Colin S. Smith's Blog, page 28

What Will Life in Heaven Be Like?

In heaven, you will serve God as you always wished you could.

“They are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple.” (Revelation 7:15)

Every Christian serves Christ, but none of us serves the
Lord as we would like to serve Him. All who love Christ worship Him, but none
of us worships as we would like to worship. Don’t you find yourself at times
asking, “Why is my heart so sluggish? Why is my response to the grace of God so
restrained, so calculating?”

Every Christian wants to serve Christ, but we find ourselves
in conflict: “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38). We
throw ourselves into serving Christ and into living for Christ, and then we get
tired or we become discouraged. We get bogged down in our unsolved problems and
our unanswered questions.

But it will not always be so. In heaven, you will serve God
as you always wished you could. “Day and night” they serve Him. No tiredness
there!

Here, we go through seasons of feeling distant from God, and we want to have a new and fresh experience of God. But in heaven, you will be before His throne. You will be with Him, and you will enjoy Him forever!

In heaven, Christ will lead you into ever-increasing joy.

“The Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water.” (Revelation 7:16)

You may think, “Heaven’s going to be a wonderful place where
I’m going to discover all kinds of marvelous things.” Yes, it will be a
wonderful place, but John is telling us, “It’s better than that.” What’s
missing?

Christ is the great Shepherd of His people. He feeds them and that is why they are never hungry (7:16). And He leads them—Christ does this for us on earth, and He will do this for us in heaven, “the Lamb will… guide them to springs of living water!” The great joy of heaven is that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself will lead you into ever-increasing delight.

Some of you have found a favorite place to vacation. You
keep going back, and over the years, you’ve gotten to know it better and better.
And after many years, you know most of what there is to know.

There’s no restaurant you haven’t eaten at, no shop you haven’t bought something at, and no hotel you haven’t stayed in. You will never get to that place in heaven. Heaven will be an infinite world of new discoveries, and Jesus Christ will unfold them to you. Thomas Boston says:

The divine perfections will be an unbounded field, in which the glorified shall walk eternally, seeing more and more of God; since they can never come to the end of the infinite. They may bring their vessels to this ocean every moment, and fill them with new waters. 

Donald Macleod, who spent his life teaching in seminary, noticed
that some people thought heaven would be filled only with studying book of
theology. He points out that life in the new heaven and the new earth will be
more than life in the Garden of Eden. He says of the garden:

Paradise was no mere seminary. It offered scope for art, science, and technology as well as theology. The same will doubtless be true of the world to come. Not only the Creator but the creation, too will be an object of wonder to the redeemed. It will; challenge their intellects, fire their imaginations and stimulate their industry. The scenario is a thrilling one: brilliant minds in powerful bodies in a transformed universe. 

This joy will go on increasing forever! Think about looking
through a photo album: The joys you experience in life remain in your
memory so that you continue to derive happiness from them—things that happened
ten years ago or twenty years ago.

Jonathan Edwards asks, “Do you think it will be any less in
heaven?”

Their knowledge will increase to eternity; and if their knowledge, their holiness; for as they increase in the knowledge of God, they will see more of his excellency (beauty), and the more they see of his excellency (beauty) the more they will love him, and the more they love God, the more delight and happiness they will have in him.

Friends, we are talking about exponentially increasing joy! What
will that be like after a million, million ages?

In heaven, all your wounds will finally be healed.

“God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:17)

Every tear! Literally, the tears will be wiped “out of their
eyes.” This is telling us God removes, not only the tears, but also the source
that produces the tears—even their tear ducts!

The baggage you carried—there’s nothing to carry now. It’s
gone. The temptations you battled—there are no battles now. The pain you
suffered—there’s no suffering now.

John sees the glory of heaven, the presence of Jesus, the
glory of the new creation, but then like a drumbeat you have this repeated
statement of what will not be there: No death; no mourning. No sins
to confess; no temptations to overcome. No sickness to suffer; no pain to
endure. No crosses to carry; no fears to face.

All your questions will be answered. All your doubts will be
resolved. These people have been crushed, but look at them now! Their longings
are fulfilled. Their needs are met. Their joy is complete. And God will wipe
away every tear from their eyes. If you have been washed in the blood of
Christ, it will not be long before you are there too.

Longing to Depart, Ready to Stay

Look at what lies ahead of you, and it will help you to face whatever you are facing today. Donald Macleod reminds us that heaven is our Father’s house, and he says:

What a grief it must be to God that so few of His children want to go home! Here we are, in enemy territory, amid the sufferings of the present time, beset by sin and seeing our Father’s name dishonored all around us and yet we want to stay!

He recalls Paul’s longing to depart and be with Christ, which the apostle says is “better by far.” But at the same time, Paul says, “I’ve got to be ready to stay and continue serving the church.”

This surely is the healthy Christian attitude: Willing to
stay, for the sake of the work still to be done, but longing to get home.

Serving Christ will be your great delight in heaven, so find
joy by serving Him now. Following Christ will lead you to springs of living
water in heaven, so find life by following Christ now. Christ will wipe every
tear from your eye in heaven, so find comfort by drawing near to Him now.

This article was adapted from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “Set Your Mind on Things Above,” from his series The Inner Story of Your Future Life.



Photo Credit: Unsplash

25 Bible Verses About Heaven

Ever wondered about heaven? The Bible speaks about eternity often, in both the Old and New Testaments. If you’ve found yourself wondering how a person gets to heaven, what heaven is like, or what Jesus had to say about heaven, then use the following list of Bible verses about heaven to spur on your Bible study and your worship.

1. “Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:8)

2. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

3. “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.” (Colossians 1:13)

4. “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 shelter them with his presence.

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;

    the sun shall not strike them,

    nor any scorching heat.

For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,

    and he will guide them to springs of living water,

and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 21:15-17)

5. “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray…But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,  he saved us…so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:3-7)

6. “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11)

7. “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

8. “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7)

9. “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” (Revelation 21:3)

10. “Set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:13)

11. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:21-23)

12. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

13. “A person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.” (Galatians 2:16)

14. “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “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. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:1-7)

15. “Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.”(Deuteronomy 10:14)

16. “The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.” (Psalm 14:2)

17. “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.” (Isaiah 65:17)

18. “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples

    a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,

    of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.

And he will swallow up on this mountain

    the covering that is cast over all peoples,

    the veil that is spread over all nations.

He will swallow up death forever;

and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,

    and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,

    for the Lord has spoken.

It will be said on that day,

    “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.

    This is the Lord; we have waited for him;

    let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” (Isaiah 25:6-9)

19. “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

20. “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number,from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” (Revelation 21:9-12)

21. “Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,who is coming into the world.” (John 11:23-27)

22. “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” (Matthew 22:30-32)

23. “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.” (2 Corinthians 5:1-5)

24. “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” (Philippians 3:20-21)

25. “ And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3)

 

[This article was originally posted in 2015]

10 Quotes from Pastor Colin’s book “For All Who Grieve”

If you are struggling with any kind of loss (your loved one died, you were let go from a job, your income dropped, a good friend moved away, your reputation was damaged, or a relationship ended) then the book For All Who Grieve is for you.  

Each chapter begins with the story of a couple who experienced the loss of a child and ends with a glimpse into the book of Lamentations to see how God ministers to grieving people. Along the way, you will consider the relationship between your grief and the themes: talk, tears, guilt, grievance, hope, and healing.

There are a lot of good and very practical things in the book For All Who Grieve, but the best part is that Pastor Colin Smith warmly and skillfully points us to the tender shepherd we all look for when we have to navigate the valley of sorrow and loss – Jesus Christ.

10 Quotes from For All Who Grieve



10. On Tears

Tears are the shuddering of the body at the pain of the soul. (25)

9. On Pressure

Grief builds in the soul like steam in a boiler, and the pressure of grief that is not expressed can break your heart. (40)

8. On Others

God calls your brothers and sisters to weep with you, but that can only happen if you will allow others to walk with you in your sorrow. (46)

7. On Conscience

Your conscience is a gift from God, and its voice must be heard. (61)

6. On Guilt

The answer to false guilt is truth, and the answer to true guilt is grace. (62)

5. On Love

It’s hard to believe that God loves you when He takes away someone you love. (71)

4. On Jesus

There are whispers of Jesus all over Lamentations. (80)

3. On Anger

If you believe that God is angry with you, it won’t be long before you are angry with Him. (82)

2. On Prayer

You don’t need to have an ordered and peaceful mind before you can pray. (109)

1. On Faith

Your faith holds onto Christ, but the greater truth is that Christ holds onto you. (111)

The Glory of Jesus Displayed in Us

I have been reading through the Gospel of John, and I have been reflecting on two stories that particularly highlight the glory of Jesus. And I’d like to share them with you also.

Story #1: Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

This story is recorded in John 9. You may recognize the conversation between Jesus and His disciples as they saw a blind man:

“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered. “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” (John 9:2-3)

Jesus then goes on to heal the man by anointing his eyes with mud and telling him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. He does this is able to see again!

This causes quite the scene for people who knew him. Everyone knew he was blind, and now they are trying to account for how he has come to see again. The Pharisees catch wind of this going on, and so they go to question him. The once-blind man told them Jesus healed him, but they don’t believe it.

The Pharisees don’t even believe that he was ever blind! So they go to the man’s parents’ house, and his parents do confirm that the man was born blind (John 9:18-23).

The Pharisees simply do not believe and question the man again. They say, “We know that this man [Jesus] is a sinner.” And the blind man responded, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” And the man continued on to testify to the Pharisees, saying:

“If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” (John 9:33)

Story #2: Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead

We all may know that story of Jesus’s friend Lazarus. Lazarus died, and Jesus resurrected him from the dead. Clearly, we can already see some of the similar theological implications between being changed from blind to seeing and being raised from death to life.

But what struck me in my reading of the Gospel of John this time around was John 11:4. Now, Jesus had just been told that Lazarus was very ill. And Jesus responded:

“This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” (John 11:4)

Compare that to John 9:3! Both the blind man and Lazarus went through suffering so that God would be glorified.

More to the Story

Now, there’s more to the story. If we jump to John 12, we see that Jesus is with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus again, and Jesus and Lazarus are “reclining . . . at the table” (12:2). What a remarkable conversation they must have been having!

Remember what has happened up to this point: Lazarus gets ill, dies, and Jesus raises him from the dead in front of a large crowd. That large crowd, upon hearing that Jesus is back with Lazarus, is keen to see what will happen next. And they “continued to bear witness” about Jesus’s miracle (12:17).

The Pharisees are interested too because they still do not believe Jesus is the Messiah. They even sentence Lazarus to death because of his involvement with Jesus (John 12:10). Poor Lazarus!

When Jesus then arrives in Jerusalem the next day, a large crowd “took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, ‘Hosanna!'” (John 12:13). Why did they go there to meet him? Well, because they heard from all their friends and neighbors that Jesus rose Lazarus from the dead (12:18).

And the Pharisees could not stop people from praising Jesus’s name. They had to listen to it. They had to hear it. But they rejected him still, saying, “Look, the world has gone after him” (12:19).

You’ll Be Surprised at How God Uses Your Suffering

These stories show us that you never know how the sufferings in your life will work to glorify Jesus. If the blind man was never blind, then his friends and family would have never known the glory of Jesus Christ. If Lazarus had never died, the large crowd would not have shown up to begin what we now celebrate as Palm Sunday.

But these stories also show us that your sufferings may not touch the person you think is most likely to see the glory of Jesus. The Pharisees had read the Scriptures, they knew the signs to look for, it was their whole life to wait for the Messiah–and they rejected Him.

So, Christian, pray for others. Pray that God would use your trial, your suffering, to bring others to know His glory.

Photo Credit: Unsplash

How Christ Changed the Face of Death for His People

When the perishable puts on the
imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the
saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” (1 Corinthians
15:54)

Here’s
death, and death is the great devourer of the human race. One-by- one, death
swallows every one of us up. One writer says about death:

Gold cannot bribe it, wisdom cannot elude it, eloquence cannot charm it, greatness cannot awe it, power cannot resist it and tears cannot melt it. Death is everywhere; it has made the world a field of graves. (Adapted from Andrew Symington in “Precious Seed,” p. 215, Solid Ground, 2007)

Death is the
great devourer of the human race, but here we’re being told that death itself
will be swallowed up in victory.

Death and His Two Henchmen

Death, the
old grim reaper, has two dreadful henchmen. One of Death’s henchman is
called Sin, “the sting of death is sin” (1 Corinthians 15:56). The
other henchman is called Law, “the power of sin is the law” (15:56).

These three
form a dark triumvirate—a triple tragedy. Law is the demand that we cannot
meet. Sin is the stain that we cannot remove. Death is the outcome
that we cannot avoid.

I’ve spoken
with folks, and I’m sure you have too, who don’t care much about death: “I
don’t know what you’re worried about. You live, you die. You make the best of
it. And when you’re gone, you’re gone.”

They forget
about Death’s henchmen. If death was simply the end of life, dying would not be
a great problem. The sting of death is sin. The problem is dying in your sins. That’s
the sting!

Why is dying
in your sins a problem?  Because of the law. God has called you to a life
that you haven’t lived. God has given you commandments that you haven’t kept. God
has work for you to do that you haven’t done.

Friends,
this puts every one of us in a desperate position. We find ourselves swallowed
up in a triple tragedy: A demand that we cannot meet, a stain that we cannot
remove and an outcome that we cannot avoid—Law, Sin, and Death!

Jesus Christ

Now look up
with me to Jesus Christ. Who is He?  And what did He do?  He is the
Son of God, and He took our flesh. He has come to stand with us, and to act for
us as our Redeemer.

What did He
do?

Christ lived a perfect life that completely fulfilled the law of God. 

Everything God calls a man or a woman to be, Christ was. Everything God calls a man or a woman to do, Christ did. Read through the Gospels and you will find this affirmed. He fulfilled the law. That deals with the first henchman.

Christ laid down His perfect life as a sacrifice for the sins of others.

He gave His life for people like you and me. At the cross, the sins of others were laid on Jesus. He had no sins of His own. He took the sins of others on Himself and came under a terrible curse.

Christ died
for the ungodly—the people who have not fulfilled the law; those who know that
they have many sins. He died for sins. That deals with the second henchman.

Christ went into death itself.

“Father,
into your hands I commit my Spirit,” he said, and then he breathed his last
(John 23:46). The eyes of Jesus closed in death. Death came into the experience
of the Son of God. They took His body from the cross and laid it in a tomb.

On the third
day, He rose from the dead. It was impossible for death to hold Him!  He
went into death, swept through it, and came out of it. Christ swallowed up
death in victory!

Christ’s
triumph will also be yours if you are in Him. Of course, if you are in Him, you
will still die. Unless you are alive when Christ returns, you will go through
death.

But if you
are in Christ, death’s sting has gone for you. You will not die in your sins;
you will die in the Lord. You will stand before God, not in the rags of your
own half-hearted righteousness, but in the white robes of Jesus’ perfect
righteousness.

Then, when
Jesus comes in glory, you will come with Him and He will give you a resurrected
body. Death will be swallowed up in victory for you. No wonder Paul says,
“Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord” (1
Corinthians 15:57).

This article was adapted from
Pastor Colin’s sermon, “The Resurrection,”
from his series The Inside Story of Your Future Life.



Photo Credit: Unsplash

The Image of God: Three Important Questions

Genesis is a word that simply means beginning.

Here in chapter one, we find both the beginning of the Bible and the beginning of Creation. We learn that we have a God who can create energy, matter, waves, time, life, and us by his very words. I find this to be an awesome truth about God! Our God is the glorious Creator. And out of everything God could have created, it is incredibly humbling to think that he created you and me.

In verse 27, God reveals to us a truth that should shape our entire view of humanity and his creation: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” The God who created the heavens and the earth tells us this: We are made in his image. This is a very beautiful, complex reality, so let’s unpack three important questions that arise from this truth in Genesis chapter one.

Q1: What does it mean to be made in the image of God?

There are several ways that I think Christians can faithfully answer this question, but before we do, follow along with me in Genesis 1:26-27:

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

First, to be created in God’s image means that we have been given a unique status, a divine dignity as human beings. It means that God has set us apart and made us a very special creation in this world. As Christians we cannot forget the significance of this special honor that God has bestowed upon all humanity.

Secondly, to be created in God’s image means that God himself has determined how we ought to live. It means that God has made us to live his way rather than our own way. J.I. Packer once described this word “image” in Genesis as “representative likeness.” In other words, God created human beings to represent himself through us on earth.

What do these truths mean for us as Christians? We must remember that all people, since the fall of Adam and Eve, have abused the privileged status of being called God’s image bearers. Our fallen sin nature can thus make it difficult for us to walk in holiness and love other people. But as Christians God is using us to restore his image among his fallen image bearers, whom he loves! These verses from Genesis should compel us to love all people as God’s creation, as we share the good news of powerful healing that is found only in the gospel of Jesus Christ. This should also compel us to live as Christ, in true righteousness and holiness.

Q2: How can God’s broken image bearers be restored?

Before we answer this question, it is important that we emphasize something about our created nature as human beings. When man became sinful, human beings did not stop being God’s image bearer. Though our ability to reflect God’s image is tainted by sin, we can still reflect God’s glory through our lives.

This is why by God’s common grace, evil people can still do good things. Reflecting God’s image is hardwired into how we were created, and it is fundamentally what makes us human. To be human is to reflect God’s glory, to be unhuman is to sin against God. Like a mirror that cracks, a cracked mirror doesn’t stop being a mirror. It just becomes a distorted reflection of what it’s supposed to be.

I think that most of us deep down know that we are spiritually broken. The danger we face is that we look in all the wrong places for restoration. Some of us are deceived into thinking that we can fix ourselves if we just live a good enough life or right enough wrongs. Others of us know we can’t fix ourselves so we try to live life to the fullest, indulging in all this world has to offer us.

How can God’s image bearers be restored? Not by themselves, or by the world, but by Christ alone. Through God’s grace we no longer belong to this fallen world, because in Christ we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. The reason why Jesus can restore us is not only that he was in the beginning of creation, but that he lived the perfect life as the incarnate Son of Man, fully human and fully God. In doing so Jesus became the purest reflection and example of God’s glorious image on earth. In other words, he was the perfect mirror without any scratch, crack, chip, or smudge.

Q3: If I’ve been restored, then what next?

Our last question has to do with the process of sanctification. This is the way we honor God by pursuing holiness with the help of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is full of ways that we should respond to the gospel and reflect God’s glory.

One way is to pursue obedience to God. God wants us to conform our will to his will, so we turn from former sins and put God’s interests ahead of our own. We also spread the good news of salvation, whether that take us to our neighbor across the street or to the unreached across the globe.

Another way we honor God is by relying on him for spiritual nourishment and fellowship. For this, God has given us his Word and Holy Spirit to help us grow in our relationship with him. He also gives us the Church, the Body of Christ, to grow relationally with other believers who have been transformed by the gospel. Image bearers must also rely upon God’s grace and forgiveness through Jesus Christ during times when we go astray.

We should also respond to God in worship. Praise him for the grandeur and goodness of his creation that reflects his handiwork. Praise God for making light to see, and night to rest. Praise God for making water, land and sky. Praise God for every sunny day and starry moonlit night. Praise God for filling this world with birds and fish and animals of every kind. Praise God for making you after his likeness.

And best of all, praise and thank God for restoring you in Jesus Christ.

[This article was originally posted in 2014.]

How Does the Bible Talk About Time?

I was reading a book recently that discussed our modern notion of time. The writer said that we have started to view time as a resource that we have possession of. We treat the minutes of our day much like we treat the dollars in our pocket, considering how we might spend what we mistake to be ours.

The writer says that this has produced “a kind of bondage to the clock.”[1]

But
what does Scripture have to say about this? What kind of language does God’s
Word use concerning time?

The Days are Evil

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:16–17)

In
his letter to the Ephesians, Paul encourages us to make “the best use” of time.
This is so crucial because the days themselves are evil. What does this mean?
It could mean that the world we live in is prone to evil. It could also mean
that without any redemptive activity, the time span of a day itself does not
lead anyone to Christ.

And
what then is the best use of our time?

God Entrusts Us with
Time

“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? (Matthew 24:45)

Before
I speak to the best use of our time, I must point out where time comes from. I associated
time with money at the beginning of this article, and that is a good way to
think about it. We know that money is a resource trusted to us by God Himself.
Why should time be any different?

In
the verse above, we see that there is a master of the household who trusts his
faithful and wise servant. The trust here is not only to give out the food but
also to give out the food at the proper time. The master of the household
grants his servant the power of deciding when to do things.

We
too must view our time as entrusted to us by God Himself. He has given us these
things, and He expects us to make the best use of them. So what is the best use
of the time we have been given?

Time is Fulfilled
in Jesus Christ

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)

Although
the days are evil, time can be fulfilled and redeemed. How? By repentance and by
believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Why? Because
the past prophesied Christ (and our past included the incarnation, life, death,
and resurrection of Christ), the future is all about Christ’s glory and reign,
and so the present must follow suit and be all about Christ.

So, “making
the best use of time” means glorifying Jesus Christ and bringing others to Him!

Night is Coming

“We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.” (John 9:4)

What
I want to highlight from this verse is the sense that some new kind of time is
approaching. Jesus refers to it as “night” which is a scary thing if you
consider that Jesus is the light of the world. So “night” then implies some new
kind of time where the days are not only evil but completely dark.

The difference I am trying to convey is that in the first category, evil can be changed to good, while in the second category, the darkness is incapable of any change. Listen to Paul’s words in 2 Timothy:

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching. (2 Timothy 4:1–3, italics added)

So, we
must work to bring people to Christ now! And we expect the work to be very difficult
because the “days are evil.”

Stay Awake

“But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:36)

I
find this progression to be a very helpful picture of the story of time from a biblical
perspective. It is day, but the days are evil. What comes after day? Night. And
what happens to people at night? They get tired, and they fall asleep.

There is nothing wrong with getting good sleep! Jesus is certainly not advocating for us to pull all-nighters as if we were energy drink–charged middle school students. This is figurative speaking for how things will change regarding the world’s relationship with God. The days are evil, but work can still be done. Night is coming, where no work can be done.

For the individual Christian, Jesus is urging us to not fall prey to this change in the times. He says, “stay awake at all times.” Meaning, even if the whole world around you has abandoned the truth of the gospel, follow Christ anyway.

Photo
Credit: Unsplash

[1] Philip D. Kenneson, Life on the Vine
(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 116.

A Resurrected Body Talking to Its Believing Soul

One of the writers I like to read
is an old Scottish preacher by the name of Thomas Boston. He had a vivid
imagination, and in one of his sermons, he pictured the soul and the body of a
believer engaging in conversation after they are reunited in the resurrection.

Your Resurrection Body, Talking to Your Believing Soul

Imagine your resurrected body,
talking to your believing soul:

Well, my friend, it’s good to be back together after that awful separation we endured. It was all right for you—you went into the presence of Jesus. I got stuck in a grave! The silver cord that tied us together was cut, but now we are reunited, and we’ll never be separated again. How different this is from the moment that we were pulled apart.

“I am so glad to be your body. Your great longing was that Christ should be in us. You knew that Christ in us was our hope of glory. You made me a temple of the Holy Spirit. You have brought me into all of this joy. I’m sorry I made life so hard for you. I was often a burden to you; so slow, so sluggish, so reluctant. How often you were willing; I was weak.

I know I was difficult for you to master. But you mastered me well. You made these eyes shed tears over sin. You led these knees to kneel before God in faith and repentance. You used this tongue in confession and prayer and thanksgiving, and now it will be used in praises forevermore.

I’m so grateful you did not let me have my way. Others pampered their flesh, lived for their comfort, followed the lusts of their bodies and it led to their destruction. But here I am, risen and taking my place with you in mansions of glory.

And now, my soul, no more will you complain of a sick and weary body. Now I will keep pace with you in the praises of our God forevermore.

Your Believing Soul’s Response

Then your believing soul will say
to your body something like this:

I’m so happy to be reunited with you, my friend. You were, and are and always will be, a temple of the Holy Spirit.

Arise, my body. and come with me: Let the eyes that used to weep over sins look with joy on the face of the Redeemer. Let the ears that heard the Word of Life come and hear the songs of heaven. Let the feet that took me to worship with the people of God take their place in the great congregation of above. Let the tongue that confessed faith in Christ, join the choirs of heaven to sing His praises forevermore.

Listen, to me my body: Often you have been fasting, now you will be feasting. Often you have wept, but now all tears will be wiped from your eyes. We took part in the fight together; come, let us together receive and wear the crown.

Isn’t that a marvelous picture? The
believing soul and body, rejoicing together in complete harmony, entering as
one into the presence of Jesus with joy that will never end.

This article was adapted from
Pastor Colin’s sermon, “The Resurrection,”
from his series The Inside Story of Your Future Life.



Photo Credit: Unsplash

God Is Glorified Through Excellent Communication

Thought and speech are God’s gifts to creatures made in His image; these are intimately asociated with Him and impossible apart from Him.

(A.W. Tozer)

“Reading and writing are so boring and a waste of time.” “Why do we have to learn to talk? I already know how to.” As an English teacher for almost seven years, these comments are only scarce compared to the number of complaints I have received from teenagers about how reading, writing, speaking, and listening are difficult.

Battling communication is not a new problem for humans, but I believe between the war for our excellence in literacy and communication is harder today; with the pull for social media, TV, and gaming, we do ourselves a disservice by not practicing the patience and critical thinking we need in a culture that calls us away from God’s Word.

So, do our communication and literacy skills have any connection to our relationship with God? Does the Lord care if we read, speak, or listen well?

God Makes Himself Known through Words

From the beginning of time, God spoke life into being. In Genesis 1, the beginning of our story, Scripture says, “God said…” and then the “formless and empty” world was given life (Genesis 1:2,3). 

God spoke with words, and life happened. As we continue in the Word, the Old Testament shows us that the Lord speaks to His people again and again to make His name known; whether it is speaking to Moses at the burning bush, using David to speak to the Israelites, or speaking to Prophets the truth of who Jesus is. 

Not only does the Father speak, God believes words are so important He uses John to describe His Son, Jesus Christ, as “The Word” (John 1:1). Jesus is later told by Peter that He alone “has the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Jesus is the Word, and He is the only one who has the words for us to live by.

We find these “words of eternal life” in Scripture are described as “The Word of God” which is “living and active” (Hebrews 4:12). The “Scriptures testify about [Jesus]” (John 5:39). By reading and meditating on the Word of God, we know Jesus Christ as our salvation. 

Also, the Holy Spirit helps us understand and speak the Word. As we read Scripture, the Holy Spirit enlightens our hearts to the meaning of the words. Because we believe that these “words [are] not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit” we then need the Spirit to “interpret spiritual truths to [us]” (1 Corinthians 2:13). The Holy Spirit gives us wisdom on the truths God wants us to understand in the Bible.

So, if God speaks, Jesus is the Word, and the Spirit helps us understand the Word, this implies a call for the Church to uphold the Word and glorify the Lord in our understanding of the Word. 

Church, We Are Called To Make Christ Known through the Word

The echoes of my students’ complaints about reading and communication weigh on my heart. As humans, we are prone to forgetting, being superficial in our ways, and being selfish in our wisdom.

Therefore, Church, we should be marked by critically meditating on and articulating correctly the Word of God. 

We as believers should cultivate skills to make us better learners and communicators of Scripture so that He is most glorified. Through God’s common grace of literacy, the Holy Spirit can help us understand His Word. Church, we can do this by preaching and speaking the Word, by reading and meditating on the Word, and by listening to the Word of God. 

How to Glorify God through Excellent Communication and Literacy:  




1. Reading and Meditating on the Word Glorifies God 

The Lord is glorified by accuracy, analysis, and critical thinking of the Bible. The Psalmist encourages, “his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:2).

In order to meditate on Scripture, we have to know how to read well. We read the text for clarity by looking at the context, genre, language, and the people it was spoken to. Reading this way will take time and critical thinking, but then you will understand better.

We need to pause and ponder at His Word.  As you read for understanding, this will allow you then to meditate, or chew on the words, as the Spirit speaks to you and helps you delight in His law. 

Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the Word of  Christ dwell in you richly.” Dwelling on God’s Word after you read helps you glorify Him in your thoughts, and this eventually will lead to being able to speak the Word.

2. Preaching and Speaking the Word Glorifies God 

Preachers and speakers that read and meditate on God’s Word are able to communicate the promises of our Great God! Martin Lloyd-Jones argued that “any true definition of preaching must say that that man is there to deliver the message of God.”

If a preacher is to fearfully communicate the message of God, it is imperative that preaching is rooted in Scripture. 2 Corinthians 2:13 says, “we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.” The preacher’s call is to teach not human wisdom, but the words that God has written down in the Bible. 

The means by which a preacher does this is studying the Scriptures. The accuracy of God’s Word is primary to the art of a preacher. A preacher accurately preaches by being a good student of the Scriptures himself, by studying context, language, people, and genres of the text.

In doing so, preachers confidently communicate what the Lord desires.  These skills come from an understanding of how to deeply read the text. As God’s Word is rooted in our preaching, we can trust the Lord as Moses did that God, when God told him, “I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak” (Exodus 4:12). 

Although preaching is a gift God gives to only some believers, all Christians are called to speak the Word to one another. The Scriptures have a lot to say about our speech and communication. God’s Word calls us to speak to one another in “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” using our words for “building up” in order it “might give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29, 5:19).

What beautiful commands! As we practice speaking to one another in this way, our love for one another and Christ grows. And as such, we glorify the Lord in our speech. 

3. Listening to the Word of God Glorifies God

As we read, meditate, speak and preach the Word of God, we soon realize our “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17).

Jesus tells us, “my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28). When we listen to Christ’s words, we know and follow Him. Through Him we receive eternal life.

Praise God! And as we listen to our Savior’s Word, we grow in our love for Him and we will be not only “hearers” but “doers of the word” as well (James 1:22). Listen intently to Jesus’s sweet words and the Holy Spirit will give desire, motivation, and power to live out His words.

So Church, as our human wisdom is frail, and our brains are lazy with our literacy and communication skills, let us look to the God who has made Himself known through words, and seek to glorify Him in how we make His eternal Word known. 

Photo Credit: Unsplash

70 Prompts for Fighting Sin

Jude, in his epistle, issues a challenge, a call. He appeals
to readers to contend for the faith (Jude 3) or, to stay true to the message of
Christ as originally proclaimed by the Lord’s apostles. As believers today, one
application of his appeal throughout the book of Jude is to be compelled by
God’s holiness and grace to live in greater and greater congruency with what is
right.

The prayers below contain 70 principles derived from Jude’s letter about how and why believers fight sin and falsehood—contending for God’s goodness and truth to rule in the inner person.

Father, I want to avoid sin . . .

Because I was reborn to serve not myself, but
You (Jude 1).Because You, a holy God, love me (Jude 1).Because the grace of being kept for Christ is my
joy; sin is not (Jude 1).Through Your kind mercy that upholds me (Jude
2).Through my status of peace with You in Christ,
which rightly births actions that are at peace with You too (Jude 2). By Your love that makes me want Your fellowship instead
of my sins (Jude 2).By the power of the unchangeable truth of the
faith that supports my spiritual life (Jude 3).And not grow complacent; alert me to my sins, I
pray (Jude 4).Because those who refuse, in unbelief, to turn
from their sins are designated to destruction (Jude 4).Because
being ungodly is a contradiction of who I was made by You, my God, to be
(Jude 4).In
order to progress spiritually by not perverting Your grace into something that
gives leniency to sin and digression (Jude 4).Because
disobedience to You offensively moves to negate who Jesus is, my Master and
Lord (Jude 4).Through
knowing I am accountable to the revealed truths of Scripture (Jude 4-5).Through
dwelling on the mightiest act of salvation man could know—Jesus’ (Jude 5).Because
the prerogative to tell me what to do and how to do it is Yours (Jude 6).Because
future judgment means You never condone a casual attitude about sin (Jude 6).Through
humble knowledge that, apart from Christ, sinners deserve eternal fire,
conscience and unending suffering (Jude 7).By
setting all of my dreams, my desires, before Your Word for approval or
disapproval (Jude 8).By
using my faculties and abilities according to Your holy will (Jude 8). In
reverence for You (Jude 9).Through
logic and reasoning that help me discern and choose what is right (Jude 10).Because
I do not want to be a danger in leading others away from You (Jude 11).In
love for my brothers and sisters in Christ, not wanting to wrong and hurt them
(Jude 12).Because
I never want to be numb to wickedness, sinning without any holy fear of You
(Jude 12).In
order to be able to bless others—I was not made to feed or help only myself
(Jude 12).Because
sin leads to more sin—like that of boasting of false insight in order to rationalize
wrong actions (Jude 12).Because
otherwise, I would be a fruit tree barren of fruit (Jude 12).Through
knowing the destruction sin causes to the soul—its path is one that ultimately
leads to lifeless up-rootedness (Jude 12). Because
wild living based on my own rules rejects the good and purposeful direction of
my Creator (Jude 13).Because
the shame of sin brings an upheaval of life and circumstance, for me and those I
know (Jude 13).Because
my spiritual trajectory is intended to be fixed on You; a wandering spirit
negates how you made me to be (Jude 13). Because
sin is suited to a gloomy, utter darkness—not to a new creation in Christ (Jude
13).Through
heeding the warning of condemnation for the faithlessly unrepentant (Jude 14).By
thinking ahead to seeing You—how I will hate every second of sin, every denial
of You as Lord and Master on that final day (Jude 14)!Through
dwelling on the magnitude of the human decision to be faithless; Your judgments
will not be altered in the age to come (Jude 15).Because
You deserve all honor, not deeds and words of ungodliness (Jude 15). Because
sin involves a grumbling spirit that sets self on high (Jude 16)Because
sin involves discontentment, a form of disdain for what You have given and vain
covetousness for what You have not (Jude 16).Because
unrepentant sin is not an isolated act but the beginning or continuance of a pattern
(Jude 16).Because
unrepentant sin leads to me becoming loudest in my own mind—keeping me from
hearing You and others (Jude 16). Because
sin makes me see others merely as people to use for my objectives (Jude 16).Through
wisely recalling biblical predictions that some who profess to believe will later
reject You—my faith need not be displaced and my ears need not attune to hollow
reasoning (Jude 17).Through
remembering that I live in the last times; this life will soon pass (Jude 18).By
a listening spirit that inclines itself toward holiness—and does not scoff at
what I do not yet understand about God (Jude 18). Because
unrepentant sin keeps my emotions from being devoted first to You (Jude 18). Because
I never want to initiate any divisions in Christ’s beloved church through uttering
false and ungodly proclamations—since division between true believers and unrepentant
false teachers is vital (Jude 19).Because
sin is worldliness, and worldliness will pass away with the world (Jude 19).Because
sin involves seeking selfish power, dismissive of the power of the Holy Spirit
(Jude 19).Through
glad expectation that I can be built up in my faith (Jude 20).Through
tuning my heart to the most holy nature of the faith (Jude 20).Through
prayer in the Holy Spirit—truth-filled and Christ-exalting (Jude 20).In
thankfulness that You have loved me before I ever knew to love You (Jude 20).Through
highly anticipating the day when mercy will be finalized in glory (Jude 21).Because
eternal life awaits, which blossoms from the seed of this life (Jude 21).By
trusting that doubts do not disqualify me from returning to the faith (Jude
22).Through
a cautious attitude—I am more susceptible to sin and its power than I think (Jude
23).Because
Christ in me is a gift I want to cherish (Jude 24).Through
confidence in Christ and all of His grace—the One who alone is able to keep me
from falling to judgment (Jude 24).Because
Christ shed His own precious blood to make me blameless (Jude 24). Through
the expectation of one day being in Your presence—glorious (Jude 24).Through
hope of an ultimate union of You together with Your people, which will yield a
joy like no other (Jude 24).Because
You are God of all people, all places, and all times—the only One worthy of my unqualified
obedience (Jude 25). Because
Jesus Christ has given Himself, that those who believe can call Him ours (Jude
25). In
order to worship You above all else—for You are glorious, having radiant worth
in all of who You are (Jude 25);You
are majestic, with a beauty and transcendence that fills creatures will holy awe
(Jude 25);To
You belongs dominion, ultimate victory in this world (Jude 25);And
to You belongs authority to do and command according to Your matchless,
sovereign will (Jude 25). Because
You are God above and before me—existing prior time’s start (Jude 25).Because
You reign at this moment, calling for my present loving obedience (Jude 25).Because
You are King forever, and You see fit to include in Your glory all who choose You
now (Jude 25).

Thank You, Father, for the Scriptures that instruct me, Your Holy Spirit who guides me, Your promises that preserve me, and Christ—the prize of all prizes before me. Amen.

Photo Credit: Unsplash