What Will We Be Doing In Heaven?

What Will We Be Doing in Heaven?

In Luke 23:43, Jesus declared, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in paradise." The word Jesus used for "paradise" is paradelisos which means "a park, that is, specifically an Eden (place of future happiness, paradise). Paradeiosos is the Greek word taken from the Hebrew word pardes which means "a park: - forest, orchard". Jesus said, "Today you shall be with Me" "enparadeisos," not "en nephele" which is Greek for "in clouds." The point is that Jesus picked and used the word for "park". Not just any park but "the paradise of God" or park of God (Revelation 2:7) which for us will be a place of future happiness. Does this sound like a boring place? When you think of a park, do you think of boredom?

Jesus said, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve" (Matthew 4:10). It's interesting to note that Jesus did not say "praise and serve." Even the briefest examination of the word "praise" in the Bible, shows it's a verbal thing and for the most part is praying. Worship however is from the heart. Worship manifests us if we praise. Serving God is worship, and Scripture is also clear we will serve God in heaven (Rev. 22:3).

We are unable to fully serve God in this life due to sin, but in heaven "every curse will no longer be" (Rev. 22:3). We will not be under the curse of sin any longer, so everything we do will be worship in heaven. We will never be motivated by anything other than our love for God. Everything we do will be out of our love for God, untainted by our sin nature.

So what will we do? My favorite thing is to learn. "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? (Romans 11:34), "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3). God is the "the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity" (Isaiah 57:15). God is bigger than forever, and it will take eternity "to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to know the love of God" (Eph. 3:18-19). In other words, we will never stop learning.

God's Word says we won't have to be in His paradise alone. "I shall fully know even as I also am fully known" (1 Cor. 13:12). This would seem to indicate that we will not only know our friends and family, we will "fully know" them. In other words, there is no need for secrets in heaven. There is nothing to be ashamed of. There is nothing to hide. We will have eternity to interact with "a great multitude" which no man could number, out of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues." (Rev. 7:9). No wonder heaven will be a place of infinite learning. Just getting to know everyone will take eternity!

Any further anticipation about what we shall do in God's eternal park, heaven, will be far surpassed when "the King shall say to those on His right hand, "Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matthew 25:34). Whatever we will be doing, we can be sure it will be wonderful beyond our imaginations!

~Got Questions. org~

Flesh-Pleasing Pulpit Opiates!

 Flesh-Pleasing Pulpit Opiates!

They are a rebellious people, deceptive children, children  who do not obey the Lord's instruction. They say to the sears, "Do not see," and to the prophets, "Do not prophesy the truth to us. Tell us flattering things! Prophesy illusions! Get out of the way! Leave the pathway. Rid us of the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 30:9-11).

It is a striking fact, that He who was love incarnate; who was mercy's messenger to our lost world; who was names Jesus because He was to be the Saviour of His people; who was the manifestation of God's love to man - delivered, during the course of His personal ministry, more fearful descriptions of Divine justice and the punishment of the wicked, than are to be found in any other part of the Word of God! What can exceed the solemn scene of the parable of the rich man in torments? Hell and destruction are there set openly before us.

No man can fulfill his ministry, therefore, without frequently alluding to the justice of God in the punishment of sin. He must seek to alarm the fears of the unconverted by a representation of the consequences that will follow a state of final impenitence.

Such a subject frequently calls up all the enmity of the carnal mind. To be told, not only that they are sinners - which all will admit in general terms - but that their sins are such as to deserve the wrath of God, such as to expose them to the torments of hell, and such as will infallibly bring them to the bottomless pit - unless they truly repent; to be told again and again that they are hastening to perdition; to have the rod of Divine vengeance shaken over their heads; to have all the dreadful curses of the violated law analyzed, ascertained and announced; to have this done in their hearing, and done frequently; to be made to sit and hear their future eternal doom, and thus to be tormented before their time - is what they cannot, and will not endure! Unable to bear any longer his pointed addresses to the conscience, they will leave his ministry - for the flesh-pleasing pulpit opiates of some flatterers of men's souls, who is too cowardly to trouble the minds, or alarm the consciences of those who love smooth, flattering and delusive preaching.

To be publicly denounced as deserving Divine wrath; to be told that they are sinners to such a degree as to merit the eternal punishment of a holy God; to be reminded that, instead of their fancied good heart, pure nature, and blameless life - they are, in the sight of God, depraved in every faculty and polluted in every part; to be represented as unfit for communion with God here, and for His presence hereafter - all this is so opposed to all their notions, so mortifying to their vain prride, so degrading to their dignity, that they cannot but dislike it. To such a debasement they would not willingly descend; and hence their demand for the teaching of deceit, and the smooth speech of falsehood. What they want is to be flattered into a good opinion of themselves. They hate the doctrine which disturbs self-delight, and revile the man who attempts to tell them the solemn reality of how vile they are!

~J. A. James~

Godly Men Weep

 Godly Men Weep

"And he went out and wept bitterly" (Matthew 26:75).

We cannot have too low an opinion of ourselves; or too high an opinion of Christ.

Godly men weep over the evils which are found in themselves, such as error, ignorance, prejudice, pride, self-righteousness, worldliness, levity, unloving tempers and dispositions, censoriousness, envy, sinful anger, hatred, a proneness to remember wrongs to indulge complaints, to forget mercies.

There is no plague like the plague of an evil heart!

There is no misery like the wretchedness of conscious vileness.

There are no sighs so long and so deep-down as those caused by indwelling sin. Though the righteous shall not weep always, yet they may weep bitterly.

What a wretched man I am!" (Romans 7:24).

"I abhor myself" (Job 42:6).

"Behold, I am vile!" (Job 40:4).

"Woe is me! For I am undone!" (Isaiah 6:5).

"Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord! (Luke 5:8).

~William Plumer~

He Is Altogether Lovely!

 He Is Altogether Lovely!

"Yes, He is altogether lovely!" (Song of Songs 5:16).

Jesus is most desirable in Himself - and all things that are desirable are in Him.

Beauty is in Christ, bounty is in Christ, riches and honor are in Christ. Jesus Christ is the treasure hidden in the gospel, and the pearl of great price. He is the sun in the firmament of the Scriptures, whom to know is everlasting life. He is a spring full of the water of life, a hive of sweetness, a storehouse of riches, a river of pleasures, wherein you may bathe your souls to all eternity!

Oh! He is all fullness and sweetness! "He is the chief among ten thousand!" (Song of Songs 5:10).

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6). You may go to heaven without health, without wealth, without honor, without pleasure, without friends, without learning, but you can never go to Heaven without Christ!

"He loved me, and gave Himself for me!" (Galatians 2:20).

All that Christ did and suffered - it is for me!

All that Christ has, is mine!

Christ's love is mine to pity me!

Christ's graces are mine to beautify me!

Christ's power is mine to protect me!

Christ's wisdom is mine to counsel me!

Christ's Spirit is mine to comfort me!

Christ's Word is mine to teach me!

Christ's glory is mine to crown me!

Therefore, a grain of saving grace in the heart, is better than a chain of gold around the neck!

~William Dyer~

Souls Are Perishing - And Ministers Are Amusing Them!

 Souls Are Perishing - And Ministers Are Amusing Them!

"But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them - that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood! When I say to the wicked, "O wicked man, you will surely die!" and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways - that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood!" (Ezekiel 33:6-8).

We behold this same evil affecting many of the pulpits of today's churches. Mere morality is taking the place of regeneration, and the atonement by blood is a slighted subject. Instead of beseeching men to be reconciled to God - we find ministers wasting their time in giving Sunday lectures about all kinds of subjects. Rome is burning - and Nero is playing his fiddle! Souls are perishing - and ministers are amusing them!

~Archibald Brown~

Jelly-fish Christianity

Jelly-fish Christianity

The consequences of this widespread dislike to distinct biblical doctrines are very serious. Whether we like it or not, it is an epidemic which is doing great harm, and especially among young people. It creates, fosters, and keeps up an immense amount of instability in religion. It produces what I must venture to call, if I may coin the phrase, a "jelly-fish Christianity in the land - that is, a Christianity without bone, or muscle, or power.

A jelly-fish, as everyone who has been much by the seaside knows, is a pretty and graceful object when it floats in the sea, contracting and expanding like a little delicate transparent umbrella. Yet the same jelly-fish, when cast on the shore, is a mere helpless lump, without capacity for movement, self-defense, or self-preservation.

Alas! it is a vivid type of much of the religion of this day, of which the leading principles is, "No dogma, no distinct beliefs, no doctrines." We have hundreds of ministers who seem not to have a single bone in their body of divinity! They have no definite opinions; they are so afraid of extreme views, that they have no views at all. We have thousands of sermons preached every year, which are without an edge or a point or a corner - they are as smooth as marble balls, awakening no sinner, and edifying no saint!

We have legions of young men annually turned out from our universities, armed with a few scraps of second-hand philosophy, who think it a mark of cleverness and intellect to have no decided opinions about anything in religion - and to be utterly unable to make up their minds as to what is Christian truth. Their only creed, is a kind of nothingism. They are sure and positive about nothing!

And last, and worst of all, we have myriads of respectable church-going people, who have no distinct and definite views about any point in theology. They cannot discern things that differ, any more than color-blinded people can distinguish colors. They think everybody is right - and nobody is wrong, everything is true - and nothing is false, all sermons are good - and none are bad, every clergyman is sound - and no clergyman unsound.

They are tossed to and fro, like children, by every wind of doctrine, often carried away by some new excitement and sensational movement; every ready for new things, because they have no firm grasp on the old; and utterly unable to render a reason of the hope that is in them.

All this, and much more, is the result of that effeminate dread of distinct doctrine which has been so strongly developed, and has laid such hold on many pastors in these days.

I turn from the picture I have exhibited with a sorrowful heart. I grant it is a gloomy one; but I am afraid it is only too accurate and true. Let us not deceive ourselves. Distinct and definitive doctrine is at a premium just now. Instability and unsettled notions are the natural result, and meet us in every direction.

Cleverness and earnestness are the favorite idols of the age!

What a man says matters nothing - however strange and heterogeneous are the opinions he expresses! If he is only brilliant and earnest - he cannot be wrong! Never was it so important for believers to hold sound systematic views of truth, and for ministers to enunciate doctrine very clearly and distinctly in their teaching!

~J. C. Ryle~

He Justifies Us - But We Condemn Him!

 He Justifies Us - But We Condemn Him!

"This is love; not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins!" (1 John 4:10).

Jesus Christ brought life to us - but we brought death to Him!

He brought to us a life of grace, a life of comfort, a life of glory - but we brought shame to Him!

He brought riches to us - but we brought poverty to Him!

He brought joy to us - but we brought sorrow to Him, sorrow upon sorrow!

He put the crown of glory upon our heads - but we put the crown of thorns upon His head!

He does not think heaven is too good for us - but we thought the earth too good for Him, and would not let Him live here, but put Him to death!

He is not ashamed to own us before His Father and His holy angels - but we are ashamed to own Him before men!

He justifies us - but we condemn Him!

Oh! sirs, think of your unkindness to Him, and let the considerations of His infinite love and favor to you - draw out your affections after Him!

~William Dyer~

Where Shall We Hide Our Blushing Face?

 Where Shall We Hide Our Blushing Face?

There is much indeed in ourselves of which we have reason truly to be ashamed, and to be filled with profound self-abhorrence. We have need to be ashamed of our unbelief; of our low thoughts of the Saviour; of our little love to God; of our slow advance in the divine life; of our imperfect conformity to Christ; of the power of indwelling sin; of our slender spiritual attainments in knowledge, personal holiness, and heavenly meekness.

What shamefacedness should cover us, that we are so ready to compromise, to falter, and to halt.

How deeply humbled should we be that there still exists in us so much carnality, love of the world, and conformity to the world; so little of the crucified spirit of a Cross bearing Saviour!

What cause of shame that, with all our profession, the pulse of spiritual life beats in our souls so faintly, the spirit of prayer breathes in us so feebly, that we possess so little real, vital religion, and follow Christ at so great a distance.

Filled with self abasement should we be, that the fruits and graces of the Spirit are in us so sickly, drooping, and dwarfed; that we have so limited a measure of faith, love, and humility; are so defective in our patience and meekness, wisdom, and gentleness; that, with all our blossom and foliage, there is so little real fruit to the glory of our Father.

May we not, in view of all this, exclaim with Ezra, in his deep grief and humiliation for the sins of the people, "O my God, I am utterly ashamed; I blush to lift up my face to You. For our sins are piled higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached to the heavens" (Ezea 9:6).

Oh, where shall we fly; where shall we hide our blushing face but in the blood of atonement! sprinkled afresh with which, we may lift up our heads and not be ashamed!

~Octavius Winslow~

The Cords of Love!

 The Cords of Love!

"I drew them with cords of a man, with hands of love!" (Hosea 11:4).

God's love to His people is variously and wondrously displayed. But this is more especially the case, in the manner by which He brings them to Himself. He makes Israel the type, in their deliverance from Egypt, and being brought into covenant with Himself. In reference to that event, He says, "I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love!" And this is the way in which He generally converts souls, brings them to Himself, and saves them forever.

The WORK. "I drew them." As He said by Jeremiah, "I have loved you with an everlasting love - therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn you." So the Saviour testified, "No man can come unto me, except the Father who has sent Me draws him." He drew Israel out of Egypt into the wilderness, and through the wilderness into the promised land. Just so, He draws His people OUT from the world, from sin, from self, and from satan; and they leave all those voluntarily, cheerfully, and forever! He draws them TO Himself, as a God of love; as a Father of the fatherless, and as the hope of the lost and miserable; He draws them to His beloved Son, to His Cross, His house, and His service. And they rely on His work, unite with His family, and do His will from the heart.

The MANNER in which it was performed.

"I drew them with the cords of a man." That is reasonably - or according to nature. He gives commands - and so manifests authority. He uses arguments - and so appeals to the judgment. He presents inducements - in order to affect the heart. He addresses the conscience - awakening conviction. He calls His witnesses, He assigns reasons - and so takes away all excuse.

"I drew them with the bands of love." The band is a thick, threefold cord, stronger than the cords of a man. He gives time, He uses means, He bestows favors, He speaks loving words, He performs loving deeds. In this way - He attracts, affects, and wins over the soul to Himself. His love works gradually, gracefully - but effectually. By revealing His love to us in Jesus - He does much; but by shedding abroad His love in our hearts - He does more. Many have withstood His terrors - but who can withstand His love?

Observe, it is difficult to detach the soul from the world, from sinful customs, from idolizing self, and from the captivating power of satan! Yes, it is so difficult, that none but God can do it, and He has to exert not merely "the cords of a man," but the strong "bands of love." Many come reluctantly from the world - to God, from sin and self to - the Saviour. It takes years of gentle means - to win some! There are cases, in which the drawing is so gradual, and the pace of the coming soul is so slow - that they can scarcely believe that God has had anything to do with it, and they often write bitter things against themselves in consequence. But if the cord of man will not bring the chosen vessel, the band, shall.

God will not draw in vain. His purpose cannot be frustrated, nor the efforts of His love be lost. He draws gently, especially the young, and those who have been piously educated. He often draws gradually, almost imperceptibly - but never in vain! He at length draws right up to the point of conversion - and sin is parted with, the world is forsaken, self is mortified, and satan is conquered! Then, grace is admired! Then,salvation is prized! Then, Jesus is precious! Then, the soul is free! Then, the peace of God makes the heart happy!

Good and gracious God, let it please You to exert the mighty power of Your love, in the reader's heart. if he has not been drawn to Jesus, to Your blessed feet - draw him! If he has - draw him nearer and nearer still, O to feel the drawing power of the Holy Spirit daily - drawing us from worldly society, from poring over self, from all that is carnal and fleshly, and bringing us into closer, sweeter, and more blessed fellowship with our covenant God!

~James Smith~

That Voice of Love!

 That Voice of Love!

"You who dwell in the garden, the friends hearken to your voice; cause me to hear it" (Song of Solomon 8:13).

My sweet Lord Jesus remembers well the garden of Gethsemane, and although He has left that garden, He now dwells in the garden of His church. There He unbosoms Himself to those who keep His blessed company. That voice of love with which He speaks to His beloved is more musical than the harps of heaven. There is a depth of melodious love within it which leaves all human music far behind.

Ten of thousands on earth, and millions above, are indulged with its harmonious accents. Some whom I well know, and whom I greatly envy, are at this moment hearkening to the beloved voice. O that I were a partaker of their joys! It is true some of these are poor, others bedridden, and some near the gates of death, but O my Lord, I would cheerfully starve with them, pine with them, or die with them, if I might but hear Your voice.

Once I did hear it often, but I have grieved Your Spirit. Return unto me in compassion, and once again say unto me, "I am your salvation." No other voice can content me; I know Your voice, and cannot be deceived by another, let me hear it, I beg You.

I know not what you will say, neither doI make any condition, " my Beloved, do but let me hear Your speak, and if it be a rebuke I will bless You for it. Perhaps to cleanse my dull ear may need an operation very grievous to the flesh, but let it cost what it may, I turn not from the one consuming desire - cause me to hear Your voice. Bore my ear afresh; pierce my ear with Your harshest notes, only do not permit me to continue deaf to Your calls.

Lord, grant Your unworthy one his desire, for I am Yours, and you have bought me with Your blood. You have opened my eye to see You, and the sight has saved me. Lord, open my ear! I have read Your heart, now let me hear Your lips.

~Charles Spurgeon~

Nothing Is So Filthy, So Impure, So Loathsome!

 Nothing So So Filthy, So Impure, So Loathsome!

"Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin!" (Psalm 51:2).

"Create in me a clean heart, O God!" (Psalm 51:10).

A clean heart is one that is purified from guilt -  by the blood of Jesus; and cleansed from filth - by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Our hearts by nature, are all unclean. They are the most unclean things in existence! Nothing is so filthy, so impure, so loathsome - as the human heart!

The awakened sinner discovers that he is unclean, that his heart is unholy - and he desires to be thoroughly cleansed. He is not, he cannot be satisfied with outward reformation; he wants inward renovation. No promise in God's book suits him so well as, "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws!" (Ezekiel 36:25-27).

"O Lord," he cries, "fulfill this precious promise in my experience. Give me the new heart, and take away the stony heart from me. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquities, and cleanse me from my sin. Make me holy - whatever I may suffer in the process."

The clean-hearted person hates sin, shrinks from sin, and longs for entire freedom from sin! But if the heart is not changed, the only thing feared is punishment, and the only thing sought is happiness.

The Holy Spirit alone can give us such views of sin - as well lead us to hate it; and He alone can give us such views of our own hearts - as will prompt us to cry, "Create in me a clean heart, O God! Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin!"

~James Smith~

They Would Dance With The Devil All Day - And Then Dine With Christ At Night!

 They Would Dance With The Devil All Day - And Then Dine With Christ At Night!

"Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like His!" (Numbers 23:10).

Some faint desires, and short-winded wishes, may be sometimes found in carnal man - but the mischief is that they would break God's chain, and would sunder holiness from happiness, sanctification, from salvation, and the means, from the end.

They would dance with the devil all day - and then dine with Christ at night.

They would live all their lives in Delilah's lap - and then go to Abraham's bosom when they die!

"There are many who desire to die the death of the righteous - but do not endeavor to live the life of the righteous. Gladly would they have their end like theirs - but not their way. They would be saints in Heaven - but not saints on earth. If you resolve to serve God - you must renounce all competitors with Him!" (Matthew Henry).

"I hope none of you calculate on serving the devil all your lives - and cheating God with your dying breath. You can't cheat God by giving Him the last snuff of an expiring candle!" (Edward Taylor).

"He who would die well, should live well; for a bad death must be the outcome of a bad life!" (Adam Clarke)

"A Christian is not afraid of death - but of sin! An unconverted man is not afraid of sin - but of death!" (Brownlow North).

"It is appointed unto men once to die - but after this the judgment!" (Hebrews 9:2).

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and the devil!" (Matthew 6:24).

~John Trapp~

A Solemn Sham And An Imppudent Mockery!

A solemn sham and an impudent Mockery!

"Rend your heart - and not your garments!" (Joel 2:13).

Garment-rending and other external signs of religious emotion, are easily manifested, and are easily manifested, and are frequently hypocritical. True repentance is far more difficult, and consequently far less common. Unsaved men will attend to the most multiplied and minute religious ceremonies and regulations - for such things are pleasing to their flesh. But true godliness is too humbling, too heart-searching, too spiritual for the tastes of carnal men! They prefer something more ostentatious, flimsy, and worldly.

External religion rituals are temporarily comfortable; eye and ear are pleased; self-conceit is fed, and self-righteousness is puffed up. But they are ultimately delusive, for at the day of judgment, the soul needs something more substantial than religious ceremonies and rituals to lead upon.

Apart from vital godliness - all religion is utterly vain! when offered without a sincere heart, every form of religious worship is a solemn sham and an impudent mockery of the majesty of God!

Heart-rending is divinely wrought - and solemnly felt. It is a secret grief which is personally experienced, not in mere form - but as a deep, soul-moving work of the Holy Spirit upon the inmost heart of each believer. It is not a matter to be merely talked of - but keenly and sensitively felt in every living child of the living God. It is powerfully humiliating and sin-purging! But also, it is sweetly preparative for those gracious consolations which proud unhumbled souls are unable to receive! This heart-rending distinctly belongs to the elect of God - and to them alone.

The text commands us to rend our hearts - but they are naturally as hard as marble! How then, can this be done? We must take them to Calvary! A dying Saviour's voice rent the rocks once - and it is just as powerful now. O blessed Spirit, let us effectually hear the death-cries of Jesus - and our hearts shall be rent!

~Charles Spurgeon~

The Great Design of God (and other short items)

 The Great Design of God (and other short items)

The Great Design of God

It is one of the Lord's dealings with His beloved children, to make them feel their wickedness, and His power; their pollution and His holiness; their nothingness and His all sufficiency.

The more we are brought under the teachings of the Holy Spirit, the more we shall find the truth of this remark.

It is the great design of God to humble our naturally proud hearts, to bring down our naturally self-righteous spirit, to root our our naturally idolatrous affections.

~Thomas Reade~

___________________

The Christian's Heaviest Burden

"Behold, I am vile!" (Job 40:4).

Sin is the Christian's heaviest burden - and his greatest grief!

"We are lying if we say we have fellowship with God - but go on living in darkness" (1 John 1:6). Repentance is not only a sorrowing for sin - but also a turning away from it; the throwing down of the weapons of our warfare against God.

If we truly love God, we will forsake our sins, abandon our idols, and mortify our lusts. An honest soul cannot do otherwise; anything short of that would be hypocrisy.

The upright man is the one who "fears God - and turns away from evil" (Job 1:8).

~A. W. Pink~

___________________

Sailing Through the Narrow Strait of Repentance

To bless God for mercies - is the way to increase them; to bless Him for miseries - is the way to remove them.

Christ uncrowned Himself - to crown us! He put off His robes - to put on our rags! He came down from heaven - to keep us out of hell! He came from heaven to earth - that He might send us from earth to heaven!

There is no going to the fair haven of glory - without sailing through the narrow strait of repentance. 

~William Dyer~

_____________________

Nothing But the Cross!

"They will look on Me whom they have pierced, and they will mourn" (Zechariah 12:10).

Nothing but the Cross will melt a hard heart, or bend a stubborn will, or give a death-blow to corruption.

A sight of hell ever frightened one out of the love of sin. The thunders of Sinai never made a rebellious heart submit to God.

Pliny, the naturalist, says that blood readily extinguishes fire. However that may be - the blood of Christ not only quenches the flaming wrath of God, but it also extinguishes the fires of unhallowed desires in the soul. It begets hatred to sin - and love to holiness.

When the Romans saw Caesar's bloody robes, they said, "His murderers shall die!" And when by faith, the sinner sees how his sins crucified the Lord of glory - he will mortify his sins!

~William Plumer~

Cain, Esau, Saul, Ahab, Judas

 Cain,Esau, Saul, Ahab, Judas

"Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death" (2 Corinthians 7:10).

These two kinds of repentance are to be carefully distinguished from each other; though they are often sadly confounded. Cain, Esau, Saul, Ahab, Judas, all repented. But their repentance was the remorse of natural conscience, not the godly sorrow of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. They trembled before God as an angry Judge, but were not melted into contrition before Him as a forgiving Father.

They neither hated their sins nor forsook them. They neither love holiness nor sought it. Cain went out from the presence of the Lord. Esau plotted Jacob's death. Saul consulted the witch of Endor. Ahab put honest Micaiah into prison. Judas hanged himself.

How different from this forced and false repentance of a reprobate, is the repentance of a child of God; that true repentance for sin, that godly sorrow, that holy mourning which flows from the Spirit's gracious operations!

Godly sorrow does not spring from a sense of the wrath of God, but from His mercy in a blessed gospel; from a view by faith of the sufferings of Christ in the garden and on the Cross; from a manifestation of pardoning love; and is always attended with self-loathing and self-abhorrence; with deep and unreserved confession of sin and forsaking it; with most hearty, sincere and earnest petitions to be kept from all evil; and a holy longing to live to the praise and glory of God.

~J. C. Philpot~

What Is Repentance?

 What Is Repentance?

"I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men." So he got up and went to his father" (Luke 15:18-20).

Notice the spirit of deep self-abasement in the resolution which the prodigal made.

True repentance is intensely personal. The prodigal felt it was his own sin. "I have sinned!" He can scarcely see any sin but his own. He sees his own sin in the very worst colors. Study the fifty-first Psalm. See how David again and again speaks. It is my transgression, my iniquity, my sin ever before me.

True repentance beholds the wrong done to God by sin. The prodigal felt that his sin was primarily against God. It was a breach of His holy law. It was opposition to His holiness. It was sin against His goodness, and against redeeming love. So David cries in his bitter sorrow, forgetting for the moment the wrong he had done to Uriah - in the far greater wrong which his sin had done to God: "Against You, You only have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight!"

True repentance makes no excuses. The prodigal seeks for no palliation, no covering, no cloak. He says nothing of the circumstances which led him to do evil, or of companions who had drawn him aside. He does not attempt to shift the burden from his own shoulders to that of others. He makes no self-justifying pleas - he has too much sorrow, too much true brokenness of spirit, to desire or attempt it. One thing, and one thing only, he sees - his own terrible fall, and his own exceeding guilt.

True repentance takes the very lowest place. Once to be a son was not enough for him - but now he will be content even to be a slave or a hired servant! He feels utterly unworthy. As Jacob felt: "I am not worthy of all the mercies You have showed me." As the centurion felt when he sent to Jesus: "I am not worthy that You should come under my roof." So did the young prodigal esteem himself: "I am no longer worthy to be called your son."

Be sure that God delights in the humble and contrite soul. Lift yourself up in pride and self-satisfaction - and God will assuredly cast you down. Cast yourself down in humble confession of your sin - and God will assuredly lift you up. "God resists the proud - but gives grace unto the humble."

But we see here the purpose of the heart accomplished. The young man not only made the resolution, but he kept it, "So he got up and went to his father." He turned his back forever on that far country and his old companions - and turned his face homeward. Doubtless it was with a mighty tear, with many a bitter feeling of regret for all that he had passed - since in so different a spirit he had trodden that path before. Yet onward he trudges with weary heart and weary footstep, in the hope that a place may still be found for him in his father's house.

Do you ask, What is repentance? I can scarcely better describe it than from the path of this wanderer. It is turning the back on sin, on the ways of the world, on the lusts of the flesh, on the service of the devil. And it is turning the face God-ward, Heaven-ward, confessing all that is past, looking upward for grace to live holier, with one single desire - to abide in the fear and love of God.

~George Everard~

True Greatness

 True Greatness

Many are reckoned great by the world, and are often envied by their inferiors, who are yet ignorant of what renders man truly great. A courtier, as Ahithophel, a prince, as Haman, and a king, as Beishazzar, may be vile and sordid people; for often in the highest stations the basest of men are set up. Coaches and chariots; horses, and hounds; many servants, and a numerous retinue; a sumptuous table, and fine apparel; high titles, and honorary posts; great friends, and noble blood; rich connections, and immense wealth - do not constitute true greatness. It is not nobility, or popularity, or beauty, or talent - that will render one great. It is not strength of body, natural courage, liberal education, bright parts, or sparkling genius - that can make a truly great man. Hence this seeming contradiction, yet sterling truth, Great men are NOT always great! 

Are there, then, great men any where to be found? Yes, though they attract not much notice or regard of men. The holy, humble, self-denied soul, is truly great. He who lives above the things of time, and has his meditation on God, and the things of the invisible world. He who is pleased with a little of the good things of this world - can forgive enemies - pass by affronts - forget injuries - repay hatred with love - rejoice in tribulation - triumph in faith - have rule over his own spirit - mourn for the sins of the times - weep over his lack of holiness - tremble at God's threatenings - depend on the promises - bewail his omissions - repent daily for his sin - wrestles in prayer, and prevail with God, and, Enoch-like, have his conversation in heaven, and walk with God - this is he who is truly great in the eye of angels, in the eye of God!

~James Melkle~

The Best Way To Be Holy

 The Best Way To Be Holy

"Turn to the Lord with weeping and with mourning" (Joel 2:12).

The best way to be holy is to accuse, indict, arraign, and condemn yourself for your unholiness! Greatly lament and mourn over your own unholiness, over your own weakness. Go to your closet, and fall down before the most High and Holy God, and mourn bitterly over the unholiness of your nature, the unholiness of your heart, the unholiness of your affections, the unholiness of your intentions, the unholiness of your thoughts, the unholiness of your words, the unholiness of your life.

Oh, who can look upon sin as an offence against a holy God, as the breach of a holy law, as the wounding and crucifying of a holy Saviour, as the grieving and saddening of a holy sanctifier, and not mourn over it?

Oh, who can cast a serious eye upon the heinous nature of sin, upon the exceeding sinfulness of sin, upon the aggravations of sin - and not have his heart humbled, his soul grieved, his spirit melted, his mouth full of penitential confessions, his eyes full of penitential tears, and his heart full of penitential sorrow?

The Christian mourns that he has sinned against a God so great, a God so gracious, a God so bountiful, a God so merciful.

Oh, how should a sinner fall weeping when he looks upon the greatness of his wickedness, and his lack of holiness! As ever you would be holy, mourn over your own unholiness.

Those who weep not for sin here - shall weep out their eyes in hell hereafter! It is better to weep bitterly for your sins on earth, than to weep eternally for your folly in hell.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" (Matthew 5:4).

~Thomas Brooks~

Who Is Regulating Affairs On This Earth Today - God, Or the devil?

 Who Is Regulating Affairs On This Earth Today - God, or the devil?

That God reigns supreme in Heaven, is generally conceded; but that He reigns supreme over this earth, is almost universally denied - if not directly, then indirectly. More and more men are relegating God to the background in their philosophizing and theorizing.

Take the material realm. Not only is it denied that God created everything, by personal and direct action - but few believe that He has any immediate concern in regulating the works of His own hands. Everything is supposed to be ordered according to the (impersonal and abstract) "laws of nature.". Thus is the Creator banished from His own creation! Therefore we need not be surprised that men, in their degrading conceptions, exclude Him from the realm of human affairs.

Throughout Christendom, with an almost negligible exception, the theory is held that man is "a free agent", and therefore, man is the master of his fortunes and the determiner of his destiny.

Who is regulating affairs on this earth today - God, or the devil?

What do the Scriptures say? If we believe their plain and positive declarations, no room is left for uncertainty. They affirm, again and again, that God is on the throne of His universe; that the scepter is in His hands; that He is directing all things "after the counsel of His own will". (Ephesians 1:11)

The Scriptures affirm, not only that God created all things, but also that God is ruling and reigning over all the works of His hands. They affirm that God is the Almighty, that His will is irreversible, that He is absolute sovereign in every realm of all His vast dominions.

And surely it must be so. Only two alternatives are possible: God must rule - or be ruled; God must either sway - or be swayed; God must either accomplish His own will - or be thwarted by His creatures.

Accepting the fact that He is the "Most High God", the only Potentate and King of kings, vested with perfect wisdom, and illimitable power - the conclusion is irresistible that He must be God in fact - as well as in Name. 

It is in view of what we have briefly referred to above, that we say, present-day conditions call loudly for a new examination and new presentation of God's omnipotence, God's sufficiency, and God's sovereignty. From every pulpit in the land it needs to be thundered forth - that God still reigns! What is needed now, as never before, is a full, positive, constructive setting forth of the Godhood of God. Drastic diseases call for drastic remedies. We know of nothing which is more calculated to infuse spiritual vigor into our souls, than a scriptural apprehension of the full character of God!

"Our God is in Heaven! He does whatever He pleases!" (Psalm 115:3).

"The LORD does whatever pleases Him throughout all Heaven and earth, and on the seas and in their depths!" (Psalm 135:6).

"All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. God does as He pleases with the powers of Heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back His hand or say to Him: What have you done?" (Daniel 4:35).

"Hallelujah! For our God Almighty reigns!" (Revelation 19:6).

~A. W. Pink~

As Long As Preachers Allow Their Sermons To Be Dictated By Public Sentiment Or The Worldly Desires Of Their Hearers!

 As Long As Preachers Allow Their Sermons To Be Dictated By Public Sentiment Or The Worldly Desires Of Their Hearers!

"They are not of the world, even as I am not of it" (John 17:16).

"As Christ is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:17).

A Christian is one who is Christlike in character, in desire, and in deportment. No other has any right to bear Christ's name. Yet there are a multitude of people who call themselves Christians, who bear no resemblance to Christ in their lives.

One of the most pitiable things that we can behold, is one who professes to be a citizen of the kingdom of God - and yet lives like a citizen of the kingdom of satan! The worldly professor fills his days with folly - but his cup of joy is always bitter at the last. He gathers up the "fools gold" that glitters in earthly things. He lives after the flesh and after the world. He goes with the crowd. He misses all the blessedness of righteousness, and, worst of all, he misses Heaven at the last! "You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God" (James 4:4).

Those who still love the pride and vanity of the world, those who are absorbed in its frivolities, those who covet its gold and its honors, those who love its applause - there are those who are of the world.

Those hypocritical professors who bear Christ's name, but will not obey Him - dishonor Him, and by their example influence others to do the same, how shall they escape the damnation of hell? If there is one thing that God hates above all else, it is a proud and worldly heart! Such a heart can never be a reverential heart. Its religion is but hypocrisy. It is only a sham. It has no reality. It is only a cloak of respectability, while the heart is full of corruption.

The Christian life is, and ever will be, a life of separation from sin and pride and worldliness. If you are not willing to be thus separated, then you should have common honesty enough not to professs to be what you very well know that you are not. If you are going to be a Christian in name, then be one in reality!

Your character, not your profession, will be what will matter in the final judgment. "God will give to each person according to  what he has done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality - He will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil - there will be wrath and anger" (Romans 2:6-8).

If all preachers had honesty enough and courage enough to preach the truth - then the tide of worldliness that is overwhelming such a multitude of souls are sweeping them into perdition, would be somewhat stayed. As long as preachers allow their sermons to be dictated by public sentiment or the worldly desires of their hearers - they will cater to fashions, and souls by the million will drift on into hell! Oh, what a reaping such preachers will have at the judgment! The full measure of God's wrath will fall on those preachers who fail to be true to souls and to God, in preaching those truths the Bible clearly teaches against sin and worldliness.

~Charles Navior~

The Characteristics of The Modern Christian Pulpit!

The Characteristics of The Modern Christian Pulpit!

"John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath! Produce fruit in keeping with repentance!" (Luke 3:7-8).

Well would it be for the Church of Christ, if it possessed more plain-speaking ministers like John the Baptist! A morbid dislike to strong language; an excessive fear of giving offence; a constant flinching from directness and plain speaking - are, unhappily, too much the characteristics of the modern Christian pulpit!

Uncharitable language is no doubt always to be deprecated. But there is no charity in flattering unconverted people - by abstaining from any mention of their vices, or in applying smooth names to their damnable sins!

There are two texts which are too much forgotten by Christian preachers. In one it is written, "Woe unto you - when all men shall speak well of you!" (Luke 6:26).

In the other it is written, "Obviously, I'm not trying to be a people pleaser! No, I am trying to please God! If I were still trying to please people - I would not be Christ's servant! (Galatians 1:10).

~J. C. Ryle~

The Religion Which I Want

The Religion Which I Want

I am quite sick of modern religion - it is such a mixture, such a medley, such a compromise. I find much, indeed, of this religion in my own heart,for it suits the flesh well - but I would not have it so, and grieve it should be so.

The religion which I want is that of the Holy Spirit.

I know nothing but what He teaches me.

I feel nothing but what He works in me.

I believe nothing but what He shows me.

I only mourn when He reveals the Saviour.

This religion I am seeking after, though miles and miles from it - but no other will satisfy or content me.

When the blessed Spirit is not at work in me, and with me, I fall back into all the darkness, unbelief, earthliness, idleness, carelessness, infidelity, and helplessness of my Adam nature.

~J. C. Philpot~

One Truth, Brought Home to The Soul By the Holy Spirit

One Truth, Brought Home to The Soul By the Holy Spirit

We do believe the truths of God's Word - but we need to make them bear more upon our experience and practice. Our religion is too much in the head - and too little in the heart. Truth rather floats in the understanding - than sinks down into the soul. Our memory lets it slip - and nothing but frequent meditation on these things, will cause us to profit by them. The truths of God's Word are calculated and intended to benefit the Lord's people - but unless we exercise our minds upon them - we shall be be benefitted by them.

One truth, brought home to the soul by the Holy Spirit, and digested by meditation - does us more good than volumes which just pass through the mind! We ought, therefore, to pray more over what we read - and look to the Holy Spirit, beseeching Him to unfold and apply the truth to us!

~James Smith~

If God Knew the Fall was going to happen - that satan would rebel and Adam and Eve Would Sin - Why did He Create Them?

If God Knew the Fall was Going to Happen - that satan Would rebel and Adam and Eve Would Sin - Why Did He Create Them?

This question includes two aspects: 1) God's knowledge of satan's temptation and human sin, and 2) why God would create humans who would or could sin. First, did God know satan would rebel against Him and then successfully tempt Adam and Eve? The Bible clearly states that God knows all things. For example, 1 John 3:20 teaches, "God is greater than our heart, and He knows everything." Psalm 139:17 declares, "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!"

If God knew satan would successfully tempt Adam and Eve, why did God create humans with the ability to sin? Though the Bible does not explicitly answer this question, many principles can be seen. First, God is the only perfect being. As Romans 3:4 says, "Let God be true though every one were a liar." Therefore, every created thing, including humans, would have the ability to do wrong or to sin.

Second, God can use even sin as part of His perfect, sovereign, divine plan. Though sin displeases God and He is not the author of it, the sin that began in the Garden of Eden served as the basis for which human sin entered the world, revealing the necessity of One who could conquer sin and death. This came through Jesus Christ, as Romans 8:2 teaches, "For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death."

Third, God created humans with freedom of choice. The only other alternatives were to create people without choice or to not make people at all. People without choice would creat a robotic type of existence that does not reflect the plan of God for the world. Instead, God created people with the ability to make choices, including right and wrong, as part of His sovereign creation. Again, our human understanding cannot completely comprehend the ways in which God's sovereign plan and our human choice work together, yet Scripture reveals both. God's perfect plan continues to move forward despite human sin and clear commands to believe in His Son Jesus Christ and to live a life that honors Him.

Ultimately, however, God created Adam and Eve with the ability to sin to bring Himself maximum glory. In ways beyond our complete comprehension, God's glory is best displayed in the way He has chosen to create humanity, including allowing for our sinful nature. Part of this display of glory will be seen at the end of time when the curse is ended and sin is removed. This time, described in Revelation 21 - 22 shows that the curse of sin is not permanent for those who believe in Christ, but will be removed when we are in His presence forever.

~Compelling Truth~

How Can I Come To Really Know God?

How Can I Come To Really Know God?

Truly knowing God begins with accepting His salvation. Without the sacrifice of Jesus, we are dead in sin (Colossians 2:13). A dead person cannot raise himself to life in order to come to know anyone. However, once we have accepted the gift of Christ through faith, we can begin to truly know God. The wonder of salvation is that we are not only saved out of an eternity in hell, but to a life in Christ. We are invited into fellowship with God (John 17:20-26), made part of His family (Romans 8:15-17).

After salvation, knowing God starts with hearing what He has to say about Himself. Though we cannot know God fully in this lifetime, we can know Him in part. He has revealed certain things about Himself to us. We find these revelations in God's written Word - the Bible - and the Word incarnate - Jesus. We also glean them through creation, which is His general revelation to all (Romans 1:20.) Believers have been given the Holy Spirit so that we can make sense of God's Word and perceive the things He reveals to us (John 16:13).

Along with reading Scripture, we also engage in things like prayer, fellowship, and worship. God desires to have a personal and intimate relationship with us. We grow that relationship as we would any other - through time,  conversation, sharing our hearts. We study the truth of the Word and also pay attention to our experiences. We ask God for His guidance. Jesus said, "And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened" (Luke 11:9-10). We have been invited to seek God. We can do so boldly (Hebrews 4:16).

We also come to know God by obeying Him. Jesus said, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me... You are my friends if you do what I command you...You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another" (John 15:4, 14, 16-17). When we obey someone, we begin to understand his desires. When we obey God, we also experience the blessings He has for us because His commands are meant for our good. Abiding in God is one way we come to know Him; and when we do, our attitudes and actions will begin to reflect God's character (Matthew 12:33; Galatians 5:22-24; Ephesians 2:10).

Hebrews 11:6 sums up the key to truly knowing God: "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him." First, we must have faith to believe in God. Then we must understand His character - that He has good things in store for us. Finally, we must seek Him earnestly. We are called to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). Knowing Him is a life response to His love for us. As we engage daily life, we do so with God on our hearts and in our minds (Colossians 3:17).

~Compelling Truth~

Understanding the Book of Revelation - How Can I Do It?

Understanding the Book of Revelation - How Can I Do It?

The book of Revelation is often difficult to understand. How can we better know what it means?

It is important to apply proper Bible study methods (also called hermeneutics) to understand Revelation. This can assist in determining which aspects are literal and which are figurative. In some  cases, Revelation identifies figurative aspects in other parts of the book itself. For example, in the descriptions of the seven churches in chapters 2 - 3, many references are identified. Revelation 1:20 also explains some part, noting, "As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches." 

Whenever possible, the self-identification in Revelation should be used. However, there are many other figures used that are not as clearly explained. For example, the woman attacked by a dragon in Revelation 12 has been identified in many different ways. The best understanding, however, can be found in other parts of Scripture. Similar imagery is used in Genesis 37 in Joseph's dream about his father Jacob (Israel), his mother, and his brothers (the tribes of Israel). Comparing Genesis 37 to Revelation 12 helps us identify the woman in Revelation 12 with the nation of Israel. It appears the best explanation in this case is that Jesus the "male child" was born from within Israel (the woman) and was attacked by the dragon (satan). The child is to rule the nations (Psalm 2:7-9; Revelation 20:4-6) and has been caught up to God and His throne (a reference to Jesus' ascension; (Acts 1:9-11). The woman's flight into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God and where God will nourish her for 1,260 days is thought to be a reference to God's protection of Israel during the great tribulation.

Other imagery is more difficult to determine. For example, the mark of the beast is noted as 666. Revelation 13:18 says, "This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666," Some have attempted to use this number in association with Roman emperors or evil leaders throughout history. The truth is that the identification of this number is uncertain and may not be clearly understood until the foretold future events happen.

Prophecy scholars also note that descriptions should be taken literally unless there is a reason to think otherwise. For example, the descriptions of the millennium note the specific number 1,000 years on six occasions in Revelation 20. While it could potentially be possible this is figurative, it appears much more likely that the text indicates a literal 1,000 year period is the focus. The same is true regarding Revelation's description of the new heaven, new earth, and the new heavenly city, in chapters 21 - 22.

Revelation may be difficult to understand, but it is not impossible. Proper Bible study methods can help us know the main points and many of the events communicated.

~Compelling Truth~