Ironworks

A very common question that is asked is, “Will we know each other in heaven?” This is a wonderful question that the Bible answers. To begin, it would be important to recognize that heaven will be the home for the church that belongs to Christ eternally. When we consider this, we think about our brethren who have lived faithfully (cf. Rev. 2:10; 1 John 1:7, Mark 13:13) and have died. We might miss them in this interim time, and thus hope to see them again. That is a wonderful thought, is it not? We spend our lives together with our Christian spouses, children, and brethren. We worship with, pray with, and serve with these individuals throughout our lives. Would it be wrong to want to have a continued fellowship with one another in eternity?  There is Comfort in God’s Word Concerning Heaven The Thessalonian Christians in the first century were concerned about those of their number who had passed. Listen to what the Spirit said,  “But we would not have you ignorant, brethren,...

       “I am so busy,” I said. I have this habit of letting life push me around with the various things that have to be done. Then I remembered that God has called busy men throughout all of time. I remembered that busyness nor tasks are an excuse to the Lord God.  “Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to the mountain of God, unto Horeb” (Ex. 3:1)      God called Moses, who was busy with the flocks of his father in law. It sure would have been easier to keep his eyes to the ground, keep his eyes on only the sheep and not the burning bush.  He could have said, “No, too busy.” However, he looked and listened and the children of Abraham received a great prophet.  “And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he is keeping the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send a...

“Thy lovingkindness, O Jehovah, is in the heavens; Thy faithfulness reacheth unto the skies. Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God; Thy judgments are a great deep: O Jehovah, thou preservest man and beast.  How precious is thy lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge under the shadow of thy wings.”  Psalm 36:5-7      The world says be overwhelmed. The world says give up. The word says there is nothing that can save you. The world says one more drink, one more pill, one more excuse, and one more thrill. In the end, you feel all the more empty. You feel a void that nothing seems to fill. What does one do when the message is hopeless, the message is bleak, or when the repeating message is give up? Flip the Script      To respond in the right way, one needs to change the message to which they are listening. The world has offered trouble and terror. Those liars have offered poisonous error. Yet the God of the Universe, the Cr...

          Have you ever seen someone that was resilient despite all that was thrown at them? I love the story of triumph that happens seemingly every day all across the world. Someone might beat cancer with the assistance of great doctors with great treatments. Another person might overcome a financial setback and go on to successfully rebuild their financial well-being. One thing that is necessary for every story of someone who has overcome is the right attitude. This is no different for the New Testament Christian. We each must take setbacks and failures in stride trusting our Lord always to be our rock and salvation. This will take each of us using the Words of the faithful, rather than the words of failure.  Paul’s State Changed, His Faith Remained the Same      “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therein to be content.  I know how to be abased, and I know also how to abound: in ev...

          There came against the land Pul the king of Assyria; and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand. And Menahem exacted the money of Israel, even of all the mighty men of wealth, of each man fifty shekels of silver, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and stayed not there in the land. 2 Kings 15:19-20                   Are people truly free if they are under the cruel hand of a foreign oppressor? Most would agree that that is not true freedom. Menahem reigned for ten years in Samaria after he murdered Shallum. However, it was Pul, the king of Assyria, who was truly ruling the northern kingdom of Israel. Menahem decided it was safer to pay off his greatest foe than to try and fight him.   Verse 20 tells us that he exacted the money of Israe...