We Must Set Our Hope On God Alone

It is important that we set our hope upon the Lord, Himself—and nothing and no one else.

The seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealth choke the word, so it produces nothing. (Mt 13:22 NET)

We must try to stay clear from worldly cares and worldly desires, which will profit us nothing, spiritually.

Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. (Lk 8:14 NKJV)

The cares and pleasures of earthly life will not bring any form of spiritual fruit to maturity. And we must remember that we live for Christ—to serve Him and to bring Him glory and honor and praise.

Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. (1 Tim 6:17 NASB)

Believers should never allow themselves to feel confident in wealth or financial security, for these are fleeting and can crumble in a day or even a span of earthly hours.

But true security comes from placing our hope and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ who has promised that He will NEVER leave us nor forsake us. This means that Jesus will NEVER disown, abandon, reject, or renounce anyone who has accepted Him as their own Savior and Lord.

THAT is true security—now only for the moment but throughout eternity! Hallelujah!

God is Eternal

How does the fact that God is an eternal Being impact a Christian’s daily life? First, let’s look at some relevant Bible verses:

Your divine throne is eternal and everlasting. Your royal scepter is a scepter of justice. (Ps 45:6 CEB)

But you, Lord, are enthroned forever; You are remembered throughout all generations. (Ps 102:12 ISV)

You, O Lord, remain forever; Your throne from generation to generation. (Lam 5:19 NKJV)

To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (1 Tim 1:17 ESV)

Because God is an eternal and all-powerful Being, pleasing Him and having a relationship with Him is a satisfying and meaningful investment. It is a relationship that will go on into eternity, and one that will change our daily lives for the better.

The souls of all human beings are destined to continue eternally, and we have the authority to choose whether our eternal home will be in hell or heaven. When we choose to live for Jesus, and to obey the Bible, we make the best decision ever.

God’s wisdom and God’s Words will never pass away. Obeying His Word will be eternally valuable. Therefore, we need to invest NOW in the things that are eternal and affect eternity. This mindset means that we choose to follow Christ’s example daily in every area of our lives.

We are wholly connected with Christ. We are even hidden with Christ in God. (Col 3:3) Therefore, we are secure in Christ. We belong to the Lord, and are protected in Him. The certain and magnificent day will arrive when we will be glorified with Him. Praise God!

We’ve Been Warned by the Word

We’ve been warned by God’s Word that there are evil times coming upon the earth. These Scripture verses are all related to what is commonly referred to as “the end times.” But what should we, the followers of Jesus Christ, be doing in this season?

First, let’s read some of these end times verses:

Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, ⁴who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. ⁵Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? (2 Thes 2:3-5 NKJV)
There will come a time when Christian churches and the people in them may fall away from their faith in Christ. The person known as the Antichrist will be revealed. This will usher in the Day of the Lord which will begin a 7-year tribulation period, when God’s righteous wrath shall fall upon the world. At the same time, the function of the Holy Spirit as the One who holds back evil shall come to an end.

He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. (Dan 7:25 NIV)
In a world where almost every semblance of righteousness has been removed, the man of sin will be revealed—that man of lawlessness who is the son of destruction, also known as the Antichrist. This evil being will blaspheme the Lord and will also continuously persecute and vex any human beings who identify themselves as followers of Jesus.

The important point for us to remember is that the wrath of God is not intended for Christians who love the Lord and obey His Word. Presently, the world’s evil is being restrained by the prayers of the righteous and the indwelling Holy Spirit.

We have the serious task of engaging in the work of the Lord until the Lord Jesus comes to take us to be with Him. We need to spend time in studying the Word in order to deepen our faith. Let’s continue to grow in our knowledge and understanding of the Word of God. We are called to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with those who are lost in their sins so that we may rescue them from an eternity of torment and pain. And more importantly, as we lead others to Christ, we will be opening for them the path to eternal fellowship with Jesus Christ wherein is unity, harmony, and everlasting love. Hallelujah!

God Holds Us

The Word of God tells us that the Lord has engraved [inscribed, imprinted, etched] us on the palms of His own hands! Wow! What a concept! That’s worth meditating upon.

Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands . . . (Isa 49:16a ESV)

God also tells us that He holds us by the hand, and He reminds us that He is the One who helps us. What an honor and a blessing to be helped by the all-powerful, living God! He is not only “close” to us, but He is actually holding us by the hand. Glory!

For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” (Isa 41:13 ESV)

Even if people who are blood relatives of ours desert us, our Savior God holds us close to His heart. He will never leave us nor disown [reject] us. (Hebrews 13:5) God’s love is constant, enduring and unfailing. (Ps 136:26; Rom 8:39)

Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close. (Ps 27:10 NLT)

NO ONE has the strength, might or power to be able to take us out of our Father God’s hand. Praise the Lord!

My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. (Joh 10:29 ESV, emphasis added)

The Lord says that He is our God for our entire lives. Once we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, He cares for us and will carry us and save us—even into eternity!

I will be your God throughout your lifetime – until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you. (Isa 46:4 NLT) The Lord upholds [sustains] our very lives. (Isa 54:4 NLT)

Did you realize that? Return His perfect love and worship Him today!

What’s Your Decision?

Whom would you rather serve? You would do well to read our last blog titled Two Paths. It will shed light upon this article.

Every human being on earth must make a decision whether to serve Jesus, the Son of the Living God; or to serve satan, known as the accuser of the brethren. (Rev 12:10)

What does the Bible say about Jesus? I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (Joh 10:10b NKJV)

The Scriptures warn us to “make our election sure.” The Lord tells us in His Word how each and every believer may confirm and safeguard his future in eternity:

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, ⁶to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, ⁷to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. ⁸For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. ¹⁰Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; ¹¹for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Pet 1:5-11 NKJV, emphasis added)

After we have accepted the Lord Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer, we do well to submit ourselves to the cleansing that comes to us through daily reading and meditation upon the Bible. Read for yourself the truth of this statement:

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, ²⁶that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, ²⁷that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. (Eph 5:25-27 NKJV, underscoring added)

Also, the Holy Spirit will teach us and lead us into all truth as we read the Word of God regularly. (Joh 16:13)

Trust the Lord to teach you and to guide you. Allow Him to make changes in your life day by day, year by year, and decade by decade. In so doing, you will bear fruit and make your calling and election sure! God bless you.

How Can We Overcome?

How can a human being overcome in the manner discussed in the Bible?

To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. (Rev 3:21)

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. ⁵Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 Joh 5:4-5)

They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. (Rev 12:11 NIV)

Overcome means to conquer, defeat, triumph over, or annihilate. They triumphed over the enemy of our souls, satan.

I believe the key verses that tell us how to overcome are shown above: 1 John 5:4-5 and Revelation 12:11.

Our faith in God, which is a gift from God, is one of our weapons designed to carry us to victory. Our faith in Christ as our Savior, who is the Son of God according to the Word, is a stabilizing factor throughout life. Hold onto this truth and never let it go.

Acknowledging that the blood of the Lamb of God (Jesus) cleanses us from all sin is another tool of victory bestowed upon us by the gift of salvation. Remain mindful of this truth, and thank and praise God for it. It has purchased our righteousness.

The ‘word of our testimony’ is also mentioned as part of our armament against the enemy that will sustain us and transport us to victory. A testimony is a declaration—even evidence—of our life experiences. As we daily state and affirm (1) who we are in Christ Jesus; (b) what we have through Christ; and (c) all of the blessings that we have received through salvation, we deepen and strengthen our roots of faith. As we maintain this continuous testimony, we firmly plant ourselves (our roots) in the realm of victory.

According to Romans 8:37, the Lord has made us MORE than conquerors (winners, victors, overcomers). All overcomers will spend eternity in heaven with the Lord Jesus. Glory to God!

An Everlasting Throne

Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has been promised an everlasting throne according to the Scriptures. Let’s consider this truth today.

You, O Lord, remain forever; Your throne from generation to generation. (Lam 5:19)

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. (Ps 45:6)

But You, O Lord, shall endure forever, and the remembrance of Your name to all generations. (Ps 102:12)

This truth from the Bible is information designed to strengthen and to sustain our faith, and give us confidence in the Lord. Our Savior is the Prince of Peace and the King of Kings. (Isa 9:6; 1 Tim 6:14-16)

Here is some additional insight into the Lord’s everlasting throne:

When the angel was announcing to Mary the conception of the Messiah, these promises were reiterated. “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end“ (Lk 1:31-33). These promises will be eternally fulfilled some day. “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!'” (Rev 11:15). Source: https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/dbdbg/view.cfm?Date=0630

One day ALL of the nations of the earth will worship and glorify our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! (Ps 22:27; 72:11; 86:9; 102:15; Isa 2:2; 40:5; 45:23; 66:23; Jer 3:17; 33:9)

As God’s own people and joint heirs with Jesus Christ (Rom 8:17), let us be faithful and obedient to acknowledge and praise our Sovereign God and King now! May we be continuously aware that we serve the God whose reign will never end. We will spend eternity with the Lord in sweet fellowship and harmony with Him. Glory to God!

Made Alive

For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. ²²For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Cor 15:21-22)

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! ¹⁶Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. ¹⁷For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! (Rom 5:15-17)

Because all humanity is descended from Adam, we are all going to experience death someday. In a similar way, everyone who believes in Jesus Christ will one day be made alive.

What does that really mean to us?

It means that we, upon accepting Jesus as our Savior, have been born into the family of God. Having accepted Jesus as our Savior and keeping our relationship with Him alive throughout our lives means that:

We belong to Jesus;
We are His seed and offspring;
We serve Jesus because He is our covenant Head and Representative; and
We shall be raised [resurrected] to immortal life in and by Jesus Christ.

One day, we will have eternity to spend in the presence of our living God who is love. We will eternally be surrounded by perfect, unfailing, unending Love. This is a blessing of our salvation for which we may continuously praise and thank God!

Treasures

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Mt 6:19-21)

Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, but righteousness delivers from death. (Pro 10:2)

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. ¹⁰More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. (Ps 19:9-10)

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, ⁴⁶who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. (Mt 13:44-46)

. . . that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, ³in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Col 2:2-3)

We may think that wealth and riches profit us in this life. In some ways, that is true. However, we should remember that any so-called treasure that is a result of dishonesty or sinful pursuits will not bring us the joy that truly satisfies. Such treasures will never profit us in eternity.

But the righteousness that is born of faith in Jesus Christ will deliver us from many evils in this life as well as from eternal death in the next.

The Bible is packed full of precious promises (treasures) for the believer. There are promises concerning health, healing, prosperity, the blessings of children, and the joy of relationships. There are promises about every area of life; and all we need to do is to study them, meditate upon them, and to claim them for ourselves. Here are several examples:

Children are a blessing from God. (Ps 127:3-5)
Great wealth is in the house of the righteous . . . (Prov 15:6a)
Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Ps 103:5)
Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go. (Isa 48:17)
For I am the Lord who heals you. (Ex 15:26)
. . . who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. (1 Pet 2:24)

These are the true treasures of life and of eternity in Jesus Christ.

A Better Priesthood

It was on the basis of the Levitical priesthood that the Law was given to the people of Israel. Now, if the work of the Levitical priests had been perfect, there would have been no need for a different kind of priest to appear, one who is in the priestly order of Melchizedek, not of Aaron. ¹²For when the priesthood is changed, there also has to be a change in the law. ¹³And our Lord, of whom these things are said, belonged to a different tribe, and no member of his tribe ever served as a priest. (Heb 7:11-13 GNT, underscoring added)

Melchizedek’s lineage is not shown in Scripture, but his name means king of righteousness and king of peace. So, he is considered to be a type of Christ.

The Scriptures say about Him, “You are a priest forever, just like Melchizedek.” ¹⁸In this way a weak and useless command was put aside, ¹⁹because the Law cannot make anything perfect. At the same time, we are given a much better hope, and it can bring us close to God. (Heb 7:17-19 CEV) This passage of the Bible refers to Jesus as “a priest forever.”

Here’s a pertinent quotation concerning Jesus’ priesthood:

In verses 4–10 of Hebrews 7, the author recounts how Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek and that the Levitical priests (who were biological descendants of Abraham) would one day be commanded in the law to accept tithes from the people of Israel. The author concludes, “it is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior” (v. 7). Given that Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, and the Israelites paid tithes to the Levites, this is a strong argument that Jesus Christ’s priesthood is greater than that of the Levites. – Article by Kim Riddlebarger,
Source: https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/better-priesthood/

Levitical priests could serve only until they died. Jesus, alone, serves as our Priest forever even into eternity, as the Scripture says:

“The Lord has sworn and will not relent, ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek’ . . . ” (Heb 7:21)

Jesus is the guarantor of a better covenant. (Heb 7:22) Earthly priests’ work is temporary, but Jesus holds his Priesthood eternally because He will never die. (Heb 7:24) Jesus, in His perfection and holiness, is unchangeable. He always lives to make intercession for His people. (Heb 7:25)

Jesus is a High Priest above all others: holy, unstained, innocent, and exalted above the heavens. (See Heb 7:26-28) Glory to God most High! We are so blessed that He is interceding for each and every one of us who have made Him our Lord and Savior.

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Tag: eternity