The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Ecclesiastes 8:7-8a,
"Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come? No man has power over the wind to contain it; so no one has power over the day of his death."
For each of us, we have no idea what the future holds. We know of some future events that will take place: the return of Jesus Christ to planet earth, the resurrection of the dead, eternal life for those who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith. We know these things because they have been told to us in the Scriptures. But what will take place tomorrow is hidden from us. We may enjoy something wonderful or we may face some horrific event. It may be our last day in this life "under the sun". We just don't know.
The Lord knows, of course. We are told he knows the end from the beginning. Not only does he know what will take place for each of us tomorrow, as believers, we know that he intends whatever it is for our good. The well-known passage from Romans 8:28 comes to mind, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
Although there is great assurance to be found in this, in our "life under the sun", it pales in comparison to the powerful assurance we have for judgment day, a day coming for us all. All sinners will be cast into a fiery lake of burning sulfur, Revelation 21:8. For those of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith, our sins have been paid for and we look forward to an eternity with our Lord: eternal pleasures at his right hand. Psalm 16:11.
At times I hear that Jesus Christ is a crutch for those who need one in this life. The point being made that Christians are the weakest among people and unable to cope with the challenges of life without a crutch. While I whole-heartedly agree that Christians find in Jesus Christ a refuge and strength, the choice of those who have embraced him has been made for other another reason. We will all need rescue on judgment day to escape that fiery lake of burning sulfur. Jesus Christ has already paid the penalty for our sins. On that day, no one who rejected Jesus Christ will avoid being cast into this horrific judgment. "The cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." Revelation 21:8.
"Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:11-15.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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