Skip to main content

Delighting in the Truth: The Last Things, by Pastor Charlie Handren

By Anonymous
     From January to March, we are offering a series of devotionals on our Membership Affirmation of Faith. Our aim in this series is to help Glory of Christ grow in our understanding of truth, our love of the God of truth, our love of one another, and our love of unbelievers. The Affirmation is made up of eight articles of faith, the eighth of which is entitled “The Last Things” and reads as follows:
We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body and the final judgment of all people, leading to the eternal happiness of the righteous in the Lord’s presence, and the eternal separation of the wicked from the presence of the Lord. (Matthew 16:27; Mark 14:62; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; Phil. 3:20; I Thessalonians 4:15-8; II Timothy 4:1; Titus 2:13; I Corinthians 4:5; I Corinthians 15; II Thessalonians 1:7-10; Revelation 20:11-15)
     The topic of “the last things” is simultaneously popular and controversial among Christians worldwide. It’s popular because it’s important for us to have some understanding of what the Lord has said about it, and because it can be entertaining. Indeed, some Christians have built large ministries, made names for themselves, and turned a massive profit by teaching about the last things. This topic is also controversial because the Bible is difficult to understand at points and it’s either unclear or silent at other points. Most of the differences of interpretation come from these very points, and these differences have sadly led to a variety of divisions within the body of Christ.
     Despite this reality, the last things are important for one reason: the Lord has spoken about them and his children would be wise to listen to what he has said. And as we do, we should first focus on the things that are clear and build unity with other believers on the basis of these things.
     The statement above captures the most essential elements of the last things, so as you reflect on them, take some time to ponder the following questions, preferably along with other believers: (1) How can a better understanding of the last things help us to worship God? (2) How can a better understanding of the last things help us to love other believers? (3) How can a better understanding of the last things help us to gain a greater passion to share the gospel with unbelievers near and far?



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

To Have My Soul Happy in the Lord, by George Muller

By Anonymous
To Have My Soul Happy in the Lord By George Muller “It has pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, the benefit of which I have not lost for more than fourteen years. The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, or how I might glorify the Lord, but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. “I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God—not prayer, but the Word of God. And here again, not the simple reading of the Word of God so that it only passes through my mind just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what I read, pondering over it, and applying it to my heart. To meditate on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed. And that thus,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Reflective Glory: How the Moon Displays the Mercy of God

By
Our sun is a fitting metaphor for the glory of God. In the context of our solar system, it is massive, bright, beautiful, powerful, self-sufficient, heat-producing, life-giving, and dangerous. It is, by far, the dominant feature of our solar system and without it the system would fling apart and all living things therein would die.  On the other hand, our moon is a fitting metaphor for human beings, especially for those who believe in Jesus Christ. First, compared to the sun, the moon is tiny and dim. The sun is 400 times larger than the moon, its mass is 27 million times greater than the mass of the moon, and from our perspective its light shines 450,000 times brighter than that of the moon. The sun is so much greater than the moon that it’s difficult to quantify and express the difference. Likewise, the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is so much great than each and all of us that it’s impossible to quantify or express the difference. Indeed, the Lord is very great and greatly...
Post a Comment
Read more

When Children Say "I'm Bored" By Julie Lowe

By
This Article is written by Julie Lowe and was originally posted on the CCEF blog.  I highlighted the areas of particular interest. I had already prepared a blogpost on dealing with boredom from a Christian worldview and then came across this. There is much overlap between the two, perhaps this one is more concise while my work attempts to explain the connection between the ability to think and the ability to be happy. You can visit the original blogpost in the link provided below.  https://www.ccef.org/resources/blog/children-say-im-bored   We have a common crisis in our home; it is the calamity of boredom. Our children might even consider it a catastrophe. “I’m bored” is repeated so often it would not be an overstatement to say that these words echo continuously throughout our home especially during any break from school. These are children with limited media time but still children with a Wii and Xbox system, a pool outside our door, multiple games, toy...
Post a Comment
Read more