Be at Home

Ever wonder where we are to set up shop. Where are we to be all that God would have us be. The answer is where we are. We are to be home working for the LORD.

“⁴and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, ⁵to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.” – Titus 2:4-5 (ESV)

This morning I read this passage and wonder what I am I to learn today. The passage is titled in my ESV Bible, “Teach Sound Doctrine” and Paul is writing to Titus to encourage him in his ministry. Paul is indicating here the role of men and women and how they raise Godly men and women. Where there is a lot to the passage, I was led to the “working at home” statement. We are to work at home where we are.

Yes, Paul is speaking to women and their role here, but I was struck by an extension of it to all of us as followers of Christ. Men are to leave their mother and father to become one with their wife. Wives are to follow their husbands and run the home. Husbands and wives are to be together at home working.

In Lori and my life together, we have not always been working at “home” together. I used to travel 2-3 weeks a month and even at one point lived away from the family for about 4 months until they could finish the school year and we could again be together. Those times were hard. We were not always on the same page in our family. It was only when we came back together at “home” that things seemed to settle in and become more consistent. Lori even worked as a teacher for a few years in the town about 20 minutes from us and it was not until she got a job where we lived that things settled in.

I say all of the above to show that in our family, we are best when we are together at “home” where we are. We are to be a family where we are and not separated. The wife should be close to “home” to care for things there. The husband should be “home” more than not. Together the husband and wife should use “home” as their base of operations and teach their children to do the same.

When it comes to our Christian life, we should be at “home” where we are. I have written to the idea of having a church home where you are and I do believe that. We should also do the work of Christ right here where we are first of all. Our church vision is, to see “A gospel movement that reaches every person of the Hill Country and is carried to the ends of the earth.” We start right here at home. In my home I am to be at “home” with my wife and family doing the work of the LORD right here at “home”.

In our world today, it is common and socially encouraged to look for opportunity in far exotic places. To make a splash somewhere out there in the world. But the Bible teaches us to start right here at home. We are to first get our own home in order and expand out from there. We are to “Teach Sound Doctrine” at “home” where we are now and then allow that to be carried from there. We start by teaching our children that doctrine in our home and allowing them to carry it out to their home. That is the expansion we are to be looking for. We are to be and work right here at “home” where we are.

Where are you looking to God’s work? Are you seeking to make a big splash somewhere in the world? What if you were to do the work of the LORD, at “home” right where you are as your starting point?

Aim to Please the LORD at Home

We have a couple of different homes to speak of, and I am not talking of our summer and winter homes. In each of these homes, our task is to please the LORD.

“¹For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” – 2 Corinthians 5:1 (ESV)

We have a tent/home here in this world and we have a building/home in heaven. Each of these are of value to us. Here in this world, we have the tent/home that is provided by God for us to live in while we are here. And in heaven we have a building/home that is provided by God for us to live in when we arrive. I am not going to talk to or about the temporary and permanent representations that are a tent and a building, although they are worth looking at for sure.

“⁶So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord,” — 2 Corinthians 5:6 (ESV)

While here in this world, we long for our heavenly home. We see ourselves as naked and away from the LORD. I find myself looking at where I am and knowing that I will be so much better off when I find myself at home with the LORD. I know that this world is temporary and that I have a home with the Father just waiting for me to arrive.

“⁹So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. ¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” – 2 Corinthians 5:9-10 (ESV)

But, whether I am here in this world or with the Father in heaven, I am to work to please Him. I am obligated to work for the LORD, as He has provided a home for me. He has provided the tent here in this world and a building in heaven. I am the recipient of the gift and I am accountable to the work I do for Him.

So, whether we are in this world or in heaven, our goal is to please the LORD. It matters not where we are, as our home has been provided by the Him, whether our tent here or building there. We are to aim for pleasing the LORD.

What is your aim in your home? Are you looking out for and pleasing yourself here in this world? What if, knowing that your home is from the LORD, you would aim to please Him as you will be accountable to your work here just as in heaven?

Home Made with Christ

I began a study of the word “home” and this morning I see where and how my home is made. It is made with Christ.

“²³Jesus answered him, ‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.’” – John 14:23 (ESV)

Jesus is speaking to the disciples in the upper room here. He is telling of the coming of the Holy Spirit and discussing the fact that though He will be physically gone, He will always be with them through the Holy Spirit. He is speaking to who He will be with, the disciples, yes, but also those who are in and keep the Word of God. He and the Father will make their home with those who follow and keep the will of the LORD.

“²¹Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him. ²²Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?’” – John 14:21-22 (ESV)

Jesus tells the disciples that He will make himself known to those who love Him and keep His commandments. He is asked is answering the question of Judas as to why He will only make Himself known to some and not the whole world.

Jesus answers Judas and really me as to something that I have long questioned myself. Is Christ for all and will all be saved. The answer is NO. Not all will come to know Christ. Yes, most everyone will hear of Christ, but not everyone will know Him. And as Jesus says, “And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” The Father will only make a home with those who hear of and follows and keeps His Word.

So, how and where is my home made, with Christ. I have a part to play in it. I have to hear of the LORD and study His Word and keep His Word, not just in my mind, but live it out every day. When I do, the LORD will come to me and dwell within me and make His home with me.

Where and how is your home made? Are you working for it on your own? What if you were to hear and follow the Word of the LORD and know that in doing so, He will make His home with you?

Home with Joy and for Rest and Replenishment

Being out there in the world is hard. It is challenging and tiring and frankly a battle at every turn. We are going to expend ourselves fully in pursuit. We are to be pursuing the Father. We are to be out there doing the work that He has for us in this world. We are to give all that we have in the pursuit of doing His work.

“⁴Restore our fortunes, O LORD,

like streams in the Negeb!

⁵Those who sow in tears

shall reap with shouts of joy!

⁶He who goes out weeping,

bearing the seed for sowing,

shall come home with shouts of joy,

bringing his sheaves with him.”

— Psalm 126:4-6 (ESV)

And what after we have expended all that we are to sow the seeds of the LORD, we come home with joy in our hearts for the work is worth it. We will come home rejoicing at the work and with us we bring the satisfaction of knowing that we have sown the seeds of the LORD where He would have us sow. We come home with joy in our hearts even as we are weary from the work, knowing that the LORD will restore us fully so that we are able to go out the next day and do the same.

“⁷Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. ⁸For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. ⁹And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” – Galatians 6:7-9 (ESV)

It is in the sowing for the LORD that we find joy. We are rewarded with and thanks to that which we sow. If we are out there for ourselves, we will reap yes, but the reward will require more work, without rest or joy. But, when we are out there for the LORD, we have His Word to provide rest and replenishment. We find joy in the work and that joy leads to rest so that we can again make our way out for more work the next day.

Yes, we are to be out there doing the work of the LORD and yes, we will get tired from the work. When we return home after the long day of doing the work for the LORD we will find joy in the work and rest in the Word. When we return home we are to rejoice in the work we accomplished and then get back in the Word of the LORD to find rest and replenishment for the next day’s work for Him.

Our home is not just a place for us to anchor, but a place to find joy. We come home, whether our personal home or church home with joy in our heart and seeking rest and replenishment to go out and continue the work of the LORD and returning home again with joy and seeking rest and replenishment to go out and continue the work of the LORD again.

What are you finding at home? Are you finding more of the same, work to keep up? What if you were to do the work of the LORD in the world and come home with joy in your heart and seeking rest and replenishment from the Word to go out again the following day?

Find a Church Home (They are Plentiful)

Have you found a church home? It is a challenge sometimes I know. Lori and I were members of a church for many years in our childhood home. We then moved to another city and it took a few months to find the right church home. We then moved again and it took another while to find the right church home. And then we moved to another a few years later. So the process can take some time, but notice that we did not stop looking for the right church home for us.

“¹How lovely is your dwelling place,

O LORD of hosts!

²My soul longs, yes, faints

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and flesh sing for joy

to the living God.”

— Psalm 84:1-2 (ESV)

The psalm above speaks to the loveliness of the dwelling place of the LORD. We are to seek it out and find joy there. This is not just one singular location. The “dwelling place” of the LORD is where He is and not a single specific place. Remember that the LORD is omnipresent and is everywhere. He is where you need Him to be. So the “dwelling place” is where we can find Him and “sing for joy” to Him.

“³Even the sparrow finds a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may lay her young,

at your altars, O LORD of hosts,

my King and my God.

⁴Blessed are those who dwell in your house,

ever singing your praise!”

— Psalm 84:3-4 (ESV)

And now, where do we find our church home? I cannot say where, physically that is for you. As noted earlier, Lori and I moved a few times and it took time to find the church home for us. But, I will say that if/when we go back to those places, we have a church home to attend. Places where we know we will find a place to “sing for joy” to the LORD.

Looking at the above verses three and four, even sparrows and swallows find a home or nest to raise their young. I think to around my house here. On the front and back porch, we have nests that have been built by some barn swallows. These nests, during the spring and summer times are full with swallows as they have a raise their young. Multiple nests in one location that are not lacking as a home for some. Lori and I like to think that these are the same swallows coming back year after year to a home where they feel comfortable to raise their young.

Churches are the same where you are. There are churches everywhere in your area. I am willing to bet that there is a church home for you in one of them. It may take you some time to find the right one where you find your loving connection to the LORD. But, I will say, you must keep attending and looking for the “dwelling place” of the LORD for you to feel His presence. If not in the first place you go, then go to another, and another, and another. You “sing for joy” in every place and know that the LORD will be there with you.

At some point you will find the “dwelling place” of the LORD that is right for you. And you will find yourself and others singing and worshiping the LORD there always. And even if you move to another area, you will know that you can always return to the church home where you felt comfort to “sing for Joy” to the LORD and know that He is there with you. Don’t give up and keep looking for your church home.

Where is your church home? Do you have one? What if you were to keep searching, knowing that there is a church home for you in your area that is the “dwelling place” of the LORD and you can “sing for joy” to Him?

Even at Home We are Homesick

I had this realization this morning as I studied that it is this homesickness that keeps me down. Not that I am down all the time, but when I am, it is the longing for it all to just resolve as if I was finally able to relax at home.

Isn’t it so that we spend so much of our energy and resources chasing something to satisfy us. Whether it is a new whatever, or an escape to wherever. The thing we should ask is when are we the most satisfied? When we are at home. Without a worry or a care. Even if only for a few minutes or hours or a couple of days, we are relaxed and comfortable.

I remember, and likely have written about it, going camping with a friend and his family for a few days. This guy, although a wonderful Christian man, was the workaholic, always on the go. Yes, he and the family would vacation or he would go hunting, but never for more than a weekend. On this occasion, he and the family were away for 3 nights and 4 days with us. On the final night, as we were sitting around the campfire the conversation steered to him and to all of our amazement, he was completely sacked out in the lawn chair. We let him sleep and the next morning he thanked us for the feeling of relaxation. He felt at home.

Isn’t this the feeling that we all long for. Not a worry in the world and the chance to relax and be at home. Aren’t we all looking for that chance to just sack out without a worry in the world. I am here to say that we have that available to us now and should be taking advantage of the experience at all times.

“¹⁴Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;

shout, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

O daughter of Jerusalem!

¹⁵The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;

he has cleared away your enemies.

The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;

you shall never again fear evil.”

— Zephaniah 3:14-15 (ESV)

We are longing for satisfaction. We seek it everywhere. Yet we forget that it is within our grasp at all times. It is okay to be homesick for that place where everything will be glorious. Our eternal home, the New Earth with Heaven at the center. No, are are not there, yet. But we can and should be looking forward to it as Zephaniah indicates. We should “Sing aloud”. We should celebrate that “The LORD has taken away the judgments”. We should hold on to the fact that those times of rest and relaxation and comfort are just on the horizon and that it is okay to be homesick for our eternal home.

What are you longing? Are you looking to satisfy your homesickness even though you are in your earthly home? What if you accepted that it is okay to be homesick for the life you know will be glorious in Heaven and the New Earth?

Our Bodies Will Be Ours, Will New Earth Be As Well

Let me clarify a bit of the title. I am asking will the New Earth be a place familiar to us, or will it be a place we have never seen yet better than what we know.

Let me start with what we know. What is it about “home”? Well, for me home is familiar. It is comfortable, filled with love, and a place I can kick my shoes off and relax in. I remember when Lori and I and the boys moved back to Texas. We enjoyed our time in Maryland and would not trade it for anything, yet when we crossed the Red River into Texas, we felt the difference. We still had about 6-7 hours until we reached our final destination, but we were home. It was familiar and comfortable and a place we felt compelled to kick off our shoes and relax.

The New Earth will be like that. We will be familiar with the surroundings. We will be comfortable. We will feel the love there. We will know people. We will feel compelled to kick off our shoes and rest. So yes, the New Earth will be ours as well. We will know the place as our home and find comfort there.

“¹Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. ²In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” – John 14:1-2 (ESV)

Randy Alcorn wrote the following that I believe captures what we will find, “This damaged creation cries out to be repaired, and it is His plan to repair it. He’s going to remodel the old earth on a grand scale.” Christ is fixing all the cracks in the wall. He is remodel the kitchen and painting the bedrooms. Jesus is mowing the grass and adding new landscaping. He is fixing the fence and putting on a new roof. But even with all of the fixing up, we will know that we are home. The creak in the floor when you walk in the front door will still be there. The layout from the kitchen to the back porch will still be the same. And He will be there to great us and welcome us HOME.

What is your thought as to the New Earth? Do you believe it will be all new such that you have never seen before? What difference is the feeling to know that it will be familiar and you will know the New Earth to be the place of comfort and rest that you remember, only back to before it was broken?