December 30, 2012

“Blessed Are the Dead Who Die in the Lord” (12/30)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Revelation 12-18.

“And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, ‘Write, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!”‘ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them’” (Revelation 14:13).

When a faithful child of God passes from this life, the above verse is often used to provide comfort for the grieving family and friends. But it is important to understand why these individuals are blessed.
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December 29, 2012

“These Two Prophets Tormented Those who Dwell on the Earth” (12/29)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Revelation 6-11.

Revelation 11 contains the description of “two witnesses” who would be granted authority by the Lord and would prophesy on His behalf (Revelation 11:3). There are different theories as to the identity of these two witnesses or prophets. I will not take the time to delve into them in this brief article. Regardless of who or what the two witnesses represent, they revealed the will of God and were killed for it (Revelation 11:7). Notice the reaction of the people to the death of the two witnesses:

“And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 11:10).

The only crime committed by these two witnesses was that they spoke the word of God. But the word of God was so hated that the people rejoiced, celebrated, and exchanged gifts upon learning of their deaths. Truth “tormented” them; therefore, they had contempt for those who taught the truth.
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December 28, 2012

Maintaining Purity in the Midst of Persecution (12/28)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Revelation 1-5.

Occasionally brethren will speak of the alleged “benefits” of persecution. One such “benefit” is that Christians focus less on doctrinal errors and combating false teachers because of the extra attention that needs to be paid to the persecutions and encouraging the brethren to withstand them.

However, if we notice the letter to the church in Pergamum, we will see that persecution does not give Christians permission to ignore or tolerate error.

“I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth” (Revelation 2:13-16).

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December 27, 2012

Where We Would Be Without God

Many believe that there is no God. Others believe that even if God does exist, man is capable of surviving and prospering without Him. But could we survive, let alone prosper, without God? If God did not exist, or if He did not have any concern for man, how would our lives be different?

In this brief article, I would like for us to consider this and ask the question: What would our existence be like without God?
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December 27, 2012

The Importance of Truth (12/27)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from 2 John 1; 3 John 1.

How important is truth? If we read the beginning of John’s second epistle, we see that the inspired apostle placed a great deal of importance upon truth.

“The elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and not only I, but also all who know the truth, for the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever: Grace, mercy and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received commandment to do from the Father” (2 John 1-4).

Notice everything that John says about truth just in the first four verses of this letter:
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December 26, 2012

We May Have Confidence at His Coming (12/26)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from 1 John 1-5.

Can a Christian be confident of his salvation? Or should we live in constant fear of missing out on salvation when the Lord returns?

John wrote about how we can have confidence at the Lord’s return. As the apostle explained, this confidence was not just based upon our assurance of God’s promises, but also upon some action on our part.

“Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him” (1 John 2:28-29).

Our confidence is not based upon the false notion that a child of God can never lose his salvation. Many in the religious world believe the “once saved, always saved” doctrine. But this does not harmonize with the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 9:27; Galatians 5:4; Hebrews 3:12). Though many believe that salvation is either unconditional or by faith alone, John made it clear that we must do something in order to be assured of salvation.
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December 25, 2012

False Prophets and Teachers (12/25)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from 2 Peter 1-3; Jude 1.

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves” (2 Peter 2:1).

Peter warned that the existence of false teachers would be a certainty among God’s people. He did not say there might be false teachers. He said there will be false teachers, just as there were false prophets in times past.

But what is a false teacher? Brethren sometimes differ on the definition. Some believe that one’s status as a false teacher is dependent upon him having corrupt motives. Yet the context helps us to determine who should be described as a false teacher. In fact, the two preceding verses give us the key, though we may sometimes fail to make the connection because of the man-made chapter divisions. Though there is a chapter break, the context is the same. We can learn what a false teacher is by noting the contrast between a false prophet and a true prophet.
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