Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Monday, September 02, 2024
Blissful Eternal Life
I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live
John 11:25
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ triumphed over death upon the cross thereby opening the path to eternal bliss. By His sacrifice, the gates of heaven are opened and in Him, we find everlasting joy and peace. The sorrow of parting with loved ones weighs heavily upon our hearts. Yet, we must grasp the truth that those who have departed in Christ possess life beyond death.
Surely, our faith teaches us that death is not the end, but the beginning of eternal life. As Scripture says, "For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." (2 Corinthians 5:1). Accordingly, death is a transformation from the temporary physical existence to the spiritual fullness of life in eternal.
As it is written in 1 Corinthians 15:50, "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable." The body, being mortal and subject to decay, returns to the dust of the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12: 7). In paradise, the soul rests in peace, awaiting the glorious Day of Judgment, when the dead shall be raised, and the body, spirit, and soul shall be reunited in a glorified state (Revelation 6:9-11).
In God's perfect timing, our own lives shall also be transformed, and we shall be reunited with the loved one that we have lost. Until that glorious day, let us faithfully fulfill the work God has assigned us during our temporary journey on earth. Let us consider the unwavering faith of Job. Though he tested and lost everything he valued, he remained firm in his trust in the Lord. Job did not waver in his trust in God, nor did he act contrary to God's will, despite not knowing that Satan had sought and been granted permission by God to test him.
Job’s example, along with the scriptures, encourage us to stand firm in our faith, understanding that without a solid foundation in Christ, the enemy may try to mislead us. Therefore, let us stand strong in our faith, holding on to Christ with unwavering trust. By doing so, we are assured a place in the blissful eternal life that God has prepared for us, where we will be reunited with our souls and meet our loved ones in His everlasting kingdom.
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Friday, April 05, 2024
God's Divine Plans
God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did (Romans 4:17)
1. 1. He who calls things that do not exist as though they
did
II Kings 7:
1. Then Elisha said, “Listen to the word of the Lord. The Lord says, ‘Tomorrow about this time, a basket of fine flour will be sold for one piece of silver in the gate of Samaria. And two baskets of barley will be sold for a piece of silver.’”
The
four lepers and their arrival at the enemy camp:
3 Now there were four men at the city gate with a bad skin disease. They said to one another, “Why do we sit here until we die?
4 If we go into the city, there is no food there and we will die. And if we sit here, we will die also. So now come, let us go over to the tents of the Syrians. If they do not kill us, we will live. And if they kill us, we will die there.”
5 So they got up in the evening to go to the Syrians. When
they came to the tents of the Syrians, there was no one there.
Fleeing Syrians:
6 For the Lord had made the Syrian army hear a sound of
war-wagons and horses and an army of many soldiers. So they said to one
another, “The king of Israel has paid the kings of the Hittites and the kings
of the Egyptians to fight against us.”
7 And they ran away in the evening. They left their tents
and their horses and donkeys. They left everything just as it was, and ran for
their lives.
8 Then the men with a bad skin disease came to the tents.
They went into one tent and ate and drank. They carried away silver and gold
and clothing, and hid them. Then they returned and went into another tent and
carried things away from it, and hid them.
9 They said to one another, “We are not doing right. This
is a day of good news, but we are keeping quiet. We will be punished if we wait
until morning. So now let us go and tell those of the king’s house.”
10 And they came and called the men who watched the city
gate. They said to them, “We went to the tents of the Syrians. But there was no
one to be seen or heard there. Only the horses and donkeys were tied there. The
tents were left just as they were.”
11 So the men at the gate called out, and the news was
heard in the king’s house.
Without the sword and without blood, Israel plunders the enemy camp:
12 The king got up in the night and said to his servants, “I will tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry. So they have left the tents to hide themselves in the field. They are saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we will take them alive and get into the city.’”
13 One of his servants said, “Let
some men take five of the horses that are left. Those who are left in the city
are not doing better than all those who have died. So let us send men out to
see.”
14 So they took two war-wagons with
horses. And the king sent them after the Syrian army, saying, “Go and see.”
15 They went after them to the
Jordan. All the way was covered with clothes and objects which the Syrians had
thrown away in their hurry. Then the men returned and told the king.
16 So the people went out and took
what the Syrians had left. Then a basket of fine flour was sold for a piece of
silver. And two baskets of barley sold for a piece of silver, just as the word
of the Lord had said.
17 Now the king chose the captain on
whose arm he rested to watch the gate. But the people stepped on him at the
gate. He died just as the man of God had said when the king came down to him.
1.
2. Spiritual vision:
II Kings 3:
16
He said, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’
17
For the Lord says, ‘You will not see wind or rain. But that valley will be
filled with water so that you and your cattle and your animals will drink.’
18
This is only a small thing in the eyes of the Lord. He will give you the
Moabites also.
16 He answered, “Do not be afraid. For those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, I pray, open his eyes, that he may
see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw. He saw that the
mountain was full of horses and war-wagons of fire all around Elisha.
I Kings 19:
18 But I will leave 7,000 in Israel whose knees have not bowed down in front of Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”
1.
3. He who gives life to the dead:
Ephesians 2:
1. And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
4 But
God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up together, and made us sit
together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 that in
the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His
kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
8 For by
grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the
gift of God,
4. The Kingdom of Christ
Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done in
earth, as it is in heaven. (Matthew
6: 10)
There must be oneness to build the kingdom of
God, not to build the Tower of Babel
Isaiah 11: 6-9
6 The
wolf will live with the lamb. The leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The
calf and the young lion and the young fat animal will lie down together. And a
little boy will lead them.
7 The
cow and the bear will eat side by side. And their young will lie down together.
The lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The
nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra. And another child will put
his hand in the hole of a snake whose bite is poison.
9 They
will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain. For the earth will be as full
of much learning from the Lord as the seas are full of water.
Revelation 21:
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new
earth. The first heaven and the first earth had passed away. There was no more
sea.
2 I saw the Holy City, the new
Jerusalem. It was coming down out of heaven from God. It was made ready like a
bride is made ready for her husband.
3 I heard a loud voice coming
from heaven. It said, “See! God’s home is with men. He will live with them.
They will be His people. God Himself will be with them. He will be their God.
4 God will take away all their
tears. There will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All the old
things have passed away.”
Prayer: Dear Heavenly father, give us the knowledge to understand your Divine Plans. Let Christ's heavenly kingdom and His will on earth be done, but not to build the towers of Babel. Open the eyes of our hearts to see what is happening around us with a spiritual eye. Wash and cleanse us by Your holy Blood so that we who are resurrected in Christ Jesus do not die again to sins. Heavenly God, who calls things that are not to be, take us and use us to build your kingdom. Only your name be glorified. We give all praise, honor and glory to our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Hallelujah!
Monday, January 29, 2024
Becoming
more and more like Jesus in character
A Woman Caught in Adultery (John 8: 3-11)
The Pharisees brought a woman who had
been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.
4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this
woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says
to stone her. What do you say?”
6 They were trying to trap him into saying
something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the
dust with his finger.
7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood
up again and said, “All right, but let the one who
has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then
he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.
9 When the accusers heard this, they
slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left
in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up
again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers?
Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
11 “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go
and sin no more.”
2. Jesus did not judge the women caught in adultery.
3. Jesus did not punish her.
4. Jesus did not encourage her sin but disciplined her
