A Horrible Destiny

 . . . Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:10)

Do you remember the time you were lost as a child, or slipping over a precipice, or about to drown? Then suddenly you were rescued. You held on for “dear life.” You trembled for what you almost lost. You were happy. Oh, so happy, and thankful. And you trembled with joy.

That’s the way I feel at the end of the year about my rescue from God’s wrath. All day Christmas we had a fire in the fireplace. Sometimes the coals were so hot that when I stoked it my hand hurt. I pulled back and shuddered at the horrendous thought of the wrath of God against sin in hell. Oh, how unspeakably horrible that will be!

Christmas afternoon I visited a woman who had been burned over 87 percent of her body. She has been in the hospital since August. My heart broke for her. How wonderful it was to hold out hope to her from God’s word for a new body in the age to come! But I came away not only thinking about her pain in this life, but also about the everlasting pain I have been saved from through Jesus. 

Test my experience with me. Is this trembling joy a fitting way to end the year? Paul was glad that “Jesus . . . delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10). He warned that “for those who . . . do not obey the truth . . . there will be wrath and fury” (Romans 2:8). And “because of [sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness] the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 5:6).

Here at the end of the year, I am finishing my trek through the Bible and reading the last book, Revelation. It is a glorious prophecy of the triumph of God, and the everlasting joy of all who “take the water of life without price” (Revelation 22:17). No more tears, no more pain, no more depression, no more sorrow, no more death, no more sin (Revelation 21:4).

But oh, the horror of not repenting and not holding fast to the testimony of Jesus! The description of the wrath of God by the “apostle of love” (John) is terrifying. Those who spurn God’s love will “drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night” (Revelation 14:10–11).

“And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15). Jesus will “tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty” (Revelation 19:15). And blood will flow “from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 184 miles” (Revelation 14:20). Whatever that vision signifies, it is meant to communicate something unspeakably terrible.

I tremble with joy that I am saved! But oh, the holy wrath of God is a horrible destiny. Flee this, brothers and sisters. Flee this with all your might. And let us save as many as we can! No wonder there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous (Luke 15:7)!

STRIVE TO BE CLOTHED IN WHITE GARMENT!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY DECEMBER 29, 2023.

SUBJECT: STRIVE TO BE CLOTHED IN WHITE GARMENT!

Memory verse: "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the book of life; but I will confess his name before my Father, and before His angels.” (Revelation 3 vs 5.)

READ: Matthew 10 vs 32 - 33; Luke 12 vs 8 - 9:

Matthew 10:32: Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 

But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

Luke 12:8: Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God:

12:9: But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

INTIMATION:

To be “clothed in white garment” means to be set apart for God and made pure. Those who are set apart for God and made pure are those who stand firm in their faith. Christ promises future honor and eternal life to such people. All such people are guaranteed a listing in the ‘Book of Life’ and are introduced to the hosts of heaven as belonging to Christ. Their names are registered in the ‘Book of Life,’ and the book symbolizes God’s knowledge of who belongs to Him. 

As a country has their records of who are their citizens, so do God has the records of those who have been enlisted as citizens of heaven. God does not have to write down the names of the saved in order to remember, He knows those who is His. Those who claim Christ will be claimed by Jesus as His brethren.

The Christian confession is more than words that often give only lip service to God. It requires the commitment of one’s life by sacrificial living. Believers or disciples must offer a living confession before all people whom they live with. Those who are ashamed of letting their spiritual light shine before men as a result of Jesus living in their hearts are certainly not worthy subjects of an eternal dwelling in the presence of God.

At the judgement, the books will be opened. The ‘Book of Life’ contains the names of those who have put their trust in Christ to save them. These books also contain the recorded deeds of everyone; good or evil. Everyone’s life will be reviewed and evaluated. No one is saved by deeds, but deeds are seen as clear evidence of a person’s actual relationship with God. Jesus will look at how we have handled gifts, opportunities, and responsibilities. God’s gracious gift of salvation does not free us from the requirement of faithful obedience and service. Each of us must serve Christ in the best way we know and live each day knowing the books will one day be opened.

Anyone who confesses Jesus Christ (that is, publicly acknowledges faith in, or declares allegiance to Him) will be acknowledged by Christ before His Father in heaven. Jesus’ followers would face earthly courts of law where they would have to publicly claim to belong to Jesus Christ, usually at their peril. Genuine discipleship always involved acknowledging Jesus Christ, whether or not we face pressure and persecution. We acknowledge Him when we (1) live moral, upright, Christ-honoring lives, (2) look for opportunities to share our faith with others, (3) help others in need, (4) take a stand for justice, (5) love others, (6) acknowledge our loyalty to Christ, and (7) use our lives and resources to carry out His desires rather than our own.

By contrast, we deny Jesus when we (1) hope no one will find out we are Christians, (2) decide not to speak up for what is right, (3) are silent about our relationship with God, (4) blend into society, and (5) accept our culture’s non-Christian values. One denies Jesus by not living according to the standards of the One after whom he calls himself. We can reject Jesus now and be rejected by Him at His second coming, or we can accept Him now and be accepted by Him then. Rejecting Jesus may help us escape shame for the time being, but it will guarantee an eternity of shame later.

For those who strive to be clothed in white garment, they cannot imagine all that God has in store for them, both in this life and for eternity. The Scripture says, “But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of Man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” He will create a new heaven and a new earth, and they will live there with Him forever. Until then, His Holy Spirit comforts and guides them. Knowing the wonderful and eternal future that awaits them gives them hope and courage to press on in this life, to endure hardship, and to avoid giving in to temptation. This life is not all there is, the best is yet to come. 

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace to lead a life of complete trust in, and obedience to You as I strive to be clothed in white garments, and live with You forever with You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Glory Is the Goal

 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:2)

Seeing the glory of God is our ultimate hope. “We rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:2). God will “present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy” (Jude 24).

He will “make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory” (Romans 9:23). He “calls you into his own kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:12). “Our blessed hope [is] the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).

Jesus, in all his person and work, is the incarnation and ultimate revelation of the glory of God. “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3). “Father, I desire that they . . . may be with me where I am, to see my glory” Jesus prays in John 17:24. 

“So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed” (1 Peter 5:1). “The creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:21).

“We impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory” (1 Corinthians 2:7). “This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). “Those whom he justified he also glorified” (Romans 8:30).

Seeing and sharing in God’s glory is our ultimate hope through the gospel of Christ.

Such a hope, that is really known and treasured, has a huge and decisive effect on our present values and choices and actions.

Get to know the glory of God. Study the glory of God and the glory of Christ. Study the glory of the world that reveals the glory of God, and the glory of the gospel that reveals the glory of Christ.

Treasure the glory of God in all things and above all things.

Study your soul. Know the glory you are seduced by, and know why you treasure glories that are not God’s glory.

Study your own soul to know how to make the glories of the world collapse like the pagan idol Dagon in 1 Samuel 5:4. Let all glories that distract you from the glory of God shatter in pitiful pieces on the floor of the world’s temples. Treasure the glory of God above all this world.

PREACH THE GOSPEL!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY DECEMBER 28, 2023.

SUBJECT: PREACH THE GOSPEL!

Memory verse: "And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16 vs 15.)

READ: First Corinthians 15 vs 1 - 4:

15:1: Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you have received and which you stand,

15:2: by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless 

you believed in vain.

15:3: For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 

15:4: and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

INTIMATION:

The word “gospel” comes from Greek word “euaggelion,” which means “good news.” However, within the word itself there is no definition of what the good news is. Nonetheless, the apostle Paul, in the passages we read today explains the central message of the good news of God for man in reference to his salvation and hope. The gospel is the good news of Jesus’ death for our sins, and resurrection for our hope. This must be proclaimed to all the world because every person is a sinner. 

The gospel (good news) is that when we trust God's grace to save us through what Christ did, our sins are forgiven, we get a purpose for living, and we are promised a future home in heaven. This is the first message that must be delivered to the unbeliever because the gospel is the only means by which one can be saved (Acts 4 vs 12). Christ died for our sin: All men have sinned (Romans 3 vs 23). Sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59 vs 1 - 2). And in separation from God, one is spiritually dead and doomed to condemnation (Romans 6 vs 23). 

Jesus died for our sins. By trusting Christ, our relationship with God is made right. In order to connect with the historical event of the gospel, one must obey the gospel by being crucified with Jesus, and subsequently dying with Him. In death there must be a burial, as they buried Jesus after He died on the cross. In the same manner the one who has died with Jesus is buried with Jesus, and subsequently raised with Him to walk in newness of life (Romans 6 vs 3 - 6). The gospel, therefore, is the death of Jesus for our problem of sin, and His burial and resurrection for our hope. Through His death, Jesus answered our problem for spiritual death (Romans 5 vs 12). Through His resurrection, He answered our problem of physical death (First Corinthians 15 vs 20 - 22).

In the passage we read today, the central theme of the gospel is given in the verses, a key defense of Christianity. God made you to be a member of His family, a model of His character, a magnifier of His glory, a minister of His grace, and a messenger of His gospel (good news) to others. Of these five purposes, the fifth can only be done on earth, and the only mission Christ has given us on earth. The other four you will keep doing in eternity in some way. That is why spreading the gospel is so important; you only have a short time to share your life message and fulfill your mission for Christ.

Sharing the gospel fully identifies you with Christ in obedience to the “Great Commission,” and emphasizes your acceptance of what Christ wrought for you in redemption. It will be of absolute importance to you when you realize that you have just your short time on earth to fulfill this mission. It is your being convinced of the authenticity of the gospel, and that it is the power of God showcased to man, that makes you share the gospel with others. No amount of training in this world can motivate you to witness for Christ until you internalize the convictions of the gospel. 

God does not want anyone to be lost, but He wants all people to renew their hearts and live (Second Peter 3 vs 9). As long as you know one person who doesn't know Christ, you must keep praying for them, serving them in love, and sharing the gospel (good news) with them. And as long as there is one person in your community who isn't in the family of God, your church must keep reaching out. 

What are you willing to do so that the people you know will go to heaven? Invite them to Church? Share your story? Invite them to a fellowship? Give them Christian tracts and/or books? Pray for them every day until they are saved? The choice is yours. Your mission is all around you. Don't miss the opportunities God is giving you. 

Is anyone going to be in heaven because of you? Will anyone in heaven be able to say to you, "I want to thank you. I'm here because you cared enough to share the Good News with me" Imagine the joy of greeting people in heaven whom you helped get there. The eternal salvation of a single soul is more important than anything else you will ever achieve in life. Only people are going to last forever. 

Prayer: Abba Father, You are love, and has poured out Your love in my heart by the Holy Spirit. Give me the grace to shower this love on others, especially in sharing the gospel; good news of what Christ wrought for us in redemption, that some people through my witnessing may embrace Christ and make heaven, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

What Is Your Aim?

 Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. . . . And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:17) 

When you get up in the morning and you face the day, what do you say to yourself about your hopes for the day? When you look from the beginning of the day to the end of the day, what do you want to happen because you have lived?

If you say, “I don’t even think like that. I just get up and do what I’ve got to do,” then you are cutting yourself off from a basic means of grace and a source of guidance and strength and fruitfulness and joy. It is crystal clear in the Bible, including these texts, that God means for us to aim consciously at something significant in our days. 

God’s revealed will for you is that when you get up in the morning, you don’t drift aimlessly through the day letting mere circumstances alone dictate what you do, but that you aim at something — that you focus on a certain kind of purpose. I’m talking about children here, and teenagers, and adults — single, married, widowed, moms, and every trade and every profession.

Aimlessness is akin to lifelessness. Dead leaves in the back yard may move around more than anything else — more than the dog, more than the children. The wind blows this way, they go this way. The wind blows that way, they go that way. They tumble, they bounce, they skip, they press against a fence, but they have no aim whatsoever. They are full of motion and empty of life.

God did not create humans in his image to be aimless, like lifeless leaves blown around in the backyard of life. He created us to be purposeful — to have a focus and an aim for all our days. What is yours today? What is yours for the new year? A good place to start is 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

DO NOT JUDGE OTHERS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 27, 2023.

SUBJECT: DO NOT JUDGE OTHERS!

Memory verse: "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6 vs 37.)

READ: Matthew 7 vs 1 - 2; Luke 6 vs 37 - 38:

Matthew 7:1: Judge not, that ye be not judged.

7:2: For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

Luke 6:37: Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven:

6:38: Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.

INTIMATION:

To “judge” is to pass sentence, condemn, or punish. It’s to consider and form an idea. To criticize someone for doing wrong. Jesus’ statement, “Judge not,” is not to the right one has to form an opinion or to take notice of and help correct the wrong behavior of others. It is against the kind of hypocritical, judgmental attitude that tears others down in order to build oneself up. One must always look at others with an attitude of love. The statement is not a blanket statement to overlook wrong behavior of others but a call to be discerning rather than negative. 

If we have all sinned, as the Scripture foretold (Romans 3 vs 23), why then do we have to be judgmental and condemning of others who sin. Whenever we find ourselves feeling justifiably angry about someone’s sin, we should be careful. We need to speak out against sin, but we need do so in a spirit of humility. Often the sins we notice most clearly in others are the ones that have taken root in us. If we look closely at ourselves, we may find that we are committing the same sins in more socially acceptable forms. For example, a person who gossips may be very critical of others who gossip about him or her.

The Bible in John 8 tells us the story of the woman caught in adultery, and the Scribes and Pharisees brought her to Jesus, condemned her and judged her in accordance with the law of Moses, ready to stone her to death. Jesus said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” (John 8 vs 7.) This is a significant statement about judging others. By saying that only a sinless person could throw the first stone, He highlighted the importance of compassion and forgiveness. When others are caught in sin, are you quick to pass judgement? To do so is to act as though you have never sinned. 

We are always likely to have hidden sin in our lives, sin we don’t even know about because God’s standards are so high and our performance is so imperfect. Therefore, why judge another? It is tempting to judge fellow Christians, evaluating whether or not they are good followers of Christ. But only God knows a person’s heart, and He is the only one with the right to judge. We are to confront those who are sinning, but we must not judge who is a better servant of Christ. 

When you judge someone, you invariably consider yourself better. And that is arrogant. It is God’s role to judge, not ours. Our role is to show forgiveness and compassion. The Bible says, “Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.” (Romans 14 vs 4.) We are all God’s servants. We are accountable to God only, especially in reference those things that deal with salvational matters. 

Examine your attitude and actions toward others. Do you build people up or tear them down? When you’re ready to criticize someone, remember God’s law of love and say something good instead. Saying something beneficial to others will cure you of finding fault and increase your ability to obey God’s law of love. We long for fair treatment from others, but do we give it? We hate those who base their judgements on appearance, false evidence, or hearsay, but are we quick to judge others using those standards? 

The apostle Paul said, “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself, for you who judge practice the same things.” (Romans 2 vs 1.) This is a confirmation of what Christ said in Luke 6 vs 37 - 38. If we are critical rather compassionate, we will also receive criticism. If we treat others generously, graciously, and compassionately, however, these qualities will come back to us in full measure, and may sometimes surpass ours. We are to love others, not judge them. The thrust of what Jesus stated in those verses is that we will be dealt with by God in the same manner by which we treat our fellow man. Therefore, when we measure mercy to others, God will in turn measure mercy to us. 

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of love, that I may love others, and not be critical of them, treating others with compassion and care, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

How to Contemplate Calamity

 “The waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction assailed me. . . . This God — his way is perfect.” (2 Samuel 22:5, 31)

After the loss of his ten children owing to a natural disaster (Job 1:19), Job said, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). At the end of the book, the inspired writer confirms Job’s understanding of what happened. He says Job’s brothers and sisters “comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him” (Job 42:11).

This has several crucial implications for us — lessons for us here at the dawn of a new year — as we think about calamities in the world and in our lives — like the massive disaster that occurred December 26, 2004, in the Indian Ocean — one of the deadliest natural disasters on record with 1.7 million people made homeless, half a million injured, and over 230,000 killed.

Lesson #1. Satan is not ultimate; God is.

Satan had a hand in Job’s misery, but not the decisive hand. God gave Satan permission to afflict Job (Job 1:12; 2:6). But Job and the writer of this book treat God as the decisive cause. When Satan afflicts Job with sores, Job says to his wife, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10), and the writer calls these satanic sores “the evil that the Lord had brought upon him” (Job 42:11). So, Satan is real. Satan brings misery. But Satan is not ultimate or decisive. He is on a leash. He goes no farther than God decisively permits.

Lesson #2. Even if Satan caused that tsunami in the Indian Ocean the day after Christmas, 2004, he is not the decisive cause of over 200,000 deaths; God is.

God claims power over tsunamis in Job 38:8 and 11 when he asks Job rhetorically, “Who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb . . . and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?” Psalm 89:8–9 says, “O Lord . . . you rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.” And Jesus himself has the same control today as he once did over the deadly threats of waves: “He . . . rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm” (Luke 8:24). In other words, even if Satan caused the earthquake, God could have stopped the waves. But he didn’t.

Lesson #3. Destructive calamities in this world mingle judgment and mercy.

God’s purposes are not simple. Job was a godly man and his miseries were not God’s punishment (Job 1:1, 8). Their design was purifying, not punishment (Job 42:6). James 5:11 says, “You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.”

But we do not know the spiritual condition of Job’s children who died. Job was certainly concerned about them (Job 1:5). God may have taken their life in judgment. We don’t know.

If that is true, then the same calamity proved in the end to be mercy for Job and judgment on his children. This double purpose is true of all calamities. They mingle judgment and mercy. They are both punishment and purification. Suffering, and even death, can be both judgment and mercy at the same time.

The clearest illustration of this is the death of Jesus. It was both judgment and mercy. It was judgment on Jesus because he bore our sins (not his own), and it was mercy toward us who trust him to bear our punishment (Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24) and be our righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). 

Another example is the curse and miseries that have come on this earth because of the fall of Adam and Eve. Those who never believe in Christ experience it as judgment, but believers experience it as merciful, though painful — a preparation for glory. “The creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope” (Romans 8:20). This is God’s subjection. This is why there are tsunamis. But this subjection to futility is “in hope.”

Lesson #4. The heart that Christ gives to his people feels compassion for those who suffer, no matter what their faith is.

When the Bible says, “Weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15), it does not add, “unless God caused the weeping.” Job’s comforters would have done better to weep with Job than talk so much. That does not change when we discover that Job’s suffering was ultimately from God. No, it is right to weep with those who suffer. Pain is pain, no matter who causes it. We are all sinners. Empathy flows not from the causes of pain, but from the company of pain. And we are all in it together.

Lesson #5. Finally, Christ calls us to show mercy to those who suffer, even if they do not deserve it.

That is the meaning of mercy — undeserved help. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27). This is how Christ treated us (Romans 5:10), dying for us when we were his enemies. By that power, and with that example, we do the same.