There is a lot of controversy in certain circles about the way this age of the world will come to its end, about the final things that will precede the Judgment and Revelation of the Lord, and about how those who belong to Him will join Him in unshadowed bliss without the sin that mars this world. Prominent among these controversies are those related to what many call the ‘Rapture’, the translation of living Christians from mortal to immortal bodies like that of the Lord (at least I presume that is what they mean) and when it will occur, whether before, during, or after a period they call the ‘Tribulation’ of especially wide-spread and inescapable suffering and judgment they believe will occupy the final seven years before the Lord returns to judge and renew the earth. Continue reading “This is Not About the Rapture”
Tag: Reward
Simon from Cyrene
The Soldiers looked around and caught
A man named Simon from Cyrene
Simon then came forward trembling
From Rome’s command he could not run
The Man who stooped beneath the cross
Then looked on Simon from Cyrene Continue reading “Simon from Cyrene”
You Only Will Be My Crown
For You, O Christ, I renounce the world
And You only will be my crown
And You only will be my crown
And You only will be my crown
For You, O Christ, I despise the world
All its riches I cast off as loss
Its fame, recognition, and values
And I follow You, Christ, to the cross
And You only will be my crown Continue reading “You Only Will Be My Crown”
Christian Marriage and Virginity (or Single Life): Glorious Privilege
I do not understand why some Christians think that the married life is inferior and less glorious than certain other vocations. I do not understand why some Christians think any life without marriage is, well, inferior to marriage, less happy than marriage, less fulfilling than marriage, and so forth.
Marriage is – like martyrdom – a glory, a blessing, and a privilege of which no one is worthy except through the merits of Christ. It is ordained by God and cannot be broken or dissolved. It is one of God’s illustrations of the love of Christ for His bride, the Church, all of God’s people, and His union with her. Continue reading “Christian Marriage and Virginity (or Single Life): Glorious Privilege”
The Death By Which Peter Would Glorify God: Grace, Forgiveness, and Gratitude
After Jesus rose from the dead, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, three times he asked Peter, who had denied Him three times during His trial, “Do you love Me?” The third time, Peter was grieved because He asked Him the third time, and said, “Lord, You know all things. You know that I love You.” Jesus said to Him, “Feed My sheep.” Then He said, “When you were younger, you girded yourself and went where you pleased. When you are older, another will gird you and stretch out your hands and take you where you do not want to go.” He said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then He said to him, “Follow Me.” Peter followed Him, and turned to see John also following. He asked Jesus, “Lord, what of him?” The Lord said to him, “What is that to you?” Continue reading “The Death By Which Peter Would Glorify God: Grace, Forgiveness, and Gratitude”
The Reward of Christ and the Glory in His Saints
“He is coming, and His reward is with Him and His recompense accompanies Him.”
Whenever I read or remember these words I see two pictures in my mind, that mean the same thing: I see Jesus, coming, with all His holy ones, redeemed by His blood, around Him, the reward of His suffering, the recompense of His blood. I see Jesus, coming, to give Himself in fullness of glory to all His own. For, we read also, “We do not yet know what we shall be, but we know that we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is,” and, “Righteous Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me, where I am, so that they may see My glory, the glory which You have given Me because You loved Me before the world was.” In Revelations, we read that they sing, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain… for You purchased for God a people with Your blood, out of every nation, language, and tribe, and they shall be a kingdom and priests to our God.”
I believe there is only One who will be praised, honored, and rewarded for His deeds: Jesus Christ. Continue reading “The Reward of Christ and the Glory in His Saints”
