Victory

The Bible is all about victory.  All through the Bible we see people struggling in all kinds of ways.  In the Old Testament, there are struggles and difficulties from the first people, Adam and Eve, on.  And it can be said that the primary reason for all of the problems that people face is due to sin.  Sin entered the world during the time of Adam and Eve, and it has persisted in being a problem since.  We see this in the Jewish people of God throughout the OT; over and over they fell into trouble because they didn't put their trust in God.

When we come to the time of Jesus, as reported in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, we see that the Jewish religion is a mess.  They are not following the true Jewish Law as given to them by God; and Jesus was strong in telling them so. 

Then as people began to believe in Jesus, to follow Him, and to become Christians, as we read in the book of Acts, they started struggling with persecution.  The Jews and the Roman government were persecuting Christians in terrible ways; beating them, having them jailed, and often having them killed.  Persecution was a horrible and fearful thing for the Christians.

In the New Testament, we see many statements given to provide the Christians hope and strength in the face of all this.  It seems that the book of Revelation was written to give them confidence that victory was coming.  It would not be necessarily in this life, but it was coming.  The book shows the evil of Satan, the devil; but it shows that God will overcome for those who follow Him.

In Revelation chapter 7, beginning with verse 9, we see a strong statement made to show that victory is coming.  It shows God's followers eventually ending up in heaven, and describes those who are victorious.  Verse 14, "These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple.  And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.  They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters.  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."  Victory in Jesus......to those who follow Him.

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week.......and feel the love. 

Difficulty in Being a Christian

When we read the words of Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, we realize that being a Christian is a great opportunity; i.e., peace is given to us in this life, and we are promised the beautiful life beyond this one.  But it is also often difficult.  An example of the kinds of things that the Bible teaches against is given in Romans 1:28, ".....things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful...."  These are all things that we are to avoid.

But we see later in this same book, Paul's letter to the Roman Christians, that Paul is struggling with a lot of moral issues himself.  Note Romans 7:15, "For what I am doing, I do not understand.  For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do."  And later, "For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice."  I do not know all that Paul is struggling with here; but it is obvious that he is having great difficulty with some things.

But life is like that; and sin is like that.  We struggle in this life; yet we are to strive to do right, to live right, to do others right, to think right.  We know from further reading the words of Paul that he conquered these challenges to his faith.  And we need to conquer our challenges. 

Jesus promises life, eternal life in heaven, with Him if we follow Him; if we live for Him.  This is our challenge.  Let's meet it!  "Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.  To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne; as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." (Revelation 3:20)

Have a great week.   Feel the love.

Truth

Truth brings lots of questions.  What is truth?  Does truth really exist?  Is it within us...or without?  It is interesting that the Bible answers all the major questions of life:  Where we came from, the purpose of life, where we are going, and, yes, what is truth. 

When Jesus was about to meet His death, He stood before Pontus Pilate, the Roman governor, to be tried.  In John 18:36, Jesus said, " 'My kingdom is not of this world.  If My kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews.  But My kingdom is not from the world.'  Then Pilate said to Him, 'So you are a king?'  Jesus answered, 'You say that I am a king.  For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world--to bear witness to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.'  Pilate said to Him, 'What is truth?' "  At this point, Jesus could have given him an answer, but Pilate would not have benefited from it, for his heart just wasn't right.  But we know what Jesus would have said; just read on. 

In John 14, Jesus was talking with His apostles about having to leave them and what would happen to them.  Thomas said, "Lord, we do not know where You are going.  How can we know the way?"  "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me."  This is the answer that Jesus could have given Pilate; "I AM the truth!"

The importance of truth is shown in John 8:32.  "If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."  Those listening then asked what He meant by "free," whereupon He explained that He meant free from sin.  When people sin, they become a "slave to sin." Jesus came to provide a solution to this slavery; He came to free us from this.  But Hebrews 10:26 points out: "..if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment...."  So Jesus saves us....but only if we follow Him. 

And finally, "Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God..."  (1 Peter 1:22)

Truth matters.....and it is only found in the Bible.  God gave it to us through His Word.  Have a great week.  You matter......

What is a Christian?

There are so many ideas and opinions in today's world as to what makes a person a Christian that it seems appropriate to examine the Bible concept, since this is what matters anyway.  Some would say that a Christian is a member of some "Christian" church.  Others might say that a Christian is one who holds to certain Christian beliefs.  And others might say that he is a good person, kind, considerate, giving, having lots of good qualities.  Perhaps all of this is true; but let's look at the Bible for some guidelines.

Jesus talked a great deal about what He expected His followers to be.  We see much of this teaching in the sermon on the mount, as recorded in Matthew 5-7.  It would be impossible to properly summarize all of these thoughts in a paragraph or two, but let me do so anyway.  He taught that He wanted our heart. our commitment completely, our whole self.  He summarized it in Matthew 7:24, by saying:  "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock, and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on the house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.  But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand; and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on the house; and it fell.  And great was its fall."  The emphasis of Jesus was always placed on obeying.  He wanted followers, disciples, but He wanted them to be obedient. 

Then,  as Jesus was about to leave the earth, He instructed His apostles to carry out His mission:  "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."  This shows the way He intended for people to become Christians. And we see this carried out in the book of Acts, which covers the period after Jesus leaves the earth and goes to heaven.

Much of the rest of the Bible is dedicated to showing how a Christian should live.  Notice these words in Hebrews 10:23-25:  "Let us hold fast the confession  of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.  And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another...."  It is not enough to become a Christian, and to be a good person, striving to be like Christ; we need also to be a part of His church, assembling with other Christians to build up, encourage, each other.

Let's do it!  Thanks for reading again.  Feel the love. 

The Purpose of Man

The Bible answers so many of the questions of life; where we came from, where we are going, and even why are we here.  A great place to get some of these answers is in the Old Testament, book of Ecclesiastes.  This book is written by king Solomon, son of king David.  Solomon had pleased the Lord in his willingness to follow in the footsteps of his father; so God asked Solomon what he would like, take his choice (I Kings 3).  Solomon passed up riches and long life and asked for wisdom, a discerning mind.  God was so pleased at his choice that he gave him all of the above.  In Solomon's wisdom, he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes, of which we are the beneficiaries. 

Much of the book of Ecclesiastes is dedicated to telling the reader what is wise, what is profitable, and what is vain (useless).  Note in chapter 12, the writer tells us: "Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, 'I have no pleasure in them'...and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.  Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, all is vanity."  The message here is that we should not wait until life is gone to serve our Lord.  He is the one who will save us.

He concludes the book with these words, which tell us what we are actually here on earth for:  "The end of the matter; all has been heard.  Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil."  Our duty then is spelled out here, to fear God and keep His commandments.  And we see all through the Bible the charge to keep His commandments.  We are to love Him.....but we also are to obey Him.  That is often hard to do, but is what we are supposed to do. 

Thanks for reading again.  Have a great week!