PT-3 “The Past: The Course, In Which He was Faithful” (2 Timothy 4:7)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/26/2025 9:51 AM

My Worship Time                      Focus: PT-3 “The Past:  The Course, In Which He was Faithful”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                     Reference:  2 Timothy 4:7

Message of the verse:  “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;”

            Today we begin to look at the second of five principles which are expressed or implied in this verse that were foundational to Paul’s life and service.  Second, Paul recognized that the cause he pursued was noble.

            I have read in the past from different commentaries that Paul was the greatest believer that has ever lived, and as I study, and re-study things that Paul wrote and also from the last half of the book of Acts, I surely do agree with that statement.  I suppose that the thing that stands out in his life is how he endured all of the suffering that he went through for the cause of Christ, and I believe that because He was so close to the Lord in his life that he was able to endure suffering for the cause of Christ. 

            Now we move on to some commentary that John MacArthur wrote as he began to write about this second of five principles:  “He had a tremendously elevated sense of dedication to the divine cause in which he was engaged.  He was fighting the good fifth. Kalos (good) refers to that which is intrinsically good, good in itself, without any qualification.  It also was used of that which is inherently and genuinely beautiful and of things that fully conform to their basic nature and purpose.  Elsewhere in the New Testament it is used of many such things.  In Matthew it is used of good fruit (3:10), of a good tree (12:33), of good ground (13:8), and of good fish (13:48).  Paul uses it of God’s law (Rom. 7:16) and of all His creatures (1 Tim. 4:4).”

            This section is not as long as the previous one, but that is all that I am going to cover this morning.  I like what is written here about the Apostle Paul as I can learn from it and then try to put these things into practice in my life.  He is such a wonderful example of a person who was filled with God’s Spirit and thus doing His work for the cause of Christ.

            “The apostle was extremely perplexed that so many believers were seeking ‘after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus’ (Phil. 2:21).  To complete contrary, he considered his own impressive religious credentials to be rubbish (Phil. 3:4-7) and, in fact, counted ‘all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ’ (v. 8).  Nothing mattered but the cause of Christ.

            “It was a great satisfaction for the apostle to be able to say that Timothy ‘is doing the Lord’s work, as I also am’ (1 Cor. 16:10).  Despite his limitations, this younger co-laborer was following the apostle’s footsteps, selflessly serving, expending himself in the cause of Christ, faithfully proclaiming the divine ‘word of reconciliation’ (2 Cor. 5:19).

            “Christians are not saved simply or even primarily for their own sakes.  We are first of all saved for the glory of God and to fulfill His holy calling to be His witnesses to an unsaved world (Matt. 28:19-20; 2 Tim. 1:9; Heb. 3:1).  That noblest of all callings to the noblest of all causes should inspire every believer to ‘seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, every hour and opportunity, ever resource and all of our energy to lifelong service in the will and power of our Lord.”

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is my desire to do the things that God has called me to do for the cause of Christ, and to be ready to tell those that the Lord brings onto my path how they too can be saved, and then also how to grow in their faith.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to have my wife do the things she needs to do to keep any more cancer out of her body.

7/26/2025 10:26 AM

 

 

PT-1 Introduction to “Apostates Illustrated” (Jude 8-13)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/25/2025 10:45 PM

My Worship Time                                                    Focus: Introduction to “Apostates Illustrated”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                            Reference:  Jude 8-13

            Message of the verses:  “8 Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. 9 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" 10 But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed. 11 Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. 12 These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; 13  wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.”

 

            I can say one thing as I read over these verses and that is that Jude gives a lot of metaphors in describing these apostates.  Now this evening I begin looking at the introduction to these six verses, verses that I have to say that I enjoy reading over, for there is so much truth in them, so many things that really interest me, something I am looking forward to look at.

           

            Now before I begin looking at these verses I have to say that I listened to an older sermon from John MacArthur as he did a series of sermons on heaven, and those in charge of his website, actually the churches website thought it was appropriate for people to listen to what John MacArthur preached about heaven because two weeks ago he entered into the presence of the Lord in heaven.  They were asking people to write into there and give an example of how John MacArthur had affected their lives.  I can say that since I have been studying the New Testament a while ago that John MacArthur has truly effected what I write on my Spiritual Diaries which then the Holy Spirit of God sends around the world doing with it things that I can hardly believe as the number of these Spiritual Diaries have reached over 950,000 views, and as I look at the numbers each day I know that it is the Holy Spirit who is using them to bring glory to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

            I will begin looking at the introduction to these verses by quoting from John MacArthur’s commentary:  “Terrorism has always existed in various forms.  From political assassinations to high-profile kidnappings to guerrilla warfare, history is full of men who have tried to enact change through violent means.  But on the watershed date of September 11, 2001, terrorism reached a new level, when mercenaries from the Al Qaeda terrorist network hijacked four jetliners and used them as missiles.  The resulting destruction of the World Trade Center in New Your City and damage to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. (along with the crash of the fourth plane in rural Pennsylvania), killed more than three thousand people and dealt a severe blow to the American economy, raising the threat of international terrorism to an unprecedented height.  In response, strict security precautions were put in place, especially for airplane travel, vital industries, and high-profile public events.  Prior to September 11, the United States seemed blissfully immune to terrorist attack.  But after the incredible collapse of the twin towers, Americans gained firsthand knowledge of terrorism’s deadly tactics.

 

            “In contrast to conventional warfare, terrorism presents a uniquely serious threat for two primary reasons.  First, terrorists operate clandestinely.  They are relatively few in number, remain hidden, and certainly do not wear uniforms.  Their plans stay secret until after they strike, making their attacks very difficult to counteract.  Second, terrorists are usually willing to die for their cause (often by suicide as they carry out their objectives).  They are eager to sacrifice themselves for the sake of their mission.  Thus the prospect of even the severest human punishment, such as the death penalty, does not deter them.  If they are to be thwarted, they must unmask and apprehend before they act.  Otherwise it will be too late.”

 

            I have to say that Lord willing I will finish this introduction in tomorrow evenings SD, and also there are times when I began to read through MacArthur’s introduction to chapters in his commentaries that I don’t know where he is going until I see what I describe as a “punch line,” and that is the case this evening.

 

7/25/2025 11:14 PM   

The Past: The Course, In Which He was Faithful” (2 Tim. 4:7)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/25/2025 19:37 AM

My Worship Time                              Focus:  The Past:  The Course, In Which He was Faithful”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                     Reference:  2 Timothy 4:7

Message of the verse:  “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;”

            In today’s SD I will begin by writing about five principles which are expressed or implied in this verse that were foundational to Paul’s life and his service.  The first one is that he recognized that he was in a spiritual struggle.  We read from this verse “have fought” is from the verb agonizomai and fight is from the related noun agon. Now as on would probably guess, they are the source of our English word “agonizing” and “agony.”  Now in the New Testament times both words were commonly used in reference to athletic contests, in particular public games such as the famous Greed Olympics, which had originated several centuries earlier, and in recent times this games have come back, but they are not totally like those games when Greece was more in the spotlight.  The words also were used of other types of struggles that involve great effort and energy, whether physical or spiritual.

            John MacArthur writes “Paul had used the same basic phrase in his first letter to Timothy, admonishing him to ‘fight the good fight of faith’ (6:12).  He reminded Corinthian believers that ‘everyone who competes [agonizomai] in the games exercises self-control in all things.  They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable’ (1 Cor. 9:25).  The same verb (italicized in the following references) was used by Jesus in calling men to ‘strive to enter by the narrow door’ (Luke 13:24).  In his letter to the church at Colossae, Paul testified that ‘for this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me’ (1:29) and praised Epaphras, ‘one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, [who] sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God’ (4:12).  We are to labor and strive,’ he says, ‘because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially believers’ (1 Tim. 4:10).

            “The faithful and productive Christian life is nothing less than a fierce and relentless struggle ‘against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places’ (Eph. 6:12). Commenting on that verse, William Hendrickson writes,

It had been a fight against Satan; against the principalities and powers, the world-ruler of this darkness in the heavenlies; against Jewish and pagan vice and violence; against Judaism among the Galatians; against fanaticism among the Thessalonians; against contention, fornication, and litigation among the Corinthians; against incipient Gnosticism among the Ephesians and Colossians, against fightings without fears within; and last but not least, against the law of sin and death operating within his own heart. (New Testament Commentary; Expositions of the Pastoral Epistles [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1965], 315)

            “The faithful Christian constantly battles his own flesh, his own sin, his own ignorance and laziness.  He even has to battle temptation to do things that are perfectly good in themselves in place of other things that are immeasurably more important.  Every day there are new fronts on which the struggle continues.”

            In tomorrow’s SD, Lord willing, we will look at the second principle in this verse that are foundational to Paul’s life, and because they were in Paul’s life then they should also be in believer’s lives as well.

Spiritual Meaning for My Life Today:  I have to agree with the things that other believer’s battle with as mentioned in this section, that I too battle with them also.  I have the Holy Spirit of God in my life, and the Word of God to aid me in my walk with the Lord, and so I know that because of that that if and when I fall I have the greatest resources to help me in my walk with the Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to give me strength as I walk with the Lord to do His will in my life.

7/25/2025 10:12 AM

 

PT-2 “The Apostate Gentiles” (Jude 7)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/24/2025 11:59 PM

My Worship Time                                                                Focus:  PT-2 “The Apostate Gentiles”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                  Reference:  Jude 7

            Message of the verse: “Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.”

            The time is actually 12:42 A.M. as our house and our neighborhood had a power outage for at least 5 hours and so I did not get to this “Evening Spiritual Diary” until now as I had to get my generator out to help with keeping things pretty good as I waited for the power to come back on, and then I had to clean up around the house getting things back in order, so I think that this “mornings” SD will have a great deal of quotations from John MacArthur’s commentary.

            He begins by writing “Somewhat like the perverted angels before them, the Sodomites in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh.  They too perverted God’s intended design for them by soliciting sexual favors from His holy messengers.  Gross immorality translates a compound word (ekporneuo), which suggests that their homosexual behavior and attempted fornication was especially deviant from the God-ordained design for human sexuality (cf. Lev. 18:22; 20:13; Rom. 1:26-27; 1 Cor. 6:9; 1 Tim. 1:9-10).  That they went after strange flesh indicates that, like the apostate angels, the men of Sodom pursued creatures (angels) outside of what was proper for them.”  Now when we get to 2 Peter which will be after Jude is finished then there will be more things about this.

            “The people of Sodom and Gomorrah are exhibited as an example that God will certainly and severely punish apostates (Matt. 11:23; Rom. 9:29; 2 Peter 2:6; cf. Isa. 1:9-10).  That will finally be sentenced to the punishment of eternal fire, the burning hell of horrific torment, where punishment lasts forever (Matt. 3:12; 13:42, 50; 25:46).  It is God’s final, permanent judgment on the unregenerate, especially on those who scorn His truth or defect from it (cf. Rev. 19:20).  The apostle John described hell this way:  ‘The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lade of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and the will be tormented day and night forever and ever’ (Rev. 20:10; cf. Isa. 30:33).

            “This powerful passage, with its three dramatic illustrations of apostasy, is a sobering reminder of the ultimate fate that awaits those who defect from the faith.  As such, it provides a fitting motivation for believers as they continue to contend for the truth.  And it also serves as a solemn warning to anyone who knows the truth but, for whatever reason, is inclined to walk away from the gospel (Heb. 6:4-8).  After all, if Jude’s admonition is ignored, the consequences are terrifying:

“29 How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY." And again, "THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE." 31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

 

            “Thus the severest eternal suffering will belong to those who know and reject the truth.  Even more terrible will judgment be to those who, having done that, go on to teach demonic lies as if they are true (cf. James 3:1).”  “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.”

 

            Now in tomorrow’s Evening SD I will begin looking at “Apostates Illustrated” from Jude 8-13).  It is my prayer that all who have been keeping up with this study in Jude are enjoying it as much as I am.

 

7/25/2025 1:10 AM

 

 

"The Past: The Course, In Which He was Faithful” (2 Timothy 4:7)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/24/2025 11:05 AM

My Worship Time                              Focus:  "The Past:  The Course, In Which He was Faithful”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                     Reference:  2 Timothy 4:7

Message of the verse:  “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;”

            Paul first reflected on the present, which we have been looking at for a few days, and not he will reflect on the past, and Paul after he became a believer has a great past to reflect on, consisting of his life and service to the Lord since he became a believer, which is seen in the 9^th chapter of the book of Acts.  His life was a life in “which he breathed every breath and lived every moment in service of his Lord, a life in which no sacrifice was too great and no commitment to demanding” (MacArthur Commentary).

            MacArthur writes “Perhaps Theodore Roosevelt had that verse in mind when he wrote.

            It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who does actually try to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.

            Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even through checked by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in a gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.  (From speech on the strenuous life, Hamilton Club, Chicago, April 10, 1899).

            I have read over this quote a couple of times and then posted it on my Facebook page, and I can see why John MacArthur wrote this quotation in his commentary reflecting on the Apostle Paul’s life. 

            As one reads through the New Testament one surely can see that Paul lived his life doing great things in the power of God, and that truly is the key in doing great things, for if one does things on their own people may think that they are doing good, but if not through the power of the Holy Spirit doing what the Lord desires for them to do, then it is not going to last, but one can see that Paul’s life was filled with the Holy Spirit, and then things that he did have lasted.  MacArthur writes “As reflected in the English, have fought, have finished, and have kept (like ‘has come’ at the end of v. 6) translated intensive perfect verbs, indicating completed action that hs continuing results.  Paul had no regret, no sense of unfulfillment or incompleteness. After the Lord took control, he truly had lived life to the fullest.  Everything God had called and enabled him to do, he did.  He left no unfinished symphony.  There can be no greater satisfaction—and certainly no more glorious way to end the Christian life—than to know, as he did, that you have fully accomplished all that the Lord has called you to do.  That is precisely what he was asking Timothy to do: ‘fulfill your ministry’ (v. 5).  Now let me take a moment to say that John MacArthur’s hero in the faith, after of course the Lord Jesus Christ, was Paul as I have listened to hundreds of his sermons, and read many of his commentaries, I know that Paul was his hero in the faith, and as I am studying 2 Timothy, the last letter Paul ever wrote that is in the Bible, I can help but think that John MacArthur’s life had a lot to do with what Paul’s life was about.  He is now with His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ awaiting the resurrection that will take place at the rapture.

            “We cannot help wondering how we too can live our lives in that way.  How was Paul able to make such a claim?  What was the motive of his astounding spiritual faithfulness and achievement?  He himself gives the answer in the three short clauses of verse 7.”

            Well we will have to wait unto tomorrow’s SD to get those answers, and perhaps it will take us a couple of days to do so, but Lord willing I will keep writing until we get those answers.

            Spiritual Meaning for My Life Today:  It is my desire to fight the good fight even though I know that Satan many times is tempting me to stop doing what I believe the Lord is calling me to do for the cause of Christ.

            My Steps of Faith for Today:  FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT.

7/24/2025 11:42 AM  

 

PT-1 “The Apostate Gentiles” (Jude 7)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/23/2025 8:46 PM

My Worship Time                                                                Focus:  PT-1 “The Apostate Gentiles”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                  Reference:  Jude 7

            Message of the verse: “Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.”

            In this evenings SD we will be looking at the third illustration of past divine judgments on apostates, as Jude reminded his readers about Sodom and Gomorrah.  Now the wicked people who lived in those cities, “and the cities around them.” engaged in sins equally as shocking and horrific as those of the angels.  Here are the accounts from Genesis as they are found in Genesis 8:16-19:29 as that recounts the sordid details, with also 19:1-11 giving particular focus to the debauched actions of their unrepentant residents.  We will now look at this passage:

“1 Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 2 And he said, "Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant’s house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way." They said however, "No, but we shall spend the night in the square." 3 Yet he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4 Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; 5 and they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them." 6 But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, 7 and said, "Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. 8 “Now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof." 9 But they said, "Stand aside." Furthermore, they said, "This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them." So they pressed hard against Lot and came near to break the door. 10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11 They struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway.”

 

            As you read over the highlighted portion of verse 11 you will find out that this is not the worst thing that will happen to these men, as in the morning fire will come down on Sodom and Gomorrah and both cities will be completely destroyed.  I have read from some commentators that they think that these cities are located at the bottom of the Dead Sea.

            That is as far as I am going to go with this section this evening, as Lord willing I will finish this section and the chapter in tomorrow evening’s SD.

 

7/23/2025 7:39 PM  

 

 

PT-3“The Present: The Close, For Which He is Ready” (2 Timothy 4:6)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/23/2025 10:15 AM

My Worship Time                       Focus:  PT-3“The Present: The Close, For Which He is Ready”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                      Reference: 2 Timothy 4:6

            Message of the verse:  “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.”

            I begin with a quote from John MacArthur’s commentary this morning:  “When the apostle was first brought to trial in Rome, none of his fellow believers stood by him (v. 16).  This great man of God was the spiritual progenitor, directly or indirectly, of perhaps most of the redeemed souls in the Gentile world.  But during his time of greatest personally need, he sat friendless in a dark, filthy prison, facing Nero’s certain sentence of death.  He was not bitter but, like his Lord, prayed for his persecutors that the injustice might ‘not be counted against them (v. 16).  ‘The Lord stood with me, and strengthened me,’ he affirmed, ‘in order that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was delivered out of the lion’s mouth.  The Lord will deliver me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom’ (vv. 17-18).”

            Now as I look back at the time when Paul was in that awful prison, a man as we see in the above post was responsible for probably most every Gentile believer either directly or indirectly at this time, and what I am wondering is what was going on in heaven during the time when Paul was about to die.  I think of another man who was also responsible for many souls that either went or will go to heaven because of his ministry, and that is John MacArthur who recently also was promoted to heaven, and I wonder what was going on in heaven right after he got there.  My point is that even though all things that look very dark on earth for a believer will one day look very bright when we as believers get to heaven, for that is when we will see our Lord Jesus Christ face to face and all the trials and troubles will be over.  My hope has always been that I will be one of the believers who will be alive when the rapture of the Church happens, and for a long time after I post one of my Spiritual Diaries I have a number of things that I pray about and the last one is that if it is the Lord’s will that the Holy Spirit will given the last effectual call in the church age to someone who is reading one of my Spiritual Diaries.  I always pray to the Lord if this is Your will to have this happen this way.

            MacArthur goes on to write “Has come translates an intensive perfect of ephistenmi, indicating that the time of Paul’s departure had arrived but had a continuing effect.  The clouds of death had come and still hovered over him.

            “But for Paul, they were not dark clouds, because death held no peril for him.  Like Peter, he viewed death simply as ‘The laying aside of [his] earthly dwelling’ (2 Peter 1:14).  It was a move from his demanding and painful life on earth to the infinitely glorious life of peace and rest to come, when he would forever be with the Lord.

            “Departure is from analusis, which has a variety of meanings.  William Barclay explains four of those meanings, each of which gives a vivid picture of the way in which the apostle viewed his last days.

(a)                It is the word for unyoking and animal from the shafts of the cart or the plough.  Death to Paul was rest from toil.  He would be glad to lay the burden down…(b) It is the word for loosening bonds or fetters.  Death for Paul was a liberation and a release.  He was to exchange the confines of a Roman prison for the glorious liberty of the courts of heaven; (c) It is the word for loosening the ropes of a tent.  For Paul it was time to strike camp again.  Many a journey he had made across the roads of Asia Minor and of Europe.  Now he was setting out on his last and his greatest journey: he was taking the road that led to God. (d) It is the word for loosening the mooring ropes of a ship.  Many a time Paul had sailed the Mediterranean, and had felt the ship leave the harbour for the deep waters.  Now he is to launch out into the greatest deep of all; he is setting sail to cross the waters of death to arrive in the heaven of eternity. (The Letters to Timothy, Titus and Philemon [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1957] 209).

 

For a Christian, death is exchanging the burden of earthly life for the eternal joy of heaven (cf. Phil. 1:21).

 

            “Paul did not die like Napoleon, Gandhi, Talleyrand, or any other person—no matter how successful and acclaimed—who does not know Christ.  The apostle faced his departure with no feeling of futility or hopelessness or despair but with the divine assurance that his real life was only about to begin. Just as he had faced earthly living without fear, he faced earthly dying without fear.  Because he abode so faithfully in the will of his sovereign God, he could echo the words of Jesus, who said ‘No one has taken [my life] away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative’ (John 10:18).  As the Lord Jesus had commanded, Paul took up his own cross and never laid it down, in the certain knowledge that ‘this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.  But when the perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will put on immortality, he would exult with Isaiah that Death is swallowed up in victory,’ and cry out with Hosea, ‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ (1 Cor. 15:53-55; cf. Isa. 25:8; Hos. 13:14).”

 

Spiritual Meaning for My Life Today:  I realize that there is some mystery in death, but as one continues to understand what the Bible has to say about death, death to a believer than that one need not fear death.  However if one is not a believer then the truth is that they should fear it.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I trust that the Lord will continue to use me as I write these Spiritual Diaries so that the Holy Spirit of God will use them to bring unbelievers to a knowledge of Jesus Christ so that they can be saved, and that believers will grow in the Lord to serve Him exactly the way that He desires for them to serve Him.

 

7/23/2025 10:58 AM