Heaven and Earth Are Passing

I realized something this morning in my Bible Study. It is not us that is passing through this world, it is this world that is passing. I know, how can that be when it is us that are going to die. Yes, we are going to die, and when we do, we will go to Heaven as it is today. But remember, Heaven today is not the New Heaven or the New Earth. The New Heaven and New Earth are coming down after the final battle is won and Christ has come again.

“¹Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” – Revelation 21:1 (ESV)

Here, John tells of what he saw in Heaven. What was Heaven and Earth would be no more and the New Heaven and New Earth were revealed. So while we will be passing from this world. This world is passing and we will experience the New Heaven and New Earth when they come down. This world that we know now will be no more.

I have to remember that all that God created is good, His word says so in Genesis 1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25, & 31. Yet we, man, messed it all up with our sin. Thankfully, it was in God’s plan for the renewal of man and all that He had created. Man renewed by the Spirit through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son Jesus. And then the Earth was renewed once the evil one is defeated.

“¹⁷For behold, I create new heavens

and a new earth,

and the former things shall not be remembered

or come into mind.”

— Isaiah 65:17 (ESV)

So, God will not just remove all the sin from the world and things will go on as they have without the evil in the world. God will be starting over once evil has been defeated. Heaven and Earth as they are today will be replaced with the New Heaven and New Earth for us to live in for eternity with Him. Everything God created is good or very good and He will be returning it all to be as good and very good as originally made.

What is your thoughts on what is passing? Is it you who is passing on to the next? What is you were to remember that all God created was good and very good and that He will create it again as New for us to experience as He intended?

Concern Yourself with Good

This morning as usual, I read the entire chapter or full titled section to gain context for my study. I found it more challenging this morning as I read through Proverbs 24 as I was looking for the context and not just allowing the verse/stanza to speak for itself.

“¹⁹Fret not yourself because of evildoers,

and be not envious of the wicked,

²⁰for the evil man has no future;

the lamp of the wicked will be put out.”

— Proverbs 24:19-20 (ESV)

The above is where I was led this morning for my Bible Study. Proverbs is always a good and interesting place for me be. It is really, in my view, a collection of what to do and what to stay away from. Even the introduction in my ESV Bible indicates that it is a “collection of Israelite wisdom literature”. The verses and stanzas can stand by themselves in a lot of cases.

I am to concern myself with good and know that evil and wickedness will be taken care of by the LORD. When I am presented with evil and wicked, I am to move on and turn to good with my attention and focus. Yes, there is a time for me to work to overcome darkness with the light of the LORD. He will give me those opportunities as I seek to do the Will of the LORD. But, I am also to remember that if/when the LORD is not accepted, I am to move on.

“¹⁴And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. ¹⁵Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.” – Matthew 10:14-15 (ESV)

There is no kingdom gain from the continued concern with the evil and wicked. I will only waste away as I try to change them as after all, I cannot, only the LORD can. I plant seeds of the LORD and then He takes over to grow in the heart. Once I have completed my work, I am to move on to the next.

Yes, I can and should continue to pray that God’s Will be done in the heart of the evil and wicked. I am to ask that the LORD continue to do His work. But, I am to move on and not concern myself with more work, once my work is done. I am to move on to the good and devote my concern there.

So, as noted in verse 19 from Proverbs 24 above, I have to “fret not” with regard to that of the evildoers and the wicked. I have to move on to the good and do the work the LORD has for me.

What is your thought on interactions with the evil and wicked? Are you pouring and concerning all of yourself into them? What if you were to plant the seed and then move on to the next good, allowing the LORD to grow the seed?

It is All God’s Will

Everything in this world is from God, and I mean everything.

“¹⁰But he said to her, ‘You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?’” – Job 2:10a (ESV)

See above from the book of Job. Job understood that everything comes from God. He did not expect that only good would come from God, but that all things would come from Him. And Job was not alone, take Abraham. He understood to follow God through it all, even if that meant sacrificing his son Isaac. And take Noah, he understood the destruction of the world through flood was of God just as the safety of his family on the ark. Everything is from God and is His Will.

It is hard to accept that bad things happen as a part of God’s Will. We attribute all things good to God and cannot understand when things are not good that they are indeed part of His will. When things are against us, we do not accept that it is all part of His plan for this world and our lives. Yet it is the ebb and flow of our life that we have to trust from the LORD. He allows things to happen for the benefit of His overall plan, which we are not aware of, no matter how much we want or believe we should.

Our conversations with the LORD daily, prayer, are the place where we find out what is in store for the short run. God let’s us in on the immediate actions that are needed and that these will lead to the accomplishments of His plans.

In the now, I have some knee pain which leads me to not get my morning/daily exercise. This led me to add my health to my prayer list. I have daily conversations with the LORD asking Him for relief. The interesting thing is that as I look at things, I am getting a little bit more sleep, as I am delaying getting out of bed for about 45 minutes in the mornings and that in and of itself results in a little better health. The LORD is working on my health in the now by taking away something, yes, but adding another area that I was not thinking.

I have to remember that the LORD has my interests in mind as He takes me through this world to work for His glory and the completion of tasks as needed for His will to manifest. I have to remember the last part of verse 10 from above that I did not add until here:

“¹⁰In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” – Job 2:10b (ESV)

What is your view of all that comes or happens in your life? Are you looking to the LORD for only the good? What if you realized it is all for the Will of God?

Your Good Deeds Will not be Seen as Such

Ever wonder why it is that when good deeds are done, they are not seen as just that, good deeds? I know that I do and struggle with it on the regular. There seems to always this thought of other intent. Things are not just accepted as they are.

“¹After this the king of the Ammonites died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place. ²And David said, ‘I will deal loyally with Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father dealt loyally with me.’ So David sent by his servants to console him concerning his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the Ammonites.” – 2 Samuel 10:1-2 (ESV)

Here we have an instance of the death of a king and David sent his servants to serve up his sympathy to the son. As we see things here, David was just being a good neighbor and showing support during a time of sorrow. We do not see any motives to the contrary, and isn’t that how things should be. Regardless of the dealings had with someone, in their time of sorrow, we should be gracious to them.

“³But the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, ‘Do you think, because David has sent comforters to you, that he is honoring your father? Has not David sent his servants to you to search the city and to spy it out and to overthrow it?’ 4So Hanun took David’s servants and shaved off half the beard of each and cut off their garments in the middle, at their hips, and sent them away” – 2 Samuel 10:3-4 (ESV)

And there it is. Even as David sent his servants in good faith, they were accused of ill intent and dealt with as if it were true.

The evil one is constantly looking to undermine the work of the LORD. Where we do know that the LORD will prevail, the individual battles daily are going to go the way of the evil one from time to time. We have to know and be ready for the undermining activity of the evil one and work with and for the LORD to overcome. Even when our motives are as they appear, there will be doubt sewn in by the evil one and we will be dealt with as though we are to the contrary.

It is not easy in this world and the LORD never promised or even said that it would be. I have to remember that as I work to do the will of Him. I have work to do and I should be doing that work according to the instructions that He provides for me. I have to remember that no matter the thoughts of others, it is the work in the name of the LORD and I have to just do the work and move on to the next that God has for me. I have to know and understand that the evil one will always be there to distort the truth, but as the LORD is truth, He will prevail.

What is your view of doing the right thing? Are you seeing that your motives are undermined? What if you approached things to do the will of the LORD and know that He will prevail regardless of the way others see them?

Overcome Thanks to God

“⁴Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” – 1 John 4:4 (ESV)

As Christians having accepted Jesus Christ as our savior, He is in us. As you see in the above verse, He is greater than those in the world. This lets me know that with Him in me, there is nothing that I cannot overcome. And the evil in the world is no exception.

There is evil there is good in the world. The evil is powerful and speaks to the world to which it listens. But the good comes from God and when good speaks whoever knows God listens. Notice the difference in the speaking and listening impacts. Those who know God listen to Him and those who do not know God, listen to the world.

“⁶We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.” – 1 John 4:6 (ESV)

Thanks to God, we know the difference in truth and “error”. Even with minimal maturity in Christ as noted in verse four above, “little children”, we still are armed with Christ in our heart and lives to overcome. We know God and will listen to Him and those who are from God.

I have to remember though to remain in and with God. It is my daily consistent counsel with Him which gives me strength to overcome. When I am connected with God, I am connected with good and good overcomes evil, God overcomes evil and therefore I overcome evil. I overcome thanks to God.

What are you relying on to overcome? Are you relying on your own strength? What if you relied on the good that is in you thanks to God being in you as He is greater than all?

Overcome Evil with Good

This morning as I continue my study of the word “overcome” I come again to the overcoming of evil as I did once before. I found that the darkness (evil) does not overcome the light of the LORD. And this morning I am reminded that we overcome evil (darkness) with good and that good is the LORD.

“²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” and “²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” – Romans 12:21 & 2 (ESV)

I know, again I quote verses in reverse order of their writings. Verse 21 tells of how to overcome but, without the context of verse 2 there is some lacking in what is good. I learned a lot of years ago that in the study of God’s Word, it is important to read before and after the verse of focus to fully understand the context so as to apply our lives to God’s Word as opposed to fitting Him into our lives.

I need good in my life to overcome evil. Where does that good come from except from the LORD. I have to be in His Word daily to understand just where He would have me go and what He would have me do. When I am focused on the will of God for and in my life, I am able to find the good in all things. With that good I will be able to shine bright for the LORD and the darkness will be cast away. Evil has no chance against the good that is Jesus Christ. And it is up to me to bring that good to the world always.

Now, I know that I will be beaten down from time to time. I have in my past felt as though I am not getting anywhere and that the whole world was/is against me. Lori and I have been in the situation where we feel as though God may not be with us. We felt as though the evil one was winning. But we keep with Christ, looking to Him for guidance and comfort and over time, He brings us through to the other side. We have overcome the evil as we have stayed with God and the good that He is. We have found ourselves better for coming through and overcoming.

“⁵I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5 (ESV)

God is good and good overcomes evil. For me I have to remain in Him and He will remain in me so that I can do all things.

How are you overcoming evil? Are you looking for the physical to break you free? What if you remained in God who is good and allowed Him to overcome evil?

Righteous do Good and Suffer

What, do good and suffer. Yes, as a follower of Christ we are to do good. As a result we are not going to necessarily be in line with the society or world around us and for that we will suffer.

“¹⁷For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. ¹⁸For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,” – 1 Peter 3:17 – 18 (ESV)

Jesus came to this world and was filled with and did good, as we know, He did not sin. He came for you and for me. He was the righteous one and yet He suffered greatly for you and for me. He died, even when He did not have to, for you and for me. And think about it, He was continually doing good and yet the world around Him persecuted Him.

In looking into this world, I see a lot going on. I see those that are doing what is put out as being good, only to find out that it was completely self-serving. Now, I do not claim to know the hearts of those doing the work, it could be that they were just naive in their thinking and actions. Then there are those who do the work of the LORD, regardless of the consequences. I think of those looking to provide support in North Carolina and being turned away as they did not “follow the protocols”. Those people are not looking for any recognition, only looking to help and yet the suffering for doing good is present.

I have to remember the example of Christ. I have to be the example of Christ. I have to be and do good. I have to know that it will not always be easy and know that I will be persecuted for it, suffer for it, and not fit in always, but it is the example that Christ left for me and it is the example that I have to leave for others.

What is your approach to doing good? Are you looking to get something out of it? What if you went into the good knowing that you will suffer for it and you were to press on anyway, demonstrating the example of Christ?

The Law is Righteous

I have to be speaking of the Law of God, right? I am of course, although as I was reading and working to understand my reading this morning, I was no so sure at the start. I was seeing things through the lens of man and not of God.

You see, sin cannot take hold of one if sin is not understood to be sin. Think about small children and the grocery store. The children will reach out and grab things from the shelf and unknowingly the adult leaves the store and the child will therefore have “stolen” the item. The child is not a sinner, as there was not an understanding that the sin had occurred. And in the animal kingdom, killing is a part of the circle of life and is not considered sin. In each of the above circumstances, for me if I were to commit either of those, I would have sinned. And so, the law of God was introduced through Moses to call out the sin and define it for you and me.

“¹²So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.” – Romans 7:12 (ESV)

The law of God is holy, and righteous, and good. The LORD would not have introduced them if they were not. The Ten Commandments that are referenced here by Paul were given to the people to deter them from sin. They are for our benefit to keep us on the path to righteousness. They are good and fair and healthy to uphold.

Paul specifically refers to the commandment related to covetousness. We are not to covet that which is not ours. If the commandment had not been introduced, then we would not know that covetousness is even something to be concerned with. I can see something and believe in its goodness and want to have something like it, but now, I know that I should not want that thing exactly. And there is the conflict with my heart and in my body. The commandment is there to let me know it is not right, yet all I can think of is how I want it.

The law is in place to guide and are put in place with all good intention by the one who placed it there. Regardless of where the law comes from, it was enacted with the right intention at the time and for the one who enacted. The thing is that laws of man are of the flesh and the Law of God is of the heart. God’s Law is for all and man’s law is for the one. Therefore, God’s Law is righteous. Man’s law may come from righteous thought and/or action, yet they are generally directed at a select situation and not for all.

I have to do things according to God’s Law to ensure that I am taking actions that are righteous. I know that there are others in this world with more than I have and to remember the commandment of covetousness and know that it is okay to want to have things like that, yet I have to avoid wanting what they have.

What is your view of the law? Are they there for you to do with what you please? What if you viewed the Law of God as righteous and for everyone as a guide through this world?

Fathers are Good

What a statement, not just from me, from our Father in heaven.

“¹¹What father among you, if his son asks ford a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; ¹²or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” – Luke 11:11-13 (ESV)

I am pretty sure that we have all received a gift that was less than underwhelming from our fathers. We expected one thing and got something that we could not really see the value in. But I am also pretty sure that it was not intentionally given with an evil heart (there are those one off instances for sure). The thing is, Jesus has it right. When we ask for something, we are not given the opposite. Yes, it may not be exactly what we asked for, but it is of value to us.

When we receive from our father here in this world those things of value, then how much more value are the things we receive from our Father in heaven. It may not seem like it at the time, as the LORD gives based on need and less on want. I may want a steak for dinner, but only get a ham sandwich. My want was not filled, it was my need that was. The value from the LORD is packed in the provision. I have to remember contentment and then I will value all that I receive.

Fathers are good. They want for us to receive. They want for us to be fulfilled. If this is what we get from our fathers in this world, just imagine how much more we receive from our Father in heaven. Remember that the LORD gives a heavy coat to the animals in winter when they need it and wouldn’t He do the same for me.

What is your view of fathers? Are you looking to them to provide for your wants and when they are not meeting those wants are you disappointed? What if you saw fathers as good and wanting to meet your needs and then what if you saw our heavenly Father as greater than even that?