Rev. 21:3-4 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever."
We are not home yet. We are not where God is at. He is amongst us and within us, but this is not where He dwells. God’s home is beyond description. It is a place where there is no sin, sickness, sorrow, soreness, or separation from God. It is a place that is filled with nothing but the glory of God. It is a place where all who live there are pure in heart and holy to the core of their being. It is a place completely devoid of all that is sinful and evil. It is a place of pure joy all the time.
There will be a shout from the throne of God declaring that we made it, that we are finally home. What a glorious moment that will be! The reality will hit us like a ton of bricks. All that we longed for will be before our eyes. The splendor and glory of heaven will be ours to enjoy forever and ever. Our faith will be done away with for then all faith will be made sight before our very eyes.
We live in a world that is dark with evil. Sin manifests itself in a multitude of ways all the time. There is no reprieve on earth from sin. Wicked is the heart of man and we cannot avoid it. In this world there is great pain and sorrow. We bear the consequences of sin in our bodies, minds and souls. It takes tremendous effort to stay away from sinning against God. It takes tremendous dedication and determination to live holy lives on earth.
In heaven what takes so much effort on our part on earth will be the norm. Everyone will be holy and pure in heart. Everyone will exercise godly love naturally. We will no longer need to stand guard over our souls, because no sin will be found there. We will no longer be plagued by selfishness, greed or pride. We will no longer feel alienated from God for God will be there with us always. We will no longer feel like we are all alone, for all who will be there will be lovers of God like we are. There will no longer be divisions amongst us, for we will truly be one in Christ.
Hang in there, dear friend. It will be worth it all when we get home to see Jesus and live with Him forever.
Saturday, January 7, 2017
Friday, January 6, 2017
THE BOOK OF LIFE
Rev. 20:12 I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to the things written in the books, according to what they had done.
Everyone who has ever lived will stand before God’s throne to give an account for how they have lived their life. God knows quite well what is going on in our lives and through our minds. He knows whether or not Jesus makes us tick or not. He has recorded in heaven how we live and whether or not Jesus is our Savior.
Now, whether or not there are actual books in heaven that God keeps to record each one’s life is not important to know. What is important is that God knows. He is able to distinguish each soul from one another, to know their hearts, and not forget any of it. He has personal knowledge of everyone and will hold everyone accountable for his life.
Those who are His have their names written down in the Book of Life. Each name written there has been put there by Jesus, written in the precious blood of Calvary. Jesus alone has access to the book. Only those who are truly saved will have their names written there. He alone has the authority to open it, write in it and reveal whose names are written there. On Judgment Day He will open the Book of Life and those whose names are written there will enter into heaven with Him.
God will reward those who have done well and judge severely those whose names are not written there. All of the redeemed will receive their just reward. Those who are the most faithful will receive the greater rewards. We need to be faithful in our love for the Lord. Those who are faithful will live life consistent with the life of faith, they will pursue and put into practice those things which produce strong faith, and they will let faith determine and impact the things they do, say, and think. Let us live so that great will be our reward in heaven.
Everyone who has ever lived will stand before God’s throne to give an account for how they have lived their life. God knows quite well what is going on in our lives and through our minds. He knows whether or not Jesus makes us tick or not. He has recorded in heaven how we live and whether or not Jesus is our Savior.
Now, whether or not there are actual books in heaven that God keeps to record each one’s life is not important to know. What is important is that God knows. He is able to distinguish each soul from one another, to know their hearts, and not forget any of it. He has personal knowledge of everyone and will hold everyone accountable for his life.
Those who are His have their names written down in the Book of Life. Each name written there has been put there by Jesus, written in the precious blood of Calvary. Jesus alone has access to the book. Only those who are truly saved will have their names written there. He alone has the authority to open it, write in it and reveal whose names are written there. On Judgment Day He will open the Book of Life and those whose names are written there will enter into heaven with Him.
God will reward those who have done well and judge severely those whose names are not written there. All of the redeemed will receive their just reward. Those who are the most faithful will receive the greater rewards. We need to be faithful in our love for the Lord. Those who are faithful will live life consistent with the life of faith, they will pursue and put into practice those things which produce strong faith, and they will let faith determine and impact the things they do, say, and think. Let us live so that great will be our reward in heaven.
Thursday, January 5, 2017
AT GOD'S JUDGMENT SEAT
Rev. 20:11-15 And I saw a great white throne, and I saw the one who was sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God's throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to the things written in the books, according to what they had done. The sea gave up the dead in it, and death and the grave gave up the dead in them. They were all judged according to their deeds. And death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death--the lake of fire. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life were thrown into the sea.
God makes it very clear, there is coming a Judgment Day. Every human being who has ever lived will stand before God, stripped of everything but their naked soul. God will know everything there is to know about the soul and will determine justly where we will spend eternity. His standard for judgment will be His holiness and the righteousness of Christ. God will show mercy to those who deserve it and judgment to those who don't. No one will escape their appointed time for judgment. Those whose names are recorded in heaven will be heaven and those whose names are not found will end up in hell.
There is a mystery surrounding God's judgment that we will never solve on earth. How He will judge fairly all humanity we will never know. There are multitudes of people who have never heard of Christ. There are multitudes of people who have never had the chance to hear. We don't know how God is going to treat them. We are told that all will be judged according to their deeds. God knows what we do and why we do them. We don't know what all will enter into God's judgment, but we do know that God is holy and will make no mistakes. Each of us will spend eternity exactly where we deserve to be.
The issue is not what we don't know, it is what we do know. Do you know for sure that you are ready to face God? The only opportunity you will ever have to be ready is in this life. There will be no second chances once you die. And, you may only have today to be ready. We don't know when our last opportunity may come to get right with God. Jesus wants to help you know for sure you are ready. Will you let Him help you today?
God makes it very clear, there is coming a Judgment Day. Every human being who has ever lived will stand before God, stripped of everything but their naked soul. God will know everything there is to know about the soul and will determine justly where we will spend eternity. His standard for judgment will be His holiness and the righteousness of Christ. God will show mercy to those who deserve it and judgment to those who don't. No one will escape their appointed time for judgment. Those whose names are recorded in heaven will be heaven and those whose names are not found will end up in hell.
There is a mystery surrounding God's judgment that we will never solve on earth. How He will judge fairly all humanity we will never know. There are multitudes of people who have never heard of Christ. There are multitudes of people who have never had the chance to hear. We don't know how God is going to treat them. We are told that all will be judged according to their deeds. God knows what we do and why we do them. We don't know what all will enter into God's judgment, but we do know that God is holy and will make no mistakes. Each of us will spend eternity exactly where we deserve to be.
The issue is not what we don't know, it is what we do know. Do you know for sure that you are ready to face God? The only opportunity you will ever have to be ready is in this life. There will be no second chances once you die. And, you may only have today to be ready. We don't know when our last opportunity may come to get right with God. Jesus wants to help you know for sure you are ready. Will you let Him help you today?
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
ON CHRIST'S THRONE
Rev. 3:19-21 "I am the one who corrects and disciplines everyone I love. Be diligent and turn from your indifference. Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends. I will invite everyone who is victorious to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne."
Do you like to be disciplined? Most of us try to avoid it. We don't like the discomfort and pain that it often brings. We don't like to see ourselves deserving of it. We don't like to be shamed because of what we may have said or done.
The Lord disciplines those He loves. It can happen in a variety of ways and for a variety of reasons. More than likely He disciplines us when we wander away from Him and drift into sinful behavior. His discipline can come from the chastisement of others, His Word as we meditate on it, a lack of peace and joyfulness in life, the convicting work of the Holy Spirit, God withholding His blessings from us and allowing us to experience troubled times of life, etc. However the Lord chooses to discipline us, it is always for our good with the intention of drawing us back to Him.
The Lord wants you to pay attention to Him today and quit treating Him with indifference. He is waiting patiently at your heart door for you to open it up to Him and let Him in. He wants what is best for you and to save you from yourself. He wants to show you just how wonderful fellowship with Him really is. He will not force His way into your life. You must invite Him in and let Him lead you into a life of peace and joy. It may not be comfortable for you while He fixes things up in your heart, but the reward will be victory over sin and it will be great.
Think about what it means to sit with Christ on His throne. We cannot possibly grasp all that it means for us. In fact, we probably know very little of what it truly means. What we do know is that Christ sits on His throne with constant exposure to God on His throne and that He sits in victory over sin. There is never a moment in which Jesus is away from God in all His glory. The power and authority that is God's rests in Jesus. He does anything He desires to do because He always does what is holy with purity of heart.
When we sit with Christ on His throne, we become like Him. All that Christ is rubs off on us. We become like Him and are able to live holy lives capable of doing anything our hearts desire because we desire from pure hearts.
The Lord invites us to join Him on His throne. Are you sitting with Him today?
Do you like to be disciplined? Most of us try to avoid it. We don't like the discomfort and pain that it often brings. We don't like to see ourselves deserving of it. We don't like to be shamed because of what we may have said or done.
The Lord disciplines those He loves. It can happen in a variety of ways and for a variety of reasons. More than likely He disciplines us when we wander away from Him and drift into sinful behavior. His discipline can come from the chastisement of others, His Word as we meditate on it, a lack of peace and joyfulness in life, the convicting work of the Holy Spirit, God withholding His blessings from us and allowing us to experience troubled times of life, etc. However the Lord chooses to discipline us, it is always for our good with the intention of drawing us back to Him.
The Lord wants you to pay attention to Him today and quit treating Him with indifference. He is waiting patiently at your heart door for you to open it up to Him and let Him in. He wants what is best for you and to save you from yourself. He wants to show you just how wonderful fellowship with Him really is. He will not force His way into your life. You must invite Him in and let Him lead you into a life of peace and joy. It may not be comfortable for you while He fixes things up in your heart, but the reward will be victory over sin and it will be great.
Think about what it means to sit with Christ on His throne. We cannot possibly grasp all that it means for us. In fact, we probably know very little of what it truly means. What we do know is that Christ sits on His throne with constant exposure to God on His throne and that He sits in victory over sin. There is never a moment in which Jesus is away from God in all His glory. The power and authority that is God's rests in Jesus. He does anything He desires to do because He always does what is holy with purity of heart.
When we sit with Christ on His throne, we become like Him. All that Christ is rubs off on us. We become like Him and are able to live holy lives capable of doing anything our hearts desire because we desire from pure hearts.
The Lord invites us to join Him on His throne. Are you sitting with Him today?
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
OUR NEED FOR THE LORD
Rev. 3:17 "You say, ‘I don’t need a thing! And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked."
It is a dangerous thing to get the attitude that you are just fine the way you are, that you don’t need anything else from the Lord. Whenever we begin to get the idea that we have arrived in our walk with the Lord and we don’t need to pursue growth anymore, we become fools in our thinking. In this life, no one ever gets to the point where they can stand on their own two feet and coast the rest of the way home to heaven. We need the Lord at all times and must always lean on Him and not our laurels for our salvation.
We stumble and fall whenever we become content with who we are in Christ. There must always be a need for Him and a desire for more and more of Him. We never have been and never will be self-sufficient in our spiritual lives.
We are easily convinced that we are where we need to be with Christ. What we must accept is that apart from a vibrant relationship with Him, we are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked beings. Sin consumes the soul that tries to live independently from Christ. Sin takes over when we cease to understand our need for Him. When we lose our sense of need for the Lord, we quickly drift away from Him and lose our way to Him.
Take a moment, pause and think about what you need from the Lord right now. What are you facing that sure could use God’s guidance, strength, grace, wisdom, comfort, encouragement, or patience? Or perhaps, you need His forgiveness, greater faith, greater understanding of truth, or better understanding of yourself and your place in His kingdom. Whatever your need may be, we need the Lord, every day and every hour. Blessed is he who understands this life-changing truth.
It is a dangerous thing to get the attitude that you are just fine the way you are, that you don’t need anything else from the Lord. Whenever we begin to get the idea that we have arrived in our walk with the Lord and we don’t need to pursue growth anymore, we become fools in our thinking. In this life, no one ever gets to the point where they can stand on their own two feet and coast the rest of the way home to heaven. We need the Lord at all times and must always lean on Him and not our laurels for our salvation.
We stumble and fall whenever we become content with who we are in Christ. There must always be a need for Him and a desire for more and more of Him. We never have been and never will be self-sufficient in our spiritual lives.
We are easily convinced that we are where we need to be with Christ. What we must accept is that apart from a vibrant relationship with Him, we are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked beings. Sin consumes the soul that tries to live independently from Christ. Sin takes over when we cease to understand our need for Him. When we lose our sense of need for the Lord, we quickly drift away from Him and lose our way to Him.
Take a moment, pause and think about what you need from the Lord right now. What are you facing that sure could use God’s guidance, strength, grace, wisdom, comfort, encouragement, or patience? Or perhaps, you need His forgiveness, greater faith, greater understanding of truth, or better understanding of yourself and your place in His kingdom. Whatever your need may be, we need the Lord, every day and every hour. Blessed is he who understands this life-changing truth.
Monday, January 2, 2017
GOD'S REPULSION
Rev. 3:14-16 "Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen--the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. "I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, I will spit you out of my mouth!' "
There are so many professing Christians who need to hear this message over and over again. They are lethargic when it comes to their faith. They drift along in life without much of anything happening in their walk with the Lord. They profess belief in Christ and claim His forgiveness for their sins, yet that is about all that their faith amounts to. They go through life without much fire in their faith. They are not witnessing for Him, or seizing opportunities they are given to grow and serve. They are content to believe so that they won't go to hell when they die, but are not much interested in taking faith any further than that. Maybe you are one of them. They don't read their Bibles much or pray only when they are in need.
Jesus gives us this warning: it doesn't work. God does not accept lukewarm Christianity. It repulses Him when we treat faith as nothing more than fire insurance. He wants our passionate allegiance to Him. He demands it. If you are not set on fire for God, you are treading on dangerous ground. Only he who is passionate about God is able to accomplish anything for God. Passion is what drives us to do what we do.
Passion is what keeps us from living in sin. It is what keeps us seeking God. It is what keeps our flame of love burning brightly for God and others. It is what keeps us wanting to tell others about Him. As far as God is concerned, there is no such thing as a listless Christian.
A passionless Christian is no different than one who is cold towards the things of God. In fact, he is probably better off being cold than lukewarm. At least, someone who is spiritually cold is not pretending to be someone he isn't.
Hear what the Lord says about those who treat faith with such contempt, "I will spit you out of my mouth!" If you are treading water and not going anywhere in your faith, let the Lord fire you up now before it is too late.
There are so many professing Christians who need to hear this message over and over again. They are lethargic when it comes to their faith. They drift along in life without much of anything happening in their walk with the Lord. They profess belief in Christ and claim His forgiveness for their sins, yet that is about all that their faith amounts to. They go through life without much fire in their faith. They are not witnessing for Him, or seizing opportunities they are given to grow and serve. They are content to believe so that they won't go to hell when they die, but are not much interested in taking faith any further than that. Maybe you are one of them. They don't read their Bibles much or pray only when they are in need.
Jesus gives us this warning: it doesn't work. God does not accept lukewarm Christianity. It repulses Him when we treat faith as nothing more than fire insurance. He wants our passionate allegiance to Him. He demands it. If you are not set on fire for God, you are treading on dangerous ground. Only he who is passionate about God is able to accomplish anything for God. Passion is what drives us to do what we do.
Passion is what keeps us from living in sin. It is what keeps us seeking God. It is what keeps our flame of love burning brightly for God and others. It is what keeps us wanting to tell others about Him. As far as God is concerned, there is no such thing as a listless Christian.
A passionless Christian is no different than one who is cold towards the things of God. In fact, he is probably better off being cold than lukewarm. At least, someone who is spiritually cold is not pretending to be someone he isn't.
Hear what the Lord says about those who treat faith with such contempt, "I will spit you out of my mouth!" If you are treading water and not going anywhere in your faith, let the Lord fire you up now before it is too late.
Sunday, January 1, 2017
HOLD ON TO WHAT YOU HAVE
Rev. 3:11-12 "Look, I am coming quickly. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown. All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write my God's name on them, and they will be citizens in the city of my God--the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God. And they will have my new name inscribed upon them.
The Lord is coming quickly, how soon we don't know, but when He does it will be very quick. We must always strive to be ready at all times. We must hold on tightly to the faith we have. We must not let anyone hinder us from living in Christ or for Him.
We must stay the course and live in victory over our sins. We who do are the pillars of the faith. We are in Christ and Christ is in us and that will not change. God puts His name on our hearts; we are children of God. Jesus will help us live up to His name and when He comes to take the church out of the world, we will be included in it.
Oh, what joy is ours! Heaven is our eternal home! We are not on our own, God is with us each step we take! God is not ashamed to call us His children. He goes the extra mile to keep us strong and steady in faith.
There is no greater pleasure than to know that God is for us. Think about it; Jesus today is preparing for us our heavenly home. He ministers before our Father on our behalf. He protects us from God's holy wrath. He stands before our Father and speaks on our behalf. We are loved by God! We are claimed by God as His own! We have been given a reason to live and die. No one can pull us away from our Lord as long as we cling to Him. Delight yourself in the Lord for when you do, He delights himself in you.
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