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!
Posted in Thoughts from Revelation by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
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.
Posted in Thoughts from Revelation by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.
Better
Today’s Passage – Philemon – Hebrews 4 (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 86 – 90; Proverbs 18)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Proverbs 27:15
Read the “1218 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” (Hebrews 1:4)
“But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.” (Hebrews 6:9)
“And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.” (Hebrews 7:7)
“For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.” (Hebrews 7:19)
“But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.” (Hebrews 8:6)
“For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.” (Hebrews 10:34)
“But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.” (Hebrews 11:16)
“Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:” (Hebrews 11:35)
“God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” (Hebrews 11:40)
“And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:24)
Did you ever notice how many times the word “better” is used in the Letter to the Hebrews? This epistle was written to Jewish people, both saved and lost. God was encouraging the saved Jews to not look back to what they had under the Old Testament Law, because that what they now have in Christ is better. God was also challenging the lost Hebrews to consider Christ as the fulfillment of all of the Messianic prophesies, and that He was in reality what all of their ceremonies, sacrifices, and traditions pointed to. Old Testament Judaism was only a shadow of the substance of New Testament Christianity. Christianity is better for all of the reasons mentioned in the verses above.
My goal this morning is not to go through all of the points made in Hebrews regarding the better relationship that the New Testament believer has when compared to the Old Testament Jew; but rather, I would like to simply state that my life is also much better since I have been saved. Like the song says:
“What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought since Jesus came into my heart.”
I have been a Christian now for over two and a half decades, and I can say without hesitation that the life I now live as a child of God is infinitely better than what I had before. Not that I don’t still have my trials and struggles with the flesh, which I certainly do; but there are just so many blessings associated with being a Christian. My life is better now, my family is better now, and my future is sealed, secure and full of hope. Talk about a retirement plan. What a great God we serve, and what an awesome Saviour. Have you stopped to consider today how much better your life is since Jesus came in?
Posted in Thoughts from Hebrews by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
Learn From The Past
Today’s Passages – 1 Corinthians 10 – 12 (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 6 – 10; Proverbs 2)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 18:3 & 46
Read the “1202 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Read previous posts from this passage – “Are You Unworthy?” and “Be Careful“
“But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.” (1 Corinthians 10:5-6)
“In history, a great volume is unrolled for our instruction, drawing the materials of future wisdom from the past errors and infirmities of mankind.”
Edmund Burke
“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
George Santayana
In 1 Corinthians 10, God gives us the example of the Children of Israel as they left Egypt and wandered through the wilderness on their way to the Land of Promise. The Bible references that there were people who did things that did not please God, which must mean that they were not acting in faith for “without faith it is impossible to please him”. There were many things that happened during their 40 years of wilderness wanderings that earned the chastisement of God: there was the golden calf, the rebellion against Moses, the numerous complaints about water and food, the griping about the manna, their lusting after the quail, and on and on it goes. In verse 6, however, we learn why God recorded all of these things in the Bible. They were examples for us to learn from, and hopefully not repeat.
1 We can learn from the past mistakes (and successes) of those recorded in the Bible.
2 We can learn from the past mistakes (and successes) of those who are with us today, particularly those who are older and have experienced a little more of life than we have.
3 We should also learn from our own past mistakes and successes.
We do not have to re-invent the wheel when we can take what others have learned and put it into practice in our lives; and we don’t have to see the bad history of others repeated in our own lives. Learn from the past!
Posted in Thoughts from 1 Corinthians by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
Finish Well
Today’s Passages – John 17 – 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 61 – 65; Proverbs 13)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 121
Read the “1113 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” (John 17:4)
I believe that John 17 is the real Lord’s Prayer. Jesus is about to be crucified, yet He spends this time shortly before His death praying for His disciples. He asks the father to shield them from evil, and to sanctify them through the Truth. He also asks that they would be unified, just as He was one with His Father. It is truly a beautiful prayer of intercession.
However, my thought this morning surrounds John 17:4. Jesus states that He was finished the work that He came to do, and that He did all to the glory of God. This verse reminds me of what the Apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:6 – 8:
“For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:6-8)
The Apostle Paul completed the task that God had given him, and I believe the record plainly shows that he also glorified God with his life. He finished well.
What a practical challenge this is for us today. We should be encouraged to be like our Lord and also like Paul in this regard. Let us strive to completely, efficiently, and enthusiastically fulfill God’s will for our lives, and let us make sure that everything that we do brings glory to the Lord. We need to make the Lord look good to the world around us. Our lives ought to be bright, shining lights that boldly declare that Jesus is Lord.
Posted in Thoughts from John by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
Mad About The Money
Today’s Passages – John 12 – 13 (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 51 – 55; Proverbs 11)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 92:1 – 4
Read the “1111 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Read previous posts from this passage – “Closet Christians” and “Servant Leadership“
“Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.” (John 12:4-6)
“Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.” (Matthew 26:14-16)
Have you ever been to a church business meeting where people were fussing and fighting over how the money was being spent? In our passage today, Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, took a very expensive ointment and poured it all out and anointed the Lord Jesus’ feet. Matthew’s gospel tells us that this ointment was worth three hundred pence, which is almost a years salary for a working man. Judas Iscariot thought that this was a tremendous waste of money. He said that the ointment should have been sold and given to the poor. He didn’t really care about the poor at all, but he did care about the money. Matthew’s account goes on to tell us that immediately after this event Judas set out to betray the Lord, and made the worst decision of his life – all because he got mad about the money.
Christian, be careful that you don’t get so concerned about money matters within the local church that it causes you to become angry, and then bitter, and then causes you to make stupid decisions. Jesus said:
“And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” (Luke 12:15)
I have been part of local churches for a long time now, and I don’t always agree with every decision made by the leadership, but as long as the gospel is going forth and the Bible is being preached and God is being glorified, I do not let myself get bogged down with minor disagreements. Money issues can be a stumbling block for many of us, so be careful not to get too caught up in the administrative details of the church, and keep your focus on what is eternally important.
Posted in Thoughts from John by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
Jesus Still Weeps
Today’s Passages – John 10 – 11 (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 46 – 50; Proverbs 10)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 92:1 – 4
Read the “1110 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Read a previous post from this passage – “The Door”
“Jesus wept.” – (John 11:35 )
Though this verse is short in length, it is long in truth because it reveals the heart of compassion that God has for His children. If you think carefully about this passage, you will conclude that Jesus was not weeping for Lazarus. He knew that He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead; He knew that Lazarus would soon be reunited with his sisters, Mary and Martha. In fact, Jesus delayed his arrival to Bethany long enough because had He gotten there earlier, we would have been reading about a healing rather than a resurrection. Jesus wanted to prove His power over death, and by so doing foreshadow his own resurrection. So why was Jesus weepin? I believe He was weeping because the people that He cared about were weeping. He identified with their grief. He actually felt the pain that they were feeling. It is comforting to know that even when Jesus allows difficult days to come into our lives, He goes through them with us; and He weeps with us.
As I was reading this passage, I got to thinking about another passage that tells us about our Saviour’s tears:
“But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.” – (Matthew 9:36)
In this passage Jesus looks out over the multitudes and He was “moved with compassion”, which means He wept for them. I believe at that moment Jesus not only saw the multitudes of that location and that time, but He also saw all of the people in every place throughout eternity that were without a Shepherd. He saw all of the people that were in need of a Saviour; and He saw all of the people who would ultimately die without Him. By the way, this verse has caused me to reject the Calvinistic idea that Christ created people to go to Hell, and does not give them a choice regarding salvation. Why would God weep over people that have no free will and were created to go to Hell. It just doesn’t make sense. No, “God is not willing that any should perish”. He wants people to be saved. Unfortunately, most will reject Him; and this will still cause God to weep.
Let me give you one more time where Jesus wept:
“And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” – (Luke 22:44)
In this passage, Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane and He is about to have the sins of the world placed squarely upon His shoulders. His Father will turn His face away from Him, and pour out His wrath upon His only Son. Our sin causes God to grieve. We grieve Jesus, and we grieve the Spirit within us, when we sin. Many people are kept inside the will of God because they fear His wrath or judgment; but I have to tell you, His tears are what bother me the most. I don’t want to grieve God anymore. I have caused Him enough tears already.
Posted in Thoughts from John by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.
Daddy
Today’s Passage – Mark 14 (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 111 – 115; Proverbs 23)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – 1 Timothy 1:17
Read the “1023 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.” (Mark 14:36)
“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15)
“And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” (Galatians 4:6)
In our passage today, we read of the heartbreaking story of our Saviour in the hours leading up to his crucifixion. Can you imagine what Jesus must have felt as He was betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter, and forsaken by the rest? The nation that He came to save was about to humiliate Him, beat Him, spit upon Him, and kill Him. And, in verse 36 above, He is in the Garden of Gethsemane with the three disciples who were His closest friends, and they could not even stay awake to pray with Him. I don’t think that we can fully comprehend the weight of sorrows that our Saviour bore for us that night.
However, in the Garden, He still had His daddy. The word “Abba” is an Aramaic word that most closely resembles the word “daddy” in our English language. It speaks of a warm, intimate relationship, as opposed to cold formality. It reminds us of the times as children when we could run and jump up into the arms of our earthly dads. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus entered into the arms of His daddy; and though the Father did not remove the cup, I am sure that He comforted the Lord Jesus and loved on Him as He was about to do what He came to earth to do.
Notice the verses above from Romans and Galatians, which teach us that we, too, have the same privilege of jumping up into the lap of our Heavenly Father, and receiving the comfort, love, and help we need in our hour of need. It is wonderful to think that we serve a God, a Father, that wants to be called “Daddy”. God is not a cold taskmaster that demands only your service: He is a loving, Heavenly Daddy that wants an intimate relationship with His children.
Posted in Thoughts from Mark by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
Pretty Feet?
Today’s Passage – Nahum 1 – 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 – Revelation 10 – 12; Psalms 131 – 135; Proverbs 27)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – 1 John 4:7 & 8
Read the “0927 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Read previous posts from today’s reading in Nahum – “What Are You Thinking?” and “Whose Side Are You On?“
“Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.” (Nahum 1:15)
The Book of Nahum is a “burden” of judgment pronounced against Nineveh. In the middle of this book about Nineveh is a very interesting verse written to encourage the people of God who had experienced the oppression of the Ninevites. Nahum 1:15 is a very interesting verse. It is written to Judah, which was the southern kingdom of Israel. The northern kingdom had already been attacked and conquered by the people of Assyria who are the main subject of this little book. As God is pronouncing judgment against Nineveh (the capitol city of Assyria) for all that they did to Israel and Judah, He inserts this verse of encouragement to the people of Judah who were spared. God tells them that He has “cut off” the nation that was oppressing them. These were certainly “good tidings” (good news) to the people of God.
Portions of this verse have been quoted in others parts of the Bible:
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!” (Isaiah 52:7)
“And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:15)
Notice that it says in all of these verses that the feet of of the people who bring good news are beautiful. I do not think that God was speaking literally about the attractiveness of a person’s feet, but I believe that He was saying that it was a pleasant sight to see the people who are the bearers of good tidings. When Paul quoted from this verse in Romans 10:15 he was referring to the man who is sent to preach the gospel, which is the “good tidings” regarding salvation. God says that it is a beautiful thing for people to bring the good news about the Lord Jesus Christ.
How beautiful are your feet? Are your feet being used of the Lord to bring the good news of salvation to your neighbors. Are feet are used to bring us to a lot of places, but the greatest service that they can render is to bring us to the place where we can introduce a lost sinner to Jesus.
Posted in Thoughts from Nahum by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
There Is Coming A Day
Today’s Passage – Micah 1 – 4 (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 – Revelation 4 – 6; Psalms 121 – 125; Proverbs 25)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – James 4:10
Read the “0925 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it. For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.” – (Micah 4:1-5)
I just want to give you a couple of quick thoughts this morning from today’s passage in Micah. In Micah chapter 4, God is referring to the Millenial reign of Christ on the earth. This future time period will come only after the church is raptured and the world endures a seven year period of tribulation which will separate the sheep from the goats (the saved from the lost). This 1000 year reign of Christ on earth will be a wonderful time of peace on the earth. Christ will physically be here on the earth ruling the affairs of men. All nations will be in submission to Him, and it will truly be a time of tranquility and safety. Everyone will be living according to the principles found in the Word of God, and Christ Himself will be the instructer. What a time to live on the earth.
Obviously, the day that we are living in today is not like this Millenial reign of Christ, but I believe that Christians can do a lot more to make their homes and their churches more like this future time period. We can do this by yielding our lives to the will of God, surrendering our wills to the Spirit of God, and saturating ourselves with the Word of God. We will never be able to control what goes on in the world around us but we can do something about the homes that we live in, and the churches that we worship in. In the the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth…”. We can do the will of God while we are on this earth, and by doing so we will have a little taste of the Millenial Kingdom. Our homes and our churches should be little pictures of this wonderful time described in Micah 4.
Posted in Thoughts from Micah by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.