O Glorious Thought

O Glorious Thought 

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, that by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself (Phil. 3:20-21). 

I know that in the not too distant future, I will fold up this earthly tent and take that journey from whence I will not return. This world is not my home nor is it yours. We are strangers and pilgrims on this earth and as such we are seeking that city whose builder and maker is God (1 pet. 2:11, Heb. 11:10, 13, 1 Pet. 2:11). Our treasure is in heaven so our hearts are centered on things above not on things on earth (Mat. 6:19-21. Col. 3:1-3). 

Often in this life we find ourselves in places where we would rather not be. That will not be so with heaven. What a joy it will be to one day fly away to God's celestial shore and with the redeemed live forever with the Lord Jesus Christ. Most of the time when we think and talk about heaven our thoughts center on the things that will not be there: no tears, sorrow, crying, pain or death (Rev. 21:3-4).

 Certainly, thinking about this home where all things are made new, where there will be nothing to ever trouble our heart is a source of great joy, comfort and peace but there is another aspect of heaven that multiplies that joy in my heart and that is the people who will be there. God, our creator and sustainer of life will dwell and be among us, the one who will wipe away all tears from our eyes will be there and dwell with us. Jesus, Son of God, whose love for us was so great for us that he went to the cross and died for us. I have never seen either one except through the eye of faith yet I love them dearly and trust them with all my being. Just thinking about being with those heroes of the bible, Abraham, Moses, Daniel, David, Paul, Peter, John (Heb. 11), thrills my soul.

 Heaven is even more personal because there are those I have known and seen and loved with all my heart and one day in that not too distant future, I know I will see them again. O glorious thought. Someone once said, "It's not so much the place as it is the company that makes heaven so beautiful." Today, heaven tugs at my heartstrings and I am going to strive to serve the Lord to the best of my abilities, clinging to him with great anticipation of the day when I will fly away to live forever in the lasting city. How about you?

 Charles Hicks

 

But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned

 

WHY DO WE TALK AS WE DO?

 

Our Lord said, "But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned" (Matthew 12:36-37). The apostle Paul wrote: "Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt (salt, mind you, not pepper!, hf), that you may know how you ought to answer each one" (Colossians 4:6).

 

In the light of the above passages, it is amazing to hear how some people talk. Profanity is found on the lips of many people, including many who profess to be Christians. God's name is uttered in vain (in a shallow, thoughtless, irreverent way). "O My God" is heard all too often today. OMG  (acronym for O My God) shows up too often in print, even from some professing to be Christians. "My Lord" and "Good Lord" are frequently spoken in thoughtless, flippant ways, thus taking the Lord's name in vain. Vulgarities of all kinds spew freely from the mouths of many. These speech patterns, though senseless, disrespectful, and unnecessary, are sometimes defended on the grounds that the speaker means no harm by them. I once heard such language defended on the grounds that such words are just sounds—verbal noises by which the speaker means no real harm, that they are just a part of the pattern of the person's way of expressing himself or herself.

 

Well, the preaching of the gospel involves the use of words and a pattern of speech that in one sense may be said to be just "sounds" or "verbal noises." In fact, the psalmist, in extolling the message of God's inanimate creation, said, "Their line (footnote, "sound") has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world" (Psalm 19:4). By inspiration, Paul quotes this very verse and applies it to preachers of the gospel. He says, "Their sound has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the end of the world" (Romans 10:18). (How is that for an apostolic example of what is often ridiculed as "proof-texting"?) But what a difference there is between the "sounds" and "verbal noises" of those who utter profanities and vulgarities and the "sounds" and "verbal noises" of those who speak forth "words of truth and soberness (reason)" (Acts 26:25)! In Iconium Paul and Barnabas made such "sounds" and "verbal noises" as to cause "a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks to believe" (Acts 14:l). Do our "sounds" and "verbal noises" result in such?

 

Make no mistake about it—our words are significant. They are not mere "sounds" or "verbal noise," but a reflection of our heart and of our reverence and respect for God and His holiness. Jesus said, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34b). Paul exhorted, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers" (Ephesians 4:29).

 

God's word likewise forbids gossip, tale-bearing, murmuring, and lying. In the eyes of the Lord, these things are just as sinful as profanity and vulgarity. Paul wrote: "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice" (Ephesians 4:31). Elsewhere he said, "But now you also put off all these: anger, wrath, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds" (Colossians 3:8-9). James admonished, "Do not grumble against (grudge not against, KJV) one another, brethren, lest you be condemned" (James 5:9). The eternal fate of all liars will be with "the cowardly (fearful) and unbelieving and abominable and murders and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters...in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8). Not a very likable bunch to have to live with throughout all eternity!

 

How right James was when he wrote: "For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect (mature, complete, hf) man, able also to bridle the whole body" (James 3:2).

 

Hugh Fulford

Life Is a Daring Adventure

Life Is A Daring Adventure

 

And 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 

 Aside from saying that life is a great gift from God, I do not know how you might describe your life but as for me, life has been one daring adventure. We awake each morning not knowing what will occur during the course of the day. We cannot be sure that we will have in the next moment what we have in the present moment. Will there be good news or bad news coming our way? Will there be continued health or will we or a loved one be struck down with illness before the day ends? Will we experience prosperity or will poverty strike us? Will we enjoy success or failure in our endeavors? Will we be surrounded with comfort, peace and contentment or will pain, heartache and turmoil beset us? Will we still be alive when the sun sets at the end of day or will we be absent from this earthly body? 

What will we do, what will we have, where will we be? We just do not know from one moment to the next what changes lie in store for us. The present moment of time is all we have and it is gone, replaced by the next moment before we can even think about it and suddenly there will be no more moments for us on planet earth. Changes in our physical well-being, changes in our bodies or our mental abilities can and often do happen in the blink of an eye and all this is what makes life one daring adventure for me. Helen Keller said about life, "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all." 

I pray that each of us will be found seeking the strength, courage and patience needed in life to draw closer to God each day because everything about us in this life, everything that surrounds us, even our own life can and often does change very quickly. I love to sing (and often do): "I am weak but thou art strong, Jesus keep me from all wrong, I'll be satisfied as long as I walk close to thee. Just a closer walk with thee, Grant it, Jesus my plea; Daily let it ever be Just a closer walk with thee." 

We don't know what is going to take place in our life one moment from now, not even a clue. This thought may sometimes be a little scary but it does make life a daring adventure. One thing I do know, come what may, the God we believe in, the God we love and trust with all our being is in control of all things and we are in his hands (Psalms 121:1-8, Prov. 3:5-6, 1 Cor. 10:13, James 4:6-10).  

Charles Hicks

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have We Kept Our Promises

Have We Kept Our Promises 

When you make a vow to God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools; pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that shouldest vow and not pay (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5) 

A vow is defined as a solemn promise, one by which a person is bound to act. When we make the decision to be baptized into Christ, we make a transition from walking in the way of the world to walking in newness of life as a new creature in Christ (Romans 6:4, 2 Corinthians 5:17). Now, when we make the decision to walk in newness of life, do we not make some solemn promises to God on that day? 

I know we do not literally say, God I promise…, but I firmly believe that in our heart we make a lot of unspoken promises. A promise that we are going to love and serve him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30). A promise that we are going to live for him, doing whatever he tells us must be done (Philippians 1:21, Galatians 2:20, 1 Corinthians 15:57, Matthew 5:16, Matthew 6:33, Colossians 3:1-3, Romans 12:1-2, 1 John 2:15-17). A promise that we are going to live our life in a way that will be pleasing to him (2 Corinthians 5:9, 1 John 3:18-22, Revelation 2:10). 

 We promise to give Him the best of our gifts, of which the best gift of all is ourself (2 Corinthians 8:1-5, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20). This promise also includes time, talents and money. We promise to give Him the best of our labors (Matthew 5:16, Luke 10:7, 1 Corinthians 15:57). I suppose that in all this I am in a feeble way trying to emphasize that walking in newness of life, becoming a new creature in Christ carries the thought of making a rock-solid commitment to God, letting him have full possession of our life, yielding every member to him (Romans 6:11-19, Romans 12:1-2) and aren't all the spoken and unspoken promises we make to him wrapped up in this commitment?  

 Now the big question is: Have we, are we faithfully keeping the spoken as well the unspoken promises we make to God. Over the years of preaching, teaching bible classes and writing weekly bible thoughts, I have many times felt so limited in my abilities. Often I have wished that I had the ability to reach down deep into my soul and find the words to speak or write that would be so powerful they would move all who heard or read them to do everything within their power to make their journey to eternity a safe one—I do not have that ability but I can tell you that if we fail to keep the promises we make to God, whether spoken or unspoken, it will cost us dearly when one day we exit this world and enter the world that will never end (Eccl. 12:13-14, 2 Cor. 5:10).

 Charles Hicks