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 the good news. He died that we “might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:7).

If we follow Jesus, our concern must be for the eternal welfare of people’s souls. Let’s not lose our focus. By God’s grace, let’s do what Jesus told His apostles: teach people how they can be with God when their broken lives in this world are done.

As Jeremiah said, the human heart is “deceitful above all things” (17:9). So when we find ourselves doing something for multiple reasons, do we have the honesty to ask, “Deep, deep down, what was the real reason why I did that?” Our motives matter!

The Incarnation was a necessary miracle. Out of all our problems, there is only one that required God to become flesh: the problem of sin. To fix that problem God had to die in our place, and to do that He had to become a man capable of being killed.

When we are emphasizing the graciousness of God’s forgiveness, we may lead people to think that salvation has nothing to do with our conduct. But, in fact, it has very much to do with our conduct, and I want to mention one way in which that is true.

If we don’t turn around, we’re going to spend eternity in a place where, without any hindrance from God, we’ll be completely “free to be ourselves.” And it will be our little “self” (now fully “realized” and “actualized”) that will make hell, hell.

Worldliness means being preoccupied with temporal matters so that spiritual concerns are crowded out of our thinking. Paul wrote, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” This is not easy to do, given the pull of this world.

We spend our lives leaning on props rather than God. We’re hiding from the truth, of course, but as long as our props are in place, we don’t worry about our alienation. Deep down, our hearts are a lonely void, but we’re too busy to think about it.

Even if we allow Christ to bring us into a redeemed earthly relationship with God, our connections in this world will only be a foretaste of the fellowship that waits for us later. Yet this hope is the single thing in life most worthy of our pursuit.

Our foolishness has worn us out. But God has made possible our return to Him, and it’s only in such a return that the prospect of real joy can spring to life. Here is where our homesick hearts should rest. Here is where we find a perfect Friend.

Real faith has no need to pretend or run away from difficulty. Faith embraces doubt with honesty, recognizing that troubling questions are inevitable in a world where our sins have hidden God’s face from us. Doubts are what make faith, faith.

Our response both to fear and to our ignorance should be simple reverence — reverence that is determined and decisive. Whatever may happen or not happen, whatever we may know or not know, we must always say, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.”

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.