October Quotes

The gospel is like a caged lion; it does not need to be defended, it just needs to be let out of the cage. 

-Spurgeon

The Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next.

-C.S. Lewis

Our Lord commands that all His followers be evangelistic fishermen. The command “follow Me” in the Greek literally means “come here.” The original text also has the term “after,” which indicates the place we must come to: “Your place is following after Me!” This is His chosen place and posture for you.

-John MacArthur

If God entirely inspired Scripture, then Scripture is vested with His authority. No other power could either bestow or take away that quality. 

-René Pache

No matter what happens to you, no matter the depth of tragedy or pain you face, no matter how death stalks you and your loved ones, the Resurrection promises you a future of immeasurable good. 

-Josh McDowell

These many years of waiting will only be a sentence in the story. This long day will come to an end, and I believe it will end in glory, when we will shine like suns and stride the green hills with those we love and the One who loves.

-Andrew Peterson

Truth only seems old fashioned nowadays because we've grown so accustomed to deceit and manipulation. But Truth is eternal, so it can never be old or new. It never 'was' or 'will be.' It just 'is.' It always 'is.' Truth never grows old, and if you believe in it and try to live by it, you will always be, in some ways--the only ways that matter--the youngest, freshest, most energetic rebel on the block."

-Matt Walsh

God is completely sovereign. God is infinite in wisdom. God is perfect in love. God in His love always wills what is best for us. In His wisdom He always knows what is best, and in His sovereignty He has the power to bring it about. 

-Jerry Bridges

My job isn’t to curse the darkness; it’s to light a candle. 

-Nancy Leigh Demoss

You don't fight for victory. You fight from it. Start living in that power. 

-Greg Laurie

Happy Reformation Day! 

Remember that you are saved 

by grace alone (sola gratia),

 through faith alone (sola fide), 

in Christ alone (solus Christus), 

according to Scripture alone (sola Scriptura), 

for the glory of God alone (soli Deo Gloria).

Three Visions of Heaven

This past week, I read through the story of Micaiah the prophet. He's not a well-known prophet, but his story is an interesting and courageous one. Micaiah prophecies during the reign of king Ahab--one of the most wicked kings of his time. This whole story is found in 2 Chronicles 18, and I won't detail it all, but his words in a few verses reminded me of two other instances in Scripture.

Standing before king Jehoshaphat and king Ahab, Micaiah states that he can only speak the words God gives him. Like Elijah, Micaiah's words will stand against those of the 400 false prophets. He's asked if these two kings will be able to conquer Ramoth Gilead back from the Arameans, and unlike the 400 false prophets, he says that Ahab would be killed and the people scattered. Ahab is obviously not pleased with this report. Micaiah then again brings to the kings' attention that it is the word of the Lord that he has spoken:

And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left. (2 Chronicles 18:18, ESV)

Standing before those who would soon persecute him for his message, Micaiah boldly proclaims the Lord's message to Ahab, and refuses to cave in to the pressure of delivering a message that was pleasing to the king, like the other 400 prophets had done.

Another prophet records something similar to Micaiah's vision. Isaiah, the prophet, lived during the
time of king Uzziah. Uzziah began as a godly king, but soon grew strong in power and wealth leading to his downfall and the curse of leprosy. Isaiah was called to preach and teach a wayward people during this time, and many times faced persecution as he spoke the words of God. However, the Lord gave him a glimpse of His glory which is recorded in Isaiah 6:

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" (Isaiah 6:1-3, ESV)

This is perhaps the most descriptive of the three, but like Micaiah's vision, Isaiah sees the angels surrounding the throne of God while the Lord is seated as the rightful reigning King.

The third Bible account describing a vision like these two takes place in the New Testament. A prophet in his own time and place, Stephen is well-known as the first martyr of the Christian church. Acts 6-8 recounts his sermon and story. While standing before the high priest, elders, and other Jews, Stephen boldly preaches against their wickedness, convicting their hearts while recounting the history of the Israelites. His audience, however, is not receptive, and stones him to death. Some of his last words include the vision into heaven:

But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:55-56, ESV)

As I read Micaiah's vision and his words, I couldn't help but compare the similarities of it to Isaiah's and Stephen's visions. These three men all stood before kings and declared the Word of God to rebellious and hard-hearted people. They were persecuted, forsaken of men, and faced internal and external pressures to conform to the lifestyles around them. Yet they stood firm and did not back down. All three record visions of God/Jesus seated on His throne. Isaiah and Stephen specifically mention His vast glory, and Micaiah and Isaiah describe the angels that surround the throne. Isaiah's and Micaiah's are the ultimate glory of God, but Stephen's is the fulfilled glory in Christ as the risen, reigning King. While we don't know exactly what happened to Isaiah and Micaiah in the end, it is very likely that they died at the hands of their own people. Stephen did.

And so it seems, that to provide encouragement and strength during their difficult life times, God opened heaven to them and showed them His glory and His realm--reminding them that they would reign there with Him soon.

Two Miracles in 2 Kings

This week reading through 2 Kings, I noticed two accounts which had miracles similiar to other more well-known stories in Scripture. Did you know the Jordan river was parted and walked across on dry ground? And twenty barley loaves plus fresh ears of grain managed to feed a hundred men?

Elijah tells his follower, Elisha, that he will be taken to heaven by the Lord today. Elijah took his cloak and struck the water, parting it for him and Elisha, and the two crossed over together. Elisha then requested that a double portion of Elijah's spirit be granted to him. Elijah said that if Elisha saw him taken up into heaven, then Elisha's request would be granted. Elisha watched as chariots and horses of fire and a whirlwind caught up his master to glory. Elisha then took up the cloak of Elijah and returned to the Jordan River striking the water in the same manner and walked across on dry ground. (2 Kings 2:1-14)

The second account takes place two chapters later and demonstrates in a smaller way a miracle Jesus would later perform. Elisha has just finished providing edible stew for the sons of the prophets. Famine had taken over the land, and food was scarce. A man comes and brings Elisha barley bread and fresh ears of grain. Elisha commands his servant to feed the group of men which numbered about a hundred. Still Elisha tells him to set it before them, as the Lord had said they would eat and have some left over. So Elisha's servant obeys. "And they ate and had some left, accourding to the word of the Lord." (2 Kings 4:42-44)

I found it interesting how the first miracle pointed back in history to Moses' parting of the Red Sea, and then the second miracle forshadows the future miracles of Jesus. One man, Elisha, was priviledged to take part in each of these miracles. Likely he did not completely understand the part he would play in reminding us of the past faithfulness of God, while also providing us hope for the future.

February Quotes

If God be glorified, what does it matter where we are? What becomes of us is of small consequence compared with bringing glory to His great name.

-Spurgeon

If you belong to Him, He will shatter you in a million pieces and reconstruct you. He will not share you with the world. He will not allow you to get any fun out of the Vanity Fair.

-Paul Washer

I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time- waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God- it changes me. 

-C.S. Lewis

The land of the free begins in the homes of the brave.

-Kirk Cameron

We are indestructable until the Lord calls us home.

-Amanda Daniels

On this day [February 14], in the year AD 298, a Christian pastor was brutally martyred. First, he was beaten with clubs. then stoned, and finally he was beheaded. His crime ...- standing for biblical marriage, that intimacy outside of marriage was sinful, and that marriage was designed by God as between one man and one woman. His name was Valentinus, a man who loved Jesus above all else and who refused to deny the faith. Today, as you enjoy your chocolate and trinkets, remember that the one who is now called St Valentine gave his life in defense of biblical marriage, not rampant promiscuity or perversion. He did not succumb to the politically correct of his day. February 14 is a day that is not rose red, but blood red. 

-James McDonald

Just because you can't, doesn't mean I can't, and just because I can't, doesn't mean you shouldn't.

-Steven Furtick

It is a sign of the times that, in today's public mind, precious little is held sacred except the right to profane living, and nothing is more offensive than moral innocence. 

-Andrew Romanowitz

Your sins aren’t enough to keep your child from God and your strengths aren’t enough to get your child to God.

-Ann Voskamp

If you are more distressed over the sin of the people near you than you are of the sin that is inside you, you won't cry out for grace. 

-Paul David Tripp 

January Quotes

To surrender a precious dream is a fearful thing, but to pursue anything but the full measure of the glory of God’s love is a wasted life.

-Joshua Eddy

Where God tears great gaps we should not try to fill them with human words.

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

We are secure, not because we hold tightly to Jesus, but because He holds tightly to us.

-R.C. Sproul

Enemy-occupied territory---that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.

-C.S. Lewis

It is not the mouth that is the main thing to be looked at in prayer, but whether the heart is so full of affection and earnestness in prayer with God, that it is impossible to express their sense and desire; for then a man desires indeed, when his desires are so strong, many, and mighty, that all the words, tears, and groans that can come from the heart, cannot utter them.

-John Bunyan

The point of your life is to point to Him. Whatever you are doing, God wants to be glorified, because this whole thing is His. 

-Francis Chan

There is a living God. He has spoken in the Bible. He means what He says and will do all that He has promised.

-Hudson Taylor

Don’t you know that day dawns after night, showers displace drought and spring and summer follow winter? Then have hope! Hope forever, for God will not fail you!

-Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Too often we pay so much attention to what we need to do that we totally neglect the extent to which we are entirely dependent on the Spirit to do what we cannot do. 

-Jerry Bridges

Right now if this preacher died he would go to heaven. Not because I spent years in the jungles and the Andes Mountains of Peru. Not because of piety, devotion or Bible study. Not because of denominational affiliation, baptism, or participation in the Lord’s supper. If I died right now, I would go to heaven because two thousand years ago the Son of God shed His blood for this wretched man. And that is my hope.

-Paul Washer

December Quotes

Christianity preaches the infinite worth of that which is seemingly worthless and the infinite worthlessness of that which is seemingly so valued.

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

You never go away from us, yet we have difficulty in returning to You. Come, Lord, stir us up and call us back. Kindle and seize us. Be our fire and our sweetness. Let us love. Let us run. 
-St. Augustine

“Is it true, O Christ in heaven, that the highest suffer the most?

That the strongest wander furthest and most hopelessly are lost?

That the mark of rank in nature is capacity for pain?

That the anguish of the singer makes the sweetness of the strain?” 

-John Milton

A holy woman's object in life is a perfect union with the will of God, perfect conformity. And as we are conformed to the image of Christ and conform our wills to God, we will find that our joy is greater and greater. Humility and surrender can be your gateway to joy.

-Elisabeth Elliot

Pray that this year you may be holy, humble, zealous, and patient and have closer communion with Christ. Pray that you may be an example and blessing to others, and that you may live more for the glory of your Master… Let January open with joy in the Lord, and December close with gladness in Jesus.

-Charles H. Spurgeon

I choose to believe the Bible because it is a reliable collection of historical documents, written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They report supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophecies, and they claim to be divine rather than human in origin.

-Dr. Voddie Baucham

Here we have a picture of God’s ideal woman…Faith in God that sees beyond present bitter setbacks. Freedom from the securities and comforts of the world. Courage to venture into the unknown and the strange. Radical commitment in the relationships appointed by God… It is a beautiful thing to watch a woman like this serve Christ with courage.

-John Piper

The point of your life is to point to Him. Whatever you are doing, God wants to be glorified, because this whole thing is His. 

-Francis Chan

Let us banish every fearful thought, and rejoice with exceeding great joy, in the prospect that this year we shall begin to be "forever with the Lord. 

-C. H. Spurgeon

But friends, as we face a new year, let us take heart! Let us find courage! -not in the strength of our own arms, but in the power of our resurrected Lord who sits in the heavens and does whatsoever He pleases (Ps.115:3)! Let us persevere in hope! -not because we see the light at the end of the tunnel, which we may not--but because our King has guaranteed a harvest in due season if we faint not (Gal.6:9). And when we do feel like fainting, let us remember that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but to those who are weak in Christ--because when we are weak, then are we strong (2 Cor.12:10).
-Neil Craig

October Quotes

We do not choose suffering simply because we are told to, but because the One who tells us to describes it as the path to everlasting joy. 

-John Piper

It is not the strength of your faith that saves you, but the strength of Him upon whom you rely! Christ is able to save you if you come to Him—be your faith weak or be it strong. 

-Charles Spurgeon

Mr. Dickson, you are advanced in years no, and your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grace, there to be eaten by worms; I confess to you, that if I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by Cannibals or by worms; and in the Great Day my Resurrection body will rise as fair as yours in the likeness of our risen Redeemer. 

-John Paton

Let us not wait for large opportunities or different kinds of work, but do the things that we find to do day by day. We have no other time in which to live. The past is gone; the future has not arrived. We will never have any time but the present. Then do not wait until your experience has ripened into maturity before you attempt to serve God. Endeavor now to bring forth fruit. Serve God now, but be careful as to the way in which you perform what you find to do--"do it with thy might." Do it promptly. Do not fritter away your life in thinking of what you intend to do tomorrow, as if that could make up for the idleness of today. No man ever served God by doing things tomorrow. If we honor Christ and are blessed, it is by the things that we do today. Whatever you do for Christ throw your whole soul into it. Do not give Christ a little slurred labor, done as a matter of course now and then; but when you do serve Him, do it with heart, and soul, and strength.

-C.H. Spurgeon

None but God can satisfy the longings of the immortal soul; as the heart was made for him, he only can fill it. 

-Richard Chenevix

If God has lost the authority to be sovereign over reality, if He has lost the authority to provide objective law, and if He has lost the authority to reveal absolute truth, then in the eyes of men, He has lost the right to be God.

-Kevin Swanson

There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.' All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened.

-C. S. Lewis

The promises of God and the fulfillment of them are linked together by an indissoluble bond.

-John Calvin

When I get to heaven, I shall see three wonders there. The first wonder will be to see many there whom I did not expect to see; the second wonder will be to miss many people who I did expect to see; and the third and greatest of all will be to find myself there. 

-John Newton

Enemy-occupied territory---that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.

-C.S. Lewis

When the tears have dried and the heart ache has given way We will find ourselves not far from a God who has held us in our storm, who has knelt in our grief and stayed with us. When all is said and done, we will find ourselves in a better land, holding the hand of a better man. 

-T.B. LaBerge

To every person there comes in their lifetime that special moment when you are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to you and your talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds you unprepared or unqualified for work which could have been your finest hour.

-Winston Churchill

The strength of man is the absoluteness of his God. 

-R. J. Rushdoony

Music... will help dissolve your perplexities and purify your character and sensibilities, and in time of care and sorrow, will keep a fountain of joy alive in you.

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

But God is the God of the waves and the billows, and they are still His when they come over us; and again and again we have proved that the overwhelming thing does not overwhelm. Once more by His interposition deliverance came. We were cast down, but not destroyed.

-Amy Carmichael

A Bigger Picture, Part Four

This is the 200th post here on Facing the Waves, peoples! :)

In 2 or more paragraphs, discuss the section titled, “The Old Testament as Christian Scripture,” at the end of chapter 1 in Understanding the Big Picture of the Bible. What does the author mean by the terms “continuity” and “discontinuity”? Do you agree? Explain your answer and provide biblical examples.

Thomas Schreiner uses the "already but not yet" phrase to help describe the biblical theology of the Old and New Testaments. Because the covenants, curses, warnings, and blessings of the OT cannot be separated from the NT, Schreiner uses this phrase to show how some of covenants were fulfilled, while others are still awaiting full completion even today. For instance, even though Christ came to earth and fulfilled the coming of the long awaited Messiah, the physical realities of some of the covenants have not yet been realized. The Davidic covenant promised a king who would rule on the earth and destroy the opposing kingdoms who had conquered and enslaved Israel. Jesus did indeed come, but He did not come to physical rule in Jerusalem. The Millennial reign and everything afterwards is still something that has not yet been realized and fulfilled here on earth. While Christ did indeed fulfill the prophecies regarding His birth, life, death, and resurrection, the Jews did not yet understand that Christ came to rule spiritually in their hearts and provide the Comforter who would be the abiding Spirit in them. The Jews expected a glorious entrance of a powerful King who would overthrow Roman tyranny and establish justice in Israel. The Kingdom of God did arrive, but it came in the form of a mustard seed (as Jesus would later describe) or of leaven in dough--imperceptible at first, but it would soon grow into something much mightier than a physical kingdom. 

The New Testament is important to view in this context, because just as the Israelites were waiting for covenants and promises to be fulfilled, so are we. While we already have the fulfilled birth, death, and resurrection of Christ, and while the spiritual kingdom of God is here alive and working in our hearts, we, too, await the physical coming of Christ at His Second Coming. We have the spiritual life already, but there is more to come. Like the universal blessing promised to Abraham, there was partial (spiritual) fulfillment of that, but we have yet to see peace reign here on earth or in Israel itself. The Kingdom was and is present in Jesus, but it is not yet consummated. We still wait for the day when Jesus does sit on an earthly throne and judges in righteousness, dividing the believers from the unbelievers, and issuing eternal peace to the world. The Old Testament points forward to Christ. The New Testament points back to Christ, but neither Testament include the covenant completely fulfilled, because that is yet to come. We live in a different age than the OT believers, but even still we can quickly identify with their longing and waiting for something better to come. We still await the resurrection and glorification of our physical bodies. We still wait for the Great White Throne Judgment, and we still await the freedom from the battle against sin. Not all has been subjected to

Christ fully, yet. Death and sin still have hold on this world. However, like those gone before us as recorded in Hebrews 11, we too look by faith towards that which isn't seen yet. We seek a better City whose Builder and Maker is God, and like the Israelites of old we recognize that we have not completely received what has been promised, but we look towards that one day at the consummation of the age, when all will be made right, and we will no longer pray "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done". His Kingdom will have come, and His will shall be done in that Last Day. 

His Light!

As I've been reading, listening, praying, and studying the Bible the last couple weeks, there has been a theme running throughout the topics I've gone through. And that is the theme of light. Light is mentioned all throughout the course of Scripture, but I'll just highlight a few of them here this week.

Let there be light.

Perhaps the most obvious reference to light is at the beginning of creation. When nothing except darkness exists, and the Creator ushers in the opposite of that darkness and drives it aside. He doesn't cast darkness completely aside, for day and night are meant for signs and seasons. Perhaps the darkness is also a reminder to us, too, that no matter how deep and dark the night is, dawn always comes, because light drives out darkness. You can't drive out darkness with darkness; only light can do that. And so even at the beginning of time, God offers a contrast, a hope, a difference, to what already was (darkness) by bringing light to the world.

The Lord is my light.

I was reminded of the my post last month quoting Psalm 27. Here, David the psalmist, contrasts the light of redemption to the darkness of condemnation. In his opening verse he says, "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?" The name Yahweh, often written as LORD, refers to God's deity, that He is the self-existent and self-eternal One. It has its roots in the name Ehyeh which is the name God uses in Exodus 3:14 to say "I AM". As fire from the burning bush, Moses did indeed see that the Lord is our light, just as David says in Psalm 27. I've heard it said that "Only those who can say 'The LORD is my light and my salvation' can say 'Of whom shall I be afraid?'".

I AM the light of the world.

I studied this in the first half of my Bible course on John. The setting in John 8 is the Feast of the Tabernacles. All Jewish males were required to celebrate this feast which took place during harvest season. The people lived in "tents" created out of tree branches for the first seven days of the feast, commemorating God's provision for their forefathers in the wilderness.There was also a special water-pouring ceremony, as well as singing, sacrifices, and dancing. Jesus uttered this description of Himself ("I am the light of the world") likely after a special lamp-lighting ceremony took place. Huge cadelabras were lit in the Court of the Women where Jesus was speaking. These lights were apparently so bright and so large that no court in Jerusalem would have missed seeing them. Everyone danced around them in celebration while singing praise to God. They were a reminder of how God led the people by a pillar of fire at night through the wilderness. And against this backdrop, Christ proclaims "I AM the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). This is the same word that Jesus uses in Matthew 4:16 when He quotes Isaiah: "The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned." He was the physical light that led them, but He came as the promised spiritual light to the dark and empty hearts of the world.

You are the light of the world...let your light shine before others.

Matthew 15:14-16 lists some well-known verses for believers. Not only does God create light, express it in His being, and show forth the radiance of light in His Son, but He also gives that light to us. Through salvation, we become witnesses and inheritors of that light, and we're to set it on a hill and spread it all around. We share in that light, that Gospel message. It's ours to claim through faith in Christ, and it's ours to share through His commission. 

Let us...put on the armor of light.

Paul reminds us that as children of light, walking in the light, we're to put on the armor of light. Armor is meant for protection against the enemy, and Paul details the armor of God in Ephesians 6: the belt of truth, the breastplate of rightousness, shoes of the gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. Combined with prayer and perseverence, these pieces of armor provide a formidable force against any foe. We must continue to put away the works of darkness and we do this by putting on the armor of light daily. If we profess to own the Light of the World in our hearts, then we must wear the armor of the Light that we're representing. Our ministry must match our message. 

Light in the dark.

Light is offered as comfort to us from the Lord. It's also something people would pray for in distress or praise God for in times of rejoicing. 

"Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!" (Psalm 4:6)

"For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk befor eGod in the light of life." (Psalm 56:13)

"Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous." (Psalm 112:4)

God's Word is light.

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (Psalm 119:105) In the darkness of this world, God's word provides the light necessary to continue walking through the valleys. For those who don't have this light, this world is the best they will ever get. But for those who have the "light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ" (2 Cor.4:4) they will have the Light of the world dispelling the darkness of their hearts and providing a path on which to walk. Our road map is the Word of light, because "the unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple" (Psalm 119:130). We're a new creation that radiates the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor.4:6).

The Lord God will be their light.

This world isn't all. There is a life after death, and for believers we will live with the Creator and Being of Light. The Light that was given to us in our hearts and proclaimed by the Word will be the light that we live forever with. We only demonstrate a fraction of this light, but in the new heavens and new earth, we will live in the light of the Lord. There will be no night, no darkness, to dispell anymore. No physical night and no spiritual darkness will be there. "[We] will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be [our] light, and [we] will reign forever and ever" (Revelation 22:5). The best is yet to come. Our Everlasting Light will not just be in our hearts, but He will stand before us, and we will bow to and reign with that Light. 

And so, with the physical light of day being our reminder, let us keep the light in our hearts burning, as we remember the Creator of Light who sent His Son as Light to the world. He offers the Word of light as comfort and direction to all who believe, and we are given the armor of light to fight against the forces of darkness. We are the light-bearers to the world, until that day when the Light comes from heaven and we reign in the glory of the Light of the Son of God.

When I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me.

-Micah 7:8b

O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

-Isaiah 2:5

Psalm 27

The Lord is my light and my salvation;

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;

of whom shall I be afraid?

When evildoers assail me

to eat up my flesh,

my adversaries and foes,

it is they who stumble and fall.

Though an army encamp against me,

my heart shall not fear;

though war arise against me,

yet I will be confident.

One thing have I asked of the Lord, 

that will I seek after:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord

and to inquire in his temple.

For he will hide me in his shelter

in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

he will lift me high upon a rock.

And now my head shall be lifted up

above my enemies all around me,

and I will offer in his tent

sacrifices with shouts of joy;

I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;

be gracious to me and answer me!

You have said, “Seek my face.”

My heart says to you,

“Your face, Lord, do I seek.”

Hide not your face from me.

Turn not your servant away in anger,

O you who have been my help.

Cast me not off; forsake me not,

O God of my salvation!

For my father and my mother have forsaken me,

but the Lord will take me in.

Teach me your way, O Lord,

and lead me on a level path

because of my enemies.

Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;

for false witnesses have risen against me,

and they breathe out violence.

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living!

Wait for the Lord;

be strong, and let your heart take courage;

wait for the Lord!

He Reigns!

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:13-14)

I read through 1 Corinthians last week, and it was good to get the big picture of the whole book again, as we are going through 1 Corinthians 15 in our church's morning services right now. And though I’m not going to dig deeply into the whole chapter, these verses have often stood out to me when reading through this passage.

They might not seem particularly encouraging at first glance, as they’re written in a “negative” tone. But both verses start with “if”, too. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ hasn’t been raised. If Christ hasn’t been raised, then preaching Christ and faith in Christ would be senseless. But it’s because of that little word “if”, that these two sentences take on a new meaning.

There is a resurrection of all the dead.
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Philippians 3:20-21)

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)

Christ has been raised.
When I [John] saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” (Revelation 1:17-18)

But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. (Hebrews 10:12)

There is a resurrection of all the dead, as Jesus promised, and Christ has indeed been raised, as He said He would be. Therefore, those who preach Christ, preach not in vain. They have staked their lives on the promise that their Savior is risen and that His promises hold true. And those who place their faith in the promise of a risen Christ, don’t believe in vain, for though faith is based on the unseen, faith in the Son of God is a secure faith, an unshakeable faith.

Christ is risen and seated at the right hand of the Father. He lives to intercede for us. He prays for us. He prays that our faith wouldn’t falter. We can have faith in our faith, not because we able to keep faith perfectly, but because there is One who never breaks faith—that same One is our faith. So we must hold fast to that hope without wavering, because the Christ who promised a resurrection is faithful. The King and His Son reign, and we will reign with Him one day!

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. (Colossians 2:13-15)

We have a resurrection, because Christ triumphed over death by His resurrection. “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.” (2 Corinthians 5:15) “Jesus paid the debt you owed, so you could live the life He lived.” (Chris Kouba) Live your faith so that others know that your life is based on the Cornerstone of a heavenly foundation. His resurrection secured your future resurrection.

So read His Word. Live for Him. Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians15:58) Not in vain, because He reigns. 

The Eternity We Await

On Monday, I finished my 16th time through the Bible, and because my reading plan takes me through Scripture canonically, I start with the creation of the earth and I end with the destruction of the earth. It's not a particularly pleasant picture if you leave the story there, however. And God doesn't.

Revelation presents the new heaven and new earth in its closing two chapters, and this eternal picture is one of glory, victory, perfection, and majesty. This was the revelation God gave to John, while he was in exile away from all other human companions. And here, on the isle of Patmos, the Lord provides His presence to John and commands him to write what he sees and hears.

Revelation 22 describes some of the characteristics of the new heaven, and I found it interesting to compare and contrast them with the newly created earth of Genesis.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need to light of the lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. (Revelation 22:1-5, ESV)

Here, the angel shows John what this new Jerusalem looks like. The water of life flows from the throne of God, representing eternal life given to all God's children. In the Garden of Eden, God provided water as a source of nourishment for people, plants, and animals. He used it later as a means of judgment. Christ, in His ministry on earth, proclaimed Himself to be the living water--whoever drinks from it lives forever. "Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14) In eternity, Christ will be our eternal life, physically and spiritually, and we will reign with Him forever. This water of life will never end.

The tree of life, once resting in the Garden, now is pictured here providing satisfaction and life by its fruit. Once inaccessible because of man's sin, the tree of life's blessing and healing is now freely available to all who believe. Sin's presence, too, will be nonexistent, for Jesus bore that curse on the cross, and in the new heaven and earth it is completely gone. God will never need to judge sin, forgive sin, or remove it from our lives because it will have no hold over us again, and it's curse will have vanished.

There won't be a physical temple in the new heaven and earth, but His children and the angels will worship Him nonetheless, for Christ is our temple. We will worship at the throne of God and the sacrificed Lamb, and we will praise Him for all eternity. We will see His face. Adam and Eve were once banned from direct communication with God, but as citizens of His kingdom, we will be completely holy and able to look on the face of a holy God without fear of consequences. And He will know all His people, for His name will be on and in us. We are His possession, bought with a price--His blood--and no one can pluck us out of His hands.

Night and day, created at the beginning of this world, to give us time for rest, growth, seasons, months, and years--this will be gone, also. The darkness of the night will be scattered, for the Lord's glory will fill the earth and heaven. Lamps or the sun's light would not help, nor could they compare, for the brightness of God's glory reaches further. Jesus is light, and in Him is no darkness at all; therefore, darkness will flee, and light will reign. We will reign with Him, for as His servants, we are also His citizens. Citizens of the better country--the heavenly country that the faithful of Hebrews 11 earnestly desired. There will be no more hoping for eternity, no more faith in that which we can't see, because we will be there and we will see Him and live in His holiness. We will love and serve Christ in a state of perfection for all of time. That will be glory. That will be victory.

C.S. Lewis summed it up well in his last book in the Chronicles of Narnia:

Aslan: "The dream is ended: this is the morning."And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginnig of the real story. All their life in this world...had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before. 

So I will drive these roads in thunder and in rain
And I will sing your song at the top of my lungs
And I will praise you, Lord, in glory and in pain
And I will follow you till this race is won
And I will drive these roads till this motor won't run
And I will sing your song from sea to shining sea
And I will praise you Lord, till your kingdom comes

Till there’s no more faith and no more hope
I’ll see your face and Lord I’ll know
There’s no more faith, there’s no more hope
I’ll sing your praise and let them go
‘Cause only love, only Your love remains
Only love
("No More Faith", Andrew Peterson)