His Own Kingdom And Glory - 1 Thessalonians 2:12

1 Thessalonians 2:12 ESV 

we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

The Jews still wait for God's kingdom on earth. They were never able to witness the glory of God. 

The body of Christ is not only in the kingdom of God, but is invited into glory of God. For us, the curtain of the Holy of Holies has been torn and we have gone in to be with God. We have no need of a temple, for we have become the temple of God. Israel had a temple, but it was taken away. 

The kingdom and glory of the Lord will return to Jerusalem when Christ and the New Jerusalem descend from heaven. There will be no temple in the city. 

Revelation 21:22

And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.

We will be part of the temple that is the Lord God The Almighty and Lamb. 

The First - Colossians 1:15

Colossians 1:15 ESV 

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

There is that we cannot see. As vast is the world and the universe, the bigger portion of what is exists is beyond our view. God is bigger than creation, for He is outside creation, or rather, creation is within Him. 

There is no direction we can turn, no height or distance we can journey, or depth entered which will bring us before Almighty God. 

God is accessible because He came to us. The invisible became visible so that man might see the purpose for all creation. So that man might partake in the purpose of all creation. 

That which was born and died in the world since the world began predates the firstborn of all creation. What is different with the birth of Christ?

He is born from above, but arrives in the way of man. He is baptized in the water of our humanity and arises from that water a new man, the firstborn of a new creation. He sits beside God on the throne of heaven. 

Those that follow Him begin their first steps reborn into that same new creation. Like Christ, our first steps begin on earth as we walk with God on a journey that will end fully in His presence. 

Our spirits arise into a new kingdom, a new domain of life. Our bodies will follow. We will share fully in His life, body and spirit, just as He lives. We will be with Him, even as He is with us. We share in the oneness of God. 

He is the first and shows us the way. Listen to Him. 

Dear To Me - 1 Thessalonians 2:8

1 Thessalonians 2:8 ESV 

So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

Paul speaks to the Thessalonians words that could have been spoken by God to all of us. 

Being affectionately desirous of you, I Am ready to share with you not only my gospel, but of My own Self, because you are very dear to me. 

And so it is. 

Amen

Learn And Know

Why did God plan for things to work out the way it has, the good, bad, and ugly?

So that we might learn and know that He is God. 

Full Conviction - 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5

1 Thessalonians 1:4-5 ESV 

For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.

We can hear the word without receiving the word. We can understand the words without full understanding. Head knowledge is not the same as knowing in the heart. 

Hearing the word is essential, but is only part of story of salvation. It is with the power of the Holy Spirit that we are able reach a conviction that leads to a saving faith. 

The Thessalonians witnessed the power and conviction of Paul and his companions. They were not bound to only hearing the gospel, but they could feel and see the word in these men. 

The word is manifest and passed along by the body of Christ. May we do so in the power and the full conviction that comes from the Spirit. 

How You Turned - 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10

1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 ESV 

For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Jesus delivers us from the wrath to come. Only we who understand that the wrath is coming can appreciate Jesus delivering us from the wrath of God. 

In this case, ignorance is not bliss. It leads to death. 

Turn now. I would not leave you ignorant. 

It Is Good

God chose Adam and his descendants to bring the light of God into the world. 

We choose Jesus and become His body to bring the light of God into the world. 

God sees the light and it is good. 

Answer Each Person - Colossians 4:5-6

Colossians 4:5-6 ESV 

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

We are the body of Christ, and thus we are to manifest Christ to the world. From Him comes all wisdom and the Spirit of truth is within us. Grace and truth come through Jesus. We are the salt of the earth, seasoned with the wisdom and grace of our Lord. 

We must give answer to those outside the body of Christ for the reason for our hope and joy. May our answer bring the outsider in from the chill of the world into the warmth of the love of the Son. We have the answer. They need the answer. 

The Substance - Colossians 2: 16

Colossians 2:16-17 ESV 

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

We are free from the law and traditions. Our salvation does not come from any activity other than believing Christ. Everything else is a shadow of things to come. 

We worship in Spirit, in the fellowship of the body. 

He came and rose above all else. He is the substance of all that is real. 

Triumphing Over Them - Colossians 2:13-15

Colossians 2:13-15 ESV 

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

The law was given to the Jews, but its application extended to all men. The law convicts us all, our debt beyond our ability to pay. 

Then comes the wonderful news, "he set aside". He takes our burden upon Himself. Our sins are no longer ours. The cross becomes the alter on which Jesus is sacrificed as the Lamb of God on behalf of all men. We are no longer apart from God because of sin. We can choose to become part of the body of Christ. 

Jesus overcame the world and those in heaven "by triumphing over them".

Those who believe will not be put to shame. We are more than conquerors. 

Encountering Christ

Encountering another believer is an encounter with Christ. 

God Fully Known - Colossians 1:24-27

Colossians 1:24-27 ESV 

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

There is nothing lacking in Christ. Paul refers to his troubles as he continues the work of spreading the gospel. Every one in the body of Christ is subject to the same persecutions endured by Jesus. We are still in these imperfect bodies until the last day. 

Then Paul speaks of making the word of God fully known. The only way for this to happen is for that word to become alive in a person. Christ is the word. He is alive. The mystery and glory of God is that He comes to dwell in us. The fullness of God is pleased to dwell in these vessels of clay. This is the living word bringing the life of God to the life of men. This God fully known. 

Without Form And Void - Jeremiah 4:23

Jeremiah 4:23 ESV 

I looked on the earth, and behold, it was without form and void;

and to the heavens, and they had no light.

Using the same language as in Genesis, Jeremiah describes a people without understanding and light. 

Light makes all things visible (Ephesians 5:13). It fills the void and gives form. It allows the separation from darkness, which is impossible without light. This is what God is doing. 

God shares His light with us. May it shine on you in a way that makes you part of that light. 

Mindful

Renewing our minds is not the same as renewing our hearts. The Lord has and is restoring our hearts. This is where He is. 

Our minds need and require constant renewing and transformation consistent with our justification. We endure and persevere in our minds. 

 Be mindful of who you are. 

Before Me Forever - Jeremiah 31:35-36

Jeremiah 31:35-36 ESV 

Thus says the Lord,

who gives the sun for light by day

and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,

who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—

the Lord of hosts is his name:

“If this fixed order departs

from before me, declares the Lord,

then shall the offspring of Israel cease

from being a nation before me forever.”

Heaven and earth will not be destroyed by the heavenly furnace of fire, but will experience the refining and restoration of the new man. Our earth goes through the fire of the baptism of Jesus. Heaven receives our humanity with the ascension of Jesus Christ. The expanse between heaven and earth has been crossed by the cross borne by our Savior and will disappear as a scroll is rolled up. 

Heaven and earth are joined. Heaven will be on earth when Christ returns, bringing His Bride with Him. Christ with the flesh of our humanity and the Bride with Spirit of the divine. A new heaven and earth are created and all creation gives witness to the revelation of the sons of God. 

Israel will continue forever, as will the sun, moon, and stars. They will serve as the throne of God and as the gates of the nations to access and worship the light of God. 

Will Consume Them - Jeremiah 14:11-12

Jeremiah 14:11-12 ESV

The Lord said to me: “Do not pray for the welfare of this people. Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”

The book of Revelation closes the story begun in Genesis of a people chosen to carry the light of God into the world. They struggle with this burden, but God uses them to bring His light into the world, a great light which is Jesus Christ. He remains in the world as the body of Christ, His Church. 

From Chapter four onwards in Revelation the focus is on Israel and the earth dwellers, the great tribulation which ends the wrath of God. 

Jeremiah speaks about the horsemen of judgement that will ride against Israel until their punishment for disobedience is complete. The sword, famine, and pestilence are mentioned in a number of times as the manifestations of God's wrath, and is the sign to us of the time of Jacob's troubles and the conclusion of God's plan for the earth. 

The Most Holy Place - Exodus 26:33-34

Exodus 26:33-34 ESV 

And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy. You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place.

The Israelites could worship in the Holy Place. That is as close as the Old Testament covenant could bring them to God. A veil separated them from the Most Holy Place. 

When Jesus died on the cross the veil was torn. All believers now have access to the Most Holy Place, for God now abides in our hearts. We have become the new temple of the New Jerusalem. 

The Way

There are many ways to serve God, but only one way counts. We must serve Him in our hearts. This can then happen in many ways.   

That is the Way. 

Get Rich Quick - Colossians 1:24-27

Colossians 1:24-27 ESV 

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

The mystery of the word of God is "Christ in you." God's revelation is not only to us, but in us. This revelation is the true image of God which is the predestined path for all people. 

Not everyone chooses this path. If you're not on the path consider it. If you've gotten off the path, reconsider. If you're just lost, look to the light. 

This is the best "get rich quick" method ever made available. This includes every blessing in heaven. This is a limited time offer for inclusion in the body of Christ. When He comes back, it will be too late. 

The Seed - Colossians 1:15

Colossians 1:15 ESV 

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

In Christ, God and creation come together in the form of man and God. 

We are made in His image and He is the image of the invisible God. 

As bone and flesh were shared between Adam and Eve to become one, so are we joined with Christ. 

The seed of the word is growing in the earth of our flesh, the fruit of which will yield a new creation. 

And The Whole World - Romans 3:19-20

Romans 3:19-20 ESV 

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

In Genesis there is a Garden that has in it a tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The fruit of that tree is forbidden. To eat from that tree results in the sin of disobedience. Adam ate the fruit. 

Many years later the knowledge of good and evil is again placed before a son of God. Israel receives the word of God, not in a garden, but in the wilderness of the earth. This time it is the law through Moses. Again the choice blessing or curses 

Through the law comes the knowledge of sin, as did the eating of the forbidden fruit. At the last day the wicked will drink from the cup of wrath. 

Keep The Faith

Each person in the kingdom of heaven is a child of promise. God has promised all His children the blessings and riches in the heavenly places. Our inheritance is God Himself. 

We are the promised sons of promise and will be revealed when our time has come. It took a while before Isaac was born. Keep the faith. 

The Mark

The mark of God is the law written on the heart of each believer. 

The Law - Romans 3:27

Romans 3:27 ESV 

Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith.

Romans 3:31

Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

We are free from the law of ritual and works of the hand. These have no value in being with God. Faith brings us into the kingdom of heaven. Bowing on our knees has no meaning unless you are bowed in your heart at the feet of the living Lord. God seeks those who worship in Spirit and truth, which is only possible by faith. 

By faith, we uphold the law. By faith, we are freed from the law. By faith, we become a law to ourselves and the righteousness of God.

The Law - 2:13-14

Romans 2:13-14 ESV 

For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.

The law has not gone away. The Gentiles are doers of the law though they do not have the law. Jews have the law but cannot do it. With man alone, righteousness is impossible, but all things are possible with God. 

The Gentiles are transformed and are renewing their minds and hearts by the grace of God. This is a gift of the Holy Spirit, of God in our midst. The law was given by the Lord and pointed to the coming of the Lord. Jesus embodied the law and He dwells in us. As the body of Christ we have the law and it becomes our nature. 

The Word

The law is the word of God. The word became flesh and lives in our midst. We speak the word and have become part of that word. 

The word of the Lord endures forever. 

Men Who Suppress - Romans 1:18-19

Romans 1:18-19 NASB 

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.

Where does a man suppress the truth? It is inside that person. Where does the light of the world appear, or the darkness of the world reside? It is inside that person. 

God has revealed Himself in what is visible. We all have enough light to see, to know this is the truth. 

All men are ungodly and unrighteous without God. Those that stay that way incur the wrath of God. 

Faith is the answer, is the truth. 

What Is Your Answer?

God asks a question. 

Man must give answer. 

God is the answer. 

There is no other. 

God calls for Adam. "Where are you?"

What is your answer?

From Faith - Romans 1:16-17

Romans 1:16-17 ESV 

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

The gospel is the power God for salvation because it reveals the righteousness of God and being right with God. 

Placing our faith in Him brings us into the life that faith brings. 

From faith for faith to life. 

This is the way, the truth, and the life. 

As Saints - Romans 1:7

Romans 1:7 ESV 

to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

A saint is one who is holy. Only those beloved by God are holy, for He is holy. God loves us and we are His. This is His grace to you. 

Peace

The Meaning Of Life

We have one job on earth and that is to find God. This is our purpose and where we will find meaning. Our success and failure in life depends on this. There is no more important issue or measure for the brief time we are on this earth. 

The meaning of life is God, for He is life itself. We can say "I am" only because He is the great I AM. 

Manifested In His Word - Titus 1:1-3

Titus 1:1-3 ESV 

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;

Election is two way street. God chose Israel to bear the Old Testament light. The New Testament speaks of something new. God chooses those that first choose Him. The first covenant prepared the way for the second. 

Was this an evolving plan? No. It was "promised before the ages". The end was seen at the beginning. 

God manifested His word by His Son. That same word is manifest in you. 

Creatures Of Desire

We are creatures of desire and are created that way. 

Only God can give us the desire of our hearts. 

The Glory Of The Lord - Exodus 40:34-35

Exodus 40:34-35 ESV 

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

The Lord covered the tent of meeting, but the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 

The Israelites could not see the glory of Lord because they were not ready. Even Moses was unable to enter the tabernacle. Later the Lord would prevent him from entering the promised land. Only Joshua would remain in the tent and lead his people into their inheritance. 

For us the cloud has cleared and the glory of the Lord fills our hearts. 

A White Cloud - Revelation 14:14-16

Revelation 14:14-16 ESV 

Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “ Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.” Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.

Through out Scripture God has interacted with man through the medium of clouds. From leading Israel in the desert to the promise of Christ's return in the clouds. 

Christ is depicted here on a white cloud. He awaits word from the Father before reaping the harvest of the earth, then does so. The harvest are those whose names are written in the book of life. The fullness of the time of the Gentiles has been fulfilled. The harvest of the earth is complete. The seed of the word has responded to the light of the Lord. 

He Is The - John 14:6-7

John 14:6-7 ESV 

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Jesus tells us He is the:

Way - Son

Truth - Spirit 

Life - Father 

Do you see?

Heaven Opened - John 1:50-51

John 1:50-51 ESV 

Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Nathanael recognizes that Jesus is the Son of God and believes. The fig tree symbolizes Israel and the revelation of God that went along with the first covenant. Jesus observed that Nathanael was a good Jew. 

Then Jesus speaks of greater things to come as seen by Jacob in a vision long before. 

Truly, truly He has opened heaven and no one can close it. 

Of Heaven - 1 Corinthians 15:45-49

1 Corinthians 15:45-49 ESV 

Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual.

The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.

As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.

Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

The first Adam was formed from the dust of the earth. He was made in the image of God, but did not have the life of God. It might be said he was not yet fully the creature God intended him to be.

The last Adam would be the life and light of men. As children of the light, we shall bear the image of the man of heaven. 

Made Him Known - John 1:16-18

John 1:16-18 ESV 

For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

The fullness of God was pleased to dwell in Jesus. Another testimony of the one triune God lies before us in these verses. "the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known." Jesus is described here as "the only God." 

God gave the law through Moses. He came Himself to bring grace and truth. The grace of the law lies in the fact it leads to grace and truth. 

The fullness of God is pleased to dwell in you and me. God has made Himself known.