Only Love

Romans 8:35-39 ESV 

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

No one can separate us from the love of God. Neither can anyone make us accept the word of God. Both can only be done by the will of each person. Nothing in creation can force us to come to the love of Christ, or to stay in the love of Christ. 

Only love can enable us to conquer the world in us and reach the life of God. 

Crossing Paths

Philippians 2:5-8 ESV 

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Jesus emptied Himself to become one of us. He then went humbly to the cross on our behalf and died a cruel death that we might live. This is where we must meet Him. 

We are to empty ourselves to become one with Him. Having found ourselves in a fallen human form, we humbly accept His mercy and grace by becoming obedient to the point of death of our sinful flesh, that we might live in the life of Christ. 

This is where we cross paths with our Lord and Savior. It is on the cross we become one. 

By His Knowledge

Proverbs 3:19-20 ESV 

The Lord by wisdom founded the earth;

by understanding he established the heavens;

by his knowledge the deeps broke open,

and the clouds drop down the dew.

He offers wisdom and understanding to all who seek them. They are found in the Lord. 

The knowledge of the Lord will open mankind to receive the dew from heaven which is the bread of life. 

Reason For Evil

If God brought forth creation and everything in it, there must a reason for evil to exist. 

In the Garden of Eden there was a tree of the knowledge of good and evil. There must have been a reason. 

Maybe God allowed for the possibility of evil. Just as darkness is due to the absence of light, evil is what is present in the absence of good. 

The earth was in darkness and empty in the beginning because God was in heaven. The light had not entered the earth. 

The light makes whatever it touches visible and fills us with the fullness of God. We are no longer empty and without form. 

In His Image

How does God create man in His image? It is a twofold effort and process. God comes into the image of man and brings the life of God into that image making it the image of God. Man accepts and receives the life of God and thereby takes on the image of God. 

This is the meeting point of light and darkness, of God and man. This is the final work of creation before God rests from all of His work. 

Beyond The Normal Boundaries

Part of our walking with Him is with walking with others. It brings us into a community beyond the normal boundaries of time and space, which reflects the life of Christ. We dwell in the body of Christ, even as the Holy Spirit dwells in us. We experience this in the presence of others in the body. We are united in the Spirit and body of Christ. 

Zion- The Resting Place Of God

 Psalms 132:13-18 ESV 

For the Lord has chosen Zion;

he has desired it for his dwelling place:

“This is my resting place forever;

here I will dwell, for I have desired it.

At the end of creation on the seventh day, God rests. He will do so in Zion, that is Jerusalem. He will sit on the throne of David, having entered creation as was His desire. The New Jerusalem will descend from heaven and God will move to His new home and dwelling place on earth. The first words of creation, “Let there be light”, has been fulfilled. That light will shine forth from Jerusalem and will go into all the earth

Revelation 21:3

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

 Revelation 21:22-23

And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

I will abundantly bless her provisions;

I will satisfy her poor with bread.

The poor in spirit have made room for the Holy Spirit who brings all the heavenly blessings to those who love the Lord. We will be satisfied with the bread of heaven. No longer will it fall to earth, for heaven and earth are joined as the dwelling place of the Lord. 

Her priests I will clothe with salvation,

and her saints will shout for joy.

He has clothed us in garments of the righteousness of Christ. He has made into a royal priesthood. We have entered His body on earth and will receive His body when He returns. The saints of Israel will shout for joy as their King returns at last. All those on earth will know that He is Lord. 

 1 Peter 2:4-5

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosenu and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

 1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

 Zephaniah 3:14-15

Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;

shout, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

O daughter of Jerusalem!

The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;

he has cleared away your enemies.

The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;

you shall never again fear evil.

There I will make a horn to sprout for David;

I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.

His enemies I will clothe with shame,

but on him his crown will shine.”

The branch of Jesse will grow into the tree of life. The Church is the light atop the lamp that is Christ. Instead of righteousness, His enemies will be clothed in shame. The crown of life will rule over the darkness. 

 Revelation 2:7

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

 Revelation 22:1-2

The River of Life

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

 Revelation 1:12-14

Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire,

 James 1:12

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Revelation 2:10-11

Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’