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eternal life

The Conclusion of the Matter

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. Ecclesiastes 12:13

Ecclesiastes is a beautiful book. It starts with groaning, but it ends with joy. We can groan a lot, but if we can get hold of the joy of the Lord, it will be our strength for this life.

You say, “Where’s Jesus in this? Is Jesus in here, in the midst of all the vanity and groaning?” Oh yes! If you look at chapter 12, at the 11th verse, it says: “The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd.” A goad is a stick or a cattle-prod, something used to move you in the right direction. So the words of the Shepherd will give us direction, and they’ll hold us tight like a well-driven nail. We can hang our life on the Shepherd’s words. Notice the capital “S” for Shepherd. Jesus is the Good Shepherd referred to in this Scripture!

In Ecclesiastes, we see Solomon look for satisfaction in everything but God, but in the final chapter he comes back to the living God; he saw the Son, the Shepherd King, and it transformed his life. I believe when we get to Heaven, we can sit down with Solomon and he can tell you, “I tried everything and it was empty, but when I got hold of Jesus, I knew that was life and life abundant.”

Solomon’s final conclusion is that the whole of life is to fear God, to keep His commandments, and to live forever with Him. This is the chief thing in life and the only eternally rewarding thing. Don’t spend your life frivolously looking for a purpose. Find God’s purpose for your life!

2023-09-20T11:47:01-06:00October 23rd, 2023|

The Hall of Fame of Faith

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6

Hebrews 11 is the “hall of fame” of faith. It includes people like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, and Noah. Today, we’ll talk about a few of these heroes of faith.

Noah: Faith for Your Family

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith. (Hebrews 11:7)

God told him that He was going to send a flood. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. But right believing brings right living, and because Noah had faith, he was obedient to God. Put your hand on your heart and say, “I’ll never forget — faith obeys.”

So Noah built an ark, and everyone thought he was crazy. Everyone but his family, that is. His wife and sons believed that he heard from God. And by walking in faith, Noah saved his family. All the people who didn’t believe in God drowned, but Noah’s family was saved.

Noah leaves that legacy for us today—that his faith brought righteousness. When we believe God, He makes us righteous. Stop trying to do things to become righteous. Just obey His Word and have faith in His Word. God can save your household if you walk in faith. You can claim this promise.

Abraham: Faith for Provision

Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. (Genesis 22:13, KJV)

In Genesis 22, God spoke to Abraham and told him to take Isaac, the promised son who was born to him when he was 100 years old, and sacrifice him on Mount Moriah.

What must Abraham have been feeling? Hebrews 11:19 tells us Abraham believed that even if his son died, God would raise him from the dead. What?! Abraham believed in a resurrection before there was one?! Absolutely! I believe he was the first to believe.

Alone on the mountain, Isaac asked his father, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb?” And Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb.” God will provide. Abraham never took his eyes off the Father!

Once Abraham had prepared the fire and the wood, he put Isaac on the altar. And just in time, a voice spoke to him and said, “Lift up your eyes.” I would say that to you today! Get your eyes on what God can do rather than what your problem is. Lift up your eyes. Abraham did, and saw a ram caught in the thicket. God had provided the sacrifice!

Do you realize that at the same time Abraham and Isaac were going up Mount Moriah, the ram was coming up the other side? When we’re going up the mountain, God has a provision coming up to meet us! Abraham substituted the ram for Isaac and called God a very special name: Jehovah-Jireh, which means the God who provides. But it’s more than just provides. It means the God who sees ahead and has a provision for us!

Rahab: Faith Comes by Hearing and Believing

By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace. (Hebrews 11:31)

So, how does one receive faith? Let’s look at the life of Rahab (see Joshua 2 and 6)? She, along with all of Jericho’s inhabitants, had heard about the God of the Hebrews, but Rahab alone heard and believed. Not only did she believe in her heart, but she confessed it with her mouth and acted out her faith by hiding the Israelite spies.

Faith does come by hearing God’s Word (see Romans 10:17). But many people hear God’s Word and don’t believe it, so they don’t get its benefits.

Because of Rahab’s willingness to believe what she had heard, she was rewarded beyond her wildest imagination. When the rest of Jericho was destroyed, the walls of Rahab’s dwelling remained standing — as a testimony to her belief in God’s Word.

We can hear God’s Word continually, but until we believe what we hear and then act on it, it is not profitable to us. When you hear the Word of God, don’t just casually receive it in your mind. Meditate on it. Accept it and receive it as a special message from God to you. Then use it to benefit your life.

Just as Noah’s faith saved his household and Abraham’s faith saved Isaac, the first thing Rahab did when she made a covenant with the Israelites was to ask protection for her family (see Joshua 2:12-13). When you get saved, you want your whole family to be saved. When we become faithful followers of Christ, meditating on His Word day and night, God will bless us and make our homes prosperous.

2023-09-20T11:37:34-06:00October 16th, 2023|

The Great Commission

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

In His last recorded words, Jesus told the disciples that they were to be “witnesses” in (1) Jerusalem, (2) Judea, (3) Samaria, and (4) the ends of the earth.

The first preaching of the gospel was in their own neighborhood of Jerusalem, then it spread by the disciples into nearby Judea. It went on into Samaria through Philip and the deacons, plus the apostles. Then, the gospel went into the uttermost parts of the earth with Paul. Again Jesus is reminding us that the Gospel is for all people, not just the Jews, but also for the Gentiles, the Samaritans and for every nation.

Now I think it is important to note that Jesus called us to be “witnesses.” “Witness” has to do with the root word “martyr.” It’s not always easy to be a witness, but it is oh so powerful and wonderful!

Stephen was the first martyr for the sake of Christ, but Stephen rejoiced in the opportunity to lay down his life. How do we know he rejoiced? Because he didn’t appear to be in agony. Scripture says that his face was like the face of an angel (see Acts 6:15).

When we face trials of any kind, remember that this is the life we signed up for when we accepted Christ. Jesus promised that in this life there would be trouble. Why? Because when we become witnesses for Christ, we must demonstrate the life that He lived, which was one of persecution. But we can rejoice in our suffering because our reward in heaven will far outweigh anything we come up against in this life.

2023-09-20T11:34:43-06:00October 9th, 2023|

Salvation Brings Transformation

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

Many people think that it’s difficult to be “saved.” But Romans 10:13 says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” You might be thinking, “That’s too easy — too simple.” It is simple to receive eternal life — for one reason: Jesus has done what is necessary. It is not what we have done. It has already been done. We must simply believe that He has done it for us.

If we call upon the name of the Lord, repent of our sins, invite Jesus into our hearts, and confess it boldly with our mouths, the Bible says that we will be saved. Jesus did it all. He paid it all so that we might have inherit eternal life. It is not by our works; it’s by our faith and what He did. It’s salvation by faith; it’s transformation.

When I think of transformation, I think of God taking us as a caterpillar and making us into a beautiful butterfly. This is so evident in the life of Saul. Saul goes from persecuting Christians to being willing to die for the people if it meant they would come to know Jesus. How did this transformation happen? Saul met Jesus on the road to Damascus and God transformed him into an apostle, which means “sent.” As we see so often in the Bible, even his name was changed to reflect the transformation! He was sent by God to minister to the Gentiles, and because he was sent to the Gentiles, he was given a Gentile name: Paul.

Naturally, the Jews didn’t trust him. They came up with a conspiracy to kill him, but Paul’s followers lowered him in a basket through an opening in the city gates so that he could escape. God always has provision, doesn’t He? Whether it is a basket, a rope, the right people to hold on to the rope, or the Savior Jesus Christ, God always provides a way of escape. First Corinthians 10:13 says:

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Romans is out of this world because it really shows us that we have all sinned, but Jesus is the answer for all sinners. We can never do enough because Jesus did it all. When He died on the cross, He said, “It is finished.”

The finished work of Jesus brings transformation and eternal life!

2023-09-20T11:31:51-06:00October 2nd, 2023|
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