Greater realities

Can you imagine why anyone would buy a field in the middle of a war with full knowledge that the opposing army would soon take over?
Jeremiah did just that in Jer. 32!
Crazy though how impractical it might sound that was what he did in obedience to God's command... and that makes it the most practical act! Because he made God's Word visible.

So our pastor at church shared last Sunday...

The practical thing to do might be at odds with what other people think. But it's not what society or even others in the church think... it's what God think, what is in accordance to His will. And to know what He thinks, we'd need a godly perspective.
Life brings us different struggles and sufferings. But the greater realities of life is really that as children of God, we can witness powerfully for Him as the Holy Spirit empowers, we can live powerfully for Him as He changes and transforms us, and we can trust that Jesus our Redeemer paid it all on the Cross so we have eternal salvation!

¹⁴But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. ¹⁵For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, ¹⁶ to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.
2 Corinthians 3:14-16

How are we living for Christ? How are we investing our lives for His glory? How are we hearing His Word - the Truth - and acting out in hope?

One answer I have for myself now is that the blessings of reading and hearing God's Word in Revelations. It's been crazy how I have had to opportunity to meet other Christians who are faithful to Him at Seneca and even more through helping out with War Child Canada. Since I've moved to Toronto about 6 months ago, I have met many Christians for different backgrounds (age, ethnicity, work/interest) and I just find that mind-blowing. Besides living with my auntie who is so enthusiastic about digging deeper into God's Word that she makes me stay up late =P When I found out that a classmate of mine who I already thought was super cool (because of her craziness and compassion for others) was a Christian, I was overjoyed. I found out because she commented on the passage from Romans 8 on my laptop screen (I was just writing a note to encourage another classmate going on a missions trip).

Praise God! I went home and played one of my favourite songs on the piano - Be Unto Your Name. When I got to the chorus, "Holy Holy Lord God Almighty, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain", I had another wave of praise and thanksgiving rising up in me... how exciting and amazing it is that we can all gather one day - peoples from all tribes and nations - worshiping Jesus? Ahhh... it's just mind-blowingly GOOD.

And just yesterday, at the prayer meeting for the tutoring ministry I joined, we were again praying that God brings spiritual hunger into the families (immigrant families, mostly from Muslim countries)... that they may be represented as believers at the end of the ages too. Nothing is impossible with God, though spiritual battles and the everyday life battles seem overwhelming enough, for He is "Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful" (Rev. 17:14b) as the leader of our group prayed.

And this continuing thought hit me again tonight at UWCCF's Mission Night. One of the speakers from New Tribes Mission shared from Rev. 5:9-10:
⁹And they sang a new song, saying,
   "Worthy are you to take the scroll
   and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
   from every tribe and language and people and nation,
¹⁰and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
   and they shall reign on the earth."

This is all too amazing! And yes, Jesus prayed for us to be sent into the world on mission to advance His Kingdom (John 17)!
http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/getting-the-accent-right-not-of-but-sent-into

"...we are sent into the world on mission for gospel advance through disciplemaking.
Jesus’ followers have not only been crucified to the world, but also raised to new life and sent back into it to free others."

So may it be that we can say with Paul wrote in Galatians 6:14
But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.