butterfly

The Butterflies Of God’s Power

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At one point in the movie The Hobbit Gandalf, Bilbo and the dwarves are all trapped in a tree slowly tipping over a cliff while hordes of orcs are attacking. The situation looks hopeless but then, amid all the chaos, Gandalf spots a butterfly that has landed on the tree. He calls the butterfly to himself and whispers to it and it flies off. A few minutes later the situation has worsened and dwarves are about to start falling off the tree to their death. Just as the first dwarf falls off the tree a giant eagle swoops down and rescues the falling dwarf. The butterfly has summoned a convocation of eagles which comes and ravages the orcs and rescues Gandalf, Bilbo and all the dwarves. We too can experience the butterflies of God’s power. This story is a good illustration of how the Holy Spirit often comes to us. In the Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

We Will Wear Our Good Deeds Forever

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“”For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.” Rev. 19:7-8 (NLT) After Jesus returns we, the bride of Christ, will “wear” all the good deeds we have done in our life. They will hang perfectly and beautifully on our glorified bodies, radiating the glory of God. As we wear our good deeds for eternity they will remind us of the good that Jesus did through us in this life. This means that every good deed we do has eternal value, they are not forgotten. “Whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord” (Eph. 6:8, ESV). God will remember and reward us. Then our good deeds will beautify us for eternity! This may sound Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

Your Incredible Dignity – Weekly Word Of Encouragement

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“[Jesus] has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father” Rev. 1:6 (NLT) Way back in Exodus 19:6 God tells the Jews that they “shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (ESV). I Peter 2:9 says believers are “a royal priesthood.” This is an incredible dignity. One of the key principles of the Reformation was that all believers were priests, as these Scriptures state. As priests we are all directly serving God in Christ, we have no need of human intermediaries for a direct relationship with God. We are elevated to a high position of dignity, higher than any earthly office, higher than any President or Prime Minister. We are also God’s kingdom, his nation, we belong to him which is a greater honor than belonging to any other nation or group of people. God wants to give us glory that is greater than Continue Reading →

heavenly body, shining

You Will Have The Glory Of God

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How much do you reflect on the idea that the people of God will have the glory of God? Revelation 21:11 promises that in the coming New Heaven and New Earth believers will have “the glory of God”. But this promise is not confined to Revelation ‒ it is a major New Testament theme. In a previous post we looked at the future luminosity of the body of Christ which is one dimension of God’s glorification of his people. Now we will consider what the New Testament says about this glorification in general. Warning: this is a very encouraging subject! It is surprising how often Scripture speaks of the glorification of believers. Apparently, this is an important truth for believers to keep in mind. Some of the mentions of this theme in the New Testament include (Bible quotes are from the ESV translation): • In John 17:22 Jesus states in Continue Reading →

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 →