrace the hard lessons, for they are the way to growth.

I will close this by sharing my all-time favorite quote. This prayer by Elisabeth Elliot I have often found myself echoing, sometimes amidst tears and feelings of frustration:

Perhaps some future day Lord,

Thy strong hand will lead me to a place where I must stand

Utterly alone.

Alone, O gracious Love

But for Thee;

I shall be satisfied if I can see – Jesus only.

I do not know Thy plans for years to come

My spirit finds its perfect home sufficiency.

Lord, all my desire is before Thee now

Lead on, no matter where, no matter what – I trust in Thee.

But God, Don't You Want Me To Be Happy?

Life does not go our way.

I’m not even going to use the word “often” because it really doesn't go the way we think it will at all. Nothing happens the way we thought it would, and while we can sometimes have a general idea of what’s ahead, the circumstances will still surprise us. More often though, there are times when life goes the very opposite of the way we would have desired. Like Job, we also sometimes begin to complain and question what God is doing. I was in this place recently, and here’s what the Lord revealed to me….

But God, don’t You want me to be happy?

“No dear one… at least not if it’s your definition of happy. My child, you do not know for what you ask. You think you ask for what is best and what will bring happiness and joy, but I alone know what is best for you. Your happiness is not MY goal. My glory and conforming you to Christ is MY goal. If your sense of happiness is defined by your expectations than you will live your life disappointed; but if you surrender and trust Me, hold on to both My sovereignty and My goodness you shall have peace and joy that no one can take from you. In this world you will have trouble, but do not fear, for I have overcome the world. I have a purpose and a plan that is bigger than you can see and it is for your good, just not the good that you have in mind. Trust Me dear one, I am good. I love you with a love that is deeper, wider and higher than anything in existence. I have forgiven you your sins, I have made you My child, I have cleansed and purified you and made you righteous. All this was through Christ’s work and none of your own. It is finished and done and you are perfect in Him. There is no spot in you. I delight in you and rejoice over you with singing. I shall never leave you nor forsake you, for I am yours by covenant. Delight in My love and walk in My steps. I am what you need, I am all you need, and I will satisfy you abundantly.” 

But God, don’t You want me to have dreams?

“Oh yes. I have lots of dreams and desires too. Do you want to know what my biggest dream is? It’s that what I desire might be your desire. You see beloved, your dreams come from a heart that is not pure, eyes that are not all-seeing, and a mind that is not all-knowing. Dear one, I know your desires and dreams seem so precious and important, I know that your heart aches with hardship and sorrow, with hurt and disappointment; but there is more that I have for you. I desire for you to desire none upon the earth besides Me. I dream of My glory being displayed in your life; I long for your heart to be fully given to Me. I gave up much for this dream. Actually, I died for it. Christ died that this passion of My heart might be fulfilled, that people could be redeemed from their sin and brought into fellowship with Me. I am the One you desire, I am the creator of all dreams. Beloved, My desire is towards you, will you not put your desire in Me and give Me your dreams?”

But God, don’t You want me to be healthy?

But God, don’t You want me to succeed?

But God, don’t You want me to have a spouse?

But God, don’t You want me to have good things?

“My child… I desire to give you many good things… but while there are many things that you and I can both call good, there is one ultimate good that I desire for you beloved, and that is Me. I am the “good thing” that you long for. If I give you something, is it not good being from My hand? Am I not good? If I withhold something “good” from you, am I not still good? If I did give you many other good things in this world you would not long for the greater good, that is, Me. What you think is good for you would lead to your ruin, it would merely feed your selfishness. So I may often withhold good things from you My child, because I desire for you to have what is eternally good – a heart that is undivided in its love for Me. What is your good is that you walk before Me in faith and obedience, for that is the way of life. Trust Me beloved, for I am good.” 

But God, I thought life with You was supposed to be happy!?!?

“Oh beloved, you are still looking at your life based on your feelings. It is faith you need, not happy feelings. Feelings change and deceive. I never change, I am the same yesterday, today and forever. Shall not I, the Judge of all the earth, do what is right? I am faithful. I will fulfill My purposes through you. I am good and will work all things for your ultimate good – conformity to the image of Christ. No, it’s not easy, but I bore the worst of it for you and made it possible for you to walk at all. And I will walk with you and carry you through. I will never give up on you. I will always forgive you, for you are Mine. Trust Me, not your feelings. Give Me your heart. In My presence is fullness of joy and at My right hand pleasures forevermore.”

While Job questioned, He also held fast to the sovereignty and goodness of God. He said, “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” (Job 2:10) and “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15). That last sentence always amazed me. “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” How can you trust a God who could bring you to your death, even a painful one like it appeared to be for Job? Because He is good. Even when we don’t understand, even when it looks impossibly difficult, even when it hurts, we can trust in a God who is sovereign, faithful and good. We must trust Him, for otherwise we shall find ourselves resisting Him.

May we find the grace to surrender to His purposes and rest in His everlasting love. That perfect love that will never let us go.

 “If we could see what God could see (which we never will, because we will never be infinite), we would see millions upon millions of purposes in every action of the Son of God. God is never doing just one thing in what He does with us. He is always doing thousands of things that we cannot see. He never has only one purpose in what He does. He always has thousands of purposes in everything He does… For those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, all of them – all of them! – work together for good.”  – John Piper

Do You Know Theology, Or God?

Piper really gets this spot on! :D

"You can read theology 10 hours a day, 40 years long and not know God as beautiful, all satisfying and highest treasure of your life" ~John Piper

No Zeal In The Reformed?

I would agree that in the Reformed spheres, there is certainly a need for more spiritual zeal. HOWEVER, it IS there. Here are some quotes from some of the most prominent Reformers to prove it:

 Charles Spurgeon- You do not know the beginning of true zeal, for the foundation of Christian zeal lies in the heart. The heart must be heavy with grief and yet must beat high with holy ardour. The heart must be vehement in desire, panting continually for God’s glory, or else we shall never attain to anything like the zeal which God would have us know.

Charles Spurgeon- “If you want that splendid power in prayer, you must remain in loving, living, lasting, conscious, practical, abiding union with the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Jonathan Edwards- “The happiness of the creature consists of rejoicing in God, by which also God is magnified and exalted.”

Jonathan Edwards- “To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here.”

John Calvin - “There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice.”

John Calvin- “The gospel is not a doctrine of the tongue, but of life. It cannot be grasped by reason and memory only, but it is fully understood when it possesses the whole soul and penetrates to the inner recesses of the heart.” 

R.C. Sproul- “I was new Christian. My conversation had been sudden and dramatic, a replica for me of the Damascus Road. My life had been turned upside down,, and I was filled with zeal for the sweetness of Christ. I was consumed with a new passion. To study the Scripture. To learn how to pray. To conquer the vices that assaulted my character. To grow in grace. I wanted desperately to make my life count for Christ. My soul was singing, "Lord, I want to be a Christian.”

John Piper- “But to enjoy him we must know him. Seeing is savoring. If he remains a blurry, vague fog, we may be intrigued for a season. But we will not be stunned with joy, as when the fog clears and you find yourself on the brink of some vast precipice.”

John Piper- “Minimizing the importance of transformed feelings makes Christian conversion less supernatural and less radical. It is humanly manageable to make decisions of the will for Christ. No supernatural power is required to pray prayers, sign cards, walk aisles, or even stop sleeping around. Those are good. They just don’t prove that anything spiritual has happened. Christian conversion, on the other hand, is a supernatural, radical thing. The heart is changed. And the evidence of it is not just new decisions, but new affections, new feelings.” 

What Will Thou Do In The Valley?

“Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness,” ~2 Corinthians 9:10

“Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food”

God gives us all that we need for a spiritual relationship with Him. Simply put, Him, the Bible, and us.

“supply and multiply the seed”

He has the power, and WILL multiply what He has given us.

“you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness”

BUT, before He will “multiply the seed”; we have to put in effort. For example, we cannot expect a deep, spiritual relationship with God if we do not regularly read our Bibles, etc.  This reality is further emphasized by the following passage:

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.  For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.  And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” ~Galatians 6:7-9

To put this passage into more easy-to-understand terms:

God is not a God of the lazy, but a God of those who put in effort. If you put your effort into things that are of a sin nature, you will get results of a sin nature. But if you sow according to that which is good and comes from God you will get results that are good and come from God.  This won’t come instantly however. You may have to go quite a while of simply putting in effort before you get the results. But don’t worry, it WILL come, even if it takes a while.

If we think about this in terms of a spiritual relationship with God; we will come to realize that we need to put effort (such as reading our Bibles, prayer, etc.) into a spiritual relationship before we can expect results (spirit of wisdom, revelation in the knowledge of Himself, enlightened eyes of understanding, knowing hope, etc. See Eph. 1:17). 

In my personal opinion, I think we all go through ups and downs in our spiritual relationship with God; or at least I know I have. But one thing I have learned time and time again is that I need to SOW before I can REAP. So badly do we want to reap without sowing; but I am afraid that is not the way life works.

So I encourage you, if right now you are in a valley and not a mountain, read you Bible, pray, get in touch with you God and at the proper time you will reap a harvest if you do not give up.

Do Not Be Yourself

This whole philosophy of "being yourself" is not just in secular circles, but it Christian circles as well. Its sad to think how much we really are effected by our culture's beliefs and ideals without even realizing that it goes against the Bible! We need to be what GOD wants us to be, not be who we are. Who we are is sinful. Who we are is fallen. Who we are is depraved and in desperate need to NOT be ourselves and for someone to give us some other image.  But really, I am not just talking about what GOD wants us to be, but is there anything about yourself you have been wanting to change(as long as that thing is not a sin)? Maybe you want to loose weight, develop a new habit, exercise more, or something else. Don't "be yourself". Be who God calls you to be and secondly, only if this does not go against God's will; be who you want to be.

4 Things God Gives Us

It is for life, hope, happiness and home that we work for.  We can use work as an excuse to distract from God; but in truth He gives us all these things. Life.  Hope. Happiness. Home. 

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. ~ 2 Peter 1:3(NKJV)

Life.  God is the one who gave us life; He breathed it into us.  He not only gave us an earthly life but an eternal one in His presence. 

“The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” ~ Job 33:4(ESV)

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” ~ Genesis 2:7(NKJV)

Hope. God gives us so much to hope for; particularly the future blessings He will bestow on us and the inheritance of living eternally in heaven with Him.  Not only that, but the Bible says that it is in Him that we have our hope. (Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 15:13).

 ^“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland.  And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.  But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” ~Hebrews 11: 13-16(NKJV)

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” ~Revelation 21:4(NKJV)

“ “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” ~ Revelation 22:20(NKJV)

Happiness.  Nothing can make us quite as happy as communion with our maker and fellowship with our Christian brothers and sisters. And yet, our connection to Christ offers us both things.

“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” ~Philippians 4:4  (NKJV)

“Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” ~Isaiah 12:3(NKJV)

“But rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.” ~ 1 Peter 4:13(NKJV)

Home.  God is our refuge, our home. Deuteronomy 33:27 says that "The eternal God is your refuge." Pay attention to three things in that sentence; eternal, God, and refuge. Not only is our God our refuge, but He is an eternal God offering eternal life.

“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” ~ Philippians 3:20(ESV)

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—  to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” ~ Ephesians 3:17-19(NKJV)

“But Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.” ~Hebrews 3:6(NKJV)

“Home, too, is the place of our truest and purest happiness: and it is in God that our hearts find their deepest delight.  We have joy in Him which far surpasses all other joy. It is also for home that we work and labour.” – Charles Spurgeon

“In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.” - In Christ Alone, Keith and Kristyn Getty

The Value Of Friendship And Companionship

"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.  For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.  Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm, but how can one be warm alone?  Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.  And a three fold cord is not quickly broken." ~Eccl. 4:9-12

When our acquaintances become friends, and then our friends turn into close friends, we start caring about one another in a different way. We share our happiness; even if we are sad, the other person being happy is enough to make us happy.  The happiness gets shared! :D

This is not just talking about our non-blood related friends; but our blood related friends as well. Whether it be your child, spouse, parent or sibling share some of your joy with them!

John MacArthur notes on this passage that "Life is better with companionship".  I believe that this kind of companionship is especially true of the marriage relationship: the person you choose to love for the rest of your life.  If God has already put that person in your life, thank Him. If not, pray for that person, whomever they may be.  Just because you don't know who they are yet does not mean you can not pray for them! :-)

"There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." ~Proverbs 18:24

The Grand Scheme Of Things

So..... Last night I had a bit of a burst of inspiration while reading the Bible(which was probably also influenced from what I have been reading of John Piper and Charles Spurgeon) and so I wrote down everything! It mostly has to do with the relation between heaven and earth and then sort of switches points towards the end. Anyway, enjoy! :D

"The Grand Scheme of things.... Heaven, I think, is an everlasting place of worship. On earth, we have only fractional communion with God, and to further that should be our goal. But in heaven there is no sin, therefore nothing separates us from the Holy One. Only the great, ultimate communion and delight in the Lord exists. But not just that. -The delight is expressed more than ever before even thought possible here on earth. And that is worship, and that is the ultimate joy. The Holy Spirit will be "released" everywhere and in everyone. We will eat, drink, breath, and live in the Holy Spirit forever. We will have God our Father, Christ our brother(and Lord), our friends, family, and be in full communion with them all through the Holy Spirit, joined together in worship forevermore and through all eternity. 

This is heaven, and we get a taste of it here on earth. That taste is to drive us; motivate us. And the joy, that is, the taste, brings forth a love for Christ that is to inspire us to live for HIm, and be the instrument He uses to bring more into His joy.

Until we realise this(this is the part I am most not sure of) or at least to some extent, the connection between heaven, earth and a relationship with God I am not sure if we are REALLY Christians. IF this view is not enough, if the thought of worshiping God for all eternity does not sound like the best heaven but is nauseating, how can we possible be in a relationship with God? Doesn't He say "Depart from me, I never knew you" ? Granted, there are times when the seriousness of sin overwhelms us, and that sin temporarily removes us from the same joy we found once before; but this is not to be the case all the time. Both are necessary for only a person who realises he needs to be healed can be healed."

Biblical references: Hebrews 2:10-12, James 4:9-10, Psalm 51:17, Matthew 5:4, John 5:6-8, Mark 2:17, Matthew 9:12,

And also,  please comment; its what keeps me going! Why write to produce good, if no one will read it and therefore it will not produce good?