2007-07-13
Good Morning Cherished of God,
The Holy Spirit directs me to continue discussing temptation. This week I'm to bring this up in the context of the truly faithful being citizens of heaven. In the face of temptation, we are to keep our eyes fixed on the Lord Jesus. One verse, IS 26: 3, illuminates this point, as God tells us, through Isaiah, how to find real peace. "You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, whose thoughts are fixed on You. Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the Eternal Rock." When we put this together with Christ's words in the Sermon on the Mountain in MT 6: 22, "The eyes are like a lamp for the body" we can now see the connection between these two notions. Because of Christ's Atonement, we have the choice of where to keep our eyes; before that, we didn't. But having the choice is only the first step. Exercising the choice is the more difficult second step, but one we are equipped to take. We need to understand the logical reason why making the right choices is so important from an eternal point of view.
Paul wrote, in RO 8: 19, "All of creation waits with eager longing for God to reveal His sons." We derive comfort from 1 COR 8: 3, "But the person who loves God is known by Him." 1 COR 13: 12 gives us a partial understanding of the eagerness of a true believer for God to take him to heaven. "What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror; then we shall see face-to-face. What I know now is only partial; then it will be complete-as complete as God's knowledge of me." This notion wasn't first uttered by Paul. David, as far back as between 1000-700 BC, speaking to God said, in PS 17: 15, "And when I awake in heaven, I will be fully satisfied, for I will see You face-to-face." This provides some motivation for us to turn away from temptations that will prevent us from seeing God face-to-face. Doing this was also mentioned in EX 33: 18, 20-21, when Moses asked God to allow him to see Him face-to-face. "Please let me see the dazzling light of Your presence" [Shekinah glory]. God's reply was, "I will not let you see My face, because no one can see Me and stay [physically] alive, but here is a place beside Me where you can stand on a Rock." God isn't rejecting Moses here, but He is protecting this man in the same way He protects the faithful on earth today. He is telling Moses to keep his eyes on the Rock, Who we know to be Jesus Christ! I believe that the unspoken promise that one day Moses will be taken up to heaven to see God face-to-face is there. The fact that Moses appears with Elijah and the glorified Christ in the transfiguration, MT 17: 3, is proof of that.
I believe the God builds into those who come to true faith in Jesus Christ a real desire for heaven that, while on earth, we don't fully understand. Through Paul, in PHIL 3: 20-21, He gives us more illumination and motivation to avoid temptation. "We, however, are citizens of heaven, and we eagerly wait for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven. He will change our weak mortal bodies and make them like His own glorious body, using that power by which He is able to bring all things under His rule." When I was new to the Christian faith, a lady I knew spoke to me of having a "tent-dwelling" ministry. She went on to explain that her life on earth and her service to God was in preparation for her to eventually be taken by Him to her permanent home in heaven. That was my first introduction to this notion that earth is a temporary home for all true believers. As time has gone on, I have come to feel like my own ministry fits this description. As for eagerly awaiting the rapture, put me at the top of the list! In the meanwhile, like everyone else, I will have to continue making tough choices, so that I can avoid the things that tempt me.
One more motivation to battle the evil one with all we have is seen in 2 PET 3: 10-13, "But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that Day the heavens will disappear with a shrill noise, the heavenly bodies will burn up and be destroyed, and the earth with everything in it will vanish. Since all these things will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people should you be? Your lives should be holy and dedicated to God, as you wait for the Day of God, and do your best to make it come soon-the Day when the heavens will burn up and be destroyed, and the heavenly bodies will be melted by the heat. But we wait for what God has promised; new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness will be at home." Yes, everything made by human hands will be destroyed, but those things which transcend the grave, the attitudes and actions we took because of our faith in God, will enable us to be judged as righteous and given entrance to our permanent home in heaven. If we believe RO 8: 29 [the hope of the resurrection] and in God's ultimate compassion, we will find ourselves at His right side with the Lord Jesus, as joint-heirs to the Kingdom [RO 8: 17]. What greater motivation can we find to battle the adversary with the power we have been given by Christ to be victorious over him [EPH 1: 18-20] and bathe in the pure joy of Christ's victory over spiritual death [HE 2: 14]?
PRAYER: O Lord, You have brought us to a partial understanding of why we should avoid temptation, remember Christ's words in MT 6: 22, and eagerly await the day we are called home to You. What joy there is in knowing that You love us so much that You sent Your only Son to die on the cross for us, give us the teaching and leadership of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and have- as Your mission- to bring us home to You! You have told us that we should "keep our eyes on the prize" [PHIL 3: 14], which is Your call, through the Lord Jesus, to the life in heaven—our permanent home with You. There are many distractions to living a life of holiness, ones that are placed in our paths by the evil one. He is cunning and slyly figures out which temptation to put in the path of which person. You warned us in 1 PET 5: 8, "Be alert, be on watch! Your enemy, the devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." Even with that, you remind us, 2 TIM 1: 7, "For the Spirit that God has given us does not make us timid; instead, His Spirit fills us with power, love, and self-control." Our power to battle temptations is "the same as the power that God used to raise Christ from death and seat Him at His right side in the heavenly world" [EPH 1: 20]. Only You, Dearest Abba, would do that for us, even through we are as yet imperfect. We dedicate ourselves to keeping our eyes upon You in the face of temptations. We are genuinely trying to do that without fault. Your patience in waiting for us to overcome our temptations is a measure of Your compassion and mercy. We express our heart-attitudes by citing PS 18:1 and PS 40: 16, "I love You, Lord; You are my Strength...Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You: let such as love Your salvation say continually, 'The Lord be magnified!'" We are allowed to know Your heart-attitude in LAM 3: 31-33, "The Lord is merciful and will not reject us forever. He may bring us sorrow, but His love for us is sure and strong. He takes no pleasure in bringing us grief or pain." You are indeed a merciful and amazing God. We offer You our love, loyalty, attention, worship, praise, and thanks in the holy name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Next week, I'm led to look at some of the distractions we encounter in our quest to live lives of holiness. We'll also see what we can do about them. In the meanwhile, there are some ways we can keep our eyes fixed on the Lord. One of them is to seek His help at every turn. PS 9: 10 reveals what happens. "All those who know Your mercy, Lord, will count on You for help. For You have never yet forsaken those who trust in You." The picture of the Lord Jesus taking us by the hand to help us along that "hard path that leads from a narrow gate" [MT 7: 13-14] comes to mind. Just as that often-cited blurb about footprints tells us, I believe that He will even carry us when passage on the road becomes too difficult. He certainly did that with me when everyone thought I wouldn't survive the 5-hr. surgery I had last August. Once past that part of the road, He gently sets us down and helps us to continue walking beside Him. He even sends us the help of a loving friends. In my case it was my husband, Peter, and my pal Faith Engel [who came from MI for one month to help me on the road to recovery]. How can we miss the love in this? PS 145: 20 lets each of us see that God is love. "The Lord watches over all who love Him." JER 31: 3-4 [God speaking], "...I have always loved you, so I continue to show you my constant love. Once again I will rebuild you. Once again you will take up your tambourines and dance joyfully." We can revel in the promise of PS 69: 32, "The humble shall see their God at work for them. No wonder they will be so glad! All who seek God shall live in joy."
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn