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- Written by: Don Goulding
Then he said to them, “Therefore every expert in the law who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure what is new and old.” (Matthew 13:52)
The house was shaped like a wedge of pie, with the far end fanning out wider than the narrow entrance. There were practical chairs, tidy library shelves, and huddles of people chatting. I selected a few books to read by the fire. They were plain educational works, but brilliantly true. Conversing with the occupants made for earnest dialogue, but I noticed a door at the rear.
The exit led to a much larger room. The wedge shaped arrangement continued from where the widest rear wall of the previous room left off. It was breathtaking. The books contained new discoveries together with facts from the previous room. Discussions buzzed with excitement. As stimulating as this room was, there was yet another door.
The next room was of the same expanding shape, and so majestic the others fell out of memory. The people were both wonderful and humble.
Such has been my adventure learning about the kingdom of heaven. I began simply, but the beauty soon outpaced my grasp. At each level, the Bible, along with godly books and conversations helped me grapple with the splendor around me. Now God calls me even deeper in. His rooms are as glorious in their expansion as they are unending in their number.
Prayer: Wondrous God, I thrill at what I have yet to learn about your kingdom.
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- Written by: Don Goulding
Then Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit. Just then the temple curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks were split apart. (Matthew 27:50-51)
Hot tears streamed to their chins as Adam and Eve stumbled out of the garden. An invisible barrier forced them away from the fullness of their Creator.
In the time of Moses, the barrier between God and humans manifested into the curtain before the ark. The message was clear—God’s holiness must be separated from man’s sinfulness.
Fourteen hundred years further into history, we came to a crossroads of epochs, and God revealed his wild plan.
At three o’clock on the darkest Friday, a rumble began deep inside the earth. It raced to the surface and, at the point of our Messiah’s last breath, the seismic phenomenon exploded into a reimagined supernatural landscape. As the dust settled, angels were the first to realize what happened.
The physical curtain in the temple, and the spiritual curtain between God and humans, were rent in two. God had taken the topmost hems in hand and shredded the barriers down to the soil line. The new message was even louder than the last. God’s Spirit relocated from the temple’s most holy place into the hearts of his children.
How blessed we are to live on this side of the timeline, after the curtain was torn. With a prayer, I can bring a universe of goodness inside me. I should be shocked that God can now dwell in me. And it would be so if only I wouldn’t take my privilege for granted.
Prayer: Everlasting Life, thank you for destroying the curtain.
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- Written by: Don Goulding
Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)
Dear Brittany,
It’s good you question God’s existence. Faith should be the result of an informed choice. So it’s okay to wrestle our doubt monsters. Let me tell you about a few of mine.
One beast whispers that I’m foolish to disagree with the majority. Most people, he says, know how pointless it is to ask questions about origin and purpose. But I can’t stop thinking about where we came from. The beast mutters scientific theories but he never has an answer for where matter first came from.
Another monster leans into my face, “How could a God of love allow so much suffering?”
I pinch my nose against his breath, and point into the Bible. It says Satan, not God, introduced pain into the world. The Bible changes the question from, where is God when there is suffering? to, where are humans when God offers a solution? That brut goes limp too.
A third monster reminds me that believing in God will mean accountability. He thumps my chest and says I’d better drop the God stuff so I can do what I want.
I reply, “And pretending to hide from accountability is the dumbest kind of stupid.”
Brittany, I know the monsters are powerful. Please don’t give in to them because the new earth will not be the same without your precious smile.
Prayer: Savior God, I pray for more faith for Brittany, for myself, and for all the doubters.