After the Fall

Numbers 14:39-45

Whenever we resolve to do something, we give it everything that we have. Time and the cares of this life can often chip away at that resolve, causing us to fall back into the trap that we have promised ourselves time and again that we would avoid. The height of our resolve is commonly found just after our most recent failure. Like an alcoholic pledging to never drink again after a night of binging, we often put forth our best effort when our worst results are showing forth.

The children of Israel sent 12 spies into the land of Canaan to ascertain whether or not the nation was strong enough to conquer the land. For forty days the spies wandered before bringing back a mixed report. Two of the spies felt that the land held promising potential, with fruit more ripe and plentiful than they had ever seen. The other 10 spies looked beyond the potential rewards and saw a race of men so big that they themselves felt like grasshoppers in their presence (Numbers 13:33). The nation sided with the 10 spies and their evil report, going so far as to threaten to stone the other two.

God spoke to Moses and Aaron and told them that for every day the spies had spent in Canaan, the entire nation would spend a year wandering in the wilderness, until every one of them over the age of 20, save for the two spies Caleb and Joshua, were dead. When Moses shared this news with the congregation of Israel, “the people mourned greatly” (Numbers 14:39).

Early the next morning, the people awoke with great resolve. In spite of the fact that God told them what was going to happen to them for the next 40 years, Israel is now ready to take the land. Moses warns them that this will not work “for the LORD is not among you” (14:42). However they presume that they are able to do it on their own power, going up even without the Ark of the Covenant (verse 44).

The end result was, of course, absolute failure. The children of Israel were beaten by both the Amalekites and the Canaanites, starting years of discord between these nations. We know why they had resolve; they were embarrassed and frustrated, but why isn’t resolve enough?

When you walk with the Lord, there are going to be failures and they will always be on your part, never on His. Your instinct will be to pour yourself into effort and works to try and avoid a repeat of this failure on your part. You may amp up your prayer life or study the Bible more. You may attend church more often or put even larger amounts in the offering. While all of these are fine within themselves, if they are being done to achieve righteousness or right standing with God, then they are all in vain. You are already in right standing with God because of the finished work of Jesus at the cross.

How you deal with things after you fall into failure is as important as never falling again, and they are actually one in the same. Allow Christ to bring out His righteousness in you, and when you fail, simply get up, dust yourself off and move on in Jesus. Satan may tell you that you failed because you are not consecrated enough, but simply remind him that you did not receive salvation because you were good enough, but because Jesus is good enough. Go on today in victory because Christ was cursed so that you can be blessed (Galatians 3:13).

Watching From Heaven

Revelation 6:9-11

Everyone either has lost a loved one, or will lose one; it is a brutal fact of life. The hope of an afterlife is what pushes many people forward through those horrible moments of loss, with the assurance that they will meet that person again. Paul confirmed this with, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19).

In Revelation 6, John is shown the opening of the seven seals in heaven. With the opening of the fifth seal, he sees the martyred remnant, under the altar of god, slain for the testimony which they held (Revelation 6:9). He hears them crying out to God to judge and avenge their blood, even asking the Lord how long He is going to wait to do so. In our endless quest to learn something from the prophetic, sometimes we overlook the most obvious things. This story teaches us something about the souls in heaven.

How do these martyrs know that the Lord has not already avenged their deaths? They must have the ability to see what is transpiring on the earth, and they are still concerned about it. When I was younger, I remember hearing it preached that heaven is so much better than earth that no one in heaven could possibly be concerned about what is happening here. I even remember asking a preacher if saints in heaven were watching us to see what happens, and he said, “It is so good over there, they don’t care what we are doing here”. That makes heaven sound good, but it doesn’t say much for how my dead loved ones feel about me!

It makes no sense that God would make heaven so much different than what we are accustomed to. Consider that God created both the heavens and earth and that prior to the fall of man in the Garden, the earth was a perfect place with no curse on it of any kind. This earth that we live on is often a very beautiful place; so beautiful in fact that it can nearly take your breath away. Imagine the scenery with the curse and the death lifted away, and you are envisioning God’s ultimate design. Heaven will be wonderful, but it most certainly will not be isolated.

The martyrs of Revelation 6 retained a very earthly interest. They were watching the events on earth with great attention, and they still possessed emotions about the world that they had left behind. These saints even petitioned God for what was happening on the earth. This does not sound like a group of people who could not care less about what happens to their loved ones.

Jesus told us that when a sinner repents, “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God” (Luke 15:10). Notice that the joy is “in the presence of the angels”, not necessarily coming from the angels themselves. Who in heaven would be so excited about a sinner coming home? Angels have no investment in the salvation of souls, for they can neither share the gospel nor understand the feeling of being born-again. Only those who have gone on before us can understand the joy of sins forgiven. Those who left this life, still believing for that lost son or wayward grandson, would have joy, “in the presence of angels” when they look to the earth and see that child repent.

Take heart in the knowledge that if your loved one knew Jesus Christ and they have slipped the bonds of this earth, they are not gone forever. You will be reunited someday around the throne of God, so live in a way today that will make those in the presence of angels rejoice.

After the Fall

Numbers 14:39-45

Whenever we resolve to do something, we give it everything that we have. Time and the cares of this life can often chip away at that resolve, causing us to fall back into the trap that we have promised ourselves time and again that we would avoid. The height of our resolve is commonly found just after our most recent failure. Like an alcoholic pledging to never drink again after a night of binging, we often put forth our best effort when our worst results are showing forth.

The children of Israel sent 12 spies into the land of Canaan to ascertain whether or not the nation was strong enough to conquer the land. For forty days the spies wandered before bringing back a mixed report. Two of the spies felt that the land held promising potential, with fruit more ripe and plentiful than they had ever seen. The other 10 spies looked beyond the potential rewards and saw a race of men so big that they themselves felt like grasshoppers in their presence (Numbers 13:33). The nation sided with the 10 spies and their evil report, going so far as to threaten to stone the other two.

God spoke to Moses and Aaron and told them that for every day the spies had spent in Canaan, the entire nation would spend a year wandering in the wilderness, until every one of them over the age of 20, save for the two spies Caleb and Joshua, were dead. When Moses shared this news with the congregation of Israel, “the people mourned greatly” (Numbers 14:39).

Early the next morning, the people awoke with great resolve. In spite of the fact that God told them what was going to happen to them for the next 40 years, Israel is now ready to take the land. Moses warns them that this will not work “for the LORD is not among you” (14:42). However they presume that they are able to do it on their own power, going up even without the Ark of the Covenant (verse 44).

The end result was, of course, absolute failure. The children of Israel were beaten by both the Amalekites and the Canaanites, starting years of discord between these nations. We know why they had resolve; they were embarrassed and frustrated, but why isn’t resolve enough?

When you walk with the Lord, there are going to be failures and they will always be on your part, never on His. Your instinct will be to pour yourself into effort and works to try and avoid a repeat of this failure on your part. You may amp up your prayer life or study the Bible more. You may attend church more often or put even larger amounts in the offering. While all of these are fine within themselves, if they are being done to achieve righteousness or right standing with God, then they are all in vain. You are already in right standing with God because of the finished work of Jesus at the cross.

How you deal with things after you fall into failure is as important as never falling again, and they are actually one in the same. Allow Christ to bring out His righteousness in you, and when you fail, simply get up, dust yourself off and move on in Jesus. Satan may tell you that you failed because you are not consecrated enough, but simply remind him that you did not receive salvation because you were good enough, but because Jesus is good enough. Go on today in victory because Christ was cursed so that you can be blessed (Galatians 3:13).

Watching From Heaven

Revelation 6:9-11

Everyone either has lost a loved one, or will lose one; it is a brutal fact of life. The hope of an afterlife is what pushes many people forward through those horrible moments of loss, with the assurance that they will meet that person again. Paul confirmed this with, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19).

In Revelation 6, John is shown the opening of the seven seals in heaven. With the opening of the fifth seal, he sees the martyred remnant, under the altar of god, slain for the testimony which they held (Revelation 6:9). He hears them crying out to God to judge and avenge their blood, even asking the Lord how long He is going to wait to do so. In our endless quest to learn something from the prophetic, sometimes we overlook the most obvious things. This story teaches us something about the souls in heaven.

How do these martyrs know that the Lord has not already avenged their deaths? They must have the ability to see what is transpiring on the earth, and they are still concerned about it. When I was younger, I remember hearing it preached that heaven is so much better than earth that no one in heaven could possibly be concerned about what is happening here. I even remember asking a preacher if saints in heaven were watching us to see what happens, and he said, “It is so good over there, they don’t care what we are doing here”. That makes heaven sound good, but it doesn’t say much for how my dead loved ones feel about me!

It makes no sense that God would make heaven so much different than what we are accustomed to. Consider that God created both the heavens and earth and that prior to the fall of man in the Garden, the earth was a perfect place with no curse on it of any kind. This earth that we live on is often a very beautiful place; so beautiful in fact that it can nearly take your breath away. Imagine the scenery with the curse and the death lifted away, and you are envisioning God’s ultimate design. Heaven will be wonderful, but it most certainly will not be isolated.

The martyrs of Revelation 6 retained a very earthly interest. They were watching the events on earth with great attention, and they still possessed emotions about the world that they had left behind. These saints even petitioned God for what was happening on the earth. This does not sound like a group of people who could not care less about what happens to their loved ones.

Jesus told us that when a sinner repents, “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God” (Luke 15:10). Notice that the joy is “in the presence of the angels”, not necessarily coming from the angels themselves. Who in heaven would be so excited about a sinner coming home? Angels have no investment in the salvation of souls, for they can neither share the gospel nor understand the feeling of being born-again. Only those who have gone on before us can understand the joy of sins forgiven. Those who left this life, still believing for that lost son or wayward grandson, would have joy, “in the presence of angels” when they look to the earth and see that child repent.

Take heart in the knowledge that if your loved one knew Jesus Christ and they have slipped the bonds of this earth, they are not gone forever. You will be reunited someday around the throne of God, so live in a way today that will make those in the presence of angels rejoice.

After the Fall

Numbers 14:39-45

Whenever we resolve to do something, we give it everything that we have. Time and the cares of this life can often chip away at that resolve, causing us to fall back into the trap that we have promised ourselves time and again that we would avoid. The height of our resolve is commonly found just after our most recent failure. Like an alcoholic pledging to never drink again after a night of binging, we often put forth our best effort when our worst results are showing forth.

The children of Israel sent 12 spies into the land of Canaan to ascertain whether or not the nation was strong enough to conquer the land. For forty days the spies wandered before bringing back a mixed report. Two of the spies felt that the land held promising potential, with fruit more ripe and plentiful than they had ever seen. The other 10 spies looked beyond the potential rewards and saw a race of men so big that they themselves felt like grasshoppers in their presence (Numbers 13:33). The nation sided with the 10 spies and their evil report, going so far as to threaten to stone the other two.

God spoke to Moses and Aaron and told them that for every day the spies had spent in Canaan, the entire nation would spend a year wandering in the wilderness, until every one of them over the age of 20, save for the two spies Caleb and Joshua, were dead. When Moses shared this news with the congregation of Israel, “the people mourned greatly” (Numbers 14:39).

Early the next morning, the people awoke with great resolve. In spite of the fact that God told them what was going to happen to them for the next 40 years, Israel is now ready to take the land. Moses warns them that this will not work “for the LORD is not among you” (14:42). However they presume that they are able to do it on their own power, going up even without the Ark of the Covenant (verse 44).

The end result was, of course, absolute failure. The children of Israel were beaten by both the Amalekites and the Canaanites, starting years of discord between these nations. We know why they had resolve; they were embarrassed and frustrated, but why isn’t resolve enough?

When you walk with the Lord, there are going to be failures and they will always be on your part, never on His. Your instinct will be to pour yourself into effort and works to try and avoid a repeat of this failure on your part. You may amp up your prayer life or study the Bible more. You may attend church more often or put even larger amounts in the offering. While all of these are fine within themselves, if they are being done to achieve righteousness or right standing with God, then they are all in vain. You are already in right standing with God because of the finished work of Jesus at the cross.

How you deal with things after you fall into failure is as important as never falling again, and they are actually one in the same. Allow Christ to bring out His righteousness in you, and when you fail, simply get up, dust yourself off and move on in Jesus. Satan may tell you that you failed because you are not consecrated enough, but simply remind him that you did not receive salvation because you were good enough, but because Jesus is good enough. Go on today in victory because Christ was cursed so that you can be blessed (Galatians 3:13).

There is Hope

1 Thessalonians 4:13, 14

Many years ago, I had a preacher tell me that one of the greatest things that you can do when you minister to people is to give them hope. I was a bit too young at the time to understand what that meant and why that was important, but now I believe that man was right. People need hope!

As Paul walked through the streets of Thessalonica, he no doubt saw the large mausoleums, housing the dead. On the tombstones in many Greek communities, the words, “no hope” would often be chiseled. For as great as the Greek mind was with philosophy and the meaning of life, they felt that when man drew his final breath, all hope was lost.

Paul did not want the people of the Thessalonian church to think the same way that the sinners did. He wanted them to have a confidence, that those who had died were not really gone. Only their bodies had died, but that they were at rest in Jesus and they would live again.

Paul once said that if we had hope only in this life, we would be, of all men, most miserable (1 Corinthians 15:19). It was his message that there is a heaven, and it is our hope (Colossians 1:5). He did not preach that men died and then just lay in the ground, sleeping away eternity until Jesus come to get them. This message is preached by many even now, and it removes the hope of heaven for your loved ones who have gone on before. Be encouraged that those that you have loved and lost, who were redeemed by Christ’s blood, are in heaven, waiting for you. The scriptures bear this out.

First, Paul said that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8), meaning that whenever your body dies, your spirit man lives on in the presence of the Lord.

Secondly, Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4:14, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him”. In the next few verses, Paul relates to us that God is going to descend from heaven to come back and get both the sainted dead and His living church, in that order. Verse 14 tells us that God is going to bring those who have died back with Him. How can He bring them back with Him if they are still lying in the ground? Only their bodies are there, but their spirits have been with God since they died. This is great hope!

Finally, I do not believe that Paul is condemning the church for weeping over the dead when he tells them to “sorrow not” in verse 13. Rather, he wants them to “sorrow not as others which have no hope”. Crying and hurting over the loss of a loved one is natural, but to feel as if they are completely gone, never to be seen again is to discount the power of the resurrection. You have a blessed assurance that Jesus is coming again, and He is bringing your loved one with Him.

I comfort you today with these words, whether you have lost someone or not. If you have, take comfort in knowing that they are at rest in Christ, in a land where they will never hurt, nor grow old. If you have not lost someone, then take comfort in knowing that He is coming back to get His own. As John the Revelator heard Jesus say, “Surely I come quickly”, he responded with, “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelations 22:20).