With My Own Eyes

2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 – And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, ⁸ in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power. ¹⁰ When he comes on that day, he will receive glory from his holy people—praise from all who believe. And this includes you, for you believed what we told you about him.

A popular theology today denies the reality of judgment and eternal hell.  It is certainly a much more attractive message than “hell fire and brimstone”.  But it is false.  In the above passage and others, the Bible clearly teaches a judgment to come in which those who have believed in Jesus as Savior are receive eternal life and those who refuse Him receive an eternity of destruction.  Paul says they will be “forever separated from the Lord.”  But if God is love, how can this be?  God truly is love.  It was love for the world that caused Him to send His Son.  But His character doesn’t stop at love.  God is also holy and just.  We must not isolate a single attribute of God and build an entire theology around that one attribute.  We must read the Bible as a whole and listen to what it plainly teaches.  In the end, God and His full character wins.

Here is the rest of today’s Bible reading: Jeremiah 22:1-23:20; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12; Psalm 83:1-18; Proverbs 25:11-14.

1 Thes. 5:11 (NIV)
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Here is the rest of today’s Bible reading:  Jeremiah 19:1-21:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:4-28; Psalm 82:1-8; Proverbs 25:7-10.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NIV)
“But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
[8] He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”

A lesson God continues to teach me is the importance of being steadfast.  Regardless of what my circumstances might be, I can rise above and be unfazed by them.  This can only happen when I am deeply rooted in Christ.  When the storm winds blow, my branches may rattle around a little, but I’m not going anywhere.  I am steadfast.

Here is the rest of today’s Bible reading:  Jeremiah 16:16-18:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-5:3; Psalm 81:1-16; Proverbs 25:6-7.

Jeremiah 15:16 (NIV)
When your words came, I ate them;
they were my joy and my heart’s delight,
for I bear your name,
O Lord God Almighty.

Alexander the Great, one of the greatest military generals who ever lived, conquered almost the entire known world with his vast army. One night during a campaign, he couldn’t sleep and left his tent to walk around the camp grounds.

As he was walking he came across a soldier asleep on guard duty – a serious offense. The penalty for falling asleep on guard duty was, in some cases, instant death; the commanding officer sometimes poured kerosene on the sleeping soldier and lit it.

The soldier began to wake up as Alexander the Great approached him. Recognizing who was standing in front of him, the young man feared for his life.

“Do you know what the penalty is for falling asleep on guard duty?” Alexander the Great asked the soldier.

“Yes, sir,” the soldier responded in a quivering voice.

“Soldier, what’s your name?” demanded Alexander the Great.

“Alexander, sir.”

Alexander the Great repeated the question: “What is your name?”

“My name is Alexander, sir,” the soldier repeated.

A third time and more loudly Alexander the Great asked, “What is your name?”

A third time the soldier meekly said, “My name is Alexander, sir.”

Alexander the Great then looked the young soldier straight in the eye. “Soldier,” he said with intensity, “either change your name or change your conduct.”
(From Hot Illustrations For Youth Talks by Wayne Rice)

Here is the rest of today’s Bible reading:  Jeremiah 14:11-16:15; 1 Thessalonians 2:9-3:13; Psalm 80:1-19; Proverbs 25:1-5.

Go Bucks!

⁸ We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.

To truly share the Gospel, we must love others–the way Jesus did, and the way Paul did.  To love others we must not only share a message, but our very lives.  This means our time, energy, resources, and our hearts.  That can be really scary and very uncomfortable.  Sharing the Gospel will cost you a lot.  But what could be better than being used of God to show others the way out of darkness and into eternal life?  With whom will you share your life today?

Here is the rest of today’s Bible reading:  Jeremiah 12:1-14:10; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-2:8; Psalm 79:1-13; Proverbs 24:30-34.

² Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord. ²³ Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. ²⁴ Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.^[a]

It is interesting that Paul’s emphasis here is not on slaves gaining their freedom, but on slaves living as slaves in a way that honors God.  Ultimately, they are to work as if God is their Master.  While no one reading this is a literally a slave, we are all workers.  And some may feel like as if their work situations make them like slaves.  What then?  We honor God by the way we carry out our work.  We allow His light to shine through us, because He is ultimately our boss.  And we are to perform our tasks with excellence consistently, and not only when the eyes of human bosses are upon us.  For the eyes of our heavenly Master are always watching.

Here is the rest of today’s Bible reading:  Jeremiah 10:1-11:23; Colossians 3:18-4:18; Psalm 78:56-72; Proverbs 24:28-29.

Proverbs 24:26 (NIV)
An honest answer
is like a kiss on the lips.

Sadly, we live in a culture where speaking the truth is like a kick in the gut.  Either we are overly sensitive in receiving the truth, or we are careless and insensitive in how we express the truth.  Both are wrong.  The church is to be filled with relationships where we are able to speak the truth in love to each other and have that be as sweet as a kiss on the lips.  We thank God for brothers and sisters who are willing to speak truth to us, even when it may be something we don’t want to hear.  Do you tend to be overly sensitive in receiving the truth, or careless and insensitive in speaking the truth?

Here is today’s Bible reading:  Jeremiah 6:16-8:7; Colossians 2:8-23; Psalm 78:1-31; Proverbs 24:26.

Are you content?  Few of us are.  We are constantly chasing after that “next thing” that we are sure will result in our peace–that next relationship, job, achievement, possession, hobby, etc.  We get caught in that trap of “if only…”  If only I had…a little more money, a little more time, a little more this, a little more that–then I would be content.

One of the things I greatly admire about the Apostle Paul is his contentment:

Philip. 4:12 (NIV)
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

The “secret” he speaks of is intimacy with Jesus Christ.  There is no contentment apart from this.

Here is the rest of today’s Bible reading:  Jeremiah 1:1-2:30; Philippians 4:2-23; Psalm 75:1-10; Proverbs 24:17-20.

What time is it?  Not on your clock, but on God’s?  No one really knows exactly.  If they claim to, they contradict the Bible, which clearly states otherwise.  But God has given us certain signs that point to the fact that it is very late on God’s prophetic clock.

Isaiah 66:8 (NIV)
Who has ever heard of such a thing?
Who has ever seen such things?
Can a country be born in a day
or a nation be brought forth in a moment?
Yet no sooner is Zion in labor
than she gives birth to her children.

Can a nation be born in a day?  The answer is “yes”.  May 14, 1948 to be precise.  This was the day that against all odds, the nation of Israel was reconstituted.  This is a prophetic “super sign” as the Bible foretells that Israel will have a key role to play in the events of the end times.  So, what time is it?  I don’t know for sure, but I do believe it is later than most of us believe.  That should inspire us to live each day with a sense of sober urgency.

Here is the rest of today’s Bible reading:  Isaiah 66:1-24; Philippians 3:4b-4:1;
Psalm 74:1-23; Proverbs 24:15-16.