Eternally Minded

Lately I’ve been reading 1 Timothy, a letter the apostle Paul wrote to a young pastor in Ephesus. As I read, I appreciated the wisdom and insight that Paul had; so I laboured on condensing the book into key passages that would help me remember the gist of the letter. I slightly paraphrased those passages, but sometimes I would copy word-for-word what the text said because I didn’t want to lose the meaning that was conveyed with the sentence structure and word choice. The idea behind this exercise was to go further into the text and really get a feel for what Paul was saying. By doing this, I learned many things I wouldn’t have seen otherwise. One thing that stuck out to me was the mentality of application Paul had near the end of the book. He’d say something like, “Set an example for the family of believers in your speech, the way you carry and conduct yourself, in your faith, and in your purity of heart” (paraphrase). I would think, “Hmmm. What does that look like for me? What changes...

Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.   Acts 5:41 & 42 North American, first-world Christians, have a hard time wrapping their minds around persecution. We don't pray for foreign believers as we should. We oftentimes forget that in other parts of the world (and maybe subtly in our very own country) children of Christ are being persecuted for their faith.  Martyrdom always fascinated me. I used to lay awake in bed and wonder what it would be like to die for Christ... To be worthy  to die for Him.  Millions of believers have been - and are being - killed for their faith in God. Sad, yes, but oh! Think of the joy that awaits them! Leave this sinful world 'early' and be face to face with Christ the Saviour forever?? Sounds like a sweet deal to me....

Therefore I still contend with you, declares the L ORD , and with your children's children I will contend. For cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see, or send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has been such a thing. Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But My people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the L ORD , for My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters , and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.    (Jeremiah 2:9-13) Jeremiah (more specifically, God, through Jeremiah) is warning the people of Judah about their great sin: IDOLATRY. Idolatry is anything of higher importance in your life than God Himself. It's crazy in our age today, just as it was rampant in ancient Judah.  (1)  Therefore I still contend with you, declares the L ORD , and w...

Most of us in Christian circles have heard something about perseverance (also referred to Biblically as endurance). We know that 2 Peter 1:6 says that perseverance brings godliness and that it's an important quality to have. We know or have heard of someone who seems to have mastered perseverance, like Paul, William Tyndale, or even the persecuted church. Sometimes we think that perseverance is this big thing that only super Christians can do. But how do we actually develop perseverance? I think the answer lies in 2 Peter 1:3: "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence." Because Christ gave us life, we have a knowledge of Him that only He can reveal to us. And it's through that knowledge that He enables us to escape corruption that comes from evil desires as He makes us more like Him. So, Paul tells us to strive to supplement our faith with certa...

Ecclesiastes 3:14: I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that the people fear before Him. I love that... "Whatever God does endures forever." Why do you suppose that is? I petition to you that it is because God is omnipotent. What does omnipotent mean? Purely, all powerful. When we imagine how much power and might God has, enough to create the universe with His voice, gloriously bring millions of people to Himself by His blood, and sustain life on earth since creation (which is no sweat for Him), He must have a lot of power. More than the human mind could ever comprehend. "This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ..." (Ephesians 5:32) There is so much about God that we will never understand, but it is humbling to try. "To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of...

Proverbs 4:25 - Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. I recently read The Hiding Place  by Corrie Ten Boom. I must confess, going into it I didn't want to read it. I was only doing it because I told my friend I would. (It was a huge encouragement and is now at the top of my recommendations list.) Something from it that stood out to me was Betsie Ten Boom and her resolute faith. In one instance, when she had been beaten in the prison camp, Corrie was trying to help her. But she joyfully pushed her away and said, "Don't look at [my wounds], Corrie. Look only at Jesus."  Let me tell you, that rocked my world. I got to thinking, "How many of my troubles are a reality because I've taken my focus off Jesus and have been distracted with myself?" The answer hurt. Too many.  Throughout scripture, the idea is given that we must look to Christ to be delivered. In the Old Testament, because the People of Israel spoke again...

Ask that question to everyone in North America and you will find that most of the population are Christians. According to Statistics Canada over two-thirds claim to be affiliated with a Christian religion. Great news, right? After studying the book of 1 John , I've come to a different conclusion. "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith." (2 Corinthians 13:5) "So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire .   Thus you will recognize them by their fruits." (Mathew 7:17-19) Based on the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit, does the Holy Spirit live within you? "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father Who is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21) Jesus did the will of His Father, are ...

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 things 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, emnity, 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 it's passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.   ...

Moses said to the L ORD , "Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither in the past or since you have spoken to Your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue." Then the L ORD said to him, "Who made man's mouth? Who made him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the L ORD ? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak." But he said, "Oh, my Lord, please send someone else..." (Exodus 4:10-13) Moses, a courageous hero of the faith, doubted the L ORD . He doubted His supreme control - that He actually knew what He was doing. When the L ORD planned to bring the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt, He chose Moses. For His own glory, He chose to use a man who had a speech hindrance to speak to Pharaoh and be the means of God's deliverance to His people. The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph... And the virgin...

We have a tendency to try to fit God into a box. The problem is that an infinite God cannot fit into the finite boxes we create. One way we try to limit God is by limiting His sovereignty in our lives. What I mean by that is that we try to make God do what we want Him to or expect him to act in the way we think He should act. We expect God to bless those who do good and curse those who do wrong; which isn’t against God’s nature except that we look for these blessings and curses in our physical day to day. The result of this type of thinking is disastrous, because God rarely gives us what we think we deserve. When we see a good person lose a loved one, struggle financially, or suffer an illness, we think God is either cruel; that the person had some secret sin, or they didn’t have enough faith. When we see a wicked person thrive in his evil doings, we think that God isn’t fair, God delights in evil, or God doesn’t see or chooses to ignore their sin (Psalm 73). We can easily think t...

Without a doubt, everyone has needed forgiveness at one (or more) points in their lives. Whether you grabbed a toy from a friend as a child, gossiped behind someone’s back as a teenager, or was dishonest to an employer as an adult, you’ve had to humble yourself and ask for forgiveness. Then there’s the other end of the balance, where maybe you were the one wronged and you had to find it in your heart to forgive someone. Sadly, that stinging hurt is all too common. Today, when the respect for people’s feelings and emotions is more sensitive than ever, it's still in our nature to stick up for ourselves, even at the expense of someone else’s pain. We’ve all been here, right? Definitely. This happened to me. Only, I didn’t know about it until a little while ago. All I can say is, the Lord is gracious to open my eyes to it when He did. If it had been any other time in my life, I would’ve been full of hate, bitterness, and anger. But now, when I am closer to my Saviour...

G od is the creator and sustainer of all, sovereign over the universe. The most impacting thing you will ever hear is the truth of the Gospel, so for the next little while we'll be delving deeper into the Gospel, God's redemptive plan, and His way of salvation. This is a four part series, consisting of:       1) God's character       2) Man's depravity       3) Christ's death on the cross       4) Christ's resurrection Who is God? What is He like? God is Spirit “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24) God does not have a body. He is invisible. You may point to different  passages in the Holy Bible that talk about God having hands and eyes - so God must have a body [ 2 Chronicles 29:6, Ecclesiastes 9:1 ]. These passages are referring to characteristics of God and are explained in pictures we can relate to....