Posts Tagged ‘ House ’
“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.”
John 14:1-3, ESV
When we believe in the work of Christ, we are reserved a space in eternity, and He has sent the Holy Spirit as a deposit to remind us of this hope.
I have started (and with this one finish) a small group series on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). I am sharing my notes in case anyone else wants to use them with their group. [Reminder that these are only notes!]
Matthew 5:1-2:
Jesus wants to teach the crowds: Who are they? Jewish disciples: People who understand the
Scriptures (at least to a point). Notice from 7:28 the crowds still came along, but this teaching is for His disciples.
What does “blessed” mean?
Based on the first twelve verses, blessed means realizing our own wretchedness and need for a Savior. In other words, it is becoming/being a Christian.
What was discussed last time?
Matthew 7:24-27:
Foolish and Wise builders
Matthew 7:28-9:
“Astonished”
Have we counted the cost?
Are we being wise, studying His Word and applying it; or foolish, taking what we like and throwing out
the rest?
Are we listening to the under-shepherds or the wolves in sheep’s clothing?
Get your thrills (and some wisdom) over at Proverbial Thought!
Jesus said to His disciples just before His arrest, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:1-3)
My wife and I have thought about this verse a lot recently (such as in this post last month).
Home Renovations
As of this posting, we have had they keys to our house for a week and a half!
The promise has been made. We have a home.
The thing is, it has been 
and emptied by people, so we cannot move in, yet.
On top of being summer in Phoenix, AZ, we have needed to go in (early, to avoid the 115 degree or higher temperatures in a house without air conditioning) to clean things before they can be painted.
We have to keep meeting with people to figure out colors, placements, designs, materials, and all of the hows and whys.
It takes cleaning things, removing walls and fixtures, building new walls and fixtures, renewing the electricity and water, replacing floors and ceilings and doors and locks.
Did I mention this is in the summer heat of Phoenix, Arizona?
And we cannot do it all. We have to have help every single step of the way, those with the knowledge and expertise to make our dirty, empty house into a beautiful new home.
It can be overwhelming at times, and sometimes it can be discouraging as we wait. But we have a hope that keeps us going that one day we can go to our home.
Spiritual Renovations
Likewise, we experience difficulties in this life for a myriad of reasons. As Christians, we know that God is preparing us for our Home with Him.
We will go through changes, many as we choose to let the Holy Spirit change us and many as God moves us through situations and seasons to change us.
All the while we see how fallen our world is, and we long for a better home.
Actually, I think Paul said it best:
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
2 Corinthians 4:16-5:5
We may face struggles and troubles in this life, but we can endure. We endure because Jesus Christ made us a promise that He is getting a Home ready for us, and He proved His promise is true by dying on a cross and rising from the dead three days later.
If Jesus can come back from the dead, He will come back to Earth one day to take us Home!
Winnow out wisdom over at Proverbial Thought.
Buying a House
My wife and I are in the process of getting a house.
There have been many issues to arise along the way.
Obviously there is a lot of paperwork. Our entire history is looked into, and a massive amount of money has to be spent.
One of the more amazing parts of the buying a house is the escrow account.
The escrow account holds funds to help with closing costs during the buying process, and it collects money throughout the year to help pay taxes, HOA fees, and insurance. The bank takes care of all of this for us.
However, we do not see anything on our investment until the end of the process. We have put in all of this money and time, and everyone already considers this house as ours. For the time being, we must eagerly wait to get all of the benefits of our work.
Already/Not Yet
There is an interesting part of theology known as the “Already/Not Yet” part of Christ’s work and the Kingdom of Heaven.
Christ has paid the closing costs of our redemption through His sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection from the grave.
We join with Him, through the power of the Holy Spirit, in the work of reaching out to our fallen world.
It is a lot of work that requires a lot of time and energy. The cost is high, at points costing a Christian everything.
Now, you see, we are already redeemed for Christ in anticipation of eternity and for His work in this life.
However, we wait for the final redemption.
The payment has been made, and we continue to do the work. Eternity with God is already considered ours.
While we work, we await the redemption of our fallen world and our physical bodies that is not yet come to us. Our work with and for God is God preparing us for a world we do not yet see.
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Romans 8:18-30, NIV
a simple man of God 