"And Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. They said unto him, Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it, and said, I am not." (John 18:25 KJV)
"Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the LORD means safety." (Proverbs 29:25 NLT)
To clarify a statement that I made, about the things that happen here on earth, verses those things that happen in heaven: we do things here, whether they are by accident or intentional, that are bad; those things are not going to be attached to us, once we are in heaven with the Lord. However, everything that we do here, whether it is accidental or intentional, if it is done in Christ, for love, or for the sake of God's kingdom, those things are forever secured away in heaven. There will be a test of everything done, which will be some sort of fire, whether it is real flames or a spiritual flame, everything will be tested and put to the test. If it didn't count for the Kingdom of God, it is burned up in that fire; but if it was for the Kingdom of God, it will remain, forever!
That's my take on that, so if you don't agree, then we will agree to disagree, but hopefully, still love one another! Other than that, I was thinking about King David as I pictured Peter warming himself by the fire. The vision I saw was David speaking with some men that were there for the battle, overlooking the valley of Elah. As he was having a conversation, he could hear the voice of someone down below, shouting and bellowing curses, taunting the army of Israel; and he was pricked in the heart!
If you know the story, then you know how it turned out. But, before anything could have happened, there needed to be something that would come alive in the heart of David; something that caused him to put his full trust in God, not fearing what man might do, because God is greater! That is the kind of stuff that is forever secured in Heaven!
Additionally, the intentional sins of David, and even those stupid mistakes, they will not be going to be taken up into heaven, they will be burned up with this earth. There will be no tears or sorrow for the foolish things that we have done, because they are not part of God's Kingdom; forever forgiven and forgotten, they will not be a part of our conversations in Heaven.
Again, my take on that, again, so you know the drill! When God says that all things are made new, then it means that the old things are gone! Jesus knew how much Peter would change; making his fear of man a thing of the past, and keeping his eyes fixed upon Christ Jesus. He told Peter this would be what would happen; and I believe that John had realized the magnitude of this situation, knowing full well, that without the power of God's Spirit, we are all vulnerable to the weakness of our flesh.
Which reminds me: This flesh stays here too...
"But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens of fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the hew heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God's righteousness." (2 Peter 3:10-13 NLT)
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