Revelation 21:1 NIV
[1] Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
Tag Archives: life and death
TWO CHOICES, TWO DESTINIES
Deuteronomy 30:19 NIV
[19] “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. “
The Lord, through Moses, threw down this challenge to the Israelites on the eve of their entry into the Promised Land. For forty years, they had tasted the faithfulness of God. He had led them, fed them, protected them, and taught them through every adverse circumstance the hostile wilderness could produce to discourage them and send them back to Egypt.
On the strength of their experience of God’s faithfulness and power over the natural world, Moses called the people to make the choice to trust in this God as a permanent way of life before they ever set foot in Canaan. It was their choice either to stay within the boundaries of God’s covenant, that would guide them towards their eternal destiny, or to walk away, choose their own path, and perish in the wilderness of unbelief. Life or death, which one?
Israel’s responses to the tests they faced revealed how fickle their trust in God. When all went well, they trusted Him. When the going got tough, they complained and rebelled. This kind of “faith” would never hold them steady when they crossed into Canaan to face the enemy. They needed a confidence in God that would engage His supernatural favour and power again all the savage forces in the land that were determined to protect their territory. The lives of God’s people, the lives of their descendants, and their new life in the land God promised them depended on this kind of trust.
From Israel’s turbulent history, we know that they continually wavered between belief and unbelief, obedience and disobedience, prosperity and adversity until their stubborn disobedience cost them their land and for many, their lives.
Israel’s ups and downs in their land are a picture for us of life in this world as citizens of another realm. Just as Israel was surrounded by enemy nations and needed to depend on God for protection and provision, so we are living in a hostile world and need a faith and obedience that will keep us safe and strong to the end of our days. We are not only surrounded by enemies, but also inhabited by an inward adversary, our own “old nature” that is equally determined to destroy us.
The Israelites were under constant pressure to replace their faith in God with the worship of their neighbours’ gods. When they turned to idols, they put themselves in danger of God’s wrath and punishment. When they stayed within the boundaries of the covenant, they enjoyed His protection and blessing.
So we, too, are under constant pressure to substitute God’s will and ways with our own will and ways. Our old, sinful nature demands that we do life “our way”. Our sinful desires relentlessly require satisfaction.
God, in His grace, resurrected our spirits when we were dead because of sin. Before He confronted us with the good news that Jesus paid our debt to free us from the power of sin and death, we were unable to have any communication with God. We were dead to God. However, faith in Jesus and what He did for us brought about a miraculous resurrection of our spirits.
Ephesians 2:1, 4-6 NLT
[1] Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.
[4] But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, [5] that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) [6] For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.
God promised that those who have been raised to new life in the Spirit will also be physically raised from the dead when Jesus returns for us to share His eternal reign in resurrection bodies like His.
John called this “the first resurrection”.
Revelation 20:4-6 NLT
[4] “Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. [5] This is the first resurrection. (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.) [6] Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.”
Whoever these are who were beheaded for their faith, we are assured that all who believe in Jesus will be raised to life in bodies like the Lord’s resurrection body.
1 Corinthians 15:51, 53-54 NLT
[51] But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed!…
[53] For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. [54] Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
The Bible also speaks of a second resurrection. God will also raise the bodies of those who have refused His mercy and chosen to live their own way, following their own sinful desires and appetites. God’s Word does not give these people the possibility of annihilation. They will face wrath just as surely as those who believe will be raised to eternal life.
The first death is physical, separation of body and spirit. The body will return to dust. The spirit will return to God who made us.
The second death is spiritual. Unbelievers will be separated from God and all good forever, consigned to a place of fire and torment. Hell is a real place without God just as heaven is a real place with Him.
God’s justice is perfect since He leaves the choice of our eternal destiny to us. He gives us the option to choose life based on His mercy and His gift of righteousness which Jesus made possible by removing our guilt by His own sacrifice. Our choice carries with it the inevitable outcome of life or death. We choose our path and our destination.
Why would any sane-thinking person choose an eternal destiny in the torment of hell when God offers us eternal bliss in His presence?
Jesus gives us the only possible answer…
John 3:19 NLT
[19] “And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.”
Those who love their sin more than the hope of eternal life will receive, in the end, what they chose…and no one can blame God for what they get!
On the other hand, those who choose life, who win the war between the flesh and the spirit, will get what they chose and fought to keep…eternal, everlasting life.
FOUNDATION STONES – 3
WATCH YOUR TONGUE
Proverbs 18:21 NIV
[21] “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”
The next stone to build into our foundation for a healthy life is the “stone” of what we say. Jesus told us that the mouth is the opening from which what is in our hearts flows.
Luke 6:45 NLT
[45] “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.”
This shows us how closely our hearts and mouths are connected.
There are serious consequences for good or evil that come from what we say. Proverbs 18 highlights the end result of our words…life or death! How often a cruel or thoughtless word can damage a child’s life to the end of his days. Words like, “You can do better,” “You’ll never amount to anything,” or “Why are you so stupid?” can kill a child’s heart and drag him down to self-destruction.
James warns God’s people about the problem of a polluted heart.
James 1:26 NLT
[26] “If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.”
He has harsh words for those who claim to be believers but can’t or don’t control their tongues.
James 3:2, 4-12 NLT
[2] “Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way…
[4] And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. [5] In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. [6] And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. [7] People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, [8] but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. [9] Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. [10] And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! [11] Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? [12] Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.”
Our tongues, then, are the fountainhead of what is in our hearts. If good and evil flow from the same mouth, be sure that the heart is evil and the good that comes from it is polluted.
David gives us sound advice.
Psalms 34:12-13 NLT
[12] “Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous? [13] Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies!”
First, then, as I have already written, is the importance of filling our hearts with the truth of God’s pure Word. We also know that we have the potential to speak evil things because we still have our old nature inside us which demands attention and influences us to speak what it thinks without considering the consequences.
To guard our lips, then, is to think first and then speak, disciplining our hearts to release the truth that is in us rather than the first thing that comes into our heads.
Isaiah 12 has a wonderful prescription for releasing the water from a pure fountain.
Isaiah 12:3-6 NLT
[3] “With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation! [4] In that wonderful day you will sing: “THANK the Lord! PRAISE his name! TELL the nations what he has done. Let them know how mighty he is! [5] SING to the Lord, for he has done wonderful things. Make known his praise around the world. [6] Let all the people of Jerusalem SHOUT his praise with joy! For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you.”
Here’s the cure for a polluted heart. Drink deeply from the wells of salvation. Then thank, praise, tell, sing, and shout what the Lord has done.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT
[18] “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
THE SCRATCH PATCH
THE SCRATCH PATCH
I love the scratch patch! Millions of tumbled semi-precious stones waiting to be looked for, pounced on, turned over, held up, squinted at, admired and stowed in a tin for purchase and for use at some later stage when the desire to create overwhelms me. Look at this one! It’s colours are subtle, muted, blended to perfection by a skilful Creator. Ooh! Look at this one! Each one is more fascinating, inviting, sending the imagination into a frenzy of “What can I do with this one? How can I use that one?”
The scratch patch is relaxing, therapeutic, soothing. I can sit among the gems and forget my troubles. Every stone begs for attention. “Look at me. No, look at me.” Such an array of shapes, contours and edges, patterns and colours stirs the imagination with excitement and anticipation. Hours of pure pleasure pass unnoticed. Ideas fizz and pop inside my brain as my collection grows. At last, my tin is full of stones, just the right shape and colour for everything I might want to do with them.
The scratch patch reminds me of words, an array to choose from, firing the imagination with mental pictures as vivid as the shapes and colours of the scratch patch stones. I communicate with words. I build or break down bridges between myself and others with words. I search for words as I search for stones. My mind becomes the ‘scratch patch’, picking up a word here, turning it over, fingering its shape, admiring its nuances, questioning its meaning, “Does it fit here? Does it express my thought to perfection?”
A sentence is like a precious gem. Nouns, verbs, adjectives — each word giving shape and colour to a thought. Hang the thoughts on a string and an idea forms, a blend of beauty and symmetry like a necklace of sparkling jewels, a gift to someone who needs help.
Words can do far more than their individual meaning. They have power to hurt or heal, power to build or destroy, power to lead into truth and hope or into error and despair.
Therefore, I must continually ask the question, “What shall I do with my words?” As I choose my stones to create a necklace to adorn the neck of someone I love, let me also choose from my ‘scratch patch’ of words those which will adorn my tongue with beauty, peace, and life as a choice gift to my neighbour.
From the fruit of their mouth
a person’s stomach is filled;
with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied.
21 The tongue has the power of life and death,
and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:20-21