Doreen Button

Our culture tells us that we have to constantly be doing, and the more people see us doing, the better. If we haven’t checked off dozens of to-do boxes each day, we’re not worthwhile. God doesn’t see things that way.

The Bible must be read as it was intended. There are so many different types of writing—historical narratives, apocalyptic (revelatory), wisdom literature, etc. Its cohesiveness is supernatural…no other book even comes close. From beginning to end it’s the story of God’s unending effort to bring humans back into relationship with Him.

The more you know Scripture, the easier it will be for you to spot when something you hear or read doesn’t match up with Truth.

To understand the message of Matthew 7:21-23, again it’s critical to look at the whole passage and consider who Jesus is talking to and about.

Jairus’s daughter appeared to be dead because she was dead. Yet Jesus—fully God—sees beyond this finite moment in time in which we are sequestered. He alone is capable of “waking” her, as He did Lazarus and others.

It’s always imperative to read Scriptures in context. If you pull a verse out from among its peers, it can appear to say things God never intended.

Thank you for your question. Though I don’t know any part of your story behind the question, I sense a deep longing in you for the answer to be, “Yes, of course there is hope!”

This may sound odd, but I believe—because of what I’ve read in Job and other passages—God is more interested in our seeking Him and wanting to know Him well than He is about us getting secondary and tertiary concepts—i.e., timelines which Jesus didn’t even claim to know (Matthew 24:36)—just right.

I understand how, with our current mindset, it is difficult to imagine needing encouragement in Heaven. So let’s take a look at the ultimate servant leader, Jesus.