Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Dec 28th, 2023 Before It’s Too Late

Today’s Passages – Revelation 11 – 15 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – Psalms 136 – 140; Proverbs 28)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Deuteronomy 32:4

“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” (Revelation 14:6 & 7)

I have always been fascinated with the Book of Revelation. In it, we see the final destruction of the earth, and the judgment of all of those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ. However, in the midst of all of the judgment and destruction are many invitations for people to come to Christ. Chapter 14 in particular reveals this truth. The last verse in the chapter is traditionally understood to be about the final battle in the Tribulation Period known as the Battle of Armageddon. Not much of a battle really. Christ is going to return and completely destroy all that oppose Him. Notice, though, that prior to this great battle, even right before the final destruction, God was inviting people to come to Christ. The chapter begins with a discussion about the 144,000 who are evangelists covering the earth with the gospel of Christ. Next, we read about three angels that are flying around the skies warning people about the impending judgment, and inviting them to trust Christ. You see, God is not willing that any should perish. Even at the very end, He is inviting people to turn to Him.

I am no history expert, but I think I remember hearing that before we dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki we warned the people of the coming destruction by dropping leaflets from planes. I may have my facts mixed up a little, but I have heard that our government is known to warn the innocent, so that they can be saved. It kind of reminds me of what God is doing here in these passages. Yes, the judgment is certainly coming, but God is willing to save any and all that will come to Him before that day comes.

How about you? Have you heeded the warning from God regarding the coming judgment? You see, my friend, the wages of our sin is eternal death; but God in His mercy and grace is willing to save anybody who is willing to turn from their sin unto the Saviour. If you haven’t yet trusted Christ, I encourage you to read the “Are You Saved?” page on this blog.

Now to those of you who are saved, don’t ever give up on your unsaved loved ones. Keep praying for them, and preaching to them. As we have seen in this passage, God is going to keep giving them opportunities to repent, even at the very end. We should have the same attitude. Keep trying to win them, keep inviting them, keep reaching out to them, keep loving them, even until the end of our earthly lives.  It may be that last try that convinces them that Christ is their only hope.

Dec 27th, 2023 He Alone is Worthy

Today’s Passage – Revelation 4 – 10 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – Psalms 131 – 135; Proverbs 27)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – 1 Timothy 1:17

Read the “1227 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from today’s passage – “Come Up Hither“

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” (Revelation 4:11)

“And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;” (Revelation 5:9)

“Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.” (Revelation 5:12)

Three times in our passage today, there are references to Jesus being “worthy”. In chapter four, He is found worthy because He created all things, including you and me. In chapter five, He is found to be the only one that was worthy to open up the seven seals. He was  worthy because he “wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by [his] blood”. We owe everything to the Lord, so He alone is worthy.

He Is Worthy Of Our Praise

“Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.” (Psalms 150:6)

“O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;” (Psalms 107:1-2)

He Is Worthy Of Our Service

“Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.” (Psalms 2:11)

“Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.” (Psalms 100:2)

He Is Worthy Of Our Sacrifice

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1)

We spend a lot of time praising men, serving those who will serve us back, and sacrificing for ourselves; but Christ alone is worthy of all of these. This year, let us determine to put Christ at the very center of our lives; let us conform to His will, yield to His Spirit, fulfill His commission. He alone is worthy of all of our devotion and effort.

Dec 30th, 2019 You’re Invited!

Today’s Passage – Revelation 20 – 22 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – Psalms 146 – 150; Proverbs 30)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – 1 John 3:1

Read the “1230 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from today’s passage – “Behold, I Make All Things New“

“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (Revelation 22:17)

First of all, I want to congratulate those of you who have journeyed with us this year through the Bible. Reading the Bible through each year is quite an accomplishment, and it is also very rewarding. Some who are reading this post may not have been completely faithful in your reading at times; perhaps you were “hit and miss”. I have often been there myself. Don’t be discouraged! Try again this year. Our new journey begins January 1st in the Book of Genesis. I am excited again to offer an even more intense “Second Milers” program this year for those who desire to take their walk with God to a higher level.

Have you ever taken notice of all of the invitations there are in the Bible? Here at the very end of the Bible is another invitation for people to come to Christ. Have you received Jesus Christ as your Saviour? Have you received that new birth that Jesus spoke of in John chapter 3?  Jesus loves you very much, and desires for you to come to Him. He won’t force anybody to come; but as you can clearly see from the verse above, He invites you to come. All throughout the Bible, God has always offered an opportunity for people to turn from their sin unto Him. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, He still desires a relationship with you.  Mind boggling, isn’t it. Why would God desire us? Maybe you’re a Christian, and you have strayed away from God’s will. God invites you too to come back to Him. He never stopped loving you either, no matter how far away you’ve wandered.

A final note to those of you who are doing well spiritually: God wants you to come in a little closer. John tells us in his gospel that God wants us to have “life more abundantly”. Every day of our life ought to be more abundant than the day before. Why? Because every day we ought to be drawing closer to Him. Make this new year the year that God gets all of you, the year that you surrender more fully to the will of God; the year that you are wholly yielded to the Spirit of God. Who knows, this may be year that Christ comes to take us home to Heaven. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. What a blessing it is to be a child of the King!

Dec 29th, 2019 Supper’s Almost Ready

Today’s Passage – Revelation 16 – 19 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read – Psalms 141 – 145; Proverbs 29)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – James 4:10

Read the “1229 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from today’s passage – “It Will All Be Gone Someday”

“And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.”  (Revelation 19:9)

I must confess that I really don’t understand all that is going to take place during that period of time called the Great Tribulation. I know that it will be a horrible time for those living on the earth for both the saved and the lost. I know also that it will be a time of rejoicing and receiving in Heaven. You might think that those words are not exactly adequate to describe what will take place there in that day, but maybe after I explain you will understand what I mean.

The rejoicing part is rather self-evident. We will do a lot of rejoicing in Heaven. In chapter 19, we see the words, Alleluia, Amen, and Praise used repeatedly. The angels will be rejoicing, as well as the Saints. We will probably get a little glimpse as to what is going on in the earth while we are in Heaven awaiting the end of the Tribulation. We will see the destruction of God’s enemies. We will watch the destruction of Babylon, with all of the political power and false worship that it represented. God will win. We know that now through faith in his Word. I remember hearing a song years ago entitled, “I Read The Back of the Book and We Win”. That’s the truth! We are reading about it prophetically now, but someday soon we will see it. We should probably learn to rejoice now, shouldn’t we?

The Tribulation period will also be a time of receiving for those who are experiencing the events from Heaven. What will we receive? Well, for one, we will receive rewards for the works that we did for the Lord while we were on earth. The Bible calls those rewards “crowns”. I don’t know if I will receive any rewards or not, but one thing I know – I really don’t deserve any. Jesus deserves all the glory. Anything I did for His Kingdom that was of any value, He did through me anyway. I guess that is why the Bible says that we will cast those rewards back at the feet of Jesus.

What else will we receive? Well, I believe that all throughout the Tribulation Period we will be receiving new saints in Heaven. Saints that have made their robes white in the blood of the lamb through martyrdom. I believe that many will be saved during this period, but I also believe that most of those that get saved, will be martyred. We don’t know much about persecution in the time that we are living in today, especially in America; but most of these Tribulation saints will be faithful unto death. Every day, more will arrive. Heroes of the faith that chose death rather than live in allegiance to Satan.

Then, we will receive some supper. It is called a supper isn’t it? I wonder what we will eat? Can you imagine sitting at a table with the Lord and all of the saints? As I said before, I couldn’t possibly know all that will happen, but I do know that it will be wonderful, because everything He does is wonderful.

Dec 30th, 2012 Behold, I Make All Things New

Today’s Passage – Revelation 20 – 22; (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read –Psalms 146 – 150; Proverbs 30)

Memory passage for the month of November – Luke 1:26 – 38

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 47:1

“And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.” – (Revelation 21:5)

The context of Revelation 21 is the unveiling of the city, New Jerusalem. This is the beautiful place that God has prepared for his bride to live out eternity in. We won’t actually get to move in until after the end of the 1000 year Millennial Reign of Christ on the earth, but, I assure you, it will be worth the wait. As we read about the description given of this city in the chapter, we see that it is unlike any earthly city. It is a place of exquisite beauty. It also is unique in its dimensions: it apparently is a perfect cube, which means that law of gravity will no longer be the same there. There will be no night there, and the light for the entire city will be the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. What a place! I can’t wait to get there.

As we are approaching the New Year, I have been thinking a lot lately about the phrase in verse 5: “behold, I make all things new”. God is a master at putting away the old, and creating the new. The chapter above speaks of the passing away of the old heaven and earth, and the revealing of the new. People who have trusted Christ as Saviour are said to be “new creatures” in Christ. God purges out the old, unprofitable us, and recreates us into His image; and someday, we will have a glorified, new body to spend eternity in.

New Years is a time when we reflect on the old year, and determine to make the necessary changes in our life that God would want us to make. For the Christian, I believe the greatest resolution that we can make is to surrender our stubborn wills to the will of God; to quit resisting His Holy Spirit as He conforms us to the image of Christ. The great goal of all Christians for the New Year should be to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. However, there may be some other sub-categories of goals, or resolutions, that all help us achieve the greater goal. It may be that we will resolve to spend more time in the Bible, or in prayer. It may be that we will determine to witness to all of our friends and family. It may be that we will want stop doing some things that are inconsistent with what God would want for our lives. These are all good resolutions because they all point to the greater goal of Christ-likeness.

As you consider the approaching New Year, make your relationship with Christ your number one priority. As Paul the Apostle said:

“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;” – (Philippians 3:10)

Dec 27th, 2012 Come Up Hither

Today’s Passage – Revelation 4 – 10; (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read –Psalms 131 – 135; Proverbs 27)

Memory passage for the month of November – Luke 1:26 – 38

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 47:1

Dec 26th, 2012 Behold, I Stand at the Door, and Knock

Today’s Passage – Jude – Revelation 3; (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)

(Second Milers also read –Psalms 126 – 130; Proverbs 26)

Memory passage for the month of November – Luke 1:26 – 38

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 47:1

Dec 30th, 2011 Come to Jesus

Today’s Passages – Revelation 20 – 22; Proverbs 30

(Second Milers also read – Psalms 146 – 150; Memorize – Luke 1:35)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 18:3 & 46

“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (Revelation 22:17)

First of all, I want to congratulate those of you who have journeyed with us this year through the Bible. Reading the Bible through each year is quite an accomplishment, and it is also very rewarding. Some who are reading this post may not have been completely faithful in your reading at times; perhaps you were “hit and miss”. I have often been there myself. Don’t be discouraged! Try again this year. Our new journey begins January 1st in the Book of Genesis. I am excited again to offer an even more intense “Second Milers” program this year for those who desire to take their walk with God to a higher level. You will find more information on this program on the page entitled “Second Milers”

Just a quick though from our reading today that is similar to what was posted a couple of days ago regarding invitations. Here at the very end of the Bible is another invitation for people to come to Christ. Have you received Jesus Christ as your Saviour? Have you received that new birth that Jesus spoke of in John chapter 3?  Jesus loves you very much, and desires for you to come to Him. He won’t force anybody to come; but as you can clearly see from the verse above, He invites you to come. All throughout the Bible, God has always offered an opportunity for people to turn from their sin unto Him. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, He still desires a relationship with you.  Mind boggling, isn’t it. Why would God desire us? Maybe you’re a Christian, and you have strayed away from God’s will. God invites you too to come back to Him. He never stopped loving you either, no matter how far away you’ve wandered.

A final note to those of you who are doing well spiritually: God wants you to come in a little closer. John tells us in his gospel that God wants us to have “life more abundantly”. Every day of our life ought to be more abundant than the day before. Why? Because every day we ought to be drawing closer to Him. Make 2012 the year that God gets all of you, the year that you surrender more fully to the will of God; the year that you are wholly yielded to the Spirit of God. Who knows, this may be year that Christ comes to take us home to Heaven. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. What a blessing it is to be a child of the King!

Dec 29th, 2011 It Will All Be Gone Someday

Today’s Passages – Revelation 16 – 19; Proverbs 29

(Second Milers also read – Psalms 141 – 145)

“Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.” – (Revelation 18:8-10)

I must confess that I feel completely inadequate to discuss much of the truth contained in this Book of Revelation. I have studied this marvelous and mysterious book, and have even attempted to teach through it twice to our church in the last ten years. Still, there is much that I do not understand. In chapter 18, we read about the destruction of the City of Babylon. I am not exactly sure whether or not this city is actually a modern, re-built version of the old city in Iraq; or if it is just symbolic of the capital of Antichrist’s headquarters wherever that may be. I have heard some say that it is Rome, but I don’t know. My gut feeling tells me that it is actually Babylon. I like to take the Bible at its face value; literally.

At any rate, this city represents all that the world values: wealth, culture, power, education. This is the very capitol of the world system, and is the seat of government for Antichrist. The lost people that will be alive when this happens will be completely shocked at what will take place when this city is destroyed. They will not believe that anything could ever happen to that great and powerful city. But in one day, it will all be destroyed.

My thought this morning is that we do not think that anything like this can happen to us either. Even Christians who should know better have somewhat placed their trust in what this world offers them. We have become very comfortable and affluent. We are rather enjoying our little sojourn down here on the earth, and we sometimes forget why we are here. We don’t think anything can happen to our own little empire. But in one day we, too, could lose everything. It only takes one phone call from the doctor’s office; one pink slip in your the envelope; one catastrophe; and everything that we know and love could change forever. You see, the Scripture is very clear that we are not to put our trust in anything but the Lord, and He has the tendency to shake up our world every once in a while, maybe just to get our attention. Remember Christian, we are here on a mission for the Lord. We are not supposed to get too comfortable down here on the earth. We are on a mission,  God’s ambassadors to this fallen, sin-cursed world. Heaven is our true kingdom, the New Jerusalem is the city that we hail from; and that city is eternal. Let’s not put our trust in the shifting sand of this world. Someday, all that the people of this world hold dear will be gone. This life on earth is temporary; don’t live for it. Live for the eternal life that you have long after this world is gone.

Dec 27th, 2011 I Can’t Wait!

Today’s Passages – Revelation 4 – 8; Revelation 9 – 10; Proverbs 27

(Second Milers also read – Psalms 131 – 135; Memorize – Luke 1:35)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – 1 John 4:7 & 8

“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.” – (Revelation 4:1)

Let’s compare the Scripture above with two others:

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” – (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” – (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)

I do not think that there can be any doubt that Revelation 4:1 is a wonderful picture of what is known as the rapture, which is actually the “catching away” or raising and resurrecting of all believers on the earth. In Revelation chapters two and three we have the seven letters to the churches in Asia Minor. Once we get to chapter four, there is no longer references to churches, because all of the believers of the Church Age have been removed from the earth and are now in Heaven. The focus in the Book of Revelation from chapter four on is the Nation of Israel. At this point in the prophecy, God is now turning His attention back on the nation of Israel and will remove their blindness, because “the fullness of the Gentiles” has come in. (Romans 11:25)

I look forward to the day when the Lord will come and take me home to Heaven, and I believe that day will be very soon. However, I am not just waiting for the rapture, I am “occupying” till He comes for me. God wants us to stay busy for Him right up until He returns for us. I want live my life today with the sense of urgency that His return is imminent, yet I must be working and planning and building as if the day of His appearing is yet many years away. Peter tells us that the reason He hasn’t come for us already is because that He is long-suffering, “not willing that any should perish”. There are still a lot of folks who need to be saved, and it is our job to reach them before it is too late. Paul said that he desired to be in Heaven with the Lord because it was “far better”; but he also said that it was needful to remain on the earth until he had finished the work that the Lord had for him to do.

I can’t wait to get to Heaven, but there is still a lot of work to do here on the earth. Let’s get busy. Maybe if we will finally get serious about the commission the Lord gave us, He will take us home sooner.