What's Jesus Doing These Days?

Somebody who doesn't know much about the Bible might wonder what Christ is doing these days. After all, he ascended into heaven and we won't see him again until he comes back to judge humanity.

The Bible does tell us something of what our Lord is up to. For example, we can read what he does for us in 1 John 2:1 (BBE). "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may be without sin. And if any man is a sinner, we have a friend and helper with the Father, Jesus Christ, the upright one:"

Better still, he gives us forgiveness when we sin, as 1 John 1:9 (BBE) points out. "If we say openly that we have done wrong, he is upright and true to his word, giving us forgiveness of sins and making us clean from all evil."

Through John, we get a glimpse of what our Lord is like in his heavenly home. Revelation 5:5 and 6 (BBE) shows him receiving the deed to the universe from the Father. "And one of the rulers said to me, 'Do not be sad: see, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome, and has power to undo the book and its seven stamps.' And I saw in the middle of the high seat and of the four beasts, and in the middle of the rulers, a Lamb in his place, which seemed as if it had been put to death, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth."

We also see that Christ received authority and power at his ascension. Daniel 7:13 and 14 (BBE) foretold this. "I saw in visions of the night, and there was coming with the clouds of heaven one like a man, and he came to the one who was very old, and they took him near before him. And to him was given authority and glory and a kingdom; and all peoples, nations, and languages were his servants: his authority is an eternal authority which will not come to an end, and his kingdom is one which will not come to destruction".

John, the disciple of Christ, also wrote down what our Lord dictated to him regarding the seven churches in what is now Turkey. I believe he's still concerned with his church. Paul described us as Christ's body with him as the head. Since Jesus gave no indication of this relationship ending, I must assume that it will be for all eternity.

I'll be writing more about Christ and his role as the head of the faithful in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? Our Lord is still working through his people to shape them into fit citizens for his eternal kingdom. What an honour we've been given!

Thursday's post will be about a royal family anybody can join.

The 'Everybody Does It' Error

Another mistake Christians are prone to is going along with the crowd. So many justify it by saying, "Everybody does it."

But we know that sin is sin, no matter how small it seems. We see how serious sin is in Ezekiel 33:12 (KJV)  "Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, 'The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.'"

Even so, we can receive forgiveness from Christ when we yield to temptation. Scripture says in 1 John 1:9 (KJV) that, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

But what if it's something as minor as jaywalking? After all, it shouldn't matter if no cars are coming, right? Paul answered that matter in 1 Thessalonians 5:22 (KJV). "Abstain from all appearance of evil."

Furthermore, Daniel and his three friends certainly could have gone along with the customs of Babylon. Daniel 1:12 (KJV) shows how cleverly they got around the rule that they must eat the king's food which he had earlier offered to idols. "Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink."

We know how that worked out. They were healthier than if they had eaten and defiled themselves with meat and wine offered to idols. By the way, this isn't diet advice, as some Christians think. I'll be writing about this and other Christian fads another time.

We mustn't live like the world and think like them. We live here but we obey our Master in heaven. Supposedly minor sins like speeding or cutting across railway land ruin our testimony, making us look like hypocrites in the eyes of unsaved folks.

I'll deal with this matter further in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? So many churchgoers break laws during the week and then act so pious on Sunday morning.

On Thursday, I'll post about what bearing one's cross really means.

What if We Sin After Being Saved?

A question which comes up in the lives of many new Christians is if they're really saved. When they fall into a habitual sin, Satan whispers in the ears of their minds that they wouldn't have done what they did if they were truly born again. This cunning strategy to derail our faith can be easily avoided by reading God's promises in the Bible.

Jesus promised this in John 10:28 (KJV). "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."

Hebrews 13:5 (KJV) also assures us that, "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, 'I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.'"

And look at the great comfort John gives us. As he wrote in 1 John 2:1 (KJV), "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:"

Moreover, he wrote in 1 John 1:9 (KJV), "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Paul also admonishes us in Ephesians 4:30 (KJV), "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."

We also see evidence of our new life through the good fruit automatically produced in our conduct. Galatians 5:22-23 (KJV) reminds us, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

There are so many more scriptures I could cite but I'll save them for my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? Only those who genuinely surrendered themselves to Christ's rule in their lives will be with him eternally. Truly good works are the fruit produced by being a new creature in Christ.