Author: StephanieBBlake

I love to help others focus on the one thing that's most important in life through my ministry, teaching and writing. As Vice President of Xtend Ministries International - www.xtendinternational.com, I travel extensively with my husband. I maintain two websites: www.onefocusministries.com and stretchmoney.wordpress.com. On the One Focus site, you can find free Bible studies, devotionals and information about my first book, "The Prayer Driven Life". My book, "Money: How to Be Rich Without It and How to Stretch It Using Ten Hints from the Past and the Technology of Today" was the inspiration for stretchmoney.wordpress.com. Money saving hints are contained throughout the book and this site was created to continue to give helpful hints on stretching money or having the proper view toward money.
Reflective Focus

Reflections on Christian Trials and Persecutions, Part 2*

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In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith – more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ – 1 Peter 1:6-7

Perhaps the lack of suffering for the cause of Christ in the modern Western church is due to the lack of nerve on the part of the church to challenge our contemporary world with the message of the cross and to live uncompromisingly according to the teachings of Jesus. Those who live faithful lives in an unbelieving world will find opposition to both their ideas and their practices, even if it doesn’t result in actual persecution or physical danger.

Peter also says there are “various trials, or “all kinds of trials.” The word is sometimes translated “manifold” (KJV). James uses the same word, “trials of many kinds” (Jas 1:2). It is lit. “variegated,” or “many-colored.” You’ll get through one trial, only to find that another of an entirely different hue is waiting around the next bend of life. 

From whatever the source, whatever their “color,” trials may sometimes come that are particularly hard, or crushing. When they do, there’s no point in trying to pretend there’s no pain, or to put on a brave front just to appear more “spiritual.” And neither should one ever try to minimize or explain away the suffering of another who is going through some fiery trial.

” . . . though now for a little while . . . you may have had to suffer.” (I Peter 1:6).

Trials don’t last forever. They are “for a season” (KJV).  One writer says, “When God permits His children to go through the furnace, He keeps His eye on the clock and His hand on the thermostat” (Wiersbe).

If we resist the trial, if we only seek a way out of it, then we work against God’s purpose in it. He may have to “reset the clock.” The important issue is not “that” we get out of a trial, but “what” we get out of it. If we submit to God, He won’t allow us to remain one moment too long in it. The important thing is that we learn the lesson He wants to teach us, and that we bring glory to Him in our trial.

These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed  (1 Peter 1:7)

Helen Keller said, “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” That is certainly true of Christian character, and particularly true of the faith that undergirds it. God wants to strengthen your faith and make something beautiful of your life. He sees the impurities there, and He leaves you in the crucible long enough to burn away everything that mars you, or that keeps you from being perfected in your faith. This is because He sees your faith as being the most important thing in your life. 

… The person who abandons his faith when the going gets tough proves that he really had no genuine faith at all. God doesn’t allow trials to come to you to destroy your faith, but to validate it, to prove its genuineness to you.  He sees your faith as precious, and He wants you to see it that way also.  

…Whatever trials you may endure in this life can’t begin to compare to the glory that God has in store for you. And these very trials are an essential part of the process.

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1:8-9)

…We rejoice because we’re not just waiting for glory, we’re already receiving it. Such rejoicing is absolutely impossible apart from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Believers, while perhaps not rejoicing over their trials, can nevertheless rejoice in their trials.  When you truly love and trust Christ, you can experience joy even in the worst of times. And each new trial can be an opportunity to learn more about Him, to learn how sweet and sure and sufficient He is. And in that experience He produces a joy that Peter says is “inexpressible and glorious.” Think of it! In your trial comes a joy so great you can’t describe it. Charles Spurgeon used to say, “Little faith will take your soul to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven to your soul.” No matter the trial, if you have the faith to love and trust Christ in the midst of it you can actually experience some of the glory of heaven.

The prophets foresaw the entire panorama of the ministry of Christ. They didn’t know how much time would separate the Lord’s sufferings from the full manifestation of His glory, but they clearly saw the future in those terms. Christ is the center of history! He is the One by whom history is defined. And Peter makes the history of Christ the pattern for the history of every Christian when he says, “But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed” (1 Pet. 4:13). This is the meaning of history, the flow of history, this is the direction everything is headed, the final unveiling of the glory of Jesus Christ! Everything else is meaningful only in relation to the facts concerning the work of Christ. That ancient prophets can look forward to the coming of Christ with such accuracy should cause us to look back to His First Coming with confidence and forward to His promised Second Coming with assurance and hope. This is a matter of Divine revelation. 

*continuation of Richard’s study of 1 Peter  

©Richard L. Blake  

February 2022

Reflective Focus

Reflections on Christian Trials and Persecution

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In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1:6-9)

1 Peter was written to Christians who reside as aliens (NAS) who are elect exiles ((ESV) God’s elect, strangers in the world (NIV), pilgrims of the Dispersion (NKJV), God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners (NLT).

My husband, Richard, loaned me his notes on 1 Peter. With his permission, this month’s devotional contains his reflections – excerpts from that teaching – on trials and persecution for Christians. All of the following quotes are from this teaching.

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It’s time for Christians to wake up to the fact that we’re not in a playground but a battleground. There is a form of Christianity that is acceptable to the world, a watered-down religion of niceness. But if you take a stand upon the truth of the Word of God, if you live according to its principles, you will pay a price. It could affect your career, your social standing, your relationship with friends and even with family members. But that’s inherent in your calling in Christ who said, “Whoever would be my disciple must be willing to die.”

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As believers, we have an address in this world but our citizenship is somewhere else. We’re citizens of the land where King Jesus is in charge and who loves us with an everlasting love. Whenever we face rejection and persecution, we’re strengthened by the knowledge that we are His chosen ones.

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God loves you and has a perfect plan for your life. He’s not sitting on a throne of perplexity, wondering how it’ll all turn out. All that happens to you, good or bad, is known to God. But our assurance is that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28).

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When you’re rejected or suffer ridicule for your values, you can know that God is at work in it to make you stronger, purer, more holy. It’s said that refiners of precious metals, gold and silver, heat the crucible until all the impurities have been burned away. They know the process is complete when they can see their reflection in the liquid. God is sanctifying your life, using the fire of rejection or affliction for His purposes though the world thinks it is in charge. And when He can see His reflection in your life, He’ll take you out of the fire.

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The result of the Spirit’s sanctifying process in your life is obedience to Jesus. The hardest time to obey is when things aren’t going well. We want to take charge, to do something to get ourselves out of the trial. But you aren’t free to do as you please. In every trial, you must ask, “What does Christ want me to do?”  This may go against your natural instincts.

We’re being set apart for obedience to Christ. “You are not your own; you are bought at a price” (1 Cor. 6:20). You are to obey, no matter what the world says or thinks. “Why do you call me Lord, and do not do what I tell you to do?” God’s superior purpose in your life is that you obey Jesus.

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No matter how many times you’re rejected or attacked, remember, those who reject you are not the final authority. You have been sprinkled with the blood of the Lamb of God. 

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Whatever our trials, whatever our predicament, we have a new start in life. We face each day with a living hope because in Jesus “all things have become new.” You don’t have to be bound by your past. Jesus gives you a new start every day.  That’s shouting ground. Praise God that you’re born again.

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…Only Christianity has a God of hope. In Rom. 15:13, Paul said, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope.” Our new birth into a living hope is “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Christianity is responsible for bringing to the world the possibility for real hope.

The reason our hope is living is because it’s based on a living Savior, because it’s founded on the historical reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Hope makes no sense if Christ has not been raised from the tomb. The apostle Paul witnessed to that reality: “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living . . . Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also . . . ” (1 Cor. 15:3-8). 


Our hope isn’t built on the absence of difficulty, or a positive mental attitude. It’s built on the unassailable fact of the historical resurrection of Jesus Christ. We know living hope because Jesus lives. And for that, we can praise God even in the worst of times.

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© Richard L. Blake

February 2022

Stephanie B. Blake

Reflective Focus

One Focus Blog

Claiming the Promises of the Psalms: The Promise of Discipline

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Blessed is the one you discipline, Lord, the one you teach from your law; you grant them relief from the days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked (Psalm 94:12-13).

You may be like me – surprised to find one of God’s promises is discipline. Who asks for that?

My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those He loves as a father the son he delights in (Proverbs 3:11-12)

…God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore… Make level paths for your feet…(Hebrews 12:10b-13a)

NIV

We may not want discipline or ask for it, but when we need it, God gives it. From a loving father to a child who needs correction, God takes charge when we stray from the path He has designed for us.

D. James Kennedy had this insight:

We live in an age characterized by lawlessness. We do not hold criminals accountable for their actions. We do not hold able-bodied welfare recipients accountable for being industrious and providing for themselves and their families. We do not hold our political leaders accountable for acts of immorality, corruption, and criminality while in office. We do not hold children accountable for being decent, respectful, honest, trustworthy, and upright.

The permissiveness of the past two decades has produced an age of lawlessness today. The Bible rebukes our permissiveness and calls us to godly discipline. Remember, we are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ, and we are called to discipline our children – and to be a disciple one must be disciplined! To be disciplined means to have boundaries, to know that there are things we should do, and things we must not do. Our children need discipline and (though few would admit it!) they really want and seek it. Show me an undisciplined child and I will show you a bundle of insecurities, because that child lives in a disordered, chaotic, and meaningless world; children need and crave structure and dependability in their lives. Show me an undisciplined child, and I will show you a child who feels unloved, because no one has ever taken the time to care for him by setting loving boundaries for his life.

D. James Kennedy, Led by the Carpenter: Finding God’s Purpose for Your Life

Led by the Carpenter was published in 1999!! Do you want relief from the days of trouble occurring now – in 2022? Submit to any discipline your loving Father may give you, creating level paths for your feet. His desire is for you to share in his holiness.

Righteousness will go before Him, and shall make His footsteps our pathway (Psalm 85:13 NKJV)
One Focus Blog

Claiming the Promises of the Psalms: The Promise of Peace

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In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety…The Lord gives strength to his people; The Lord blesses his people with peace...I will listen to what God the Lord has to say; he promises peace to his people, his saints – but let them not return to folly…Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other…Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble (Psalm 4:8; 29:11; 85:8,10; 119:165 NIV).

Since the pandemic began, I have made several trips to doctors’ offices and noted the questionnaires that you must fill out in a new office now include a multitude of questions about handling stress and inclination toward depression or suicide – so I was surprised to learn that, in America, the overall suicide rate has actually gone down during the pandemic.

It may seem counterintuitive — and not every scenario is comparable — but suicide rates tend to decline during times of large-scale public crisis. That can include anything from terrorist attacks and war to natural disasters. It isn’t yet fully understood why, but one leading explanation is that people inherently want to pull together during turbulent times…

Children were no longer at school with their bullies. Employees were no longer forced to work next to toxic coworkers. People who hated their jobs suddenly had a reason to stop working…Unable to go to work, people started spending more time at home, typically with…their support networks…

Craig Bryan (clinical psychologist who heads trauma and suicide programs at Ohio State University College of Medicine,
The Pandemic Didn’t Increase Suicide, That Shouldn’t Be A Surprise – STAT – Nov. 16,2021

It seems, however, that some experts believe the downturn is short-lived. “Based on prior disasters, suicide rates sometimes dip only to go back up again after the immediate crisis has passed.” – Deb Stone, a lead behavioral scientist at the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

Of course, this is not the only time we have had to deal with issues of stress and circumstances beyond our control. History books are full of such times and the pandemic is not the only issue now causing great stress in America, but God tells us not to be anxious. Some antonyms of “anxious” include calm, relaxed, peaceful, quiet, tranquil. Trusting Him during times of turmoil is the only thing that will result in the peace that passes all understanding.

God ties peace to our reliance on Him and our obedience to Him. That makes perfect sense. Any Christian knows peace in your life is interrupted when you sin and ignore His guidance.

One Focus Blog

Claiming the Promises of the Psalms: God Promises to Hear His Children

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The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry…The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit,,,For in You, O Lord, I hope; You will hear, O Lord my God…I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry…Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice….I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live (Psalm 34:15, 17-18; 38:15; 40:1; 55:17; 116-:1-2 NKJV).

When I wrote Claiming the Promises of the Psalms: the Promise of God’s Presence a year ago, we were in the throes of a terrible time in our nation – and in the world. Our circumstances have not gotten any better – in fact, they are worse. My testimony of this past year can be summarized in a statement I made in that post.

David said, He heard me. At another time he said, The Lord will hear me when I call to Him. Because David knew that God had heard him before, he knew that God would hear him each time He called.

Like David, I have a history with God. He has heard me and I know He will continue to hear me. When I need to be reminded of His presence, He knows just how to do it.

God’s promise to hear us adds a very personal element to the reality of His abiding presence. Not only is He present, The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth, He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them (Psalm 145:18-19). There is no thought you think He does not hear. There is no prayer you utter He does not answer. You and I, as His children, have a constant audience with our Heavenly Father. We don’t need to work to get His attention. Because that is true, we can count on an uninterrupted conversation with the One who knows every detail of our lives, and has an answer for every situation.

That conversation is called prayer.

One Focus Blog

Claiming the Promises of the Psalms: The Promise of Deliverance

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The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them… The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles… Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all…And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked and save them, because they trust in Him… Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me (Psalm 34:7, 17, 19; 37:40, 50:15).

I admit I’ve struggled to understand this promise. Knowing that God always makes good on His promises, how could I reconcile God’s miraculous deliverances of Daniel from the lion’s den; Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the fiery furnace, and God’s chosen people through the Red Sea with other heroes of the faith who were tortured and killed? Stephen fell asleep while praying for those who were stoning him. He, along with others in Hebrews 11, obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

We do not know what God knows nor can we understand fully what brings Him glory. Many have testified of deliverance from impending threat, a horrible accident or recovery from a disease; however, the Father Himself suffered as He watched His Son journey to the cross even though Jesus asked Him to “take this cup from Me”. Jesus could have been delivered from the cross – He had power in Himself to do so – but He chose, for our sakes, to complete that horrible task in order to deliver us.

For He will deliver the needy when he cries, the poor also, and him who has no helper. He will spare the poor and needy, and save the souls of the needy. He will redeem their life from oppression and violence and precious shall be their blood in His sight (Psalm 72:12-14).

Perhaps the best answer to why or why not the Father choses to deliver us from a temporal trial is found in Colossians 1:13-14. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

In today’s world, there are trials in abundance. God’s children can say with Job, “Though He slay me, yet I will trust Him“. In eternity, we will be delivered from the presence of darkness and sin. Right now, we can count on the promise that we have already been delivered from Satan’s power!

One Focus Blog

Claiming the Promises of the Psalms: The Promise of Joy

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You make known to me the path of life, You will fill me with joy in your presence…The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart…When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy….The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy…Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy (Psalm 16:11, 19:8, 94:19, 126:3,5 NIV)

“Claiming the Promises of the Psalms” was begun at the beginning of 2021 – a time in which I believed strongly we needed to notice and take encouragement from God’s Word. The pandemic that affected all of us – in America and abroad – is still with us. Our own country now has new issues facing those trying to raise families, make a living and live out their faith.Those who have small businesses have been particularly impacted by circumstances outside their control – no matter how hard they work, their lives have been made more difficult.

I took particular encouragement this week from a story about a small business that had to close down. After only five months in business, a retail toy store had to close its doors. The owners wanted to bring the joy back into shopping for toys. Their concept was a great one and their customers loved them and their shop. Several factors, though, caused them to decide they could not stay open. The American supply chain crisis was the last nail in that coffin. The owners’ cost had increased so much they couldn’t afford to buy any more product and knew their customers would not be able to pay the new elevated prices that would enable them to stay in business.

The owners of JoJo’s Toys and More in Newington, CT were sad, to be sure, about the necessity to close their dream store. It was their response that was captivating to me.

We are waiting for what the Lord has for us.

We get through it because of our faith.

There’s joy in our hearts – believe it or not – there’s joy in our hearts.

Eliah and Priscilla Lefferts

What a difference knowing the God of the universe makes! When things are falling apart around us, we know that He is for us. He promises joy – no matter what the circumstances are.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control (Galatians 5:22-23).

One Focus Blog

Claiming the Promises of the Psalms: The Promise of Continual Guidance

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Yes, your servant finds moral guidance there; those who obey them receive a rich reward…The Lord’s loyal followers receive his guidance, and he reveals his covenantal demands to them…Yes, I find delight in your rules; they give me guidance (Psalms 19:11, 25:14, 119:24 NET).

My last post was Claiming the Promises of the Psalms: The Promise of Guidance. The emphasis in that post was on the promise that God would give us guidance if we trust Him for it. What I have discovered in the book of Isaiah adds another element to that promise – we need His continual guidance.

This also comes from the Lord of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance…The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail (Isaiah 28:29, 58:11).

The GPS system on one of our vehicles often has a question for us. When we feel that we can proceed without the help of the GPS, even when we have not reached our destination yet, we can STOP GUIDANCE. Upon that instruction, the GPS is preset to ask, “Are you sure you want to stop guidance?” The STOP GUIDANCE command usually comes when we are in a familiar place and know the rest of the way home – thus negating the need for any further direction. On occasion, we have encountered some incident on the road that was unexpected. If we had kept the GPS system operating, we would have been warned about an “incident ahead” and possibly been able to drive around it.

Even as committed Christians, we sometimes think we can stop God’s guidance. We are in familiar territory. We know what the Bible says. We have been down that road before. The problem is we can’t see what He can see. There may be some obstacle, some incident on the road that could not have possibly been anticipated.

So…we would be wise to take advice from God through Isaiah and remember that the Lord will guide you continually.

STOP GUIDANCE should not be part of our journey. We need His guidance every step of the way. We could save ourselves a lot of grief if we continually let Him guide.

One Focus Blog

Claiming the Promises of the Psalms: The Promise of Guidance

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The humble He guides in justice…He will be our guide even to death…You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory (Psalm 25:9a, 48:14, 73:24).

When I don’t know what to do, I know God does.

His loving direction surrounds us – leading from the front (as a great Commander would do), walking beside us (as a best friend and Comforter would do), and covering the rear (as a concerned Protector would do).

This promise of guidance was reinforced by Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit. “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth (John 16:13a).

The Internal Guidance of God

Certainly God’s guidance has external elements – like circumstances, something you hear, something you see or something you read (especially God’s word), but if you are walking daily with Christ, you can trust His internal guidance. He can speak to your heart; but you need to be still enough to hear Him. Elijah expected to find God’s guidance in wind, earthquake and fire, but it was His still small voice that gave him the guidance he needed. We picture David alone with his sheep when he pens, “He leads me beside the still waters and He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake”. When everything else but God is in the background, you can hear Him speak. When He has your full attention, His still small voice can come in loud and clear. His nudgings to do something or to refrain from doing something, to say something or not to say something, or even your next move in a task are to be trusted. I am not talking about what you feel – feelings can be deceptive. I am talking about what you “hear”. If what you hear could not be possibly be of Satan, trust that it is from God.

Even in ordinary tasks of life, God is there to guide. Since tomorrow is not promised, I have come to believe that what is done today is of great importance even when it is a mundane task. One of my frequent prayers has become, “What should I do next?” It is amazing to me that even a simple task He has me complete is finished just in time to get on to the next thing. And…since I tend to lose track of my thoughts, I often pray, “Lord, please remind me to do so and so.” And He does. Nothing is too small to take to God. If it concerns you, it concerns Him.

If your desire is to glorify God, He promises His guidance will accomplish that in your life. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you….He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit (John 15:7,5b).

We are living in uncertain times. How can we possibly navigate these frightening waters without the guidance of the Holy Spirit? We can’t. He can guide. He will guide. He will help us sort out truth and lies and will be our guide even to death.

One Focus Blog

Claiming the Promises of the Psalms: Psalm 37: The Promise of Inheritance

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Written and sung by Squire Parsons

I love Sweet Beulah Land. I want it sung at my memorial service to remind those who attend that this world is not our home and for those who love Christ – as I do – we will be together again! I have good reason to look forward to my eternal home – it is real and it is promised. Psalm 37 describes those who will inherit the land and dwell in it forever as those who have been transformed by the love of Christ – those who hope in the Lord, the meek, the blameless, those the Lord blesses, the righteous and those who wait for the Lord and keep his way (v.9,11,18,22,29 and 34). Jesus repeated this promise – the meek shall inherit the earth – and told His disciples He was going to prepare a place for them.

We can look forward to that place BECAUSE God is there.

The Land of Beulah by H. Melville

For weeks, I have been pondering Psalm 37. So many things stand out in that wonderful passage. An inheritance is not earned. It is a legacy gift – paid for by someone who left his treasures to his loved ones upon his death. We have been promised an inheritance because of Jesus’ death on the cross. The believing thief who was crucified beside Him was promised,”Today you shall be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).

All who trust in Him are promised an inheritance – a literal place where God resides.

Psalm 37 clearly states the fate of the evil and the good. The wicked (mentioned at least 13 times) are described as evildoers, workers of iniquity, who brings wicked schemes to pass.There is no place for evil in our inheritance.…those cursed by Him shall be cut off.

I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread (v. 25) is my testimony. Along with the pilgrims in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, I feel like I am traveling in the land of Beulah with a vision of my heavenly home getting closer and closer. Of course, I have no idea when the Lord will have me cross over into “the Celestial City”, but some day I will take my heavenly flight. Will you be there?

Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance…(Hebrews 9:15 ESV).