We are dust and to dust we will return. (Genesis 3:19) Each one of us will stand before the judgment seat of Christ someday. But Jesus paid the price for our sins…once for all, and became the source of eternal salvation…and in Him and Him alone we will find redemption.
Tag: eternal life
II Samuel 22: 2-4 ” The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior – from violent men You have saved me. I will call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.”
The Lord is my stability in an uncertain and constantly wavering world. He is my safe refuge where I am able to retreat, rest, and rebuild my shattered hopes and dreams. The Lord is my advocate and protector when I cry out for mercy. The Lord is my Lord.
Proverbs 3: 1-2 ” My son, do not forget My teaching, but keep My commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.”
Sure, there’s eternal benefits to obeying the Word of God and His commands. But there are many practical benefits and blessings we may not always think of…things like health, peace, and security, which eludes the world, but for Believers… are just a wonderful part of living our life for the Lord.
Ecclesiastes 2:13 ” I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness.”
Groping around in pitch blackness can be dangerous. The consequences can be just as hazardous when spiritual darkness blinds us to the risks and pitfalls of this fallen world. When light invades the darkness, the darkness must flee. When life, salvation, and wisdom come into us…the spiritual darkness must also take flight.
Jeremiah 29:11 ” ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ “
The plan and purpose for your life was written before the beginning of time. Every goal, aspiration, and ambition has been planned for you beforehand…every aim, consideration, and course of life has been especially designed for you only by the Lord Himself. He desires only the best for you.
Joshua 22:5 “But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to obey His commands, to hold fast to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul.”
This verse brings together the very essence of what every Christian strives to do on a daily basis. We are to love God and in doing so, love others. We are to imitate His ways… obey His word…and resist the pull of the world, cleaving only to God…for in that is eternal life and unspeakable joy.
Hebrews 11: 39-40 ” These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”
Hebrews Chapter 11, the great “Faith” Chapter in the Bible is a dichotomy of truths to the world. On one hand, it’s a litany of Bible greats who were known for their tremendous trust in God. But on the other hand, not one of them ever received their promise. In fact, Hebrews 11:13 says, “All were still living by faith when they died.” Do you have the wherewithal to hold tightly to your faith until the very end…clinging to the promises of God, even if you never actually see them?
Isaiah 58:7 ” Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”
In this entire chapter, Isaiah is contrasting how the Children of Israel fasted, to what true fasting was meant to be. Fasting can become very self-centered…I’m denying myself, I’m going without, I’m abstaining from…I, I, I….you get the picture. But Isaiah wanted them to know that true fasting wasn’t about them and what they were doing at all, but rather, of reaching out to others around them. And interestingly enough, another meaning for fast – firm and secure – is exactly what the message of the Good News is. And what better people to help the poor than Christians who can fill the need both physically and spiritually?
Psalm 73: 27-28 ” Those who are far from You will perish; You destroy all who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all Your deeds.”
God will not stand for apostasy…spiritual adultery with pagan gods…whatever that god or idol may look like in your world. For anything that comes between you and God…that causes you to wander away from God’s instruction…that makes you think you know more than God…that’s an idol.
Psalm 73: 25-26 ” Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Elsewhere in Psalms it says, “You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing.” For to lose all things is to gain Christ. Our well-being …both mentally, physically, and spiritually is in the Lord and Him alone. And even when our bodies grow old and weak, He’s our strength.