Category: hope

Unfathomable Distances, Unsearchable Speeds #1

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

“For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Philippians 3:20,21 KJV).

The vastness of space is mindboggling; today’s Scripture is equally mind-blowing….

We who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour, are members of the Church the Body of Christ. Paul’s epistles are very clear that, in eternity future, God will use us in the heavenly places just as He will use the nation Israel on the earth.

“And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him [Jesus Christ] to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven” (Colossians 1:20). Verses 16 and 17 already identified these “things:” “For by him [Jesus Christ] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” The “things” are offices of government!

Through the blood of Jesus Christ shed at Calvary’s cross, the governments of heaven and earth (currently occupied by Satan and his minions) will one day be restored, and their new occupants—redeemed Israel on earth and us the Church the Body of Christ in the heavenly places—will bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ (after all, they were “created by him and for him”).

Distances in outer space are so enormous that scientists often utilize the astronomical unit (Earth’s distance from the sun, roughly 93 million miles / 150 million kilometers) and the light-year (the distance light travels in one year, about 6 trillion miles / 9.6 trillion kilometers). Actually, some objects in the universe are hundreds of light-years apart! In order to function in the vastness of outer space, we will need glorified bodies capable of doing amazing feats….

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….” 🙂

What’s the Bible Got to Do With Me? #5

Friday, May 17, 2013

“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever” (Isaiah 40:8 KJV).

One frequent charge the lost world levels against Christians preaching and teaching the Holy Bible is, “That ‘old’ book has nothing to do with me!” Is this a valid objection?

The Holy Scriptures not only provide a window into the mind of the God of heaven and earth, in all its wisdom and prudence, but they also show us our own humanity, in all its frailty and vileness. Are you a child of Adam? The Bible is for you! Are you hopeless? The Bible is for you! Are you dead in trespasses and sins? The Bible is for you! Are you curious about where your soul will spend eternity? The Bible is for you!

God is doing something marvelous to bring glory to His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, and He gave us His written Word so we could learn what He is doing and how we can join Him in what He is doing!

By studying the Holy Scriptures, we can learn from the mistakes of its characters. We can see the personalities and emotions of the holy men God the Holy Spirit used to write the Holy Bible. Those men were just as human as you and I, and to say what God wrote through them is relevant, is to deny your own humanity.

Whether A. D. first century or A. D. twenty-first century, the same problems still exist and the same solution still exists. The Holy Bible is the most relevant book to mankind that there is. While today’s technological advances abound, we still have a sin problem—watch your local news! Man is still trying to cover up or ignore his sin. Creation is still wasting away, groaning, and dying. The devil is still ruling this evil world system. The Gospel of Grace is still saving precious souls from eternal hellfire. God is still forming the Church the Body of Christ. Sin is still the problem—life in Christ Jesus is still the solution.

The End of Job, Israel, and the LORD #4

Saturday, April 27, 2013

“So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses” (Job 42:12 KJV).

During the Tribulation period, the nation Israel will gain valuable insight from today’s Scripture….

When one trusts the Lord Jesus Christ alone as personal Saviour, the Holy Spirit takes this individual and baptizes him or her into the Church the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). He or she is no longer in Adam, but “in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17): this is the new nature, the new identity, the new position the Christian has before God. Lost people even sense a change in the person, and thus, family and “friends” are no longer comfortable around the person. Every Christian has felt that division—(lost) family and “friends” now avoid them.

There is neither fame nor fortune in being a King James Bible-believing Pauline dispensationalist. If one takes a stand for Jesus Christ, and especially for His sound doctrine, family and “friends” will scatter and “depart far hence.” Yes, dear Christian brethren, we have lost the world and its approval, but we have gained much, much more valuable things. We are “known of God” (Galatians 4:9), we are “blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3), and we are “complete in [Christ]” (Colossians 2:10). We have the Lord’s unconditional love, His grace, His forgiveness, His life—possessions that will last forever!

Just as believing Israel will suffer great loss for Jesus Christ’s sake during the Tribulation (as Job did), they will be restored even more in Christ’s earthly kingdom (as Job was; today’s Scripture). Likewise, we members of the Body of Christ, will lose family, “friends,” fame, and fortune for being Christians zealous of sound Bible doctrine, but we too will be rewarded one day—we will inherit the government of the heavenly places (Romans 8:17; Ephesians 2:6,7; 2 Timothy 2:10-12), just as believing Israel will inherit the government of the earth (Matthew 19:27-30; Revelation 3:20,21).

Beloved, like Job, let us patiently wait for “the end of the Lord….”  🙂

The End of Job, Israel, and the LORD #1

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

“So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses” (Job 42:12 KJV).

During the Tribulation period, the nation Israel will gain valuable insight from today’s Scripture….

Job is one of the most well-known Bible books. Satan afflicts its protagonist, a believing Jew who lived before Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, via a series of calamities. Job loses his material possessions (1:14-17), then his seven sons and three daughters (1:18-19), and finally his health (2:7-8). He becomes increasingly depressed, especially upon the visitation of his three “friends,” whom he called “miserable comforters” (16:1). For 35 chapters, God is silent as Job and his friends engage in philosophical twaddle. The book draws to a close with God’s response, and Job’s restoration (today’s Scripture). Why is this historical narrative even in the Bible?

The Apostle James, writing to believing Israel enduring the testing of Satan during the Tribulation, explains in his epistle: “Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy” (James 5:10,11).

James reminds these believing Jews that, while they, like Job, have lost their material possessions because of Satan’s evil world system, the LORD restored Job. Like Job, they need to patiently wait for the LORD’s deliverance. The Lord Jesus Christ amplifies this in Matthew 19:29,30: “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.”

While Israel’s believing remnant will lose their possessions, family, “friends,” and some will lose their lives during the Tribulation, they will gain so much more when Jesus Christ returns….

Others Which Have No Hope

Sunday, April 21, 2013

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13 KJV).

Only by God’s grace, we are not “others which have no hope….”

I know a family that does not have the salvation found only in Jesus Christ, and they are troubled by the recent death of a member. The prospect of exactly what happened to her is completely beyond their understanding. They do not know what to believe. Today’s Scripture describes these people as “others which have no hope.”

When a Christian brother I know spoke to this family, and told them that he was as concerned for their souls as they were for her soul, they responded, “We go to church.” Beloved, this is the mentality of every religious person on earth, billions upon billions of souls who are risking their eternity by relying on some man-made institution!

Just as there is a “synagogue of Satan” in the Bible (Revelation 2:9), there is a church of Satan. It surprises many, but going to church can be just as dishonoring to the God of the Bible as a Jew participating in the devil’s apostate religious system of Israel. The vast majority of “Christian” churches today are apostate, preaching their theological system from a perverted modern “bible.”

Thankfully, we have hope in Jesus Christ, who took upon Himself the penalty for our sin and sins: “Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and he rose again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). As individuals who understand that we cannot work for heaven, and who have trusted alone in Christ’s finished crosswork for soul salvation, we have the peace with God. God is not mad at us anymore.

This eternal security is the basis for the peace of God. Our loved ones who have died also resting in Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork alone, we will see them again (today’s Scripture). We do mourn their absence, but not hopelessly—we know where they are (“with the Lord;” 2 Corinthians 5:8), and we will be reunited with them one day (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). What comfort! 🙂

A Doxology of Doctrine During Distressing Days #6

Saturday, April 6, 2013

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;” (2 Corinthians 4:17 KJV).

A brief, light annoyance—an everlasting, much heavier weight of praise and worship….

It is very difficult not to focus on our temporary suffering. After all, we see it. It is equally hard to focus on the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. After all, we cannot see it… sort of. In reality, we can see it! The verse following today’s Scripture reads: “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (verse 18).

How do we “look…at the things which are not seen?” Hebrews 11:1 tells us: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). When we place our faith in what God’s Word says about suffering in the Dispensation of Grace—which would be the contents of Paul’s epistles of Romans through Philemon—then we, by virtue of spiritual eyes, see what God sees. He is manifesting the very life of Jesus Christ in our mortal body (2 Corinthians 4:10,11). “…Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (verse 16).

The spiritual fortitude and edifice of sound Bible doctrine that God the Holy Spirit is constructing within our inner man, is eternal, for the inner man (soul and spirit) is everlasting. Our physical body experiencing the present sufferings is temporary, for the physical body is temporary. Actually, the same word—“moment”—used to describe the duration of our present suffering (today’s Scripture), is equivalent to the split-second rapture that will one day catch us members of the Body of Christ up into heaven’s glory (1 Corinthians 15:52)!

By allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us as we believe this sound Bible doctrine, it brings God praise now… and forevermore….

A Doxology of Doctrine During Distressing Days #5

Friday, April 5, 2013

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;” (2 Corinthians 4:17 KJV).

A brief, light annoyance—an everlasting, much heavier weight of praise and worship….

One of the primary causes of the charismatic movement, besides a failure to understand the Bible dispensationally, is that its proponents are seeking God’s power and love. They believe that God needs to demonstrate His power and His love for them by removing their troubles and healing their sick bodies. They want literal, physical, visible proof of God’s presence. Because it is ironic, the thought never occurs to them that God’s wisdom, love, and power could be—and are—demonstrated by Him not removing their troubles and sicknesses.

In the context of today’s Scripture (4:1–6:18), the Apostle Paul discussed the ministry we have as “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20). He lists various afflictions that he and we Christians suffer, but concluded: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). Notice, “that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” Why do we have the treasure—the life of Jesus Christ—in our earthen vessels—our weak, limited physical bodies? So the exceeding greatness of God’s power can be demonstrated and our inadequacy in and of ourselves can be manifested.

When the Apostle Paul later commented about his various sufferings, he wrote: “And [the Lord] said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9,10).

To wit, we can and do endure difficult circumstances, not because of ourselves, but due to God’s power strengthening us by transforming our inner man to become the very life of Jesus Christ. What a concept….!

A Doxology of Doctrine During Distressing Days #4

Thursday, April 4, 2013

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;” (2 Corinthians 4:17 KJV).

A brief, light annoyance—an everlasting, much heavier weight of praise and worship….

In the context of today’s Scripture (4:1–6:18), the Apostle Paul discussed the ministry we have as “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20). He lists various afflictions that he and we Christians suffer, but concluded: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).

The verse preceding today’s Scripture reads: “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (verse 16). These physical bodies, these “earthen vessels,” these “outward men,” will eventually return to the dust from whence they came (Genesis 3:19). Thus, the issue is not the “vessels,” but rather the substance, the “treasure,” they contain. This treasure is the life of Jesus Christ present within us members of the Church the Body of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:10,11).

Our “outward man” is temporary, and thus our suffering while living within it is also temporal (today’s Scripture). Nevertheless, the “inward man,” soul and spirit, is being “renewed day by day” as we walk by faith in sound Pauline Bible doctrine. The Holy Spirit takes that doctrine, transforms our minds, and thus manifests the very life of Jesus Christ in and through us! This brings such praise and worship to God, for nothing is more pleasing to Him than the life of Jesus Christ.

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2). “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (Ephesians 4:23). “[We] have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (Colossians 3:10).

God manifests His power, love, and wisdom during our troubling circumstances… not by removing them, but by strengthening us to bear them….