These sound good, but they are not in the Bible. Neither is this.
And Johneth the Baptisteth didst keepeth hiseth chain saw andeth bowlingeth ball collectionseth ineth hiseth chesteth freezereth which he dideth carryeth oneth poleseth betwixteth twoeth elephantsethseths. Eths. Philistines 6:6
Beware of things that sound good, but aren’t compliant with the whole Word of God.
“My partner and I are the same sex, and we love each other. God is love, so we’re getting married.”
This sounds good, but it’s nothing more than lemming-think. Beware basing your eternal destination on what other people think! Know what the Word says yourself!
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV
I cannot, and will not, pray for the continuance and increase of evil systems, like those that permit wholesale slaughter of pre-born American citizens.
I pray that lying lips be silent, silent, silent! in the grave, in America! You vile lips that will never speak the truth in America, be silent!
I pray God’s kingdom be established and victorious in America! I pray His will is established and victorious in America!
I pray those lips that lie, lie, lie, lie, lie in America be silent – SILENT! – in the grave.
My first try at being in business for myself was a disaster. Among many mistakes were my spending too much time and money with lawyers, carefully protecting items that did not, as yet, actually exist. I’m not advocating being stupid law-wise. I’m saying that my balance of making products and protecting those products was way, way off. With the clarity of 400/20 hindsight, I should have done more of how I’m currently working: I’m working on making a useful product, and I’m mostly trusting God to handle marketing and accounts-receivable. 😉 He is indeed the Senior Partner.
About 7 years ago I had an opportunity to make a presentation on what a person about 50 years old, living in the mid-1930’s, would have thought of flight in general, and the Wright Brothers in particular. These people grew up “pre-flight” and would have an interesting take on the technological progress of their times. First-flight was done with a flimsy, slow, kite-like contraption, that didn’t fly very well or very far. By WWI, mere years later, the belligerents were flying bombers whose wingspans compared well to the total distance of the first flight. By the end of the 1930’s the NAZIs set a speed record with an experimental version of their fabulous ME-109 fighter. Last time I checked, that record still stood. It must have been a wondrous experience to have achieved age 50 in, say, 1934, if one had any interest in flight!
An aside: I have never been able to make up my own mind which changed the world more, the transistor or the airplane. The airplane shrunk the world. One can now travel to the other side of the world in hours instead of weeks. The transistor enabled the lightning-speed connected world we live in today. I can argue either side.
I dove into the research. I was stunned to come to the realization I could sum up the Wright Brothers’ lives in a single, comma-filled, unflattering sentence:
After “inventing” heavier-than-air flight only by their very narrow definition of it, Orville and Wilber Wright essentially wasted the rest of their lives, choosing to spend much of their energies in protecting their product, instead of using their rare talents of invention and engineering for the betterment of mankind.
Ouch! Stuff that in your history book and smoke it!
My research “killed” my childhood heroes, Wilbur and Orville Wright. Almost everyone knows the Wright Bro’s made a wind tunnel and corrected the calculations of lift. I remember being taught that. Did you know those slimy bastards never shared that corrected data with the people who sent it to them? Worldwide, there was a community of very smart people making substantial progress solving the “impossible” problem of heavier-than-air controlled flight. The community freely shared information. Except for WOW. Or OWW, perhaps more appropriately. With OWW, really good information was Hotel California. Important info could check out, but it could never, never leave. Dirtbags.
For 10 months I lived about 35 miles from their museum in Ohio. I never bothered to visit it. The selfish dirtbags. First in flight? Nah, first in fraud.
Sons of a preacher and the inventors of flight – so I was taught – had childhood me assuming they were playing harps in heaven. Now I’m not so sure. My research showed way, way more “Good Business” than “Good Fruit.”
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” Matthew 7:15-20 NIV
Enough about OWW. Research for yourself if you think me in error. I admit – I am hyper-sensitive to what I consider their errors, because I have done the same things.
This, I believe, is a true one-line summary of my first try in business.
Speaking of one-line summaries, what would they truthfully carve on your tombstone today? Is it towards, “LOVED GOD, FAMILY & MANKIND”, or is it more like, “CHOSE HELL”?
I know this is bizarre, and boy oh boy, I may be wrong! But I’m starting to think there’s a chance – just a chance – that the tears God wipes away after the Great White Throne Judgment might – just might – be tears from side-splitting, knee-slapping, rolling-on-the-ground-till-you-almost-pee-yourself laughter!
Please hear me out. 😉
If you had asked me a couple weeks ago what I thought of the Great White Throne Judgment, I would have said it was very serious and very, very sad. Everyone would be crying. Father God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the angels, the saved, and especially the damned – would be crying. It would be a profoundly sad time. Everyone would be overwhelmed with regret that the damned didn’t get their acts together while they had the chance. The tears everyone cried would be tears of grief – almost unbearable grief for all but the the damned, and tears of completely unbearable grief for the damned. Sadness, tears, moans and groans everywhere. That was my mental picture when I read this passage.
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:11-15 NIV
I now think it’s barely possible this is a hilarious event for everyone but the damned. Let’s start with a passage from Proverbs that took me a very long time to accept. I confess, when I read this passage as a young Christian, I thought it was mistaken. God couldn’t be like this! God couldn’t be anything but sad when people screw up!
“But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand, since you disregard all my advice and do not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; I will mock when calamity overtakes you— when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me, since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD.” Proverbs 1:24-29 NIV
I believe this “laughing God” passage can only apply after a wicked person has died. The passage states, “Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me.” Most everywhere else in the Bible, God longs to answer those who call out to Him.
Acts 2:21 NIV is directly opposite: “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”
Ezekiel 18:23 NIV: “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?“
1 Timothy 2:3-4 NIV: “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
As a young Christian it bothered me that this laughing God passage from Proverbs was in the Bible. I didn’t see how it could true! God is just not like that! God is love, right?
At the time I also felt that the parable of the sheep and the goats was wrong. It listed just two groups, the sheep, and the goats. I knew there just had to be a third group, those that didn’t know! My thoughts were like this: “What about the dirt-poor person in Africa or China who never heard the gospel and lived a pretty good, but not perfect life? Don’t they deserve something better than hell, if they don’t deserve heaven? Shouldn’t there be a third group in between heaven and hell for those who just didn’t know?!?!?“
The laughing God and the missing third group on judgment day were on my mind as I did Bible study and listened to sermons at church over the years. The missing third group was especially bothersome. If you look in my old Bibles and in my many Bible study notebooks, you will see WATH frequently. This stands for What About The Heathen? I was to discover WATH is everywhere throughout the Bible. God is deeply concerned about the heathen. He answered my questions. It took years but he did give me understanding.
What happened to me with WATH is why I’m unbothered by someone’s screwed-up theology, so long they are diligently looking for answers in the Bible. God will give understanding to those who really want it. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8 NIV
For space, I will just state my WATH conclusions, not develop them. There are only two groups on judgment day, the sheep and the goats. There is no third in-between group. On judgment day no one is surprised to be either a sheep or a goat. The sheep know they responded to the call from God in their hearts. The goats will know each time they rejected the call from God in their hearts. The whole creation points the searching heart to God. God has the wisdom to righteously judge what each person did with what they knew. No, no one is surprised on judgment day. Each sheep knows why it is a sheep. Each goat knows why it is a goat. Period.
Another factor in laughing God is why God made man. A one-sentence trailer: God did not create you so you could do whatever you want. See my longer trailer, The Parable of the Horses.
We do have Christ’s mind here and now, so it is possible to understand laughing God.
The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:14-16 NIV
Though we do have the mind of Christ, at present, our mortal minds are very limited.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:8-12 NIV
In the fall in the Garden of Eden, man became aware of evil.
And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” Genesis 3:22 NIV
When I am a citizen of heaven, I won’t have any evil. If I did, I couldn’t enter.
I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Revelation 21:22-27 NIV
Therefore, with the mind of Christ in me, not limited and restricted by sin and evil, I will be able to see things from God’s point of view. If God laughs at the wicked, I’ll be able to laugh at the wicked.
Why would God laugh at the wicked? Here is more of Proverbs 1 with relevant parts in bold.
Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square; on top of the wall she cries out, at the city gate she makes her speech: “How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings. But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand, since you disregard all my advice and do not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; I will mock when calamity overtakes you— when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. “Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me, since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD. Since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.” Proverbs 1:20-33 NIV
Fact is, God did everything he could to get these wicked people to see the light, but they refused. They chose to believe that there is no God, and that they were free to get away with whatever they could. Well, they won’t. And right smack-dab in the midst of the passage in the Bible, I say again, the “B.” “I.” “B.” “L.” “E.”, God is laughing at the wicked fools.
You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. Psalm 91:8 NIV
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Galatians 6:7 KJV
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Revelation 20:12-13 NIV
Adolph Hitler sowed much evil and killed millions. How will the righteous who suffered and died because of him feel when he reaps what he sowed? What will they say, standing there near the throne? One possibility.
“Oh, you wicked, evil Adolph Hitler! You thought you were really something. You ignored God’s invitations to get right with God!Hahaha!Fool!You thought you couldhohohoharmhahahathe appleheheheheof G-God’s eye, hehehehehe! Hahahaha!And n-now, hehe, you’re, hahahaha, hehehe,oh my, hahahaabout to be, hahaha, fl-fl-flung l-like aheheheb-b-boogerhahaha -snort- heheheinto thehohohohol-l-lake ofhehehehehahahahaf-fire! –snort- HAHAHAHAHA!M-myhahahap-party hasn’t-snort-evenHEHEHEHE-snort-st-st-startedhahahay-yet and y-your-snort-m-m-miseryyou-snort-HAHAHACH-CHOSEHOHOHOHOis justHAHAHA -snort-st-starting!HAHAHAHAHAHAHA HEHEHEHEF-fool!-snort-F-f-fool!-snort- HAHAHAHA HEHEHEHEHE!“
Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero? Why do you boast all day long, you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God? You who practice deceit, your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor. You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth. You love every harmful word, you deceitful tongue!
Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. The righteous will see and fear; they will laugh at you, saying, “Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others!”
But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever. For what you have done I will always praise you in the presence of your faithful people. And I will hope in your name, for your name is good.
Be ready! Jesus is coming very soon!
4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6 NKJV
32 “Now learnthis parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.33 So you also, when you see all these things, knowthatit is near—at the doors!34 Assuredly, I say to you,this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” Matthew 24:32-35 NKJV
34 “Buttake heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down withcarousing, drunkenness, andcares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 Watch therefore, andpray always that you maybe countedworthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, andto stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:34-36 NKJV
I don’t write like Billy Graham. Billy doesn’t write like me. God is cool with that. In fact, that’s what He wants.
The genesis (haha!) of this thought came early in my Christian walk. I noticed the writers of the books in the Bible had wildly different styles. The writer of Hebrews has a different style of writing than does the Apostle John. The Apostle Paul cannot be confused with Solomon. Yet God calls the whole kit-and-caboodle “My Word.” He gladly takes blame for all 66 books.
How unique are you? Well, names are very important to God. They are descriptive. Abram became Abraham. Sari became Sarah. Jacob became Israel. And your descriptive name?
“Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.” Revelation 2:17 NIV
When eternity reaches its end, I will finally know you well enough to understand what your name really means.
For a long time the “material possessions” implications of this Bible verse have troubled me. Because I have made Jesus the Lord of my life, I am the Biblical definition of “a good person.” But the fact is, at present there won’t be much to fight over when my will is read. This has bothered me, the delta between the promises in the Bible and their manifestation in my life.
A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children. Proverbs 13:22 NIV
But in my meditation last night I saw facts about my life in a different way. There are no “new” facts. I simply saw them from a higher level, a “30,000 foot view,” if you will. I have given you a meaningful inheritance in one very important way. I am choosing to write about it publicly to encourage friends and strangers to contemplate their lives from a higher level.
Your inheritance is this: For the most part, I have followed my conscience in matters of work and employment. My sleep is untroubled. I have resisted the temptation to be an “intellectual prostitue.” That is, I have chosen not to do what I consider “unnatural acts” simply because I would have been well-paid. These are facts I have known for a long time. As of last night I smile when I think of them. I have chosen a high road, and I’m very glad. I hope you will see this as an inheritance you can appreciate and enjoy.
You see, I am incompatible with the common variant of the Golden Rule: “He who has the gold makes the rules.” I cannot use my talents to diminish others, to rob them of their freedoms. I see all humans as my peers. I must do as I would have done to me. I believe I could have made piles of money, but been miserable on the inside. I just couldn’t do it. I still can’t. Money is a good tool but a cruel master.
Primarily because of a barking conscience, I abandoned three careers perhaps many people would not have left.
Though my Army career path was outstanding, and high rank a definite possibility, I quit after only 7.5 years. Why? I was in one situation where I truly believed my life was at risk. During this event my thoughts were profanity-laden versions of this: “I HAVE A LOT TO LIVE FOR! WHY AM I GIVING MY LIFE FOR A CAUSE I DON’T BELIEVE IN?” These thoughts have become the nucleus of why I could not serve in today’s US military: Why should I risk my life for a cause I don’t believe in, killing people I have no argument with, on the orders of an elected official I do not respect, who does not appear to have my family’s best interests in mind?
I can fight and die for my family. I cannot fight and die for Big Oil, or to keep the opium poppy safe for Big Pharma. I just can’t do it.
The second career I fled was that of being an employee of the US Federal Government. During my time working in downtown Washington D.C., I altered the conclusions of researched reports to fit political whims. (IMO I lied.) I was asked to sign a known-false document. (I was asked to cheat, IMO.) I refused to do so, thus cancelling my proposed membership in the “Good Old Boys” club. And I personally bought box after box after box of expensive, unnecessary crap in the yearly end-of-the-fiscal-year spending spree of DC. (No doubt, I stole from the American people. IMO I was a thief.) I concluded that my real job description would distill to this single sentence: I burn tax money for a living. I just could not stand to work there. $70,000 per year but functionally unemployed. Yuck!
There is a reason I tend to distrust everything the Feds say. I know. I was there. I was part of the problem.
Then I worked in the biometrics industry for a number of years. In the beginning, I could embrace the work. Though there was a hint of “Big Brother” in the work, the technology had not progressed far enough to implement true freedom-robbing systems. I was working on things that primarily helped people: Opening doors without keys, and logging on to computers without having to remember a password. But things changed. Over time more of my work was taking on the odor of what I call Mark-of-the-Beast-Systems, systems that governments use to monitor people and restrict their freedoms. I could not continue in the industry. I still can’t. I can’t use my talents for what I consider undesirable ends, in view of Heaven’s mandate – the distilled summary of the Old Testament – “Do unto others.”
So this is your inheritance, your legacy. I have passed one of God’s key tests. God is my master, money is not. God is smiling at me. I hope this means something to you.
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:24 NIV
At the beginning of this post I only used the first part of the scripture. The entire verse:
A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous. Proverbs 13:22 NIV
You cannot study the Bible without becoming aware of the fact God often acts suddenly and decisively. The destruction of Sodom. Joseph going from prisoner to prime minister in a single day. Noah’s flood. In “ordinary times” I would be writing how I have faith that God will be parting the wicked wealthy of their money, giving some to me because of the work I am doing, which I would pass on to you when my days on earth are over – probably 30+ years from now given my family tree. But I believe that these are not ordinary times. I believe these are the last days of the last days, and the fat lady is going to start her 7-year aria this September. I just don’t think “ordinary inheritance” is applicable. There just isn’t time.
This verse is one of the primary reasons I believe we are approaching the end.
“The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your name, both great and small— and for destroying those who destroy the earth.” Revelation 11:18 NIV
IMO mankind has thoroughly screwed up the earth. And, and, and! We are on the very knife-edge of civilization-ending catastrophes. A single somewhat-long-term interruption of the power grid could easily lead to 5, 10, 25, or 50+ Fukushima-style disasters here in the good ol’ US of A. I believe humankind went past the technological point-of-no-return so long ago it’s not even visible in the rear view mirror.
That’s what I believe. You’re free to believe whatever you want to believe. If I’m wrong about these being the last days, I’ll use my work and my faith to get you a whole pile of money to divide in 30 years. 😉
A farmer bred horses to work on his farm. Some pulled his wagons. Some pulled his plows. Some he rode to take care of his other livestock. When they were not working, they were living a life of pleasure and ease in his lush pastures.
Some horses understood the farmer’s plan and fell in line willingly. They pulled his wagons and plows with a happy heart. They cheerfully carried him on their broad backs wherever he wanted to go, as fast or as slow as he wished. They loved their time grazing, relaxing, and rolling on their backs in his big pastures. They liked to stand in the shade of the tall oak trees and tell each other what a good life they had, working for the kind farmer. But most of all, they enjoyed each evening. The farmer would come and groom each horse. He talked to each one as he trimmed and brushed and clipped, while the horse happily munched on a measure of tasty oats. Each horse eagerly looked forward to the dessert at the end of the grooming: a sugar cube and a crunchy carrot, while the farmer lovingly scratched their foreheads and around their ears like they liked so well.
But most of the horses were wicked horses. They would not pull his wagons and his plows. They would not let him get on their backs. If he did manage to get on one of their backs, they would not go where he wanted, at the speed he wanted. They would not stay in his pastures. They kicked down fences and trampled his garden. They tried very hard to get the good horses to follow them in their rebellion against the good farmer. Some good horses did become wicked. Some others stayed good, but were killed by the wicked horses. The wicked horses broke into the kind farmer’s barn and ate the oats they were not supposed to eat yet. (Some died from eating too much oats.) A few extremely wicked horses kicked open the door of the farmer’s house and tried to live in it. Of course, none of the wicked horses were willing to let the farmer groom them! “Submit?” they neighed. “We won’t submit to being clipped and cleaned! We are the majority!”
The farmer finally had enough, trying to turn the rebellious horses into obedient horses.
This sin-infested world operates under this flavor of the Golden Rule,
He Who Has The Gold Makes The Rules
and its disgusting behavioral corollary,
“Because I Can.”
This despicable Golden Rule, also known as Good Business, is opposite that in the Good Book, which informs us we are to behave knowing God considers us all to be peers:
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12 NIV
I was meditating on making on making the words of a draft post fewer, but taller and stronger, when I suddenly became aware of a third Golden Rule. Undoubtably this third Golden Rule will influence my thinking the rest of my days. I cannot overstate how powerful writing is to meditation. The third Golden Rule is,
… do you ever think, “This could be a lifetime supply?” I do. For the past year, I have. Every trip to the store, as I’m putting items in the cart, I am aware that I could be buying these things for the last time. One of these shopping trips, I will have completed my lifetime shopping; I won’t ever go shopping again.
Whether Jesus comes back or my heart stops beating, I am increasingly aware that as far as earth goes, I’m just visiting. I’m not from around here. I’m a citizen of Heaven on temporary assignment on earth.
Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Philippians 3:17-21 NIV
The hope I have of seeing Jesus face to face is cleaning me up. It is purifying me.
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. 1 John 3:1-3 NIV
My life is a mist that will soon blow away.
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. James 4:13-14 NIV
I am tired of sin, especially my own. I am tired of living under the curse of sin, and am looking forward to real life!
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. Revelation 22:1-5 NIV
Persecution is a sign you’re doing something right.
You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 2 Timothy 3:10-13 NIV
My pastor in Maryland was once accused of some vile things by a former church member, and IIRC it made the local news. The Sunday after, I saw him walking in the hallway at church. Making eye contact, I called out, “Congratulations!”
He stopped dead in his tracks. Turning, with puzzled look on his face, he asked, “Why?”
I replied, “The Bible says the Godly will suffer persecution. You’re obviously doing something right!”
He laughed, then pivoted to continue walking down the hall. I had turned his frown upside down!
Persecution is part of our sentence here on this sin-infested planet. I’m getting to the point that I’m concerned if too many people like me. I’m the salt of the earth. When some sinners meet me, it should be like they took a big bite out of an apple, only to discover the apple is made of salt when they tried to chew it. Some people should become very aware, when they meet me, that I serve God and they don’t. Lord, more boldness!
Trials are to be a joy! They’re a necessary part of growth.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4 NIV
We develop the champion’s attitude: Hahaha, devil, there is absolutely nothing you can do to me to make me quit! If you kill me, all you’re doing is setting me free! Hahaha! The facts are, God is in charge, I belong to Him, and you are a conquered looooser soon to be swimming in the lake of fire – forever! Hahahaha! Let God arise and you and yours be scattered! Hahaha!
What about being squished to death or having my head cut off because I follow Jesus? Here’s what I wrote in another post:
“Should I be called upon to be a contestant in a round of You Bet Your Life – Eternal Edition, I pray that my meditations on my soon fittings for my robe of righteousness and crown of life will be sufficient to see me faithful to the end.”
In these last days, the world will hate us. Don’t be surprised! I know people that lost their jobs. Good, hardworking people that do good work and get great results. The only rational reason I can come up with for them losing their jobs is their bosses hated them because they are Christians, and the bosses are not. Don’t be surprised when the world hates you!
Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 1 John 3:13 NIV
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’” John 15:18-25 NIV
Lift Up Your Eyes! 