In addition to being our High Priest and King, Christ is our Judge (John 5:26,27). For those who have accepted the gospel faithfully, the coming judgment holds no fear, only love. But one way or the other, judgment is coming. Of that we may be sure.

Either we should accept that the resurrection occurred and obey the gospel that is based upon it -- or deny the resurrection and dispense with the gospel as nothing more than a myth whose believers are "most to be pitied" (1 Corinthians 15:19).

Thomas declared that he would need to see Jesus for himself in order to believe He had been raised from the dead. But later, when Jesus appeared and Thomas was present, Thomas drew exactly the right conclusion: "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28).

The apostle John wrote to his brethren urging them to ground themselves in what they had been taught by the apostles (1 John 1:1-4; 2:24; 4:1,6). If they left this teaching, they would have departed from Christ (1 John 2:18,19; 2 John 9-11).

The apostles were eyewitnesses of Jesus after His resurrection. And they were not just disciples of Christ; they were the definitive, authoritative emissaries of Christ. They could regulate the practice of the church in its foundational period.

God's plan is to repair the damage of sin (its "corruption") and transform us into people who think and act as creatures made in His image. In fact, He plans to makes us into people who have the same character as His Son, Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29).

When it comes to God, there is no safe territory between love and hatred. Halfheartedness is simply one form of hatred, and it is the most repulsive to God. For this reason, Jesus wishes to disturb us. "I did not come to bring peace but a sword."

If we seek God truly, we will not wander aimlessly in the realm of spirituality but will pursue a path that goes toward the doing of definite good things. The discipleship He seeks is not merely one that we enjoy, but one that produces results.

Our hearts are moved by Jesus' words: "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him" (John 14:23). This seems much too good to be true. Only God could make it true.

We're invited to "take hold of the life that is truly life." There is no good reason why our God can't be the God whom David knew: "You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

God waits for us to confess our weakness and come home to Him. The story contained in the Scriptures is the story of how God made this homecoming possible. It is the story of an infinite God in whose perfection we may find our sustenance and support.

"In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:37). To be rightly related to God is to believe that He "has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7).

How diligently do you pursue the knowledge of God? How high a priority is it to know more of the truth about God today? Honestly now, what would you sacrifice to gain an hour's worth of time to study the Scriptures? Anything of significant value?

It should be a joy to yield to God's purposes. So let's hold our plans but hold them loosely. When we say, "Let's do this," and God says, "No, let's do that," then our love for Him will say, "Yes, I trust you enough to know that will be better."

The Laodiceans were satisfied. Having what they wanted, the very satisfaction of those needs had blinded them. "You do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked," the Lord said to them. Would He say anything different to us?

Whatever it may be that provides an occasion for God's people to rejoice and thank Him is a good thing -- no matter what the sacrificial price of that benefit and no matter how painfully it may impinge upon us personally.

If we make mere pleasantness our priority in life, we won't grow in godliness. That result can only come from the other alternative: the patient endurance of hardship. We can't have the result without embracing the means that lead to that result.

We do not serve God in order to receive any particular blessing in this life; we serve Him because we want to go, when our journey is over, to the place that He has prepared for us -- by any path through this world that may be necessary.