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November 2021

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Shamayim

The first book I wrote remains unpublished. I called it Shamayim, a Hebrew word for Heaven, or more properly ‘Heavens’.

It is  the story of a man whom angels visited to disclose the history of the world from the very beginning. My aim was to make the bible come alive with action stories and flights of fancy and I read it to my two young children at their bedtimes, each chapter as it came off my printer. Today, I am writing something very different and what you will find in the paragraphs below are my more biblical answers to questions concerning Heaven.

The other day I received an email from a friend and past fellow local church member now living in the USA.  He asked a number of questions under the heading of ‘What happens to us in Heaven’. He ended with, ‘So what will be different in Heaven and/or the New Earth that our characters, our personalities are so changed that I am still “me” but I no longer sin and we all live happily ever after?’ I responded as best I could, but as I was doing so I realised that I had not written about this before and that it would be a good subject for an article. Let’s start with briefly examining the biblical words that relate to the afterlife.

Biblical Words Relating to the Afterlife

Various Hebrew and Greek words describe the afterlife. It is all a little confusing, mainly because ancient Hebrew and Greek ideas of the afterlife differed and different words were used to describe similar concepts. For instance, ‘Sheol’, although meaning ‘death’ or ‘the grave’ stood for aspects of Hell. Similarly, words such as ‘paradise’ and ‘Abraham’s Bosom’ described aspects of Heaven.

Paradise (Luke 23:43 and 2 Corinthians 12:2-3),and Abraham’s Bosom (Luke 16:22) both describe the intermediate state we usually know as Heaven (1 Peter 1:4, 12;  3:22; 1 Thessalonians 4:16;  Philippians 3:20).

I say ‘intermediate’ because the New HeavenEath (2 Peter 3:13 and Revelation 21:1) is the final destination of the ‘redeemed’.

When born-again believers die physically, God transports them in spiritual form into the heavenly realm where he resides. After the Great Judgment God will discontinue Heaven and create instead a new Heaven and Earth that I refer to as HeavenEarth. 

Revelation Book hardcover

By the way, if you would like to read more about HeavenEarth, I have written many articles and books that include this topic. For instance, a series I wrote for this site which you can read by clicking HERE and then “next post” etc. I have also written an updated version of my book “The Book of Revelation: In the light of the Stars” which you can purchase in e-Book or paperback HERE.

Hades is the Old Testament word most often used to describe the pre-Jesus afterlife and it also occurs in such New Testament passages as Luke 10:15 and Revelation 1:18. Another word to describe Hell is Tartarus, as in 2 Peter 2:4. The word Hell describes both an interim and a final state in that it is used for both Hades and what John referred to in Revelation 20:13-14 as ‘The Lake of Fire’.

However, the passage in Revelation indicates that while Hell is intermediate, the Lake of Fire is the final destination of the dammed.

So, to avoid confusion and ambiguity, I find it better to refer to Heaven as the interim home of the ‘saved’, the New HeavenEarth as their final home, and Hell as the interim abode of the ‘unsaved’ with the Lake of Fire as their ultimate fate. Strictly speaking, Paradise is a kind of interim heaven and Hades is a kind of interim Hell. Paradise will ultimately merge into Heaven and Hades into Hell. 

I have used the words redeemed and dammed to describe the two ultimate classes of humans.

As I see it, the distinction between the two is that the redeemed are those who have been spiritually regenerated (born again) by the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus, and the dammed are all others.

Theologians debate whether God will ultimately redeem ‘good’ people from among those who are not disciples of Jesus, young children, and so on, but I think the biblical evidence points to the opposite conclusion. My reasoning is that Jesus stated that “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). He also said that only those born of the Spirit could enter the Kingdom of God (John 3:5). Hebrews 9:27 states that ‘man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment’ and so it stands to reason then that only those born again of the Spirit in this lifetime, in and through Jesus Christ, will enter Heaven.

Theologians also debate whether The Lake of Fire is a condition of conscious eternal punishment or simply annihilation.

Next, I will attempt a response to the question my friend posed: ‘‘So what will be different in Heaven and/or the New Earth that our characters, our personalities are so changed that I am still ‘me’ but I no longer sin and we all live happily ever after?”

How are we Made Fit for the Afterlife?

After we are spiritually regenerated by the miracle of re-birth, we start a process of transformation that slowly conforms us to be like Jesus. However, I know of no one who could claim that by the time physical death occurs they will be perfect. Whatever progress we make whilst on earth will contribute toward our reward and eternal utility, but it cannot transform us into a sinless state. How then can we ever enter into the sinless and perfect heavenly realm?

The answer must be that we can do nothing to achieve this for ourselves. Paul put it like this: ‘For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast’ (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Therefore, it is not a stretch at all to believe that God will supernaturally and miraculously wash us clean of all sin as we enter into Heaven. After all, we have no problem accepting that life itself is a mysterious divine gift, and that the New Birth is an equally miraculous un-earned gift, so why not a third miraculous transformation?

To look at it from another perspective, those now in covenant with God, saved in and through Jesus Christ, experience a third miracle of life.

  • The first was to be born into this world,
  • The second was to have been born again into communion with God,
  • And the third is the complete deliverance from all desire or inclination to sin. This third divine gift will not override our ability to exercise free will because when we see Jesus face to face and experience first-hand the wonder of Heaven, we will not want to choose any other state for ourselves.

John wrote that ‘now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is’ (1 John 3:2). He is writing about the second coming of Jesus, but the same must surely apply to those of us who get to see Jesus prior to this event. So, three points apply:

  1. That we are right now children of God,
  2. That God has not yet succinctly revealed what we will be like in heaven, but
  3. We shall be like Jesus.

Jude included the following words in his doxology: ‘To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy’ (Jude 24). This is KEY to understanding why/how sinful beings like us can be assured that we will be acceptable to God and safe from falling again into sin in the life after this one.

Another text along the same lines is Hebrews 7:25: ‘Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them’. So, we do not get ourselves or keep ourselves in a sinless state in the hereafter, but God does! Like other aspects of salvation, it is a work of divine grace and all we have to do is to accept it.

Another question sometimes asked is something like, ‘So OK as a born-again believer I will be in Heaven when I die, but what will I be like? I mean, will I have some sort of body?’

What Form Will we Have in the Afterlife?

Here is where the scriptures do not give us too many clues. When Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration, the three disciples saw him talking with Moses and Elijah (Matthew 17:1-8). This must mean that these Old Testament saints had form and characteristics sufficient for the disciples to recognise them. We can assume therefore that whatever form we have after death will be recognisable to others as ‘us’. Additionally, they spoke to Jesus in full sight of the disciples and so we can also assume that we will be able to communicate in Heaven.

In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul wrote of the Great Resurrection and in doing so disclosed some key information about our spiritual form after death: ‘There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies’ (vs 40). He went on a few verses later to write, ‘It (referring to the physical earthly body) is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body’. Then in 2 Corinthians 5:1-4 Paul wrote: ‘Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.  Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed , we will not be found naked.  For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life’.

So we can gather from all this that after death we will have definite spiritual bodies, but we don’t have details about them.

Perhaps a more important question is one that has to do with rewards and activities in the afterlife.

What will we Have and Do in the Afterlife?

We know from many scriptures that we will worship God in Heaven and that there will be much joy and singing there (Hebrews 12:22-23 and Revelation 5:13). But will there be productive activity, learning, and positions of responsibility?

Paul writes concerning himself and others that ‘there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing (2 Timothy 4:8). What is this ‘crown of righteousness’? Perhaps a reward or appointed office, or maybe Paul is just using picturesque language to convey the idea that our reward and state is simply the fact that we will be with Jesus in Heaven. However, in 1 Corinthians 3:14 he writes of a conscientious church leader as one who will receive his reward and in 2 John 8 the apostle writes of obedient believers receiving a ‘full reward’. Jesus also spoke of those who are persecuted because of him receiving a great reward in heaven (Matthew 5:11-12). He said something similar in Matthew 16:27 and so we gather from this and other scriptures that there are rewards in Heaven, but just what they are is hard to imagine. Heaven is a non-material realm and so rewards cannot be riches or possessions, which in any event Jesus cautions against (Matthew 6:19-20). In a similar way, Jesus taught and modelled that in terms of office or position the ‘greater’ was the servant of all (John 13:12-17). However, in his parables, Jesus indicated that there would be levels of service and responsibility in Heaven (Matthew 25:21 and 19:28) so there are some forms of differentiation in the after-life.

A big idea implied in these and other texts is that rewards and responsibilities are not carrots to entice us to follow Jesus but simply glimpses into a future glorious reality.

In 1 Corinthians 2:9 Paul wrote that ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’. Just after making this statement, he wrote that God reveals these things to us Spirit to spirit, so I guess that instead of intellectualising these things we need to receive them spiritually and intuitively.

Concerning further learning in the afterlife, I am not at all sure, but I don’t think that intellectual study will have much if any part in Heaven. Jesus, Paul, and others made it clear that knowing the Lord is more important than knowing about him. Paul wrote: ‘I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better (Ephesians 1:17). Then there is that wonderful statement in 1 Corinthians 13:12 ‘Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known’. Many years ago, I sat with a group of theologians and one of them asked the question: ‘When you get to Heaven, what will you ask Jesus?’ One man spoke passionately about how he was going to ask Jesus to explain all the hard to understand bits of the bible. I think he was a little peeved when I asked him, “Why would you discuss scripture when you are standing in the presence of the Living Word who is its subject”

Conclusion
There really cannot be a satisfactory conclusion for an article like this. Paul called the relationship between Jesus and the church a ‘profound mystery’ (Ephesians 5:32) and Heaven too is something so profound and unimaginable that we just cannot grasp it without actually being there.

Heaven is a dimension beyond our earthly dimensions of space and time. We, three-dimensional beings cannot adequately conceive of the glory of what lies beyond the grave. Shamayim is a good name for Heaven because it is a word that sounds so wonderful on the tongue, but which is so unknown to us. However, what we do know is that Jesus is in Heaven and has prepared a place for us (John 14:2), a place of glory, joy, singing, meaningful activity, and deep satisfaction.

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.  The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen. (Revelation 22:20-21)

Shamayim Read More »

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TruthTalks: Darkest Before Dawn

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Last week Dr Christopher Peppler wrote on it being darkest before dawn.

This gave us a different perspective on the current situation in South Africa and the world. You can read that HERE.

Now you can also listen to this message in Audio form by clicking on the play button below.

If you feel hopeless or helpless about the state of things this is something you should listen to as well as pass it on to those who can benefit.

As always, we love to hear from you so please Like, Subscribe, Share, or get in touch.

Until next time, Admin

TruthTalks: Darkest Before Dawn Read More »

Darkest Before Dawn

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I have written a long article ready for publication titled ‘The Dark Night of our Nation’s Soul’ which was drawn from Isaiah 59. However, the Holy Spirit has arrested me and directed me to rethink when and if I should publish it. My aim was to focus on the light of Revival as the only viable solution to our nation’s woes. This conviction has not changed, but there is another way I can express it other than bemoaning the darkness. For instance, the next chapter in Isaiah is, of course, chapter 60 and this starts with the gloriously well-known passage:

Arise, shine, for your light has come,

and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,

and thick darkness the peoples;

but the Lord will arise upon you,

and his glory will be seen upon you.

Isaiah 60:1-2 ESV

Context

What is very noticeable about this statement by Isaiah is that the first verse is in the present tense while the rest of the passage is in the future tense. Your light has come… glory has risen upon you… darkness shall cover… glory will be seen.

Chapter 59 presents Israel as living in deep moral and material darkness yet in his next breath the prophet tells them that God’s light has already risen upon them. They are like a man standing in the deepest darkness who is unaware that behind him a light is already shining. He cannot see the light because it is behind him and the shadows before him are very dark. This was Israel’s condition, and it is our current condition.

Before us and around us we see and sense darkness, but perhaps we need to turn around in order to see the light.

The Light Behind Us

In our church service this Sunday, we sang a song with the chorus lines. ‘And all my life you have been faithful. And all my life you have been so, so good…’ As I sang these words, I was praying silently, “It is true Lord. You have been so good and faithful to me. Thank you Jesus”.  Of course, there have been hard parts in my personal history with all the pain, confusion, and sadness that is a part of life. However, when I think back, I can see that God’s goodness, grace and mercy has always shone brightly. (I wrote my personal testimony HERE if you would like to read it) The problem is that sometimes, like these present days, our eyes get blinded by the darkness and cannot see the light behind us. This of course is an illusion, because darkness is just the perceived absence of light and cannot blind us. However, we can’t see too well in the darkness unless we turn around and catch the glimmers of light reflecting off our past realities and our current circumstances.

The Light Around Us

The light of the Lord is a spiritual and not a physical light. It shines from a dimension beyond the perception of the six normal senses. This spiritual light enters our worlds through many windows such as the scriptures, the inner spirit, and fellow disciples of Jesus.

If we stop searching for the light in the scriptures, then we are turning our backs on the light. If we cease seeking for the light within our spirits, then darkness dominates our spiritual vision. In addition, when we sever contact with other spirit-filled believers, then we isolate ourselves from the light that shines through the windows of their souls.

The COVID-19 lockdown has been a brutal thing in so many ways and has isolated each of us in into our own small corners. Do you remember that children’s song from Sunday-school days about our small corners? ‘Jesus bids us shine, with a clear, pure light. Like a little candle burning in the night. In this world of darkness, so we must shine, you in your small corner, and I in mine’. Well, to benefit by the light that we each bear, we need to connect, and this is one of the reasons that the gatherings of the church are so important. If I had not been at the church service on Sunday I would not have sung of God’s faithful goodness towards me, I would not have heard others testifying to this, and I would most likely not have seen the light around me.

‘For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.’ (2 Corinthians 4:6) 
The Light Before Us

There are two ways in which the light is before us, past and a future tense. Isaiah probably had no idea that he was not only encouraging Israel, but also prophesying the coming of the Messiah. Speaking of Jesus Christ, the Apostle John wrote that ‘in him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.‘ (John 1:4-5) Jesus is the light of the world, both 2000 years ago when he walked on Earth, and now. Every person who is born again of the Spirit is a light bearer and a member of what Paul described as the Kingdom of Light (Colossians 1:12); we are fellow sons and daughters of the Light (1 Thessalonians 5:5).

In another sense, the light is still before us on the timeline of the ages. In Revelation 21:23 John uses the analogy of a city to describe Heaven, and writes that it ‘does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp’. However, the same book of Revelation hints strongly at a foretaste of the light of heaven in a last and greatest spiritual revival.

However, we only have to read the bible and consider church history to see that God sends the light of revival in the darkest times. Our present time is very dark – (and not just from load-shedding) both in South Africa and the world at large, and so should we not expect God to send revival?

Jesus Revival

In the yet to be published article I referred to earlier, I gave revival as the only truly foreseeable positive scenario for the future of South Africa. However, we cannot generate true revival no matter how much we declare it, structure for it, or pretend that it is already here. Revival is a sovereign act of God, preceded only by prayer. A few years ago I wrote a series on Revival and you can read it by following the links listed HERE or you can purchase the book in its entirety it from Amazon HERE. I urge you to do this because our need for revival is critical and urgent and we need to be asking God to send it ASAP!

Light Upon Light Upon Light

So, within our current darkness, we have past, present, and future light. We have the light of Jesus who was and is the very light of the world; we have the light of our remembrance of the light of the Lord in our own lives; we have the light of fellow light-bearers all around us, and we have the great light of future revival and ultimate heaven. This is why Paul can write:

‘For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible.

This is why it is said:

“Wake up, O sleeper,

Rise from the dead,

And Christ will shine on you.”‘

Ephesians 5:8-14

Darkest Before Dawn Read More »

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TruthTalks: The Power of Purpose

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Why am I here? What is the point? And of course “Whoooooo aaaaaaam I?” are thoughts that sometimes go through one’s mind.

Last week, Dr Christopher Peppler wrote on The Power of Purpose, which you can read HERE. If you have found yourself asking the above questions and prefer to listen to the posts, please click on the play button below.

Please like, subscribe and share this podcast with anyone you think would benefit from it. Alternatively, you can support us in maintaining this blog for you by purchasing one of Chris’s eBooks or Books. They can all be found HERE. The Book on Revelation in the Stars as well as Truth is the Word are must-reads.

Until next time, admin

TruthTalks: The Power of Purpose Read More »

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The Power of Purpose

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Even when I was in the banking world, when accountants still used the Abacus, managers acknowledged the power of purpose.

The bank had a corporate purpose, the branch had a statement of purpose, and all managers had a stated purpose that aligned with the hierarchy of purpose above them. Then in 1995, this concept invaded the Christian world through Rick Warren’s book, ‘The Purpose Driven Church’. Now, in 2021, ‘purpose’ has resurfaced in the spheres of both business and church.

If you were to ask the average Christian, “What is your purpose in life?” they would probably respond with something like, “To succeed at X”, or “To earn or own Y”, or “To do Z”. The common theme in such responses is that they are all descriptions of DOING something. Yet we are all ‘humanBEings’ not ‘humanDOings’ and we are ‘BEleivers’, not DOleivers’.

So, what then is YOUR purpose, and just how important is that purpose to you? To assist in answering this question, I want to turn to the Apostle Paul, a Jesus-follower with a clear sense of purpose.

Paul’s Purpose
When we consider someone like Paul, we tend to compare his clear purpose with our lack of purpose. Was he not the Apostle to the gentiles, the prolific church planter, and the author of much of the New Testament? But did the Apostle see these things as his purpose or as missions and ministries flowing from his real purpose in life? 

In Philippians 3:12, Paul wrote, ‘I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me’. This sounds to me like an indication of his sense of purpose. He also wrote to the Philippians, ‘I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ’ (Philippians 3:8).  So, Paul’s overriding purpose was to know Christ. A few verses after this (Verse 10), he wrote, ‘I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.’ Then, writing to the Roman believers, Paul expanded on and included us in his purpose statement by telling us that we are ‘predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son’ (Romans 8:29). The word ‘conformed’ means ‘moulded’ and the word ‘likeness’ means ‘image’. This is why the Amplified Bible translates this verse as ‘to be moulded into the image of his Son’, and his Son is Jesus. This, then, should be at least a part of every believer’s Purpose of Life statement.

Note well that Paul understood his purpose, and ours, as being and becoming and not doing and getting.

Your Purpose
So, is your purpose, your reason for being on planet Earth, perhaps about leaving a legacy, or making the world a better place? These are excellent results of a life lived, but they should not be a purpose and motivation for living. Even outcomes like serving God, making disciples, excelling in Christian ministry, are not THE God-given purpose of life.x
Let’s return to what Paul wrote to the Philippians:

I want to know Christ’: This was Paul’s foundational statement of purpose and should also be ours. Not just to know about Jesus, but to know him, how he feels, what he says, and how he regards people. Knowing Jesus starts with what he referred to as the ‘new birth’ experience. We cannot know God, who is a spiritual being, unless the Holy Spirit quickens us and makes us alive spiritually. Having met Jesus, spirit to spirit, we then continue to get to know him better throughout our earthly lives. Therefore, ‘To know Jesus’ needs to be the first clause in our statement of life purpose.

Paul went on to write of ‘becoming like him’ and so the second clause of our purpose statement should also be ‘To be like him’. We are called to become as much like him in this life as we can, and this means that our minds need to be transformed: ‘Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is’  (Romans 12:2 NLT).  To the Corinthian church, Paul put it this way: ‘And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit’ (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Our Purpose Statement Completed

So, in Romans 8:29 Paul wrote of ‘conforming to the likeness of Jesus, in Philippians 3:10 he wrote, ‘becoming like him’, and in 2 Corinthians 3:18 he wrote of us being ‘transformed into his likeness.’

However, there needs to be a third and final clause in our statement of purpose. The first two clauses are about being and becoming but the third clause is about doing: You see, doing flows from being and is the evidence of becoming. This third clause was part of Jesus’ purpose, it is part of the Holy Spirit’s purpose, and it certainly was part of Paul’s purpose. This third clause is ‘to help others to know and become like Jesus’.

Therefore, the full statement of purpose for all Jesus-followers is ‘To know Jesus, to become like him, and to help others to do likewise.

For some, this purpose seems too simple to be true and too abstract to be of practical value. Yet it is true and it is of great practical value! Can there be anything for a person to aspire to more worthy than to be like Jesus? No. Is anything in this world more valuable to others than a Christ-like person? No. The statement is simple, but it describes a life-long endeavour more worthwhile yet more demanding to apply than any other does. Yes, by being more like Jesus we do become more content, less stessed, and so on, but discipleship is not a transactional trade-off. We want to become more Christlike becuase it is the highest ideal of humanity and the very best for both ourselves and others.. even though it often requires sacrifice and even persecution – ‘Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did’ (1 John 2:6).

Purpose is Important

Over the centuries, philosophers have been telling us that there are three big life questions that all people seek to answer in some way or another. They are,

  1. Where did I come from?
  2. Why am I here?
  3. Where am I going?

All born-again believers know the answer to Question Three – we are going to be with Jesus in Heaven. Question Two is the only one about the here and now and so it is a pressing question demanding an urgent and compelling answer – Why am I here on Earth?

Tragically, many, if not most, people cannot answer this question and as a result, they live their lives without any satisfying purpose and often with an underlying sense of hopelessness. As a result, an alarming number of people suffer from depression or even attempt suicide. During the current COVID-19 Pandemic, the number of suicides has doubled over previous years. The group most affected is teenagers, the very youth who should be looking with bright and expectant eyes into the future. It is not hard to figure out why suicide has become a teenage pandemic all of its own. Little to no prospect of a job, separation from friends and often family, educational aspirations thwarted, parents who are without income, and so on. No wonder that some answer the ‘why am I here?’ question with, “Nothing worthwhile that I can see!”

But I wonder just how many teens and others would respond so negatively to this question if they could grasp that the overall purpose of life for all people is to know Jesus, to become like him, and to help others to do likewise. Moreover, once they understood and accepted this, it is easy for them to see how every life situation, no matter how difficult, can contribute to achieving this purpose. This is why Paul wrote in Romans 8:28 that ‘we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.’

Purpose is important: It is vitally and critically important!

Conclusion

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose’.

Do you believe this? Well, if you are born again of the Spirit then you should believe this! However, for someone who is not born again, there is no real basis for living out this statement of purpose. So, if you encounter someone who is feeling hopeless, and perhaps suicidal, then the first question to ask is “Are you spiritually born again into an eternal relationship with Jesus?” Then, based on this, explain what the purpose of life really is. 

If a Christian, who claims to be born again, is feeling hopeless, then the likelihood is that they do not grasp God’s purpose for their life on earth. So, explain it, pray for them, and encourage them to pursue this purpose.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus’. Philippians 4:7

The Power of Purpose Read More »

About Me

My name is Christopher Peppler and I was born in Cape Town, South Africa in 1947. While working in the financial sector I achieved a number of business qualifications from the Institute of Bankers, Damelin Management School, and The University of the Witwatersrand Business School. After over 20 years as a banker, I followed God’s calling and joined the ministry full time. After becoming a pastor of what is now a quite considerable church, I  earned an undergraduate theological qualification from the Baptist Theological College of Southern Africa and post-graduate degrees from two United States institutions. I was also awarded the Doctor of Theology in Systematic Theology from the University of Zululand in 2000.

Four years before that I established the South African Theological Seminary (SATS), which today is represented in over 70 countries and has more than 2 500 active students enrolled with it. I presently play an role supervising Masters and Doctoral students.

I am a passionate champion of the Christocentric or Christ-centred Principle, an approach to biblical interpretation and theological construction that emphasises the centrality of Jesus

I have been happily married to Patricia since the age of 20, have two children, Lance and Karen, a daughter-in-law Tracey, and granddaughters Jessica and Kirsten. I have now retired from both church and seminary leadership and devote my time to writing, discipling, and the classical guitar.

If you would like to read my testimony to Jesus then click HERE.