John 1:17-20

17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 

18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

19 Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”

God granted us the fullness of His grace when He sent us Jesus Christ. Does that mean that there was no grace in the law of Moses? No, not at all. We saw God’s grace continually throughout the Old Testament. In verse 16, we saw the phrase “grace for grace” which means the grace shown through Jesus Christ is superior to the grace shown in the Old Testament, because it is the full measure of God’s grace. In verse 17, we see the comparison between the law of Moses and the law (grace and truth) of Christ. Let’s talk about the attributes of the law of Moses, and why it had to come before the full measure of grace that came through Jesus Christ. First of all, the law of Moses revealed God’s grace by revealing the character and will of God. The law was very clear about what God expected of them. God had already delivered them out of Egyptian slavery so God was already showing them grace. The law of Moses was not a burden. It was a blessing from a gracious God who wanted to show His children what He expected of them. God’s laws are not just a bunch of rules to make life hard. His laws and statutes are all for our own good. God sees the big picture of what is best for us. God let His people know what He expected of them in detail so they would have no excuse not to obey Him. That is grace. God wouldn’t be a very good Father if He didn’t tell us what to expect from Him. We do this with our own children, because we love them. Second, the law of Moses revealed the sinfulness of humans. As the law revealed God’s character, it also revealed our character as human beings. The law revealed that we as humans could never measure up to God. Our character could never match God’s. But God didn’t strike everyone down for every sin they committed. He showed grace to His people time and time again. There were times when specific people were struck down immediately, because they were in complete rebellion to God, but if you think about it, God showed His people grace the majority of the time. Remember, God knows hearts. He knows them now, and He knew them then. He could see if a person was truly penitent for not. Romans 3:23 says, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, but then a couple of verses down in Romans 3:25 it says that “in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed”. Passing over sins is grace. So, the law of Moses was a tutor to prepare humans for the grace and truth of Christ. The law taught humans about God and about themselves, and proved to them that they could never measure up to God’s standard without an advocate…..without a Savior. Also, God’s grace and truth in the old testament was for the nation of Israel only, but Jesus brought the extra measure of grace, not only for the nation of Israel, but for all people. 

In verse 18, John reiterates the fact that no one has ever seen God. Even Moses, who spoke face to face with God like a friend, could not see God in all His glory. (Exodus 33:11) In Exodus 33:18, Moses asked God to show him His glory. In the following verses of Exodus 33:19-23, God told Moses, paraphrasing, “My goodness will go before you, and I will be gracious and show compassion to whom I will, but you cannot see my face, because no man can see Me, and survive. You stand here on the rock beside me. I will pass by you as you are in the cleft, shielding you with my hand as I pass. Then I will take my hand away when I am past you. You will be able to see my back, but not my face.” Ezekiel fell down on his face at the very appearance of the likeness of God. (Ezekiel 1:28) John fell as though he was dead at the feet of Jesus when he saw the vision in Revelation 1:17. No one except Jesus has seen God. Jesus is unique, the one and only Son, who has not only seen God, but is God. There is no one who is in a closer relationship with the Father, than Jesus. The phrase “in the bosom of the Father” shows us the close relationship that the Father and the Son have. Later in John 14:6, Jesus says that if anyone has seen Him, he has seen the Father. 

Verse 19 begins John’s testimony of himself. It began with John being questioned by priests and Levites who were sent by the Jews to find out who he was. They weren’t interested in John personally. They just wanted to know if he was the Messiah. John immediately confessed that he is not the Messiah. We have already been told in John 1:8 that John was not the light, but that he was sent to bear witness of the light. John knew his place and his purpose, and he never allowed himself to be perceived as more than he was. His humility is a great example to us today. He is questioned more by these priests and Levites in the coming verses. 

Just as a side note, I often think of how Jesus felt about John. In Matthew 11:11, Jesus says, “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” In Matthew 14, we read of John the baptizer’s horrible, violent death. Jesus went off to be alone after hearing about it from his disciples. We know that Jesus knew where John was in a spiritual sense. John was in paradise. But it didn’t change the fact that Jesus was sad to hear that John was murdered in such a violent way. John the baptizer was a bold witness for Jesus, as we should be bold witnesses for Him today. Am I being a bold witness for my Savior in my life?

Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? If you aren’t, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)

John 1:13-16

13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ”

16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.

God wants to be a Father to each one of us. Jesus has given us that right through belief and obedience to Him. (John 1:12) In verse 13, John tells us three ways that we DO NOT become children of God. First, he says no one is born into the family of God through their lineage. This was a big problem for the Jews. They thought that because they were of the lineage of Abraham that they were already children of God. (Luke 3:8) John wants to make it plain to the Jews that just because they have been God’s chosen people in the past, doesn’t mean that they automatically have the right to be children of God now. They will be expected to believe and obey Jesus to have that right. This goes for us today as well. Our bloodline or heritage does not automatically put us into Christ. Just because my parents are faithful members of the church doesn’t automatically give me a free pass to be a child of God. I am responsible for my own obedience. Second, he says that no one can earn the right to be a child of God through works done in the fleshly body. The Jews believed all their ceremonial acts such as circumcision, cleansing rituals, abstaining from specific unclean foods, and many other physical aspects of their religion would keep them in the family of God. I also think of what Jesus said about the giving of alms just to be seen of men. (Matthew 6:1-6) I think of the widow who gave her last two mites as opposed to the Jewish leaders who gave of their abundance just for show. No amount of money or works will buy us into the family of God. We are sinners, and need a Savior…..no matter how many works of merit we have credited to ourselves. Third, John says that it is not our will that puts us into the family of God. My desire to be in a relationship with Jesus will not put me in that relationship. I am granted that relationship through my obedience to Him. This cancels out the “ask Jesus to come into your heart” doctrine. Jesus does not come to us. We go to Him in humility and obedience, and He accepts us as the sinners that we are at that moment. However, once we make all things new in baptism, we are expected to transform into the image of Christ to the very best of our ability. It is our choice whether we come to Jesus or not. But it is not our choice how we come to Jesus. It has to be on His terms, not ours. It also cancels out the “join the church of your choice” doctrine. We don’t put ourselves into the family of God by joining it. We are added by God to His family after we obey Him in repentance and baptism. (Acts 2:47) Basically…..it is all God…..His grace is what saves us. Yes, we must obey, but if God didn’t show us grace, there would be no amount of obedience that would save us. 

In verse 14, John says that “the Word became flesh”. This doesn’t mean that He stopped being God. He became God in the flesh. He still had all the same attributes as God. Only now, He has added flesh around those attributes. This verse proves without a shadow of a doubt that verses 1-5 of this chapter are referring to Jesus. Jesus became flesh and lived or dwelt among us. He made His dwelling place on earth. Dwelling in Greek means tabernacle or tent. God “tabernacled” with His people in the wilderness. (Exodus 40:34-35)  Now, He has sent “the Word”, His Son, to dwell or “tabernacle” with humankind in the flesh. God gave the Law through Moses to His people at Mount Sinai. Now, God has sent Jesus to reveal His Word to humankind. After God’s people broke their covenant with God, and were taken into Babylonian captivity, God was not with them. He did not “tabernacle” or dwell with them anymore. Ezekiel 43:4-5, Ezekiel 44:4, and Haggai 2:6-9 prophesy of a time when the glory of the Lord will return to the temple. The verses in Haggai even say that “the latter glory of this house will be greater than the former”. But…..when the people come out of captivity, that never happens. God didn’t come to the temple like He came to the tabernacle before. Those verses are referring to the coming of Jesus in the flesh. Jesus is that greater temple. God will “tabernacle” (dwell) with humankind through the person of Jesus Christ. John says, “we beheld His glory”, meaning he and the other apostles got to witness Jesus in the flesh. John calls Jesus the “only begotten of the Father”. This means “one and only Son”. Jesus was in a class by Himself. There was no one like Him, and there would never be anyone else like Him. God was revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. Then, John says that Jesus was “full of grace and truth”. We see the grace of God in Jesus. Later, we read Jesus’ words as He hung on that cross of shame, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.” This is the grace of God. And then truth….. Jesus, the Word, was the definition of truth. Truth and faithfulness go hand in hand. Jesus was faithful to His Father in doing His will on earth, and faithful in His commitment to us as He died for our sins so that we can have hope. Then, He was resurrected from the dead, conquering death! That is the truth! 

Isaiah foretold exactly what would happen to our Savior. “He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:3-5)

Think about the humility it took for God to allow this, and for Jesus to come and voluntarily do this for us. Jesus got very little praise from anyone while He was here. He was born to be a sacrifice. Let’s remember that as Christians, we aren’t to do things in God’s service to gain the praise and attention of others. Jesus’ only motive while here on earth was to save souls. This should be our only motive as well. Also, if we are truly following Jesus, then we will be persecuted. Jesus said if the world hates you, just remember that the world hated me first. (John 15:18-21) 

In verse 15, we move back to the testimony of John the baptizer. Here are John’s words, paraphrasing, “The one who comes after me will be greater than me, because He existed before me.” This is proof that John was sent from God. How else would John know that Jesus existed before Him unless God through the Holy Spirit had told Him?

In verse 16, it says that, because of the fullness of Jesus Christ, we have received “grace for grace” or “grace upon grace”. This doesn’t mean that there was no grace before Jesus came. God showed grace to His people all down through the ages over and over again. It means that we receive the full measure of grace in the coming of Jesus Christ. It is not a knock at God’s grace that was shown in the Old Testament. God has always shown grace to His people. But Jesus…..Jesus brings ultimate grace…..the full measure of God’s grace. Jesus’ shed blood on the cross brought about this extra measure of grace. Animal blood could not bring about the grace needed for forgiveness of sins. It had to be perfect. Jesus was perfect. His blood was perfect, and powerful enough to cleanse past souls, present souls, and any future souls that come along. Questions: Do I truly understand the magnitude of what Jesus did 2000ish years ago? Do I truly understand the power that His blood wields? 

Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? If you aren’t, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)

John 1:9-12

9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 

11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 

12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:

Do you remember back in John 1:4 when Jesus is referred to as the “light of men”. Here in John 1:9, John refers to Jesus as the “true light”. The “true light” came down from heaven into the world. The fact that John calls Jesus the “true light” leads us to believe that there will be false lights. People will put their trust in other people or things besides the “true light” of Jesus, to guide them through this life. But in reality they are following Satan, who has transformed himself into an “angel of light” to trick them. (2 Corinthians 11:14) The word “true” here is translated to mean real or genuine. According to blueletterbible.org, the word “true” is used 24 times in the New Testament with 19 of them being found in the book of John. That makes so much sense, because that is exactly what John’s purpose for writing this book is…..to prove that Jesus, the “true light”, is truly the Son of God. The light of Jesus is here for everyone. Everyone has the same opportunity to walk in “the light”. Some just choose not to believe in the light at all, and some follow a light that they think is Jesus, but in reality it is not Jesus. Our entire concept of time is based on Jesus’ being here on earth. It is 2025 A.D. (the year of our Lord) only because Jesus Christ was here. That is amazing to me. He is the single most important human being who ever lived. In verse 10, John says that “the world did not know Him”. Even though he made the world, and then came to the world for the sole purpose of dying for the world, the world does not recognize who He is. The world didn’t recognize Him then, and now…..2000ish years later…..the world still doesn’t recognize Him. 

In verse 11, we see the sad state of the Jewish nation. Jesus’ own people…..the people God chose as His special people…..the people He rescued time and time again…..the people He forgave over and over again…..rejected His one and only Son and murdered Him. 

In verse 12, we see that all hope is not lost though, because some received Him and believed in Him. I think about His apostles, Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, the people of Samaria, the nobleman whose son Jesus’ healed, and many more that we will study about later in this gospel account. Jesus gave all these people “the right to become children of God”, because they believed in Him. They were spiritually adopted by God, because of their belief in Jesus. I think about the people who were in Jerusalem on Pentecost in Acts 2 when Peter preached the first gospel sermon. This sermon revealed to them the horrible thing that they had done in murdering the son of God. This caused the people to be “pricked in their hearts”. “What do we do?” they asked. Peter answered, “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:36-38) 3000 souls obeyed the gospel that day. (Acts 2:41) They did exactly what Peter told them to do in the above verses. These 3000 people became children of God, and were spiritually adopted into God’s family. Jesus gave them that right when He died for their sins, and He has given us that right also. We are spiritually adopted, if we have believed and obeyed Jesus in repentance and baptism exactly like those 3000 people did on Pentecost so many years ago. Nothing has changed since then about how we obey the gospel. Galatians 3:26 says that we “are all sons (and daughters) of God through faith in Christ Jesus”. Galatians 4:4-7 says, paraphrasing, “When the time was right, God sent His Son to be born of a woman, under the law, to redeem us so that we could become adopted children of God. And because we are children of God, we call Him Father. When we become Christians, we have the Spirit of Jesus within us. At that point, we are children of God, and because we are children of His, we are also heirs of God.” This all happened because of Jesus and what He did for us. And one more beautiful verse…..Romans 8:17 says, paraphrasing, that we will be heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus if we suffer with Him, and after that we will all be glorified together. It makes me catch my breath just thinking about it. Why would anyone not want to be a child of God? They must just not realize the magnitude of blessings that are coming. It is up to us to show them what they are going to miss out on before it is too late. I hope you all have a wonderful Saturday today, and a wonderful Lord’s Day tomorrow! 

Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? If you aren’t, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)

John 1:1-4

 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

I love how the book of John begins like the book of Genesis 1:1….”In the beginning….”. But what John writes next is a mic drop….. “In the beginning was the Word…..” Just like God created the heavens and the earth “in the beginning”, the Word was “in the beginning”. The Word is eternal. We know that “the Word” in verse one is referring to Christ. The Word (Christ) was with God from the beginning, and the Word (Christ) was God. This verse shows us the oneness of God, Jesus, and the Bible that we have in our hands. When we skip down to John 1:14, we see this clarified for us even more by the words, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”. This is Jesus…..God in the flesh…..God’s Word in the flesh. Jesus did not come from God. Jesus was not created by God. Jesus was with God before time began. He was equal with God. He WAS God. In Genesis 1:26, God mentions a plurality of beings when He says, “Let US make man in OUR image, according to OUR likeness….”. John proves His statements about God, Christ, and the Word in John 1:3-4. First, He says that “all things were made through Him”. Through who? Through Jesus, aka the Word. Jesus was involved in every aspect of creation. Jesus was not just a man. He was not simply a prophet. He was not a part of God’s creation. Jesus is the Creator of the universe and everything in it. Nothing was made without Jesus. Listen to the apostle Paul in Colossians 1:15-17: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” This backs up John 1:3 completely. I had to include Colossians 1:15, because I love that part about Jesus being the image of the invisible God. The people who were alive when Jesus walked the earth literally saw God in the flesh! Wow! We didn’t get to see Him with our eyes, but we can see Him through reading the gospels. We can get a picture of Jesus in our minds. And someday we will see Him if we remain faithful to Him. The second thing that John says that proves that Jesus is God is by saying that “in Him was life”. Jesus does not only give life, He IS life! And since Jesus is life, shouldn’t we rely on Him for everything as we go through our lives? It is only “in Him” that we can live forever with God. We can’t have eternal life through anyone except Jesus. The world is certainly not going to help us get there. People outside of Christ are looking for life, but they are looking in all the wrong places. They are looking to the world for life, but the world only brings death. John also calls Jesus the light of men. God created light in the beginning. Jesus was with God in the beginning, and also created that physical light. Without light, we are blind. We are stumbling around aimlessly not knowing which way to go. This describes our life without the spiritual light of Jesus. Imagine if all of the sudden, everything went black and we couldn’t see anything with our eyes, and no one else could either. Think of the chaos. Our lives would stop. I think of the Egyptians and the plague of darkness. They only had to live for three days in darkness, and it stopped their lives completely. (Exodus 10:22-23) What about our spiritual lives? Without the light of Jesus, we are blind and wandering aimlessly through life without purpose and without hope. We have no life without “THE LIFE”…..Jesus. Where do we find the light of Jesus? We find it by opening up the Word, and letting it guide us. Remember, that Bible that you hold in your hand is Jesus…..the Word, the Creator, the Life, and the Light. We never need to neglect it. If we do, we are walking in spiritual darkness that is as thick as the physical darkness was before God said “let there be light”. 

I leave you with this….1 John 1:5-7: “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Did you catch the part that says, “in Him is no darkness at all”? Doesn’t that sound wonderful? 

Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? If you aren’t, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)

Am I Diligently Seeking Him?

 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

In Hebrews 11:6, the Bible says that God is a rewarder of those who “diligently seek Him”. What does the word diligent mean? Merriam-Webster defines diligent as “characterized by steady, earnest, and energetic effort”. A synonym for diligent is painstaking which means “done with great care and thoroughness”. (dictionary.com) My grandma used to “take great pains” to make sure everything was perfect for our Christmas Eve gathering at her house. Everything was in its perfect place…..every decoration and every ornament. The food was cooked to perfection. Her Christmas tree was absolutely gorgeous, as was the entire house. The presents were wrapped beautifully. She was diligent in making sure that Christmas Eve was magical for all of us. My children were 11 and 8 when she passed away, and they still talk about and miss Christmas Eve at Grandma’s house. Her diligence made an impact on them as it did to all of us. Immaculate is the word for her house on Christmas Eve! Why? Why would she work so diligently/painstakingly to make everything so beautiful and perfect? The answer is simply one word…..love! Interestly, the word diligent originates from the latin word diligere which means “to value or esteem highly” or “to love”. (Merriam-Webster) She diligently did special things for us, because she loved us so much. She held all of us in high esteem! I want to be just like her in that way. 

So…..when we look at Hebrews 11:6, what does it mean to diligently search for something or someone? When I looked up Hebrews 11:6 on blueletterbible.org, I was searching for the Greek word meaning diligently, but it gave me the word for the entire phrase “diligently seek Him” which is ekzeteo. (ek-zay-teh’-o) This phrase is used interchangeably with the words or phrases, require, seek after, seek carefully, or enquire. Biblically, it can mean, to search for, to investigate, to scrutinize, to seek out for one’s self, to beg or to crave. Wow…..that last meaning…..to crave. So….to diligently seek God means to crave God. This is something I need to ask myself. Do I crave my Creator? 

Here are some other verses where the Greek word ekzeteo is used. All of them are interesting and relevant to this study of Hebrews 11:6. In Luke 11:50-51, Jesus had just been questioned by lawyers in a condescending way. He responds with a couple of “woe to you” statements, and then proceeds to authenticate the entire old testament by mentioning “the blood of all the prophets that was shed from the foundation of the world…..from the blood of Abel (the first martyr in the OT) to the blood of Zechariah (the last martyr in the OT)”, even stating where Zechariah specifically died, “between the altar and the temple” ! He told those lawyers that all that blood would be required of their generation! “It will be required” equals “diligently seeking”! Scary for them, isn’t it? I only mention these verses, because who better to authenticate the prophets of old than Jesus Christ Himself? Now, back to our subject at hand. 

In Acts 15:17, James takes the lead in the conflict over whether the Gentiles should be circumcised by using Isaiah 11:10 as a reference to say this, “so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the Lord who does all these things.” “Seek the Lord” equals “diligently seek Him”. Everyone has the right to seek the Lord, even the Gentiles. 

In Romans 3:11, Paul is trying to get across the point that all have sinned, both Jews and Gentiles when he says, “There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God.” In this passage, Paul is saying that no one truly “diligently seeks God”. He’s not saying that we are incapable of seeking God. He is simply making the point that we are all flawed, imperfect people, and are equal in the eyes of God no matter what our lineage or heritage is. We all need a Savior. The Gentiles had just as much right to “diligently seek Him” as the Jews. It is the same for us today. No matter what walk of life a person comes from, he/she has just as much right as we do to hear the gospel, and be given the opportunity to be saved and go to heaven…..no matter what they have done in this life. 

The next passage comes from the writer of Hebrews. Hebrews 12:16-17 tells us not to take our inheritance/salvation lightly the way that Esau took his  inheritance lightly, and sold it for a bowl of soup. Verse 17 says, “For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.” Esau “sought it diligently with tears”. He wanted his inheritance back, but it was too late. He couldn’t go back. I shudder to think of the people on judgment day who will “diligently seek Him” in that moment, but it will be too late. Is putting worldly things ahead of God sort of like selling our inheritance for a bowl of soup? Just food for thought. If you aren’t a Christian, don’t wait. You still have time to obtain your inheritance, which is a home in heaven someday, while you are alive on this earth. If you are a Christian, don’t let that inheritance slip away from you the way that Esau did. 

One more example….in 1 Peter 1, Peter is speaking to the dispersed Christians of Pontus, Galatia, Capadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. (1 Peter 1:1) He is telling them how lucky they are to be in the family of God. He is building them up and encouraging them as they are in exile. There are mixed opinions as to whether Peter is writing to Gentiles or Jews, but my research is leaning towards exiled Jewish Christians, since Peter was considered the apostle to the Jews. Also, in the verse that I am referencing for the purposes of this study, Peter mentions “the prophets” which would mean more to the Jews than it would to the Gentiles. That is just my observation. Anyway, 1 Peter 1:10 says this, “Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you…..” The word “inquired” and the phrase “searched carefully” are both the same as the phrase “diligently seek Him” in the Greek. Peter is expressing to them how very fortunate they are to be living in the time that they are. What Peter is trying to say is this…..the prophets could only get a glimpse of what was coming through Christ, but you guys…..you all are living under the grace of Jesus Christ. That is something that we need to realize as well. We need to realize how fortunate we are to be living right now at this time, and “diligently seek Him” while we have the opportunity.

So….what does it look like to diligently seek something? We can use some of the parables of Jesus to illustrate what this phrase “diligently seeking” means. The parable of the lost coin and the lost sheep illustrate the point that I am trying to make really well. (Luke 15:1-10)  In both situations, the thing that was lost was painstakingly searched for. The shepherd had 100 sheep to tend to, but when he realized that one was lost, he left the 99 and went out searching diligently for that one lone sheep who had gone astray. The woman with the ten coins had only lost one of her coins, but she searched the entire house diligently until she found it. And yes….I know the meaning behind these parables is about lost souls being saved, but another meaning behind these parables is that we diligently seek what is important to us, right? Another example would be if our child got lost in a store. We turn around for a second, and then he/she is gone. We begin to diligently seek that child with everything inside of us. Or, we wake up in the morning, go to the back door, and our beloved pet is not in the yard. We search everywhere looking for him/her. We put up flyers. We post it on Facebook. We drive around everywhere searching. You see….we put our heart into what we consider to be treasure, don’t we? Matthew 6:21 says this, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” So…..is Jesus my treasure? Is God’s Word the treasure chest where I can find my treasure…..my Savior…..my Jesus? Am I diligently seeking Jesus? Am I striving to learn more and more about Him every day? Am I listening to His voice? Am I living by His teachings? 

Why should we diligently seek God? Well….for one thing….God says that He will reward us if we diligently seek Him. I know without a shadow of a doubt that I want the creator of the universe to reward me. Do you? I want the reward of heaven someday. Do you? Another reason to diligently seek God is because He has been diligent in His love for us since before the beginning of time. Ephesians 1:4 says that “he chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love…..” This means that God knew ahead of time who would choose Him, who would seek Him, and who would obey His gospel. God has given each of us free will…..the freedom to choose to follow Him or not. God never wanted robots. He wants people who actively choose Him. God knew before He ever created anything who would use their free will to love Him, seek Him, and put Him first, because He knows everything. (1 John 3:12) “His understanding is beyond measure.” (Psalm 147:5) Think about how diligent God was in preserving the lineage of Christ. And why did He preserve that lineage? He preserved it so that we could have Jesus as our Savior! So in essence….everything that He has done has been for me personally…..and for you personally. He knew there was no other way. But why? Why is there no other way, you ask? Well….let’s use a movie scene to illustrate this point. If you are a Marvel fan, you will get this. If not, you need to watch it. At the end of the movie “Avengers: Endgame”, Dr. Strange tells Tony Stark, aka Ironman, that there is only one scenario out of 14 million where they win the war against Thanos, and get everyone back who “blipped” (turned to ash) in the previous movie called “Infinity War”. One of those who blipped was young Peter Parker, aka Spiderman, who was basically like a son to Tony. That one scenario required Tony Stark to die to which Tony agreed. Dr. Strange saw the big picture. He could see how every scenario would turn out. Now that is a movie, and we accept those terms within this movie. But can we accept this answer when it comes to reality and God? The answer is…..we don’t have a choice. We have to. Maybe God saw 14 million scenarios play out in a millisecond and only one of those scenarios would save us. God sees the big picture, and He knew that sending His Son to die for our sins was the only way to bring us to Him. I trust Him. I know that He knows what is best for all of us. Do I understand everything that He has done? No, of course not, but I don’t have to understand it all. His ways are higher than my ways, and His thoughts are higher than my thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9) Someday….I feel certain that I will understand it all. But right now….everything here belongs to Him. And I know what I need to know. I am on a “need to know” basis, and that is ok with me. Let’s ponder these questions. How many times did God’s people, the Israelites, turn to worshipping idols? How many times did they complain and grumble after all God did for them? How many times did God take them back when they begged for His forgiveness? How many promises did they break to God? What about me and my promises to Him? Have I kept all of them? How many times do I forget to thank Him? How many times do I put worldly things ahead of Him? Am I not just as hard to deal with as the Israelites of old? Just something to think about……

Thank you Father for your patience. Thank you for desiring to save us. Thank you for keeping your promises to us. (2 Peter 3:9) Please help me to keep my promises to you. Please help me to diligently seek You in everything I do.

I just had to stop and pray for a moment. So…..what does “diligently seeking Him” look like in my life? Let’s go back to the Latin origin of the word diligent….diligere. It means to love or to highly esteem. So……what is God asking us to do when He asks us to diligently seek Him? What does He want from us? The answer is love! He wants our love! What does that love look like? In order to diligently seek Jesus/God, we have to love His Kingdom here on earth. We have to love the Lord’s church. We cannot say that we love Jesus, and then constantly forsake the assembly of the Church that He died for. We have to make worship and bible study services on Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday night the top priority in our lives, not only for God, but for our brothers and sisters in Christ as well. Consider Hebrews 10:24-25, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” We can’t just go when it is convenient. I guarantee it will become less and less convenient the more times we miss. Our hearts will get more and more hardened the more times we allow other things to take precedence over God. Sometimes there are circumstances that are out of our control that keep us away, like sickness or our work schedule, but we should make every effort to be at every service that we can possibly be at. Being faithful to the Lord’s church is a valuable part of “diligently seeking Him”. We need to support all the works of our congregation such as gospel meetings and vacation bible schools. We need to be willing to step up and help in whatever capacity our time and talents allow. We will put in the extra effort for His Kingdom if we truly love Jesus. Think about the worldly things that we put our time and attention into…..do we put that kind of time and attention into the Lord’s church? If I answer this question honestly for myself…..the answer is “no, I don’t”. I own my failures, and I know I have to do better. Now….all that being said…..can we be at every service, and just be going through the motions? Yes, we can! That was me for so many years! And sometimes I still get in ruts where I feel like I’m just going through the motions. Life happens…..and I falter. We all do. Thank goodness for God’s patience. Let’s just make sure we aren’t staying in that rut. We have to drive ourselves out of that rut, and back to God. I know that I can never earn my way into heaven through attending services or performing any other works of merit here on earth, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have to put forth any effort while I’m here. God sees and appreciates our efforts, and the motives behind them. I do not want to stand before God someday having missed worship and bible class services for just any reason that comes up. Can I diligently seek God, and at the same time…..not put “going to church” as a top priority? Nope. I should not try and fool myself into thinking that I can do this anymore…..ever again.

To diligently seek God/Jesus, we have to have a desire to listen to God through His Word on our own….outside of worship and bible class assemblies. Honestly, attending services three times per week like we are punching a clock is the bare minimum that we can do. I’m speaking to myself here. Sometimes I get so caught up in going through the motions of life in general, that I am not engaged in the worship or the bible study. It’s like I sit down on the pew, and I say to myself, “ok….I’m here Lord”. We are simply so spent and overwhelmed with life that our “ok….I’m here Lord” is simply all there is left of us that day. And, don’t get me wrong, sometimes that is all we have to give, and God knows that. He sees every effort we make. But…..we cannot allow ourselves to stay in that condition. We have to work our way through those tough times to a better place, and this is where personal bible study comes in. When I am stuck in a rut, it is usually because I am allowing myself to be “conformed to this world” too much. At that point, I have to allow myself to be “transformed by the renewing of my mind”. (Romans 12:2)  How do I do this? Well…..I have to make a conscious effort to get in God’s Word on my own, and get my mind right! We have to protect our minds from the world, and the only way to do that is through God’s Word. Three to four hours in the church building each week as compared to eighty-four hours out in the world each week is a big difference. (12 hrs each day X 7 days per week) 2 Timothy 2:15 says this, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (NKJV) Let’s focus on the words “be diligent” for a moment. This phrase comes from the Greek word spoudazo which is also translated as “study”. The King James Version says, “Study to show thyself approved unto God…..” Other words or phrases that are parallel to this phrase are endeavor, labour, make effort, to exert one’s self, and make haste. So….it sounds like studying the Bible is involved in “diligently seeking Him”. It takes effort on our part. Personal bible study looks different for everyone. Everyone has different ways of studying God’s Word that work for them, such as…..reading through the Bible in a year, listening to the Bible on a phone or ipad, topical Bible studies, character studies, picking a verse each day to study in depth, picking a book of the Bible to study each month, watching sermons on youtube, listening to Christian podcasts, scripture writing, studying through books written by Christian authors, and…..I have to mention the technique that I love most, researching and writing about God’s Word. I also love many of the other study methods above as well. It doesn’t matter how we study, as long as we study, and be sure we are using the Bible as our main source of information.

Another way to be diligent in seeking God is to have an active prayer life daily. God wants us to talk to Him. He wants to hear it all…..through our good times and bad. He wants to be with us through it all. I mean…..He is our Creator. Why shouldn’t He want to be involved in every facet of our lives? As parents, don’t we want our children to always talk to us, and tell us all about their day. We hang on their every word, don’t we? God hangs on our every word just like we do our own children whether they are grown adults or just beginning to say their first words. Remember….prayer with the right attitude will help bring us peace. Listen to Paul’s words in Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” I want the peace that only God can give. Don’t you?

Now…..I want to look at one more way that I believe is involved in “diligently seeking Him”. To diligently seek Jesus, we have to diligently seek to help others while we are here. Let’s look at Matthew 25:37-40. It reads, “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Jesus wants us to help others who are in need physically, and even emotionally/mentally as is within our capacity to do so. He also wants us to look for opportunities to share the gospel with the lost. Sometimes, when we give someone the physical help that they need, it could lead to us being able to give them the spiritual help that they need. If we help someone in need here on earth, it is the same as if we had helped Jesus Himself, right? That is what He said, and I believe Him. So let’s diligently seek ways to help others in any way we possibly can. 

So….I am taking a good hard look at my life. I wouldn’t be writing this if I were not struggling myself. We all struggle in one way or another. Am I diligently seeking my Creator? Do I love His church and His word more than anything else in this world? To love Jesus means to love His church and His word. The things of the world are very alluring, and can become idols quickly if we put them ahead of God. Can we all make some changes to work towards having more diligence in seeking God? It all starts with desire in our hearts. Is the desire there? Remember the Latin word for diligent, “diligere”….”to value or highly esteem” or “to love”? Is there anyone or anything in this world that we should “value” or “love” more than God/Jesus? And how does He know that we love Him? I would think that the time and energy that we put into seeking Him would give Him some idea of just how much we love Him. Just some food for thought today. Love you all! 

Everything that I write begins within me…..convicting myself. It is always something that I am struggling with internally or externally. Writing is my way of working through my struggles. I figure if I put it out there, then maybe someone else is having the same struggles. Maybe through our struggles, we can work through them together. If anyone reading this would like a bible study, please reach out, and I can help you or put in contact with someone who can. 

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)

Temporary vs. Permanent

Am I living for the temporary things or the permanent things?

This is a question that I need to ask myself every single day…..if I’m honest…..probably multiple times a day! What is truly important in this life? In 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, the Holy Spirit speaks through the apostle Paul with these timeless, inspiring, ever-relevant words……

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 

First of all, let’s establish the context of these verses. Paul is writing to Christians in these verses, “the church of God which is at Corinth”. (2 Corinthians 1:1) 2 Corinthians is a letter of encouragement and instruction to this church, however it is just as relevant and important to us today as it was to them so many years ago…..as is the entire Bible of course. The majority of the letter is meant to encourage and edify us, with some instruction on giving of our means included in chapters 8 and 9. We have been studying this book in our Sunday morning Bible class, and it has been such an encouraging book to study. Paul shares his personal life with us in this book, even sharing about his “thorn in the flesh” in chapter 12. I honestly feel like I know Paul through his writing. That is part of the reason I love 2 Corinthians so much. I love it when preachers/teachers/writers share who they are with me. And this is what I like to do when I write. I want you to know me through my writing…..the imperfect, flawed Greta Hoover……even if you haven’t met me in person. I mean…..don’t these words describe all of us who have ever lived or will ever live…..imperfect and flawed? Well….all of us except for one that is…..our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So let’s dive into 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 and see where it takes us. 

Everything that we can lay eyes on and see in this life is going to wear out or pass away. Nothing about this life is permanent. Our time here is short compared to eternity. James 4:14 asks us the question, “For what is your life?” How would we answer James if he asked us that question today? What is my life? How do I view my existence here on earth? Is enjoying life my sole purpose? Is traveling my main focus? Is it building up a savings account? Is it being successful in my career? Is it my physical appearance? Now, I’m not saying that any of these things are inherently wrong. Should we enjoy life? Of course we should! We should enjoy life, but we should be enjoying life within the confines of living the Christian life. Enjoying life does not have to mean participating in sinful activities, or leaving God out of our plans for recreation. The world needs to see us enjoying our lives while putting God first and living for Christ. What about traveling the world and seeing new places? That’s awesome, as long as we take Christ with us when we go to these new places. What about saving money? Saving money for the future is a good thing. It is not wrong to save money, but if it causes us to be stingy about giving back to the Lord and helping others, then that money that we are saving becomes an idol. Money is temporary, and we can’t take it with us. We will have no need for it when we step into eternity. What about success in our careers/jobs? Being successful in how we make a living is perfectly fine. In fact, it’s great! We are expected to work to make our way in this life. And as Christians, we should be able to be relied upon to do our jobs to the best of our ability. Our employees should be able to count on us to be honest, hard-working individuals. But…..our job/career should never become our sole focus in life. Moving up the corporate ladder should not take precedence over God’s purpose for our lives. Success is fine, as long as it is in its proper place on our ladder of priorities. We will not be defined by our occupation in heaven. I am a teacher here on earth, but that is not how I will be identified in eternity. What about our physical appearance? It is perfectly fine to look nice, dress nicely and appropriately, and take care of one’s physical health. God expects us to have self-respect, and take care of the temple that He has given us. But this physical body is wearing out. Like the verse above says, “our outward man is perishing”. I can attest to that fact as I grow older. However, the verse also says that “our inward man is being renewed day by day”. That inward man that Paul is speaking of is our soul. God’s Word says we will be changed in the twinkling of an eye on the day that Jesus returns. (1 Corinthians 15:52) We will not take this physical body with us into eternity. 1 Corinthians 15:48 says that the spiritual body does not come first, “but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.” So……the world and the things of it are all temporary. Heaven is permanent or “eternal”. Our bodies are temporary houses for our souls. Our souls are permanent or “eternal”. If we truly believe these statements about heaven and our souls being eternal, and earth and our physical bodies being temporary, doesn’t it make sense to put more effort into preserving our souls while we are here on earth? Our soul is the only thing about us that is going to last forever, so let’s pay attention to it first. Let’s make sure we are feeding it properly with God’s Word daily. Believe me…..I am talking to myself here as much as I am anyone else reading this. I am smacking my own hands, and stepping on my own toes. I have been letting life get in the way entirely too much lately. Let’s make sure that we are being faithful to His kingdom here on earth, the Lord’s church. Let’s make sure that we are focusing the bulk of our attention on the permanent things……the eternal things. I can guarantee that we will be happier and healthier in every way if we do. We will be filled up with Christ instead of the world. It is great to enjoy life, and have things that we hold as our favorites in our short life here on earth, but let’s never forget that none of it will matter in eternity. All the things of this world that we hold dear and enjoy…..our pets, our material things of value, our sentimental heirlooms that have been passed down from generation to generation, our sports trophies, our academic accolades, our favorite vacation spots……everything……all of it……will be left behind when we step into eternity. However…..we can spend our life with the purpose of taking all of our loved ones, and as many others as possible into eternity with us. How do we accomplish that? Well, first of all, we have to make sure we are faithful Christians ourselves. I have learned from past experience that I must get my life and priorities right before I can encourage others to get theirs right. Then I need to strive to be the best example that I can be in my daily walk. But most importantly…..I have to show kindness and speak the truth in love to my family and friends, but not only them, but to anyone else that I come in contact with as I go through my life, including those who read my blog. I believe that kindness is the beginning of sharing the truth. Kindness speaks volumes to people of all walks of life.

I also want to remind you all that there is one more thing that is temporary in this life. If we are Christians and remain faithful until death, then all of our suffering here on earth is temporary as well. The pain, loss, heartache, sadness, confusion, frustration, uncertainty and anxiety of this world is not permanent. 2 Corinthians 4:17 says that “our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory….” God compares our life here on earth to “a moment”!  I might live 90 years….maybe less or maybe more, but God says that my years here are only “a moment”! The “light affliction” or suffering that we endure here is nothing compared to the joy that we will have in eternity if we choose to obey and follow Jesus for the rest of our life. It will be so worth it, my sisters and friends! The very worst thing that could happen to us here on earth can never outweigh the glory of an eternity with God. We will go through some temporary suffering. Some people may seem to go through more than others, but…..think clearly about Revelation 21:4 for a moment. “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” The “former things” or…..the temporary things are gone. Please keep this verse in mind as you go through the hardest of times. And remember that God is suffering with us. He knows when we hurt in any way, and He feels it. Look at all the times God showed compassion on His people in the old testament after they turned away from Him to worship idols. He heard their suffering. He felt it! Compassion can only be shown when there is empathy. God had empathy for His people when they were suffering. He has not changed. He has the same empathy and compassion for us. Remember how His people were suffering in Egypt as slaves. God told Moses this in Exodus 3:7,  “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. God knew what they were going through, and He was sorrowful about it, or else why would He help them? You know…..the deliverance of His people out of Egyptian slavery is a major part of the big picture of our salvation through Jesus Christ today. God. Has. Not. Changed. 

God sent Jesus to earth so that He could feel the suffering that we feel. God knew we needed a Savior who could physically and mentally endure what we endure as humans. Let’s never forget when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of His arrest. He told Peter, James and John these words, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful even unto death.” Then he went and fell on His face and prayed to His Father to “let this cup pass from me” if it was at all possible. (Matthew 26:38-39) Let’s not forget the sweat that was falling from Jesus’ forehead like drops of blood! (Luke 22:44) And all this suffering happened before He was even arrested! Just imagine the suffering of the mind that Jesus endured just knowing what was going to happen to Him! The mental anguish itself had to be unimaginable! What if we knew what was going to happen to us in the future? Would that not be stressful? However, Jesus’ suffering did not last. He was resurrected, and went back to heaven to sit at the right hand of His Father. That horrible suffering was only temporary….as will ours be if we are faithful until death. (Revelation 2:10)

Listen to the New Living Translation of 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

In the verse right before this, 2 Corinthians 4:14-15, Paul says that “He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you.” He also says that all things are for our benefit. Everything God has done is for our benefit in order for us to have eternal life and for His name to be glorified. This is why we never lose heart or give up. This is why we focus more closely and intentionally on the permanent, NOT the temporary.

I would like to end with the answer to James’ question in James 4:14….”For what is your life? The answer to James’ question is this, “It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” Our life is fleeting. I blinked and my children went from babies to grown adults. I blinked on December 8, 2023, and my grandson, Brandon turned a year old just three weeks ago. Our time here passes so quickly. Let’s make the most of our temporary life here by working toward gaining our permanent home with Jesus. As we enter into the year 2025 in a few days, will we try to focus more on the permanent/eternal things in the coming year? For ourselves? For our spouses? For our children? For all our loved ones and friends? But most of all….will we change our focus for our Creator and our Savior? I know I badly need to make some changes this year. I’m not talking about  huge resolutions that are easily broken. It can be baby steps that can lead to big changes in the future. Can we make these changes together? Temporary or permanent…..where will your focus be? Love you all.

Everything that I write begins within me…..convicting myself. It is always something that I am struggling with internally or externally. Writing is my way of working through my struggles. I figure if I put it out there, then maybe someone else is having the same struggles. Maybe through our struggles, we can work through them together. If anyone reading this would like a bible study, please reach out, and I can help you or put in contact with someone who can. 

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)

Am I Hard-pressed?

What does it mean to be hard-pressed? Paul uses this word in two different places….once in Philippians 1:23 and then again in 2 Corinthians 4:8. In both places, the word means intense pressure or affliction that seems to be surrounding him. It might feel like the walls are closing in at times. This pressure can be internal or external. In Philippians 1:23, Paul is hard-pressed internally. It is an internal struggle within himself. In 2 Corinthians 4:8, Paul is speaking of being hard-pressed externally, by circumstances and situations that he is put in as he travels around preaching the gospel. Either way….the struggle was real for Paul. What about our lives today? We have internal and external struggles in our lives as well. It may look different in today’s world, but the struggle is the same. Or rather….it should be the same. So here is the question that I am mulling over today. Am I hard-pressed? Listen to Paul in Philippians 1:21-24, and recognize the conflict within him, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.” In these verses, Paul is describing a dilemma that he has going on in his mind. He knows that he is a vessel for God. He knows that God needs him on this earth to take the gospel to the Gentiles. However, he is torn between wanting to live and continue to bear fruit for Christ, or die so that he can go and be with Christ. At the end of verse 24, we can see that he knows that God still needs him on earth to carry out his purpose. Paul is all about God’s will being fulfilled. Paul endured so much suffering as he went about preaching the gospel. I’m sure that he of all people realized how much better it would be with Christ. But….I ask myself….do I? I have had this on my mind a lot. Do I truly realize how much better it will be for me to “depart and be with Christ”? It’s just something to think about. So…..is my life all about Christ? If I want to “depart and be with Christ”, then I have to live for Christ, correct? It is your basic “if….then” statement. Can I honestly say, “for to me, to live is Christ”? What does that mean to me? I really need a wake-up call, folks. Why should I want to stay here on earth? I should want to stay here for the very same reason that Paul wanted to stay….. so that I can help others get to heaven. To start with, I want to stay here for my family…..my husband, my children and their spouses (of whom I think of as my own), and my grandson (and future grandchildren). I hope that I can be a help to them in their spiritual walk. I hope to be a Christian example and an encouragement to them to live a faithful Christian life. I also want to be here to help them through any hard things that any of them have to go through in this life. I want to be here to celebrate their victories in this life. Most of all….I just want to help them get to heaven. I know that God says there will be no sadness in heaven, but I can’t imagine heaven without all of them there with me. Next, I want to be here for my parents, my extended family, and my husband’s family. I want to be here to help take care of our parents, and other elderly family members as they grow older. I want to be here to bring them joy. Most of all….I just want to help them get to heaven. Again, I can’t imagine heaven without all of them there with me. I also want to be here for my sisters and brothers in Christ, aka the Lord’s church. I want to do my part to help the church grow so that more and more people can go to heaven when Christ returns. Last, I want to help the lost, whether I know them personally or not. I hope that I can help others through my writing or whatever other means I have. You might be asking, “why is she writing about reasons she wants to live?”. I’m writing about this, because I need a reminder of my sole purpose for being here. I also need a reminder that nothing on this earth is better than departing to be with Christ. No matter how awesome my husband is……no matter how wonderful my children are…..no matter how precious my grandson is……being with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be better. Our very best day here on earth can’t even come close in comparison to heaven. Our best day here will end after a few hours, but in heaven we will have a never-ending best day. And I need a reminder that my reasons for wanting to stay here should be completely Christ-centered, just like Paul’s reasons for wanting to stay. So….in a way, shouldn’t we have somewhat the same internal struggle going on within us? Are we hard-pressed internally like Paul was?

Then comes this question…..don’t we have it so much easier today than Paul did back then, you ask? In a lot of ways, yes….we do have it a lot easier than Paul did back then. I can honestly say that I haven’t ever been stoned, and left for dead. I haven’t been thrown in prison. I haven’t been shipwrecked. I haven’t been beaten. I would say that the majority of those reading this haven’t been subjected to any of those awful things either. All of Paul’s suffering was for the cause of Christ. What about me? Am I truly suffering for Christ? Suffering for Christ today looks different. It is more subtle….but it’s there, my friends. It is more of a mental type of suffering, than physical, isn’t it? Listen to how Paul describes his suffering in Philippians 4:8-10, “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.”  Are we as Christians, “hard-pressed on every side”? If we are living for Christ as we should be, then we are. If I’m not hard-pressed, then I’m living too much for the world. “To live is Christ” is not me if I’m not hard-pressed in some way. Here is just one example of how we are hard-pressed in the world today. Remember, Satan is subtle, my friends. Wednesday night used to be a night that was untouched as far as sports was concerned. Neither games nor practices were held on Wednesday nights. This is not true anymore. It is no different than any other night of the week. I found that out several years ago when my son’s baseball team practiced every Wednesday night from 7 until 9. Sunday, the Lord’s day, is just another day of the week to the world. Sporting events are now held on Sundays with no regard to the Lord’s day. If your child wants to play travel sports, then you better get ready to make a choice…..worship or ballgame. I’ve been there. Please make the right one, or find a way for your child to do both. Some tournaments wait to start games at 1:00 on Sundays, and I am appreciative of those, but most do not. This is Satan’s way of getting us to slip up, and make sports more important than God. What we hold as most important is more than likely what our babies will hold as most important when they are adults. They are watching us. Am I saying they can’t play travel sports? No, I’m not, but please don’t let it interfere with their spiritual upbringing. And…..think about the example you will set before others when you say, “we can’t make it to the 9:00 game on Sunday morning. We have church services at that time.” This is what God wants and needs from us as His people…..even if we are talked badly about or made fun of. This is one way that we can be hard-pressed mentally in this world today. I use this example, because I have been there with my own children. However, if we set the rules from the beginning that sports will not get in the way of worshiping God, then more than likely, that is what our children will remember and apply in their own lives as adults with their own children. Satan wants our children, and this is one area where he can get to them if we don’t stand firm. We are hard-pressed on every side with social media. We can get so wrapped up in Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms that we allow these things to monopolize a big bulk of our time. Again, I’ve been there. Social media is addictive. I truly believe it is. It takes away from our Bible study time, our prayer time, and our time with our husbands and children. We might begin to look to social media or the internet for help when we need to be going to God in prayer first. Why am I saying this? Because I am in the middle of trying to manage social media better myself. I haven’t been disciplining myself enough in this area, and I can see it in my lack of bible study and prayer time lately. Social media can be a good thing when used for the right purposes. Again….”to live is Christ”! Does my social media activity reflect a “to live is Christ” attitude? You see….my sisters in Christ…..we are hard-pressed. We just may not be pushing back against these things hard enough. 

In our society, we are definitely hard-pressed on every side. We are bombarded with mental abuse from non-believers. We are called closed minded. We are called hateful. Hateful? Really? Nothing could be further from the truth. If we are the kind of Christians we ought to be, then everything we do will be done in love. Our motives should be pure…..always with the underlying goal of helping someone else get to heaven. (1 Corinthians 16:14) If that is our goal, then we certainly are not being hateful. We are also bombarded with false teaching everywhere we turn. We are often ridiculed because we won’t accept false teaching as the truth. We are criticized because we won’t fellowship with other religious groups who teach things that are not scriptural. This isn’t being closed minded, and it isn’t being done in a spirit of hate. It is being done in a spirit of love to set an example of obedience to the scriptures. Would we be taken seriously as the Lord’s church if we went along with doctrines not found in the Bible? Of course we wouldn’t. We are also tempted daily by Satan through the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. We are tempted every day…..all day. And we fall short every day. But….. “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15) Of course….we know what that gift is. It is grace…..grace that God has shown us by sending His Son to die for our sins. We owe everything to Him…..our very existence, our lives, our blessings, and our salvation. It is all in His hands. And while it is true that we may not be suffering physically like the first century Christians, we are most definitely suffering mentally. The world (Satan) continually works to pull us in the opposite direction from where God, through His Word, tells us to go. And Satan does it subtly…..so that before we know it…..we are not suffering for Christ at all. We are just fine down here on earth. So……think about these verses again……but this time….imagine it is you saying it in the present day. Can you say this about your life….maybe not physically, but mentally or emotionally? 

“We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” (Phillippians 4:8-10)

I ask myself…..is this true of my life? Is Jesus’ life manifested in my Christian walk? If the answer is yes, then I will be hard-pressed. Do you remember Jesus’ words in John 15:18-20? “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” The bottom line is this….if I am living for Him, then I will be persecuted. So…..are we ready to be with Jesus at any moment? Do we desire to be with Jesus more than we desire to be in this world? Are we hard-pressed on every side? Just something to think about……

Everything that I write begins within me…..convicting myself. It is almost always something that I am struggling with internally or externally. Writing is my way of working through my struggles. I figure if I put it out there, then maybe someone else is having the same struggles. Maybe through our struggles, we can work through them together. If anyone reading this would like a bible study, please reach out, and I can help you or put in contact with someone who can. 

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)

What is Truth?

Have you ever wondered how there can be so many forms of “the truth” when it comes to religion? In every other subject there is truth, and not only is there truth, but we all pretty much accept that truth. We accept that gravity holds us to the earth. We accept that the earth revolves around the sun as it turns on its axis. We accept that 2+2=4. We accept that pi is approximately 3.14. We accept so many things in this world as the truth. But when it comes to God’s Word, it seems as though everyone is allowed to come up with their own truth. Everyone wants to put their own spin on it. So how can we accept the truth about so many things, but not accept the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ? The gospel, which is Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, is the most important truth in the history of the world! Jesus conquered death for us. He made it so that we will be able to conquer death someday. We may die physically, but spiritually we will live on for eternity. Do you remember who in scripture asked the question, “what is truth?”. When Jesus was taken before Pilate, Pilate asked Jesus if He was indeed a king. Jesus said these words back to Pilate in John 18:38, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” At that point Pilate asked, “what is truth?”. What made Pilate ask that question? Did Jesus’ words, demeanor, and actions cause Pilate to wonder what this “truth” was that Jesus was speaking of? Was Pilate asking “what is truth” in a sarcastic way? I dare say that Pilate had never heard anyone speak about “the truth” in this way. Did you notice the phrase “the truth” in Jesus’ statement to Pilate? Isn’t that singular? Can there be more than one truth when it comes to matters of a spiritual nature? Let’s try and answer that question.

Who is the author of “the truth?” Who is the author of salvation? Most reading this will say that Jesus is the author of salvation. We know this to be true, because Hebrews 5:8-9 tells us that “though He (Jesus) was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him….”  So…..clearly, through His death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus is the author of our salvation, but….only “to all who obey Him”. That is made very clear in this verse. Jesus decided what “the truth” concerning the salvation of my soul would be. He set the terms for our salvation. There is a singular truth about how we are saved from our sins. It is found in the pages of God’s Word. Isn’t it dangerous to think that there is more than one truth about how to be saved? Since Jesus was God in the flesh (John 1:14), this means that God is the author of eternal salvation. God decides how a person is saved for eternity……not humans. He made this world, therefore He is who ultimately decides what “truth” is. No one else has the right. We cannot make up our own truth, no matter how bad we may want to at times. 

Where do we find truth? In John 17:17, Jesus says as He prays to God, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your Word is truth.” We find truth in God’s Word, which is the Bible. Whose word is truth? Everyone reading this will no doubt say that God’s Word is truth. What sanctifies us? Most people reading this will say that God’s Word sanctifies us if we follow it. Can His Word sanctify us if we don’t follow it? No, that would not make logical sense. In John 8:31-32, Jesus says that if we “abide” in His Word, then we are His “disciples”. So….we have to abide in His Word which is another way of saying we have to follow His Word. And if we follow Him, then we can “know the truth” and the truth will “make us free”! (John 8:32) So Jesus says that we can “know the truth”. If we can “know the truth”, then should we remain divided about what the truth actually is? The Bible says that we are to “all speak the same thing”. (1 Corinthians 1:10) Over and over, we are told to be united, and to be one in Christ. If we read Ephesians 4:1-6, and look at all the times the word “one” is used, we can see how important oneness is to God. Listen to the urgency in Paul’s writing as he addresses the issue of unity in his letter to the church/Christians at Ephesus. “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:1-6) Paul is literally begging them to have unity. I literally feel like I can hear it in his voice as if he were saying it. How can we be one in Christ if we don’t all agree on how to obey Him…..if we don’t all speak the same thing?

And what are we being set free from in John 8:32? Skip down to John 8:34, and Jesus tells us what we are set free from…..we are set free from sin. He says that “whoever commits sin is a slave of sin”. Obeying the gospel of Jesus Christ through repentance and baptism is the only way that we can be set free from the slavery of sin. (Acts 2:38, there are more scriptures at the bottom of this post) We have all been “slaves of sin” at one time or other in our lives, haven’t we? The world wants to make it seem like following God stifles us, and puts us in a cage. But….in reality, it is the world that has us trapped in a cage at that point. The cage is sin. Sin leads to the destruction of everything good in this world. Satan will trick us into thinking that freedom is found in living for our own fleshly desires. In my past, Satan told me the lie that freedom was found in not having to resist temptations that I was drawn to. Along with that, Satan told me the lie that freedom was found in using worldly coping mechanisms in order to deal with difficult feelings and emotions. And then…..when I freed myself from those lies, Satan began to tell me more lies. He told me that I would never be what God wants me to be, because of things from my past, and I believed him for a really long time. He told me that I was not capable of being as good of a Christian as other women in the church, and I believed him. His lies caused me to compare myself to others which we should never do. He made me feel weak and insignificant. Satan has told me so many lies in the past that I cannot even count them all. And he is still trying to lie to me. It is a constant fight. I allowed his lies to weigh down on me for a really long time. He lies constantly. It is what he does. He is the father of lies. (John 8:44) And don’t forget that he can make himself look like an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14)  Remember all this about Satan the next time you hear something of a religious matter that is presented as truth, but is contrary to God’s Word…..and don’t be deceived by it. Please make sure that what you are being taught is the one and only truth found in God’s Word. Your soul is too precious. 

So….where is true freedom found? True freedom is found ONLY in obedience to Christ. If something that you are hearing is not found in God’s Word, then it is not from God, therefore it is not truth, right? Just like Satan told Eve in the garden that she would not die, Satan tells us that we will not die. He tells us the lie that we are just fine….living for ourselves. It was physical death for Eve, but for us it will be spiritual death, and separation from God for eternity. God spoke the truth to Adam and Eve when He told them that they would die if they ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They indeed eventually died a physical death. He has spoken the truth to us through His Word. Let’s never forget that we don’t have to spend our life like Pilate wondering…..“what is truth?”. We have it. I’ve heard people say, “well…..the Bible was written by men, so how can we trust it to be true”. Well….guess what? God has explained that as well. God is so thorough, isn’t he? Listen to 1 Peter 1:20-21, “…..knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” God’s Word was written by men, but it did not come from the minds of men. It came from the mind of God. Men were just the vessels that God chose to use to speak and write His message down, and take it to the world. Is that not what we are called to be today…. His vessels to help spread “the truth”? 

Does “truth” according to God’s Word ever change with the times? Has “the truth” changed over the years? Let’s consult God for the answer. He says in Malachi 3:6, “For I am the Lord, I do not change…” The God whom we serve today is the same God who formed the heavens and the earth on day one of creation…..and Jesus and the Holy Spirit were both with Him on that day. God has not changed His mind about how we are supposed to live while we are here on earth. He has not changed His mind about what He considers sin. He has not changed His mind about how we are saved or how we are to worship Him. Why would He? If God was someone who changed His mind on a whim, then how could we truly trust Him to keep His promises? Is God’s Word complete and perfect? God’s Word can answer that question as well. In Revelation 22:18-19, it reads, “For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”  If something is perfect or complete, then nothing would need to be added or taken away from it. If I bake a cake, and it turns out perfect and delicious, do I need to add anything or take anything away from the recipe to try to improve it? Of course not. It is the same with God’s Word. It cannot be improved upon. It is complete perfection. 

The final scripture that I would like to leave you with today is 1 Peter 1:22-25. It reads, “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,  because “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

The people to whom Peter is writing in the above verses had “purified” their souls “in obeying the truth”. Again, Peter only mentions a singular “truth”. Jesus said that we can know that one and only truth, and that it will set us free if we abide in Him. Peter said that the Christians that he was writing to had obeyed the truth and were purified. Truth…..singular….. you can know it, you can obey it, and you can let it set you free. 

What is truth? Look at the plan of salvation below. It comes straight from God’s Word, and God’s Word is truth. 

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)