"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." - 2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV)Jonathan Edwards, the great theologian used mightily by God in the First Great Awakening, understood what it meant to live with eternity in mind. As a young man, he developed what he called "70 Resolu...

"But the end of all things is at hand. Therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers." - 1 Peter 4:7 (NKJV)I was probably eight or nine years old when the reality of eternity first gripped my heart. That Sunday night, after getting in trouble during children's ministry, I found myself sitting with my parents as they showed "A Thief in the Night"—one of those rapture movies similar to the moder...

"In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead." - 1 Peter 4:4-5 (NKJV)If we truly are living the life that God wants for us as His children, we need to recognize that the old self is gone, and I no longer live the same lifestyle. The new ...

"For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries." - 1 Peter 4:3 (NKJV)I will never forget that my dad gave his life to Christ in his thirties, and he was completely transformed. I was born when he was 40, so I never knew the version of him before his conversion. I...

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." - 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)C.H. Spurgeon would personally interview new converts or those interested in membership. Instead of just coming forward like people do today, he would talk to each person individually during the week, ask questions, and decide whether to accept or r...