THOUGHTS

HEROES OF THE FAITH? Hebrews 11 commends many noble people who lived by faith and made God proud. But there are a couple of men mentioned as heroes of the faith who made such serious blunders that I wonder why God honors them. Hebrews 11:32 names Samson and Jephthah as men of faith. But when we go to the book of Judges, chapters 11-16, we learn that Samson was a self-centered man who often disobeyed God. He died in an effort to kill an idol's temple full of Philistines. The Philistines were enemies of God, but Samson didn't want them dead for God's sake; he wanted revenge because the Philistines gouged out his eyes. Jephthah was another man that God used to destroy His enemies; but Jephthah also killed his own daughter because of a very foolish vow he had made. If God honors such hugely fallible humans for their faith, He will also honor ordinary Christians for our faith. Actually, in God's family, no one is ordinary; we are all recipients of His grace (1 Corinthians 1:4) and temples of His Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16). FAITH/WORKS "...a man is justified by works, and not by faith only" (James 2:24 NKJV). What!?! Is this verse really in God's word? Yes, it is. James is not saying that we have to earn our salvation; that's impossible. He is saying that true faith results in good works. Jesus called it good fruit: "Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit...Therefore by their fruit you will know them (Matthew 7:17-20 NKJV). If we have received the gift of salvation through Jesus, we have also received the gift of the Holy Spirit, and He changes us. He makes us good; He gives us hearts that love what is good; and good people do good works. CREATION RESTORED What will heaven be like? It will be as earth was always supposed to be. Here are some verses that give us clues to what we might see and hear in heaven: "Sing O heavens! Be joyful, O earth! And break out in singing, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people, and will have mercy on His afflicted....For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands" (Isaiah 49:13; 55:12-13 NKJV). Singing skies and mountains, and trees that clap their hands--there will be so much joy that all of nature will be bursting with it. All this and Jesus too!