Elder’s Corner: Your Self Worth

The other day I found a meditation which I would like to share with you. 

--Enrique

If you are spiritually born again...in love with Jesus Christ...value the Word of God as the valuable treasure that it is… you truly are the most priceless miracle to God that He could possibly have executed. 

When you turned your life over to Jesus Christ, you made the wisest decision you could ever make.  One of the greatest reasons for your joy through eternity will be knowing that there are no limitations in what God can do in you, for you, by you, and through you.  Let a little of the reality of that joy slip through each day when life seems such a struggle down here.  It is the greatest equalizer, attitude adjuster, and joy jump-starter I can think of.

Your worth to God is not measured by college degrees hanging on your wall. Your worth to God is not measured by how many financial assets you may possess. Your worth to God is not measured by whatever position you may hold in the work place or your rank in the military. Your worth to God is not measured by how high you score on an IQ test.  Conversely, your worth to God is not measured by how handicapped, crippled or diseased you are, or how impoverished or financially poor you may be.

The truth of the matter is—your worth is measured by what Jesus has done for you. He died for you.—He proved that you are of infinite value! And therefore, by you having received what Jesus has done for you, God the Father is well pleased that He created you—a priceless miracle.

By Norm Rasmussen, for the complete and unedited article see http://www.precious-testimonies.com/Exhortations/u-z/YouAreGodsGreatestMiracle.htm

The Blessed Life #8: No Regrets

 On August 27th, the Todd Becker Foundation came to Eugene High School. During 2 events, Keith Becker shared his brother Todd’s story.  Todd was a high school senior who had a tremendous amount of potential only to die at the age of 18. As I listened to Keith share Todd’s story, probably the most impactful detail for me related to an opportunity Todd passed up on the last day of his life.

Todd was given an offer to have assurance of where he was going to spend eternity. Really the offer was much more than that. Todd had been offered a chance to have peace of mind throughout life, and especially during the moments of life’s end. Sadly, Todd refused.

The Apostle Paul said, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death” (2 Cor. 7:10).  I wonder, if Todd would have been able to reconsider his response with a knowledge of what would happen that night, would he have changed his mind, leading to a radically different outcome?

Interestingly, this was the very opportunity that another man had:

One morning, as a man named Alfred was reading the newspaper, he read the words of his own obituary! This happened as a result of a simple error on the part of the journalist, for Alfred’s brother was the one had just died. Needless to say this was a disturbing experience for Alfred, but what was most disturbing was what was written about him.

The newspaper described how Alfred was a terrible man, “a merchant of death,” making “his fortune by finding a way to kill the most people as ever before in the shortest time possible.” Thus, it described how it was a good thing for this man to be dead. This was definitely not how Alfred saw himself, even though he was partly responsible for others’ deaths as the inventor of dynamite.

Alfred’s life was changed that morning. It was like someone gave him as second chance at life to live with no regrets. So much so, that when Alfred did die 8 years later, his actual obituary read vastly different. In fact each year the world honors someone for taking up the cause which Alfred started: the Nobel Peace Prize.

What would you change if you were in this man’s life? What regrets do you live with that you wish you could leave behind? Sometimes our regrets do not surface until we come face to face with the reality of the life we have been living, like Alfred. Meanwhile still, other regrets only surface in the final moments of our lives. Any regret which you might have or could possibly have, can be erased.

Scripture promises that when we seek the Lord with a repentant heart, He will deliver us from all our fears and therefore enable us to live with no shame (Psalm 34:4-5). Likewise, Scripture gives us a great model of how to pass from this life with no regrets: past, present or future. “...Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13b-14).

Therefore, I encourage you to turn your life over to Jesus Christ, and thus, leave your regrets behind.

In His service,

            Matt 

The Spiritual Reality #2: The 5th Dimension

On September 22, 1922 the entertainment world made a radical leap when the first 3D movie debuted, making images came alive on the big screen. This radical leap gives us a significant illustration of the reality of the spiritual dimension! Prior to 1922, people could only see things in 2D on the big screen, yet much of life takes place beyond those 2 limited dimensions.

Similarly, for a long time now, many have been living in a ‘2D’ world, not recognizing the spiritual dimension that has always been there. I have entitled it the 5th dimension (the 4th dimension is time). Yet in reality there are way more than 5 dimensions; the modern scientific field of quantum physics has proven this! As we journey, our exploration of this new dimension will require that we use specific 5th dimension glasses (similar to how in 1922, the first audience had to put on special glasses to view these new 3D films). To begin our study, we will consider the proof that this dimension does in fact exist.

First, the 5th dimension is revealed through history. The most significant historical event revealing this reality is Jesus’ resurrection. When Jesus rose from the dead, the normal laws of the physical dimensions were superseded. It is natural to question the validity of someone rising from the dead. Some common questions I have encountered, and even raised myself include:

·         What does one do with all the eyewitness accounts? 

·         What about the lack of evidence against His resurrection from ancient historians?

·         Additionally, what does one do with 39 ancient non-Christian historians who support His rising from the dead (Gary Habermas, The Verdict of History)?

If you want to know the answer to these questions you can find them, along with others, at: http://www.eugenechristianchurch.blogspot.com/search/label/Matt%27s%20Matters).

I encourage you to study these answers for yourself. I am confident that as you study these truths, you will join me in coming to the conclusion that Jesus did rise from the dead. And thus, we have our first solid instance of the spiritual reality.

The second proof of the 5D is revealed through predictions of future events. This is not referring to mere luck or calculated reasoning; anyone can guess what will take place. What I am referring to is specific, detailed predictions of the future – predictions that did come to reality. There are 2 examples of such predictive prophecy which I want to draw our attention to:

The first is of a guy named Cyrus. Cyrus was a Persian king who was prophesied about by name 150 years beforehand (Isa. 44-45) who would restore and rebuild Jerusalem which hadn’t been destroyed yet! Furthermore, Cyrus was specifically mentioned before he was ever born.

And the second example comes from Jesus Himself. There are 313 specific prophecies in the OT stating exactly what Jesus was going to be like and do. Some of the prophecies would have been impossible to arrange, like where He was born, how His parents took Him to Egypt shortly after His birth, and how He would die, not to mention the resurrection. Plus, there are numerous historians, both Christian and non-Christian which support what He did.

The statistical probability of any one person fulfilling just 8 of those 313 prophecies is the same as filling the entire state of Texas with silver dollars waist high and placing 2 gold coins at random; then requiring a blindfolded individual to locate those 2 coins in just one attempt per coin. These prophecies supersede the physical dimension and are therefore, a part of the spiritual reality.

The third evidence of our spiritual reality is that of life transformation, especially of individuals radically opposed to Jesus and Christianity. These individuals may have gone so far as to torture and kill Christians. Yet once they encountered the One who transcends the physical realm, Jesus Christ, in a special way, they were never the same. Individuals like Jesus’ own brothers’ James and Jude had rejected Him prior to seeing the resurrected Jesus. Yet after this encounter James became the leader of the church in Jerusalem, and Jude was influential as well. Or who can forget the Apostle Paul who formerly persecuted Christians. Yet after encountering Jesus on the road to Damascus, he became one of the most influential missionaries in history. Then there are modern examples of Lee Strobel, Josh McDowell, and C.S. Lewis. All of these individuals’ lives reveal a kingdom that is not of this world—the spiritual reality.

Based on these three evidences, a case has been made for the spiritual dimension of our world. The only question which remains is whether you will choose to look at the world through the lens of the 5th dimension.

Because of God’s love,

     Matt