Life After Death! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in John 5:28-29,

"Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned."

Life after death! We will all suffer physical death (excepting, of course, those who happen to be alive when this age comes to a close as Jesus Christ returns to earth). "Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment..." Hebrews 9:27.

There are two, and only two ways a person rises from the dead: to eternal life or to face eternal condemnation.  "This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them..." Here is the disposition of all who participate in that "second death", that eternal condemnation, "The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire."

The burning (pun intended) issue, then, is how is one's name written in the book of life? Going back to what Jesus said in John 5:24, "Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life." Any one of us can rise from our physical deaths to eternal life. However, Jesus makes it abundantly clear that only those who believe in the Lord, who have embraced the Lord in faith, who have placed their confidence and trust in him in this life will have their names written in the book of life and rise to eternal life!

There is no reincarnation, there are no "recycles" through life to better ourselves, there is no purgatory, there is no "soul sleep", there is nothing following our deaths other than what the Lord taught us when he was here. All of these other thoughts and concepts are fantasies without any support whatsoever in the Scriptures.

What he taught us while here is there is a place of torment for those who have not embraced the Lord in faith where people immediately go when they suffer their physical deaths. See the account of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16:19-31. Following the end of this age, when the Lord returns, all who are in this place of torment will be raised to be condemned in the Lord's court and cast into a fiery lake of burning sulfur, see Revelation 21:8.

Those who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith in this life will immediately be brought into the Lord's presence in heaven when they suffer their physical deaths. In the account in Luke we read of paradise where Abraham remained until Jesus' ascension into heaven. When he ascended, he emptied out paradise and took all there to heaven. (Those who were in the place of torment remain there still, till they are raised for judgment. This is where all go who have not embraced the Lord in faith.) It is from this disembodied presence in heaven that all will be raised with renewed bodies to eternal life.

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." John 14:1-4.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Jesus: A Spring Welling Up to Eternal Life - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in John 4:13-14,

"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

These are the words Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus was returning to Galilee from Judea, and as he passed through Samaria, he stopped at a well to drink where he met this woman and asked her for water. After telling her of a "living water" he could provider her, she, not understanding, wanted to know just how Jesus would draw water from the well - how would he get it since he didn't have anything with which to draw water?

The cup of water Jesus spoke of, of course, was the cup of salvation. He told her that he was the Messiah, the One for whom she was waiting to explain all things. He is the source of what satisfies for an eternity - as "a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

In thinking of a drink of water that Jesus used as a metaphor, it brings to mind some thoughts for me.

The first being that just as we all get thirsty to keep our bodies hydrated, we all do, in fact, thirst for things eternal - we seek refreshment for our souls, our spirits. Everyone does. Most everyone has a felt need for connecting with the Eternal, with our Creator, with God. Many of us may not understand this "spiritual thirst". But we see this thirst reflected in the many religions of the world, it is seen in the many pursuits man engages in to find solutions to those "problems" (sin) we have in our lives - problems that cause our existence to be less than satisfying at best and destructive at worst. I think this "thirst" is often the root cause for much mental illness, drug abuse, as well as other "vices" as many look in all the wrong places to satisfy it.

There is no doubt in my mind that many ills experienced by mankind today are a representation of the hunger, the thirst we all have for acquiring those answers to life that bring us a sense of well-being, a sense of fulfillment, purpose and satisfaction in life. A hunger and thirst for contact with the One who is greater than we are, the One who can address the wrongs this sinful world has sent our way, the One before whom we feel our shortcomings - the One we will all have to give an account to following this life.

The reality is, we are all needy in our lost and fallen state, and Jesus Christ provides the only provision that addresses the need, no matter how it is felt. We can entertain ourselves with toys, with pleasures, with best this life has to offer "under the sun" but it is only Jesus Christ that can satisfy the deepest needs, the deepest hunger, the deepest thirst we have for things eternal.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

God's Love, Our Faith - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in John 3:16-18,

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."

These are the oft quoted words of Jesus to Nicodemus. In these several verses we learn of an incomprehensible love God has for lost and sinful mankind. I say incomprehensible because of the disposition of man's heart toward his Creator. Man rebelled against God, turned from God to go his own way. This resulted in an estrangement between the two, yet God so loved mankind that he sent his Son to make a way for mankind to be reconciled to himself and given a place at his table for an eternity.

Quite apart from any deserving inclination from God, God has expressed his grace and mercy by sending the Son of his love to die a miserable death on that cross to make eternity possible for all who will embrace him in faith.

In addition to the love of God that provided a way for man, we learn that path is only found and only traveled by faith. None of us can ever be good enough to pay for our sins. The only payment we can make is the eternal death we all deserve. However, God sent his Son as the Way. That Way is achieved or attained only by an exercise of our wills, to embrace Jesus Christ in faith. We are all born into this world as lost and fallen people destined for God's condemnation on judgment day. However, God himself makes it possible for us to be reconciled to him, no longer "condemned".

Here is how John the Baptist put it at the end of the chapter, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on them." John 3:36. Clear, succinct, concise and truthful: the trademark of John the Baptist's communication.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

The Lord Knows Us, Yet Loves Us! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in John 2:25,

"He [Jesus] did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person."

Jesus did not entrust himself to the folks in Jerusalem at the Passover. Although many people saw his miracles and "believed in his name", he knew the hearts of everyone. This points to the reality that the Lord knows us and knows us well.

In Psalm 139:1-6 we read,

"You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain."

In that psalm David acknowledges to the Lord there is no where he can go to escape the Holy Spirit, to "flee" from his presence. The writer of Hebrews tells us, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." Hebrews 4:13.

The Lord knows us and he knows us well. He knows us better than anyone else possibly could and he knows us better than even we ourselves do.

While this can be quite unsettling and discomforting, it reveals something we ought to be aware of. We quite naturally feel like we do not measure up. Each of us are aware of things we have said, felt and done that may cause us to feel inadequate and unqualified for any relationship with our Lord of many perfections, our Lord of pristine character and nature... our flawless God of perfection. Yet, nevertheless, our Lord loves us so much he was willing to come and die a miserable death to effect the very relationship we might feel unqualified for. 

That love was not born in an ignorance the Lord had of us. He knows us through and through. He knows of those things we have said. He knows of those things we have felt. He knows of those things we have done. He knows it all when he thinks of us (and, he does think of each one of us!). Yet, he loved us so much, in spite of our shortcomings, in spite of our sin, in spite of our frailties and weaknesses, our Lord died on that cross for you and for me!

We have nothing to hide from the Lord as he already knows all about each of us. He loves us and embraces us and perfects us out of this love he has for us. This is what makes us qualified to spend an eternity with him. This is what enables us to live in the presence of the Lord... to live with the very One who defines perfection! 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Whose Sins Have Been Paid For? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in John 1:29,

"The next day John [the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'"

John the Baptist knew exactly who Jesus Christ was. As Jesus approached him one day, John declared that it was Jesus Christ who would "take away the sin of the world." He would take that sin away by taking the punishment for that sin upon himself in the court of God's justice. And, he did it for the whole world.

Some have arrived at the conclusion that when Jesus Christ died on that miserable cross, he only paid the penalty for the sins of those who would ultimately find their way into the kingdom of God. Conversely, all who find themselves condemned in the judgment of God at the end of the age never had their sins paid for by Jesus' atoning death. The theological concept is called "Limited Atonement". It is a conclusion that is drawn from a theological deduction. The thinking goes that the precious blood of Jesus Christ could not possibly be expended upon anything that did not achieve God's purpose. Since those who reject Jesus Christ do not represent the achievement of God's purpose for mankind, then Jesus blood could not have been expended upon them. Those who reject Jesus Christ never had their sins paid for on that cross. I'm certain someone else could articulate the position more clearly than me. Hopefully you get the point.

Here is yet another point where the theological deductions of limited mankind fail to find the truth. (I'm a prime example of someone who falls into this number!)  There is a reason God has revealed himself to us in the Scriptures: we need them. We can't arrive at those truths on our own that require God's help in us apprehending them.

When John pointed out that Jesus would take away the sin of the world, the straightforward  understanding is that anyone who exists or has existed in the world has had their sins taken way, or removed as an obstacle to achieve eternal life. And, this is exactly what he meant. In Paul's letter to Timothy, we find that it is God's will that all come to know him, "God our Savior... wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." 1 Timothy 2:3-4. In order for "all people to be saved" all people need to have their sins paid for. Peter makes the same observation, "he [the Lord] is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9. Since God does not want anyone to perish, their sins need to be paid for.

While the above is likewise a deduction, the following is not: "He [Jesus Christ] is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." 1 John 2:2. Here, John clearly points out that all the sins of all mankind for all time were paid for by Jesus Christ when he died on that cross. Everybody's sins.

If the Lord suffered such a miserable death for you and for me, how could we turn our back on such an astonishing act of love on our behalf? If each and every person's sins were paid for by Jesus Christ, if he suffered for each and every human being, how could I possibly not reflect that value of each and every person as Jesus did when he expressed his incomprehensible love for us all on that cross?

It is important to note that although God wants each and every person to enter his family, to inherit eternal life, he also has determined that only those who embrace him in faith will do so. "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" John 1:12. We find the fate of all who fail to do so in Revelation 21:8. What we learn from the Scriptures is that Jesus Christ made a way for all to inherit eternal life by paying the penalty for their sins on the cross. However, that payment for sins only gets credited to our account in God's court if we embrace Jesus Christ in faith.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Motivated Believers Show It! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in John 21:15,

"'Simon son of John, do you love me [Jesus] more than these?' 'Yes, Lord,' he [Peter] said, 'you know that I love you.' Jesus said, 'Feed my lambs.'"

Earlier, before Jesus' crucifixion, when Jesus was arrested, Peter denied knowing him three times. Here, the Lord reinstates Peter in a three-fold approach. Each of the three follow the same formula: if "you love me" then to do this... Peter was to fulfill his calling by the Lord to pastor or shepherd Jesus' disciples because... because of things so wonderful about the Lord that prompted Peter's great love for him.

This axiom is found throughout the Scriptures. We, today, are approached with it is well. Just as Peter was approached by Jesus to do something in light of his love and appreciation of the Lord, we are as well. As Paul wrote to the Romans, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." Romans 12:1. In this passage, as Paul is focused on the mercy of God, something for which we must acknowledge as one of the greatest of causes for our appreciation, we are asked to no longer conform to the sinful ways of the world, but to be transformed through the renewing of our minds.

Here is another example, "Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Colossians 3:13. This follows the same pattern: In light of the Lord's wonderful forgiveness, do this....

Another example is seen in 2 Corinthians 7:1, "Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God." In light of God's promises to us, do this...

There are several things to look at here. Certainly we can see that the appropriate and great motivation for us to do those things we know delights the heart of our Lord, should be the great and wonderful things we see in him. Because the Lord has done this or that, because of the Lord's character and nature, because of what the Lord has done for you, for me... these should be the spring board for our worship of him, our praise of him, and our service for him.

If we find ourselves struggling in following through on what we know the Lord has for us to do, it just may be that we have taken our eyes off the Lord, allowing our passion, our ardency for him to diminish. Our love and great appreciation for the Lord should be renewed every day! Yesterday's praise of him requires renewing today... as the psalmist says, "Sing to him a new song..." Psalm 33:3 and 96:1. "Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him." Psalm 98:1. "I will sing a new song to you, my God; on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you to the One who gives victory to kings, who delivers his servant David." Psalm 144:9-10a.

Listen to the psalmist in Psalm 149:1-5,

"Praise the Lord.
Sing to the Lord a new song,
    his praise in the assembly of his faithful people.
Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
    let the people of Zion be glad in their King.
Let them praise his name with dancing
    and make music to him with timbrel and harp.
For the Lord takes delight in his people;
    he crowns the humble with victory.
Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor
    and sing for joy on their beds."

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

God Acheives His Purposes and Accomplishes What he Desires - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in John 19:7,

"The Jewish leaders insisted, 'We have a law, and according to that law he [Jesus] must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.'"

This was the response of the Jewish leaders when the Roman governor Pilate attempted to convince them Jesus was not guilty of any crime deserving capital punishment. The Jews insisted Jesus should die for blasphemy because he claimed to be "the Son of God". In saying this, Jesus was equating himself to God the Father, "For this reason they [the Jewish leaders] tried all the more to kill him [Jesus]; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God." John 5:18.

Jesus did make that claim. However, it was a truthful statement - but the hardened heart of mankind turned against its creator and demanded the One who gave them life be put to death. Such is sinful man.

It turns out that Jesus' arrest and his death were all part of his plan from the beginning. We see this in Jesus' response to the questions of Pilate, "You [Pilate] would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above." John 19:11.  Jesus came to die a sacrificial death on behalf of all people, that all people might have the opportunity to be forgiven sins and given a place at God's table.

An amazing thing! The Creator visits his people and his people put him to death in their rejection of him. Yet, that very rejection of him provided the opportunity for Jesus to redeem all mankind.

God works out everything to achieve his purposes and accomplish what it is he desires!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Real Assurance, Real Confidence! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in John 18:8-9,

"'I [Jesus] told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.' This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: 'I have not lost one of those you [the Father] gave me.'"

At the time of his arrest in the garden, Jesus asked that his disciples be let go. John makes an observation that this fulfilled Jesus's words he had spoken earlier. In John 6:39 Jesus told the crowd, "And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he [the Father] has given me, but raise them up at the last day."

We view Jesus' request that his disciples in the garden be set free as an initial fulfillment of what Jesus said earlier, that pointed to a future reality. Jesus does not lose anyone who belongs to him. All who have been given him by the Father will not be lost. Not even one. Every one of them will be resurrected to a blessed eternal life. Not most, not some! Each and every last one!

Who are those the Father has given the Son? Every one who has embraced the Son of God in faith make up the number the Father has given the Son.

Many today no longer believe in the gospel message of salvation through faith in the Son of God. Reaching back to a misguided teaching of Augustine and furthered by John Calvin and other "reformers", it is taught that salvation is by appointment of certain individuals by God. Faith is relegated to the role of manifesting the appointment God has already made, to be evidenced in God's timing. No human choice is involved and the gospel message is devoid of the power Paul claimed for it... that power now seen in a "roofie" God slips certain ones - "prevenient grace". This is a theological scheme that many are trapped in these days. It was once viewed as an oddity by most believers in years past, but has become so prevalent today that it is seen as orthodoxy and those of us who reject it are viewed as some kind of a heretic.

In any event, God determined before time began, that he would redeem lost mankind, and grant them salvation, one by one, if they embrace Jesus Christ in faith. This is God's choice, his election. Therefore all who respond to the gospel by embracing Jesus Christ in faith through the exercise of their own free wills become the "elect" of God. The ones the Father gave the Son are the ones who respond to the gospel by embracing Jesus Christ in faith, "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ." Romans 10:17. No "roofie" here! "... we maintain that a person is justified by faith" Romans 3:28.

Here is the wonderful news: all who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith have crossed over from death to life and will never, ever be lost. "Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live." John 5:24-25.

Our rallying cry should be the words Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, "whoever believes in him [God's one and only Son] shall not perish but have eternal life." Each and every one of us!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

What Is the Beginning of the Son of God? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in John 17:5,

"Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began."

Jesus never proclaimed himself to be just a man. In his prayer here to the Father, he claimed to have enjoyed a glory together with God the Father before the creation took place. Mere mortals begin their existence, their life, upon their conception and born some nine months later. Where Jesus Christ was conceived through the miracle wrought by the Holy Spirit within his mother Mary and born nine months later, he existed prior to his conception.

The origin of God is a misconception. "Origin" refers to a beginning and we know the Son of God has no beginning. In reference to Melchizedek, the writer of Hebrews likened his Scriptural heritage to that of the Son of God, "Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever."  Hebrews 7:3. Temporal considerations as to when things come into existence do not pertain to God. From our perspective, captured within the dimension of time, God has no beginning and he has no end. God is eternal - he eternally exists.

And, where we have a beginning, God invites us into an existence that transcends the dimension of time. He welcomes all who will embrace Jesus Christ in faith to the eternal life he exists in.

We are told Jesus Christ existed as God before the creation and was the author of the creation itself, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." John 1:1-3. John tells us a few verses later that the "Word" he refers to here is Jesus Christ, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14. The writer of Hebrews, in addition to what John had to say, tells us that it is Jesus Christ who maintains the order of the cosmos, the creation itself, "in these last days he [God] has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word." Hebrews 1:2-3.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God is God. He existed prior to the creation and is responsible for both creating time and space as well as maintaining it. As such he existed and exists today in an unapproachable glory he has always shared with God the Father, setting it aside for only a brief time when he entered into his own creation as Jesus Christ.

"[Jesus Christ], Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:6-11.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Abiding in the Vine - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in John 15:5,

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

Apart from Jesus Christ, our prospects are worthless. With Jesus Christ we are imbued with a right standing with heaven. With Jesus Christ we have a wonderful eternal life headed our way. With Jesus Christ we can understand the things around us, why the world is the way that it is. With Jesus Christ we find perfect direction for our lives. With Jesus Christ we find a happiness, a contentment, a satisfaction, a fulfillment, a purpose for our lives.

Some feel if they join this Bible study or that church, things might come together for them. Not that there is anything wrong with these things, but it is only when we "remain in" Jesus Christ that we find those answers for our lives. Some look to a religion, some the pope. Some look to politics, "if we can just get so-and-so elected the country, the world would be great! Or, if I could only find that spouse or if I could only land that job, or if I could get this or that, then my life would be great!

These are all illusions. It is only when we embrace Jesus Christ in faith, only when we abide in him do we have good standing in heaven and a fulfilled life here on earth.

It is by remaining, abiding, in Jesus Christ that we bear fruit, that we achieve all God has for us in this life, that we can participate in God's agenda and help him achieve what he desires. And, as we remain in Jesus Christ it has the effect of exalting our God, "This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." Verse 8.

Talk about a fulfilling purpose in life!!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
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Richly Blessed by God - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in John 14:2-3,

"My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."

Here Jesus reminds his disciples of what is to come their way as believers in him.

It is just astonishing to think of all that is ours when we embrace Jesus Christ in faith.

- The penalty for all our sins were paid for by Jesus Christ on that cross! We are declared spotless before God's judgment throne!
- We have a "breastplate of righteousness". We stand righteous before God because that sin has been paid for.
- We now exist with the presence of the Holy Spirit within us.
- We each have been gifted by the Holy Spirit with special abilities for participating in God's agenda of building his family.
- We achieve the greatest of meaning, purpose satisfaction and fulfillment in our lives as we utilize those gifts and have been invited by God to participate in the building of his family.
- We have been allowed to draw near to God! We are no longer kept in an estrangement from him.
- God allows us to approach him in prayer... and he responds to those prayers.
- God provides each of us direction, endurance and encouragement through the Scriptures. He reveals himself to us so we can know of him, what he is like and what his agenda is. He lets us know of things he has done in the past, what he is doing today and what is to come in the future as we engage the Scriptures.
- We are given the "mind of Christ", transforming us from our sinful lives into lives that please him. This transformation brings us spiritual health and vitality, the opportunity for healing within our spirits, our minds, our wills, and our emotions.
- We now, currently, possess a lavish inheritance as co-heirs with Jesus Christ, that God has lavished upon us!

None of these things I deserve, yet out of God's incomprehensible love he has so richly blessed us!

I have merely listed a sampling of what is ours as believers in Jesus Christ. What would you add to that list?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
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Washed in the Blood of the Lamb! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in John 13:8,

"Unless I [Jesus] wash you, you have no part with me."

Jesus said this when Peter objected to Jesus performing an act on him as a metaphor. Jesus took to the task of a servant and washed his disciples feet - a common chore of servants in a day when traveling by sandaled feet produced dirty feet whenever one arrived.

Jesus was teaching his disciples that he was about to serve them in an astonishing way (he was going to die for their sins, paying the penalty for them in God's court). Further, he wanted to teach them that we should, as his followers, serve one another. If our master serves us, how much more should we serve the master by serving one another!

When he came to Peter, he revolted at the thought that Jesus would perform such a menial task for him as a servant would. Jumping from the acted-out metaphor, Jesus told Peter that if he didn't serve him, "unless I wash you", then the real-life reality the metaphor pointed to would not accrue to Peter.

Peter's humorous, yet imploring response is what we might all expect, "Then, Lord... not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!" John 13:9.

Jesus' point to Peter, that Peter could have no part with Jesus unless Jesus "washed" him refers to the purification the death of Jesus on that cross provides to the lives of those who embrace him in faith. "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Revelation 7:14.

Paul talks about how those who have embraced Jesus Christ, and are now members of God's family have been "washed", "... you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Corinthians 6:11. As Paul wrote to Titus, "He [Jesus] saved us through the washing of rebirth..." Titus 3:5.

Unless we allow Jesus Christ to "wash" our sins away, we will have no part with him for all eternity. We invite him into our lives as a servant to perform this, the most miraculous of all miracles, washing our sins away, by embracing him in faith.

Have you been washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
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We See God When We See Jesus Christ - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in John 12:44-46,

"Whoever believes in me [Jesus Christ] does not believe in me only, but in the one [God the Father] who sent me. The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness."

Jesus cried this out to the crowd that was in Jerusalem for the Passover. It was the week that would culminate in his death on that miserable cross.

It was Jesus' aim to provide just enough insight as to who he was for the folks that would embrace him in faith. He did not go so far as to overcome anyone's self determination to express their heart. He provided just enough evidence through the things he said, the things he did and his fulfillment of prophecies made of him centuries earlier, such that those who are of a heart for the Lord would see him and embrace him: the chosen ones of God. Of course, it is the Lord's desire that all embrace him, "God our Savior... wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." 1 Timothy 2:3-4. Some refuse to cling to their sin.

What Jesus wanted all to see was that all who looked on him, the Son of God, were looking at God the Father. This is just how closely the two, along with the Holy Spirit identify with one another. This is just how closely the two, along with the Holy Spirit, are in character and nature. This is just how closely the two, along with the Holy Spirit, are in purpose. This is just how closely the two, along with the Holy spirit are in agenda.

"The Son is the image of the invisible God..." Colossians 1:15. "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being..." Hebrews 1:3.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Jesus Christ is the Resurrection! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in John 11:25-26,

"I [Jesus] am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

The resurrection is the event where all people who have ever lived will be brought back to life before God's great white throne judgment. There will actually be two resurrections: the first resurrection will be for all who will inherit eternal life, the second for all who will be cast into a fiery lake of burning sulfur, Revelation 21:8.

We read of the resurrection in Revelation 20:6, "Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection." The second resurrection is called "the second death" in that same verse, where we are told it will have no power over those who share in the first resurrection.

I can't help but note that Jesus said he was the resurrection, in reference to the eternal life all will share in who participate in the first resurrection. "I [Jesus] am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6.

I don't read of any Mohammed in the Scriptures. There is no resurrection there. I don't read of any pope or Joseph Smith: Jesus is the Resurrection! I don't read of any ecclesiastical organization: Jesus is the Resurrection! I don't read of any Southern Baptist Convention, no Missouri Synod: Jesus is the Resurrection! No PTL network in the Scriptures: Jesus is the Resurrection! No Buddha, no Confucius, no Ellen G. White: Jesus is the Resurrection! No Democrats and no Republicans: Jesus is the resurrection!

The only hope any of mankind has following death is Jesus Christ. All who embrace him in faith will share in the resurrection of life - eternal life - God's "river of delights"! See Psalm 36:8. Pleasures at the right hand of God for an eternity! See Psalm 16:11. It is in the resurrection of life all sin, all corruption, all hardship, all death, mourning, crying, pain and infirmity will be left behind! No need to lock the doors any more! No need of medical science or pharmaceuticals! The curse we currently all live under will be removed!

All this through the Son of God, our redemption to eternal life in the resurrection! Jesus Christ is the Resurrection!

"Do you believe this?"

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
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Did Jesus Claim to be God? What do the Scriptures Say? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in John 10:33,

"'We are not stoning you for any good work,' they replied, 'but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.'"

On occasion I have heard that Jesus never claimed to be God. It is somewhat perplexing to hear this as the Scriptures are very clear on this matter. Here Jesus' opponents picked up stones to stone Jesus for blasphemy for the very cause that he was claiming to be God. Another episode of this kind of thing is seen in John 5:18, "For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God."

John's gospel begins with the great statement affirming the deity of Jesus Christ, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1. John made clear we would understand that the "Word" was Jesus Christ and is God, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14.

Paul in his letter to the church in Rome could not have been clearer, "Theirs [the Jew's] are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah [Jesus Christ], who is God over all, forever praised! Amen."

In Hebrews 1:8-9, where the writer of Hebrews quotes Psalm 45:6-7, we read, "But about the Son he says, 'Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.'" Here we see God the Father enthroning God the Son.

Where Luke's gospel presents us with Jesus Christ as "the Son of Man", John's gospel presents us with Jesus Christ as "the Son of God". Both, however affirm the duel nature of Jesus Christ as being at once a person who is fully God and fully man. Theologians love ridiculous terminology (have sympathy though, look at what they attempt to articulate!), and, they call this duel nature of Jesus Christ as "the theo-anthropic person (God-man) in hypostatic (the substance or essential nature of an individual) union."

Paul tell us how we enter into eternal life, "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." When we declare "Jesus is Lord", we affirm our understanding that Jesus Christ is "God over all" and therefore the Lord of our lives.

As I say, for those of us who read our Bibles, it is somewhat perplexing for anyone to suggest Jesus Christ never claimed to be God or that the Scriptures are not clear on this point. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Jesus Christ is God over all!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
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Blind Religious Leaders - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in John 9:16,

"This man [Jesus] is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath."

This was the statement made by the Pharisees when Jesus healed a man born blind. The Pharisees had become so entrenched in their development of law-keeping, they became unable to see spiritual realities before their eyes.

Where the man Jesus healed was born blind, these Pharisees had made themselves blind to the things of God. They were quite certain they had the "inside scoop" on God as they were the religious elites of the day, but they had merely blinded themselves to spiritual realities in a way they were simply unable to see, to perceive God's Messiah in their midst.

How about the spiritual elites of our day? Have you ever suspected that so many in the religious community might not recognize Jesus Christ were he to visit us today? I don't know about you, but I have no faith in these "religious leaders" - I have faith in Jesus Christ. I don't go to "religious leaders" to find out about the things of God - I go to my Bible. I don't seek truth from "religious leaders" - I seek truth from the Lord himself. I don't have hope in any ability a "religious leader" might have to aid in my spiritual life - I look to the Lord and welcome the Holy Spirit to do his work in my life. I don't have any expectation of the future that "religious leaders" might provide - my hope is in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, a presage of my own resurrection to eternal life.

How about you?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
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Darkness Penetrated by Light! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in John 8:12,

"I [Jesus] am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

As Jesus spoke to the people, he told them he was the One who brings relief to a real problem the world has... a problem the world often fails to appreciate. The world exists and persists in a darkness. Not a physical darkness, but a spiritual darkness.

This darkness represents the world's estrangement from its Creator due to mankind's sinful rebellion against him. The world knows of its darkness. All the world's religions are based on the broken nature of mankind as a result of this darkness. We are all aware, in spite of the delusions created by notions of "evolution" that a cosmic struggle is in play where mankind continues to grope about in this darkness seeking answers and solutions to its corruption. Answers and solutions that will never be found outside of Jesus Christ.

Industrialization, technological innovation, the affluence of today's advanced nations, while bringing an illusion of relief from this spiritual darkness, have no impact on the grip of this darkness: mankind is just as screwed up today as ever... limping along in its darkness. "They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them." 1 John 2:11b.

The penetrating light of Jesus Christ into this darkness is what brings such a dramatic impact to his coming! "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned." Isaiah 9:2. Through him individuals can and do find their way out of this great darkness that dominates mankind. It comes by embracing Jesus Christ in faith.

"I  am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." How wonderful to be delivered from the spiritual darkness that has blinded us all! How wonderful to be brought into the light of his family! Only from here can we have a clear perspective of the spiritual realities that shape and form this age we live in, while also providing us a view of what is to come in the next.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Why Do So Many Reject Jesus Christ? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my heart and mind in John 7:52,

"Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a
prophet does not come out of Galilee."

This was the response of the Pharisees to one of their own, Nicodemus.
Nicodemus was a believer and the one Jesus spoke to earlier, when he
uttered the famous passage, "For God so loved the world that he gave
his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish
but have eternal life.", John 3:16.

Nicodemus had challenged his fellow Pharisees to hear Jesus out before
condemning him. We see the Pharisees engaging in finely parsing the
Scriptures, looking for any reason to reject Jesus. The scuttlebutt
among the crowd at the temple courts was, "How can the Messiah come
from Galilee? Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from
David's descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?"
John 7:41-42. Their observation came from Micah's prophecy, "But you,
Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose
origins are from of old, from ancient times." Mich 5:2.

What the crowd was unaware of, as well as the Pharisees, was that
although Jesus had lived in Galilee, he was born in Bethlehem.

My thought this morning is that people will look for anything and
everything to reject Jesus Christ. Any seeming contradiction, anything
possibly unknown is enough for so many to reject Jesus Christ out of
hand. The reason for this was told by Jesus himself to Nicodemus, when
he went to visit him on that night, "This is the verdict: Light has
come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light
because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light,
and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be
exposed." John 3:19-20.

Here is the reality: many people prefer to cling to their sin rather
than turning from it to embrace Jesus Christ in faith. Theologians and
scholars with their cold and stale pursuit to discredit the
Scriptures, mockers and scoffers, charlatans who peddle a different
"Jesus" to gain a flock to fleece, etc. These all have one common
element. They have all chosen to cling to their sins, and pursue any
possible explanation of why Jesus was not who he said he was and
didn't do what he came to do.

Just as the Pharisees in Jesus day... nothing has changed in the last
two millennia. Any possible reason to reject Jesus Christ will do in
order for many to cling to their sin. You might think most would jump
at the chance of eternal life... how powerful is that hold sin has on
so many!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send
me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are
receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just
respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Jesus: the Great Mastermind - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in John 4:1-3,

"Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee."

I am somewhat fascinated to read of the strategy Jesus employed during his public ministry the last three years of his life.

When Jesus found out the Pharisees had learned he was gaining in influence and was developing a greater following than John the Baptist, he left Judah and went back up to Galilee. It is clear Jesus was not afraid of the Pharisees, as he boldly confronted them in fascinating ways on a number of occasions. Rather, his move to Galilee had a tactical purpose.

Jesus employed strategies culminating in a multifaceted outcome that would serve his purpose. We read his primary purpose was to effect a substitutionary atonement for the sins of all mankind,  "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." Additionally, he employed fulfilled prophecy and utilized miracles to establish his bona fides - demonstrating veracity of his teachings and establishing who he was.

He was not here simply to establish a big following or to be mistaken as some kind of military leader (as the judges were in Gideon's day.) John made the following observation, "After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, 'Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.' Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself." Jesus came to die on a cross, not to assume the throne in Jerusalem (not at this time... he will assume it yet in the future.)

Jesus' comings and goings were dictated by his design to manipulate outcomes and the achievement of all he set himself to do while here. Notice this fascinating account by John, "After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, Jesus' brothers said to him, 'Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.'" John 7:1-4.

Jesus determined his sacrificial death be by his design, not the design of the Jewish leaders. So, he moved in a way to accommodate that. Although his half-brothers were merely taunting Jesus, they pointed out that if Jesus wanted to make a name for himself, he needed to show up at various events for the exposure. His response to his brothers was, "You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come." John 7:8.

Strategy, manipulation, bringing about his desired outcomes, were employed by the greatest mastermind the world has known.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

A Simple Statement About Eternal Life - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in John 3:36,

"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on them."

This statement of John the Baptist to his disciples packs a lot of theology into one sentence. From it I learn:

1. Eternal life for any one of us comes by embracing Jesus Christ in faith, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life". It doesn't come by being a do-gooder - it is only offered us on the basis of faith.

2. I note that those of us who have done so own eternal life right now - not later. The one who believes in the Son "has" eternal life, not "will have". Yes, we will die physically, but we will join the Lord in heaven upon our deaths and then be raised up with our resurrected bodies on Resurrection Day. We enjoy our eternal life right now!

3. Our eternal destination is entirely up to us - our choice, "whoever rejects the Son will not see life." God has given us cognitive abilities to understand his invitation to us, and he has given us a free will to decide for ourselves whether we want to cling to our sin or turn from our sin to embrace Jesus in faith. "Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed." John 3:19-20.

4. All mankind stands before God as his judge, "God's wrath remains on him". He finds each and every one of us guilty. "All have sinned..." Romans 3:23. All we have to do to go to hell after this life is nothing. We all stand condemned before him because we have all sinned. This is the default spiritual reality and eternal destination we enter into this life with.

5. Judgment day will be a day of tremendous remorse for those who turn their backs on God's offer of eternal life. Those who reject Jesus Christ "will not see life for God's wrath remains on them." God has a keen sense of justice. All sins will have to be paid for. Jesus Christ has already paid for them all, but that payment is only available to the accounts of those who have embrace Jesus Christ in faith. Jesus hung on that miserable cross to pay for all the sins of everyone who has ever lived. Those who reject Jesus Christ will have to pay for their own sins themselves.

In the original Greek, the gospel of John reads like a child's primer. It is the book many Biblical Greek intro classes begin with due to the simple vocabulary and sentences employed. However, nothing contains such deep theological insight as the writings of John! And, what we do find in John's gospel is simply breath-taking!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com