Eternal Life

First Coming Is Incomplete Without The Second Coming

Ken

“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Hebrews 9:28 KJV). Our salvation is complete, when we shall come into His presence at His Second Coming, for we shall lose our present corrupted bodies of flesh and become like Him. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is” (1John 3:2). We are saved from the penalty of sin (eternal death), the effects of sin (physical suffering), and the power of sinning (necessity to commit sin). 

All will confess to being saved from eternal death, since the “gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). 

According to our faith, some will lay hold of physical healing in the atonement, i.e., “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5 cp. Matthew 8:16-17). 

But, possibly the most overlooked benefit in the Atonement is the Gift Within the Gift — the giving of the Holy Spirit. We are saved from the necessity to sin by the inspiration of the Indwelling Holy Spirit to cause us to obey Him. “And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27 cp. Acts 2:38). 

We certainly will have all of these fulfilled by the time we stand in His presence at His Second Coming. “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).

Father, only You can give us full deliverance, but as always, it is according to our faith. You saved us not just to deliver us from eternal pain or physical suffering, but to gain for Yourself a people devoted to Your obedience by Your Spirit. May we embrace this truth and overcome the wicked one by faith. Lord Jesus, return quickly. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Help Wanted: Hiring Immediately

Ken

Picture a home owner looking for day laborers to help with a project on their property, recruiting at their local home improvement store. But, instead of a home owner, Jesus described a landowner hiring workers for his vineyard. Beginning early in the morning, he contracted with workers for the standard wage of a “denarius” (Matthew 20:2 ESV). The employer returned at nine o’clock, noon, three o’clock, and five o’clock with the offer, “Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you” (20:4 KJV). The “eleventh hour” (20:9) was five o’clock. At the end of the day, the landowner paid everyone the same wage, to the chagrin of those who had worked the longest and hardest. Consider: (1) availability of employment: matches the willingness of the workers, (2) immediacy of employment: now, (3) scope of employment: vineyard of God’s kingdom, (4) wages of employment: agreed upon by both parties, (5) dissension of the employees: fairness based solely upon consideration of self, (6) character of employer: “generous” (20:26 NET), and (7) sovereignty of the employer: “the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen” (20:16 KJV). LORD, we could not ask for a better employer than You, since we are that Eleventh Hour Laborer at the end. But, help us not to grumble, if You should tarry Your return. May we be found with our hand on the plow not looking back. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Meet Me in Heaven

Ken

Shouldn’t we all be able to say, “Meet me in Heaven”? Scripture gives us the certainty of our heavenly destination from our daily walk. “3 And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him. 6 He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked” (1John 2:3-6 KJV). But, the art of obedience should not be underrated — just ask Adam and Eve. God has gone through a lot of trouble to give us the gift of His Spirit to ensure our obedience. “And I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27). When was the Spirit given? Officially, when Peter gave the invitation at Pentecost. “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). Subsequently, has anyone received the Spirit before baptism? Yes, ask Cornelius (Acts 10). Then, why insist on baptism to receive the Holy Spirit? Because through baptism our loyalty is pledged, and it must be demonstrated for all to see and know, we stand with Jesus. “And we are His witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him” (Acts 5:32). Even though God knows our heart, He places a high value on everyone else knowing we stand with Him — especially making the point to His adversary the devil — He insists we become baptized before we lay claim to His Spirit. LORD, You have given us everything — physical life, Your Son, eternal life, but especially Your Spirit. May we walk in gratitude and power that we would be able to meet as many as You our God will call, one day in Heaven. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Deathbed Visions

Ken

Supernatural visions are not simply the realm of the religious. Chris Kerr, MD, PhD Neurobiology, after reflecting on his experience with the death of his father, said: “When I was present at the bedside of the dying, I was confronted by what I had seen and tried so hard to forget from my childhood. I saw dying patients reaching and calling out to mothers, and to fathers, and to children, many of whom hadn’t been seen for many years. But what was remarkable was so many of them looked at peace.” Don’t misunderstand. Not everyone goes to Heaven, except those who obtain “eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23 KJV). But, how anyone finds that way, is in the hands of God. LORD, in our desire to accurately point seekers the way to Heaven, may we not forget that You are the Gatekeeper, and who You let in, is completely fine with us. Only may we be in that number. Amen. 

Fighting Exhausted

Ken

Soldiers fighting exhausted against an unrelenting enemy. What are we to do? Quit? Many of Jesus’ disciples quit following Him because He pressed upon them the strange language of eating His flesh and drinking His blood (John 6:53) in order to have eternal life. Natural language would mean cannibalism, but supernatural language would mean receiving Jesus into ourselves, where He becomes part of us. “Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?” (6:67). Peter’s reply to Jesus voices our reply as well. “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life” (6:68). In other words, How can we quit, if there is no other path to Heaven? To quit would mean to let go of eternal life. That seems to be the nature of verses like: “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13 KJV). May we continue to treat our lives as if we are living a supernatural religion — because we are — and we all shall meet one day in that happier place. “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4 KJV). Amen and amen.