Thursday, October 21, 2010

When God's Books Are Opened

"And books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds" (Revelation 20:12b)

We all know only too well what is meant when we hear that some high-level corporate figure has been caught "juggling the books," don't we, beloved? It means that someone has been embezzling from the company and has readjusted the financial records to make it look as if all is well.

Did you know that the Bible teaches us about God's "books," beloved? Oh, yes! God not only keeps books, but He keeps them meticulously! In the case of His books, however, God is not recording financial profit and loss by the calendar quarter, but rather the deeds of unsaved mankind by the occurrence. The books about which the Apostle John has written here are God's own perfectly accurate record of every thought, word, and deed of every unsaved person who has ever lived. You see, at that awesome "white throne" judgment of God (found described in this passage) sinners will be judged according to the perfect standard of God's own holiness. And the outcome of that judgment for every man is already known:

"For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)

God's divine justice requires payment for every person's sins, for every occurrence of any person who has "fallen short of the glory of God." And the penalty for having fallen short in this life will on that day be eternal destruction in the lake of fire (2 Thessalonians 1:9). God's "books" are always right, beloved, and they cannot and will not be "juggled" to any man's benefit!

But John also stated in this verse that "another book was opened," what is known as the book of life. This book contains all of the names of the citizens of heaven, all of those men and women and boys and girls who will have been purchased by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Very simply, those who have the most to fear on that day will not have to worry about what is in that book, but rather by what is not. John declares emphatically that if any man's name is not found written in the book of life, he will be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15).

So what do these "books" have to do with each other, the ones containing the detailed account of our living and the one containing the names of earth's redeemed? Hear God's justice, beloved! The records in the former will prove conclusively, as God's Word says of us, that we are all sinners and stand condemned before holy God. And the latter, the book of life, will bear evidence to the fact that we chose never to turn in genuine sorrow and repentance to the only One who could save us so as to receive God's mercy and His forgiveness. Perhaps the most chilling words of all will be spoken on that day by Jesus Himself when, in response to the claims of alleged goodness by some, He will declare forever: "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matthew 7:23).

Is your name recorded in the book of life, beloved? Have you in faith turned to Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, for eternal cleansing and for life everlasting? If so, then what is written in the books of man's sinful deeds has been washed away by the precious blood of the Lamb of God. You stand in Christ as one of His forgiven and will know only God's eternal love and acceptance. If your name is not there, however, I urge you not to count on any moral or religious "juggling" that you may attempt to do, but rather come to the only One who can save you from sin and its penalty for all eternity.

Ron

Thursday, October 14, 2010

What Kind of Food Are You Eating?

"Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, 'Rabbi, eat.' But He said to them, 'I have food to eat that you do not know about'...Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work'" (John 4:31-32, 34)

If you had asked me this question several months ago, beloved, I would have had to sheepishly admit that I had not always eaten what was nourishing and good for me. That practice is now thankfully gone and I am hopefully on the right track where food is concerned.

The disciples had taken the time to travel into the Samaritan village of Sychar to buy food for themselves as well as for their Master. When they returned to Jacob's well, however, and tried to get Him to eat some of the fare they had brought back with them, He refused it and said the strangest thing to them: "I have food to eat that you do not know about." It wasn't until they belabored the point by asking whether perhaps someone else might have brought Him something to eat that He revealed to them that the "food" about which He spoke was nothing less than busying Himself with doing the Father's will.

Sharing the good news of His coming sacrifice with the Samaritan woman was to Jesus like eating a 7-course dinner! It refreshed Him and rejuvenated His weary body. It blessed His spirit and strengthened Him for greater work that lay ahead. His focus was clearly not on whatever they might have brought back with them, but rather on the needs of those whom He met along the roadway of life.

What a wonderful example He is to us in this regard today, beloved! Sometimes as Christians our gaze is set so rigidly upon ourselves - our needs, our dreams, our desires - that we miss the opportunities to feast on the manna of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with those who cross our paths. That is precisely why He urged them to "lift up" their eyes and see what was right in front of them. People from Sychar were already on their way to Jacob's well, having heard the news from the woman that she had discovered the Messiah. Those people would need that good news and it would be the privilege of the disciples to share it with them. The disciples did not understand, beloved, but they were just about to feast on the food of heaven! They were about to have their spirits refreshed and their batteries recharged as well.

What kind of food are you eating, beloved? If it is from the world's menu, then know this - in short order you will hunger and thirst again for nothing that the devil has can satisfy. In fact, all of his dishes are empty! But the one who follows the example of Jesus and chooses as his daily fare the carrying out of the Father's will for his life will discover spiritual nourishing that satisfies completely and eternally. Reach out and touch someone in the name of Jesus, beloved. And as you do, enjoy your food!

Ron

Thursday, October 7, 2010

The Robe, the Ring, the Sandals and the Fattened Calf

"But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and be merry'" (Luke 15:22-23)

No more tender story was ever uttered by the Lord Jesus Christ than this one, beloved! Believers from every generation have plumbed its depths again and again and still it discloses to us the most precious truths about the nature of God and His love for fallen man. Just look once again with me at the response of the father to his son's return and you will see how God feels about you.

The robe: Once he had run down the road to meet his returning son, the father gave the command to his servants that "the best robe" be brought from the house and placed around his shoulders over those tattered sin-stained garments he had worn for so long. The robe was a symbol of his sonship, his full acceptance back into the family as a true son. For us today as Christians, we are immediately clothed in the "robe" of the righteousness of Jesus Christ at the very instant that we humbly repent of our sins and turn in faith to the Savior.

The ring: I believe that the ring that was brought and put on that young man's finger was a signet ring bearing the family crest and used to authenticate business documents signed on behalf of the family. That dad bestowed upon his wayward son that day the symbol of full authority as a member of the family in good standing. As Christians today we wear the "ring" of the authority of Jesus Christ as we represent Him in our world. I have heard the term "King's kids" often used over the years to describe believers and it is an apt term, indeed!

The sandals: Whatever may have been on that young man's feet when he left home were long gone, having worn away and been discarded with his travels in a devil's sinful world. Barefoot at last, he returned to his father and instantly received the sandals of a free man. You see, only slaves went barefoot in that day and, though the son felt that he deserved only to be made a servant in the household, the father would have none of it. His forgiveness set his son free to be his son again! As sons and daughters of God, beloved, through faith in Jesus Christ we have been declared to be free from the bondage and penalty of sin and have been welcomed fully into God's family.

The fattened calf: Robed, ringed, sandaled and welcomed - what else remained except for all of them to make merry with a great banquet celebration? And that is precisely what they did! It was "shouting time" for them and they made the most of it. God's Word teaches us that there is great joy in heaven over one sinner who genuinely repents (vv. 7, 10). The marriage supper of the Lamb is coming, beloved, (Revelation 19:7-10) and we who are His own by grace will wear the garment of righteousness as we make merry with the King of Kings.

All that the father of the prodigal did for him, God has done and will do for you and me and more! So great is His love, so vast His desire to forgive that if we take but one step of true repentance in the direction of home, He will meet us out on the road! We are the beloved of God and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the measure of just how much we are loved.

Ron

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Recognizing That Heaven Rules

"And in that it was commanded to leave the stump with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will be assured to you after you recognize that it is Heaven that rules" (Daniel 4:26)

IT IS HEAVEN THAT RULES! Now there is a statement that is the most far-reaching and life-impacting in all of the Word of God, beloved! When Daniel spoke those words to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, as he interpreted one of the king's dreams for him, he was speaking on behalf of the Creator of the universe. Nebuchadnezzar was having one of his "I am the greatest!" fits and God had determined that it was time for him to learn at long last who truly "rules" in heaven and on earth. And, true to His word, when the king continued to bask in the glory of his own grandeur, God spoke the word that sent him into the pastures to eat grass with the royal cattle. And there he stayed until at last he could stand on his two feet again as a man and declare to all the world:

"Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, exalt, praise, and honor the King of heaven; for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride" (4:37)

IT IS HEAVEN THAT RULES! If ever a divine truth needed to be echoed again and again across the length and breadth of Planet Earth, beloved, this is that truth. We have become inundated with the teaching that man stands at the center of the universe, that man is the focal point of all that is life, that there is no Creator, that this world exists solely by chance and for man. No wonder that so many people live their lives today, then, by the same philosophy that ruled the life of the king of Babylon!

IT IS HEAVEN THAT RULES! No one said it any better than the king himself, beloved, once he had learned just who the one true God truly is. His declaration put it all into the right perspective for us today:

"All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, 'What have You done?'" (4:35)

IT IS HEAVEN THAT RULES! Whether man today wants to acknowledge this divine truth or not, beloved, it stands just the same. We each stand before Creator God in full accountability to Him, the One who rules and reigns over all that is, has ever been, or ever will be. If the king of Babylon, the most powerful man on earth in his day, could be driven to eat grass with the cattle for seven years, what do you think will be the result of our foolishness and pride today?

IT IS HEAVEN THAT RULES! I find in that reality the single greatest source of comfort and security that is imaginable, beloved. God holds my life and your life in the hollow of His omniscient hand. He moves us here and there at His good pleasure and for His personal glory. It is our destiny in this life and our great privilege to serve and honor the One who made us and whose own possessions we are by grace. Unless we begin to live in a manner that will "exalt, praise, and honor the King of heaven" (v.37), we will find out to our utter dismay how completely "He is able to humble those who walk in pride"!

Ron

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Sticking to It in a Non-stick World

"Therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure" (2 Thessalonians 1:4)

How many of you remember when Teflon was first introduced to America's kitchens, beloved? How cool was that to watch fried eggs and pancakes slide off a tilted cooking surface and onto your waiting breakfast plate? No doubt "non-stick" has been one of the most far-reaching and practical inventions of the mind of man!

Unfortunately, we seem also to have found a way to introduce Teflon into our spiritual lives as well. How vividly I recall hearing a preacher say one time concerning Paul's term "living sacrifice" (Romans 12:1) that the only problem with a "living sacrifice" is that it wants to keep crawling off the altar! That same thing can be said of the "non-stick" quality that the lives of many professing Christians exhibit in living for Jesus Christ today. Simply put, we seem to have a problem staying put! In his second recorded letter to the saints in Thessalonica, the apostle joyfully spoke of his boasting to others concerning the Thessalonians' "perseverance" in the midst of much persecution and affliction. The Greek word hupomone means literally "an abiding under" and focuses specifically upon one's patience under trial. While it is true that today the word "patience" often brings to mind something passive - just sitting there, so to speak - nothing could actually be any further from the truth.

In this verse Paul mentioned the "persecutions and afflictions which you endure." The Greek verb anecho means "hold up" in the sense of them holding themselves "upright" in their faithfulness to the call of God and in their trust in Him despite horrible living circumstances. In the midst of intense hostility aimed at them by the enemies of the gospel and its accompanying painful suffering, the Thessalonians had chosen to "stick to it" and to serve Jesus Christ unashamedly and faithfully.

How much Teflon has gotten mixed into your living today, beloved? Do you tend to "slide" spiritually from here to there? Paul had this very spiritual instability in mind when he spoke to the Ephesian believers concerning their being "tossed here and there" (4:14) by the false teachings of men and the pressures of trying to stick to it in a non-stick world. Today more than at any other time in the history of the church of Jesus Christ, the world needs to see believers who "stick to it"! Let's leave the Teflon in our cookware, beloved, and just determine to hold fast no matter what.

Ron