Jesus rebuked two of disciples who sought for His permission to call down fire from heaven upon a Samaritan village that did not receive him. He told James and John that they did not know the kind of spirit they had and reminded them that he did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them. Although his disciples, they were quite unlike Christ, looking unto Elijah instead of the author and finisher of their faith.

Many Christians are living like the people of the world without faith and without the hope of heaven. Only true believers will be raptured at the coming of the Lord. These are believers who constantly look or hope for the city whose builder and maker is God. Heaven is a place prepared by the Lord for only prepared people. Therefore nobody can make heaven without preparation.

Greed, covetousness, the love of money and materialism cause the heart to drift away from God. And the heart that is far from God will usually be plagued by sorrow and misery. There may be temporary happiness, but real joy will definitely be missing. Covetousness takes the heart away from the Lord and is otherwise known as idolatry. Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry - 1 Corinthians 10:14.

Every confessed sin is judged and covered by the Lord so that the devil finds nothing to accuse you of before God. Unfortunately many believers because of ignorance try in vain to cover their sins. It is better to expose your sins on earth before death, otherwise they will follow you to accuse you before God after you have passed on to the other side of eternity where no defendant will ever be acquitted.

Many people do not seem to understand that worldly gain profits nothing. That explains why a man can do anything for material gain, at the expense of his never-dying soul. Your soul is so important to God and nothing will be accepted in exchange for it. Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivers from death. There is no middle ground between the world and your soul: you can either gain one and lose the other. And the choice is yours.