For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
--Hebrews 4:12
I was reading awhile back a book written by Dr. John MacArthur entitled The Sufficiency of Christ. In it, he tells about a friend of his who collects antique Bibles from all over the world and all ages in church history. One day, Dr. MacArthur’s friend showed him a Bible known as a martyr’s Bible that dated from the 1600s when Bloody Mary ruled England and there was tremendous persecution against Bible-believing Christians.
Dr. MacArthur was recounting that he saw its pages and binding stained with human blood. He opened it up and saw what looked like water stains, as if someone had wept on the Word of God.
He said, “As I looked through that Bible and realized what a treasure that was to the individual who gave his life for Christ and the Word of God, my heart was broken because so many of us have copies of the Scripture, we have so many of them we don’t know what to do with them.”
The Word of God is a perfect treasure for us. But do we consider it a precious treasure? We live in a time and place where it’s so easy to get a copy of the Word of God. And often, it is taken for granted. So thank God today that you have access to the priceless treasure of His Word!
THANK GOD THAT YOU HAVE ACCESS TO THE INVALUABLE TREASURE OF HIS WORD!
When Heaven Rejoices
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.”
Luke 15:8–10
There are events that attract huge audiences because people think they are important. It is estimated that more than 3.5 billion people watched the last two Summer Olympic Games. An average Super Bowl is viewed by about 100 million people in America alone in addition to broadcasts around the world. Although these competitions and other events are viewed as important by our world, God is not impressed. Heaven yawns at the world’s pursuits recognizing that they are fleeting at best. “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:17).
By contrast, Heaven gets excited about people getting saved, because that is eternal. We don’t know exactly what the rejoicing in Heaven over one sinner turning to God looks like, but Jesus illustrated the rejoicing there by talking about a big celebration to celebrate a significant event. The eternal matters. And when we touch eternity, Heaven rejoices.
This knowledge should dictate how we spend our time, talents, and our energy. Our focus is not meant to be on this life and the things that matter only on earth. Paul wrote, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2). When we spend our lives on what matters to God, we not only touch the lives of others here, but spark joy in Heaven. There is no greater achievement we can accomplish.
Today's Growth Principle:
Spend today on things that will make Heaven rejoice.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment