Face To Face

Jesus was the face of God in creation. He became the perfected face of God in the new creation, which is the final destination of man. 

We will see Him face to face.  

Like His Teacher

Luke 6:40 (ESV)

A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.

We seek to be like Jesus. The Holy Spirit will lead us into the maturity and mind of Christ. We are sons of God whether we have the understanding of a child or have grown to reach into the maturity of Jesus. We are in the body of Christ, even as we seek to be like Him. 

Hebrews 6:1 (ESV)

Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,

The Law Is Holy

Romans 7:11-12 (ESV)

11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

Knowledge of good and evil is delivered by the law received by Israel. Mankind became accountable to God as does a child who matures and knows the difference between right and wrong. With opened eyes we begin to see the world through the dark lens of man without God. Without His light, we are subject to the deceit and death that sin brings.  The law is holy and it will take the Holy One of God to fulfill it. 

My Beloved Son

Luke 3:21-22 (ESV)

21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

All our sins can be forgiven if we repent. Jesus told us the way. 

The heavens are opened to us when we are baptized. Jesus has shown us the way. 

His Spirit will descend from heaven to dwell in your body and with your spirit so you are reborn into the life of God and transferred into the kingdom of heaven. You are no longer limited to the life of man. His Spirit will lead the way. 

Jesus is the way and the answer for the world today. 

PSA

God created everything. 

He’s not finished with you. 

Get with Him for details. 

Strong In Spirit

Luke 1:80 (ESV)

And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

John grew strong in His human spirit, for he was a prophet of Israel, the elect people of God. He was filled with the Holy Spirit, but the Spirit was upon him, but had not come to dwell in him. This was reserved for Jesus and the body of Christ. This is why the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John who was the greatest prophet of Israel. We are part of the living temple of Christ, who is God in creation.

The Child To Be Born

Luke 1:35 (ESV)

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

The power of the Lord would overshadow Mary and the Son of God would be conceived. The Holy Spirit would perform a unique work in Mary. His power would reach into and interact with her flesh in such a way that Jesus would be conceived as a sinless man. She would not be filled with  the Spirit, but receive His seed for the Son of God to be clothed with the flesh of man. She would be filled with the flesh of baby Jesus, growing from a fertilized egg in her womb until a son is conceived. He would be the Son of Man. 

The Perfection Of Creation

Lucifer was the most beautiful of the angels, but he was not made in the image of God. He would take the image of man for Himself. He offers to make us into that perfected image. The perfection of creation is a matter of choice, His and ours. 

Persons Who Turn

Jude 1:4 (NASB)

For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

When God created man, He created the way man should go and this was the truth of life. The way of man is to live his own truth and to go his own way. 

His Word To Jacob

Psalms 147:19-20 (ESV)

19 He declares his word to Jacob,

his statutes and rules to Israel.

20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation;

they do not know his rules.

Praise the LORD!

Jacob received the word of God. Through Israel the word became a man and was given to the world. The people of Israel are the chosen people of God. 

Jesus is the Holy One of God. The body of Christ are the people who have chosen Christ Jesus as Lord. They have become one with the Holy One of God. 

Israel will receive Jesus as Lord when He returns to sit on the throne of David. 

The Desires

Psalms 145:17-19 (NIV)

17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways

and faithful in all he does.

18 The LORD is near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth.

19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;

he hears their cry and saves them.

The Lord hears the prayers of those who call upon Him in truth. Jesus tells us that He is the truth. His Spirit guides us into all truth. He has drawn near to us and we draw near to Him when we receive the Holy Spirit and enter the kingdom of heaven. Our desire is to be with Him. He fulfills this desire, for we are made for Him to be in His image. We begin life in the image of His flesh. We fulfill our desire when our spirits are transformed into the image of His Spirit. This is the desire of His heart for us, that we become a son to Him. 

Once For All

Jude 1:3 (NASB)

Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.

The faith is once and for all handed down, the right hand of God has dipped into His own blood eliminating the need for further blood sacrifice. His testimony is given. The word of His Father has been spoken through His flesh and His testimony is heard. It does not change, so neither should our faith in it. 

What Is Man?

Psalms 144:3-4 (ESV)

3 O LORD, what is man that you regard him,

or the son of man that you think of him?

4 Man is like a breath;

his days are like a passing shadow.

From the beginning God chose to put on the image of man in order to fully enter creation with a body and soul. Therefore the Spirit entered the flesh of Mary to create the body and soul of Jesus, thereby becoming the Son of Man. Fully man, yet fully the Son of God. 

We are like passing shadows until we choose to enter His light. We are a breath away from death unless we receive His breath of life. When a son of man receives the Spirit of God, he becomes a son of God and puts on the righteousness of Christ. We are fully man, yet fully a son of God. 

We will be completely united through our death and resurrection in the way of our Lord. Heaven and earth become one and we will be like Him. 

Fulfill The Meaning Of Life

God is the meaning of the life He created. We will find it in Christ, His Son. When we become a son of God, we fulfill the meaning of life. 

Every Tree

Genesis 2:16-17 (ESV)

16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Adam was told he could eat from any tree of the Garden of Eden, except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. From every other tree he could eat. Nothing was said about the tree of life. It was left for him to find it on his own. 

That means all the other trees signified ways to live that pleased the Lord, but they did not include the eternal life promised by the fruit of the tree of life. Adam disobeyed and was thrown out from the Garden and access to the fruit of the tree of life was lost to mankind. That tree reappeared when Jesus became the first-fruits of the harvest to come. Man can once again reach for the fruit of life since the kingdom of heaven has drawn near. Each one of us can now choose our own eternal destiny. 

Through Love

“The salvation of man is through love and in love.”

Victor Frankl

1 John 4:8 (ESV)

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 Corinthians 13:13 (NASB)

But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Mercy, Peace, And Love

Jude 1:2 (ESV)

May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

His loving kindness is multiplied in increasing measure beginning with His mercy and forgiveness which brings us into peace with God. That peace allows us to immerse and explore His love, which has no end. This is the essence of eternity.

My Unformed Substance

Psalms 139:15-16 (NASB)

15 My frame was not hidden from You,

When I was made in secret,

And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;

16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;

And in Your book were all written

The days that were ordained for me,

When as yet there was not one of them.

He see us before we are, just as He sees what we can be in the perfection of His Son. Before the light of our conception in the depths of our mother’s womb, the dust of the earth begins to take form according to His will and purpose. He sees us as creatures of the earth before we choose to enter the light of His life. It is then our names are written in the book of life. 

We are conceived in our mortal flesh by the will that is not our own. We choose to receive His light and be reborn as a son of God. With the seed of the word received in our mortal bodies by the presence of the Holy Spirit and we begin to form and be formed in the image of Christ. Our wilderness walk with Him on earth is the spiritual womb of the earth in which we shaped to be like Him. The earth eagerly awaits the revealing of the sons of God. 

Who Are Called

Jude 1:1 (ESV)

Greeting

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,

To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:

Those who are called are those who answer His call. We have entered the royal priesthood of the Lord. His presence within us makes us part of the living temple that begins as the body of Christ. 

His call goes out to everyone. His gift of mercy and grace is for all who would come. There is nothing He won’t forgive if we bring it to Him. 

Suitable Companions

The Holy Spirit is God with us, not God instead of us. He joins and dwells with us. We remain as a person and spirit, though united with Him. We have entered into fellowship with our God who is three in one. We become suitable companions for our Lord, for we will be like Him. 

In God We Trust

Putting God and family first is not compatible with the powers that be. This is evidence of the ancient and ongoing rebellion of the unseen spiritual warfare that rages in heaven and on earth. 

The Lord will prevail and His love endures forever. We trust in His word and know He is the Word. 

His Word

Israel brought the law of God into the world. His written word brought brought the knowledge of good and evil into the world. This made man accountable to God for sin and sin abounded. 

The law is good if kept, but man in his weakness is unable to keep the law. 

The word became flesh and made the way for all flesh to overcome the world and be released from the power of sin. 

The power of God is in His Word, and His Word endures forever. 

The Breath Of Life

The breath of life is the Holy Spirit. Those who have the Holy Spirit will always breathe in the fullness of the life of God. His fullness is pleased to dwell within us. 

His Own Possession

Psalms 135:4 (ESV)

For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself,

Israel as his own possession. 

The Lord has chosen Israel “as His own possession.” They are people of the earth who have the promised land as their inheritance. This is where on earth the Lord has chosen to live forever, which is Mt. Zion. 

Those in Christ have the kingdom of heaven as their inheritance, which is the body of Christ and the fullness of life which is found in the Lord. (Eph 1:14)

Greater Things

John 1:48-51 (NASB)

48 Nathanael *said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” 50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He *said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

The fig tree may be seen as the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people. Nathaniel was a member of the nation who was given the law which reveals the knowledge of good and evil. That knowledge comes from their father Adam who ate of the forbidden fruit. Adam covered himself with a fig leaf when the Lord came calling. 

Generations have passed before Jesus sees Nathaniel under a fig tree. He calls a son of the Jewish nation to follow Him and see greater things. The fig tree will be forgotten as the tree of life comes into view. The heavens will open and the kingdom of heaven will draw near. We can enter the garden of His presence in obedience to His word and eat the fruit of the tree of life. 

Now

We need to attend to the present moment because that’s when everything happens. This is the eternal now occupied by our Lord who is “I AM”. Changeless and everlasting. 

Now is the time. It is always the time. 

See My Face

Exodus 33:20-22 (ESV)

20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” 21 And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by.

The only way we can see the Lord in the fullness of His glory and life is to die and be resurrected into the fullness and glory of His life. We will join Him as a son of God in His perfected image. We will see Him face to face and will be like Him. 

This is the destiny of the one who follows Christ. 

At The Door

Revelation 3:19-20 (ESV)

19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Those in the body of Christ are to transform their minds with the leading of the Holy Spirit and their presence in the word. It is a labor of love as we strive to change our thinking and nature in the way He leads us into the image of Christ. 

Jesus stands at every door we have not opened in our hearts. We open the door for Him to come into our lives, but there are many doors and rooms inside which we are slow to open for inspection and cleansing. When we open a  door, we find more of the bread of heaven on our plate to be shared with our Lord and the more we know Him. 

Good Works

Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

We are not saved by our works, but we are saved for good works, “which God prepared beforehand,”. Just as Christ was chosen to be and bring His light into the world, It is God’s will that we follow Him and become the light of the world, that we become like Jesus. Our work is to seek and know Him. We transform into His mind and nature through His word and the leading of the Holy Spirit, who entered the flesh of Mary and begat Jesus. He enters our flesh and we are reborn to be like Jesus. We will see this when we see Him face to face. 

Abides Forever

Psalms 125:1-2 (ESV)

The LORD Surrounds His People

A SONG OF ASCENTS.

1 Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,

which cannot be moved, but abides forever.

2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

so the LORD surrounds his people,

from this time forth and forevermore.

The land and home of Israel will abide forever. Abraham trusted the Lord that it would be so and so shall it be. The term Mount Zion names the place on earth that is the home of this reality. It shall not be moved. 

Israel was removed from the land for 2000 years before the Lord brought them back to the land of their forefathers, before the Hebrew language was heard again in the city of David. Those who trust in the Lord will abide forever. They will not be moved. Those who abide in the Lord will abide forever. They will not be moved.  

My Help

Psalms 121:1-2 (NASB)

A SONG OF ASCENTS.

1 I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;

From where shall my help come?

2 My help comes from the LORD,

Who made heaven and earth.

Israel found no help from the nations in the past. It is the same today. The world is largely hostile to the chosen people of God, just as the world is largely hostile to God. Their hope and help rests in the strong arm of the Lord. 

The body of Christ finds itself in the same position. The world is largely hostile to those who leave the dominion of Satan for the salvation that is found in the kingdom of heaven. Our hope and rest comes comes from the strong arm of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Let us take comfort in that, whatever comes our way, He is with us, even in us. 

Who Is Like The Lord?

Psalms 113:4-6 (ESV)

4 The LORD is high above all nations,

and his glory above the heavens!

5 Who is like the LORD our God,

who is seated on high,

6 who looks far down

on the heavens and the earth?

In the beginning God created the heavens and earth. God the Father is outside creation to do this. His glory is “above the heavens” and He “looks far down on the heavens and the earth”.

He is with us in the persons of Christ and the Holy Spirit, for they are one. The Holy Spirit brought Christ into the world among us. Christ sends the Holy Spirit to be with us in the body of Christ. He who is outside of creation has become one with man. 

The Word Of Life

The word of God is expressed in the life of Christ. His testimony is true and His word leads us to God our Father. 

He is the way and the life of God. 

The Stone

Psalms 118:22-24 (ESV)

22 The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone.

23 This is the LORD'S doing;

it is marvelous in our eyes.

24 This is the day that the LORD has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Jesus is the cornerstone of the new temple which is and will be the dwelling place of the Lord. Those who persevere in their walk with the Lord will become a stone in that temple with a new name only known by them. Rev 2:17) They will receive the name of the Father and the new name of Christ the King. (Rev 3:12) These three names reflect the intimacy we have with the Holy Spirit and our union with the Father and Son. It is a marvelous thing He is doing. 

The Gates Of Righteousness

Psalms 118:19-20 (ESV)

19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,

that I may enter through them

and give thanks to the LORD.

20 This is the gate of the LORD;

the righteous shall enter through it.

Jesus is the gate of the narrow way that leads to the righteousness of the Lord. This is the road to salvation. The righteousness of Jesus is ours when we enter the body of Christ. We are covered by the blood He shed upon the cross and our sin is remembered no more. There is no sin that cannot be forgiven except the rebellion and rejection of the Lord. When we confess our sin, He is faithful to forgive us. His mercy renews with the rising of the sun. 

The way is open to all who would come. 

The Ultimate Meaning

The ultimate meaning of life is life with God. He made the way when He became “God With Us.” He came that we might be with Him. It is the union of heaven and earth where we become one. The Bride says come!

Out From Egypt

Psalms 114:1-2 (ESV)

Tremble at the Presence of the Lord

1 When Israel went out from Egypt,

the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,

2 Judah became his sanctuary,

Israel his dominion.

Israel became the people of God when they came out of Egypt. Like Adam, they were taken from the the comforts and thinking of the world and placed in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Therefore they became a holy people set apart from the world. The Spirit would lead through the wilderness and to their promised land. 

The same scenario is happening with the body of Christ. We are called out of this world, given the Holy Spirit to lead us in the way of God and to reach the fullness of our inheritance. We sojourn through the wilderness of the world and hold out the light of God to the ends of the earth.

Given To The Children Of Man

Psalms 115:16-17 (ESV)

16 The heavens are the LORD'S heavens,

but the earth he has given to the children of man.

17 The dead do not praise the LORD,

nor do any who go down into silence.

When the heavens and earth were created, heaven was the dominion of the Lord and the earth was the dominion of man. Heaven is the kingdom of light, while the earth is the kingdom of darkness. Heaven is the kingdom of life, while the earth is the kingdom apart from God. 

When the light was spoken into the darkness of man, it eventually took the form of a man who is the light of the world. Judah became His holy people to prepare the way for the Lord and to bring His light into the world. Jesus is the Holy One of God and He is the way of the Lord. 

Children Of Man

Psalms 107:8-9 (ESV)

8 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,

for his wondrous works to the children of man!

9 For he satisfies the longing soul,

and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

What is the difference between the children of man and the children of God? Jesus. The Lord has done wonderful things for His chosen people and satisfies their hunger and longing which is common to the life of the creature that is man. Israel’s covenant with the Lord promises their possession of the promised land. It is a covenant of the earth. 

The children of God are those awakened and reborn into the life of God. They are filled with the fullness of His presence by the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. The new covenant promises our possession of the kingdom of heaven. It is a covenant made in the unity of the Holy Spirit. 

The Beginning Of Wisdom

Psalms 111:10 (ESV)

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;

all those who practice it have a good understanding.

His praise endures forever!

The meaning of life can only be understood in the context of God revealed to us as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To revere and seek Him will bring us into understanding our purpose and potential.

The Light

The light of the world is the light of creation. 

Sit At My Right Hand

Psalms 110:1 (ESV)

Sit at My Right Hand

A PSALM OF DAVID.

The LORD says to my Lord:

“Sit at my right hand,

until I make your enemies your footstool.”

The Father says to the Son: “Sit at my right hand”. Jesus overcame the world and sits with the Father and those who overcome the world will sit with Him. The Father is doing a new and wonderful thing in His creation, working even now to create man in His image and to establish His kingdom on the earth. We will be like Him when we are resurrected and will return to earth with Him when He comes again. 

In The Privacy Of The Heart

Overcoming the world is done in the privacy of the heart, in the presence of the Holy Spirit. This is the intimacy that allows us to know the Lord and find ourselves in the knowing. 

To What Lies Ahead

Philippians 3:13 (ESV)

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

Only through the blood of Jesus can one find and walk in the way of salvation. We begin as a child of God no matter how old one is when we find the way. We are commanded to follow Him and we do that by obeying His word. 

Paul describes his frame of mind and heart as he follows the Lord. The Israelites followed a pillar of a cloud through the wilderness. We have His Spirit who leads us individually from within and is always by our side. What Paul did in his past, good or bad, has no relevance to what lies ahead. The past is forgotten because the future is all he can think about. The light grows brighter as he draws closer.