When I Get Where I'm Going

When I get where I'm going

on the far side of the sky.

The first thing that I'm gonna do

Is spread my wings and fly.

I'm gonna land beside a lion,

and run my fingers through his mane.

Or I might find out what it's like

To ride a drop of rain

(Chorus:)

Yeah when I get where I'm going,

there'll be only happy tears.

I will shed the sins and struggles

I have carried all these years.

And I'll leave my heart wide open,

I will love and have no fear.

Yeah when I get where I'm going,

Don't cry for me down here.

I'm gonna walk with my grandaddy,

and he'll match me step for step,

and I'll tell him how I missed him,

every minute since he left.

Then I'll hug his neck.

(Chorus)

Yeah when I get where I'm going,

there'll be only happy tears.

I will shed the sins and struggles

I have carried all these years.

And I'll leave my heart wide open,

I will love and have no fear.

Yeah when I get where I'm going,

Don't cry for me down here.

So much pain and so much darkness,

in this world we stumble through.

All these questions, I can't answer,

so much work to do.

But when I get where I'm going,

and I see my Maker's face.

I'll stand forever in the light,

of His amazing grace.

Yeah when I get where I'm going,

Yeah when I get where I'm going,

there'll be only happy tears.

Hallelujah!

I will love and have no fear.

When I get where I'm going.

Yeah when I get where I'm going.

(Courtesy of Brad Paisley)

Grace Is For Christians Too!

Why are there so many Christians out there that are continually bogged down? There are a surprising number of believers who have to pretend at church on Sunday morning, that all is well and they are happy, happy, happy!
As Christians, it's okay not to feel happy all the time - in fact, Jesus promised us in the Bible that when you become a Christian, life will get harder! The good thing is that He will be with us to get us through the hard times.

There are many reasons why there are a lot of Christians who have to pretend to have joy, but I want to focus on what I think is one of the biggest. Grace. When someone new comes to Christ, we are so happy for them, and even the angels in Heaven rejoice and "party on" because of it. Why are we excited? Because that person has received the grace of God. Without grace, no one would be able to go to Heaven at all!

Let's focus on this new believer...he learns more about God, reads the Bible, prays, converts some of his family and friends, goes to church, worships with other Christians, and life is good. Fast-forward a few years. He is still going to church, still prays and reads his Bible (sometimes!) life is still good (sometimes!) but he still sins. Maybe he has a reoccurring sin that is weighing him down so much that it is all he thinks about.

Now he feels guilty, ashamed and condemned. He probably hears Satan whisper things like: "You're a hypocrite!", "How can God forgive you for this over and over again?", "God has given up on you because of this!", and "You might as well do it again because its the only thing that is going to make you feel good now!"

He starts to believe these lies, and he gets trapped further in his sin. But it doesn't make him feel any better; instead he feels more guilty, more ashamed and more condemned.

He will continue on like this unless he remembers how he came to God in the first place - empty-handed. You can't earn God's grace as an unbeliever, and you can't do anything to earn it as a believer either! His grace remains the same no matter what. It is us who change, not God's grace. Jesus died for ALL of our sins, not just the ones we committed before we knew Him! Also, He knew everything we would ever think or do (good and bad) before He died for us, and before He brought us to Him. You can't surprise God!

It doesn't matter how long you have been a Christian, or how much you know about the Bible, or how big your sin is. His grace is enough to cover ALL of our sins, and it is one of the many gifts He gives to anyone who chooses to take it - whether you're new to Him or you've been around for years.

Accept His grace, read Romans 8 and live a free life!

Can We Pick & Choose?

We hear it all the time: "That doesn't matter, it's not relevant because it is from the Old Testament."
Yet, if something will be helpful to our argument or our situation, we will readily take and use truths from the Old Testament.

Some people think that the Old Testament is only made up of interesting stories that can teach children good morals in Sunday school, or that those 39 books are only there as proof that the people mentioned in the Bible were really alive. (This would be done through the genealogies).

We cannot escape the fact that the Old Testament is and always will be a part of the Bible - the infallible and perfect Word of God. We are the reason that God decided to write everything down! It is all there so that we can know how to live out our lives for Him. When the day of judgement comes, I hope no one will stand before God and say something like: "But God, I didn't know how!" or "But I didn't know what You wanted!" You know just how He'll answer that, don't you? He will pick up the Bible and say, "Um, I wrote it down for you!"

So if the Old Testament is a part of God's Word, and we are meant to use it, along with the New Testament, and apply all of it to how we live our lives, then how can we pick and choose what we will or won't use? The answer is simple - we can't.

If you are going to cut up the Old Testament and only take certain things as relevant to you, then you can't take anything from the Old Testament - it all goes in the trash. You simply cannot pick and choose what applies to you and what doesn't. It ALL applies! It is ALL relevant!

The number one thing I hear when people are doing this is: "Tithing is only for the Old Testament, not for the New." Now, I have something to confess here...I am guilty of this myself! I believed this for years, but I never felt truly right about it, and one day I decided to put it to the test. In Malachi 3:10, God says that we can test Him in this (tithing). I tithed for the first time in years. Right away, doors opened up for me that I thought were impossible, and some of them, I never would have thought to ask for! More importantly, I felt right again.

There are other issues that people like to pick and choose about in the Old Testament, and the same applies to these. If it is in the Bible, it is relevant, and it is meant for you!