Written by M. R. Conrad |
Friday, December 1, 2023
Are you longing for eternity now? The Bible’s revelation of the new earth provides enough concrete details to excite our imaginations.4 What God describes far exceeds pictures of floating cherubs, feathery wings, or encompassing light. Eternal life is truly life—overflowing with new experiences, inner fulfillment, and guiltless enjoyment. We do not lose anything good that we have now: we gain so much more. 

Cloud surfing? Harp strumming? Singing in an everlasting worship service? Melting into nothing in the celestial light of God? Is this how we will be enjoying eternity?
Some guesses about our eternal activities are nebulous, and others cross the border into the ridiculous. None of these pictures inspires me to anticipate eternity with joy. George Orwell observed, “The Christian Heaven, as usually portrayed, would attract nobody. Almost all Christian writers dealing with Heaven either say frankly that it is indescribable or conjure up a vague picture of gold, precious stones, and the endless singing of hymns.”1 If you are not excited about the prospect of eternity with God, maybe you’ve got the wrong picture in your mind. What will God’s people be doing in eternity?
Enjoying Food
We are going to eat in eternity. At the very least, we will eat from the tree of life. God promises believers: “To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7). The tree of life grows in the New Jerusalem in the new earth where believers will live forever (Revelation 21:2).
In His glorified body, Jesus ate and drank (Luke 24:42–43). Since our glorified bodies are like His, we too will be able to eat and drink in eternity. Furthermore, just before the Second Coming of Christ, we will sit and eat with Him at the marriage supper of the Lamb as He foretold at the Last Supper (Revelation 19:6–9; Luke 22:15–18). We will not enter a tasteless eternity. Fruit and feasts await us in the new earth.
Enjoying Homes and Land
According to Matthew 19:28–30, Jesus promises that those who give up houses and lands in this life will inherit them in eternity. If you like having a garden or growing your own food, you can do it in the new earth.2 With the curse removed, think of how easy and fruitful your efforts will be!
Enjoying Relationships
Also, in Matthew 19:28–30, Jesus promises close family relationships in eternity. We will see our saved relatives again (1 Thessalonians 4:13–14). Those without saved relatives or who in this life lacked healthy family relationships will experience them in eternity. Biblical accounts indicate that we will recognize those we knew from this life just as Jesus’ friends recognized Him after His resurrection. The new earth will include perfect community and society as God originally intended.
Enjoying International Differences
Surprisingly, in the new earth, God will not abolish ethnic and national differences (Revelation 21:24, 26; 22:3). Yes, in Jesus Christ, we are all equal regardless of ethnicity, gender, or social status (Galatians 3:28).
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Written by M. R. Conrad |
Friday, May 5, 2023
In the post-pandemic era, the opportunities for remote theological training have multiplied. A local church really could provide a pathway for men within their churches to serve part-time in their own church while they study for the ministry online. If needed, these growing leaders could supplement the web-based training with in-person modules at seminaries. Alternatively, likeminded churches in a region could band together to coordinate joint theological instruction. The possibilities for ministry training continue to grow. But where is the passion to prioritize pastoral training within the local church?

Evangelize, disciple, and train leaders—these are the priorities of missionaries serving in foreign countries.
Evangelize and disciple—these are the priorities of pastors serving in the U.S. If a new pastor is needed, the church rarely looks within, nor can they because no one is ready to step into the shepherding role. A local church must hire its next pastor from another church or out of seminary.
Why are missionaries abroad expected to train local men as future pastors, but pastors in the U.S. rarely prioritize preparing their church’s potential next pastor as a crucial part of their ministries? Should not the indigenous principle apply both at home and abroad?[1]
Biblical Examples of Leadership Training
In the first century, the church at Ephesus became a leader-training hub for the Roman province of Asia (modern-day western Turkey). Paul built leadership training into the DNA of the church. He taught the word of God daily for three years (Acts 19:9–10). He gathered and trained church leaders who would shepherd that church and plant churches in the surrounding cities (Acts 20:17–35). One such product of this leadership-training focus appears to have been Epaphras whom God raised up from within his hometown of nearby Colosse (Colossians 4:12–13).
Of course, Paul did send leaders trained elsewhere to serve in local churches. For example, Titus, a Greek probably from Syrian Antioch, served in Crete. Yet, a major focus of Titus’ ministry there was leadership training.
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Written by M. R. Conrad |
Thursday, January 5, 2023
Despite his abysmal circumstances and lack of key resources, Carey found his sufficiency in God. In desperation to feed and house his family, Carey moved east of Kolkata and took up farming in Debhatta near the border of modern-day Bangladesh. All the while, his wife’s mental condition deteriorated. On April 14, 1794, though struggling with discouragement, Carey again commented in his journal on God’s all-sufficiency.

William Carey’s heart raced as he leaned against the railing of the Kron Princess Maria.[1] The winds and tides had finally allowed the Danish ship to enter the Bay of Bengal on November 11, 1793. In the distance, Carey caught his first glimpse of the shores of India. He hoped it would not be his last. Beside Carey, Dr. John Thomas fidgeted. On his last stint in India, Thomas had incurred outstanding debts—debts he had failed to mention to his new coworkers. Soon, a flotilla of smaller boats surrounded the ship, their onboard hawkers clamoring to sell fish and other goods to the foreigners.
As the ship entered the Hooghly River on its way upstream to Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), thirty-two-year-old Carey, his wife Dorothy, his children, his sister-in-law, and Dr. Thomas kept alert. Before reaching the dock and the required inspection, they slipped into a smaller boat which whisked them away. The British East India Company patrolled the harbor and sought to turn away any foreigners who could potentially interfere with their profit. Soon, the new arrivals mingled with the locals in a bustling market. The first missionaries of a new era had arrived on their field.
Alone and in Need
Though safely past the watchful eye of the British East India Company, Carey’s difficulties had just begun. Almost immediately, he discovered that daily expenses would far exceed their estimates. Then, his coworker, Dr. Thomas, panicked as creditors learned of his return to Kolkata. Thomas took the team’s remaining money and used it to set up a medical practice for European colonials to pay off his debts. In a letter that would not reach his supporters in England for many months, Carey wrote, “I am in a strange land alone, with no Christian friend, a large family, and nothing to supply their wants [needs].”[2] The outlook seemed bleak.
For the next seven years, Carey and his family moved from one location to another as he tried to make ends meet, learn Bengali, translate the New Testament, and preach the gospel to anyone who would listen. Dorothy Carey and her sister, who accompanied the family to India, hated their new life. To make matters worse, Dorothy and their son Peter fell ill with severe dysentery. Peter soon died, and Dorothy began her descent into insanity.
Solace in the Promises of God
As trial after trial rocked his life, Carey kept his eyes on the goal.
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Written by M.R. Conrad |
Tuesday, May 31, 2022
Abiding in Christ means that you begin each day in communion with your Savior and then walk with Him step by step through the day.  It’s a constant conversation and an ongoing trust.

Jesus led the way up the dusty path to Gethsemane. Leaving the ancient wall of Jerusalem in the dusk behind them, the Master and His disciples passed through a vineyard. Rows of vines, soon to be laden with clusters of grapes, lined their pathway. Jesus turned to His followers and said,
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing”(John 15:1-5).
Throughout the ages since, believers have sought to understand and live Jesus’ teaching about abiding in Christ. These words and Jesus’ simple illustration of the vine and the branches hold the key to fruitful Christian living that glorifies God (John 15:8). What does it practically mean to abide in Christ?
Abiding Defined
The word abide is a simple term. It means to remain, stay, or dwell. To abide is to continue in the same place for some stretch of time. The meaning is uncomplicated, but how does a believer abide in a Person?
Abiding Illustrated
Jesus used the word abide in the context of an illustration of a vineyard bursting with grapes. The vine represents Jesus. The branches are believers. The goal is fruit that remains.
Only when the branches remain attached to the vine, depending on the vine for the nutrient-rich sap, can the branches bear fruit. On their own, the branches can produce nothing and are useless. In the same way, only when believers remain attached to Jesus Christ, depending on Him for strength, can they bear spiritual fruit. Abiding is remaining in that close, dependent relationship with Jesus Christ.
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Written by M. R. Conrad |
Sunday, February 27, 2022
Jesus holds up fruit-bearing as a prerequisite for glorifying God, which is the chief end of man. If we want to live as Jesus’ disciples, we must bear fruit (15:8). I’m not sure John 15 could be clearer. Bearing fruit is essential to the Christian life.

When I was just a little guy, my parents planted a peach tree in our back yard. The tree grew as I grew. By the time I turned seven, the first few peaches appeared on that tree. I was so excited. However, the next year, we moved from that home. I never got to enjoy the fruit from that tree again, but someone did because that tree kept on bearing fruit.

If you plant a peach tree, you have failed if the tree does not produce peaches.
If you plant of field of wheat, you have failed if heads of grain do not appear.
If you plant a grape vine, you have failed if it does not bear grapes.

In John 15, Jesus is about to leave His disciples. They will carry on Jesus’ work in His absence. As He walks from Jerusalem to the garden of Gethsemane on the night of His betrayal, Jesus guides the disciples past the grape vines. He uses the scene around them to teach His people the key to bearing fruit—we must abide in Christ.
In this passage, Jesus provides a logical progression:

To glorify God and demonstrate that you are Jesus’ disciple, you must bear fruit. (15:8)
To bear fruit, you must abide in Christ (15:4–5).
To abide in Christ, you must keep in ongoing communication with Him (15:7–8).

In my next few posts, I will address each of these items. Here, we will begin with fruit.
What is Fruit?
Jesus does not directly define what he means by fruit in John 15. The disciples probably made a connection between what Jesus was saying and passages like Isaiah 5:1–7 where God compared Israel to a vine that produced wild grapes.
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Written by M. R. Conrad |
Saturday, August 28, 2021
Diligence and efficiency are admirable qualities extolled in the Proverbs. Redeeming the time is a command in Scripture (Ephesians 5:16). Being busy serving God and others is a worthy use of the time He has given us. However, we often slide into unbalanced excess which can send us into periods of spiritual dryness.

You feel like you’ve done your duty, but something is missing. The intimacy you once experienced with God has fled. You feel spiritually dry. What’s wrong with your spiritual life? “Why are these people so slow?” I fumed as I weaved my way between shoppers at Walmart. I had just returned to the U.S. from urban Asia where the throttle of the pace of life is always wide open. Go! Go! Go! My to-do list burned a hole in my pocket. There was no time to waste. No time to sit still. No time to be quiet.
Have you been there? Your internal clock is ticking as you read the Word of God. All the responsibilities of the day intrude on your thoughts. When God’s allotted time is done, you check the devotions box and move to the next item on the checklist. You feel like you’ve done your duty, but something is missing. The intimacy you once experienced with God has fled. You feel spiritually dry. What’s wrong with your spiritual life?
Noise, Hurry, & Crowds
Long before Jim Elliot left the Pacific Northwest to serve as a missionary in Ecuador, he confronted spiritual dryness in his walk with God.[1] He diagnosed his problem as a lack of quietness in his life.
In a letter to his mother from his college dormitory, twenty-one-year-old, Elliot quoted Isaiah 30:15: “In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.” He went on: “I think the devil has made it his business to monopolize on three elements: noise, hurry, crowds. If he can keep us hearing radios, gossip, conversation, or even sermons, he is happy. But he will not allow quietness. . . . I am finding your counsel to get enough sleep most practical, Mother. Not only to be fit for the day and able to relax, but for spiritual awareness and reception one must simply be rested if he is to be blessed. Let us resist the devil in this by avoiding noise as much as we can, purposefully seeking to spend time alone, facing ourselves in the Word. . . . Satan is aware of where we find our strength.”[2]
Cultivating Quietness
We must quiet ourselves before God and His Word so that we can hear His voice and follow His leading. Amid the conflict and turbulence of life, we must “be still and know” that God is God (Psalm 46:10). We must lay aside the urgent, yet distracting, matters of the day so we can commune with Him.
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