… to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that does not fade away, kept in heaven for you, …

— 1 Peter 1:4

I was talking recently in my office to a young lady who had just accepted Christ. I told her that she was now the child of God and that she was, furthermore, the heir of God. I said, “Do you realize that you have just become an heiress?”

She looked very puzzled, so I opened my Bible to the New Testament and showed her the front page which had the heading on it, “The New Testament of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” I said, “Did you notice the word? This is the last will and testament of Almighty God, and you have become His heir. You are written into God’s will. The Bible says that we are the heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.”

Well, it would be, I suppose, a great thing to be written into the will of some fabulously wealthy man. However, my friends, we have something more marvelous than that. We are written into the will of God, if we have received Jesus Christ and we belong to Him. We are the heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. All things are ours; whether in this life or the world to come (see I Corinthians 3:21-23), and we know that “My God shall supply all of your needs out of His riches in glory” (Philippians 4:19).

Question to ponder:
What is the inheritance kept for you in heaven?

These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, …

— Acts 17:6

In many places in the world, Christians have made a tremendous impact for good. A handful of people can help ignite a city. Today, a city full of Christians seems to have little impact.

Why is the Church seemingly so impotent in today’s society, whereas in the early centuries, it transformed the pagan Roman Empire? One of the reasons could be that these people took the lordship of Jesus Christ seriously. They committed themselves to Him as Lord. They knew what a lord was. In the Roman world, to be a servant, doulos, meant that you gave up your will completely; you had no preferences of what you would like yourself. You were the servant of a master, the kurios.

Where are the Christians in our society? It just so happens that evangelical Christianity is generally not making the laws in the Senate or in the Congress; they are not sitting on the Supreme Court; they are not generally the ones making motion pictures in Hollywood; they are not the ones running our television networks.

This is something very obvious. Though Christianity is growing in this country, it is still far from being the controlling force or even that influential.

The question is not a matter of numbers, but the level of commitment.

Question to ponder:
Can you think of a new way to serve God?

To the pure, all things are pure. But to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Even their minds and consciences are defiled.

— Titus 1:15

Hollywood producers may tell you, “Well, you see, we are just a reflection of reality. We’re just revealing what the country is like.”

The truth of the matter is that they do reflect a portion of reality. They reflect what is going on in the gutter, what is going on in the sewer and a few of the other worst places in the country. Then they spread that vileness over the entire nation. They are not just reflecting reality. They are pushing their favorite kind of reality—the reality that appeals to their depraved minds.

We do not have to accept their version of reality. Yes, there is evil, and yes, there is ugliness. But we as Christians know that purity, innocence, goodness, and kindness exist too.

Just recently there has been a trend of good and moral movies coming and generally doing well, to the surprise of the Hollywood elite. Let us support what is good and decent and avoid what is not.

Question to ponder:
What good movie have you seen recently (if any)? What made it good?

But every priest stands daily ministering and repetitively offering the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.

— Hebrews 10:11-12

Only the High Priest could enter into the Holy of Holies, and that but once a year, and then not without the blood of the sacrifice that was to be sprinkled onto the mercy seat.

What was in that Holy of Holies? There was the Ark of the Covenant. Within it were found the two tables of the Law written by the very hand of Jehovah. Those laws, looking upward, cried out against the transgressions of men against the commandments. On the top of the Ark was the mercy seat, covered in pure gold. Once a year on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the High Priest entered into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled blood on the mercy seat of the atonement.

On either end of that Ark, gold-covered cherubim faced inward. Between those cherubim there dwelt the presence of the Almighty God. There the broken law cried out for vengeance upon the transgressors, and it was only the blood of the atonement that blocked it out. That is a great picture of Christ who entered the Holy of Holies in Heaven itself with His own blood to make atonement for our sins. There is the secret place of the most High God, where mercy is meted out through the death of the Sacrifice.

Question to ponder:
How is Jesus Christ both our High Priest and sacrifice?

A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, …

— Proverbs 13:22

What kind of spiritual heritage are you leaving or have you left your children? If you look back through the great names of God’s people, you will find that in many cases their testimony is that whatever they are, they owe it to the prayers of their parents in family devotion times around the family altar when they were children.

The saintly Matthew Henry says in his own testimony that whatever there may be of good about him, he contributes it in a large part to his godly home and praying parents who gathered the children together each day for the worship of God.

I think of Patrick Henry, who wrote this in his Last Will and Testament: “I have now disposed of all my property to my family; there is one thing more I wish I could give them, and that is the Christian religion. If they had that, and I had not given them one shilling, they would be rich, and if they had not that, and I had given them all the world, they would be poor.”

Question to ponder:
What would you like to leave to your children?

How long, O Sovereign Lord, holy and true …?

— Revelation 6:10

Some years ago, I went through a trial worse than anything I’d ever known. In the midst of that ordeal, many cries went up from my heart: “How long, O God?” In all of that, there was the belief that God is the sovereign Lord, that He is the infinite, all-powerful One who holds the reins of the world in His hand. Even beyond that, He is a loving and merciful God and therefore there was a purpose and a reason for all that happened. Furthermore, I believed that ultimately He would work all things together for my good.

One of the greatest books on suffering from a Christian perspective was first published in 1856 and retranslated into English in 2002. The book is by a Calvinistic French pastor, Adolphe Monod. His book is a series of sermons, which he delivered as he was dying of cancer. The book is Living in the Hope of Glory (translated by Constance K. Walker). Monod said that whatever we need, we have in Christ, even if we’re suffering the pangs of death: “He will never deprive me of any good except to give me some other, better one.” He also noted, “Having Christ we have all things …”

Question to ponder:
God is good, and God is sovereign. How do these two truths comfort us?

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.

— Isaiah 26:3 NKJV

Anxiety. Fear. Worry. We live in a time of “men’s hearts failing them for fear” (Luke 21:26 NKJV). If you are like most Americans, you have to confess that you are often troubled by many things. People are anxious and worried; peace is elusive and never lasts.

How much serenity do we have? The word “serenity” is not found in the Bible, but it conveys the concept in words that mean the same thing. The Bible talks about “peace” and “rest” and “quiet”—something most people experience very little of. Shalom is the word in the Bible for the peace that includes security and wholeness.

How tragic that millions who have never found the solution to the sin problem are trying to find serenity in some other way. It can never, ever be done, my friends. It just will not work. You have to have the forgiveness of God before you can have serenity and peace of mind. Christ Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and He offers us the peace of God.

This is perhaps one of the reasons Paul greets his readers with “Grace and peace.” Without grace, there is no peace.

Question to ponder:
How can a person be serene in the midst of chaos?

To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces …

— 1 Peter 1:1 NIV

A Dr. Morrison went on a great preaching mission and spent two years preaching the Gospel in scores of different countries. About the time he got back, Teddy Roosevelt returned from big game hunting in Africa. The nation honored him with a ticker-tape parade and tens of thousands of people turned out to celebrate his return.

When Dr. Morrison arrived in his small hometown late at night, there was no one at the train station to greet him. There was one light bulb hanging from a cord, swaying and swinging in the breeze, but not a single person was there.

As he picked up his bags and started up a long hill to the little town, his heart was heavy. He said, “O Lord, Teddy Roosevelt went to shoot animals and he came back and they gave him a ticker-tape parade. I’ve been all over the world. I was almost killed in Borneo, and I was almost eaten in New Guinea, and several times I almost lost my life to preach the Gospel for the glory of your Son. I come home and there’s nobody here to greet me. Lord, I just don’t understand it.” He said that it seemed there in the darkness, as the breeze blew across his face, he could almost hear a voice coming out of Heaven that said, “You’re not home, yet.”

Question to ponder:
When you think of your homecoming, what do you think you will say to Jesus?

… I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, you may be also.

— John 14:3

We are constantly looking for a place to belong. We all want a home. Even here on earth, a good home is a great blessing, and it can be a little bit of heaven. But our true home is in heaven.

Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many dwelling places” (John 14:2). Jesus is the only one in the New Testament who refers to Heaven as a house—indeed, His Father’s house. Heaven is called in Scripture a country, a city, a garden, and paradise. But it is also a home, and this speaks to the depths of the concerns of our hearts. Home used to mean, and still does for some, a retreat from the problems of this world, a place of solace, a place where loved ones gather and have the deepest of fellowship.

But Heaven is our ultimate home—a home prepared for us by our Savior. Interestingly, He didn’t send angels to prepare it. He said, “I am going to prepare a place for you” (v. 2). The pronouns are filled with meaning. Jesus is the architect of those mansions. He is the builder of those rooms. He is the decorator, the provider of everything needful. Jesus has provided it, and not only that, but He went to Calvary’s Cross to pay for it. It is paid in full.

Question to ponder:
How do you picture your home in heaven?

Then the soldiers likewise demanded of him [John the Baptist], “And what must we do?” He said to them, “Do no violence to anyone nor accuse any falsely, and be content with your wages.”

— Luke 3:14

War is a great evil. It is a tragedy. Every Christian should abhor it and do what he can to prevent it. We are to live at peace with all men as much as lies within us. But there are times when we must fight. The greatest of Christian theologians and Reformers down through the centuries have believed this, and so, too, believed the founders of this nation.

Jesus did say “do not resist an evil person” but turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:39). This, however, is a personal ethic, and not a directive to the state. That is why nations have police forces and armies. Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 teach how the civil ruler is to bear the sword and punish evildoers. “[F]or he [the state ruler] is the servant of God for your good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain, for he is the servant of God, an avenger to execute wrath upon him who practices” (Romans 13:4).

Today we honor those brave men and women who have served their country faithfully. We honor these brave men and women because they have secured the freedom that we enjoy in this nation under God. Peace is precious, and it is not cheap.

Thank a veteran today.

Question to ponder:
What can you do today to honor our veterans?