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The End

Try Living With the End in View

THE BIG IDEA: What if you lived every day with the end in view? What if you fast-forwarded your life story tape to the end, to that day when another will stand before a crowd at a memorial service to eulogize your days on earth? What if you transported in your mind to that day in the end of all ends when you stand before God to give account for the breath of life He’d loaned you for the 70, 80, or 90 years of your earthly pilgrimage? What you want said of you at the end by another person and more importantly by God means that you’ve got to rewind the tape to the present and begin now to live with the end in view! You see, the end is nothing more than a compilation of the motives, thoughts, attitudes, habits, words, and actions that have issued from your head, heart, and hands moment by moment throughout all the days of your life.

The End - Ray Noah

Meditation // Proverbs 14:1

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

The end! Hate to break this to you, but it’s coming faster than you think!

So, what if you lived every day of your life with the end in view? What if you fast-forwarded your life story tape to the end, to that day when another will stand before a crowd at a memorial service to eulogize your days on earth? What if you transported in your mind to that awesome and fearful day in the end of all ends, when you, along with all mankind, stand before the Righteous Judge to give account for the breath of life he’d loaned you in this life?

What you want said of you then, at the end, by man, and more importantly, by God, means that you’ve got to back the tape back up to the present and begin to live that way now—to live with the end in view!

What do you hope will be said of you then—in the end?

Here’s the thing, my friend: What you want said of you then, at the end, by man, and more importantly, by God, means that you’ve got to back the tape back up to the present and begin to live that way now—to live with the end in view! The end is nothing more than a compilation of the motives, thoughts, attitudes, habits, words, and actions that have issued from your head, heart, and hands moment by moment throughout all the days of your life. They add up. They count. They form a pattern. They create the trend that is your life. They tell your story. So be careful with the material you give them, because it will come out in the end.

Yes—there is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end, it produces only death. On the other hand, there is a way that is right—right in the sight of God—and in the end, it leads to life.

We’re all headed for the end, that’s for sure, so let’s just make sure the reputation that gets there ahead of us will be celebrated by both God and man.

Endings are better than beginnings. Sticking to it is better than standing out. (Ecclesiastes 7:8)

The end!

What Now If you knew that you had exactly one week to live, what would be the first five things you would put on your “To Do” list? Why not go ahead and do them?

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Of Filthy Rags And Transformed Hearts

My Hope is Built on Nothing Less than Jesus’ Blood and Righteousness

THE BIG IDEA: Relax about trying to be righteous and morally perfect! Jesus did it for you. God accepts Christ’s efforts on your behalf as good enough, so you don’t have to be good enough. All you have to do is accept it, believe it, and conform your life to it!

Of Filthy Rags And Transformed Hearts - Ray Noah

Meditation // Romans 10:9-10

That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

You cannot be saved by your good works. Period! No matter how hard you try, your “good” is not good enough for the perfectly holy and completely righteous God. Nor can you be saved through an alternative, less stringent means, for only through God is eternal salvation possible.

Moreover, you cannot be saved by your moral perfection—no matter how moral you are or how close to moral you get. As the Old Testament prophet Isaiah pointed out, your righteousness is about as good as a “snot rag”. (Isaiah 64:6). I have actually cleaned that up a bit, because the Hebrew words for filthy rags, ukabeged ehdim, literally means, “like as rags of menstruation.”

Sorry if that disgusts you, but it’s Scripture—so blame Isaiah. The point is, both our acts of righteousness, and the quality of righteousness that we hope they produce, are disgusting to God. So if you are disgusted by Isaiah’s language, think of how God is repulsed by our efforts to get him to save us.

So what hope is there for our salvation? Well, no hope resides within us. None whatsoever. Ephesians 2:1 says “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.” All a dead person can do is lay there and be dead, let alone try to be righteous before God.

No, our righteousness—and let’s be clear, we do have to be righteous to be acceptable to God—comes from Christ alone. You see, God sent his Son to die on the cross—hanging there as our sin—in order to pay the just punishment for sin that we deserved. That is our only hope, that Jesus became sin—our sin—and in so doing, he likewise became our righteousness. II Corinthians 5:21 says it well,

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

How dishonoring to God’s grace and Christ’s atonement when we therefore try to save ourselves by our acts of righteousness and our efforts at moral perfection. The sooner we realize that, the sooner we will discover salvation by grace along through faith, as Paul spoke about in in Philippians 3:8-9,

I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them [our best efforts] rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.

It is only through the power of Christ’s resurrection and our death to self (Philippians 3:10-11) that our heart—the core of who we are, that which represents every fiber of our existence—will get transformed. And it is out of a transformed heart, and only that, that our tongue can confess Jesus is Lord.

Then, and only then, are we saved.

So relax about trying to be righteous and morally perfect! Jesus did it for you. God accepts Christ’s efforts on your behalf as good enough, so you don’t have to be good enough. All you have to do is accept it, believe it, and conform your life to it!

What Now? Try memorizing and meditating on Romans 10:1-21 each day this week: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.”

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My Days Are Numbered

The Opera Ain’t Over … Till God Says It’s Over

THE BIG IDEA: God planned me, built me, watches over me, can steer me back on track when I wander, will keep me safe until the numbers of days ordained he has ordained for me are up, and then take me to the next life that he has prepared for me. My life will be over when he says it’s over!

My days are numbered - Ray Noah Blog

Meditation // Psalm 139:16

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

How many days do I have left? I don’t know. No one does, except God. He knows the exact number of years, days, hours and seconds that I will occupy my address on Planet Earth; the exact moment that my death will occurs.

Now that may not seem like a cheery thought to you, and in fact, most people would find that sobering, at best, and frightening, at worst. Not me. I find great comfort and security in knowing that God has my life so ordered that I will neither die a day sooner nor live a day longer than what has already been recorded in his book. You see, life and death are far above my pay grade, so I will happily let Father God take care of that department, thank you very much.

So if I truly and correctly understand this profound truth, then I am freed from the fear of death to fully live the life that God has planned for me. I can enjoy an intimate walk with the One

  • Who was intimately involved in each minor detail of my day (Psalm 139:1-4)
  • Who never lets me out of his sight (Psalm 139:5-8)
  • Who guides my every move with his Fatherly hand (Psalm 139:9-10)
  • Who is not limited by my circumstances (Psalm 139:11-12).

In fact, God is so involved in my life that he was even there at the moment my mother and father conceived me in love, and he superintended even the most infinitesimal details my physiological and temperamental formation.

God knows me! He knows everything about me. He planned me, built me, watches over me, can steer me back on track when I wander from his purpose (Psalm 139:23-24), can be completely trusted to keep me safe until the Divinely allotted numbers of days ordained for me are up, and then take me to the next life that he has prepared for me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand (Psalm 139:6, NLT), but it won’t keep me from enjoying this day and praising the One who is in charge of it!

What Now?:Throughout the day, declare, “God is in charge of me!” Then live like it’s true—because it is!

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Lord Have Mercy!

Jesus Was Afflicted So You Could Be Acquitted

PREVIEW: Before you could even receive God’s amazing grace, he first had to unleash his righteous wrath upon Christ as he hung on the cross, bearing the just and deserved punishment for your sins. Jesus was afflicted so you could be acquitted. Mercy—not getting what you rightly deserve—was made possible only through Christ’s death. What that means for you is that every single day, every minute of every day, each second of every minute, each breath you take, and heartbeat by heartbeat of which you are unaware, it is all a gift of God’s grace and mercy through Jesus Christ our Lord. And for that, you ought to be continually and eternally overflowing with gratitude!

Lord Have Mercy! - Ray Noah Blog

Moments with God // Psalm 123:2

As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he shows us his mercy.

I don’t know how much thought you give to God’s mercy, but frankly, without it, you wouldn’t even be reading this devotional blog today. And you are not alone—apart from Divine mercy, I wouldn’t have written it.

No one captured our utter dependence on God’s mercy better than the prophet Jeremiah, who wrote in Lamentations 3:21-23 (NKJV),

This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.

What is Divine mercy? Simply this: Not getting what you rightly deserve. Grace, the other side of your utter dependence on God, is getting what you don’t deserve. Out of God’s great love (mercy is sometimes translated lovingkindness) and compassion, he has extended his grace through salvation, by which he lavished upon you all heaven’s riches at Christ’s expense. Keep in mind that neither mercy nor grace was, is, or ever will be due to your own merit.

Yet before you could even receive his grace, God first had to unleash his righteous wrath upon Christ as he hung on the cross, bearing the just and deserved punishment for your sins. Jesus was afflicted so you could be acquitted. Mercy—not getting what you rightly deserve—was made possible only through Christ’s death.

What that means for you is that every single day, every minute of every day, each second of every minute, each breath you take, and each heartbeat that you are not even aware of is a gift of God’s grace and mercy through Jesus Christ our Lord. And for that, you ought to be continually and eternally overflowing with gratitude!

Yet not only are God’s grace and mercy undeserved, unmerited gifts to you, but they are also your privilege once you become his child through faith in Christ. That is why, as the psalmist has done here, you can appeal to God for a specific extension of his mercy in your time of need. And that, my friend, is a very good thing indeed since coming to the Father by virtue of his mercy requires you to remember the very reason for your righteous standing before a holy God: Christ’s atoning death. As the writer of Hebrews 4:16 exhorts us,

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

When you remember, understand, and make your appeal to Divine mercy, your being exudes love, gratitude and humility, and that becomes a sweet smelling and irresistible fragrance to your merciful and gracious God.

Take a Moment: Perhaps today you should write your own verse of love, gratitude, and humble entreaty for more mercy.

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O Jerusalem

It Was, Is, and Shall Be the City of the Great King

PREVIEW: Why should I pray for the peace and prosperity of a city that is not even in my country? My goodness, I have enough to worry about in my own community, much less one that’s clear across the ocean! But Jerusalem remains a special place in God’s heart. It’s special because he chose it as the physical place that would house his uncontainable presence, to be the city where his temple would be constructed, and the sanctuary of that temple would serve as the central location for God’s people to worship him. And even though there is no longer a temple, it is very clear from scripture that Jerusalem has a prominent place in God’s grand plan for the eternal ages, where once again, Jerusalem will be the central place in the entire universe, in all creation, where redeemed beings will gather to worship Almighty God.

O Jerusalem - Ray Noah Blog

Moments with God // Psalm 122:6-7

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.”

Why should I pray for the peace and prosperity of a city that is not even in my country? My goodness, I have enough to worry about in my own community, much less one that’s clear across the ocean! And why should Jerusalem get singled out for special attention? What about London or Moscow or Pretoria or Sao Paolo? Aren’t those cities important to God?

Well, yes, those cities are important to God—all cities are! But Jerusalem is special. It’s special because God chose it as the physical place that would house his uncontainable presence. He selected the land of Canaan as the place where his people would live, Jerusalem to be the city where his temple would be constructed, and the sanctuary of that temple would serve as the central location for his people to worship him.

Even though there is no longer a temple, it is very clear from scripture that Jerusalem has a prominent place in God’s grand plan for the eternal ages. Once again, Jerusalem will be the central place in the entire universe, in all creation, where redeemed beings will gather to worship Almighty God.

I think that is reason enough to love Jerusalem. That is plenty of motivation to pray for the city above all others. Since Jerusalem factors significantly with the people and purpose of God, I will go out of my way to be protective of it. (Psalm 122:8) And since it once housed the Great House of God, and one day will again, I will do what I can to contribute to its prosperity. (Psalm 122:9)

Perhaps you have never been to Jerusalem, and maybe you don’t give the city much thought. I want to challenge you to rethink that—on both levels. Do what you can to go there—make plans to go there at least once in your life. And in the meantime, consciously pay more attention to its goings on, keep your eye out for news about it, attend functions in support of it, and most of all, pray for it!

Do all that, and sooner or later, you will fall in love, like I have, with a city. There’s no place like it!

Take a Moment: Take a moment to watch this moving video set to song that offers a prayer for the peace of Jerusalem, the city of the Great King: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_GUwI6zQzE

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Somebody’s Watching

God Makes No Mistakes

SYNOPSIS: When we are in Christ, we are kept from all harm. But doesn’t that seem like a huge overstatement? It does to me! I mean, you and I and most of the people we know have experienced harm—car wrecks, lost jobs, disease, divorce, death of loved ones, and… well, pick your poison. Ah, but is it really harm, child of God? It might hurt, and hurt a lot, but don’t we know by now that our Heavenly Father turns what is meant for evil into that which is good?

Somebody’s Watching - Ray Noah Blog

Moments with God // Psalm 121:1-8

Shall I look to the mountain gods for help? No! My help is from Yahweh, who made the mountains! And the heavens, too! He will never let me stumble, slip, or fall. For he is always watching, never sleeping. Jehovah himself is caring for you! He is your defender. He protects you day and night. He keeps you from all evil and preserves your life. He keeps his eye upon you as you come and go and always guards you.

According to this psalm, along with many other scriptures, when I am in Christ, I am kept from all harm. But doesn’t that seem like a huge overstatement to you? It does to me! I mean, you and I and most of the people we know have experienced harm—car wrecks, lost jobs, disease, divorce, death of loved ones, and… well, pick your poison.

Ah, but is it really harm, child of God? It might hurt and hurt a lot, but don’t we know by now that our Heavenly Father turns what is meant for evil into that which is good? As Joseph proclaims in Genesis 50:20,

God turned into good what you meant for evil.

Doesn’t our Lord take all things—even really bad things—and turn them into things that reveal his glory in our lives? The Apostle Paul Romans 8:28 and then again in Romans 8:38-39,

We know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans. …For I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels won’t, and all the powers of hell itself cannot keep God’s love away. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, or where we are—high above the sky, or in the deepest ocean—nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when he died for us.

Then there is what the prophet Jeremiah said to encourage the Jewish exiles, longing for a return from slavery to the freedom of their homeland, which, though written two thousand years ago,  I have no problem applying to all Christians everywhere in every age,

Though you will be in captivity for decades, I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised and bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:10-11)

So, if we base our lives on God’s immutable Word, we know that all that happens to us is working for us, provided that we love God and fit into his plans.

Hasn’t he promised never to leave us nor forsake us? (Joshua 1:5) Will he not be true to his Word and walk with us even through the valley of the shadow of death? (Psalm 23:4) And when we die, didn’t Jesus himself promise that we really wouldn’t die? (John 11:25-26) He most certainly did.

It sounds to me like that no matter what, we win! Nothing can come to us that first doesn’t have to pass through the One who constantly watches over our comings and our goings. And to get to you and me, evil and harm first must pass the Divine Purpose Test: If it can’t be used for God’s glory in my life, God prohibits it from harming me. I like that, don’t you? He is watching over us and the people we care about. So, we can quit worrying and relax in the safety of his hands.

The German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was held in a Nazi concentration camp in the 1940s and finally martyred by hanging, wrote from his prison cell, “Much that worries us beforehand can, quite unexpectedly, have a happy and simple solution… Things really are in a better hand than ours.”

The Lord is watching over you like a Heavenly Hawk, and nothing will escape his loving eye—not even one little detail. So be assured today that everything coming your way—good and not so good—will be used in his great transformation project to turn you into the image of his dear Son. (Romans 8:28-29)

Yeah, I like that!

Take a Moment: This week, memorize, then reflect on Genesis 50:20, Jeremiah 29:11, and Romans 88:28-29.

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A Stark Contrast and a Precious Reminder

One Day Soon, We will Be Going Home

SYNOPSIS: Like the ancients to whom the Bible was written, we, too, live in a culture that stands in stark contrast to the culture of God. Hostility and deceit are simply a way of life. Our godless culture forces its way into our lives each day through the airways and, of course, through the people with whom you must interact. Like me, you are probably sick and tired of having to endure a culture God never intended for mankind. But remember this: One day soon, you will no longer have to endure such hostility and dishonesty. One day, perhaps sooner than you think, the Son of God will break through the clouds and call you to your eternal home where truth and peace are as close as the air you will breathe. And what a day that will be!

A Stark Contrast and a Precious Reminder - Ray Noah Blog

Moments with God // Psalm 120:6-7

I am tired of living among people who hate peace. I search for peace; but when I speak of peace, they want war!

Perhaps you scratched your head when you read this psalm, as I did, unable to pull out much application from it other than the psalmist’s upset with the deceitful, hostile people he was forced to endure. But digging into the title of the psalm sheds some much-needed light on the rest of the psalm.

This is what is called a psalm of assent. There were fifteen of them, and they were songs to be sung by pilgrims on their way up to Jerusalem (the city had a relatively high elevation for the Promised Land, sitting at 2,700 feet above sea level). These psalms were written in a time when Israel had only one central location for corporate worship—the sanctuary of the Tabernacle/temple in Jerusalem—and they were required to go there three times each year for one of the religious festivals prescribed in the law of Moses.

As they journeyed, they were to worship—not a bad idea for you and me as we make our way to weekly worship at our church. In this particular psalm of assent, these pilgrims had to make a long journey since they lived in Meshech, way to the north in Asia Minor, and Kedar, which was in Ishmaelite territory in Arabia. (Psalm 120:5) Both places were known for violence, and in each godless location, deceit was an acceptable way of life. (Psalm 120:2-3)

So now we see how this psalm of assent is a little more applicable to our lives. We, too, live in a culture that stands in stark contrast to the culture of God. Hostility and deceit are simply a way of life, even if you don’t live all that far from the church where you worship. That godless culture forces its way into your life every day through the television, radio, or through your computer, and, of course, through the people with whom you must interact. And, like me, you are probably sick and tired of having to endure a culture God never intended for mankind.

One day, we will no longer have to endure such hostility and dishonesty. One day, perhaps sooner than we think, the Son of God will break through the clouds and call the people of God to their eternal home where truth and peace are as close as the air we will breathe. And what a day that will be!

But in the meantime, God has given us a place to which we can run and find truth and peace—the sanctuary of our church. There, God’s Truth is proclaimed, and there, through our worship, the peace of God transcends the chaos from without and guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7) And best of all, you aren’t limited to three times a year; you can go at least once each weekend to get your defense shields recharged as you gather with the rest of God’s children to offer your worship and receive his grace.

Now that the psalmist has reminded you of this stark contrast between culture and church, perhaps you should sing a song of assent on your way to worship this coming weekend.

Take a Moment: One of the things living in this present evil world can do for you is to remind you that you are a stranger here, a foreigner living in a country not your own, a pilgrim headed to your true home. If you are weighed down by the evils of our nations, take a moment to meditate on the joys that will be yours when you enter your true home in eternity. It is an exercise that, as a Christian, you are meant to do.