Facing Grief

Recently, I went on a painful journey. Me, my two brothers, my nephew, one of my uncles, and one of my cousins, went to West Virgina, to place the ashes of my mom and my dad up on a hill, where seven generations of our family are. This is what they wanted. And as much as I was grateful to fulfill their wishes, I was also full of grief.

Everyone must face grief. And avoiding it only postpones an inevitable meeting. Grief will eventually find you and you’ll have to face it. So, learning to face grief is important for your life.  

My parents were Christians. And so, I can face the waves of grief with more than sentiment and memories. I know I will see them again, and forever.  As 1 Thessalonians 4:13 says, we do grieve, but not as those with no hope. We grieve with hope. So, I can face grief with faith, and as Charles Spurgeon said, I can kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages. 

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Healing a Hateful Heart

People who say they are Christians but who hate other Christians are deceived. They aren’t really Christians.

1 John 2:9 says – The one who says he is in the light but still hates his fellow Christian is still in the darkness. 1 John 3:15 says – Everyone who hates his fellow Christian is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. 1 John 4:20 says – If anyone says “I love God” and yet hates his fellow Christian, he is a liar, because the one who does not love his fellow Christian whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

And people who verbally abuse other people aren’t acting like Christians. 1 Peter 2:23 says that when Jesus was reviled, he did not revile in return. 

You can fool yourself, but you can’t hide a hateful heart. When you revile other people, you reveal your heart. But if you will confess your hateful sin, God’s love will heal your hateful heart.   

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Demons Believe in Jesus

Romans 10:9 says “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”. So why aren’t the demons saved? Because the demons confess that Jesus is Lord. Mark 3:11 says whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." And the demons know for a fact that Jesus is risen from the dead. They were there.

James 2:19 says the demons believe in God and shudder in fear. Demons know, believe, feel, and fear the truth. So why aren’t the demons saved? Because they know Jesus IS Lord, but they don’t seek to honor, love, obey, serve, or worship Jesus AS Lord. You see, you can have your intellect filled with the truth, and you can have your emotions stirred by the truth, but are your actions motivated and moving towards faithfully trusting the truth? Are you different than the demons?

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©