We live in a world of constant turmoil and trials. But, it has been my personal experience that God will give us the strength we need; and He will look after all those things that we are unable to do ourselves:
The Garden Alone
Based on Luke 22:39-46
“And there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven, strengthening Him.”
Jesus In The garden Alone
God was with Him in the Garden alone
And Jesus conquered by strength divine
But the separation went deeper than bone
As the battle began; God drew the line.
The Father didn’t want to remove the cup
The disciples slept from sorrow and fear
And while Gabriel came to lift Jesus up
His sweat poured out as blood and tear.
As crises supreme did heart and soul break
Jesus came alone, to fight by petition there
The angel assured Him He made no mistake
For now He might answer the sinners prayer.
We all have to go to the Garden alone
We have to bring our worry and care
And when we go, we glimpse the throne
For in the Garden; our Lord is there.
Jesus conquered by strength not his own
And we can have this encounter today
As we go by faith to our garden alone
To walk with Him the blood-stained way.
by David T Battler, all rights reserved
“Christ conquered in divine strength, and so must every tempted soul overcome. God was with Christ in the Garden of Gesthemane; and by this experience of Christ, we are to learn to trust our heavenly Father; at all times, and in all places, , we are to believe that he is tender, true, and faithful – able to keep that which is committed to His care. In the agonizing struggle of Christ, our Substitute and Surety; the Father was beside His Son, and He is beside every soul that struggles with discouragement and difficulty.”
But may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Gal 6:14,, NET)
called to the cross
In today’s crazy world, there is nothing to depend upon; except for Jesus. Christ, and Him crucified. Prophets of old echoed such ideas all the time:
The LORD says, “Wise people should not boast that they are wise. Powerful people should not boast that they are powerful. Rich people should not boast that they are rich. (Jer 9:23). If people want to boast, they should boast about this: They should boast that they understand and know me. They should boast that they know and understand that I, the LORD, act out of faithfulness,fairness, and justice in the earth and that I desire people to do these things,” says the LORD. (Jer 9:24)
I read something earlier this week that seemed to have some connection to the idea that we sometimes do not recognize whats really going on in the world or in our lives. It was a story about a farmer who decided that God spoke to him about going into the ministry. He was out in one of his pastures looking up into the sky and it looked to him as though the cloud formations were forming the letters GPC in the sky. The farmer took this to be a message from God. He was thinking that it must stand for “Go Preach Christ.”
Years later, it appeared that there was just one problem after the next, and his ministry did not seem to be doing very well. And around that same time; one of his friends suggested that those letters, GPC might have meant “Go Plow Corn?”
Today, a similar thing is happening. We see what is going on in the world. Our hearts are failing us for fear. (Luke 21:26). We are not hearing the call of Christ to His cross. All we see are false flags,
impossible situations, and hopeless outlooks on the future. Some of us are even saying, in unison with some of the people in the early days of history:
“Where is the promise of His coming?” (2 Pet 3:4).
We must learn to not only hear correctly God’s call, but to also interpret what He is saying to us in that call. Hope is wherever God’s amazing grace works on us, and while embracing the cross means that we
see hope in suffering; in hopeful suffering. Jesus is very near. Is that even possible? Dare we call it “the gift of suffering?”
When we “come to the cross,” we enter the school of love. (Mat 16:24, John 15:13). This is the very heart and mission of the cross.
“Nothing can separate us from the love of God which was in Christ Jesus.” That love is our hope. That love is “Christ and Him crucified.” Consider that when Jesus was most helpless and weak; that it was right from the cross where He wrought His greatest works for us. Our salvation! The greatest grace has arisen out of the greatest trouble! (Gen 50:20, Rom 8:28). By living in hope, we are united in that “being one” (John 17:11,22) that Jesus had talked about in Scripture.
When we embrace our helplessness,accept it all as an essential part of our walking daily with our own cross, (see Luke 9:23), then our sufferings are joined with that of Christ. Christ and Him crucifed. A true Christian finds meaning in suffering, for embracing the cross is never just for ourselves. “The cross” is not just for our own good. We live in hope. If we know Jesus, (John 17:3) we are living epistles of His Hope, and we join with Him in the fellowship of His sufferings.(Phil 3:10). Christians of all stripes find meaning,unity, and hope, when they embrace “Christ and Him crucified.” We live in hope. The cross was/is our hope. The only solid hope. And hope is contagious. In the cross, Jesus does not abandon us. As one Christian remarked years ago:
“The cross is steady while the world is turning.”
And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor 13:13).
We are all called to the cross:
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all people unto me. (John 12:32)
Like the farmer that we looked at in the beginning of this article, we can mistaken this call to the cross, as something to avoid. Something to fix. Something to improve. Something “good” that we can do. The cross, is certainly not an option we usually want to present to others, when we can just present correct doctrine, because its “too negative.” If we are called “in Christ,” we will know our calling is one of Hope, because the Bible also tells us that “nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus.” (Rom 8:38-39).
We are offered the hope of Calvary when we accept that even though we were/are far away from Jesus; we are made near, only by the blood of Christ:
But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Eph 2:13)
The cross of Calvary should appeal to the benevolence of every follower of the Savior. The principle there illustrated is to give. “He that saith he abides in Him ought himself also so to walk,even as He walked.” (1 John 2:6). The work of redemption involves consequences of which it can be very difficult for us to have any conception of being called to the cross. To most of us it doesn’t seem like a great place to be. (Isa 53:1-3).
“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
As the sinner, drawn by the power of Christ, approaches the uplifted cross, and kneels before it, there is a new creation. A new heart is given to the supplicant. They become a new creature in Christ Jesus. Holiness finds that it has nothing more to require. (Eph 2:13). God Himself is both Just, and “the Justifier of anyone which believeth in Jesus.” (Romans 3:26). And “whom He justified, them He also glorified.” (Romans 8:30).
Great as is the shame and degradation through sin,or on the cross, even greater will be the honor and exaltation through redeeming love. To human beings striving for conformity to the divine image there is imparted an outlay of heaven’s treasure, an excellency of power, the blood of Christ that will place them higher than even the angels who have never fallen. The soul finds rest only in cherishing meekness and lowliness of
heart.
The peace of Christ is never found where selfishness reigns. The soul cannot grow in grace when it is self-centered and proud. Jesus assumed the position that we must take in order that the peace of Christ may abide in the heart. Those who have offered themselves to Christ to become His disciples must deny self daily, must lift up the cross and follow in the footsteps of Jesus. They must go where His example leads the way.
The only-begotten Son of God took upon Him the nature of human beings, and established His cross between earth and heaven. Through the cross, people are drawn to God, and God to us. Justice moved from its high and awful position, and the heavenly hosts,the armies of holiness, drew near to the cross, bowing with reverence; for at the cross justice was satisfied. Through the cross the sinner was drawn from the stronghold of sin, from the confederacy of evil, and at every approach to the cross our heart relents and in penitence we cry, “It was my sins that crucified the Son of God.” At the cross we leave our sins, and through the grace of Christ the character is transformed. The Redeemer raises the sinner from the dust, and places them under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. As the sinner looks upon the Redeemer, they will find hope, assurance, and joy. Faith takes hold of Christ in love. Faith works by love, and purifies the soul.
The truth always involves a cross. Those who will not believe, oppose and deride those who do believe. The fact that its presentation creates a storm of opposition, is no evidence against the truth. The prophets and apostles imperiled their lives because they would conscientiously obey God. And our Savior declares that “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” This is one of the Christian’s legacies.
A large number of people who make a profession of religion are a class that are easily convinced; but they have only a superficial religion. As far as outward appearances are concerned, they are bright converts; but they are like the man who started to build without counting the cost of his enterprise, and they are not able to finish. They are like that farmer who incorrectly hear God’s call.
There are those who receive the precious truth with joy; they are exceedingly zealous, and express amazement that all cannot see the things that are so plain to them. They urge others to embrace the doctrine that they find so satisfying. They hastily condemn the hesitating, and those who carefully weigh the evidences of the truth, and consider it in all its bearings. They call such ones cold and unbelieving. But in the time of trial, these enthusiastic persons too often falter and fail. They did not accept the cross as a part of their religious life, and they turn from it with dampened ardor, and refuse to take it up. They do not make the Lord Jesus their strength from the beginning to the end, and do not know what it means to fall upon the Rock and be broken. (Dan 2:34, Luke 8:13,1 Peter 2:6-8 ).
If they realized their great need, the Lord could be their strength, and would put his seal upon them. But they did not “die to self” that they might be born again, and their life was not hid with Christ in God. They did not become laborers together with God, bearing the cross, lifting the burden, that they might understand how great were the blessings of the service of Christ, in contrast to the poor pleasures of the world. If they had done this, like Paul, they would have been a partaker with Christ in his sufferings, and would have been able to exclaim, “I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
The cross of Calvary challenges, and will finally vanquish every earthly and hellish power. In the cross all influence centers, and from it all influence goes forth. It is the great center of attraction; for on it Christ gave up His life for the human race. This sacrifice was offered for the purpose of restoring people to our original perfection. It was offered to give us an entire transformation of character, making us more than a conqueror. Those who in the strength of Christ overcome the great enemy of God and man will occupy a position in the heavenly courts above angels who have never fallen. Christ declares,
“I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me.”
If the cross does not find an influence in its favor, it creates an influence. Through generation succeeding generation, the truth for this time is revealed as present truth. Christ on the cross was the medium whereby mercy and truth met together, and righteousness and peace kissed each other. This is the means that is to move the world. {LHU 230.3}
Just as we are thinking to ourselves that Jesus does not notice or care about our plight, our suffering; His Word shines forth with just the assurance we need:
“I have carried you close to My Heart…” (Isa 40:11)
The Cross A Center In The World.
The cross stands alone, a great center in the world. It does not find friends, but it makes them. It creates its own agencies. Christ proposes that people shall become laborers together with God. He makes human beings His instrumentalities for drawing all people unto Himself. A divine agency is sufficient only through its operation on human hearts with its transforming power, making people colaborers with God {5BC 1138.1}.
“The cross speaks life and not death to the soul that believes in Jesus. Welcome the precious, life-giving rays that shine from the cross of Calvary. God would not deprive his people of blessings. It is Satan that interposes his shadow of darkness and creates misgiving and doubts, in order that we may not discern the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness shining from the cross of Calvary. Reach up for the blessing, believe for the blessing. Your Savior who died upon the cross is God’s gift to a fallen world, and that gift embraces all heaven. Walk not in the shadow of the cross. Do not give expression to weeping, lamentation, and woe; but encourage your soul to hope and joy. The cross points you upward to a living Savior, who, as your advocate, is pleading in your behalf.”
So he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. (Heb 7:25)
No matter what kind of dark cloud we are under, the promise is sure:
And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. (Isa 45:3).
Jesus was born again that we might be born again! Jesus was treated as we deserve that we might be treated as he deserves!
Truly, there is Light in every cloud. There is always a little light.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thes 5:16-18)
Give Thanks
The Thessalonian believers were true missionaries. Their hearts burned with zeal for their Savior, who had delivered them from fear of “the wrath to come.” (1 Thes 1:10) Through the grace of Christ a marvelous transformation had taken place in their lives, and the word of the Lord, as spoken through them, was accompanied with power. With constant thanksgiving. Hearts were won by the truths presented, and many souls were added to the number of believers.
Joy as used in Paul’s letters here reflects the mark of a true Christian. the Christian (Rom. 14:17) and a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22). It is often associated with the firm hope of the Christian (Rom 5:2–5; Rom 12:12). “Pray without ceasing” suggests a mental attitude of prayerfulness, continual personal fellowship with God, and consciousness of being in his presence throughout each day. Christians are marked by thanksgiving in all types of circumstances. (Eph 5:4, Eph 5:20 Col 2:7 Col 3:15, Col 3:17 Col 4:2). These verses are all talking about 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18.
Our joy, prayers, and thankfulness should not fluctuate with our circumstances or feelings. Obeying these three commands—be joyful, never stop praying, and be thankful—often goes against our natural inclinations. When we make a conscious decision to do what God says, however, we will begin to see other people and our circumstances in a new perspective. When we do God’s will, we will find it easier to be joyful and thankful. And most of all to love one another with “unfeigned love.” No pretending to love someone for some kind of private gain to ourselves… But the kind of love where you practice what you preach about the love of Christ and people know it. (1 Pet 1:22 Acts 4:13)
“Put everything to the test. [Heb 4:12] Accept what is good” (1 Thes 5:21)
Throughout life’s toils and trials the peace of God and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ can be our consolation and support. The apostle challenged believers of his day to not become weary in well-doing, and pointed them to his own example.
Whatever happens, always be thankful. This is how God wants you to live in Christ Jesus. (1 Thes 5:18, ERV)
God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one of them to say ‘thank you?’
“…From now on, the name of the city will be THE LORD IS THERE.” (Ezekiel 48:35, ERV)
His presence in the thick cloud
The book of Ezekiel begins by describing the holiness of God that Israel had despised and ignored. As a result, God’s presence departed from the Temple, the city, and the people. The book ends with a detailed vision of the new Temple, the new city, and the new people—all demonstrating God’s holiness. The pressures of everyday life may cause us to panic, to focus on the here and now and thus forget God. That is why prayer, study of God’s Word, and worship is so important; it takes our eyes off our current worries, gives us a glimpse of God’s holiness, and allows us to look toward his future Kingdom. God’s presence makes everything glorious, and worship brings us into his presence. God’s presence is all we really need.
In this last verse of Ezekiel, the prophet has in view an ideal city; whether in any material form it is to be realized, we must wait to see. But this will be its prominent characteristic, that God will be there. A great voice will be heard out of Heaven, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with humanity, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people; and God Himself shall be with them and be their God.”
There is comfort in this for the sorrowful; because where God is, there cannot be sorrow, nor crying, nor pain. God shall wipe away all tears from off all faces. No cypress-trees line the streets of that city; no dirge intrudes upon the glad ascription of praise; no sob or groan is possible.
There is comfort for the doubting and perplexed. Truly devoted souls sometimes walk in darkness and have no light, learning to walk by faith. But there “where God is” all mysteries will be unraveled, all problems solved, every question answered; there will be no night, no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God shall lighten it, and the Lamb shall be the lamp thereof.
Here, “where God is” Ezekiel foresees the return of God in all His glory to His people!
Those who do what is right will praise your name; those who are honest will live in your presence. (Psalms 130:13, ERV)
He will protect His flock like a shepherd, He will gather the lambs in His arm, He will carry them in His bosom; He will gently and carefully lead those nursing their young. (Isa 40:11, CEV)
my burden is light
Jesus knows us individually, and is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He knows us all by name. He knows the very house in which we live, the name of each occupant. He has at times given directions to His servants to go to a certain street in a certain city, to such a house, to find one of His sheep.{DA 479.3}
God is often pictured as a shepherd, gently caring for and guiding his flock. He is powerful (Isa 40:10), yet careful and gentle. He is called a shepherd (Psalms 23); the good shepherd (John 10:11, John 10:14); the great Shepherd (Heb 13:20); and the Great Shepherd (1 Pet 5:4). Note that the shepherd is caring for the most defenseless members of his society: children and those caring for them. This reinforces the prophetic theme that the truly powerful nation is not the one with a strong military, but rather the one that relies on God’s caring strength to look after those in want, and the many families that are suffering these days.
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.(James 1:27, ESV)
In the first century, orphans and widows had very little means of economic support. Unless a family member was willing to care for them, they were reduced to begging, selling themselves as slaves, or starving. By caring for these people, the church put God’s Word into practice. When we give with no thought of receiving, we show what it means to truly serve others.
To keep ourselves from letting “the world” corrupt us, we need to commit ourselves to Christ’s ethical and moral system, not the world’s. We are not to adapt to the world’s value system, which is based on money, power, and pleasure. True faith means nothing if we are contaminated with such values that tear down the foundations of our “religion.”
A Christian is a Christlike man, a Christlike woman, who is active in God’s service, who is present at the social meeting, whose presence will encourage others also. Religion does not consist in works, but religion works; it is not dormant {7BC 935.13}
Many seem to feel that religion has a tendency to make its possessor narrow and cramped, but genuine religion does not have a narrowing influence; it is the lack of religion that cramps the faculties and narrows the mind. When a person is narrow, it is an evidence that they need the grace of God, the heavenly anointing; for a Christian is one whom the Lord, the God of hosts, can work through, that they may keep the ways of the Lord of the earth and make manifest His will to others.{7BC 935.14}
“Come to me all of you who are tired from the heavy [yoke] you have been forced to carry. I will give you rest. (Mat 11:28, ERV)
A yoke is a heavy wooden harness that fits over the shoulders of an ox or oxen. It is attached to a piece of equipment the oxen are to pull. A person may be carrying heavy burdens of (1) sin, (2) excessive demands of religious leaders (Mat 23:4; Act 15:10), (3) oppression and persecution, or (4) weariness in the search for God.
Jesus frees people from all these burdens. The rest that Jesus promises is love, healing, and peace with God, not the end of all labor. A relationship with God changes meaningless, wearisome toil into spiritual productivity and purpose.
The Yoke of Restraint and Obedience.
Christ says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you”–the yoke of restraint and obedience–“and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” We are to find rest by wearing His yoke and bearing His burdens. In being co-workers with Christ in the great work for which He gave His life, we shall find true rest. When we were sinners, He gave His life for us. He wants us to come to Him and learn of Him. Thus we are to find rest. He says He will give us rest. “Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart.” In doing this you will find in your own experience the rest that Christ gives, the rest that comes from wearing His yoke and lifting His burdens {5BC 1090.3}
Your work is not to gather up burdens of your own. As you take the burdens that Christ would have you, then you can realize what burdens He carried. Let us study the Bible, and find out what kind of yoke He bore. He was a help to those around Him. He says: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
You see there is a yoke to bear. Now this is the very faith that we want–a faith that will grasp the promises of God, one that will take the yoke of Christ and bear the burdens that He would have us. We often think we are having a hard time in bearing burdens, and it is too often the case, because God has not made any provision for us to carry these burdens; but when we bear His yoke and carry His burdens, we can testify that the yoke of Christ is easy and His burdens are light, because He has made provision for these.
But when you feel depressed and discouraged, do not give up the battle; you have a living Saviour that will help you, and you will have rest in Him. You must not put your neck under the yoke of fashion, and yokes that God has never designed that you should bear. It is not our work to study how to meet the world’s standard, but the great question with each one should be, How can I meet God’s standard? Then it is that you will find rest to the soul; for Christ has said, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” {5BC 1091.2}
They will be like trees growing beside a stream— trees with roots that reach down to the water, and with leaves that are always green. They bear fruit every year and are never worried by a lack of rain. (Jer 17:5-8, CEV)
evergreen christians
Two kinds of people are contrasted in this passage. Those who trust in human beings and those who trust in the Lord. The people of Judah were trusting in false gods and military alliances instead of God, and thus they were barren and unfruitful. In contrast, those who trust in the Lord flourish like trees planted along a riverbank (see Psalms 1).
In times of trouble, those who trust in human beings will be impoverished and spiritually weak, so they will have no strength to draw on. But those who trust in the Lord will have abundant strength, not only for their own needs, but even for the needs of others. Are you satisfied with being unfruitful, or do you, like a well-watered tree, have strength for times of crisis and even some to share as you bear fruit for the Lord?
What Makes an Evergreen Christian?
Seek to be an evergreen tree. Wear the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. Cherish the grace of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. This is the fruit of the Christian tree. Planted by the rivers of water, it always brings forth its fruit in due season.{3BC 1142.2}
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. (Psalms 1:1-3, NIV)
Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jer 17:7-8, NIV)
But it is just as the Scriptures say, “What God has planned for people who love him is more than eyes have seen or ears have heard. It has never even entered our minds!” (1 Cor 2:9, CEV)
eye has not seen
We cannot imagine all that God has in store for us, both in this life and for eternity. He will create a new heaven and a new earth (Isa 65:17, Rev 21:1), and we will live with him forever. Until then, his Holy Spirit comforts and guides us. Knowing the wonderful and eternal future that awaits us gives us hope and courage to press on in this life, to endure hardship, and to avoid giving in to temptation. This world is not all there is. The best is yet to come.
[We] need to dwell upon the assurances of God’s Word, to hold them before the mind’s eye. Point by point, day by day, repeat the lessons there given, over and over, until you learn the bearing and import of them. We see a little today, and by meditation and prayer, more tomorrow. And thus little by little we take in the gracious promises until we can almost comprehend their full significance. {6BC 1085.2}
For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. (Rev 16:14)
we shall rise
When I was a young child my Great Grandfather died. I remember two things in particular that shell-shocked me during that event. One, I was told to “kiss him” while he was lying there in the viewing room, and two, I was told how “he is happy in heaven now.” My reasoning, as a kid in The United Church was simple. I kept thinking well, “if Great Grandpa can see me crying like this now, how could he be so “happy in heaven?” “I thought there will be “no more crying” in heaven? (Rev 21:4)
What was the devil’s first lie on Earth?
“The serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die’ ” (Genesis 3:4). Who is this “serpent?” “That serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan” (Revelation 12:9).
You will not “surely die.” This is the first lie the devil ever told us. “You will not surely die!” The Bible says the opposite.
Why did the devil lie to Eve about death? How important is this subject?
The devil’s lie that we will not die is one of the pillars of his teachings. For thousands of years, he has worked powerful, deceptive miracles to trick people into thinking they are receiving messages from the spirits of the dead. (Examples: Magicians of Egypt—Exodus 7:11; Woman of Endor—1 Samuel 28:3–25; Sorcerers—Daniel 2:2; A slave girl—Acts 16:16–18.)
How were we created in the beginning?
“The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul/being” (Genesis 2:7).
God made us from dust in the beginning. God added the breath of life and only THEN were we called in scripture, “a living soul”
What happens when a person dies?
“Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7).
The body turns to dust again, and the spirit goes back to God, who gave it. The spirit of every person who dies—whether saved or unsaved—returns to God at death. But we are never “a living soul” again until the resurrection.
What is the spirit that returns to God when we die?
“The body without the spirit is dead” (James 2:26).
“The spirit of God is in my nostrils” ( Job 27:3 KJV).
The spirit that returns to God at death is the “breath of life.” Nowhere in all of God’s book does the “spirit” have any life, wisdom, or feeling afer a person dies. It is the “breath of life” and nothing more.
What exactly is a soul?
“The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7 KJV).
A soul is a living being. A soul is always a combination of two things: body plus breath. A soul cannot exist unless body and breath are combined together. God’s Word teaches that we are souls—not that we have souls. Big difference.
Can a “living soul” die?
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:20 KJV). “Every living soul died in the sea” (Revelation 16:3 KJV).
According to God’s Word,souls do die! We are souls, and souls die. Man is mortal ( Job 4:17). Only God is immortal (1 Timothy 6:15,16). The concept of an undying,immortal soul is not found in the Bible,
which teaches that souls are subject to death
Do “good people” go to heaven when they die?
“All who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth” (John 5:28,29). “David is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.For David did not yet ascend into the heavens” (Acts 2:29, 34).
“If I wait, the grave is mine house” (Job 17:13 KJV). People do not go to heaven or to hell at death. They don’t go anywhere—but they wait in their graves for the resurrection. (see 1 Thes 4:15-18)
How much does one know or comprehend at death?
“The living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished;nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun. There is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going” (Ecclesiastes 9:4,5,6,10).
“The dead do not praise the Lord” (Psalms 115:17).
God says that the dead know absolutely nothing!
Can the dead communicate with the living? Are the dead aware of what the living are doing now?
“Man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor be roused from their sleep. … His sons come to honor, and he does not know it; they are brought low, and he does not perceive it” ( Job 14:12, 21). “Nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 9:6). No. The dead cannot contact the living, nor do they know what the living are doing. They are dead. Their thoughts have perished (Psalm 146:4 KJV).
Jesus called death a sleep. (John 11:11,13) How long will that sleep last?
“Man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more” ( Job 14:12). “The day of the Lord will come in which the heavens will pass away” (2 Peter 3:10).
The dead will sleep until the great day of the Lord at the end of the world. In death, people are totally unconscious with no activity or knowledge of any kind. The Bible says that “death is the last ENEMY to be destroyed,” (1 Cor 15:26) yet many defy this idea from scripture by making death out to be some kind of friend. bringing us into the peace of Heaven before the resurrection.
What are some praying to when they pray to a “saint” or talking to “lost loved ones” in a seance?
What happens to the righteous dead at the second coming of Jesus?
“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work” (Revelation 22:12). “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17).
“We shall all be changed—in a moment,in the twinkling of an eye and the dead will be raised incorruptible. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:51–53).
They will be rewarded. They will be raised, given immortal bodies,and caught up to meet the Lord in the air. There would be no purpose in a resurrection if people were just taken to heaven at death. The Bible doesn’t tell us to comfort one another with such words, anywhere.
A Serious Warning!
In the near future, Satan will again use sorcery—as he did in the prophet Daniel’s day—to deceive the world (Rev 16:14)
And the light of a lamp will never more shine at all in you. And the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride will never more be heard at all in you. For your merchants were the great ones of the earth; for by your sorceries all nations were deceived. (Revelation 18:23).
Among other things, sorcery is a supernatural agency that claims to receive its power and wisdom from the spirits of the dead. Babylon’s influence is seen as corrupting all the nations. Political arts, state tricks, counterfeit miracles, and deceptive maneuvers of every kind. The various arts and crafts that have been employed in her midst, and have ministered to her desires, shall be practiced no more. The pompous music that has been heard in her imposing but formal and lifeless service, dies away forever.
The scenes of festivity and gladness, when the bridegroom and the bride have been led before her altars, shall be witnessed no more. Her sorceries constitute her leading crime, and sorcery is a practice which is involved in the spiritism of today. “In her was found the blood” of “all that were slain upon the earth.” From this it is evident that ever since the introduction of a false religion into the world, Babylon has existed. In her has been found, all along, opposition to the work of God, and persecution of His people. (Rev 16:6)
Posing as Jesus’ dead disciples.
Posing as godly loved ones who have died, posing as saintly clergymen who are now dead, posing as Bible prophets, or even posing as the apostles of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:13), Satan and his angels will deceive billions. Those who believe the dead are alive, in any form,will in the end be deceived. When Jesus was asked by His disciples what will be the signs of His coming, the very first thing Jesus said was:
“take care that no person deceive you…” (Mat 24:4)
Do devils really work miracles?
“For they are the spirits of devils,working miracles” (Revelation 16:14, KJV).
“False Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24).
Yes indeed! Devils work incredibly convincing miracles (Revelation 13:13, 14). Satan will appear as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14) and, even more shocking, as Christ Himself (Matthew 24:23, 24). The universal
feeling will be that Christ and His angels are leading out in a fantastic worldwide revival. The entire emphasis will seem so spiritual and be so supernatural that only God’s elect will not be deceived. An event to be noticed under this plague (Rev 16:13,14) is the issuing forth of the three unclean spirits to gather the nations to the great battle.
The agency now already abroad in the world known as modern spiritism, is in every way a fitting means to be employed in this work. Before the spirits can have such absolute authority over the human race as to gather them to battle against the King of kings and Lord of lords, they must first win their way among the nations of the earth, and cause their teaching to be received as of divine authority and their word as law. This work they are now doing, and when they shall have finally gained full influence over the nations in question, what fitter instrument could be employed to gather them to be so rash and hopeless an enterprise?
It is not likely that God’s people will be deceived on this point of spiritism, because:
“They received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). “If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20).
God’s people will know from their study of His Word that the dead are dead, not alive. They will know that a “spirit” claiming to be a deceased loved one, or a saint, is really a devil! God’s people will reject all teachers and miracle workers who claim to receive special “light” or to work miracles by contacting the spirits of the dead. Or to pray to so called “saints.” And God’s people will likewise reject as dangerous and false all teachings that claim the dead are alive in any form, anywhere. This is the first and the last lie! This lie will be used to deceive many people in the last days prior to the second coming of Jesus. The miracles will be so real, that we cannot tell the difference just by our senses. We must go by God’s Word alone.
In the days of Moses, what did God command that should be done to people who taught that the dead were “really” alive?
“A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones” (Leviticus 20:27). God insisted that mediums and others with “familiar spirits” (who
claimed to be able to contact the dead) should be stoned to death. This shows how God regards the false teaching that the dead are alive.
It sounds harsh. yes. But let us be thankful this is not how it is today. We are promised that if we are far off (from Christ) then “the cross makes us near.” (Eph 2:13)
Will the righteous who are raised in the resurrection ever die again?
“Those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead … nor can they die anymore” (Luke 20:35, 36). “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
No! Death, sorrow, crying, and tragedy will never enter into God’s new kingdom. “When this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory’ ” (1 Corinthians 15:54). “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” (1 Cor 15:26)
Belief in things like reincarnation are becoming more popular by the day. What does the Bible say about reincarnation?
“The living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing. Nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 9:5,6). Almost half the people on earth believe in reincarnation, a teaching that the soul never dies but is instead continually reborn into a different kind of body with each succeeding generation. This teaching, however, is contrary to Scripture. The Bible tells us that after death a person returns to dust (Psalms 104:29), knows nothing (Ecclesiastes 9:5), possesses no mental powers (Psalms 146:4), has nothing to do with anything on earth (Ecclesiastes 9:6), does not live (2 Kings 20:1), waits in the grave (Job 17:13),and continues not(Job 14:1 2).
Satan’s Inventions
There are some things that we can and should blame on the devil. Satan invented the teaching that the dead are alive. Reincarnation, channeling, communication with spirits, spirit worship,and the “undying soul” are all inventions of Satan, with one aim to deceive/convince people that when you die you are not really dead. When people believe that the dead are alive, “spirits of devils, working miracles” (Revelation 16:14) and posing as spirits of the dead will be able to deceive and lead them astray virtually 100 percent of the time (Matthew 24:24), unless they go by God’s Word only.
Concluding Thoughts
1/ Didnt the thief on the cross go directly to paradise with Christ on the day He died?
No. In fact, on Sunday morning Jesus said to Mary, “I have not yet ascended to My Father” ( John 20:17). This shows that Christ did not go to heaven at death. It’s important to note that the punctuation we see in the Bible today is not original, but added centuries later by translators. The comma in Luke 23:43 would be better placed after the word “today” rather than before, so that the passage reads,
“Assuredly, I say to you today, you will be with Me in Paradise.”
Another way to put this verse that makes sense in the immediate context is:
“I’m telling you today—when it seems that I can save no one, when I Myself am being crucified as a criminal—I give you the assurance today that you will be with me in Paradise.”
Christ’s kingdom of glory will be set up at His second coming (Matthew 25:31),and the righteous of all ages will enter it at that time (1 Thessalonians 4:15–17)and not at death.
2/ Doesn’t the Bible speak of the “undying” immortal soul?
No. The undying, immortal soul is not mentioned in the Bible. Remember, we do not “have a soul” rather, we are a soul. The word “immortal” is found only once in the Bible, and it is in direct reference to God alone. (1 Timothy 1:17). At death the body returns to dust and the spirit (breath) returns to God but where does the soul go? It goes nowhere. Instead, it simply ceases to exist. Two things must be combined to make a soul: body and breath. When the breath departs, the soul ceases to exist because it is a combination of two things. When you turn off a light, where does the light go? It doesn’t go anywhere. It just ceases to exist. Two things must combine to make a light: a bulb and electricity. Without the combination, a light is impossible. So with the soul; unless body and breath are combined, there can be no soul. There is no such thing as a “disembodied soul.”
3/ Does the word “soul” ever mean anything other than a living human being?
Yes. It may mean also (1) life itself, or (2) the mind, or intellect. No matter which meaning is intended, the soul is still a combination of two things (body and breath), and it ceases to exist at death.
4/ How do we explain John 11:26 where it says “whosoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.”
This refers not to the frst death, which all people die (Hebrews 9:27),but to the second death, which only the wicked die and from which there is no resurrection (Rev 2:11 Rev 21:8).
5/ Mat 10:35 says “Do not fear those who can kill the body but the soul.” Doesnt this prove that the soul is undying?
No. It proves the opposite. The last half of the same verse proves that souls do die. It says, “Rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” The word “soul” here means life and refers to eternal life, which is a gift (Romans 6:23) that will be given to the righteous at the last day ( John 6:54). No one can take away the eternal life that God bestows. (See also Luke 12:4,5.)
6/ Doesn’t 1 Pet 4:6 tell us that the gospel was preached to dead people?
No. It says the gospel “was” preached to those who “are” dead. They are dead now, but the gospel “was” preached to them while they were yet living.
The Bible says that we are to glory in nothing but the cross. (Gal 6:14,Eph 2:13) A quote I found by one Christian writer reads like this:
There is one great central truth to be kept ever before the mind in the searching of the Scriptures–Christ and Him crucified. Every other truth is invested with influence and power corresponding to its relation to this theme. It is only in the light of the cross that we can discern the exalted character of the law of God. The soul palsied by sin can be endowed with life only through the work wrought out upon the cross by the Author of our salvation {6BC 1084.8} (see also Gal 6:14)
It is not enough to just dig up the verses and say “Im right, you are wrong here. IF the need for the cross is lessened or negated by our belief, then we must change what we believe.
If we do away with the need for the resurrection, by going straight to Heaven when we die, then why would we need the crucifixion?
Believing that we go to heaven as soon as we die, believing that the dead are not really dead, eliminates the need for a resurrection. And affirms the devil’s first lie. And the last lie! How can anyone be resurrected if they are already in Heaven?
But if Christ is proclaimed, that He was raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is worthless, and your faith is also worthless. (1 Cor 15:12-14)
There are several teachings in the Christian world that do not pass the litmus test of the cross. Perhaps it is time for us to examine everything we believe in the Light of the cross?
For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. (1 Cor 2:2)
Today, many are teaching that resurrection is only spiritual rather than physical. Or they may have been teaching that the Resurrection had already happened (2 Tim 2:18). Whatever the case, they contradict the essential teaching that Christ had been physically crucified, physically raised from the dead and that believers in Him will some day also be resurrected. 1 Thes 4;13-18 tells us to “comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thes 4:18) When people die, these are the only words that scripture says “comfort one another with these words.”
For if we have been joined together in the likeness of His death, we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection; (Rom 6:5)
“I am the way, the truth, and the life!” Jesus answered. “Without me, no one can go to the Father. (John 14:6, CEV)
welcome the lord Jesus
As the way, Jesus is our path to the Father. As the truth, Jesus is the reality of all God’s promises in our daily life. As the life, Jesus joins his divine life to ours, both now and eternally. Jesus is, in truth, the only LIVING way to the Father. This is why scripture calls Him our “Living Hope:”
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has regenerated us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Recently I was very interested to discover that the Bible talks about three doors by which Jesus becomes our life. By which we advance towards being more like Jesus.
1/ I had heard, of course, about Jesus being the door, (John 10:9).
2/ I did not associate Jesus being the door, as being connected to the door of Rev 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to [them] and will dine with [them], and they with Me.” (Rev 3:20,TLV) When we have a relationship with Jesus; we use these two doors, going in through Him, and allowing Jesus in to our own heart as He knocks at that door.
3/ And there is a third door which we must at times close to know Jesus better:
“Thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons” (2 Kings 4:4).
They were to be alone with God, for they were not dealing with the laws of nature, nor human government, nor the church, nor the priesthood, nor even with the great prophet of God, but they must needs be isolated from all creatures, from all leaning circumstances, from all props of human reason, and swung off, as it were, into the vast blue inter-stellar space, hanging on God alone, in touch with the fountain of miracles.
Here is a part in the programme of God’s dealings, a secret chamber of isolation in prayer and faith which every soul must enter that is very fruitful.
Jesus knocks at the door of our heart because he wants to save us and have fellowship with us. He is patient and persistent in trying to get through to us—not breaking and entering, but knocking. He allows us to decide whether or not to open our life to him. Do you intentionally keep his life-changing presence and power on the other side of the door?
“God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Cor 1:9, KJV) This fellowship is indicated by the three doors of salvation:
1/ Jesus said “I am the door.” (John 10:9)
We go in THAT door for fellowship with Him. We go out that same door for service:
Says the true Witness, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” Every warning, reproof, and entreaty in the Word of God, or through His delegated messengers, is a knock at the door of the heart; it is the voice of Jesus, asking for entrance. With every knock unheeded, your determination to open becomes weaker and weaker. If the voice of Jesus is not heeded at once, it becomes confused in the mind with a multitude of other voices, the world’s care and business engross the attention, and conviction dies away. The heart becomes less impressible, and lapses into a perilous unconsciousness of the shortness of time, and of the great eternity beyond.{7BC 966.9}
YOU ARE THE DOOR: Rev 3:20
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
What is the difference between the first two doors?
The one door we enter. (John 10:9) The other door Jesus enters. (Rev 3:20)
Jesus Is The Door: John 10:9
As an earthly shepherd knows his sheep, so does the divine Shepherd know His flock that are scattered throughout the world. “Ye My flock, the flock of My pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God.” Jesus says, “I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine.” “I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands.” Ezekiel 34:31; Isa 43:1; Isa 49:16. {DA 479.2}
Second Door: Revelation 3:20
Says the true Witness:
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” (Rev 3:20)
Every warning, reproof, and entreaty in the Word of God, or through His delegated messengers, is a knock at the door of the heart; it is the voice of Jesus, asking for entrance. With every knock unheeded, your determination to open becomes weaker and weaker. If the voice of Jesus is not heeded at once, it becomes confused in the mind with a multitude of other voices, the world’s care and business engross the attention, and conviction dies away. The heart becomes less impressible, and lapses into a perilous unconsciousness of the shortness of time, and of the great eternity beyond. {7BC 966.9}
We Follow Jesus Back Out THAT Door
The way to heaven is consecrated by the Saviour’s footprints. The path may be steep and rugged, but Jesus has traveled that way; His feet have pressed down the cruel thorns, to make the pathway easier for us. Every burden that we are called to bear He Himself has borne.{DA 480.4}
Because we are the gift of His Father, and the reward of His work, Jesus loves us. He loves us as His children. Jesus loves you. Heaven itself can bestow nothing greater, nothing better. Therefore trust.{DA 483.3}
Jesus thought upon the souls all over the earth who were misled by false shepherds. Those whom He longed to gather as the sheep of His pasture were scattered among wolves, and He said, “Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice; and they shall become one flock, one shepherd.” John 10:16. {DA 483.4}
A thief comes only to rob, kill, and destroy. I came so that everyone would have life, and have it in its fullest. (John 10:10, CEV)
My Grandmother used to say:
“Heaven begins on Earth.”
Perhaps this is some of which Jesus was talking about when He talked about having “life in it’s fullest?”
In contrast to the thief who takes life, Jesus gives life. The life he gives right now is abundantly rich and full. It is eternal, yet it begins immediately. Life in Christ is lived on a higher plane because of his overflowing forgiveness, love, and guidance. Have you taken Christ’s offer of life? (Life Application Notes)
That They Might Have Life
Jesus who came in by the door which John the Baptist opened has become the door. We enter into that door for fellowship, we go out that door for service to others. (John 10:7-18)
“My doctrine tends to life, because it is the true doctrine” (2 Tim 3:10) That of the false shepherds tends to death, because it neither comes from nor can lead to that God who is the fountain of eternal life and “the everlasting gospel.” (Rev 14:6-12)
Again, here in John 10:10 Jesus found access to the minds of His hearers by the pathway of their familiar associations. He had likened the Spirit’s influence to the cool, refreshing water. He had represented Himself as the light, the source of life and gladness to nature and to humanity. Now in a beautiful pastoral picture He represents His relation to those that believe on Him. No picture was more familiar to His hearers than this, and Christ’s words linked it forever with Himself. Never could the disciples look on the shepherds tending their flocks without recalling the Saviour’s lesson. They would see Christ in each faithful shepherd. They would see themselves in each helpless and dependent flock. {DA 476.2}
This figure the prophet Isaiah had applied to the Messiah’s mission, in the comforting words:
“O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!” (Isa 40:9)
He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom.” Isaiah 40:9-11.
David had sung, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Psalms 23:1.
And the Holy Spirit through Ezekiel had declared:
“I will set up one Shepherd over them, and He shall feed them.” “I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick.” “And I will make with them a covenant of peace.” “And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.” Ezekiel 34:23, etc {DA 476.3}
Christ applied these prophecies to Himself, and He showed the contrast between His own character and that of the leaders in Israel. The Pharisees had just driven one from the fold, because he dared to bear witness to the power of Christ. They had cut off a soul whom the True Shepherd was drawing to Himself. In this they had shown themselves ignorant of the work committed to them, and unworthy of their trust as shepherds of the flock. Jesus now set before them the contrast between them and the Good Shepherd, and He pointed to Himself as the real keeper of the Lord’s flock. Before doing this, however, He speaks of Himself under another figure. {DA 477.1}
He said, “He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.” The Pharisees did not discern that these words were spoken against them. When they reasoned in their hearts as to the meaning, Jesus told them plainly, “I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) {DA 477.2}
Christ is the door to the fold of God. Through this door all His children, from the earliest times, have found entrance. In Jesus, as shown in types, as shadowed in symbols, as manifested in the revelation of the prophets, as unveiled in the lessons given to His disciples, and in the miracles wrought for the sons of men, they have beheld “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), and through Him they are brought within the fold of His grace. Many have come presenting other objects for the faith of the world; ceremonies and systems have been devised by which men hope to receive justification and peace with God, and thus find entrance to His fold. But the only door is Christ, and all who have interposed something to take the place of Christ, all who have tried to enter the fold in some other way, are thieves and robbers. {DA 477.3}
The Pharisees had not entered by the door. They had climbed into the fold by another way than Christ! By their own denominated authority! They were not fulfilling the work of the true shepherd. The priests and rulers, the scribes and Pharisees, destroyed the living pastures, and defiled the wellsprings of the water of life. Faithfully do the words of inspiration describe those false shepherds:
“The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away;but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.” (Ezekiel 34:4). This verse well describes todays many shrinking churches. Status Quo churches. One-verse churches that dote so much on one verse that the gospel is completely lost sight of. Churches that refuse to change even a little bit, even when it’s God’s Word telling them to!
The shepherds of Israel knew nothing about their flock; they might have been diseased, infirm, bruised, maimed, their limbs broken, strayed, and lost; for they watched not over them. When they got fat sheep and wool for their table and their clothing, they regarded nothing else; as they considered the flock given them for their own use, and scarcely ever supposed that they were to give any thing in return for the milk and the wool.
“Anyone who enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.” Christ is both the door and the shepherd. He enters in by Himself. It is through His own sacrifice that He becomes the shepherd of the sheep. “To Him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear His voice: and He calleth His own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him: for they know His voice.” {DA 478.3}
The statements made by the prophet in Ezekiel 34:4, etc may be rightly applied to rapacious priests who care more for the fleece than for the flock. Pastors are required to lead the flock of God not for filthy lucre but as examples for the sheep, Jer 3:15, 1 Pet 5:2-3. It is their duty, also, to strengthen the spiritually diseased, heal the sick, bind up the broken in heart, and seek the lost.
The Closed Door
“Thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons” (2 Kings 4:4).
This is the door we close. As needed. There are times and places where God will form a mysterious wall around us, and cut away all props, and all the ordinary ways of doing things, and shut us up to something Divine, which is utterly new and unexpected, something that old circumstances do not fit into, where we do not know just what will happen, where God is cutting thes cloth of our lives on a new pattern, where He makes us look to Himself.
Most religious people live in a sort of treadmill life, where they can calculate almost everything that will happen, but the souls that God leads out into immediate and special dealings, He shuts in where all they know is that God has hold of them, and is dealing with them, and their expectation is from Him alone. Like this widow, we must be detached from outward things and attached inwardly to the Lord alone in order to see His wonders. In the sorest trials God often makes the sweetest discoveries of Himself.
We are promised:
IF you open the door, if you enter through the door, if Jesus IS your Shepherd, then you shall not want any good thing that God has to give:
“…they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing). (Psalms 34:10)
Our LORD and our God, you are like the sun and also like a shield. You treat us with kindness and with honor, never denying any good thing to those who live right. (Psalms 84:11,CEV)
God does not promise to give us everything we think is good, but he will not withhold what is permanently good. He will give us the means to walk along his paths, but we must do the walking. When we obey him, he will not hold anything back that will help us serve him.
Notice the tender manner in which the Lord Jesus Himself supplies the deficiencies of His unfaithful servants. In beautiful contrast to their selfish cruelty and rapacity, He sets Himself in cloudy and dark days to gather and tend His people, though they had been as scattered sheep, each taking his own way:
As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. (Ezekiel 34:12)
I will stand like a guard and watch. I will wait to see what the LORD will say to me. I will wait and learn how he answers my questions. (Hab 2:1)
waiting for God
On the 3rd anniversary today, of my late wife’s death from ovarian cancer, there are still struggles with grief. With trying to live now, for now. Instead of living now, for then. Somedays I struggle to find a sensible balance.
The watchman and watchtower, often used by the prophet Habakkuk and others to show an attitude of expectation (Isa 21:8, Isa 21:11; Jer 6:17; Ezekiel 3:17), are pictures of the attitude of patient waiting and watching for God’s response, that we can still have today.
I am finding that there is very little real waiting on God for help. There is no tangible help from God. Without watchful expectation on our part.
Most of us inherently know how we need to grieve. But society, peer pressure, cultural leanings insist that we do it faster. The problem may not be us. There is something wrong when people forget how sacred grief is.
Whenever we fail to receive strength or defense from Jesus, perhaps it is due to us not being on the outlook for it? Society in general just tells us to hurry up and forget it, or “move on.” (whatever that means??)
I have found that many a comfort offered from Heaven flies right past me, because I am not standing on my “watch-tower” to catch the sometimes far off indications of what Jesus is offering me in my grief and sorrows, and to open the door of my heart, for His entrance.
The entrance of Your Words gives light; it gives understanding to [every day ordinary people]. (Psalms 119:30)
Those of us whose expectation does not lead to being on the alert for its coming will get so much less of God’s comfort and guidance. Watch for God in the events of your life. We all tend to find what we are looking for:
And you shall seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. (Jer 29:13)
Back in the days of Habakkuk’s times, stone watchtowers were built on city walls or ramparts so that watchmen could see people (enemies or messengers) approaching their city while still at a distance. Watchtowers were also erected in vineyards to help guard the ripening grapes (Isa 5:2). Habakkuk wanted to be in the best position to receive God’s message. The watchtower.
One of the very best positions for me to receive God’s responses to my grief is that I “watch” or expect something from God that helps, and I do that out in the wilderness. I listen to the wind; I know what direction to go. I plant my feet on the earth or on the side of a mountain, I know how to find balance. I watch the flickering flame of the campfire, I learn to dance to my own beat. I feel the water in the creek or the mountain lake, I know how to go with the flow. I see the alpine flowers and know that something beautiful will always be available. I look at the clouds above, and realize there is light in the clouds, here below.
Truly, “nature” is my greatest teacher. There IS light in every cloud. Expect it.
What is the best way for you to hear God’s response to you and your situation? What are your thoughts? You may comment at the end of this article, online here.
