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“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
-John 3:3 (ESV)
We Are Martyrs
April 30, 2025
27 The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 28 “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”
29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! 30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. 31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
-Acts 5:27-32 (NIV)
****Disclaimer****
Some of you may not like reading this devotional post for a number of reasons, so be warned! If you don’t have a good feeling about it, consider Hebrews 4:12 that states, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” And now everyone at some point will have trouble with scripture (the word of God). That’s just what scripture does to people, and it shows how depraved we really are and needing Jesus Christ, the Saviour! Now if you’re bold enough to continue, please read on….
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Last Sunday during my sermon I shared a headline fact describing how Christians are the #1 persecuted religious group in the world. Literally thousands of people around the world are attacked, imprisoned and put to death because of their Christian faith.
If you want to more detailed statistics on this, please check Open Doors USA (a Christian missional organization):
https://www.opendoorsus.org/en-US/persecution/countries/
We as Christians in North America and people in Canada (let alone New Brunswick) have it too easy compared to many in the world. In fact, we’ve had it easy for a very long time. Typically, and for many Christians in the Greater Moncton Area (GMA), probably the worst thing that happened to you because of your Christian faith was a story about you being insulted. That’s not fun at all, but it’s a lot easier than being thrown in jail or being beheaded. In February it was reported that 70 Christians were beheaded in Congo (DRC):
https://www.opendoorsuk.org/news/latest-news/drc-attack-church/
How much are you willing to endure for Jesus Christ and for your Christian faith? Does your pursuit of Jesus Christ and his righteousness mean everything to you? (Matt. 6:33). What if it costs you your relationships? What if it costs you your health? What if it costs you your bank account and even your life? Let me make these questions more poignant and relevant to our congregation – what if it costs the price of our church building, departing from the Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCC)? At this stage, I don’t think I have to entertain the reasons for departing for the vast number of our congregation, but there’s some of us that don’t like the idea of keeping the building. In a real world and practical sense, I know a number of our church people walk to church (showing how important the location is, because they don’t have access to a car – you may be surprized at how many people are affected like this). I also struggle to see another building that can support our current size and projected trajectory at a more favourable price in today’s market value.
To help get a better understanding of current land values, here are some residential and commercial market articles to show increasing prices:
The Telegraph-Journal reported that NB home prices have more than doubled in a decade:
The CBC reported, “That 68 per cent increase in a four-year period accounted for the sharpest growth in home prices compared to all other provinces and territories.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/new-brunswick-home-prices-1.7162099
The City of Moncton even posted record numbers of commercial developments around the city:
https://www.moncton.ca/news-notices/moncton-sees-steady-growth-building-permits
Naturally with increasing building permits, you’ll get an uptick of increasing building costs.
Without doing a deep dive into the real estate market of acquiring new land or a different building for another church property, I take all of these as general indicators of increasing property value in the Greater Moncton Area (GMA), for both residential and commercial properties. Before ministry, I last worked full-time for a land developer in Ontario, and sometimes I worked on commercial feasibility studies. If we did a feasibility study on another location now, in my humble opinion, we wouldn’t like the results.
Some may say, “Well, I’ve already paid for the building, why should I pay for it again?” Others may say, “It costs too much, how can we ever pay for the departure?” I understand the grief, frustration, sadness and extremely large sacrifices people already made. I know people sold land, deferred car payments, re-mortgaged their homes, perhaps even sold shares of stocks to help pay for our current and beautiful church property. It gives me great joy knowing people have committed to that degree and all for God’s glory. And it does sadden me knowing people’s hearts are now broken. To be honest, I wish we weren’t in this position, and herein is the cost of discipleship. Nobody said it would be easy. And I know it hurts….it hurts a lot! With anger, with pain, with frustration, with fatigue and feeling cheated, it hurts! I wish I could take away that pain, but I cannot! The only one who can is Jesus!
I can’t convince you of the money, but with God’s help, I hope you’re convinced convicted of the mission! Now ask yourself this: Does your money belong to you or to God? Does your life belong to you or to God? God is not concerned so much about you having money and having things, but God is concerned about money and things having you! Are you ready to pursue Jesus no matter the cost?
Peter was convinced and convicted in our text and so were the disciples (minus Judas Iscariot). Judas Iscariot was convicted by 30 pieces of silver, and that didn’t turn out well. Peter was convicted by the Holy Spirit. John 17:2 calls Judas Iscariot the “son of destruction” and I want nothing of that kind of title! I would much rather have the title of “heirs of God” in Rom. 8:17, wouldn’t you?
When apprehended by the authorities, Peter’s response was “We must obey God rather than human beings!” (verse 29). Now that should be our response to everything in life, but so many of us fail at this.
In verse 32 Peter says “we are witnesses”. The Greek word for witness is martyr. Christians, do you not know that you are living martyrs? Christians, do you not know that because of this and because of Lk. 9:23 that we are to die to Christ every day and continually? Merriam Webster defines a martyr as “a person who voluntarily suffers death as the penalty of witnessing to and refusing to renounce a religion or a person who sacrifices something of great value and especially life itself for the sake of principle. a martyr to the cause of freedom.”
Some of you may have trouble suffering and sacrificing something of great value – well, you’re not alone. I already mentioned Christians in North America have it too easy, didn’t I? We’ve grown too accustomed to being “very comfortable” and we tend to do whatever it takes to avoid any kind of suffering or sacrifice. Peter and the early disciples were willing to sacrifice, and it give all away for Jesus Christ and including their very lives. Peter and the disciples were witnesses and so is the Holy Spirit.
And if God is with us, who can be against us? (Rom. 8:31).
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And Nothing Was the Same
April 23, 2025
9 When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. 11 When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.
12 Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. 13 These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.
14 Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.
15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
-Mark 16:9-20 (NIV)
He did it! Just as Jesus foretold, he did it! Just as he prophesied, he did it! Just as Isaiah 53 had prophesied, he did it! Jesus died for the sins of the world, and he rose from the grave victorious! Jesus defeated death by giving into the powers of evil. Jesus willingly let the demonic entities (the Bulls of Bashan) surround Jesus (Psalm 22:12) and “have their way with him”, but our triune God had the final answer – Jesus resurrected from the tomb! AND NOTHING WAS THE SAME!
All the Old Testament prophets were waiting for the resurrection moment. They all knew Jesus was coming and they all knew he would save the world, though they probably didn’t know exactly how and when. Perhaps amongst the Old Testament prophets Isaiah had the clearest view of the salvific Jesus and his life, death, resurrection and glorification as evidenced by the last part of Isaiah 52 and all of Isaiah 53, but ultimately this miraculous moment was veiled for the entire world until Easter Sunday!
AND NOTHING WAS THE SAME!
A part of me understands the unbelief reaction of those that heard the resurrection story for the first time (verses 11, 13, 14). I mean the details of our triune God through Jesus Christ conquering over sin and death was veiled (2 Cor. 3:12-18) and kept safe until God’s appointing. And now that his resurrection has been revealed, Jesus’ clear mission for the early followers and us is captured in verse 15 – preach the gospel! Jesus never told his followers to preach on mental health, humanitarian causes, social challenges, financial strategies/get wealth schemes, but he did say to preach the gospel! Are these other topics important, tangential and related to the transformed mindset and effects of the gospel? Sure, but Jesus instructed to preach the gospel! I can’t count how many churches get that mistaken. There’s a ton of modern churches out there delivering messages on mental health and not the gospel! There’s a ton of modern churches out there delivering messages on financial prosperity and not the gospel!
Let’s make this clear: It is out of our transformed hearts to the gospel that everything else in life gets solved or helped and not the other way around, and it’s all because of the resurrection. AND NOTHING WAS THE SAME!
How can we know we’re on the right path in sharing and preaching the gospel? Verses 15-18 were surely some of the signs of the early believers of the gospel message during the apostolic age. I’ll be honest and share I’m not a Cessationist (and I’m a Continuationist) and so I believe a number of these supernatural signs and miracles happen today. I won’t debate or put down Christians in either camp right now, but in any event, that should not stop you from preaching the gospel!
If you believe the gospel message and the resurrection story to be 100% true, then you realize NOTHING IN CREATION’S HISTORY IS THE SAME since the resurrection! There is hope in Jesus Christ and nothing and nobody can ever take that away! And if you’re not excited with the resurrection, then I’ll do my best impression of RC Sproul and say, “What’s wrong with you people?”
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5JhtuUR6o5w
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It is Finished
April 16, 2025
28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
31 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” 37 and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”
-John 19:28-37 (NIV)
Warning: This is not an easy read for anyone squeamish! Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
This is not an ordinary week. It is Holy Week and also known as Passion Week. It is arguably the most holy time of the year. Today let’s reflect on what took place on Good Friday.
Headline news: Jesus was slain and sacrificed on the cross! It happened just as Jesus predicted (Matt. 17:22-23, Mk. 9:30-32, Lk. 9: 21-22, Lk. 9:43-45). He lived the life we all should’ve lived (perfectly righteous, obedient and holy). He died the death we all should’ve died (in agony, torture and ruin because of our rebellion against God). He paid the price of sin, which is death (Rom. 6:23). He bought our freedom and our life with his blood (Eph. 1:7). And because he did so, we are bought for him – our lives are not our own. We belong to Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 6:19-20).
He became human just like one of us (Jn. 1:14, Phil. 2:5-7) and at the same time, he kept his deity (Jn. 5:18, Col. 2:9, Heb. 1:3), such that he was fully human and fully God. While on the cross we see glimpses of both his humanity and deity. In verse 28 we see him thirst as any human would and especially after the flogging, the brutality of carrying the heavy cross, the mental/emotional/social anguish of being stripped naked (Jn. 19:23), ridiculed and deserted (Mk. 15:32), wearing the crown of thorns (Mk. 15:17), and finally nailed to the cross (Mk. 15:24) – certainly that would build up a thirst. With his last breath saying, “It is finished” and as with his entire life, he gave his life for the world, for his lost sheep (Lk. 19:10). By doing so, he also fulfilled the Messianic prophecy (Matt. 15:24) of also saving the lost sheep of Israel. With his death, the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Mk. 15:38). If Jesus was a mere man only, this would not happen and thus, there is an element of the divine at work here. All the land became dark (Matt. 27:45) which also points to his supernatural and divine nature.
Why were the legs of the other two criminals broken, but not Jesus?
The Mosaic Law demanded that dead bodies would not be left hanging on a pole overnight (Deut. 21:22-23), thus the Roman soldiers broke the legs of the other two criminals with an iron mallet to hasten the dying process. Having broken legs meant additional shock to induce more blood loss. It also prevented the victim from pushing with their legs to keep breathing, and thus, the victim died from asphyxiation. Since Jesus was already dead at this point, his body was spared from this additional brutality.
Did Jesus really die?
No question he did! The Roman soldiers were experts at killing. Verse 34 tells us a flow of blood and water poured out after a Roman soldier pierced Jesus’ side. Only upon death does this happen to a body and it’s not something you can fake. It’s a biological, natural occurrence. The Roman soldier made sure he was dead. If you want more evidence on that, I encourage you to read Lee Strobel’s “The Case for Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus”.
Jesus truly died in the most horrific way ever!
AND HE DID IT FOR YOU!
If you got through reading this far, congratulations to you. I tried to warn you this reading wasn’t for the squeamish! And if you got this far, I hope you understand the difficulty and hardship that Jesus endured and what I’m going to say now brings extra meaning to that.
Do you know how much he loves you? He loves you so much that he took your place on the cross! He sacrificed his life so you could have eternal life with him - apart from him, there is no life and only death! (Jn. 15:5, Jn. 14:6). And he fully paid the price of sin once and for all, and indeed IT IS FINISHED! And because of that, there is no condemnation (Rom. 8:1). No matter how great, nor how small your wrongdoings and sins are, IT IS FINISHED. Your sins are all washed away! No matter how great your sin is, they’re all washed away and anyone who calls upon his name will be saved (Rom. 10:13). Perhaps you may think you’re so distant from God, but YOU ARE NOT! Psalm 103:12 tells us he covered all great distances to reconcile you with God the Father! There is no distance too great that is out of his love’s reach! Do not let Satan, any naysayers or even you tell yourself otherwise. If you confess and call upon the name of Jesus Christ, you are saved indeed and nothing and nobody can ever take that way – salvation is irrevocable (Rom. 11:29).
I don’t know who is reading this, but the time to act is now! Call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to save you! It’s not too late and this decision is the best decision you can ever make! Forget what the world thinks of you. All that matters is Jesus Christ and a life pursuing him!
….but the story is not over! And because Jesus rose from the grave on Easter Sunday (Luke 24:1-12), we now have new hope and newfound life in Jesus Christ FOREVER!
HAPPY EASTER!
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Like a Landmine
April 9, 2025
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some claimed that he was.
Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.
11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
12 “Where is this man?” they asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said.
-John 9:1-12 (NIV)
What happens when tragedy hits? We all go through difficult moments in our lives. Sometimes they’re financial hardships, difficult conflicts, health declines, bad report cards, strained relationships, loss of loved ones, economic uncertainties and the list goes on. Some off these things we have no control over and didn’t contribute to the outcomes. After talking to some people, I can think of several unforeseen or unfortunate events some of us are going through that none of us asked for – they seem to have blew-up without warning like stumbling upon an explosive landmine. For those that don’t know, landmines (often used in times of war) are concealed explosive devices buried or camouflaged in the ground and detonate upon being stepped on or driven over by a vehicle. They’re completely unexpected, often unplanned for and are devastating.
For our church people departing from our denomination, it certainly can feel like stumbling upon a landmine. Nobody foresaw changes to doctrines and their implications (especially financial implications for staying true to the Gospel). For newcomers to Canada maybe you arrived because of unforeseen and terrible conflicts back home. For other newcomers to Canada who are now facing government-imposed changes to student/work/residence status, that probably feels like a landmine just erupted. In fact, and for all of the situations and others, it probably feels like an unplanned, unforeseen landmine just exploded without warning. Nobody foresaw these unprovoked changes and some of you as newcomers to Canada you probably quit great careers, borrowed money from friends and family, sold land and said goodbye to deep relationships – basically doing whatever it took to get to Canada and now a problem happened like a landmine detonating without warning. For a great number of people, you may have studied hard, worked hard till retirement, finally paid off your house and suddenly inflation is at an all-time high making it difficult to survive. The cost of living certainly changed without warning and it’s causing pain, just like stumbling upon a landmine! Some people have lived with or are now facing undesired infirmities and they came without warning, and again, just like an unexpected landmine exploding.
Unfortunately, life has a way of causing dramatic pain and struggle without warning or merit and very often. Are any of these struggles well deserved? By my estimates and after talking to many of you, probably not! Can I explain why these things happen? No, but I can tell you what to do about it!
GIVE GOD THE GLORY!
Some of you may be thinking, “How is that possible? It’s completely unfair and not well deserved for me to go through these difficulties. I’m nowhere near satisfied or happy during these painful times. How can I give God the glory?”
Did God directly make all these events happen? Probably not, but he’s aware of them all! God either directly intervenes or he allows for all events in life to happen and all under his knowledge and sovereignty. Some of these events (good and bad) have even been pre-planned by God. Ephesians 1:4 even tells us that out of God’s cosmic and unknowable plan, he elected some for salvation before the creation of the world. To think about the divine mechanisms throughout history to achieve that is astronomically incalculable by mere human intellect….but I want to add this….
GOD LOVES HIS CHILDREN!
From Hebrews 12:6 we know God disciplines those he loves, so let’s get that straight and into our heads! God also allows us to go through struggles and hardships so that we…
1) Turn to God and asking for his help - while knowing he cares for you
2) Recognize there is no life, true peace or true satisfaction without God
3) Recognize anything apart from God leads to futility, ultimate ruin and warrants God’s wrath (genuinely well-deserved since we all deserve God’s wrath) – thank goodness we have Jesus!
4) Trust in his sovereign plan of salvation and sanctification – your suffering sanctifies
5) Align and submit ourselves to God’s sovereign plan (knowing his plan is better for me)
6) Build an intimate relationship with God and enjoy him
7) Praise God, giving God glory no matter what the circumstance
One day all our hardships will be over and they’re not forever! And admittedly, some of our hardships and struggles we’re born with as in the case of the blind man in our story today. In Old Testament times and in ancient Hebrew culture, it’s even understood that hardships and sufferings came directly because of sins (verse 2 in our reading) – but since the time of Jesus, we live in grace and Jesus takes all the punishment and blame for our sins (thank goodness). Still, bad things happen, but we are to display the works of God in our circumstances, thereby living by steps 1-7, and with every breath in our lungs and while we are living, do the work of God the Father (verse 4 in our reading). Remember, Jesus said “we must do the works….” here and this can mean both to the disciples present at that time, but also to us here today. Christian, do the work of God the Father, because the story is not about you, but about God, while knowing God still loves you as his child! And if you ever get confused, feel frustrated or defeated, remember and apply those 7 steps again because God is well deserved of all glory!
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Is Heaven Greater?
April 2, 2025
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
-Matthew 6:19-24 (NIV)
As Christian believers are you in love with Jesus Christ and do you greatly and eagerly desire his current and future promise of spending eternity with him in heaven? Perhaps we don’t think about that concept enough. Lately I’m focusing on God’s heavenly kingdom more and I think we constantly need to bring our perspective of heaven for tomorrow into our faith journey for today.
I recently had dinner with my wife and at the dinner table she brought-up something I said a while ago and shared, “You mentioned that as we become more Christlike, we will become more disgusted with ourselves.” I’m going to double-down on that statement and fully affirm it because it’s absolutely true! In my humble opinion that’s one of the signs of a regenerated heart in Christ. And the more we fall in love with Jesus, he naturally changes your previous desires such that over time, you will naturally not be interested in sinful behaviours of your former days. Some people may ask, “Well how does that work?” To answer that question, I want you to observe the relationship between a healthy married couple that’s been married for many years. The key word is “healthy” because there are several married couples that are still together, but sadly, their marriage is not healthy. If you’ve been around healthy married couples that’ve been together for many decades, you may notice that some of them finish each other’s sentences. I know a couple from a previous ministry charge and they constantly finish each other’s sentences and constantly add their little parts of a story to always tell a combined and singular story. I used to joke with them all the time and say they were two people, but one mind.
You might’ve also observed several, healthy and longtime married couples develop the same sayings or mannerisms in response to various situations. Not all, but many of them as husband and wife enjoy many of the same movies, foods, hobbies, entertainment spots, music, vacation destinations, clothing styles, etc. – Now how could all of this be? The more time you spend with someone you love and share life with, you tend to emulate that person you love and appreciate and understand their quirks and you receive joy from sharing experiences together. And because you go through similar or same life experiences, you tend to react or behave similarly to many of life’s events (but not all). In 2015 Pew Research even stated that 64% of married adults mentioned having shared interests as very important to a successful marriage.[i] The bottom line is, the more you spend time with Jesus, the more you heart is aligned with his (Rom. 12:9) and the things that you Jesus loves will be the things you love. Conversely the things that Jesus hates will be the things you hate. Paul was so convinced of this that in response to his pursuit and love of Jesus Christ, he even willingly and wanted to suffer just so that he could become more Christlike in Christ’s death and gain resurrection from the power of Christ’s resurrection (Phil. 3:10-11).
To me these statements spell a healthy understanding of heaven not just for tomorrow, but also for today. In our text in Matthew, Jesus paints the picture of heaven offering infinitely more value than any possessions or achievements we could claim in this life, but also that heaven offers more joy than any sin this world could ever tempt us with. Moreover and in Phil. 3:7-8, Paul considers everything in his life to be a loss for the sake of Christ.
Dear Christians reading this:
I’m not sure what you may be struggling with. Maybe it’s pride, greed, lust, envy, jealousy, laziness, overworking, bitterness, anger, resentment, unforgiveness, mismanagement of money, and the list goes on….
Let’s put that aside here.
Now how close is heaven to you and how in love are you with Jesus? Perhaps you’re struggling with personal sins or even sinful strongholds. If you want help, please read on. If not, feel free to quit reading now. Prayerfully consider this….
Here’s the thoughts helping me lately:
Heaven offers infinitely more pleasure and fulfillment than anything and anyone this world can offer. Every day I’m breathing is a day I get closer to heaven. I love Jesus so much that I’m finding less enjoyment in sinful behaviour now more than ever. And the pain and struggles I’m going through now are worth it once I reach Jesus in heaven. Not only that because my daily pain and struggles help me to become more Christlike…..and now because I know all of this, am I willing to repent and find fulfillment in not only the promises of Jesus, but also the person of Jesus or not? Is heaven greater? Is Jesus greater than whatever you’re going through or not? Do you really believe that? If you honestly do with a sober mind, then give your struggle to Jesus and be on the road to recovery and victory! Drop whatever sin you’re holding onto and hold onto Jesus and his true promises!
Yes, heaven is greater and yes, Jesus is worthy! (Rev. 4:11).
[i] Geiger, A. W. (2019, February 13). 8 facts about love and marriage in America. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/02/13/8-facts-about-love-and-marriage/
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