Category Archives: Eternal Life

Bible, Decay, Eternal Life, Perishable, Scripture, Temporal

FOCUS ON THE ETERNAL

COLOSSIANS 2:22

“(which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of man?”

We spend so much time on things that will not last. During my last illness with my disease (AL Amyloidosis) and the subsequent Stem Cell Transplant and Chemo, God told me to focus on the eternal, not the temporal. Things really just don’t mean much to me anymore. What I possess or don’t possess isn’t important. Why do so many of us struggle with this?

In today’s verse, Paul says in a kind of side note, “(which all refer to things destined to perish with use).” These words from Paul are an insert into the stream of thought. Because they are part of God’s Word, they are still inspired by the Holy Spirit. He is reinforcing his previous statements about the importance of focusing on the things of God and not the things of this world.

APPLICATION

The phrase “destined to perish” is the Greek word phthora which can be translated as corruption, destruction, decay, rottenness or decomposition. That’s pretty clear, huh? These things Paul had just mentioned in the previous verses are going to go the way of the world. They will waste away.

This word is found in several other passages which help to clarify its meaning. In 1 Corinthians 15:42 we read, “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body;” In Galatians 6:8 it says, “For the one who sows to his own flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.”

So, today focus on what really matters – the eternal things. What are they? Salvation, God’s Word, Worshipping the Lord. Practice those things, not the worldly pursuits that will decay, rot and perish. God was and is and is to come.

O Lord, I give You praise for Your eternal presence in my life. Help me focus on the eternal today.

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Access, Bible, Blood, Cross, Eternal Life, Salvation, Scripture

THROUGH THE CROSS

EPHESIANS 2:16

“and that He might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the hostility.”

Sometimes the only way to get to something is to go through something. I had to go through four years of college and three years of seminary to get to my Master’s Degree. It was a lot of work, a lot of blood, sweat and tears. It also took a lot of prayer. But at the end of those seven years, I held that diploma proudly.

Paul, however, explains that my reconciliation to God had nothing to do with my human effort. It was solely through the cross of Christ. It was His sacrifice that brought me to God. The Greek word for “through” used here is dia which can mean “by the instrumentality of. The cross of Christ was the only instrument needed to rescue me.

APPLICATION

Have you ever seen the Bridge Illustration? It is a simple way to share your faith with someone. Below is the full diagram showing the gap that separated you from God and how the cross bridges that gap.

I normally use Romans 6:23 to lead someone through this illustration. On the left side of the gap below “us” I would write “wages” an “sin.” Then I write “death” at the bottom. On the right side under “God” I would write “free gift” and “eternal life.” I use a cool app called “Share Your Faith” which walks right through it.

Why am I sharing all this with you? 1. So you can see that it is only through the cross that we can cross that great divide between us and God. 2. So you can have a tool to use to share your faith with someone else.

Don’t take your salvation for granted. Christ’s cross wasn’t some shiny, golden cross. It was a rugged piece of wood covered in blood. He shed His blood, sweat and tears for you. Never forget that. Give Him praise today!

I am so thankful today, Lord, for the sacrifice of the cross.

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Abiding, Access, Bible, Blessing, Eternal Life, Eternity, Heaven, Home, Scripture, Seated

THESE ARE GOOD SEATS

EPHESIANS 2:6

“and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” 

Man, there is nothing like getting good seats for an event, whether that be football, tennis, basketball or a concert. When you are in that seat you can see the players better. You can watch the action better. Shoot, you might even get some of their sweat on you, lol. Being up close and personal makes the event that much more memorable.

What do you think Paul is describing in today’s verse? We are going to get front row seats with Jesus. The phrase “seated us with Him” is sugkathizó, means to sit in company with someone. It’s in the Aorist Indicative, which means it is a factual event that has been done once. Paul is telling the Ephesians (and us) that this action has already been completed. We have guaranteed, reserved seats with Jesus.

APPLICATION

I have a friend who gets season tickets to a minor league baseball team’s games. Those seats are right behind the dugout between homeplate and third base. Great seats. He lets me use them. They are paid for. They are guaranteed. No one else is going to take my seat. No one can stop me from sitting in them. He has paid for them.

Jesus has paid the price for our reserved seat with Him in heaven. He is just waiting for us. He’s seated next to His Father, at His right hand, and is waiting for us to join Him. Colossians 3:1 tells us that’s where He is. “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”

Can you just picture it? You enter heaven and Jesus waves you down to where He’s seated. “Make room. Make room. My child is here. He has a seat reserved in His name.” Of course, I am just making this up. I don’t know what it will look like in heaven. But I do know one thing. I’ve got a seat. How about you?

Father, You have promised me so many great things. I look forward to my front row seat.

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Bible, Choices, Death, Decisions, Eternal Life, Eternity, Gospel, Offenses, Scripture, Sin

YOU WERE DEAD

Ephesians 2:1

“And you were dead in your offenses and sins,” 

Let me let you in on a little secret – dead means dead. I have attended a lot of funerals and burials and have never once met someone who came back from that event. I am not trying to be hurtful or disrespectful if you have gone through that recently. I just know that death is the final act of this earthly body. Unless you are lucky enough to have been brought back medically, everyone who is reading this has never experienced death – yet.

Paul kind of slaps the Ephesians in the face with today’s verse. “You were dead! D-E-A-D, Dead!” Why? Because of their offenses and sins. Remember Romans 6:23? “For the wages of sin is death,…” The result of the fall of man in the garden was death – physical and spiritual death. Without an intervention by God, man would die spiritually because of their sins. Paul wants the Ephesians to remember that.

APPLICATION

You are probably thinking Well, thanks for the good news, Carl. That really made my day! You have to hang on. The first three verses of chapter 2 are all about showing us what we were BEFORE Jesus. In verse four we will see the good news. So, just hang in there. Keep coming back each day to get the full picture. This may feel like a cliffhanger, but I promise there is a bridge in sight.

Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all mankind, because all sinned—” It all sounds so hopeless, doesn’t it? We have all been infected by this germ called “sin.” It is highly contagious. In fact, we were all born with it. Now hang on, Carl. You can’t tell me those precious little babies are sin filled. According to Scripture, yep! I don’t believe a baby or child will be held accountable for that until they are able to hear and comprehend the Gospel (but that’s a whole other discussion for another day).

I love 1 John and how John shows when we have left this sin-filled life and chosen to live our lives for Jesus. He says this in 1 John 3:14. “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers and sisters. The one who does not love remains in death.” This is how we apply this verse. First, we accept Jesus, and then we show the world. Can you live today in that manner? Through Christ, you can.

O Lord, You have given me a new life. Help me live it honoring You.

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Abundance, Belief, Bible, Blessing, Eternal Life, Eternity, Pledge, Promises, Scripture, Trustworthy

FIRST INSTALLMENT

EPHESIANS 1:14

“who is a first installment of our inheritance, in regard to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”

I currently have one installment loan that I am responsible for. When I moved to Knoxville, TN back in March, my wife and I had to borrow money to buy our home. That loan is an installment loan. Any type of loan you borrow all at once and repay in smaller increments is an installment loan. I will be paying on this house until I go to heaven or Jesus returns (whichever comes first, lol).

Paul uses this word three times in his letters – here, 2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5. Only he uses it in the New Testament. I love how Albert Barnes explains this Greek Word, arrabón. “God thus gives to his people the assurance that they shall be saved; and by this “pledge” makes their title to eternal life sure.” The installment payment God made was His Holy Spirit. We have a little taste of heaven by being indwelt with His Spirit.

APPLICATION

Let’s look at the other two occurrences of that word. 2 Corinthians 1:22 says, “who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.” In the same letter, Paul says this in 5:5, “Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a pledge.” This word was a common term used in business transactions. It was a promise of future payment. This pledge or first payment was meant to show you were good for the rest.

Aren’t you glad we know our God is good for the rest? His promises are sure. He will never fail us. He has promised us so much, but the best is an eternity with Him. Can you imagine? No more alarm clocks waking you up to go to work. No more bills to pay. No more aches and pains. No more…you fill in the blank. We will have a lot of “no mores,” but we will also have a lot of “so much mores.”

Take a minute and thank God for His gift of the Holy Spirit in your life as a believer. Thank Him for convicting you of sin.  Thank Him for uttering our deepest pains when we can’t find the words. Thank Him for His guidance through difficult situations. Thank for this pledge of our inheritance.

Father, You have promised us so much and given us this pledge as a reminder.

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Age, Belief, Bible, Blessing, Chosen, Devil, Eternal Life, Eternity, Foundation, God's Will, Redemption, Salvation, Satan, Scripture

BEFORE ANYTHING

EPHESIANS 1:4

“just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love…”

Can you remember your life before it began? Of course, you can’t. No one can. Our finite minds are limited to our degree of consciousness. We cannot comprehend a time before we could think or act. What is your first memory as a child? I remember growing up in Southwest Georgia and playing with my siblings in the yard. I remember this red, metal tractor that we used to pedal around the yard. My life before that is only remembered through photographs.

Paul refers to a time in today’s verse that existed before anything, “the foundation of the world.” When was that? Well, it was literally before anything. Why would Paul bring this up? To show us that God’s eternal plan of choosing us has always existed. There has never been a time when we weren’t on His mind. Can you imagine? Our life has had a purpose that long. So, how can we ever doubt His love for us.

APPLICATION

In John 17:24, Jesus refers to this time before time. “‘Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.’” God loved His Son before the foundation of the world. He loved us before the foundation of the world. He has loved us as long as He has loved His own Son. Wow! How can we doubt His love?

1 Peter 1:20 tells us, “For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you.” Jesus, who the Father loved before the foundation of the world and was known before the foundation of the world, had an eternal purpose before the foundation of the world. What was that? To come and die for us, to redeem us back to His Father.

Our salvation has always been the Father’s plan. There was never a Plan A and Plan B. There was only ONE plan – Jesus. Before you ever came into existence, God had you on His mind. Again, I ask you, how could we ever doubt His love for us. We only doubt because we listen to the evil one’s lies. Read this verse several times today. Better yet, memorize it and repeat it over and over. Never doubt His love. He loved us before anything!

Father, although I cannot imagine a time before anything, I believe You loved me that long.

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Bible, Eternal Life, Eternity, Farewells, Goodbyes, Grace, Love, Messages, Scripture

FAREWELLS

GALATIANS 6:18

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen”

Saying goodbye can be hard. When you know you probably won’t see someone for a long time, it can be even harder. My daughter had a baby shower recently, and a lot of her friends came. Some were her friends from high school. I had the privilege to see a couple of them before they left our home. When they left, we hugged, knowing it may be years before we see each other again. I love those girls (they will always be girls to me) and look forward to our next visit.

Paul signs off this letter to the Galatians with a simple but heartfelt goodbye. He wishes them grace but not just any grace. He wishes them “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Notice he said “our” and not “your.” He joins himself with them. They are brothers in faith. You may notice in your translation that “and sisters” is italicized. These words are not in the original Greek but are implied. Paul would not mean to imply that he was leaving the women out. He just addresses the men. Then he wishes this grace upon their spirit. A comforting last thought.

APPLICATION

Matthew Henry says this about verse 18. “We need desire no more to make us happy than the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle does not pray that the law of Moses, or the righteousness of works, but that the grace of Christ, might be with them; that it might be in their hearts and with their spirits, quickening, comforting, and strengthening them: to all which he sets his Amen; signifying his desire that so it might be, and his faith that so it would be.” What a great way to explain these last words.

If you had to write a letter to someone today, knowing you may never see them again, what would you say? How would you close the letter? Jesus’ last words to us are in Matthew 28:18-20. “18 ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.;” That’s quite a sendoff.

How about the very last words of the Bible in Revelation 22:20-21? “20 He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.” Isn’t it interesting that John closes the Bible with the same words – the grace of the Lord Jesus? When you have experienced His grace, goodbyes to fellow believers are not forever. We will see each other again. Amen?

Thank You, Lord, for securing my future so that my goodbyes are just temporary.

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Bible, Creation, Eternal Life, God's Will, Indwelling, Redemption, Scripture

A NEW CREATION

GALATIANS 6:15

“For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.”

Man can’t create a thing. We can make stuff from stuff, but we can’t create a single thing. We grow stuff in labs. We plant seeds and watch them grow. We paint art. All of these can display our creative nature. But we, as mere humans, do not have the capability to create anything.

In these last few verses of this letter to the Galatians, Paul begins to wrap it up. In fact, this is the last verse which is addressing the main issue raised by the Judaizers – circumcision. The remaining three verses are his closing remarks. I love how Paul finishes his diatribe on circumcision. He negates it. The key is that we are born again – created again – through Jesus. That’s the real mark of a believer, not a fleshly sign. It’s internal. It’s a circumcision of the heart.

APPLICATION

There are so many verses we could look at concerning our new creation in Christ, but one is probably the most recognized. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” The word for “creation” here and in today’s verse are the same. It’s the Greek word ktisis, which always refers to a divine work. God does this creating, not man.

In Mark 10:6 we read these words of Christ, “‘But from the beginning of creation, God CREATED THEM MALE AND FEMALE.’” Just as God created Adam and Eve in the garden, along with all our nature, He has recreated us in the image of Christ. We have a brand new life.

Let me show you one more verse – Ephesians 2:10. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Do you see it now? If you are in Christ, you are brand new. Your old self is gone, dead, crucified, buried. You are a new creation in Jesus. New babies need their parents. You, as a new creation, need your Heavenly Father. Lean on Him. He can lead you in the right path.

Thank You, Father, for giving me a new life in Christ.

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Bible, Choices, Destruction, Eternal Life, Harvest, Reaping, Scripture, Sowing

REAPING AND SOWING 

GALATIANS 6:8 

“For the one who sows to his own flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.” 

In the past, I have really enjoyed gardening. I have mentioned this before in my blogs. But it’s that time again in the South, so it’s been on my mind a lot. I have been contemplating building some raised beds to go along my backyard fence where I could plant some vegetables. I really enjoy the process of preparing the soil, planting the seed or plants, watching them grow and then reaping the harvest. I can always bet on the fact that I will reap exactly what I sowed. 

In today’s verse, Paul is continuing his thought on reaping and sowing. He is pointing out to the Galatians that there are consequences for our actions. Those who seek to please their flesh will one day reap destruction. They will not experience the peace that comes through knowing Christ. But those who run after the Spirit, who sow seeds to please the Spirit will reap that promise of eternal life. What a promise! 

APPLICATION 

We all know Romans 6:23, right? “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Don’t you get that? It’s free! All we have to do is accept it. Who wouldn’t want that? How about the words of Christ in John 5:24? “‘Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.’” 

Or we can choose to live our lives our own way and ignore all the warning signs. We can choose to live for the moment. There’s a popular billboard out right now. It says, “Live Your Truth.” What hogwash! There is only one truth. What we think about our truth does not matter. That will only lead you to destruction. That is sowing to please the flesh. 

What will you do today? Are you going to sow to the flesh or to the Spirit? Do you want destruction or eternal life? I know what I want. I want to spend eternity with the King of kings and Lord of lords. I want to glorify His name forever. Will you join me? 

Father, You are the reason I have chosen Jesus. You drew me to Yourself. 

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