Heaven & Hell

A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, 'Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.'

The Lord led the holy man to two doors.

He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water.

The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful.

But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.

The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.

The Lord said, 'You have seen Hell.'

They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one.

There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.

The holy man said, 'I don't understand.'

It is simple,' said the Lord. 'It requires but one skill. You see they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.'

Abide

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:4-5).

As recorded in John 14-16, many of Christ's last words to His disciples as He was about to leave them regarded abiding. The word meno occurs 18 times in this discourse and is translated not only "abide," but also "remain," "dwell," "continue," and "be present." Let us look at what He told them about abiding while He was "yet present" (14:25) with them.

First: "the Father . . . dwelleth in me" (14:10), "I am in the Father, and the Father in me" (v.11). That is, they are one and the same, inseparably abiding together, giving great power to those believing on Him (v.12).

Furthermore, the very Spirit of God, the "Comforter," will "abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive . . . but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you" (vv.16-17). "I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you" (v.20).

Abiding in Him, as we see in our text and in verse 7 (as opposed to the tragic end of those who "abide not" |v.6|), brings forth much fruit, and that fruit shall "remain" (v.16).

There is one requirement -- that we keep His commandments (14:23 and 15:10), and if we do so, we will "continue" and "abide" in His love (vv.9-10). "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full" (v.11).

Not only are we to abide while in this world, but throughout eternity. "In my Father's house are many mansions |same root word, meaning abiding places|: . . . I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (14:2-3). JDM

Taken from "Days of Praise" Devotional and Bible Commentary by the Institute for Creation Research.

Loving Yourself

One of the dogmas of psychology is to "love yourself first", that before you can take care of others you must first take care of yourself. That we need lots of personal time and should take ourselves shopping and make sure we take time to do things for ourself.

I have even read where some say that Jesus even promoted the concept that the "love of self" should be the basis for loving others.

This is something that sounds good and sells well. It is a way that seems "right" and tickles our ears because it is something we want to hear. It is something that gives us permission to treat ourselves. Besides, how can we take care of others if we don't take care of ourself first.

Interestingly enough, I can find this nowhere in the bible.

Matter of fact, if I leave behind all of the pop psychology and pop christianity and just look to God's Word, I find just the opposite.

In fact, we are to deny ourselves. I find that we are to seek first God's kingdom. The first commandment is to love God with all our heart and strength. Second is to love others.

What we need is to focus first on God and executing the responsibilities of a good steward of what God has given to us, and then we can trust that God will take care of our needs.

The most important thing is to know that God loves us, and that He fills us with His love to overflowing. That He gives us more than we need, and out of the excess we in turn bless others.

When we get "exhausted", it is not because we haven't allocated enough "personal time", it is because we have not been looking to God to fill us to overflowing with life and life more abundantly. It is because we have been walking in the flesh, trying to do things in our own strength. It is because we have not been walking in the spirit and depending on God's strength. It is because we have pursued happiness in the accumulation of things instead of seeking the Joy of the Lord that is to be our strength.

When we get all wrapped up in ourselves, we make for a pretty small package.

New Revealations

A question came up concerning "if the gifts of the Holy Spirit (including prophecy) were still available, then why shouldn't we seek out 'new' revelations about and from God?"

This has often been used as an argument by those who want to say that healing and the gifts of the Holy Spirit are all passed away and not available to the church today. They say that once the Bible was completed, then we didn't need gifts like prophecy, etc.

The thing is, it says nowhere in the Bible anything about the gifts stopping or any criteria for them being superseded any time before Jesus returns.

However, it does say in Revelation something about the completeness of scripture:

Rev 22:18-19 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

This makes the Bible the basis for testing all doctrine. We should carefully examine all of our doctrines, traditions, beliefs, and interpretations to make sure they square with the full counsel of God's Word.

The Holy Spirit is here to lead us into all truth. However, God does not contradict Himself. The Holy Spirit will not give someone a revelation, prophecy, or instruction that goes counter to scripture or preaches "another gospel".

The manifestations and gifts of the Holy Spirit have not faded away or stopped with the death of the last Apostle. They are still available to all who take God at His Word and believe.

Prophecy is basically just a message from God. The role of prophecy today is not to reveal "new truths". But prophecy can help us to see things in God's Word that we might have missed or misunderstood before. We just must be sure to study and show ourselves approved before accepting any "new" doctrines.

Sola scriptura ("by Scripture alone") is the assertion that the Bible as God's written word is self-authenticating, clear (perspicuous) to the rational reader, its own interpreter ("Scripture interprets Scripture"), and sufficient of itself to be the only source of Christian doctrine.

Scripture has one interpretation, but can have many applications.

Reminders

Psalm 101:3a: "I will place no wicked thing before mine eyes."

Job 31:1: I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?"

I Thessalonians 5:21,22: "Test all things. Hold fast what is good. Abstain from all forms of evil."

I Peter 5:8,9: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."

Hebrews 12:14: "Pursue holiness without which no man shall see the Lord."