Trial by fire

Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire.

--- The Bible

We will have to go through several trials, and on the last day, God will save us. We have faith that He will. For this reason, we're able to go through these trials. This will be as hard on us, as purification by fire is, for gold. Peter, continues thus, in his first letter to all Christians, chapter 1, verses 5-9. He also mentions that we'll be extremely glad cos we've been saved by Jesus Christ, and this helps us keep our faith. Honestly, if I was tortured for christ, I don't know whether I'll stand tall for Him. But as dc Talk put it in their Jesus Freaks book, "There's no point in thinking if we would be able to die for Christ, if we haven't been living for Him". So, let's focus on living for Him right now - the trail-ing, fire-ing and die-ing, we can worry about, when the time comes. The time will surely come.

He (Peter) continues in a slightly different vein, uptil verse 12, where he talks about the prophets who foretold the coming of Christ. They knew that God's amazing plan was on the way, so they were trying to figure out more of the person, who would be Jesus. By the Holy Spirit's revelations, they were able to let us know who JC was, before He came. The interesting point here is, that angels apparently, would've wanted to know this - but they were not given this message. It was given only to humans. Makes me think of that lovely Steven Curtis Chapman song, Angels Wish...

I can't fly, atleast not yet
I got no halo on my head
....
I know things
Even angels
Only wish they knew

At the heart of it all, is a God who simply loves and adores us. So much, so that we'd be willing (and we rightly should be!) to go through any amount of trials, temptations, shame, regret, pain, embarrassment to get to Him on the last day. Lord Jesus, may this be our prayer, our aim and our life's goal. Amen.

Surprise!

God has something stored up for you in heaven, where it will never decay or be ruined or disappear.

--- The Bible

1 Peter, chapter 1, verses 3 and 4. Peter mentions in verse three that we've a great hope, since God is good and raised Jesus from death. This new life and hope gained through the resurrection is awesome. He then continues in verse 4, talking about a something that God's got stored up in heaven for us.

This has me thinking... What is this something? Sounds like a real surprise doesn't it? We, humans, simply love surprises. We're so happy to get them (and to give them, I might add!) Then definitely, our God and creator, who made us all in His image, would give really awesome surprises. So I'm guessing that Heaven's got something for us, which is beyond our wildest dreams and the furthest reaches of our imagination. Something really exciting. Something that can't be found on earth. And we're going there to get it! Awesome!!!

Remember, this joy to look forward to, is gained by our hope in Christ's sacrifice and His resurrection. That is what we need to do now - gain hope for living, from the life, dead and raising-up of Christ.

God bless the one who hears of the hope of Christ, and takes heed. Amen.

Almost - a way with words

God will bless everyone who hears and obeys this prophecy. The time is almost here.

--- The Bible

The opening three verses of Revelation, are beautiful and simple. It simply states that the entire account of revelation to follow, was:

1. Shown by God to Jesus

2. So that Jesus could pass on the message to His servant through His angel

3. Blessed are those who read it, hear it and obey it

4. Most importantly, time is short

The time factor is mentioned twice - first, in verse 1, where it is mentioned that these things must happen soon, then again in the third verse, The time is almost here. I think this is pure brilliance and wordplay by John. Call it what you want, but a world where "soon" and "almost" takes more than 2000 years sounds totally bizarre and mind-blowing. Well... welcome to the world where Jesus Christ reigns. This simple time-factor helps us to understand that God really really really does not talk about or do things the way we humans do. His ways are higher than ours. Truly. Believe it. Bank on it. With all your heart.

God bless.

A "From", a "To", and a "Prayer"

To all who are chosen and loved by God the Father and are kept safe by Jesus Christ.

--- The Bible

The first two verses of the book of Jude (New Testament), contain only three sentences - a "from", a "to" and a prayer. They require us to look harder at certain of the Christian things we do...

The From:

Jude calls himself a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. He has real humility in calling himself a servant. He also establishes his wordly, family-relations... For those of us who try to style ourselves purely as children/followers of God, here's a tip - Family ties are important too, in establishing identity.

The To:

Jude doesn't say "To the believers..." Instead, he pointedly says "chosen and loved by God the Father"... This is a harder way of looking at it. A person could call himself a believer/Christian... but only a true follower of the Lord would be able to accept the title of being "chosen and loved" by God the Father. Amazing!

The Prayer:

He does not pray that they prosper; he does not pray that they believe, either. He simply prays for kindness, love and peace - few of the simplest, yet most important things for us who are "chosen and loved" by God the Father.

Questions to ask ourselves:

1. Do we consider ourselves servants or great disciples of Jesus?

2. Are we chosen and loved by God the Father, and kept safe by Christ?

3. What do we pray earnestly for? For kindness, love and peace amongst us believers, or something else?

Encourage, for we are of the Light

Others may sleep, but we should stay awake and be alert.

--- The Bible

Since we don't live in the darkness, but in the light, we're not gonna be surprised when our Lord comes on down, like a Grave Robber. Paul exhorts us to stay awake and alert, and not to be drunk and asleep, unlike the people of the night, in 1 Thessalonians 5:4-11.

He continues by saying that when Jesus comes, it wouldn't matter whether we are dead or alive - we're all gonna be with Him. And for this reason alone, we need to help and encourage the believers around us.

Apparently, the hope of us being saved, should be worn like a helmet. So, let's!!!