The world stands under the judgment of God for its rebellion. Unrepentant, the world is doomed to destruction. When Christ returns, that doom will fall. The only ones who will not be touched by the devastation will be those who are delivered.
Grace looks forward. Yes, the way seems long and the obstacles seem fearful, but God will not begin a work in us and not finish it. Our salvation is nearer than when we first believed, and by His grace, we can make it the rest of the way.
When the things you cherish are taken away from you, you will grow in wisdom. You’ll learn more from losing things than you ever learned by gaining them. And what you’ll learn is that God is all you have to have, the one thing you can’t do without.
With too much tranquility, we tend to forget God. We need to get out of our ruts and go on some fearful adventures, the kind that require real faith. If we don’t, God may have to disturb us. He may have to say, “Get out of your country . . .”
What God has done is powerful, but neither nature nor the Scriptures are powerful enough to impress us if we are unobservant. For the significance of what we see and hear to sink in and alter our character and conduct, we have to pay attention.
If God’s love for us is active, then our response to Him must also be active. He will help us do whatever needs to be done (Philippians 4:13), but He won’t force salvation upon any person who doesn’t care enough to seek Him diligently.
When it comes to Jesus Christ, words like hatred and hostility are fearful words, to be sure. But there are some words that are far more fearful: indifference, apathy, lukewarmness, unconcern, disinterest, detachment, uninvolvement, disregard.
We can always move toward God. We will never come to a fork in the road where one fork will not lead us more in God’s direction than the other. And whenever we take the fork we know God would want us to take, we know we’re going toward a good “end.”
Paul said that in this life “we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven.” Whether we look at “groaning” as a good thing or a bad thing is one measure of whether we understand what the gospel is about.
If it can be difficult to wait on the Lord, it can also be joyous. Indeed, anticipation is a big part of the wholesome enjoyment of anything. So whenever it is necessary to wait on the Lord, can we not do so with joy and love and thanksgiving?
Christ opened the door to a life much better than what we call “life” right now. Although it is ironic that He gave us this life by dying, that is ...