Dreams a Thousand Generations Long

“When you know, even for a moment, that it's your time, then you can walk with the power of a thousand generations.”

— Bruce Cockburn, Dream Like Mine

Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.

—Acts 2:17

Young men see what is, old men see what will be. Both aspects speak of awareness of who we are, where we are and why we are. God is from eternity — He takes the long view. His plans and purposes endure. “He remembers His covenant forever, the word which He commanded, for a thousand generations” (Psalm 105:8).

God has dreams a thousand generations long.

Taking Time with God

Back when I was a sophomore in Bible college, before “small group” became the popular concept it is today, I was a part of a small group that met on Monday nights. It wasn’t designed for Bible study, or class study, or mission, or “ministry,” or “prayer meeting.” Steve, a fellow student who began the group, knew that our schedules were already overloaded with these activities, plus our class loads and day jobs. What we needed was a chance to cool out, to reflect, to just be with God and each other. This weekly get-together was appropriately called Taking Time.

It was difficult for us at first. We wanted to “redeem the time,” to “make the most of every opportunity” (Eph 5:16 KJV and NIV). To us, this meant a flurry of activity, going out and doing, always being on — otherwise time was being wasted. When we were so involved in giving up our time for God, how could we possibly take time with Him?

What we needed to learn was that serving God sometimes means simply sitting with God and enjoying Him, that godly contemplation is the flip side of godly activity, and that both are necessary for the Christian walk.

Years later, a book by Elizabeth O’Conner, Journey Inward, Journey Outward, helped me understand more. Even the title became a touchstone for me because it shows both aspects of the spiritual life. We begin with the journey inward. This is the prayer life, where we meet and come to know God, where we hear His call. Then He leads us on our journey outward, to obey and serve Him in the active life. As we become depleted in our activity, He calls us back on the inward journey to be renewed.

As difficult as it may be to believe, everyone of us can take time for the inward journey without the world coming to an end. Anthony Bloom, in his book Beginning to Pray, suggests an exercise to put this to the test. Choose a period of two to five minutes to sit quietly in the presence of the Lord. Set the timer on your clock to signal when to begin. When the timer goes off, stop whatever you are doing. Enjoy God. Let nothing distract you from this — not a suddenly remembered chore, not a ringing phone, not a knock at the door — nothing! When your time is up, Behold! The world can, and does, wait while you are not busy with it.

Not only is it possible for us to take time to be with God, it is essential that we do so. Someone has likened prayer to the breathing of the body. Like breathing, prayer must be the constant rhythm of our every day — speaking to God, listening to God, being with God. When we pray only in stray moments, says Henri Nouwen, we marginalize prayer. “Whenever you feel that a little praying can’t do any harm, you will find that it can’t do much good either. Prayer has meaning only when we can say that without it, a man could not live” (from With Open Hands).

When we take time to be present to God, we don’t increase the burdens of the day, we lessen them. When we pray, we don’t add to the chaos, we begin to find calmness and stability.

Years ago, I realized how the devotional practice of prayer and Bible reading helped me through the crises of my high school years. The controversies of the early seventies, the break-up of my parent’s marriage, and the intimidating experiences of growing up could have spun me out of control. But the habit of “quiet time” I learned from my grandmother and my Sunday School teacher helped me stay centered and focused on God.

Another of my spiritual mentors discovered the centering effect of taking time with God even (or especially) in the midst of the overwhelming responsibilities and pressures of pastoral ministry. He learned to walk a few miles every day. As he walked, he prayed. He removed himself, physically and spiritually, to a place where he could simply be with God. This brought him peace and perspective, and a new enthusiasm for ministry.

Brother Lawrence, who wrote the spiritual classic The Practice of the Presence of God, took the time to acknowledge the presence of God in all his moments. He discovered that he enjoyed the divine presence as much in the monastery kitchen as in his prayer closet.

Anyone of us can experience this presence — but only if we take time.

Those Who Inherit the Kingdom

Then the King will say to the sheep on His right hand, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matthew 25:34)

This promise is from the parable of the sheep and the goats, a teaching that is often cited but frequently misunderstood.

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?”

The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.”

They also will answer, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?”

He will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”

Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. (Matthew 25:31-46)

There are two groups: the sheep and the goats. These are the nations of the world, not just the governmental entities, but all people. In Bible times, sheep were highly valued while goats were something of a nuisance and almost worthless.

Jesus is the Son of Man, the King who separates the nations as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. The sheep are lined up at His right hand, the hand of favor; the goats are placed at His left hand, signifying dishonor.

What is the basis for this separation? That is where many people misinterpret this parable. They think that it based on how the poor and needy in general are treated. That is, those who remember the poor and needy, and treat them well, are the sheep; those who neglect them are the goats.

Certainly we should always be mindful of the poor and needy to be hospitable toward them and show them kindness. God has always displayed His heart for the poor, and every good Jew in Jesus’ day would have understood that it was part of his moral duty to look after them properly. The same is required of Christians today.

That, however, is not what Jesus is talking about in this parable. He is not referring to the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and the imprisoned in general. He is speaking about a particular group: “these My brethren.” Earlier in Matthew, Jesus clearly identified who are His brothers.

While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:46-50)

Who are His brothers? Those who do the will of His Father. When asked, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God,” Jesus answered, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent” (John 6:28-29). His disciples — all who confess Jesus Christ as Savior and King — are His brothers. To receive them is to receive Him; to reject them is to reject Him. Jesus said,

He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward. (Matthew 10:40-42)

To receive Jesus’ disciples is to receive the message they bring — the gospel of Christ — and thus receive the Lord Jesus Himself. How we respond is the difference between eternal life and everlasting punishment.

The whole world is divided into two groups: those who receive the gospel of Christ and those who reject it. Those who receive it are blessed. They inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world — the kingdom of Heaven on Earth.

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The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth
Keys to the Kingdom of God
in the Gospel of Matthew
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

A Kingdom of Faithfulness

Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord. (Matthew 25:21)

In the previous parable (see A Kingdom for the Prepared), Jesus cautioned us to be prepared for His return. In this parable, He tells us how.

The kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. (Matthew 25:14-15)

Notice that each servant was given an amount “according to his own ability.” Nobody was given what he could not handle. But whatever the amount given, the master expected it to be put to use.

Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. (Matthew 25:16-18)

The first two servants put their talents to use. When the master returned he found that they had both doubled his money. Perhaps they each developed a business which was very profitable. Or perhaps they simply put it out at interest. Six to eight per cent was a common rate in those days, and they would have easily been able to double their money in nine to twelve years. Maybe that is how long the master had been gone.

The third servant, however, simply buried his talent in the ground. He had the ability to do more, and the opportunity to double his master’s money just as the others did, but he did nothing.

After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, “Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.” His lord said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.”

He also who had received two talents came and said, “Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.” His lord said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” (Matthew 25:19-23)

Notice what the issue here is: faithfulness. Remember that each servant had been given funds to manage according to his ability. Competency was not an issue — all were competent, but not all were faithful. The Greek word for “faithful” is pistos, which is the same word for “faith.” Today we often think of faithfulness as loyalty and trustworthiness. But at its core, there is a very important element of faith. These first two servants were both faithful because they had faith in their master, his words and his purpose. They were trustworthy because they trusted. The master sees a very important correlation concerning faithfulness: Those who are faithful in a few things will be faithful in many things.

Then he who had received the one talent came and said, “Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.”

But his lord answered and said to him, “You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

The problem with the third servant is that he did not trust his master. He saw him as hard, stingy and oppressive, someone who exploited the labor of others. Because he had no faith, he was full of fear: “I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground.” It is like the answer Adam gave after he sinned, and God asked him, “Where are you?” Adam said, “I was afraid … and I hid” (Genesis 3:9-10).

The servant did not really know his master, but the master had his servant pretty well pegged — wicked and lazy! The master took on his servant’s argument, though he did not agree with it. “So if you thought I was oppressive, and an exploiter”—that was the sense of is his words — “then you should have put my money with the bankers so that I would at least have a little return on my investment.” Taking the money to the Exchange really would have taken no more effort than to bury it in the ground. It would have been just as safe, if not safer, and would have gathered interest — sweat free. How lazy does a person have to be to pass that one up? But the servant not only lacked faith, he was paralyzed with fear.

Now consider the consequences. The first two servants, because they were faithful in little things, were made rulers over great things, while the fearful servant lost even the one talent he had; it was given to the one who now had ten talents. Faithful diligence brings abundance, but those who are lazy and fearful will lose all they have.

The kingdom of Heaven on Earth is all about the rule and reign of God. He is looking for who will trust Him completely and obey Him diligently, even in little things, so that He may make them rulers over great things. The reward is both now and forever.

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The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth
Keys to the Kingdom of God
in the Gospel of Matthew
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Revived in the Midst of Trouble

Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand
Against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.

(Psalm 138:7)

Whenever you find yourself in the midst of trouble, or in a tight place, as the Hebrew literally means, do not panic. God will revive you. He will repair and restore whatever has been taken from you and you will be all right. His revival will cancel out the trouble. This does not necessarily mean that you won’t go through the trouble, but it does mean that you will come out okay on the other side. God will stretch out His hand against your adversaries and save you. It will be His judgment on your enemies, but His favor on you.

The LORD will perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

(Psalm 138:8)

God has had a plan for you from the beginning, even before you were born. It is a plan to work good things in you, for you and through you. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

He will perfect that plan, which means that He will bring it through to completion, to fulfillment, to maturity, to fruition. “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

Out of His great desire to show His lovingkindness and tender mercy, God has conceived a wonderful plan for you. Trust Him and believe His love — it endures forever. He will never turn you away but will see you all the way through to a prosperous, joyful life, now and forever. He will revive you in the midst of trouble.

The Rightness Effect

Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
Who delights greatly in His commandments.
His descendants will be mighty on earth;
The generation of the upright will be blessed.
Wealth and riches will be in his house,
And his righteousness will endure forever.

(Psalm 112:1-3)

Righteousness endures. But what is righteousness? People often think of it in religious terms, as pious behaviors, devout observances of special holy days, carefully segregated from normal, everyday life. But it is really very simple: Righteousness is about being in proper relationship with God and doing what is right. It is rightness.

Rightness endures. Whenever we do what is right, it is never wasted, and it makes a lasting change in the world. Perhaps you have seen the TV ads for Liberty Mutual, where one person performs an act of kindness (let’s not call it random, but deliberate) for a stranger, who then shows kindness to another. That simple deed is witnessed by a third who becomes more mindful to do the same. A chain of “doing the right thing” follows until it eventually comes back around to the first person. (Here is ad 1, “Half Acre,” and ad 2, “The Part Where You Let Go.”)

It is kind of like chaos theory in science, which speaks of the unpredictability of certain changes and events, such as weather patterns and other systems, because of “sensitive dependence upon initial conditions.” The classic paradigm, also known as the Butterfly Effect, is that the beating of a butterfly’s wings in Beijing affects the weather over New York City. In other words, small changes can make big differences. In the same way, seemingly small acts of doing what is right can change the world.

The man in this psalm is one who lives in awe of God and has a burning passion for pleasing Him by doing what is right. It changes him, but not him only. His children are influenced by it and they become mighty on earth. No only are his descendants blessed, they become a blessing to others. Good things follow, for he sows a seed of rightness and reaps a harvest of prosperity. In that prosperity is seed for doing more good.

Paul reminds us, “God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8). And so it is with this man. He is a good man who deals graciously and lends; he guides his affairs with a proper judgment and divine wisdom (Psalm 112:5).

He has dispersed abroad,
He has given to the poor;
His rightness endures forever;
His horn will be exalted with honor.

(Psalm 112:9)

The good that comes from living in awe of God and doing what is right never ends. Rightness endures forever.

Divine Humility

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:5-8)

We are not naturally at ease with the concept of humility. The flesh rebels against it. It is not the way we have been taught in the world.

The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called “benefactors.” But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves. (Luke 22:25-27)

The world likes to make a show of having power and authority, of being “in charge.” But that is not God's way. His way is to give and serve. Jesus did not come to be served to, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). He through whom all things were created literally bowed down to wash the feet of the disciples. That was not an aberration from the divine nature, but a magnificent expression of it, for God is love, and love “does not seek its own” (1 Corinthians 13:5), that is, it is not self-aggrandizing and does not strive for power. By washing the feet of the disciples, Jesus modeled humility before them, not as a way to eventually rise to a place of authority and power so that they would no longer need to be humble, but precisely as the expression of power and authority.

The concept of humility offends the natural mind, which is always striving for supremacy. But God, who is absolutely supreme, loses nothing by humbling Himself, for as Jesus said, the one who is greater is the one who bows to serve. The God of the universe humbles Himself, not against His nature, but because humility perfectly expresses His divine nature. That is the heart of God, but it offends the mind of man because if the Lord of All is the humble servant of all, then that is what we are forever called to be as well.

True humility is an expression of the divine nature.

A Kingdom for the Prepared

Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. (Matthew 25:13)

When the gospel of the kingdom has been preached in all the world, the end of the age will come and Jesus, the Son of Man, will appear in all His glory. This calls for preparedness, so Jesus gives us the parable of the Ten Virgins:

Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard: “Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!” Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” But the wise answered, saying, “No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.” And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, “Lord, Lord, open to us!” But he answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.” (Matthew 25:1-12)

Then Jesus draws the conclusion: “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming” (v. 13). The Greek word for “watch” literally means to keep awake. In this context, it means to be vigilant or stay ready. It is a call to preparedness, for the return of Jesus Christ is certain, though we do not know exactly when that will be.

The Son of Man will surely return someday. Will you be ready to meet Him? The kingdom of Heaven on earth belongs to those who are prepared.

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The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth
Keys to the Kingdom of God
in the Gospel of Matthew
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

The Gospel of the Kingdom and the End of the Age

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14)

In Matthew 23, Jesus denounced the scribes and Pharisees because of their great hypocrisy. He pronounced a series of woes upon them, ending with the judgment that would soon befall Jerusalem because of her corrupt leadership. In Matthew 24:1-2, Jesus speaks also of the coming destruction of the Temple. For the Jewish mind, the Temple would stand as long as the world endured; its destruction would signal the end of the age. Recognizing the import of Jesus’ warning, the disciples asked, “When will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (v. 3).

The balance of chapter 24 is Jesus’ answer. As with many prophecies in the Bible, there seems to be a double fulfillment in view, one sooner, one later, with an indiscernible length of time in between. Exactly where one ends and the other begins has been the subject of much controversy among Bible interpreters.

Most are generally agreed that the first fulfillment occurred with the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. God poured out His judgment on the Temple system and the faithless Jewish leadership that rejected Messiah and the sacrifice He made. This destruction made the Temple sacrifices no longer possible, but it also underscored the truth that the Cross had already rendered them unnecessary. The second, and final, fulfillment has yet to occur.

“This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” This likewise appears to have a double fulfillment. The “end” He speaks of is the “end of the age,” for that is what the disciples were asking. Which age was He talking about? The age of the old covenant, including the Law of Moses, the Temple and the sacrifices. It was about to end; its purpose had been fulfilled.

God created Israel and covenanted with her to be a “kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:6) whose purpose was to represent Him before the nations and the nations before Him, bringing forth the Word of God and revealing Messiah to the world. Though this system had become corrupted by unbelief, and the ruling Jewish authorities failed to recognize the Messiah, God’s purpose was fulfilled nonetheless and the gospel of His kingdom was “preached in all the world as a witness to the nations.” Paul, especially called by God to be an evangelist to the Gentiles (the nations), demonstrates the reach of the gospel:

I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. (Romans 1:8)

But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed: “Their sound has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” (Romans 10:18)

Because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit. (Colossians 1:5-6)

Within a few years, Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed, and the age of the old covenant was complete.

But there is yet another fulfillment of this prophecy, for there is yet another age that must pass away. It is the present world system of which satan is the god (2 Corinthians 4:4). It has its own wisdom that is opposed to the wisdom of God, but God shows it to be foolishness (1 Corinthians 3:19). The Lord Jesus Christ “gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age” (Galatians 1:4). This age is being overtaken by the age of God’s kingdom, which has been forcefully advancing ever since Jesus came. As John said, “The darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining” (1 John 2:8).

The gospel of the kingdom will continue to preached as a witness to all the nations, for Paul said, “Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles [nations] has come in. And so all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:25-26). The nations shall be redeemed and Israel shall even embrace her Messiah. Thus comes the end of this present evil age, for the kingdom of Heaven on Earth will then be here in all its fullness.

And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth. (Revelation 5:9-10)

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The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth
Keys to the Kingdom of God
in the Gospel of Matthew
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

A Deluge of Blessing

“Try Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.” (Malachi 3:10)

“Windows of heaven” presents us with interesting imagery. The Hebrew word for “window,” arubah, speaks of openings such as lattices or sluices. “Heaven” speaks of that which is high and lofty. It can refer to the sky and the reaches of space, as well as the spiritual abode of God. We find this unusual phrase only a few times in Scripture.

• In Genesis 7:11, the fountains of the deep were broken up and the windows of heaven were opened up to inundate the earth with rain and floodwaters during the Great Deluge.
• In 2 Kings 7, Samaria was besieged and in dire famine, Elijah, the prophet of God, said that within twenty-four hours there would be a great abundance of food. An officer of the king doubted him, saying, “Look, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” (v. 2). Elijah answered, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” And so it happened.
• In Malachi 3:10, the word of the LORD calls for the people to “bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house.” He challenges them to test Him and see “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.”

“Windows of heaven” speaks of a flood, in the case of Malachi 3:10, a deluge of blessing. Notice that it is “poured out.” The Hebrew word means to make empty or empty out. This is no small thing. God promises to empty out all of heaven onto those who trust, test and obey Him in the area of tithing.

Now, tithing is no longer a requirement for Christians, who are not under the Law of Moses but under the Covenant of Grace in Jesus Christ. But God still does honor giving and pours out all the provision of heaven in a great flood on those who honor Him with their gifts. Writing to the believers at Corinth on the subject of giving of one’s resources, Paul teaches them, “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully … And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:6, 8).

Notice the fullness of this abundance: ALL grace, ALWAYS having ALL sufficiency in ALL things, plus ABUNDANCE for EVERY good work. It is a flood of blessing, enough to bless not only us, but those around us.

God pours out all of heaven on our behalf, and we become receivers when we learn to become givers. It is a deluge of blessing.

The Gospel of Heaven on Earth

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. (Matthew 4:23)

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. (Matthew 9:35)

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14)

There is only one gospel, and that is the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is the king whose coming was long ago foretold. His kingdom embodies everything He came to do:

• The will of the Father (John 5:30; John 6:38).
• To seek and save that which was lost (Luke 19:10).
• To destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).
• That we might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).
• That we might have every spiritual blessing heaven has to offer (Ephesians 1:3).

Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He commissioned His disciples:

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature … and these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons … they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through accompanying signs. (Mark 16:15, 17-18, 20)

However, healing the sick and casting out demons did not merely accompany the proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom; they were manifestations of the kingdom of God on earth. Jesus said, “If I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20).

The gospel of the kingdom is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the truth that saves us, heals, sets us free, and releases the blessing of God to us in every way. It is the gospel of the kingdom of heaven now manifesting on earth and being preached around the world.

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The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth
Keys to the Kingdom of God
in the Gospel of Matthew
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Prosperity Defined

God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)

That's a good definition of prosperity: Always having all sufficiency in all things PLUS abundance (that is, more than enough) for every good work.

I like how Oral Roberts put it:

Prosperity is the possession of everything you need for yourself and loved ones with enough surplus to give to those who need help. If you have only the bare necessities, you are not prosperous. And if you have all the sufficiencies of life but no more, that is not prosperity. But, if you have everything you need with something left over for the poor, that is prosperity.

~ from My Favorite Bible Scriptures
(Tulsa: Oral Roberts Evangelist Association, 1963)

The plan of God’s grace for you is prosperity — always having all sufficiency in all things, with abundance for every good work.

Compelled

The love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

We should do only those righteous actions which we cannot stop ourselves for doing, which we are unable not to do, but, through well directed attention, we should always keep on increasing the number of those which we are unable not to do.—Simone Weil

Every thought, word and deed should flow out of love for and relationship with God. Do nothing except what His love compels you to do.

Like a Weaned Child

LORD, my heart is not haughty,
Nor my eyes lofty.
Neither do I concern myself with great matters,
Nor with things too profound for me.
Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,
Like a weaned child with his mother;
Like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, hope in the LORD
From this time forth and forever.

(Psalm 131)

Earlier this week we were warring, by faith and prayer, for my mother’s healing. She had had a long, hard fight against leukemia and beat it about four years ago. When we became aware last month that it had returned, we immediately went back into battle mode. Mom again gave it her all, but she was older this time around, and weaker. She was weary.

Recently, as she lay in her hospital bed, she was counting her blessings, remembering all the wonderful people she had known, the experiences she had, the places she had visited, her beloved lake home, her children and grandchildren, and the thirty years she had enjoyed with her late husband. I believe she came to the conclusion that she was satisfied.

One of the Scriptures I’ve often prayed for myself and others is from Psalm 91, “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him … With long life I will satisfy him, and show him my salvation” (vv. 14, 16). My mother was eighty (we celebrated her birthday just a month ago) and she was satisfied. I account that God fulfilled His promise.

So now we shifted into a different mode, a mode no less founded in faith than was our former mode. We began looking toward a much greater victory, an eternal one. It has always been my way, in praying for and with people suffering from life-threatening disease, to fight beside them when they are ready to fight, but also to let them go if they decide they want to go. Mom decided that she wanted to go, and though it broke our hearts, we — my wife, my brothers and I — began letting her go. Our prayer shifted; we began asking for God to fill her with the sweetness of His presence and lead her gently into the eternal manifestation of His glory.

On Thursday, as my wife and I were traveling to Charlotte to be by her side, I was praying in the psalms, which is my daily habit, and I opened to Psalm 131. It was very appropriate to what I had been thinking and feeling as I faced my mother’s death.

“My heart is not proud, nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, nor with things too profound for me.” I could not understand why I was being separated from my mother in this way. Oh, I could talk about it philosophically and theologically and spiritually. But my heart did not fathom it — it was too profound for me. It was a mystery, the depths of which only God truly knows. I determined that my heart would not be arrogant, nor my eyes seek out things which belong to God alone.

“Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.” What was left, then, was to quiet my soul — to leave my mother in God’s hands and trust Him with her. That the psalm writer likens himself to a weaned child was very poignant to the cry of my heart. For nine months I had my existence in the warmth and nurture of my mother’s womb. Then, on the day I was born, the weaning process began. I was separated from her body and placed upon her breast. After a number of months, I was weaned from that and began the long journey of learning how to live apart from her. As I matured, I left home for college, got married, and began to have children of my own. Now I was being weaned from knowing even her physical presence any longer in this life. Though it was difficult, I started letting her go, knowing that I was letting her go to God. My trust is in Him, as was hers.

Mom was also weaning herself away, from this life. She was letting it go. She began by remembering all the lovingkindnesses and tender mercies of God, and giving thanks. Realizing that she was satisfied with this life and ready to enter the next, she expressed her desire to have all her sons around her. Thursday night, my brothers and I were gathered with her in her hospital room. After a while she asked for us all to pray together with her. We joined hands and offered our praise and thanks to God for giving us this wonderful woman. Then she concluded with a prayer of her own, giving thanks to God for her life and all her blessings, and for us. She was letting go — weaning away — and so were we.

The psalm writer, having become like a weaned child by trusting God with everything, ends with a note of joyful expectation: “Hope in the LORD from this time forth and forever.” Whatever mystery may be deep for us is not too great for the eternity of God.

Early Sunday morning, Mom passed over into the arms of Jesus. Tomorrow we shall lay her body in the earth, where it shall await resurrection. Our expectation is in God, now and forever, and we shall see my mother again.

All is well.

Contend, O LORD

Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me;
Fight against those who fight against me.
Take up shield and buckler;
Arise and come to my aid.
Brandish spear and javelin against those who pursue me.
Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”

May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame;
May those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay.
May they be like chaff before the wind,
With the angel of the Lord driving them away;
May their path be dark and slippery,
With the angel of the Lord pursuing them.

Since they hid their net for me without cause
And without cause dug a pit for me,
May ruin overtake them by surprise—
May the net they hid entangle them,
May they fall into the pit, to their ruin.

Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD
And delight in his salvation.
My whole being will exclaim,
“Who is like you, O Lord?
You rescue the poor from those too strong for them,
The poor and needy from those who rob them.”

(Psalm 35:1-10)

My mother was healed of leukemia about four years ago. Recently, it has come back. She has been in the hospital for about four weeks now and has received a round of chemotherapy, but a new complication has arisen in the form of an infection that has hindered her breathing.

As we drove up to Charlotte to visit her this past week, I have been meditating on Psalm 35, particularly in view of my mother’s need. She is a woman of a faith; she belongs to the LORD, and His promises belong to her. So I have been praying this psalm on her behalf, calling on God to contend with the leukemia that is contending with her and fight against the infection that is fighting against her.

Meditating on this, I have been reminded about the twelve spies Moses sent to reconnoiter in the land of Canaan, which God had promise to give to the children of Israel. Ten spies came back, reporting that the land was indeed very good, but that it was full of giants. There we saw the giants … and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight” (Numbers 13:33). However, the other two spies, Joshua and Caleb, came back saying,

The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, “a land which flows with milk and honey.” Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them. (Numbers 14:7-9)

The two remembered what the ten did not: God was with them — He would be contending with those who contended with them. The two did not see themselves as grasshoppers in the eyes of their enemies, or even in their own eyes. Rather, they saw these giants as grasshoppers in the eyes of God.

Leukemia and other forms of cancer are often seen as giants treading on us little grasshoppers. Fear strikes the heart at the mention of their name. But when we know the Lord as our help, we can look to Him to come against those things which come against us. Neither leukemia nor infection, nor any other sickness or disease, can match the strength of our God.

The NKJV rendering of verse 10 has particular significance for me in this situation.

All my bones shall say,
“Lord, who is like You,
Delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him,
Yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?”

Leukemia is a cancer of the blood, and the blood is produced by the marrow which is in the bone. When God comes against the enemy for our sake, our bones — my mother’s bones — shall praise Him. We are believing God to give her fresh, new marrow to produce rich, healthy blood.

 God contends on our behalf to fight against our enemies. That is why Jesus came. He took on all our foes at the cross — and prevailed. And now, we are “more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37). All that is left is for us to take hold of and apply that victory. This we do by faith. Please join your prayer and faith with ours as we say,

LORD, contend with the sickness that is contending with my mother; fight against the infection that is fighting against my mother. Cause all her bones to praise You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

How He Loves Us

YouTube clip of Jesus Culture song, "How He Loves Us."

Good Friday

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11)

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. (Ephesians 1:7-10)

God has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14)

We were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from our aimless conduct received by tradition from our fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for us who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that our faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:18-21)

When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes we were healed. For we were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. (1 Peter 2:23-25)

We look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:32-39)

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Our Spiritual Warfare in the Heavenlies

[That you may know] what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church. (Ephesians 1:19-22)

God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-6)

To the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 3:10)

The Lord Jesus Christ has been seated in the heavenlies at the right hand of the Father, far above all principality, power, might and dominion, and all things have been put under His feet. God has also raised us up together with Him and made us sit together in the heavenlies in Him. Notice the tense — God has already done this. It is a present reality, not a future expectation. Since Jesus is now seated far above all principality, power, might and dominion, and since we are seated in the heavenlies in Him, then it follows that we also are seated far above all principality, power might and dominion. Since all things have been put under the feet of Christ, and since we are the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:28), then all things have been placed under us as well, for the feet of Christ are part of the body of Christ.

Now, we, as the body of Christ, are in a spiritual warfare, as Paul tells us.

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

We have been equipped with weapons of warfare that are mighty in God, that we may pull down and demolish strongholds and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. That would include every principality, power, might and dominion that rebels against the knowledge of God. Though it is largely a matter of mindsets, arguments and imaginations that are contrary to the Word of God, it is nonetheless a warfare that takes place in the heavenlies, in the realm of the spirit. These mindsets are all to be brought into captivity and made obedient to Christ. God has equipped us for this work in order to reveal the many facets of His wisdom.

To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 3:8-10)

God's plan is to make His wisdom known by the Church to the principalities and powers in the heavenlies. How is this to be done? By the preaching of the gospel, making known, as Paul did, the deep riches of Christ, that the world may share in the fellowship of this mystery.

Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8) and through Him we have been made more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). As His disciples, we have been authorized and empowered to do what Jesus Himself did: preach the gospel, heal sicknesses and cast out demons (Mark 3:14-15; Luke 10:9,17). When He sent out the Seventy to perform these works, they returned rejoicing that even the demons were subject to His name. He said to them,

I saw satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. (Luke 10:18-19)

Jesus has given us authority to trample underfoot satan and all his demons, principalities and powers. These are all under the feet of Jesus and therefore under the feet of His body, the Church. The works of satan are destroyed, rendered powerless. Just as satan fell when the disciples did the works of Jesus — preaching the Word, healing the sick, freeing the demonized — satanic principalities likewise fall as we do those same works. For the dark principalities are just as powerless and devoid of authority as satan himself.

As the body of Christ, we have been authorized, empowered and equipped to make spiritual warfare in the heavenlies, that the multi-faceted wisdom of God might be made known to every principality, power, might and dominion. As we preach the Word of God, bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ and demonstrating His power to heal the sick and free those who are oppressed by the devil, these principalities will fall.

Hindrances to the Kingdom

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. (Matthew 23:13)

The scribes and Pharisees had given up on trying to entangle Jesus in their controversies and discredit Him in the eyes of the people. Jesus, however, was not yet finished with them, and He now gave His assessment of them before the people. He had long been aware of what they were about, what motivated them and how they operated. He even hinted at it when He preached The Sermon of Heaven on Earth. What He had veiled then, He now made explicit in His public denunciation of them.

He recognized that they sat in “Moses’ seat,” that is, they had spiritual authority in the synagogue system. “Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do,” He said, but then added, “But do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do” (Matthew 23:3). Then he began to enumerate:

For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, “Rabbi, Rabbi.” (Matthew 23:4-7)

The scribes and Pharisees loved to do their works to be seen and praised of men. They put on a good show, making a theatre of their “devotion” to wow the crowds. They were all about themselves, not the kingdom of heaven. Jesus had no kind words for them, but labeled them for what they were: play-acting, mask-wearing hypocrites. Then He pronounced a series of “woes” on them (Matthew 23:13-32):

• Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
• Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
• Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
• Woe to you, blind guides, who say, “Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.” Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? And, “Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.” Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.
• Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
• Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.
• Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
• Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, “If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.” Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt.

Jesus was not condemning all scribes and Pharisees. As we saw in an earlier account, there was at least one to whom Jesus said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And there were probably others like that as well. What Jesus was denouncing, however, was the attitude that was prevalent among them, a self-righteousness and self-aggrandizement that corrupted everything they did. This attitude not only kept them from receiving the kingdom of Heaven on Earth, but also hindered others from entering it. Apart from the kingdom, all that was left for them was judgment.

Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. (Matthew 23:33-37)

This did indeed come to pass within a generation, when Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed in AD 70.

Do not let self-righteousness and hypocrisy, neither yours nor that of anybody else, keep you from entering the kingdom of Heaven on Earth.

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The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth
Keys to the Kingdom of God
in the Gospel of Matthew
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

The Triumphal Entry

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.(Revelation 19:11-16)

Jesus rode a donkey went he came into Jerusalem on what we now call “Palm Sunday.” Though the crowds did not realize it, he was entering as a humble servant who would be “obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). But when he comes again at the end of the age, he will be riding a white horse, and all those who belong to him will go forth to greet him as Conquering King.

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18)

Even now we share in his victory in whom we have been made more than conquerors:

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31-39)

Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. (2 Corinthians 2:14 NIV)