Eternal Hope

Read: Colossians 1:16-17

"Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." - Philippians 2:9-11

Mankind throughout the ages makes a habit of defaming the name of Jesus Christ. They curse His name, deny His existence and ignore His power. They overlook Him until something goes wrong in their life; and then they freely blame Him for all of their troubles. Yet, when life is sweet and they are prospering, they rarely if ever, give Him the credit or gratitude, which He deserves.

There is also a disturbing trend in the church today. Although God exalted Jesus, we often fail to exalt Him to the highest place in our life. We forget to live the example before the world that He makes a difference in our existence. He is the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and then He sat down at the right hand of our Heavenly Father (Hebrews 12:2). Yet, we relegate Him to the back seat in our life.

The opinion of a base society or a lukewarm church means little, however, when I compare it to the fact that God already exalted Jesus to the highest place among men for all of eternity. I look forward to the day when every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Romans 14:11). When we believe that Jesus lived before He created all things, and that He holds all things together (Colossians 1:16-17), these facts make a huge difference in our thinking. Then our thoughts influence our actions, which convince the beliefs of other people; and the truth spreads throughout the world.

All things were created by Jesus, both in heaven and on the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; yet He loves us so much that He takes up residence within our spirit at our request (1 John 4:15). Surrendering our sinful nature to Him and inviting Him to move into our spirit is the first step in experiencing eternal hope. Exalting Jesus to the highest place in our life, our marriage, our family and our church is the second step.

When we fall in love with Jesus, we enter this realm of eternal hope. We fellowship with other believers, give testimony to the lost of His saving grace, study the Bible, pray, and allow His eternal light of hope to shine through us. Loving God with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength (Mark 12:30) is essential in living out this eternal hope, which God gives us through Jesus Christ, our Lord. If we develop this close, personal relationship with Jesus, then everyone will see our good works, that come from our faith in Him, and they will glorify our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, there is so much in life for which to praise You. You give us both our Christian faith and our eternal hope. Drawing closer to Your presence and giving You the honor due to Your name allows our inner light to shine out. Then we can demonstrate to the world that eternal life is possible through faith in Your name, which is above every other name now and forever.

Thought for the Day:

We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- 2 Thessalonians 1: 12

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God In Creation

Read: Genesis Chapters One & Two

“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” Romans 1:20

I get so sad when people refuse to believe that we have an eternal God who loves us and who died to give us eternal life. Yet, these same people who do not believe in God, actually blame God for all of their troubles and trials. Some people even view God as a tyrant with rules. They think that anyone who dares to break a rule gives God the delight of judging them and sending them to hell.

They rail accusations at Him and blame His people for all the evils in the world. Some even say that they would rather go to hell than to live in heaven with Christians - such a sad commentary on the church of today; hypocritical behavior gives us a bad name. We actually have a couple in our church now, which delayed coming to church, because they did not want to be like hypocritical church members that they know.

The truth, however, is that God never condemns anyone. Our unbelief is what condemns us. Let me show you why I say this. Everyone knows John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” We hear it so often that we take it for granted and we pass over it without giving it much thought. When you do think about the import of these words, however, they change your life.

God, the creator of the universe, so loved the world - the sin-filled, ungodly, hypocritical world. Therefore, He gave His only Son - which person on earth would sacrifice their child to save our rotting humanity? So that whoever believes in Him - He puts no restrictive criteria on those words, but freely gives salvation to everyone who will believe. They should not perish, but have eternal life - there is no qualifying statement attached to this promise, it is a free gift.

Then, if you continue reading in John 3:17-18, you see an even bigger miracle. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

Look at these words again, “Whoever does not believe is condemned already”. God does not ever condemn us. We condemn ourselves, simply because of our refusal to believe. It has nothing to do with God’s behavior toward us. It has nothing at all to do with whether we live a good or evil life. It has everything to do with whom we trust with our life.

Do you maintain strict control over your life, not allowing anyone to dictate to you about what you do, think, believe, or feel? Do you seek peace and contentment in sources outside of yourself? Even if you feel satisfied with your life at this moment, your health, wealth and success can change in an instant. How will you feel then?

Look at the next three verse of John 3:19-21, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

Do you hate the Light of God’s holiness and prefer to live in dark ignorance of God and eternal matters? In your last seconds of life, you will not be able to blame your condition on the fact that you did not know the truth. Ever since God created time, space, matter and humanity, we all can clearly see His invisible qualities (Romans 1:20).

The critical balance of life on earth, the atmosphere in space, the placement of the planets, the provision of rain, sun, moon and stars all point to an Intelligent Designer. Every day, nature exhibits God's eternal power and His divine nature. No one has an excuse for not knowing God (Romans 1:20). The earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as abundantly as the waters, which cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14). Even the heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands (Psalm 19:1).

God also promises, "I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11). 

When you breathe your last breath of earthly air, will your next breath come from the celestial atmosphere? When you face God, you will not have an excuse for your unbelief. Therefore, today is your day to believe. You will never regret chosing Jesus Christ as your Savior.

Prayer:
Lord God, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You. You show Your love to thousands of generations. You are a great and powerful God, whose name is the Lord Almighty. Great are your purposes for mankind and mighty are your deeds on the earth (JeremiahJeremiah 32:17-19 32: 17-19). Open the hearts of people everywhere to receive your Truth and love.

Thought for the Day:
God rewards everyone according to what our deeds deserve, but He judges only those who live in unbelief.