Christian

Do you hunger and thirst after Righteousness?

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6).

As you navigate your Christian journey, you’ll face trial and tribulation; partly because you love Jesus and partly because the enemy is upset that he has lost a prized possession. He will use every trick in the book to win you back, and if you are not careful, you will be right back where you had started—living in sin.

It is very easy to get distracted in today’s world. Lifestyles are presented in magazines and on television that seem so appealing. And the enemy will entice you with “the good life”—money, cars, clothes; glitz and glamour. But if you know who you are and what is your purpose in Christ, the tempting pursuit of such things will not attract or entice you.

However, as you press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. You’ll need fuel to sustain you on your journey. That fuel can only come from your inner hunger and thirst after the righteousness of God. The more resolute you are in your quest for the prize, the more you’ll seek to know Him .

Your daily hunger after God brings great joy to His heart. He celebrates your every step of obedience to His Word, your every response of faith to His leading, and your every expression of wonder for His ways with you. He delights in your pursuit to know Him more, in your desires to enjoy Him more, and in your longings to love Him more.

As you hunger after Him, you will find that His banqueting table is always full, that His portions are more than generous, and that His hospitality is beyond compare.

To hunger after Him means that you will never go away empty or dissatisfied. In Him are a thousand delights, a limitless supply of eternal joys, and an endless amount of spiritual blessings.

Beloved brothers and sisters, I hope when everything has been said and done, you will say with confidence, as the apostle Paul did:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

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What’s the benefit for enduring hardship for Christ?

Holy Spirit Stained Glass

“If we endure hardship in His name, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us” (2 Timothy 2:12)

There are many blessings that belong to those who endure hardship while carrying out the work of Jesus Christ. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me” (Matthew 5:11). Some of those blessings are for now and others are for later. The grace and joy that are yours in the Holy Spirit are an important part of your present blessings. As wonderful and precious as these blessings are, the future blessings are quite astonishing.

So, as you press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, brace yourself to suffer affliction from those who oppose Christ. Affliction is a very real part of every believer’s journey here on earth. Affliction includes anything that brings difficulty, tribulation, persecution, or trouble because of your love for Jesus Christ.

The Bible tells us that the early believers celebrated when they were persecuted for their faith. That response is possible because there is an amazing grace that God gives you when you walk through affliction of any kind.

It is a grace that provides you with an inner joy even during the hardest of times. This joy is produced by the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who puts within you everything you need to endure. The apostle Paul say best in 1 Thessalonians 1:6: “And you became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit:

Beloved, as you continue to faithfully serve, irrespective of your circumstance, the One who reigns over all, you will one day join Him and reign with Him when He returns to establish His kingdom here on earth. Think of it, you will actually reign with the One who now reigns over you.

What a glorious future is ahead of you. No wonder the Bible declares, “What we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will give us later” (Romans 8:18).

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Stand up for Jesus ye soldiers of the cross

Jesus is considered by scholars such as Weber ...

Image via Wikipedia

Do you believe the age of blind faith is slowly coming to an end? Apparently Uncle Tree thinks so. In one of his most intriguing and otherwise thought-provoking posts, the author of Uncle Tree House, which happens to be one of my favorite blogs, states that: “The Age of Blind Faith is slowly coming to an end.” According to Uncle Tree, “Church goers are dwindling in number, whilst atheists groups continue to add members.”

Everyone is entitle to their opinion, true or not, but I have to agree with Uncle Tree. It seems followers of Jesus Christ are not as dedicated and committed today, as they were twenty, thirty years ago. Part of the reason, I believe, is the advancement of Science and Technology. Where as in the old days, Christians had no alternative but to look to God to bring them through a particular illness, today they have an alternative in science and technology.

No reasonable person can deny that science and technology have made astonishing advancements. Doctors everywhere are using technology to do god-like miracles. Many diseases that were deemed incurable in the past are classified curable today. People are healthier, and are living longer than ever.

But despite the miracles in science and technology, the dwindling number of Church goers and the slow but imminent end of blind faith, God is still God. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). I expect to see miracles performed because Jesus said so: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father” (John 14:12).

So fellow believers, I am not worried, neither should you; because my God reigns supreme. He is All-Knowing, All-Powerful, and there is none like Him.

Let us stand up for Jesus and lift His banner high.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross;

Lift high His royal banner, it must not suffer loss.
From victory unto victory His army shall He lead,
Till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the solemn watchword hear;
If while ye sleep He suffers, away with shame and fear;
Where’re ye meet with evil, within you or without,
Charge for the God of battles, and put the foe to rout.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the trumpet call obey;
Forth to the mighty conflict, in this His glorious day.
Ye that are brave now serve Him against unnumbered foes;
Let courage rise with danger, and strength to strength oppose.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, stand in His strength alone;
The arm of flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own.
Put on the Gospel armor, each piece put on with prayer;
where duty calls or danger, be never wanting there.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, each soldier to his post,
Close up the broken column, and shout through all the host:
Make good the loss so heavy, in those that still remain,
And prove to all around you that death itself is gain.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the strife will not be long;
this day the noise of battle, the next the victor’s song.
To those who vanquish evil a crown of life shall be;
they with the King of Glory shall reign eternally.


									

			
			








			
	
			


				
				
Heaven is the new Jerusalem. Is it real?

			


												
								

					



The New Jerusalem
Image via Wikipedia




Many people believe heaven is a wishful fantasy that weak-minded people cling to in order to cope with, or escape from, the tough realities of life here on earth. Some assume that eventually everybody will end up in heaven. But others say very few people will make it there. And nearly all argument about heaven typically generate more heat that light and more controversy than understanding.


So much confusion! So many opinions! But why all these different opinions and theories when the Bible is full of details about heaven? Yes, God wants us to know what heaven is like so that we will want to be there! Heaven is not a place He is trying to keep secret from us.


According to a Harris poll taken in January of 2003, 82 percent of Americans believe that a heaven does exist. But the truth is that these days most people–including Christians spend very little time thinking about heaven. From the moment we wake up in the morning till we collapse  in exhaustion into our beds again at night, we’re running, going, doing, eating working and doing all manner of things.


Meanwhile we Christians believe that somewhere inconceivable in the universe is an unseen place that we’ve been taught about and it’s called heaven. It’s part of the distant future, not the here and now. And though we can see and touch the immediate environment we live in every day, heaven is out of sight and out of reach. Therefore, it hardly seem real. Besides, our lives move so fast and are so full that we can barely keep pace with what’s happening around us, much less stop to contemplate a place to which we’ve never been.


Part of the problem is what many of us typically believe about heaven leaves us considerable  less than impressed. What if, for example, you are just not into playing harps all day? What if fleecy white clouds and halos and singing in heavenly choir leaves you cold? And do you really have to run around in a white robe all the time?


Undoubtedly one reason so many of us have a hard time getting excited about eternity is that we carry around a stunted and juvenile view of heaven as a spectacular setting in which we float around endlessly doing bland things and “being holy.”


But John tell us exactly what heaven will be like. “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Revelation 21:1,2).


This city is not just something that John saw and know about–God’s people have been aware of it throughout the ages. God tells us that all of His holy prophets had spoken about God’s plan to deal with a sin damaged world. Peter told the people of old Jerusalem that God would “send the Christ, who has been appointed for you–even Jesus. He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as He promised long ago through His holy prophets” (Acts 3:20,21)