Author: Phil Rehberg

Weekly words of encouragement

Our New Earth Of Righteousness – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” II Pet. 3:13 (ESV) We do not have to be distressed about this present age nor doubt that God will judge the good and the bad. Those who have received the Son will have life in the next age, the New Creation. We will dwell on a new earth underneath new heavens, and society will be as God originally meant it to be. So our hearts now dwell in the place of constant anticipation of the New Creation. Peter emphasizes that righteousness will dwell on the new earth. This is a big part of what we look forward to. Now, we suffer in a world immersed in unrighteousness, unholiness, destruction, dehumanization and opposition to God. But we look forward to a world where we can live without any unrighteousness! It is Continue Reading →

sun, heaven, luminous light

You Will Be Luminous

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In Revelation 19:8 we learn that the Bride of the Lamb (i.e., believers) will be “bright”. This is a significant theme for believers in the New Testament and I refer to this theme as “luminosity”. The glorification of believers is a major New Testament theme and this is one aspect of that theme. I suspect that when scripture mentions the glorification of believers, which it does often, luminosity is implied. You will be luminous with the light of God shining through you. God wants his saints to literally shine, and to shine in a way that is almost blinding. I have found this mentioned two other times in the New Testament. Jesus states it plainly in Matthew 13:43: “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (This is an allusion to Daniel 12:3: “And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

You Participate In God’s Nature – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“He has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” II Pet. 1:4 (ESV) This is one of the most astonishing verses in the Bible and has been one of the cornerstones of spiritual growth since the earliest centuries of Christianity. The Greek-speaking fathers of the Church were devoted to the idea that we could regain the original image of God because we can actually participate in God’s nature now. God promises that we are forgiven, that we are united with Christ, that the Holy Spirit works to purify us and that we will be citizens of the New Earth in the next age. As we live according to these truths we mature, which means we are actually acquiring the traits of God’s Continue Reading →

humility, shame

Self-Rejection Keeps You From Connecting With Others

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Shame can be described as a sense of embarrassment, dishonor, disgrace or inadequacy. These feelings come from something you did or thought that contradicts what you believe to be good or valuable (this is essentially guilt which is a precursor to shame). Just the fact that we fall short of our own standards of good produces shame in all of us. We want to hide our weakness from others because we want them to value us. This is why it is normal for people to display their best self to others, which probably helps society stay civilized. But we also naturally display a false self in many situations, which keeps us from truly connecting with others. We use our false self to cover up our shame, for example, pretending that we have our life all together when actually we are broken or struggling. It takes time, but we need to Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

You Are A Spiritual Brick In God’s House – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” I Peter 2:5 (NIV) It is hard to picture what a living stone would look like but you are a living spiritual brick and God is carving all of us into perfect pieces of a magnificent spiritual temple of God’s presence. And, we have the Spirit of God dwelling inside us, as in the holy of holies in Solomon’s temple. So we are the higher fulfillment of the concept of God’s temple. God dwells in us and our whole lives are sacrifices, offerings, to God; this is all in the realm of living spiritual realities instead of a physical temple and physical sacrifices. Moreover, just as the Garden of Eden was a temple of God’s presence so now the collective of all believers is the Continue Reading →