“Everything that has moved or shall move in heaven, and earth, and hell, has been, is, and shall be according to the counsel and foreknowledge of God, fulfilling a holy, just, wise and unalterable purpose!”
Charles Spurgeon
Month: February 2013
The Message of the Kingdom
In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 3:1-2 (ESV)
John the Baptist came as “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’” (Matthew 3:3 ESV) He was aware that there was one coming after him who would usher in a new kind of kingdom rule on earth. Speaking of Jesus, John told the Pharisees and Sadducees, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (Matthew 3:11-12 ESV) Continue reading
Restless Heart
“Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”
Augustine
Your Heart
“Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God.”
Martin Luther
The Highest Good
“God is the highest good of the reasonable creature. The enjoyment of him is our proper; and is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Better than fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of any, or all earthly friends. These are but shadows; but the enjoyment of God is the substance. These are but scattered beams; but God is the sun. These are but streams; but God is the fountain. These are but drops, but God is the ocean.”
Jonathan Edwards
Beautiful Paradox
“What I am anxious to see in Christian believers is a beautiful paradox. I want to see in them the joy of finding God while at the same time they are blessedly pursuing Him. I want to see in them the great joy of having God yet always wanting Him.”
A.W. Tozer
Jesus the Coming King
Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Matthew 24:30 ESV)
Jesus told his disciples that he was going away, but he made them a promise to come again. He said, In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. (John 14:2-3 ESV) At Jesus’ ascension two men in white apparel made this announcement, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. (Acts 1:11 ESV) Many New Testament epistles affirm the return of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:7; 15:23; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:8; James 5:7-8; 2 Peter 3:12; 1 John 2:28). Continue reading
Jesus the First and Last
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. (Revelation 22:13 ESV)
Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet in which the New Testament is written. In referring to himself as the first and last, Jesus is once again revealing himself as God. Early in the Revelation John quotes God as saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. (Revelation 1:8 ESV) And in Revelation 22:13 Jesus reveals to John that he too is the Alpha and Omega. Continue reading