2008-05-30
Hi There Dear Ones,
Now that the Holy Spirit has directed us through the part of Christ's Sermon on the Mount that deals with our final judgment, He leads me to meditate on what we have seen. We've already looked at EPH 2 :1-5, which discusses how we lived in the past controlled by the spirit of the world, the one that makes us live according to our natural desires, leading us to disobey God. In doing this, we were on a one-way trip to spiritual death. But by His abundant mercy and love for us, God brought us to a life in Christ. By His grace we are saved. The entirety of this act of love isn't fully described here, but from our study of JN 3: 16 and the rest of the Scriptures, we know that this act of bringing us to salvation involved the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ on the cross and his subsequent resurrection from death to life eternal. That Christ is the "First among many brothers" [RO 8: 29], is confirmation of God's amazing grace and love for us.
Titus 3: 4-5, "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior was revealed, He saved us. It was not because of any good deeds that we ourselves had done, but because of His own mercy that He saved us, through the Holy Spirit, Who gives us new birth and new life by washing us." This is huge! This salvation through our faith in God's Son Who atoned for us has washed us in His cleansing blood! It has brought us new life- a new ability to live with assurance that we, like Him, will be victorious over evil and spiritual death. This is because with living right with God, we will be resurrected to eternal life as He was. This new life includes the indwelling of His very own Spirit to clarify His will and encourage us to live righteously. We now have a conscience, something we didn't have before. 2 COR 5: 17, "When anyone is joined to Christ, He is a new creation, the old is gone, the new has come." I still stand in awe of God's approach and hard work in progress on His "new creations." COL 3: 9-10, "Do not lie to one another, for you have put off the old self with its habits and have put on the new self. This is the new being which God, its Creator, is constantly renewing in His own image, in order to bring you to a full knowledge of Himself." This is on-going work, the work of sanctification. If I understand this passage, it means that when we go to heaven, we will not only see God face to face, as PS 17: 15 tells us, but we will know all there is to know about God Himself! Will we be gods? Like God? Of course not. But we will know God, thus being a part of what we learn in REV 21: 27. In reference to the New Jerusalem, our permanent heavenly home: "But nothing that is impure will enter the city, nor anyone who does shameful things or tells lies. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of the living will enter the city."
I have often written that the one personality trait that bothers me the most is the person with a dual-personality, the one he presents to you and the very different, evil one that he is. In my past, I have paid the price for trying to "get along and be close" with some people who were near to me who are like this. These are the manipulators, gossips, and general wrongdoers who were in my life. They were the people that no amount of trying to "work things out" with them ever did any good. It only brought more pain and conflict. Now that I am older, I have seen the longer-range consequences of their behavior, and it disgusts me. These people have caused broken relationships, heartache, and have at times, caused illness and disaster. All these years later, I can now rest in the Lord, knowing that none of them will spend eternity with those who endure in faith. This motivates me more than ever to be eager for eternal life. Praise be to the Lord, I can be delivered! PS 32: 7, "You are my Hiding Place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance." Those who live righteously in Christ, enduring in obedient faith in Him, can rest in Him. PS 91: 1-2, "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God, in Whom I trust." The eagerness for the time of glorification is rampant throughout the body of Christ [RO 8:19]. Our desire for that time must be tempered with patience for God, Who alone knows the exact time for it, and Who will always act in our best eternal interests. However, I feel strongly that we all yearn for that time. PS 84: 1-2, "How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! My soul years, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God." In the meanwhile, He has called us to join Him in His work of bringing others who are now lost to the place where the Holy Spirit will give them faith in Christ, and thus, salvation and God's grace.
PRAYER: O Lord, we are humbled by Your power and compassion. We bow our heads in reverence to You, standing before Your throne to thank and praise You. You encourage us, through Your Spirit, to "be holy because I am holy" [LV 11: 44-45; LV 19: 2; 1 PET 1: 16]. You reward living righteously by giving us the "peace that goes beyond human understanding" [PHIL 4: 7]. You empower us in spiritual warfare [EPH 1: 18-20], protect us [PS 139: 5], heal us [LK 9: 11], and teach us what it means to be right with You [2 TIM 3: 16-17]. When we are weary, You strengthen us [IS 40: 29]. When we are in the pit, You pull us out and give us a new security in Christ [PS 40: 1-2]. The words we can utter in prayer fall short of the sentiments we feel. And yet, Dearest Abba, You know the contents of our hearts. With all of this, we would be sadly remiss, if we didn't acknowledge deepest thanks for the great sacrifice of Your Son on the cross for the sake of our opportunity to believe in Him and be saved. Your blessings are so many, and we never deserved any of them. Father, You have make clear You intention to bring us back to Your side in heaven [JN 6: 39-40; EPH 1: 4-5]. This was Your plan since before the earth was formed [1 PET 1: 20-21]. The perfection and magnificence of Your plan is beyond measure. The more we study Your word and allow You to speak with us in prayer, the greater is our understanding of both Your heart and how blessed we are to have faith in Your Son. And still, our understanding of You pales against the full extent of reality. IS 55: 8-9, "'My thoughts,' says the Lord, ‘are not like yours; and My ways are different from yours. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are My ways and thoughts above yours.'" Yet, we can rest on Your promise in JER 33: 3, "Call to Me, and I will answer you; I will tell you wonderful and marvelous things about which you know nothing." Yes, Dearest Abba, we take this opportunity to express our great love for You, our respect for Your perfect plan, our trust in the final judgments You will make, and our awe of the many ways You show Your love for Your people. Praise be to You! Thanks be to You! In the mighty name, of Jesus Christ. Amen.
I'm led to continue looking at more cross-references that reveal God's heart and wisdom in judgment next week. We will spend the rest of our time on earth facing one trial or another. But we can take great comfort in knowing God's perspective on them learned from the Scriptures. 1 PET 1: 4, 6, "For God has reserved a priceless inheritance for His children. It is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay…So, be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for awhile." 2 COR 4; 18, "So we do not look at the trouble we can see right now; rather we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever." God's plan is perfect, perfect for every person who comes to faith in Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, PHIL 4: 13 tells us, "We can do anything through Christ Who strengthens us." Can we believe that God is Who He says He is? that He can do all He says He can do? You bet we can! We can also believe that we are who God made us to be. God's power for good is so great, we can't imagine its full extent. It is the reason that His word is active and alive in all who believe. My prayer is that everyone who ever reads this message will want every one of the blessings I've mentioned in it for himself. From the misery of my own past, God is allowing me to see the contrast between not living in the Covenant of Grace, as was my past, and living in it, as is my present and hopefully, my future. Join me in taking to heart PS 33: 22 with all due abandon. "Yes, Lord, let Your constant love surround us, for our hopes are in You alone." I leave us with IS 40: 10-11, "The Sovereign Lord is coming to rule with power, bringing with Him the people He has rescued. He will take care of His flock like a Shepherd. He will gather the lambs together and carry them in His arms. He will gently lead their mothers." Praise be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn