Read the following verses and watch the video:
John 1:1-5
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that had been created. Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.
Colossians 1:15-17
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation; because by Him everything was created, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.
A Cool Thought
Revelation 21:5-8
Then the One seated on the throne said, "Look! I am making everything new." He also said, "Write, because these words are faithful and true." And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give to the thirsty from the spring of living water as a gift. The victor will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son. But the cowards, unbelievers, vile, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all the liars - their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."
It breaks my heart for so many....
Isaiah 6:9-10 "And He replied: 'Go! Say to these people: Keep listening, but do not understand; keep looking, but do not perceive. Dull the minds of these people; deafen their ears and blind their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, understand with their minds, turn back and be healed.'"
Showing posts with label Bible-Revelation 21. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bible-Revelation 21. Show all posts
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Monday, July 13, 2009
Cowards
There is a word in the Bible that recently caught my attention.
The Greek word “delios”, means “to fear. Timid, fearful.” (The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament) This word is only used three times in the New Testament; Twice translated as fearful and once as coward. The first two times are talking about the same story in Matthew 8:26 and Mark 4:40.
“As he got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. Suddenly, a violent storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves. But He was sleeping. So the disciples came and woke Him up, saying, 'Lord, save us! We're going to die!' But He said to them, 'Why are you fearful, you of little faith?' Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea. And there was a great calm.” Matthew 8:23-27 (Emphasis mine)
I think we have all felt this way at times. We are following God's will when all of the sudden a storm will arise and we are crying out to Him to save us. There are times when we loose some of our nerve, and our faith may waver a bit. The point is that we aren't to remain in that state.
Something else I find interesting is, in order to be fearful or cowardly about something you have to believe. You can't be afraid of something you don't believe in. Think about it.
Now, with that in mind, we come to the verse which piqued my interest. Revelation 21:8 “But the cowards, unbelievers, vile, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars – their share will be in the lake of fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Emphasis mine.)
The cowards are not unbelievers. They are mentioned separately. Neither are they liars or people who let other things become their god. Who is this group then? I've come to think these are the people who live their life in fear. They believe in God and the may love Him, but their fear of what others may think, or of stepping out on a limb, outweighs their love. This, then, is their inheritance.
The disciples were described as having this kind of fear at one point, but they allowed the power of Christ to come through them and conquer it, and we can too. I can't imagine coming before the Creator of the universe at the Judgment seat expecting to hear, “Well done”, yet being called a coward and sent away from His presence for eternity. Let's be vigilant for ourselves and those around us.
The Greek word “delios”, means “to fear. Timid, fearful.” (The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament) This word is only used three times in the New Testament; Twice translated as fearful and once as coward. The first two times are talking about the same story in Matthew 8:26 and Mark 4:40.
“As he got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. Suddenly, a violent storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves. But He was sleeping. So the disciples came and woke Him up, saying, 'Lord, save us! We're going to die!' But He said to them, 'Why are you fearful, you of little faith?' Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea. And there was a great calm.” Matthew 8:23-27 (Emphasis mine)
I think we have all felt this way at times. We are following God's will when all of the sudden a storm will arise and we are crying out to Him to save us. There are times when we loose some of our nerve, and our faith may waver a bit. The point is that we aren't to remain in that state.
Something else I find interesting is, in order to be fearful or cowardly about something you have to believe. You can't be afraid of something you don't believe in. Think about it.
Now, with that in mind, we come to the verse which piqued my interest. Revelation 21:8 “But the cowards, unbelievers, vile, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars – their share will be in the lake of fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Emphasis mine.)
The cowards are not unbelievers. They are mentioned separately. Neither are they liars or people who let other things become their god. Who is this group then? I've come to think these are the people who live their life in fear. They believe in God and the may love Him, but their fear of what others may think, or of stepping out on a limb, outweighs their love. This, then, is their inheritance.
The disciples were described as having this kind of fear at one point, but they allowed the power of Christ to come through them and conquer it, and we can too. I can't imagine coming before the Creator of the universe at the Judgment seat expecting to hear, “Well done”, yet being called a coward and sent away from His presence for eternity. Let's be vigilant for ourselves and those around us.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Eternal Life
You have eternal life. In fact, so does everyone you know.
Billy Graham has it.
Michael Jackson has it.
Mother Theresa has it.
Hitler has it.
The point is, where are you going to spend it?
I tend to cringe when I hear people say to someone who was just saved, “Now you have eternal life!” No, actually, they just now have it through Jesus' inheritance. They will no longer be judged by their works, but by the righteousness of Christ's blood that covers them.
Revelation 20:13-15; 21:6-8
“Then the sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead; all were judged according to their works. Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And anyone not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.... And He said to me, 'It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give to the thirsty from the spring of living water as a gift. The victor will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son. But the cowards, unbelievers, vile, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars – their share will be in the lake of sulfur, which is the second death.'”
One of the reasons I feel so strongly that it should worded this way is that it puts an extra pressure on us to share the Gospel. It's one thing if I think a person just doesn't have eternal life happily with Jesus; That perhaps they pass into oblivion. But to think that they will spend eternity in agony, in a place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:30, Luke 13:28), wishing they had followed Jesus, spurs me to try harder and love deeper.
Billy Graham has it.
Michael Jackson has it.
Mother Theresa has it.
Hitler has it.
The point is, where are you going to spend it?
I tend to cringe when I hear people say to someone who was just saved, “Now you have eternal life!” No, actually, they just now have it through Jesus' inheritance. They will no longer be judged by their works, but by the righteousness of Christ's blood that covers them.
Revelation 20:13-15; 21:6-8
“Then the sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead; all were judged according to their works. Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And anyone not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.... And He said to me, 'It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give to the thirsty from the spring of living water as a gift. The victor will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son. But the cowards, unbelievers, vile, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars – their share will be in the lake of sulfur, which is the second death.'”
One of the reasons I feel so strongly that it should worded this way is that it puts an extra pressure on us to share the Gospel. It's one thing if I think a person just doesn't have eternal life happily with Jesus; That perhaps they pass into oblivion. But to think that they will spend eternity in agony, in a place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:30, Luke 13:28), wishing they had followed Jesus, spurs me to try harder and love deeper.
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