—-Should such a man as I flee?—- Nehemiah 6:11 Notice carefully the phrase “such a man as I”. Now ask yourself this question–If this had reference to me what kind of person would it refer to? We know what kind of man Nehemiah was. He was compassionate, courageous, and committed. He was the kind of man that we need more of today! But what about you?   Now, this also tells us something important. Even a great man like Nehemiah is not exempt from trials and temptation. The context tells us that the enemy was trying to frighten him into a compromise so as to stop the work he was doing. Fortunately Nehemiah stood his ground and the work was completed. It was completed because Nehemiah considered the consequences and refused to compromise. We need to remember that. Someone said,”Every effect has a cause and every cause produces an effect.” The late Selwyn Hughes said it well with these words:   “Many of our difficulties in life arise from the fact that we forget the principle that consequences follow our actions. The devil often inveigles ( entices us with flattery) us into thinking that the situation we are in is an isolated event, and he gets us to believe that what we do, or are about to do or say, will have little or no effect upon others. He is exceedingly skilful at getting us to become preoccupied with the thing he puts before us. This one thing on which we focus then takes up our whole attention and we become oblivious of everything else, including the results that may follow our actions.—– A false “friend” came to him and told him that he should not risk his life. The proposition undoubtedly appealed to him, but Nehemiah considered the consequences and stayed where he was. If he hadn’t, the whole course of Israel’s history would have been changed. Believe me, this one principle alone – of carefully considering consequences – would be the means of saving us from endless difficulties if we were to take it and consistently apply it.”

In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 
-John 14:2-3

Sometimes we act as though everything and anything that can be done must be done while we are living here on earth. Of course, we want to make the most of our time, because we don’t determine when we are born or when we die. But we do determine how we will live our lives. We also need to know that life does not end after our time on earth; it continues in heaven.

When a life is limited by disability or illness, when a life is cut short through death, we tend to think, Well, that is unfortunate. They never realized their dreams. But who is to say those dreams could not be realized on the other side? Who is to say that God would not complete on the other side what He has started on earth?

When we see someone who has lived a long life but has wasted it for the most part, and then we see someone with so much promise and ability and gifting who dies unexpectedly, we think it is so unfair. But that is because we are thinking about life on earth and not realizing that life continues on. For the follower of Jesus Christ, death is not the end of life, but a continuation of it in another place.

When you book a flight, sometimes you will have a stopover. I don’t like stopovers myself, because sometimes things happen during stopovers. Bad weather can roll in, which can mean getting stuck there for some time. I like to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible.

For the Christian, earth is just a stopover. Waiting for us on the other side is heaven. And we will arrive there sooner than we may realize. (By Greg Laurie)

Things are not always what they seem to be. Take Hollywood as an example. It is a world of illusions. Pastor Ron Hutchcraft told about touring one of the major movie studios, where a lot of movies and TV shows are filmed. He wrote: ” I saw this old Western town, there was a World War II vintage French village, and a 1930s neighborhood in Chicago – some really impressive buildings. Until you open a door and go inside any of those buildings. There’s nothing there. It’s all just a set!

Unfortunately, that describes more than just a Hollywood studio set. It describes a lot of people’s lives. Maybe, if you’re honest, it could describe yours.— 2 Timothy 3:5, describes people who have “a form of godliness” (that means they look good on the outside), but they are “denying its power.” Then it talks about people who are “always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.” So, the Bible says there are people with impressive exteriors, but behind the set, there’s emptiness. They have religion, but no real spiritual power. Do you ever feel that way? They have education, but no real answers.

Back in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon described the great “set” that he had up in his life. He had massive wealth, fabulous entertainment, and great accomplishments. But in his own words, he described it all as “meaningless, a chasing after the wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:14). Behind an impressive set, he was feeling empty. Look, I’ve had a state champion high school athlete ask me, after having all his dreams come true, “Why do I feel so empty?” A couple of days later a community leader, active in his church, asked me almost the exact same question.

Maybe your life has a great set for people to see, success, friends, and a sense of humor, but you know that behind the act there’s no power, there are no answers, and there is no peace even after years of wearing the right mask and saying all the right things. Clearly, behind the set, something is missing. Solomon figured out what it is.— (Ecclesiastes 3:11). You need something eternal, something forever to fill that hole in your heart.

What’s missing is that vital relationship that you were made for. Speaking of Jesus, Colossians 1:16 says that you were “created by Him and for Him.” You’re missing Jesus in your heart. Even religious people can miss Him. Your Christian exterior may actually have allowed you to believe that you have Jesus when, in reality, you’ve never consciously given yourself to the Man who died to pay for all your sin.

If you’re tired of just repainting the scenery of your life and improving the exterior, why not open the door of that set and let Jesus into the emptiness inside. If you want to begin for real, finally, your personal relationship with Him, tell Him that right now.—- He’s alive! He walked out of His grave. He’s ready to come into your life this very day.”

“If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless my loving-kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.” Psalm 89:30-33

Divine love chastens, because it sees the necessity for the correction. The Lord’s love is not a blind affection. It is all-seeing and heart-searching. When has He ever shown Himself blind to the follies of His people? When has His love been ignorant of their sinful departures? Was He blind to the unbelief of Abraham? He chastened him for it. Was He blind to the deception of Jacob? He chastened Him for it. Was He blind to the impatience of Moses? He chastened him for it. Was He blind to the self-applause of Hezekiah? He chastened him for it. Was He blind to the adultery and murder of David? He chastened him for it. Was He blind to the idolatry of Solomon? He chastened him for it. Was He blind to the disobedience of Jonah? He chastened him for it. Was He blind to the self-righteousness of Job? He corrected him for it. Was He blind to the denial of Peter? He rebuked him for it. It is our mercy to know that love marks our iniquity, and that love and not justice, grace and not vengeance, holds the rod and administers the correction. Do you think, O chastened child of the Lord, that your Father would have touched you where your feelings are the acutest, where your anguish is the deepest, had He not seen a real necessity? Had He marked no iniquity, no flaw, no departure, no spot, you would have known what the “kisses of His mouth” were, rather than the strokes of His rod. And yet believe it, for he has declared it, those stripes of His rod are as much the fruit and the expression of His love as are the “kisses of His mouth;” “For whom the Lord loves he chastens.” ( Octavius Winslow)

Ours is a hell-bound, degenerate world, and you know it. Political corruption abounds. International peace, a splendid ideal, continues to blow up in our faces. The crime rate escalates as domestic violence and gang wars and drug traffic and overcrowded jails continue to plague society. Pending legal cases choke the courts of our land with an endless litany of litigation. And even when cases are finally brought to trial, no courtroom or prison cell can remove madness from minds or hatred from hearts.

Satan, our relentless enemy, has a game plan, and it’s on the board. Knowing that his days are numbered, knowing that he has an appointed amount of time before the scoreboard counts him out, he holds the world in his lap and gives it directions, implementing his strategy day after day.

If our Christian message is a mirror image of the message of the world, the world yawns and goes on its way saying, “What else is new? I’ve heard all that since I was born.” But if the Christian lifestyle and motivation and answers are different, the world cannot help but sit up and take notice, thinking: How come they live in the same place I live, but they are able to live a different kind of life? Why is their love so deep and lasting and ours so shallow and fickle? How is it that she can forgive and never hold a grudge? Why do these people have so much more compassion, kindness, integrity, and patience than anyone else I know?

Do you get the message? It’s the difference that makes the difference!

Think about it: Do people feel more alive when they’re around you? Do you create within them a thirst for God? Does anyone ever wonder why you are so unselfish, so thoughtful, so caring? Do the neighborhood children want to be in your home because of the way you treat your children?

What do people see when they look at you? Do they see your good works? Do they hear your courtesy? Do they detect your smile? Do they notice that you stop to thank them? Do they hear you apologize when you are wrong? Do they see every visible manifestation of Christ’s life being normally lived out through you? When they see all that, Jesus said, they “will glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).

Isn’t it a pleasure when someone says to you, “Why are you like that?” And isn’t it a natural thing to respond, “I’m glad you asked. Let me tell you what’s happened”? (Charles Swindoll)

“When the Church is absolutely different from the world, she invariably attracts it. It is then that the world is made to listen to her message, though it may hate it at first” (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones).