"The Open Book" -2

 "For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me." (John 5:46 KJV)

  "For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, "You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer. You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin. Then I said, 'Look, I have come to do your will, O God - as it is written about me in the Scriptures,'"" (Hebrews 10:4-7 NLT)

 As we begin to go into a period of great testing, most likely the greatest of this current generation, I truly believe that there needs to be a firm foundation established within our hearts and minds, as to prevent us from becoming overcome by unbelief. I am not talking about unbelief in God or in God's word, so much as we can truly understand it; but about God's power and might to overcome, thereby, making us also to be overcomer's in and through every trial or disaster, even unto death! 

 Not quite sure how we are able to sustain that kind of trust, without first believing that it is so; which is, real or unreal, based upon that which we have settled in our hearts. Do you understand what I am saying? Well, it is pretty deep! Actually, it is more than that: it is wide open and eternal! There was a reason Moses was okay with not going into the Promised Land, because it was not the real land he was looking forward to going into! 

 What I am trying to say, has to do with finality, where we have determined in our hearts, beyond all else, that even death cannot persuade us away; as a matter of fact, we will welcome it as if it is the beginning of something new and wonderful. This was the mind of Christ, in that it was His death on that cross, which was written about in the Scriptures, that was the goal; nothing else could have happened, because it was already planned to happen as it did.

 I hope you can see what it is that I am trying to say; because God's will sometimes might not look very pretty going in; but, man O' man, it is absolutely spectacular on the other side of whatever it is that makes it look ugly. We can witness this same principle in just about every major person in the Bible, and in just about every miserable story that is told: God is good, always, even through the bad, He makes all things good! 

 Listening to Dr. Chuck yesterday, I was reminded of something else, which had to do with our eternal security; and yes, I do believe that we cannot loose our salvation! You can throw it away: but if you did, it never was really worth anything to you to begin with! At least not worth what it was meant to be for; which is not anything that is of this world! 

 Dr. Chuck was speaking about a hypothesis of his, concerning the finality of those that are saved, but never do anything with what they have received. In other words, the whole idea about: Use it or loose it, kind of understanding; which is not based upon anything else but what we might do in this life, as if this life matters more than that which is to come. 

 Without getting into the details of something we know nothing about, I heard another such message given by Pastor Jon, as he shared about the inner court and outer court of the Temple; saying that there would most likely be an inner and outer court in heaven too. Just saying, we really have no clue what is to be expected; we have no idea who all will be there, and who will not; but what we do have and can have is a resolution within our hearts and in our minds, that that is where we want to be, no matter what! 

 Nothing else really matters! You can do whatever you want to me, because there is absolutely no way you can take heaven out of my future! The worst thing you can do, is the fastest way I get there: so there! Without getting too out-of-bounds, the open book is you and me; it is all of us, the church, the saints, the One that made it all happen! There is no end, there was no way to stop it, and God always wins...

"First Christ said, "You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them" (though they are required by the law of Moses). Then he said, "Look, I have come to do your will." He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. For God's will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once a for all time." (Hebrews 10:8-10 NLT)