Month: July 2011

Be Doers of the Word

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James 1:21-27 – “put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.  But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.  For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.  But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.  If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.  Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” 

For someone who preaches theology as a means of knowing and savoring God, I wish that more of my life were spent in righteousness, instead of sin, visiting the needy, instead of indulging in my own comfort, sharing the gospel, instead of holding it in.  What loss I have in those things that seem at the time to be gain.  A heart that burns for God, will burn for the things of God.  It is not legalism or mere outward obedience, it is something much greater.  It is seeing Christ lifted up and finding in Him everything you ever need; everything you ever wanted; and then being free from everything the world promised as an alternative to take that treasure to others.  It’s a heartfelt desire for God that births a heartfelt desire for the things God delights in, justice, mercy, reconciliation, righteousness, freedom from bondage to sin…

Psalm 37:4 – “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

I ask myself this question – “Where is the place that no one wants to go?  Where are the voices that no one hears?  Where are the ears that would never hear the gospel unless I go?”  God has a purpose for each of us – work that only you can do, work that God has planned for you.  I can’t do it, someone else can’t do it, it was planned before the foundation of the world for you.  God wants to accomplish the work through you.  While for most, that work will not take you far away from where you are now, my encouragement is to ask yourself – “Do I ever get out of my comfort zone to visit those in need”?  This isn’t a call to get out your checkbooks and start sponsoring an orphan in Africa, or to take a mission trip to Africa – those are good things, but unless you are called to go and live there, you are not going to be the hands and feet of God to those people long term.  Look around, there are those close to you, in your city, that are waiting.  There is no one else that will visit them with the gospel, God has purposed YOU for that task.  You were not saved, reconciled to Christ, to simply await his return.  You may say, “I am not equipped” or “I haven’t the means”, but God will provide what is needed.  Instead of looking to what you don’t have in knowledge or means, how are you stewarding what you do know?  Jesus uses a parable to show us how He has stewarded each of us with the knowledge of Him, to reproduce:

Matthew 25:14-30 – “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.  To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.  He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more.  So also he who had the two talents made two talents more.  But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money.  Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.  And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’  His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’  And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’  His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’  He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’  But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed?  Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.  So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.  For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.  And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

That is my heart, my hope; that God would rise up faithful Christians among those who profess His name, broken by their own sin and and helplessness apart from Him, and eager to likewise help the helpless; to make His name great in this city, and the world.  We are not meant to be hearers only of the Word, but doers.

2 Corinthians 5:16-21 – “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.  All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Know you’re prayed for.  I’m always encouraged to know that God is working mightily through you all, and the Church as a whole.  Be encouraged, keep pressing forward; keep your eyes focused on the cross and the day when you will hear “Well done, good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much.  Enter into the joy of your master.”

Grace and Peace,
Adam

Pushing Back the Darkness

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Genesis 1:3-4 – “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.“   

It’s amazing to think about how God creates.  He speaks and it is so.  This is a big part about why I want you all to see how God is sovereign over your salvation from beginning to end.  I want you to know the deep assurance and peace that comes in knowing that while your faith may waver, God is ever faithful, steadfast in His love, and His calling you out of darkness into light cannot be reversed.  Being a Christian and following after Christ is not something that you do, primarily, it is who you are.  You are a new creation in Christ, set apart by Him before the foundation of the world, born of His blood, empowered by His Spirit to walk in newness of life. 

2 Corinthians 4:6-7 – “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”

This is what it means to be saved.  God has revealed His glory in the person of Jesus Christ to us, shining the light of the gospel in our hearts, freeing us from the bondage of sin, freeing us to pursue infinite joy in relationship with Him.  That is the foundational truth of the gospel, but I know resting in that light is a battle EVERY DAY.  We are called not only to push back the darkness in our own life, but to make war on the darkness in the world around us.  That is why I write – to encourage you in the knowledge of God from His Word.  These words I write mean nothing if God does not add the increase, but my hope and trust is in Him.  We are promised from His Word in Isaiah 55:10-11 – “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”  And so I write, I plead, I encourage, I exhort, in faith that God is working amongst you, to push back the darkness in your life, and bring to light joy in the knowledge of Jesus Christ and your relationship with Him. 

Matthew 5:14-16 – “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”  

My exhortation is to embrace your calling with complete humility and complete boldness in the Lord.  There are those who proclaim Christ as their savior, but live in darkness and shame.  Their darkness will be with them for eternity.  We are not like them, however, but are bold in the knowledge of Christ.  We are not yet as we ought to be, but we struggle; we strive every day to push out the darkness by the light of the knowledge of the glory of God.  By faith we hold that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us to reconcile us to God.  By faith we know that we are righteous in Christ.  We share that light with others.  We see darkness, injustice and a lack of mercy in the world and we seek to right these things, to reconcile them to the person of Jesus Christ.  We help the helpless in the name of Christ.  We plead for those who cannot plead their own cause, for the cause of Christ.  We show mercy on those in need, and the merciless, so that might know the God of mercy, Jesus Christ.  We share our struggles and burdens with one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.  As we are joined with Christ in His death, putting to death the deeds of our flesh which is passing away, we are joined with Christ in His rising, bringing to life the knowledge and love of God to those around us.  God has made you light and you are to be separated from the darkness, how are you living that out?  Be encouraged, each day is a new day in the Lord, how are you going to bring the light of Christ into your heart and world today?

Grace and Peace,
Adam

Sovereign Suffering

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If there is one point where my view of God from His Word differs from mainstream cultural Christianity, it would be His sovereignty.  Historically, the sovereignty of God was not questioned as it is today.  My personal belief is that the push-back against God’s sovereignty stems largely from the sin of pride, and man’s desire to make God contingent upon himself.  Beyond that, I think it was wrought out of a good desire that all people be saved, and the thought process that if you confront people with God’s sovereignty up front it might be too much to take in and push people away.  I disagree because I believe deep down, people already know that God is sovereign in all things, it is merely another truth of God that has been supressed by our sin.  (Romans 1:21)
Within the doctrine of God’s sovereignty, apart from His sovereignty over salvation, there is no topic more controversial than God’s sovereignty over suffering.  Many would want to say that God is not in control of suffering; that it is a consequence of man’s fall, but He isn’t in control of bringing suffering to anyone.  Now, I myself did not always hold to the view of God’s sovereignty as I do today, so I want to be gentle with those who hold a different view, but also lovingly ask two questions:  1)  do you read your Bible and 2)  how do you read your Bible?  Obviously if you don’t read your Bible, then you can have whatever view of God that you want, but it’s just going to be a God of your own imagining, not really God.   Onto “how” you read your Bible.  When you read your Bible, do you start with a man-centered view of God or are you asking God to reveal Himself in Truth to you?  It makes all the difference in the world.  You see, most people have an idea of how they want God to be based on their own preconceptions of what is “good” as well as what seemingly benefits them most, and then they read that image of God into the Bible – that is the lens through which they interpret scripture.  In that way, let me tell you, you can read into the Bible whatever you want.  You can find scripture verses to support whatever position you want to take.  This should not be surprising knowing that even Satan used scripture to tempt Christ (albeit a misinterpretation based on a limited view of a specific verse)  Look back to how Jesus responded to Satan in Matthew 4, he did not refute the scripture Satan was quoting, but he did give other scripture that clarified God’s purpose in it.  That said, if you read your Bible from cover to cover with the understanding that ALL of scripture is the revelation of God (2 Timothy 3:16), then you cannot read the Old Testament and tell me that God was not sovereign over suffering.  He afflicted Pharoah with plagues, He destroyed the entire world with a flood, He destroyed Sodom and Gommorrah, He made war against the enemies of Israel, He sent snakes to afflict unbelieving Israel, He used Satan to put Job through suffering…. I could go on.  Read the book of Job, and tell me if God is not sovereign to bring suffering into place.  If you want to say that God merely “allowed” it; that is semantics.  If God is omniscient to know what Satan would do and then told Satan to afflict Job; God desired that suffering to come upon Job or He would have not given permission for Satan to afflict him.  Who gave Satan his power?  Who made the world and everything in it, that Job would have something to “lose”?  Oh that people would rejoice in Colossians 1:15-17 – “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.  And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”  All these people are trying to “get God off the hook” when He never makes excuses – simply let the Word of God stand!  God is God. He is good apart from your acknowledging Him as such.  His ways are not your ways; His thoughts are not your thoughts; His goodness transcends your understanding.
All that said, my burden today is not to give another scriptural argument for God’s sovereignty in all things, but rather to give an example of what it means to enjoy God at all times, even in suffering, knowing He is sovereign.  God has not seen fit to put me through great suffering, like being tortured for Christ, martyred, or enduring terminal cancer, etc.  That honor is reserved for those saints for whom God has purposed to manifest His worth in those moments.  That said, it’s not been an easy year.  I won’t bore you all with the details, but looking only to the health side of things, I have spent 4 of the past 9 months with my right arm completely casted/in a split up almost to my shoulder and I found out yesterday that I’m likely going to need arthroscopic surgery to repair my right knee (from a combination of tennis all my life and sitting at a desk for work everyday).  People come up to me and tell me how sorry they are for me, and at first I honestly forget why they respond that way.  I mean, I understand where they’re coming from, and it’s nice to be cared for, but it’s also a reminder that many people do not enjoy the understanding of God that I do.  These health issues didn’t “catch God off guard”, God planned these things to happen.  Here’s the deal, if you know that God loves you, because you have been awakened by His Spirit to see and savor your savior Jesus Christ, then everything is working towards your good and His glory.  Those things, your good and God’s glory, are not separate; but one.  His glory is your treasure in Heaven.  Suffering is a means God uses to press us into Him more, for our sanctification, to see more of His infinite worth.  His glory is what we will enjoy for all eternity.  Therefore, whenever suffering occurs in my life – while it may be inconvenient and painful, I know that God is good and will use everything in my life for good.  How can I be sad about that?
My life isn’t my own, it was bought with the blood of Christ.  (1 Peter 1:18-19) How am I now going to turn to Him who died for me, and ask Him, why are you doing things this way? (Romans 9:20)  He’s good!  My prayers are much more centered on thanking God for the opportunity to glorify Him amidst suffering, asking for opportunities to share the gospel among those I wouldn’t have been able to otherwise (doctors, etc.), and asking for His grace to sustain me through my suffering.  Now, here is the most important thing to understand about God’s sovereigntly over suffering.  If you remove God’s sovereignty in planning and bringing  you into suffering, you cannot then look to God to be sovereign in grace to bring you through that suffering.  You can’t have it both ways.  Either God is sovereign and guiding all things towards his glory, or He is not.  If He is not, then all my joy amidst suffering is foolishness.  If He is not, then all my prayers to use my suffering to spread the gospel is foolishness.  If He is not, then all the hope I derived from Romans 8:28 – “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”  is foolishness.
My exhortation is to allow God to be God.  Know – Believe that He is good and working all things towards our good and His glory, as He has promised.  He means for you to stand firm amidst suffering – even enduring it with joy, knowing that we have a greater possession in Heaven.  Look to the cross and be encouraged as the foundation of your faith, that He is good above all else.  He has demonstrated his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Romans 8:31-32 – “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? “
Grace and Peace,
Adam

The Character of God

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Deuteronomy 10:17-18 – “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.  He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.”

Psalm 33:4-5 – “For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.  He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD.”

Jeremiah 9:23-24 – “Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”

Hosea 2:19-20 – “And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy.  I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD.”

Micah 6:7-8 – “Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil?  Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”  He has told you, O man, what is good; andwhat does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Our God; Our Great Redeemer Jesus Christ, has delivered us through his blood from an unimaginable debt.  Often, when we are obedient to God outwardly, we forget that everything that we have has been given to us.  Who gave us the hands we use?  Who gave us the eyes to see?  Who gave us the air to breathe?  All things are from God, and for Him.

Psalm 50:11-12 – “I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine.  “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.”

Its because of this, that in every way, we should remain humble in ther service of the LORD.  Keeping our focus on the gospel, that we who are unworthy and bring nothing to the table to offer God, were mightily reconciled to God through Christ; we should seek to do the same with our own lives under the grace and power that God supplies.  As a teacher, I want to press into you many truths about the Gospel of Jesus, God’s sovereignty, and spiritual disciplines.  That said, we should be driven to seek justice and love mercy, just as our Lord has brought us justice through His blood and extended great mercy to us.  Lord help me if I become a theologian at the expense of cultivating a heart to love orphan and the widow.  Our lives give testimony to the good news of Jesus Christ.  My exhortation therefore, is to work mightily to bring your mission and ministry in line with your theology.

Matthew 9:13 – “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” 

Grace and Peace,
Adam

A Hunger for the Glory of His Name

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I love you all, more than you know.  My gifting and passion is primarily teaching and writing.  My great desire in my ministry for you all, is that by the grace of God, He might use me to reveal some measure of Truth as to who He is.  The mystery of our sanctification, is that by the Spirit of God in us, we are conformed into His image as we see Him.  2 Corinthians 3:18 – “we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same imagefrom one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”   1 John 3:2 – “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”

Seeing is becoming.  Amazing.  It changed my life when I first understood that.  It is the fuel that drives me to want to help others see and savor the true God of the Bible, Jesus Christ, in every facet of His glory.  It’s the reason that theology for me is as much about the heart as it is the head.  If knowledge does not produce awe, wonder, and delight, it is useless.  Put another way, if Heaven is being fully reconciled to go, without sin, so that we can know Him fully, in perfect intimacy; and it does not product awe, wonder, and delight – Heaven would not be Heaven.  The gospel would not be the gospel.  But we, who know what it means to treasure Christ for who He is, know that His love is intoxicating, our soul’s appetite for Him is insatiable.  Every longing of our heart finds its fill in Him.

Why do we enter into Christian community?  Why do we evangelize?  Why do we go out to serve the poor, to seek justice where there is none?  If you answer begins with, or is only “because we are told to”, my heart aches for you.  Christ did not free us from the law of Moses, and our inability to follow it, only to set down another law for us to follow out of sheer willpower.  It was for freedom that Christ set you free.  So how then should you act?  What guides your living?  A love for Christ and a hunger for the glory of His name.  With each passing day, each hour, each breath, I fall short of my Master’s calling.  The measure of my failings increase, even on my best day.  Surely the wrath of God is fierce against my sin; my sin that mock’s the name of my Creator and His perfect righteousness.  Oh what a savior we have in Christ!  Whatever we know of the grace of God today, we see even more when we add tomorrow, and the next day, and every day until we are in His presence.  This grace was purchased at great cost, through the blood of Christ, the Spotless Lamb, the Righteous One, the King of Kings.  God made Him, who knew no sin, that in Him I might become the righteousness of God.  A love for Christ for who He is, compels me to want to follow after Him irresistably.  Though I stumble, the grace extended to me in my stumbling only causes my love to grow, compelling me forward to know Christ and make Him known.

Psalm 115:1 – “Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!”  If my every desire is met in Christ, then my hunger is to know the name of the LORD.  My want is to see, to understand, and treasure, his name, high and lifted up as magnificent.  Not to me, not to me.  Father, help me if any should rest affection of hope in me or my words, rather than in you; their loss will be great.  Our treasure in Heaven is nothing less than the glory of the name of Jesus Christ.  Therefore, I want glory attributed in Christ in every aspect of my life.  I want His name to be made much of.  I want every boast to be in Him.  My greatest claim is that I know Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  It is the love of Jesus through the gospel that produces a love of Him in us.  1 John 4:19 – “We love because He first loved us.”   That love produces a hunger in us for the glory of His name.  That hunger for the glory of His name manifests itself in our pursuit of Christian community, missional living and evangelizing, seeking opportunities to serve the poor, and seek out justice where there is none.  2 Corinthians 5:14-15 – “For the love of Christcontrols us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.  For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” 
Grace and Peace,
Adam

 

Israel and the Salvation of the Unwilling

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Recently, I’ve pressed more into the subject of God’s election than I have in at least 7 years, when I first was confronted with it by a Christian mentor of mine.  At that time, I was initially reluctant to the idea of God’s choosing some to be saved.  It didn’t seem fair to me, and raised a host of derivative questions such as “why should I pray”, “why should I evangelize”, etc.  It was especially difficult for me to come to grips with because the churches I had grown up in in the 23 years prior had all preached something different.  What finally “won me over” was not the teaching of my Christian mentor, but the Bible itself.  You see the problem for me, was that I believed that the Bible was the inerrant Word of God, and I kept seeing verse after verse that on its face seemed to indicate that God was sovereign over salvation, that it was His choice whom would be saved.  To be fair though, there were also verses in the Bible that seemed to indicate that we have a choice in salvation.  So, either I had to throw the Bible out the window and say it was not inerrant and therefore could not be trusted (walk away from my faith altogether) or discern how both sets of scripture could seemingly be contradictory, yet both be true.

Here were my options:

1)  We choose God, and therefore God’s “election” or choosing us was based on his foreknowledge of all “free” decisions to put faith in Him.

2)  God chooses us, and therefore our decision to believe is truly a gift of God rather than something we would naturally choose.

Ultimately, I settled on option number 2.  The reason for this was a combination of quantity of Bible verses supporting this position, clarity of scripture (required less “reading into scripture” overall, although you have to read into scripture on some verses, either way you choose), and logic.  God gave us a mind to know Him, and so I do not want to discount the importance of logic in coming to a correct understanding of scripture.  Likewise, I had to undo 23 years of emotional attachment to a certain view of God, and ask God to have the Bible speak to me, knowing that as it is written in Jeremiah 17:9 – “The heart is deceitful above all things,and desperately sick;who can understand it”. 

I want to walk through Romans 9:15-18, specifically to address my first and second causes (quantity and clarity of scripture) for settling on a larger view of God’s sovereignty.  That said, I would commend romans 9 in general to your study as the authorative text on God’s sovereignty over salvation (although I believe the entire Bible speaks to his sovereignty in salvation as evidenced in today’s scripture referencing the Old Testament redemption of Israel out of the slavery of Egypt).  My hope is for those who currently hold a similar larger view of God’s sovereignty over salvation, this would edify you, and prepare you to discuss this (in love with patience and understanding) with your brothers and sisters in Christ who hold a different position.  God Himself reveals truth, however, so for those who read this and have not yet come to a fuller understanding of God’s sovereignty, my prayer is not against you, but for you.  I want your joy in the knowledge of God to increase.  I want you to be encouraged and your faith strengthened (even if it is pressed for a time).    My hope for those who hold a more limited view of God’s sovereignty, is that this would convince you to take a larger view, or at least spur you on to a greater study of His sovereignty in His Word yourself.

Romans 9:15-18 – “For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.  For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”  So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.”  (bolded for emphasis by me)

Why did God choose Israel?  Was it because He forsaw that Israel would be a people who would choose God, or was it according to God’s own purpose?  That’s an important question to answer, because that is what Paul is getting at above.  Thankfully, as is often the case, we are given the answer from scripture.  The answer to why God chose Israel is given in Deuteronomy 7:6-9 – “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.  It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”   (bolded for emphasis by me) 
God chose Israel because they were the weakest nation.  God had a purpose to show that he was mighty to save through Israel.  Saving Israel was something they could not do on their own, and we will see later that it was also something they wouldn’t do on their own; God had to save them while they were still unwilling.  Before I move on here, I want you to see something very important.  One of the lynchpin verses for assuming that God’s “choosing” is based on his foreknowledge is Romans 8:29 – “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”  Now, if “foreknew” here means that it is based on God’s seeing into the future the “free” actions of man, then I would agree that God is not sovereign over salvation.  That is not what this word means here though.  The greek word used is proginosko.  Just like the greek word for “believe”, pistis, carries with it a much greater understanding that mere intellectual knowledge (this is why James can say faith/belief without works is dead), so also, does the word here “foreknew”, proginosko, carry with it a much greater meaning than mere intellectual knowledge of the future.  Proginosko carries with it a measure of intamacy.  Thankfully we can look to Deuteronomy 7, and see that this “foreknowledge” is best understood as “being set apart for love”.  In this way, God’s choosing of Israel, and God’s choosing of us unto salvation is consistent throughout scripture.  How amazing is it that God’s love for us, extends beyond our good and bad works, even beyond the ages, into God’s eternal purpose for His glory.  Who can separate us from this love of God?

A Sin That Leads to Death

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1 John 5:13-21 – “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.  And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.  If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.  All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.  We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.  We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.  And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.  Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”

Many of you are waging battle with your sin already.  You have successes, you have failures, but you are diligently pursuing the Lord.  If that is you today, I want you to be comforted, God is with you and for you.  My hope is that you would gain strength from this call to greater repentance and faith, and know that even as I write this – you have been prayed for.

What is the sin that leads to death?  Some would say that is failure to believe, but surely we would want to pray for THAT!  There is no greater prayer, than to pray for God to save – Only He can bring life from death, only He can make a heart of stone into a heart of flesh.  Although every sin at its core is unbelief in the gospel, I don’t believe John is talking about belief per se.  Nor do I believe John is talking about a type of sin, like say murder or abusing a child.  God is mighty to save, and there is no sin that cannot be forgiven.  Christ’s blood is precious to cover any sin.  So what is it?  It’s a pretty strong statement for John to want to relieve people from a burden to pray for someone.  My answer I believe is given in the following verse – “everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning”.  Also, we see this message earlier in 1 John 3:9 – “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.”  I believe John is simply sounding a warning that there will be those who profess salvation, who make a practice of sinning, who are righteous in their own eyes, but have no true love for God.  So a sin that leads to death is not a matter of type but of depth.

Hebrews 12:15-17 – “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.  For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.” 

There is a rootedness and momentum in sin.  Have you not noticed how sin, leads to sin, leads to greater sin, and onward?  There is a point at which your heart has been so hardened by sin, you are so entangled by that sin that you cannot imagine your life without it.  Repentance, turning to the Lord will be impossible.  There are people who do not want to turn away from their sin, even after pleading.  John is not saying we can’t pray for that person, only that we should not feel burdened to.  Jesus came to seek and save the lost, to give rest to the weary.  If they do not want to come; if they repeatedly, continually choose their sin over Christ, there are many others who are in need of the gospel and our prayers.  For those who maybe reading this and are yet unmoved, I want to take a moment to press the reality of sin into your heart.  There are some who will read this casually and set it aside; clinging to a profession they made when they were 8 years old to save them in the day of judgment.  With eternity in the balance, the most tragic words you will hear from Christ will be “begone from me, I never knew you”. I say this not of my own opinion, but Jesus says as much in Matt 7:21-23.  I pray that this message would awaken you to know that God is not mocked, if you sow to the wind, you will reap the whirlwind – the wages of sin is death.  Galatians 5:19-21 – “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” 

Here is what I want to say; while it is still today, and you still have a chance to change your mind about your sin to turn from it’s deceitful “pleasures” and turn towards joy in relationship with Jesus, do it.  Do not take today for granted, do not give sin a chance to take root.  Turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and make Him your refuge.  He will not turn you away.  Be like Joseph and run from sin (Gen 39:12)  What things are leading you away from God into sin?  What is driving you towards those things?  Keep yourself from idols in your heart’s affections for God.   Keep running the race of faith, straining forward for the upward call of Christ Jesus.

Grace be with you,
Adam

Following the Spirit’s Leading

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In my talks with fellow Christians, there is MUCH confusion over what it means to be led by the Spirit.  Moreover, even among those you understand the idea of being led by the Spirit, there is often a hesitancy to actually allow the Spirit to lead in their lives.  I’m amazed at how often I will run into Christians, who will try to talk someone out of God’s calling into ministry or God’s calling on an aspect of their life because it doesn’t match up to worldly wisdom.

“Oh you want to be a missionary, that’s great!  But wait, you’re going where?  Don’t they kill Christians in that country?  You shouldn’t take your wife and newborn child with you there, what is wrong with you?  God wouldn’t want you to put them in danger.”

“Why are you talking to and praying for that person?  Don’t you know what they’ve done?  Don’t you know where they were last night?”

“Why do you continue to pray for and pursue that person?  There are a lot of girls out there to marry.”

“Why are you waiting for God to bring you the perfect Christian girl?  Just marry someone who is a good person.”

“Why do you preach about God’s judgment and sovereignty?  No one wants to hear about God’s righteous wrath.  Why not just tell people God loves them, and leave it at that?  You want to be encouraging, right?”

The list goes on and on and on.  Ultimately, there is wisdom in getting counsel from other believers, but where the Bible would contradict their counsel, we should trust the Lord and make Him our refuge.  I have to say, there are few things that are more discouraging to me, than to see a brother or sister in Christ, actively counseling me against pursuing the will of the Lord.  Where would they have me go when the only hope I have is with Christ?  What would they have me do?  Would He that led me to the cross, suffered in my place, bore the wrath reserved for me, now lead me astray?  If He leads me into suffering, so be it, blessed be the name of the Lord.  If He leads me into blessing, so be it, blessed be the name of the Lord.  If He does not lead me, I will wait for Him, because any step without His leading will only lead me away from the One I love.

Galatians 5:16-26 – “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.  Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” 

At it’s core, being led by the Spirit is being led by the love of Christ.

Hold Fast to Sound Words

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If you’ve noticed, the last few Word For The Day (WFTD) messages were fairly light (short).  No worries, my friends, today’s should have enough to chew on for a good while!  I trust that it will encourage and edify you.  As a teacher of God’s Word, I love coming back to letters of Paul to Timothy.  I love the letters of 1 and 2 Timothy because it is humbling to identify myself in Timothy, and it’s good to be encouraged by God through Paul’s writings.  Each of you also, as fellow ministers of the gospel, should likewise be encouraged.

It’s important to know the context in which Paul is writing 2 Timothy.  This was the last letter written by Paul.  It was not written to a church to rebuke and instruct, but was written to a disciple of Paul’s, Timothy.  Timothy was well acquainted with Paul’s theology, and had proven himself to be steadfast in his faith.  As such, this letter is deeply personal, and is largely preparing Timothy to follow in Paul’s footsteps, to lead the charge of ministering the gospel, even in the face of great persecution.  At the time of writing, Paul had been arrested again, and was in Rome awaiting his trial and likely execution (Paul was beheaded by Nero shortly after writing this letter).

Paul begins his message by encouraging Timothy by giving him assurance of his salvation.  While I cannot offer that to everyone who may ultimately read this; I can say that anyone of you who has been given a Spirit to mourn your sin and turn to Jesus for salvation from sin, who trusts not in your own flesh, but in the perfect righteousness of Christ, know that you are saved.  No one has any real affection for God, seeking to obey Him out of love, in your flesh, that is the Spirit of God in you.  Take peace in knowing that while you yet war with sin, the war was won in Christ, and Christ is with you always as the Holy Spirit who dwells in you.

Therefore, I want to exhort you today to hold fast to sound teaching.  There are a great many Christian books, teachers, and resources available to you every day.  It is very difficult to find two people who would hold the exact same theology on every matter of God from His Word.  It would be easy to become confused as to what you should listen to.  When one understands that Satan and his servants come disguised as angels of light (2 Cor 11:14), you can see the importance of knowing what teaching/beliefs you should and shouldn’t expose yourself to.  Thankfully, God through Paul explains to us the basics of sound teaching and doctrine, and exhorts us to hold fast to those beliefs, even against opposition / persecution.   Specifically, Paul exhorts in verse 13 to “follow the pattern of sound words that you have heard from me”.  The question then, is what are those sound words?  The answer I believe, is given immediately prior by Paul in verses 8-12.  Therefore, I want to break those out some, and exhort you to make study of Paul’s words on your own.  Why ultimately is it important?  We are told at the end of Paul’s first letter to Timothy; 1 Timothy 4:16 – “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.”  To keep from misunderstanding my teaching from God’s Word, I’ve bolded and italicized His scripture.

2 Timothy 1:8-14 – “do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,

Paul begins by encouraging Timothy (and us) to be bold in proclamation of God’s Word and the gospel, and to expect suffering.  The ability to hold fast to the gospel and sound teaching and endure suffering for it, will not come from yourself, but by the power of God.  He then continues into what he later describes as “sound words” from God’s Word.

who saved us and called us to a holy calling,

Jesus Christ actually saved you.  This may not sit well with moralistic, self-righteous persons who like to think there is something good in themselves that warranted or effectualized God’s salvation, but it is the gospel.  It’s very simple; Christ is either is a savior, or He is not.  Either someone believes they need a savior or one does not, but know that Christ did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.  Christ did not die to “get good people over the finish line” or to make people “saveable”, He actually saved people.  You bring nothing to the table.

If by grace you have been saved, your calling was a holy calling.  Meaning, your calling was unto righteousness.  Those who say they are saved yet are unrepentant of sin, do not know our God who is Holy, or what it means to have been called unto a holy calling.

not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace,

God has his own purpose in your salvation.  God was not “caught off guard” that you were saved.   God has plans for you.  Your calling was not incidental but a part of God’s plan to make His glory known through the proclamation of the gospel and salvation of sinners.

Ephesians 2:8-10 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”   

which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,

Some like to believe that God works in a deistic fashion.  That is, when He created the world, He didn’t know how things were going to turn out.  Specifically, that He didn’t know whom would be saved.  Paul is saying “no”.  We were given unto Christ before the ages began.  Before there was light or darkness, before the fall of Adam, God was working according to His purpose and grace (above) through Christ Jesus, to secure the salvation of those He would save (above).  Look at the order of Paul’s words above – God saved and then called.   You would think it would be called and then saved, right?  Why does Paul flip those?  Because here, Paul wants to make known that in a very real sense, you were saved in Christ Jesus before the ages began.  Yes, you are born into sin, dead in your trespasses, but God has purposed you unto salvation in Christ.  While there is a moment in time when we are “saved” by faith in Christ, God has purposed that faith even before the world began.  Humbling isn’t it?

Now you can begin to see how many people will not want to endure Paul’s sound words and why persecution would come.  I want to note here that I do believe someone can be saved without knowing this.  I have seen the fruit of the Spirit in those who love God, who have not seen this revealed truth clearly yet.  Why is it important then to hold fast to these sound words?  Because again, from 1 Tim 4:16 – we preach this truth to guard the salvation of ourselves and our hearers.  If someone who does not see God’s sovereignty in this way, endures suffering upon suffering, and cannot know that even that suffering was a part of God’s purpose, their faith might be undone.  If they cannot see that just as He was sovereign to bring them into the suffering, He is sovereign to comfort them through that suffering, and will use it for their good and His glory, their faith might be undone.

and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus,

Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, our salvation, was physically risen from the dead.  Paul puts it bluntly in 1 Corinthians 15:17 – “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.  Moreover, Christ was not a Spirit risen from the grave, but He has a body, a glorified physical body that (doubting) Thomas stuck his hand into his side to prove. (John 20:27)

who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23).  Every one of us, as sinners from birth, was owed a wage for our sin.  That wage was death, and eternal judgment from our Holy God.  To make the love and mercy of His glory known, God sent Himself in Jesus Christ to die (His plan before the ages began – see again above and Eph 1:4)  His death abolished the death we were owed, and brought life and immortality.  There is a means by which God has appointed life and immortality through Christ to be brought – through the message of the Gospel.  Romans 10:14-17 – “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”  So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” 

for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do.

Faith and religion are considered “good” until you start proselytizing and making “truth” claims about Jesus and the gospel.  Then you see the teeth of the sons of disobedience.  Paul (called Saul before given his new name by Christ), the man writing this, once sought out Christians to throw into prison, and looked approvingly upon the first recorded Christian martyr for the gospel, Stephen.  (Acts 7:58-8:1)  We too, save the grace of God through Christ Jesus, would seek to imprison and murder Christians from our heart.  Therefore, everyone who is called to a holy calling, to teach and preach the “sound words” above, will incur a measure of suffering and persecution.

If you preach the gospel of Christ and hold fast to the truth of His word, yet never encounter push back from your hearers; ask yourself if maybe that is because you’re not preaching and teaching the full truth of God’s Word.  It is not loving to withhold truth, to make Christ “acceptable” to your hearers.  Many people worship a Christ that is not of the Bible, never confronted with Christ’s message of repentance and faith. (Mark 1:15).  Many people still believe that their “good” works merit their salvation in some way.  For many people, they do not want to submit to the Lordship of Christ, they just want a “get out of hell free” card, and to go about their life much as before.  If you encourage those people to test themselves (2 Cor 13:5) to see if they are truly of the faith, watch out!  Whoa boy, you tell someone who thinks they’re saved that they might not be and should test themselves, and you’ll get some persecution but quick. My point, from Paul’s words is not that we should go around telling everyone they’re not saved, that’s not helpful or loving.  My point, is that if you preach a full gospel message and hold fast to sound doctrine; those who are saved will ultimately be sharpened as iron sharpens iron (may happen quickly or over time) and those who are not will reject you outright and/or persecute you.
Separately, notice that Paul says he was “appointed”.  Each of us who are saved are gifted with certain gifts, by the appointing of God, for the edification of the Church, according the purpose of God.  (1 Cor 14:26)  If God has gifted and appointed you as a preacher or teacher, know that whereas persecution will come to all who follow after Christ, yours is a calling to greater suffering and persecution.

But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed,
Here again if you read over this quickly you will miss something very important.  Focus here.  Paul doesn’t say that he knows “what” he has believed, but “whom”.  The gospel of Jesus Christ the words of Christ from His Word are more than facts to believe; they are describing the person of God in Jesus Christ.  Therefore, when we preach the gospel, when we hold fast to sound doctrine, we are preaching a person, Jesus Christ and him crucified.  Paul says this explicitly in 1 Corinthian 2:2 – “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”  How rich your time spent in the Old Testament and New will be when you see that all of the Bible is the revelation of who God is, and Who He is does not change.  Malachai 3:6 – “For I the LORD do not change;”   My hope therefore, in holding fast to sound teaching, is that people will see a clear picture of who God is, instead of following after a God of their own making.   
and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. 
This short passage again is very humbling and encouraging.  Paul is saying that His knowledge of God has been “entrusted” to him.  That is, it was not Paul’s merit or work that enabled Him to know Christ and preach Truth, but God was sovereign over that revealing to entrust it to Paul.  Therefore, we see how immensely in need we all are of prayer.  Oh that God might grant us hearts to see Christ clearly, to use those around us to help us see Christ more clearly.  That is my prayer every day; a prayer for my joy and the joy of all who would believe on Christ in seeing Him more clearly from His Word.  It’s so much more than can be put into words.  Seeing Christ in His Word is God’s means of transforming us into His image, and drawing us into closer fellowship with Him. (2 Cor 3:14-18)  1 John 3:2 – “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”  Paul’s message, is this, we have been entrusted with a measure of the knowledge of God unto salvation, and God, who revealed Himself to us for our joy in salvation, will guard that knowledge and belief until the day when we see Christ as He is in Heaven.
Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

These truths that Paul has just gotten through saying should form the basis for the truths we hold onto dearly as believers.  We should not shrink back from these truths, but press our hearts into them.  What is our motivation?  The love we have for Christ Jesus through faith.  Even if these truths may be difficult, especially for those who have not heard them, we trust in the Word of God, and press deeply into them, to know more of Christ for our joy.

By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.”

Here it’s interesting that Paul exhorts Timothy to “by the Spirit” guard the good deposit (sound words of the knowledge of God) entrusted to him.  Just above Paul says that Christ is the one guarding what has been entrusted.  How can Paul tell Timothy to do something, if it is Christ (the Holy Spirit) doing it?  Here is another example of the compatiblistic nature of God’s will in His purpose for His glory and man’s will.  In short, there are means of grace whereby one can strengthen their faith, namely the Spiritual Disciplines of meditating on God’s Word, prayer, fasting, and serving others.  For a believer, those spiritual disciplines will be spurred on by their love for Christ, and wanting more of Him in their life.  That heart, a heart that loves the holiness of God in Christ, is a work of God not of ourselves.  Therefore, God and man work together, but the power and glory is always due to God.  Look at how Paul describes salvation in 1 Corinthians 3:5-7 – “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.”  So my encouragement is the same.  As much as you have affection for God, guard the knowledge of God entrusted to you, and hold fast to sound words.  By them you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Please, let this be an encouragement to you to be a Berean.  Acts 17:10-12 – “The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.  Many of them therefore believed”  If you struggle with these sound words of Paul, spend time in the Word daily to see if these things are so.  As a teacher, my heart has much greater joy in the person who receives my teaching, even disagreeing with something, and going to God’s Word again and again to search out His truth, than someone who simply accepts my teaching.  There is a greater reward for those who eagerly seek after the Truth of Christ.  Their faith is strengthened all the more, they see more of Christ, their joy is great.  Be a Berean, and hold fast to sound words.  Know you’re loved and prayed for.

Grace and Peace,
Adam

WFTD: An Eternal Dwelling

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Matthew 11:12 – “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.” 

Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. – Dylan Thomas (Welsh Poet – 1914-1953)

2 Timothy 4:7-8 – “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”

Anyone who speaks of the love of God and the joy of fellowship with Christ, must also speak of the violence that is waged to maintain that fellowship.  It will not always come easy, the seasons in which it does are few and far between.  There are days when darkness surrounds you, and you just have to feel your way forward; there are days in which you simply cry out to God; there are days in which all strength is spent, and Christ must carry you.  My encouragement is to not take lightly you time today to spend with the Lord.  It is preparing you for the seasons in which you will be tested, and is sanctifying you for eternity.

Often, it is helpful to me to think about my eternal dwelling, and push forward with that in mind.  Romans 8:18 – “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

Isaiah 60:15-22 – “Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, with no one passing through, I will make you majestic forever, a joy from age to age.  You shall suck the milk of nations; you shall nurse at the breast of kings; and you shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.  Instead of bronze I will bring gold,
and instead of iron I will bring silver; instead of wood, bronze, instead of stones, iron. I will make your overseers peace and your taskmasters righteousness.  Violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders; you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.  The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.  Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself;
for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.  Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified.  The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation; I am the LORD; in its time I will hasten it.”

As you fight the fight of faith today, be encouarged, there will be a day when Christ is coming for each you, to bring you home – John 14:1-3 – “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.  In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

Grace and Peace,
Adam