As a tourist on that land, I knew all I had to do, and those the law doesn’t permit me to. I walked around, visited places, made friends, ate at different restaurants, dressed like them, talked like them, etc,. One day I was walking on the streets when I saw some youth forcing themselves through the windows onto a bus. At that moment, the Spirit of God spoke to me. He said “son, although you try to make yourself like them, you can’t do everything they do. You are not one of them. You belong to a different country. Don’t forget your visa would expire soon and you would have to return. You are a stranger in this land.”
Do you know how to sing this song?
Guide me, O thou great Jehovah,
pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak, but thou art mighty;
hold me with thy powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
feed me till I want no more;
feed me till I want no more
When I returned home that evening, I opened my Bible to the place where Jesus said “ye are not of the world”. (John 15:19 KJV). I am in this world but I don’t belong to the world. Jesus has called me out of the World. I no longer have live or think like the rest of the world. My neighbour may not see what I see, he may not think like I do. All because Christ has given me a new hope, and a new citizenship.
Friends, we are on transit and very soon, we would depart to the Holy City. To see the King of kings. The Alpha and Omega. The Great I AM. Heaven and earth will pass away, including everything we are struggling for; the cars, houses, gadgets, clothes, fame, etc,. All would be destroyed. Let us not be like Lot’s wife, for she loved her world so much that she perished with it. Please let nothing hold you back. We came naked, and we would leave naked. Anytime I watch what happened in Japan, and see how people were running away leaving their houses, cars, clothes, etc, I conclude that the most important thing on earth is our lives. If this is true, then we have to run away from the wrath of God on the last day. We have to strive hard to enter through the Narrow way. We have to know that nothing in this world would guarantee eternal life than Jesus. We are stranger on this world.
Apostle Paul advises that Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after
and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by
the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that
you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of
God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect
[in His sight for you]. (Romans 12:2 AMP)
When you turn on your TV, what do you see? Broad is the way that leads to destruction yet many, including Christians, are trooping in that direction.
Jesus knows the world is the not a safe place for us. In his prayer, He said “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name–the name you gave me–so that they may be one as we are one. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:9-11, 15-17 NIV84). We see plane crash, terrorist attack, war, earthquake, tsunami, motor accident, etc,. These things are happening but God is a shield around His children. He protects His own. Don’t live in fear like any ordinary person. You are God’s masterpiece. Think differently, talk differently, let the world of God dwell in you richly.
I will close with this:
Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,
[or Guide me, O Thou great Redeemer…]
Pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak, but Thou art mighty;
Hold me with Thy powerful hand.
Bread of Heaven, Bread of Heaven,
Feed me till I want no more;
Feed me till I want no more.Open now the crystal fountain,
Whence the healing stream doth flow;
Let the fire and cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through.
Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,
Be Thou still my Strength and Shield;
Be Thou still my Strength and Shield.Lord, I trust Thy mighty power,
Wondrous are Thy works of old;
Thou deliver’st Thine from thralldom,
Who for naught themselves had sold:
Thou didst conquer, Thou didst conquer,
Sin, and Satan and the grave,
Sin, and Satan and the grave.When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside;
Death of deaths, and hell’s destruction,
Land me safe on Canaan’s side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises,
I will ever give to Thee;
I will ever give to Thee.Musing on my habitation,
Musing on my heav’nly home,
Fills my soul with holy longings:
Come, my Jesus, quickly come;
Vanity is all I see;
Lord, I long to be with Thee!
Lord, I long to be with Thee!Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. (1 John 2:15-17 NLT)
Uplifting Christ 
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