The rise in evil today is unprecedented. Just turn on the news: mass shootings, terrorist attacks, violent protests, murder, sex trafficking, child pornography, abortion on demand, road rage, and more. Of course, anger fuels much of it. Anger that is off the chart in intensity and in the number of people who are violently so. What is at the root of it all?
Daniel saw the rise in evil in his time, too, as pagan kings and others tried to destroy the people of God and their faith in Him. God, even, gave him a vision of the calamities that were to come on future generations. But then … He gave Daniel a beautiful hope-filled promise. Could that same promise help us as we see the rise in evil all around us?
Solomon said that God has put eternity in our hearts. Most of us have had those times, perhaps even as a child, when we wondered about eternity and what would happen when we die. Even believers can wonder about eternity. If not where we will spend it, we wonder what eternity will be like.
Today, TV producers and movie-makers, while not focused on death and eternity in a godly way, seem obsessed with the afterlife. Movie and TV screens are full of vampires and the so-called living dead, a perversion of the kind of eternity that God places in our hearts.
But there was a time when the dead came out of their graves and the Bible says it will happen again. But instead of bodies ravaged by death and filthy grave clothes, they will receive bodies fitted for heaven.
We will all live forever. The question is … where? Will it be in a place of eternal punishment, where Jesus said there is fire that’s never quenched and the worm doesn’t die? Or will we spend eternity in the presence of God where He will wipe away every tear and where there will be no sorrow or pain?
It has been a while since I’ve done a newsletter and round-up of what’s been going on and we have covered a lot of ground over the last few months. Recently we’ve talked about honoring imperfect parents, even those who...
Many people think their eternity is secure because they are pretty good people. They have some vague idea that God will weigh their misdeeds against all the good things they’ve done and they’ll manage to “get in.” Others believe they’re righteous because they were baptized as a child or have taken certain sacraments. Still others believe it’s because they belong to a certain church or have performed certain religious activities. But … Could this kind of righteousness, actually, keep you out of heaven?
We will all spend eternity somewhere. Some will spend eternity with God. But sadly, others will spend eternity suffering and eternally separated from Him.
Jesus compared that time of judgment to a shepherd separating sheep and goats. Both sheep and goats sit in our churches every Sunday. On the outside, we look much the same, but one day, the “Great Shepherd” will separate the two. The sheep to everlasting glory. The goats to everlasting punishment. Do you know for certain where you will spend eternity? Don’t leave it to chance!
And what about the people who sit around you on Sundays? Are there those who come in and go out without ever really being involved in the life of the church? Or whose lives don’t reflect a relationship with Christ? Could God be calling you to get involved?
Resurrection Day is near. Not just Easter as it appears on our calendar, but the ultimate Resurrection Day. Resurrection should be a symbol of hope, yet, much of what we see around us involves heartache and pain. The world...
