A Place In Heaven

It was towards the end of the Sunday morning worship service.

The preacher was sharing various reasons why Christians should celebrate. He talked about salvation, the abundant blessings, revival and reformation, the case of the prodigal son, the final victory of Jesus over Satan, resurrection and ascension etc.

It was a powerful and encouraging sermon. I was touched and moved. I jotted down some notes, hoping to gather, clear, and articulate my thoughts, and to piece together the gist of the sermon.

A voice came from behind. It is my good friend and brother!

"Have you booked your place?"

I tried to make out what he said.

"A place in Heaven?" I asked him.

He nodded and smiled like a wise man.

It was a difficult question for me.

I dug deep into my thoughts.

I recalled what I have learned. I recalled the doctrine of "the eternal security of the saint" or "the perseverance of the saint." It means "once saved, always saved".

So my direct answer to him was "Yes" and "No".

I have not booked a place in Heaven on my own.

But the Bible did say that the Lord Jesus had provided us a place in Heaven.

And for that reason I will celebrate!

Oh Yes! I have a place in Heaven.

I have known it ever since I first believed in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And that is enough for me.

We looked at one another understandingly.

"A place in Heaven?"

"Sure!" we answered from our hearts.

As long as we persevere to the end!

And we will!

God help us!

A Better Man

I think if I could be born again, I probably would have repeated less of my present mistakes. I could be and would be more thoughtful, considerate and discreet before I make my next move(s). But, I couldn't guarantee that I wouldn't make other grave mistakes since there are always new territories for me to explore. And the end results may not be desirable after all. So I ask myself again, "What should I do?".

I think I would rather stick with my old body/self and make a better of my remaining life. Pressing the "restart" button is not the answer for me. And who knows if there is a "restart" button for our lives? We reap what we sow. This is a fact of life, handed down from generation to generation. We just have to mend our way if we desire a better life. And it's never too late for us to change. Yeah! Bettering ourselves is the answer, and not keep restarting our lives!

I am pondering over a cup of steaming hot white coffee while looking at the light rain outside. Wow! Such sweet aroma! I take another sip... smiling at my sweet coffee...

Praise God For His Redemption

Ephesians 1:7-10

God is to be praised for His redemption.

*******

When the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross, He satisfied God’s just demands for sin.

We are free from the bondage, power, and penalty of sin.

We are redeemed.

*******

We are redeemed through Christ’s blood.

Our redemption costs Christ His precious blood.

*******

This redemption flows to us in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.

We are saved to the uttermost.

And God continues to lavish His grace upon us.

*******

God is to be praised for the results of His redemption.

*******

Our sins are forgiven and forgotten.

When the Lord Jesus Christ died on Calvary, our sins were laid upon Him and He was judged in our place.

God judged Him as if He were guilty of all of our sins.

God extinguished His wrath in the body of His Son when His Son died on that cross.

Our sins have already been paid for.

We are forgiven.

*******

We have been reconciled with God.

We are brought into a grace relationship with God.

God accepts us.

*******

God is to be praised for the reasons of His redemption.

*******

We are redeemed because of God's amazing grace.

God chose us in Jesus when He could have condemned us to Hell.

God reached out to us in love to save us when He had every right and reason to send us to Hell.

We have been given everything that God has to offer and we deserved nothing.

*******

We are redeemed because of God's good pleasure.

God redeemed us to bring Him glory.


*******

We are redeemed so as to bring everything under Christ.

Christ is to be the head of all things.

One day, Christ will receive the glory, the honor and the worship due to Him.

*******

Some thoughts.

• The fact that we are redeemed should cause us to bow before God in absolute submission. We should worship, praise and honor Him for His grace and His gifts.
• We should give His Son the obedience, the reverence, the love, the worship and the praise He desires and deserves. We should do our part to accomplish God’s plan of exalting the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us praise God for His redemption!

God's Spiritual Blessings

Ephesians 1:3

God gives us every spiritual blessing in Christ.

In God, we find everything we need to live the Christian life.

God has held nothing back from His children.

When He saved us, He gave us everything we needed to serve Him.

*******

We have everything we need to be content, to be successful, to be obedient, to be useful, and to be happy in Jesus.

We have everything the Lord Jesus had to offer us, and we got it at the moment we were saved!

*******

God gives us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.

*******

We were chosen in Christ by the grace of God before the creation of the world.

We were later adopted into God’s family, with every right and privilege.

We are accepted by the Father. We are reconciled to the Lord! God is pleased with us! We have been redeemed. The Lord Jesus died for us and delivered us from the captivity of sin.

We have received forgiveness of sins. At the instant of salvation, every single sin in our past, our present, and our future was forever forgiven! We have been forgiven of all our sins! Oh! What a blessing!

We have a home awaiting us in Heaven.

We are changed, both inwardly and outwardly, making us more like the Lord Jesus Christ.

We are sealed with the Holy Spirit. We are secure for eternity. We are saved to the uttermost.

*******

We can enjoy all these spiritual blessings because we are in Christ.

We can enjoy all these spiritual blessings because we are saved by the grace of God.

*******

Some thoughts.

• Every Christian is blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.
• God has provided us with spiritual blessings that are beyond description and beyond measure.
• We must learn to praise God for His spiritual blessings.
• We must learn to rely on our spiritual blessings, no matter what happens.
• We must know that we are blessed people, no matter what happens.
• We must remember that we are saved people, with abundant blessings.

Praise the Lord!

God Adopted Us

Ephesians 1:4b-6

When a lost sinner is saved by the grace of God, he is forever altered.

*******

He is altered in his practice.

He is to be holy. He has been set apart for the exclusive use of the Lord.

*******

He is altered in his position.

He is blameless in God’s sight. When God sees him, He does not see a sinner fit for Hell; He sees a saint worthy of Heaven!

He does not see him as he is; He sees him as He has made him in Jesus.

*******

When a lost sinner is saved by the grace of God, he is adopted into His family.

*******

He is adopted permanently.

He is a son of the Father forever. He is eternally secure.

He immediately has all the rights of a legitimate son in the new family.

Old debts and obligations connected with his former life are cancelled out and abolished.

*******

God works in time to bring him to faith in Christ.

God will make sure that at the precise moment he would be ready to hear the gospel, repent of his sins, and embrace the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior.

Every event in his life is God working to bring him to faith in Jesus Christ.

*******

God sent His Son to redeem him.

Salvation is possible only because of what His Son did for us on Calvary (Eph. 1:7).

His Son gave His life to redeem us from the bondage in sin.

The death of His Son on the cross made our adoption by the Father a reality.

*******

God adopted him because of His love. God also adopt him because of the good pleasure of His will.

*******

When a lost sinner is saved by the grace of God, he is accepted through his relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, all his efforts at religion and holiness are useless.

*******

Why did God do all these for him? He did them for the praise of the glory of His grace. God does everything He does for His Own glory.

*******

Some thoughts.

• God, in His sovereign power, come to where we are, call us to the Lord Jesus Christ and save our souls.
• We have what we have in Jesus Christ simply because He got glory and received pleasure from our salvation.
• We should humble ourselves before Him to thank Him for His grace in salvation.
• We should live every moment for the praise of His glory.