Good morning,

Last week I had the honor of going on Mission 23 of the Last Frontier Honor flight (LFHF).  I served in Viet Nam and retired in 2008.

This week I would like to share with you my experiences.

So what is the  Last Frontier Honor flight? The Last Frontier Honor Flight’s mission is to celebrate Alaska Veterans with a trip to Washington D.C. to visit those memorials dedicated to honor their services and sacrifices. These trips are at no cost to the Veterans and provided by donations from private individuals and corporate sponsorships.

Each veteran travels with a guardian who assists throughout the trip. Mine was invaluable. Each veteran has a wheel chair assigned to them. Although I did not think I would need one, I did.

When the LFHF uses the word “honor”, they really mean it. My guardian did everything for me. From lifting and carrying my bags, to making sure I was well hydrated, to wheeling me around in a wheel chair, I was well taken care of.

The  staff members go out of their way to honor each LFHF participants.

Alaska Airlines provided our seats and a plane that proclaimed, “Honoring those who served” on the side of their aircraft.

Many of the veterans on our trip had never been to Washington, DC. They were awed at the memorials, opportunity to fellowship with other veterans, and to tell their stories about their military service.

One night after dinner, we shared our life stories. There were stories of heroism, service to country and community, and of lives well spent. One couple, both nurses (male and female), were serving in Viet Nam. They married and shared the LFHF with us. I also met an individual that served in Viet Nam the same time I did.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

How is it?

Charles Spurgeon

(Be sure to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)

How is it that professing Christians can live like worldly men?
How is it that there is so little distinction between the church and the world?
How is it that professing Christians can indulge in the same pleasures, act from the same motives, and live in the same manner as the godless do?

In the matter of amusements, professing Christians have gone far beyond what the Scriptures allow. What is worse, the churches have now conceived the idea, that it is their duty to amuse the people. Churches who used to protest against going to the theater, now cause the theater to come to them!

I dare not touch upon what has been done at church bazaars and enticing fairs. If these had been arranged by secular people, could they have been any worse?
What folly has been left untried?
What absurdity has been too great for the consciences of those who profess to be the children of God, and not of the world; but called to walk with God in a separated life?

Certain ministers are treacherously betraying our holy religion under the pretense of adapting it to this present age. The new plan is to assimilate the church to the world.

By dramatic performances, they make houses of prayer to mimic the theater. They turn their services into musical displays, and their sermons into mere discourses on self-improvement, and instructions on how to live a happy life. In fact, they exchange the temple for the theater, and turn the ministers of God into actors, whose business it is to amuse men.

This is their method: In order to win the world, the Lord Jesus must conform Himself, His people, and His Word, to the world. I will not dwell on so loathsome a method.

Christian! Beware when the world loves you, lest that which attracts them towards you, is something that ought not to be there! Beware when men of the world are very fond of your society, for then you must have surely gotten out of touch with your Master, who says, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you!” (John 15:17-19)

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2)

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Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplin, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning, 

The judgments of God, past, present, and future. We will be looking at an overview of God’s judgment. This week, we will be looking at the judgments that have already occurred.

Judgments occurring now in the church age:

Self-evaluation 

Believers practice self-examination, prayerfully and honestly assessing their own spiritual condition.

For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.²⁷ Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.²⁸ But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.²⁹ For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.³⁰ For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. (1 Corinthians 11:28) 

Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.²¹ And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.²² And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? (Matthew 26:20-22)

 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?⁶ But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates. (2 Corinthians 13:5)

The church helps in this endeavor to purify the Body of Christ 

Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.¹⁶ But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.¹⁷ And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. (Matthew 18:15–17)

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.² Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:1-2)

 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;²⁰ Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins. (James 5:19-20)

Self-judgment requires each believer to be spiritually discerning, with a goal of being more like Christ 

If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:²² That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;²³ And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; (Ephesians 4:21–23)

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.² And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:1-2)

But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.⁹ Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;¹⁰ And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: (Colossians 3:8-10)

Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.¹² Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.¹³ Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.¹⁴ For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. (Romans 6:11-14)

Divine discipline

 As a father lovingly corrects his children, so the Lord disciplines His own; that is, He brings His followers to a place of repentance and restoration when they sin.

And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:⁶ For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.⁷ If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?⁸ But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.⁹ Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?¹⁰ For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.¹¹ Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. (Hebrews 12:5-11)

 In so doing, He makes a distinction between us and the world: “When we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world”

For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.³² But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:32)

Whom Christ loves, He chastens. 

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. (Revelation 3:19)

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Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

He had passed twenty, thirty, or forty years in wickedness, and had grown worse and worse!

Charles Spurgeon

(Be sure to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)

Isaiah 55:8-9, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts“

We cannot understand, and we need not understand, all that God is doing; but we may be quite sure that He does all things well.

His way of bestowing saving grace is often inscrutable. God will certainly save His chosen people; but how strangely does He deal with some of them! I have known God to allow a chosen child of His to run headlong into sin after sin, for many long years.

The godly mother has anxiously prayed that God would save her boy, but he has grown up to manhood unsaved. He had passed twenty, thirty, or forty years in wickedness, and had grown worse and worse!

It did not seem as if all this could be according to God’s mind, and yet it was. For in the mysterious providence of God, this man became greatly debauched by his riotous living. And then, and not until then, was God pleased to save him. His mother had slept amidst the clods of the valley, not knowing that her supplications for him had been answered.

Yet that profligate man, because he had gone so far in sin, became the greater monument of God’s sovereign grace. He was the more firmly bound to Jesus, and the more ardent in Jesus’ service through the gratitude that he felt, than he would have been if he had been saved earlier in life.

John Bunyan, if he had not been among the chief of sinners, might never have been among the chief of saints. Had he never been what he was–one of the worst men in the village; then he might never have preached as he did, and might never have so boldly declared that the worst of sinners could receive the greatest mercy, and that God would be most glorified in their salvation.

God, in His perfect wisdom and sovereign will, determines when, where, and through what means He effectually grants saving grace to His elect people. He knows why He chooses this man at this time, and that man at that time. So let Him do as seems good in His sight, for He always does what is right and best!

“The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” John 3:8

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Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

The world loses its painted beauty

John Owen

(Be sure to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)

John 17:24, “Father, I desire that those whom You have given Me may be with me where I am, that they may behold My glory that you have given Me, because you loved Me before the foundation of the world.“

What is the supreme desire of a redeemed soul? It is not merely to escape the torments of Hell, or to obtain the unspeakable blessings of Heaven. It is to see Jesus, and to behold His glory! This is the great privilege for which Jesus prayed for His people: “that they may behold My glory.” The hearts of true believers, once touched by the love of Jesus, are like a compass needle attracted toward its object. They cannot be finally satisfied with the world, for their souls have been awakened to the beauty of their Savior.

But there is a solemn test here. No one will behold the glory of Jesus by sight in Heaven, who has not, in some measure, beheld His glory by faith on earth. Heaven is not the beginning of our love for Jesus — it is the perfection of it. A man may say that he wants to go to Heaven, but if he has no present delight in Jesus, no hunger to know Him, no desire to contemplate His glory — then he has reason to examine whether his hope is merely an imagination.

What then, did the early Christians behold in Jesus? Not earthly grandeur. He had no royal splendor, worldly magnificence, or outward beauty to attract the natural heart. They saw His glory as He was “full of grace and truth.” They saw it by faith. They saw in Him the glory of His person, and the glory of His grace in salvation.

And this beholding is transforming. As we contemplate His glory, we are changed into His likeness. Our love for Him grows stronger, our faith becomes more vigorous, our grip upon the momentary trifles of earth loosens, and our hearts are brought into a heavenly frame. The world loses its painted beauty, when the soul begins to see the surpassing worth and loveliness of Jesus.

Believer, meditate upon Jesus! Let Him occupy the galleries of your heart. Turn your eyes from the fading trifles of this present world, and fix them upon the One whose glory will never fade. Here, by faith, you behold Him darkly; there, by sight, you shall behold Him face to face. Here, you know Him in part; there, you shall see Him as He is. And when at last you stand in His presence, the deepest longing of your redeemed soul will be perfectly and eternally fulfilled, and you will behold His glory!

“Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He really is!” (1 John 3:2)

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Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

Feeding Sheep, or Amusing Goats?

Archibald Brown  

(Be sure to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)

An evil is in the ‘professed’ camp of the Lord, so gross in its impudence, that the most short-sighted Christian can hardly fail to notice it. During the past few years this evil has developed at an alarming rate. It has worked like leaven, until the whole lump ferments!

The devil has seldom done a more clever thing, than hinting to the Church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them. From speaking out the gospel, the Church has gradually toned down her testimony–then winked at and excused the frivolities of the day. Then she tolerated them in her borders. Now she has adopted them under the plea of reaching the masses!

My first contention is that providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the Church. If it is a Christian work, then why did not Christ speak of it? “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature–and provide amusement for those who do not relish the gospel.”

No such words, however, are to be found. It did not seem to occur to Him. Where do entertainers come in? The Holy Spirit is silent concerning them. Were the prophets persecuted because they amused the people–or because they confronted them? The ‘concert’ has no martyr roll.

Again, providing amusement is in direct opposition to the teaching and life of Christ and all His apostles. What was the attitude of the apostolic Church to the world? “You are the salt of the world”–not the sugar candy. You are something the world will spit out–not swallow.

Had Jesus introduced more of the bright and pleasant elements into His teaching, He would have been more popular. When “many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him,” I do not hear Him say: “Run after these people, Peter, and tell them we will have a different style of service tomorrow; something short and attractive, with little preaching. We will have a pleasant evening for the people. Tell them they will be sure to enjoy it! Be quick, Peter, we must get the people somehow!”

No! Jesus pitied sinners, sighed and wept over them–but never sought to amuse them!

In vain will the epistles be searched to find any trace of the ‘gospel of amusement.’ Their message is, “Therefore, come out from them and separate yourselves from them . . . Don’t touch their filthy things…” Anything approaching amusement is conspicuous by its absence. They had boundless confidence in the gospel, and employed no other weapon.

After Peter and John were locked up for preaching, the Church had a prayer meeting, but they did not pray: “Lord, grant unto your servants that by a wise and discriminating use of innocent recreation we may show these people how happy we are!”

No! They did not cease from preaching Christ! They had no time for arranging entertainments. Scattered by persecution, they went everywhere preaching the gospel. They turned the world upside down–that is the only difference from today’s church.

Lastly, amusement fails to effect the end desired. Let the heavy-laden who found peace through the concert, not keep silent! Let the drunkard to whom the dramatic entertainment had been God’s link in the chain of their conversion, stand up! There are none to answer! The mission of amusement produces no converts!

The need of the hour for today’s ministry is earnest spirituality joined with Biblical doctrine, so understood and felt, that it sets men on fire.

Lord, clear the Church of all the rot and rubbish the devil has imposed on her, and bring us back to apostolic methods!

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Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

Beholding the glory of Jesus!
John Owen
(Be sure to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)

John 17:24, “Father, I desire that those whom You have given Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory that You have given Me, because You loved Me before the foundation of the world!”

“That they may behold My glory” was the great desire of Jesus for His people. One of the greatest privileges of believers, both in this world and throughout eternity, consists in beholding the glory of Jesus.

What is the Christian called to behold? Not merely the blessings that Jesus gives, but Jesus Himself! Not merely forgiveness, peace, Heaven, or deliverance from judgment, but the glorious Person from whom every blessing flows. Jesus is the Sun in the firmament of Scripture. Every promise, every prophecy, and every doctrine of divine revelation shines with glory, because it reveals Him.

Here is the great tragedy of much professing Christianity: men want the benefits of Jesus without being captivated by the glory of Jesus. They desire Heaven, but not necessarily the holy beauty of the One who makes Heaven to be Heaven. They want salvation from sin, but have little desire to behold the glorious Savior.

The true believer, however, has been given eyes to see. By faith he beholds something of the glory of Jesus even now. His sight is dim and imperfect. Sometimes the Savior seems hidden behind clouds. Sometimes the believer searches for Him and cannot find Him. Yet there are moments when faith sees His beauty, love, and majesty with such sweetness, that the soul cries out for more.

The heart touched by the love of Jesus, is like the needle touched by the lodestone. It cannot remain still. It is drawn toward its center. In the same way, the soul that has truly tasted the glory of Jesus cannot be satisfied with the world. It pants after Jesus. It seeks Him in Scripture. It calls upon Him in prayer. It meditates upon His glorious perfections. It longs to see His beauteous face.

Here is the transforming power of this heavenly contemplation: when faith beholds the glorious Jesus, the soul is transformed into His likeness. The world becomes less attractive. Sin becomes more hateful. Holiness becomes more desirable. Earthly treasures lose their glitter. The heart becomes detached from the passing vanities of time, and increasingly fixed upon the wondrous glory of Jesus.

Believer, behold Him!
When your heart is troubled, behold His glory.
When the world disappoints you, behold His glory.
When sin grieves you, behold His glory.
When death approaches, behold His glory.
When you cannot understand His providence, behold His glory.
When your faith is weak and your heart is cold, return again to the Scriptures and look upon the One whom Scripture reveals.

The day is coming when faith will give way to sight. The clouds will disappear. The veil will be removed. The darkness will flee. The redeemed will see Jesus in His glory. We shall behold the King in His beauty. We shall be forever with Him. And the sight of His glory will never grow dim, never become wearisome, and never cease to satisfy.

This is Heaven — to behold Jesus.
This is blessedness — to behold Jesus.
This is the hope of the believer — to behold Jesus.
And this is the supreme calling of the Christian life now — by faith, to behold His glory.

The ultimate destiny of the redeemed is to see Jesus as He is — and this everlasting vision will be our eternal blessedness.

Oh, may God so unveil the glory of Jesus to our hearts, that we become weary of everything that competes with Him, satisfied with nothing less than Him, and increasingly conformed to Him — until faith becomes sight, and we behold His glory forever!

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Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning, 

The judgments of God, past, present, and future. We will be looking at an overview of God’s judgment. This week, we will be looking at the judgments that have already occurred.

Judgments that have already occurred:

The judgment of Adam and Eve

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?² And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:³ But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.⁴ And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:⁵ For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.⁶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.⁷ And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.⁸ And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:1-8)

And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:¹⁵ And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.¹⁶ Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.¹⁷ And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;¹⁸ Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;¹⁹ In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.²⁰ And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.²¹ Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.²² And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:²³ Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.²⁴ So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. (Genesis 3:14-24)

God banished the first couple from the Garden of Eden for violating His clear command not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This judgment affected all of creation (Genesis 3:17–18; Romans 8:20–22).

The judgment of the antediluvian world 

And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.¹⁸ And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.¹⁹ And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.²⁰ Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.²¹ And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:  ²² All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.²³ And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.     ²⁴ And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days. (Genesis 7:17-24)

God sent a worldwide flood in judgment of mankind’s sin in Noah’s time. The flood destroyed all of mankind and the animal world, except for Noah and his family, whose faith led them to obey God’s command to build the ark.

The judgment at the Tower of Babel 

And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.⁶ And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.⁷ Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.⁸ So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.⁹ Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. (Genesis 11:5–9).

Noah’s post-flood descendants remained in one location in defiance of God’s command, so God confused their language, causing them to disperse over the earth.

The judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah 

And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;  (Genesis 18:20)

 Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven;²⁵ And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.²⁶ But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.²⁷ And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord:²⁸ And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.²⁹ And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, (Genesis 19:24-29a)

God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for the rampant wickedness that was taking place in those cities (Genesis 18:20; Ezekiel 16:49-50; Jude 1:7).

The judgment of Egypt and their gods (Exodus 7—12).

And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.²⁰ And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go. (Exodus 3:19-20)

For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. (Exodus 12:12)

The ten plagues against Egypt at the time of the exodus were “mighty acts of judgment” (Exodus 7:4) against a stubborn, cruel king and an idolatrous people and their gods (Exodus 12:12).

The judgment of believers’ sins (Isaiah 53:4–8). 

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.⁸ He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

Jesus took this judgment upon Himself by His crucifixion and death. “He suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9). Because our sin was judged at the cross, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). It was also at the cross that God pronounced judgment on the unbelieving world and on the enemy of our souls, Satan. As Jesus said shortly before His arrest, “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out” (John 12:31).

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Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

Jesus gives His people His own glory!
Charles Spurgeon
(Be sure to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)

Psalm 84:11, “The LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.”

The Lord will give us nothing less than glory!
We deserve shame, but He will give us glory.
We deserve misery, but He will give us glory.
We deserve condemnation, but He will give us glory.
We deserve Hell, but He will give us glory.

If we belong to Jesus, then all that He has is ours.
The poorest believer shall be as rich as Jesus;
the weakest believer shall be as strong as Jesus;
the most despised believer shall be as glorious as Jesus!

“The glory which You have given to Me, I have given to them!” (John 17:22) His glory belongs to us; He has made us heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Himself. What a wondrous gift is this! Jesus gives His people His own glory . . .
  the glory of sonship,
  the glory of union with Himself,
  the glory of likeness to Himself,
  the glory of being with Him forever!
This is the perfection of Heaven–that we shall be conformed to the image of God’s dear Son.

The saints shall have . . .
  a glory which shall never fade,
  a beauty which shall never wither,
  and a blessedness which shall never end.
This is the very summit of our desires.
We shall see Him as He is, and we shall be like Him!

The certain hope of every true saint is not merely escape from judgment; but final conformity to, and communion with, the glorified Christ (Romans 8:29–30; 1 John 3:2).

“Those He predestined, He also called;
those He called, He also justified;
those He justified, He also glorified.” (Romans 8:30)

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com

Good morning,

We shall always find him at church!

(J.C. Ryle, “The Gospel of Luke” 1858)

(Be sure to LISTEN to the Audio, as you READ the text below.)

Luke 8:11-12, “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the Word of God. Those along the wayside are the ones who hear; and then the devil comes and takes away the Word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.”

The first caution that we learn from the parable of the sower, is to beware of the devil when we hear the Word. Our Lord tells us that the hearts of some hearers are like “the wayside.” The seed of the Gospel is plucked away from them by the devil almost as soon as it is sown. It does not sink down into their consciences. It does not make the least impression on their minds.

That malicious devil is unwearied in his efforts to harm us. He is ever watching for our halting, and seeking occasion to destroy our souls. But nowhere perhaps is the devil so active, as in a congregation of Gospel-hearers! Nowhere does he labor so hard to stop the progress of that which is good, and to prevent men and women being saved. From him, come . . .
  wandering thoughts, and roving imaginations;
  listless minds, and dull memories;
  sleepy eyes, and fidgety nerves;
  weary ears, and distracted attention.
In all these things, Satan has a great hand.

People wonder where they come from, and marvel how it is that they find sermons so dull, and remember them so badly! They forget the parable of the sower. They forget the devil.

Let us take heed that we are not wayside hearers. Let us beware of the devil. We shall always find him at church! Let us remember this, and be upon our guard. Heat and cold, and rain and snow–are often dreaded by church-goers, and alleged as reasons for not going to church. But there is one enemy whom they ought to fear more than all these things together; that enemy is the devil!

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Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com