Category: comfort

Solved and Sentenced!

Monday, October 21, 2013

“The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3 KJV).

From God’s perspective, there is no “cold” case.

“Cold cases” are decades-old crimes unsolved due to lack of witnesses and/or conclusive evidence. During the last 6,000 years, people have committed, and are still carrying out, very heinous deeds, causing their fellow man unimaginable suffering, and yet they go “unpunished” (for now). Oppressive politicians and ecclesiastical leaders who mercilessly torture, imprison, and execute anyone who opposes their “progress.” The clever “explanations” invented to cover-up the disappearances and deaths, and the downplaying of those crimes, make the bereaved cry out for justice.

Homicide victims unable to testify as to who murdered them, and elaborate schemes of corruption and cover-ups among authorities make justice seemingly impossible. Who will expose them and make things right? So many unanswered questions, doubts that never bring grieving family and friends any peace or sense of fairness. How will those deaths ever be avenged?

Saints, let us thank our God and Father that He sees every crime committed (today’s Scripture) and He is fair in meeting out punishment. As God’s judgment was about to fall on the pagan Neo-Assyrian capital Nineveh, the Prophet Nahum wrote: “The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked” (1:3). Like Nineveh of old, wicked (unbelieving) mankind has an appointment scheduled with the Lord Jesus Christ, and He will not be in a good mood (Revelation 20:11-15)!

God has been so longsuffering (patient) toward unbelieving and rebellious mankind especially these last 2,000 years, the Dispensation of Grace, but His justice will indeed be satisfied eventually (at the cross of Jesus Christ for believers’ sins, or in the everlasting lake of fire for everyone else’s sins). “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Romans 12:19; cf. Deuteronomy 32:35).

Dearly beloved, let us not be troubled regarding the injustices occurring all around the world, for we know that the only Witness whose testimony truly counts, is still a faithful Witness whose testimony will one day be heard and whose justice will one day be executed! 🙂

The Sting of Death

Friday, August 23, 2013

“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55 KJV).

In Jesus Christ, we endure “the sting of death” but for a moment….

Having attended the funerals of two family members—my maternal great-aunt and my paternal uncle—during the past four days, my family and I have certainly felt “the sting of death.” That second passing away was unexpected and extremely quick, making it very painful for the family.

To view the bodies of loved ones lying lifeless in their caskets, always pricks (“stings”) the inner man: like a knife, death slices through the souls of the bereaved. That feeling is greatly intensified in those who literally “have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13) because they are outside of Jesus Christ and lack assurance of seeing their loved ones in heaven.

The verse following today’s Scripture reads: “The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law” (1 Corinthians 15:56). We all know that sin is a very painful reality, clearly and fully manifested by the Mosaic Law. The Law shows us that presence and particulars of sin while death is the penalty of sin: “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a).

Romans 6:23b provides the solution: “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” While we live in this sin-cursed world and are subject to its effects (including physical death), 1 Corinthians 15:57 offers us Christians consolation: “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

As people who have trusted alone in the finished crosswork of Jesus Christ as sufficient payment for our sins, we have hope in Jesus Christ. One day, at the “rapture,” when Jesus Christ will return to gather us the Church that is His Body, He will bodily resurrect our deceased Christian brethren and we will be reunited forever (1 Corinthians 15:51-54). Today’s Scripture reminds us that not only will Jesus Christ rescue us from that “sting” of their loss, but He will give them—and us—“victory” over the power of death.

What a hope we have in Jesus Christ! 🙂

Peace of Mind in a World in Pieces

Thursday, August 15, 2013

“Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4 KJV).

Despite all of the weeping, sleepless nights, and despondency, there is hope in Jesus Christ!

With the recent passing of a Christian couple’s newborn baby, the sudden demise of a Christian brother and ministry fellow-laborer, and the death of my great aunt yesterday, I can assure you that the member of the Church the Body of Christ, although guaranteed a blissful eternity in the heavenly places, is not spared from pain and grief in this fallen creation. My, what horrific, constant suffering all around the world! In fact, this very reality is often used as an “argument” against God’s existence (but is likened unto the folly of, “I do not believe in the existence of law enforcement officers because of the widespread criminal behavior!”).

Dear saints, sin produces division, disruption, disease, despair, decay, and death. What we see today are merely the remnants of the original perfect creation, what is left of that paradise before God cursed it so Satan could not use it in all its glory for his own purposes (Genesis 3:14-19). As each day passes, this ruined creation comes closer and closer to the day when that “bondage of corruption” will be lifted, when paradise will be restored on earth and in heaven (Romans 8:18-25). Much needs to happen before that glorious day arrives, so we Christians must patiently remain here on earth until our program finishes.

As our Apostle Paul wrote in that awful Roman prison cell, “Rejoice in the Lord alway [in every instant]: and again I say, Rejoice” (today’s Scripture). We cannot rejoice because of our dire conditions, but we can rejoice in these difficulties. Right where we are, whether good or bad circumstances, we should rejoice in our identity in Jesus Christ, in who He is and who we are in Him, what He has done for us (saved us spiritually), and what He will do for us in the future (deliver us physically).

Remember, God’s grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9,10) and we “can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth [us]” (Philippians 4:13). 🙂

Wave Not the White Flag

Saturday, June 15, 2013

“Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:23,24 KJV).

In today’s Scripture, our Apostle Paul was certainly not hopeless….

Today, the average Christian looks at the world, throws up his or her hands in despair, and sighs, “I give up! This world is hopeless!” Beloved, indeed, it is so much easier to just sit back, close the Good Book, and “go with the flow.” After all, “everybody else is doing it!”

The Christian soldier is never called to surrender. Yea, it is senseless to capitulate when “God be for us” (Romans 8:31). As someone who has trusted in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the sufficient payment for your sins, it really makes no difference who your enemy is!! In fact, your enemy is the devil himself, and yet, even he will eventually be subdued and bound in an everlasting lake of fire (Revelation 20:10).

A spiritually mature Bible-believing Christian—that is, one who is firmly grounded in the dispensational layout and study of Scripture—understands that God is not restoring earth today unto Himself (He will do that with His earthly people, Israel, as Exodus 19:3-6 declares, once our dispensation closes). We are not called to change the whole world system. As members of the Body of Christ, we are simply here to “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:2). We share scriptural truths with those who want to hear them; we waste not our time with those who do not want to hear.

Regardless of the situations Paul faced, and did he suffer for the Gospel’s sake (2 Corinthians 11:23-27), it did not “move” (trouble, disturb) him. He ran the Christian race and undertook the Christian ministry, ending them with joy, undistracted by the evil world system. Let us follow our Apostle in that regard. 🙂

In the World, But Not Entangled With It

Sunday, June 2, 2013

“Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier” (2 Timothy 2:3,4 KJV).

Rather than hiding ourselves in underground bunkers, or hiding our heads in our hands, let us hide this sound Bible doctrine in our hearts.

I recently spoke with a dear Christian brother and ministry coworker. He was so discouraged after having watched depressing newscasts on television for the last three hours. Life’s daily struggles, morose news stories, and false teaching in religion had the poor man so irritated and disheartened. Today’s Scripture is the solution to such negative thinking.

In Ephesians 6:12, the Apostle Paul admonished: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” There is an invisible battle occurring today—it is the battle of good and evil, the God of creation and Satan are fighting against one another.

The phrase “entangleth himself” (today’s Scripture) carries the idea of being braided with the goings-on of this life. That is, one being so “wrapped up” in the here and now, one so involved with the culture about us, the individual is consumed. The Christian soldier in such a predicament is distracted—he becomes so focused on the world’s problems that he loses sight of the hope, peace, and joy God the Father has given him in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ! His mind is distracted, to Satan’s delight, and the Christian forgets the battle in which he is engaged!

Read 2 Corinthians 10:3-5: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

Remember, dear fellow-soldiers… think on good things, sound doctrine from God’s Word rightly divided (Philippians 4:8)!

For In This We Groan #4

Friday, May 31, 2013

“For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:” (2 Corinthians 5:2 KJV).

Having been stricken with a bacterial infection of the sinuses and eyes for the past week, I can give a hearty “Amen!” to today’s Scripture!

Physical death is actually a blessing for us Christians—it severs the final link we have to this fallen creation. (Can you imagine living in these bodies forever?) Once we leave these physical bodies, we are eternally, physically isolated from sin, and we go to be with the Lord Jesus Christ forever and ever!

In the context of today’s Scripture, the Apostle Paul writes that God the Father has given us “the earnest of the Spirit.” “Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (verses 5b-8). By giving us Christians the indwelling Holy Ghost, God has guaranteed that He will one day rescue our physical bodies from sin (just as He has already rescued our spiritual bodies from sin).

While we moan and groan during sickness, let us remember that this body is not meant to last forever anyway, for it would pollute heaven. Our suffering is simply a testament that the great God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ still has a mighty work to accomplish—the redemption of these mortal “vile” bodies and their transformation into immortal and perfect glorified bodies like Jesus Christ’s (Philippians 3:20,21).

Dear readers, take comfort. This limited body of flesh and blood is not our permanent abode. It is merely the vehicle that carries around our soul and our spirit in this time-space continuum we call the natural world. As today’s Scripture states, it is actually our soul that is groaning, the “real” us inside this weakly and sickly physical body. How we long for a change of clothes, some which will not turn to rags! Patiently waiting for the “wardrobe upgrade….” 🙂

For In This We Groan #3

Thursday, May 30, 2013

“For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:” (2 Corinthians 5:2 KJV).

Having been stricken with a bacterial infection of the sinuses and eyes for the past week, I can give a hearty “Amen!” to today’s Scripture!

Notice the boldfaced expressions, “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life” (2 Corinthians 5:2-4).

According to the Bible, our physical bodies are actually clothing. The “real” us is inside, a member of the invisible (spiritual) realm! Job 14:22 supplements: “But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.” These aching, sickly physical bodies are merely vehicles for our soul and spirit inside them (hence, the language of the passage in the previous paragraph about “clothing”).

We who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ are redeemed spiritually from Satan and sin. However, these bodies of flesh and blood are still connected genetically to Adam and the fallen creation, so they die. Once they die, our souls and spirits no longer have a means of traveling. This is why resurrection is necessary. Our “unclothed” souls and spirits need new garments, and this new wardrobe is the glorified body the Lord Jesus will give every Christian believer at the rapture (1 Corinthians 15:51-55). This is the “redemption of our body” mentioned in Romans 8:23 and Ephesians 4:30.

Our physical bodies are referred to as “tabernacles” in Scripture (2 Corinthians 5:1,4; 2 Peter 1:13,14). When we are conceived in the womb, these frail structures are “pitched,” and our soul and spirit spring up from within them. Unlike a permanent structure, however, they can and do suffer “dilapidation” quite easily. Eventually, they are “taken down.” But, the soul and spirit simply move on (necessitating the need for a new, resurrected and glorified body, a new set of clothes)….

For In This We Groan #2

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

“For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:” (2 Corinthians 5:2 KJV).

Having been stricken with a bacterial infection of the sinuses and eyes for the past week, I can give a hearty “Amen!” to today’s Scripture!

In this world where Satan and sin reign, sickness is a part of life as well. Our “groaning” in today’s Scripture is further explained in Romans 8:22-25: “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.”

Paul writes in the context of today’s Scripture, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1). This is the “redemption of our [physical] body” of Romans 8:23, when “the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ… shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body…” (Philippians 3:20,21).

When the apostle pens, “Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 5:5), what he meant was, “[Christ] In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13). “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30).

This sealing by and with the indwelling Holy Spirit is God’s promise that He will one day deliver our (ailing) physical bodies from sin just as He has already delivered our spiritual bodies from sin….

For In This We Groan #1

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

“For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:” (2 Corinthians 5:2 KJV).

Having been stricken with a bacterial infection of the sinuses and eyes for the past week, I can give a hearty “Amen!” to today’s Scripture!

Earlier, in chapter 4, verse 16, the Apostle Paul discussed the issue of the corruptible, dying physical body (“the outward man”), and the spiritual body (“the inward man”) experiencing renewal and maturity: “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”

In chapter 5, verse 1, the thought continues: “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” Today’s Scripture follows: “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:”

Let us read verses 3-8, which elaborate even more: “If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

When the Holy Spirit through Paul wrote, “yet the inward man is renewed day by day,” He was referring to this doctrine transforming the way we view sickness. As Christians, we should look at bodily suffering differently than the lost world views it, than our old sin nature would have us think about it.

Let us briefly dissect this passage, to the intent that we can be comforted during times of illness….

Why Do the Wicked Prosper? #3

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

“Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb” (Psalm 37:1,2 KJV).

“Why do the wicked prosper?” is an “age-old” question the Bible answered ages ago….

When Adam joined Satan’s rebellion against God in Genesis chapter 3, he relinquished his God-given dominion over earth (Genesis 1:26-28). Consequently, when Satan tempted the Lord Jesus Christ, notice what happened: “Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All these will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me” (Matthew 4:8,9; Luke 4:5-7). Satan offered to give Jesus Christ the kingdoms of the world because he had possession of them, and he wanted worship from God so badly that he offered to give those kingdoms over to Jesus if Jesus would worship him. Jesus never denied that Satan had those kingdoms in his power. (One day, Jesus Christ will rule the world’s kingdoms, without having to worship Satan!)

Hence, Paul referred to Satan as “the god [ruler] of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4). The Lord Jesus called Satan “the prince [ruler] of this world” (John 12:31). It is also why Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence” (John 18:36).

Jesus Christ cannot use today’s governmental structure to be His kingdom—that whole system will have to be cleansed thoroughly, and it will be when Jesus Christ returns. When Satan is bound at Christ’s Second Coming, the 1000-year reign of Jesus Christ on earth will begin (Revelation 20:1-7). Satan’s evil world system—the “course of this world” (Ephesians 2:2)—will thereby end, and Jesus Christ’s righteous world system will take over (reversing what happened in Genesis chapter 3).

Until then, Satan’s evil world system will reign, and it will reward those who follow it….