Random Thoughts on the Really Good News

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 5:10-11) Peter was speaking to dispersed Jews who were undergoing severe persecution. But the truth about suffering applies to all mankind in this age. However, GLORY follows the suffering. That is the good news of the Bible. I have become tired of religious doctrine which ignores the good news of the Bible in favor of the bad news of Greek mythology. All have sinned, it is true, and suffer death because of it, and that is by the design of God himself. But what follows the suffering is Glory for all creation. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us…for the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope…for w...

"Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, WE WILL BE LIKE HIM, because we will see Him just as He is.” (1 John 3:2) Not now…but "when he appears" .

The bad news… “…when you were slaves of sin…the outcome of those things is death.” (Romans 6:20-21) The good news… “…you were not ransomed with corruptible things, like silver or gold…but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot... who gave Himself as a ransom for all..."      (1 Peter 1:18-19; 1 Timothy 2:6)

The bad news… “They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good…there is none righteous, not even one.”  (Psalm 53:1 and Romans 3:10) The good news… "I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more…for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life…for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God…." (Jeremiah 31:34 Romans 6:23; and Ephesians 2:8-9) Not even one will be left behind, none are righteous, but all will be saved.

The bad news… "…the dead know not anything …" (Ecclesiastes 9:5). "… there is no work, or device, or knowledge, or wisdom in the grave where you are going" (Ecclesiastes 9:10). "The dead praise not the LORD…" (Psalm 115:17). "In death there is no remembrance of Thee: In the grave who shall give Thee thanks?" (Psalm 6:4-5). The good news… “…for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed…then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.” (1 Corinthians 15:50-54) All die, that is the result of sin, but death is to be swallowed up in the victory of immortal life.

"Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel…I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people…they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," says the LORD. "For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." (Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34) Long ago, God promised a new covenant of grace for His people Israel. "I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel."  Someday, the Israelites will turn to Messiah as a group and enter into this promised covenant of grace. "And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: 'The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins'" (Romans 11:26-27).  This will take place when the Lord Jesus returns to this earth....

"The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust…Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.” (1 Corinthians 15:37-49) I love the Bible and what it says seems perfectly rational and reasonable to me. God created mankind and set in motion the plan for mankind to be made into the image of God and have dominion over the Universe. The "first man" was Adam - he failed.  Jesus is the "second man" and succeeded.  He is the prototype, and the Bible reveals to me that all mankind are to be made like Jesus…the "hope of glory" for all mankind… "… Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27) Satan would rob mankind of its greatest man...Christ Jesus…by making him God. Or worse…by making man himself God. Mankind is God's work in progress and Christ Jesus has triumphed to reveal God to the rest...

My New Year’s Resolution was at first the following… "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth." (Colossians 3:2) Then I remember a recent experience I had in "getting lost in my heavenly thoughts". I was driving back to Sayre from OKC. I was on the North side around Penn Square on the loop headed WEST and home to Sayre and supper...lost in my thoughts about Heaven and how best to communicate my faith on Facebook. The next thing I knew my cell phone rang and Sue Ann asked "where are you?" I looked at the next road sign and noticed I was headed WEST and a few miles from Shawnee…. Sooooo I answered Sue Ann with the only logical answer I could come up with... "I was abducted by aliens and they dropped me off in Shawnee! - I'll be a little late getting home for supper" Sue Ann didn't believe me! So I altered my New Year’s resolution to read…. Under no circumstances will I set my mind on things above while driv...