Have you been digging in your soul bank?

Mark 8:36
What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his very soul?

The world is mine to take! I'm on top of the world! I'm living the dream.

We live in times when world domination is a desired goal in many levels. Bill Gates wanted to dominate the world of PCs. Steve Jobs beg to differ. Oprah wants to dominate the world of entertainment. So on and so on.

Take it down to our personal lives and all of us have some measure of wanting to dominate our own world. We rely on our own efforts to achieve domain over things and people around us. We strive for influence, recognition and pride.

But our verse today implies something quite sobering. In the end of every effort where we try to gain something in this world, there is always the danger of having to trade part of your soul for it.

Think about it, think about your past. I've been cashing in my soul for earthly gains all my life! Even when it is obvious, I still do it.

But think again, can you see any time where it was ultimately worth it to exchange part your soul for a temporal earthly gain? You may deny that, sometimes I would like to deny it too because of convenience. But we know the truth don't we? I do. Yet we continue to play the game.

Having said all that, I'm so overjoyed that our Lord God does not treat us in accordance to our performance. His grace transcends our ability to screw up. And we surely need it!

Nevertheless, we should ask God to remind us of this verse next time we go into our soul bank to cash in what we think is a treasure in this world.

Think of today not an unknown future.

Revelation 21:2-4
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of thing has passed away.

The Book of Revelation has been the source of so many in depth Bible studies. Its also been the subject of much controversy and misunderstanding. I read today's verse and I feel the potential for all kinds of debate and difficult discussion. Right now as I'm writing this, I'm reading this verse several times and I'm asking the Holy Spirit to give me guidance.

Most of the time when people talk about the Book of Revelation it is widely understood to be in the future. The "Left Behind" series became popular and literally scared people into changing their life for fear of being "left behind." So the context of most discussions about this book is about something WE must do to assure we are saved or not left behind. That seems totally contrary of the Gospel!

In the middle of today's verse, there is something that hits me right between the eyes. "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them." Is this present or future? Just reading this portion I think every Christian would agree that this has happened already.

Jesus promised the Holy Spirit as our comforter and on the day of Pentacost God came to dwell in us.
In 1 Corinthians 6:19 it says "Your Body, His Temple - Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?"

So why would part of this verse be in the present and another be in the future? Could it be that it is talking about the present?

Now let me now throw together some thoughts to provoke you into thinking about this verse and your Christian life today.

- "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them."

This is obviously talking about today, God is with us. The Bible says He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world. - 1 John 4:4

- "They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God."

This is exactly what Jesus promised when he said "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever" John 14:16

- "He will wipe every tear from their eyes."

Do you let the Holy Spirit wipe your tears today or are you under the impression that you are here to suffer on your own until Christ comes back?

- "There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain"

What kind of death is this talking about? Our bodies will surely die and decay but our soul and spirit have eternal life. If we know this, and REALLY believe it, would there be any reason to cry and mourn?

- "for the old order of thing has passed away."

Look at your past. Don't you see that the old order of thing has changed?

In closing, the way I look at this verse is in the now. Its not meant to give me hope that one day I may escape the awful circumstances I might be in right now. It is a promise for today.

So I challenge you to walk in faith today, we can accept this truth wholeheartedly and gain the freedom that is meant for us TODAY. Get out of living in a quagmire hoping that one day you will be snatched out of your existence to live in the eternal realm of God's perfection.