How We Start Doesn’t Matter, Because What Counts Is How We Finish Paul writes to the Philippian church to encourage them. He shares his personal ambition in hopes they’ll do what he does. He says he pushes himself to reach a goal and to win a prize, an eternal reward. In another place Paul talks […]
God Will Shine So Brightly that We Won’t Need the Sun to See As the epic battle in Revelation continues, just before Babylon—the symbol of all that’s evil—is about to receive her final punishment, an angel comes from heaven. John writes that this angel has great authority, and his splendor illuminates the earth (Revelation 18:1). […]
Our Perspective on What it Means to Follow Jesus Shapes How We Think and Act I’ve met people so fixated on heaven that they squander their time here on earth. Not only do they miss the opportunities before them, but they also offer a negative example to the world of what it means to be […]
Getting into Heaven is Impossible Without God A rich man asks Jesus how to get to heaven. The man reels off a list of all he’s done, of all of God’s commands that he’s kept. He waits for Jesus to affirm him, but deep down he knows he still falls short. “What else must I […]
Can an Actionless Faith Save You? There are some people who try to earn their way into heaven. They do good and obey God’s commands—at least most of them anyway. They work hard their entire life to get God’s attention. Surely when their time comes, God will throw open the doors to heaven. With a […]
The Bible sometimes uses the quaint phrase fallen asleep. It’s a polite way to say that someone died. I smile at this ambiguous language and wonder why Bible writers used a euphemism instead of being direct. But I think there might be more to it. To say fallen asleep is not merely an understated way […]
God’s Messengers I’m not sure if I assumed it or someone taught me, but I always thought seraphim and cherubim were two special classes of angels. Though seraphim and cherubim aren’t mentioned often in the Bible (2 and 69 verses respectively), angels make a much more frequent appearance, in some 290 places. In none of […]
Last week we asked if seraphim are the same as angels? We discovered there is no biblical evidence to suggest they are. Now we ask the same question about cherubim. The Bible mentions cherubim much more than seraphim. In fact, there are 69 verses (in the NIV) with either cherubim (the plural form) or cherub […]
Last week we talked about Moses’ mistake of hitting the rock instead of speaking to it. He did this in disobedience to what God told him to do. The Bible calls this sin. As a result of Moses’ mistake, that is his sin, he was only permitted to see the land God promised to give […]
Many years ago I read C. S. Lewis’s book The Great Divorce. It’s an allegory about heaven and hell, the connection between the two, and the perspective of their residents. The imagery intrigued me, providing much to contemplate, yet I was mostly confused. Yesterday, I attended a theatrical production of The Great Divorce. Being able […]