"Staying the Course" -2

"His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies." (Psalms 112:8)

 I guess we could just be content with a little progress; the old, One Step at a Time kind of approach, is better than nothing at all, right? But is it? Looking at how the Lord works, I doubt that He ever does something that way; it's all or nothing when it come to being delivered and set free from the bondage of sin. God delivered the children out of Egypt all at once; but getting Egypt out of His people, that was something different all together. We all know that there are three different salvations that take place in our lives: the justification, sanctification, and glorification. When I first came to Christ, I was justified; the blood of Jesus washed me from all of my sins, past, present, and future; I was just as if I had never sinned. It is only by the blood of Jesus that we are made right before God, and that righteousness happens all at once; nothing I do or don't do from then out makes any difference to the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus Christ, absolutely nothing. From that day, until the day that I depart this earth, I am being sanctified in Christ; a process of changing from me from a citizen of earth into a citizen of Heaven. My citizenship is currently in Heaven, but that will not be totally and fully completed until the final step, being glorified in Christ, which is when I am with the Lord in Heaven. There is so much similarity with the children of Israel being delivered from Egypt, wondering in the wilderness, and then crossing over into the promised land. Basically, we are to be walking in the victory that has already been won; there is nothing else that Jesus needs to do for us to walk in His victory. Really the only thing left is for Him to come back for His church, and when that happens, there will be nothing we can or cannot do, but to be snatched up out of this place. From then on, it's just praise and worship; no more fighting, no more dealing with sin. It will all be about representing, just as it should be now: to represent Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior...

"How great is the goodness you have stored up for those who fear you. You lavish it on those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world. You hide them in the shelter of your presence, safe from those who conspire against them. You shelter them in your presence, far from accusing tongues. Praise the LORD, for he has shown me the wonders of his unfailing love. He kept me safe when my city was under attack. In panic I cried out, "I am cut off from the LORD!" But you heard my cry for mercy and answered my cry for help. Love the LORD, all you godly ones! For the LORD protects those who are loyal to him, but he harshly punishes the arrogant. So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the LORD!" (Psalms 31:19-24) NLT