JOURNEY OF FAITH
Day Sixteen
All praise belongs to You, Abba Father, the God and Father of my Lord Jesus Christ! You bless me in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ! Before the Creation of the world, You chose me in Christ Jesus to be holy and blameless in Your sight! Father, in love You decided to adopt me as Your child through Christ Jesus, in accordance with Your Own pleasure and will. My adoption as Your child is to the praise of Your glorious grace, which You have freely given me in the One You love! Precious Lord Jesus, in You I have redemption through Your Priceless Blood…the forgiveness of my sins! My pardon from all sin is in accordance with the riches of Your grace, Father… grace that You lavished upon me in all wisdom and understanding! In accordance with Your own good pleasure, You have made known to me the mystery of Your will which You purposed in Christ! Yes, Your will, which will be put into effect when the times have reached their fulfillment, is to bring all things in Heaven and on Earth together under one head, even Christ! In You, precious Jesus, I was also made an heir. I have been chosen in accordance with Your plan, Father, in order that I may be to the praise of Your Glory, for You work out everything in conformity with the purpose of Your will! I was included in Christ when I heard Your Word of Truth, the gospel of my salvation! Having believed, I was marked in You with a seal, Lord Jesus…the promised Holy Spirit! He is a deposit guaranteeing my inheritance, until the dawning of that Glorious Day of Redemption for those who are Your possession, to the praise of Your Glory, Father! Glorious, marvelous, grace that rescued me! Holy, worthy, is the Lamb Who died for me! Hallelujah!
Revelation 16:1-21 [NIV; amplification in italics]
Then I heard a loud voice from the Temple issue the command that is to commence the great and terrible Day of the Lord, saying to the seven priest-angels, “Go, pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the Earth.”
The first priest-angel went and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly and painful sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the Beast and worshiped his image.
The second priest-angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood… clotted and putrescent, like that of a dead man…and as a result every living thing in the sea died.
The third priest-angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say: “You are just in these judgments, You Who are and Who were, the Holy One, because You have so judged; for they have shed the blood of Your saints and prophets, and You have given them only blood to drink, as they deserve.” And I heard the altar respond: “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are Your judgments!”
The fourth priest-angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was given power to scorch people with fire. They were seared by the intense heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify Him!
The fifth priest-angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the Beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. Men gnawed their tongues in agony and cursed the God of Heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done!
The sixth priest-angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for easy passage for the kings from the East to gather themselves together, unbeknownst, for their own slaughter. Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the Dragon, out of the mouth of the Beast and out of the mouth of the False Prophet…the infernal trinity. They are spirits of demons performing satanic miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings and armies of the whole world, inciting, deceiving and seducing them with their lying wonders, preaching, and oracles, so as to gather them together in one universal movement for the battle on the great Day of God Almighty.
“Behold”, says the Lord Jesus in His last warning for the last opportunity offered to mankind to be among His redeemed, “I come for the last time like a thief in the night to gather those who would be among the elect! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, in watchfulness, prayer and readiness for the summons when it comes, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed, eternally without remedy.”
These last ones thus gathered are those seen standing beside the sea which looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire…those who had been victorious over the Beast and his image and over the number of his name, singing now in sublime adoration of their mighty Deliverer the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. Then they gathered all the kings together, with all their armies…from one end of the Earth to the other…to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon…the Mount of Megiddo, with its great plain of Jezreel.
The seventh priest-angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the Temple came a loud voice from the Throne, saying, “IT IS DONE!” Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on Earth, so tremendous was the quake! The great city Jerusalem split into three parts, but was not destroyed; and the cities of the nations in all the world collapsed in utter and complete ruin. God remembered Babylon the Great…the very source and center of the prevailing abominations…and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of His wrath. Every island fled away, receding from their present places, and some of the mountains could not be found any longer, having entirely disappeared. From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men, causing untold destruction and loss of life. Thus the Earth was harvested! Still, the inhabitants of the Earth would not repent, and they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible!
Thus was the sequence of events encompassing the outpouring of the bowls of wrath leading up to the great and terrible Day of the Lord, in which God fulfilled His intention to consume all opposition and to take revenge upon the enemies and usurpers who occupy the Earth. A specific and more detailed account of the fall of Babylon now follows. [Revelation 16:1-21]
WHY DO I EXIST
CHAPTER 3
GOD’S FRAMEWORK IN CREATING MANKIND
ANECDOTES
The framework for understanding our existence begins with fully embracing in my heart why the Eternal God of the universe Personally formed me in my mother’s womb. It is so simple a child can understand it; yet it is so simple that only an unquestioning child-like acceptance can fully embrace it.
Adults tend to make things complicated, and so oftentimes they end up confusing themselves. Anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.
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GOD’S FRAMEWORK IN CREATING MANKIND
The single most important question I am faced with in life is,
“Why Do I Exist?”
The second most important question I am faced with in this life is,
“What Happens After Death?”
I exist…Because there is an Eternal God Who exists.
GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH
In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth. The Heavens continually declare the magnificent majesty and Glory of God; their measureless expanse continually displays the awesome wisdom and power of His handiwork. Day after day their silent speech is heard unceasingly throughout the farthest reaches of the Earth; night after night they unveil the fathomless knowledge of the Almighty.
Ever since God created the world, His invisible qualities…both His Eternal Power and His Divine Nature…have been clearly seen. They are perceived and understood in the majesty and Glory of God’s breathtaking Creation handiwork! So those people who do not believe there is a God have no excuse at all for their blind unbelief.
The Universe is incomprehensible in its intricate design, perfect order, and incredible vastness! Objects in the Universe are measured in distances of light years…how far light travels in a 1 year period of time. Light travels at the speed of 186,000 miles per second, and so in 1 year light will have traveled 5.9 trillion miles!
1 light year = 5.9 trillion miles! There are stars in our Universe that are millions of light years distant from us! Unfathomable! No…the Universe is no more a random occurrence, an accidental happening, or an incidental incidence than are the carvings of 4 Presidents sculptured into the mountain rock of Mt. Rushmore!
GOD’S FRAMEWORK IN CREATING MANKIND
The framework for understanding our existence begins with fully embracing in my heart why the Eternal God of the universe Personally formed me in my mother’s womb. It is so simple a child can understand it; yet it is so simple that only an unquestioning child-like acceptance can fully embrace it.
Adults tend to make things complicated, and so oftentimes they end up confusing themselves. Anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.
The truth is that there are just 5 foundational principles underlying human existence…5 principles determined and ordained by God that are the framework for human existence. If you know and understand these 5 principles, you will understand…
- WHY I EXIST
- WHAT HAPPENS AFTER DEATH
- WHAT THE PURPOSE IS FOR MY LIFE
God’s Framework In Creating Mankind:
- ETERNAL REASON for my existence: Love.
- ETERNAL PURPOSE for my existence: Relationship.
- ETERNAL PROVISION for my existence:
Gift of My Son
Gift of My Holy Spirit - ETERNAL PLAN for my existence: I know the plans I have for you.
- ETERNAL PROMISE for my existence: A promised rest for My children.
- ETERNAL REASON: LOVE
God’s ETERNAL REASON for my existence is Love. I have loved you with an everlasting Love.
The Eternal Being revealed in Scripture as God is characterized by His Supreme and preeminent Eternal Attribute: Love. God is Love. Love is the defining characteristic of God; all of His other eternal attributes flow out from His Divine Love. Love is His very nature, Love is His very essence, Love is the very core of His Being.
If you remember nothing else from the pages of “WHY DO I EXIST”… never forget this:
GOD LOVES YOU.
God’s Love 4 U is…
Unconditional
Unfailing
Unchanging
Unending
CHAPTER ONE: GOD’S ETERNAL REASON: LOVE is the full presentation of this 1st foundational principle of human existence.
2. ETERNAL PURPOSE: RELATIONSHIP
God’s ETERNAL PURPOSE for my existence is Relationship. I made you for Myself…in My Own image and likeness…Divinely crafted with the capabilities and capacity to be joined together with the Triune God in a Sacred Covenant relationship…a living union of oneness…the very crown jewels of My Creation, and that, as a mirror of the Almighty, you would reflect My Glory to the created universe.
It was because I loved you that I brought you into existence. My Eternal Reason for creating you is that I love you; the desire of My heart was to bring you into existence. I made you for Myself, in My Own image and My Own likeness. The most intense desire of My heart was to pour all of My Blessedness and all of My Goodness into you, to have intimate fellowship with you, and for you to become ever more one with Me…even as We are One with One Another in our Blessed Holy Trinity!
God created me for deep and intimate personal relationship with Himself…to be joined together with the Triune God in a Sacred Covenant relationship!
TRIUNE GOD
There is only one [1] God, but the Godhead is Triune in nature…a Holy Trinity. Triune and Trinity…which means 3…refers to the 3 Persons within the Godhead:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There are 3 distinct and separate Persons within the Godhead that is the one [1] God.
For a visual picture of what this looks like, the Godhead can be likened to an Earthly family. The family is one [1] entity…but within the family there are distinct and separate persons…husband [father], wife [mother], child[ren]. All of them together, though, are still just one [1] family.
Our Sacred Covenant relationship with the Triune God is a relationship with each One of the Persons of the Godhead, in the unique role that each has in that Blessed Holy Trinity:
- God the Father is my Father; I am His child. We have a Father/child relationship.
- God the Son…Christ Jesus…is my Husband; I am His spiritual bride…the bride of Christ. We have a spiritual Husband/wife relationship.
- God the Holy Spirit is my Master; I am His servant. We have a Master/servant relationship.
CROWN JEWELS OF CREATION
Human beings are the crown jewels of God’s Creation. We were created with capabilities, capacities, and faculties that no other living beings possess: You have made Mankind only a little lower than the angels, and placed a crown of glory and honor upon his head. You have put him in charge of every living thing You made; everything is put under his authority.
In our high status as God’s crown jewels of Creation, it was God’s intention that each of us would be a mirror of the Almighty, reflecting His Glory to the created universe. Whenever the Created universe comes into contact with me, they are to see something of Who God is reflected in me; they are to encounter something of God’s character and nature in me.
ENTRANCE INTO A SACRED COVENANT RELATIONSHIP
Since the Eternal Purpose for my existence is to be joined together with the Triune God in a Sacred Covenant relationship, how do I enter into this relationship?
Jesus answered that question in His response to Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council: “I tell you the truth, unless one is born again, he cannot be in God’s Kingdom.”
How can a grown man be born again, Nicodemus asked? He certainly cannot enter his mother’s womb and be born a second time!
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, no one can ever enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of both water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at My saying, ‘You must be born again.'”
PHYSICAL LIFE
My physical human life began at conception…at that moment of fertilization. The human seed within a male has within itself the capacity to start a new life. When it is planted in the womb of a female, it has the potential to bring a new life into existence. The human seed of a male in itself, however, lies dormant; it cannot bring forth a new life on its own. Fertilization must take place within the womb of a female. I was conceived from my father’s male human seed planted in my mother’s womb and then fertilized through union with her female ovum. At that point in time, a new, genetically unique cell, a genetically distinct living organism…a new human being…came into existence.
Then the process of growth began. God the Father formed all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. In the fullness of time, I was brought forth from my mother’s womb and born into the physical realm…a newborn baby! Every human being came into existence in the physical realm by birth.
This is what God has said in His written Word: “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I chose you and set you apart for My Own purposes. I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you…plans to give you a hope and a future.”
SPIRITUAL LIFE
My spiritual life also began at conception…a spiritual conception. The Divine seed of God the Father…the Word of God recorded in Scripture…has within itself the capacity to start a new life. When it is planted in the heart of a human being, it has the potential to bring a new life into existence. God’s Divine seed in itself, however, lies dormant; it cannot bring forth a new life on its own. Fertilization must take place within my heart through the consent of my will.
I give the consent of my will when I make a solemn vow before God in giving myself to be the bride of Christ, receiving Jesus the Christ into my life in a spiritual marriage, promising to honor and obey Him as both Lord over my life and Savior of my soul.
The consent of my will takes place by my making a solemn vow before God. That is the moment when fertilization takes place, at which time a new life is both conceived and born in me through the Power of the Holy Spirit: the Holy Spirit will sweep over you and the Power of the Most High will overshadow you.
A distinct and uniquely new life comes into existence. I am born again, this time into the spiritual realm…born into the Family of God in the Kingdom of God. I am now a child belonging to the Royal Family of God, through the new life conceived in me by the Holy Spirit!
I became a child of God by birth…by being born-again! God Himself is therefore my Father, and I bear His spiritual DNA in my soul! I am literally a new creation…not in the physical realm, where I already exist…but in the spiritual realm, where prior to this I did NOT exist.
My spiritual birth is not a mental or a theological concept; it is as literal and real a new birth as was my physical birth. A person is born into physical life through human parents, but is born into spiritual life in the Kingdom of God through Divine parents…by God the Father through the Power of the Holy Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
RELATIONSHIP THROUGH CHRIST ALONE
There is no way to enter into a relationship with the Triune God other than through God the Son, Christ Jesus…at that moment in time when I make a solemn vow before God in giving myself to be the bride of Christ. Jesus has clearly stated, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. The only way to the Father is through Me.
There are not many ways to God; Jesus stated clearly that He is the only way. I become a child of God as the bride of Christ through the new life to be conceived in me by the Holy Spirit! I have became a child of God by birth!
BORN AGAIN
If you have never been born again,
or you are not sure whether you have been born again,
or you have been living your life as a lukewarm Christian and would now like to recommit your life and enter into a deep and intimate relationship with Christ Jesus in preparation for the soon coming marriage supper of the Lamb…
then I counsel you to get alone with God, read the solemn marriage vows presented below you must make to become the bride of Christ and thereby be born-again, and with sincerity of heart from within the depths of your being, acknowledge before God, “I DO.”
MARRIAGE VOWS
SPIRITUAL BRIDE OF CHRIST
- Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Divine Son in the Triune God, the Lamb of God Who came into this world to become the One only, all-sufficient, atoning sacrifice through His death on a cross and subsequent resurrection, thereby securing forgiveness for your sins and restoring your relationship with God that had been severed by sin?
- Do you now solemnly vow before God to give yourself to be the bride of Christ, receiving Jesus the Christ into your life in a spiritual marriage, promising to honor and obey Him as both Lord over your life and Savior of your soul?
- To be joined inseparably together with Him in a Sacred Covenant relationship…an Eternal living union of oneness through the new life to be conceived in you by the Holy Spirit…
- To have and to hold Him, above all others and above all else this world has to offer, as the choicest, most precious treasure of your heart…
- To love and to cherish Him, above all others and above all else this world has to offer, reserving for Him alone your sweetest, most tender affections…
- For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, all the days of your life, until death of this body brings you to be together with Him in Heaven for all eternity.
- ETERNAL PROVISION: Gift of My Son
Gift of My Holy Spirit
God’s ETERNAL PROVISION for my existence is the Gift of His Son and the Gift of His Holy Spirit.
3A. GIFT OF MY SON
I purchased you, by Myself and for Myself, with the Precious and Priceless Blood of My Divine Son Jesus…in payment of the price for your redemption, to purchase souls for God from every Tribe and Tongue and People and Nation. I did not spare My Own Son, but gave Him up for you all. How then will I not also, along with Him, graciously grant you all things besides…all things that are in agreement with My will?
BLOOD OF CHRIST
Blessed Jesus…You laid aside Your Divine Majesty, Glory, and Almighty consuming Power, and came into this world clothed in meekness, lowliness, and humility. You loved me with an everlasting love, and You voluntarily lay down Your life for me even unto death. No one took Your life, Lord; You were free to lay it down, and free to take it up again. You stretched out Your arms on a cross on my behalf, and declared, “IT IS FINISHED!”
IT IS FINISHED, for all time and for all Eternity…available to any soul who would freely and wholeheartedly choose to appropriate as their own the rich eternal blessings of the finished work of Christ on that cross at Calvary, through their solemn marriage vows to become Your eternal bride, Blessed Jesus…the bride of Christ.
By virtue of the Eternal Power and Eternal Worth of Your Precious and Priceless Blood poured out on behalf of the souls of Mankind on that cross at Calvary, You have forever freed me from my sins…past, present, and future…and restored my relationship with God that had been severed by sin.
- IT IS FINISHED…The Eternal Power and Eternal Worth of the Blood of Christ has secured eternal forgiveness of my sins, and has guaranteed and secured my Judicial Status of Eternal Righteousness before God as an accomplished and finished fact.
- IT IS FINISHED…The Eternal Power and Eternal Worth of the Blood of Christ has guaranteed and secured my Eternal Union with You, Lord…now joined inseparably together with You in an Eternal living union of oneness as the bride of Christ in a divine spiritual marriage…flesh of Your flesh and bone of Your bones.
- IT IS FINISHED…The Eternal Power and Eternal Worth of the Blood of Christ has guaranteed and secured that the Eternal Purpose for which God created me…to be joined together with the Triune God in a Sacred Covenant relationship…stands eternally fulfilled.
- IT IS FINISHED…The Eternal Power and Eternal Worth of the Blood of Christ has guaranteed and secured my Eternal Access into the Holy Of Holies, and into the inaccessible Light of the Glory of Your unclouded Presence, Father…as my birth-right.
- IT IS FINISHED…The Eternal Holy Spirit was indeed given as God’s Eternal Gift to dwell in me, never to leave me, never to forsake me…to be the Power in me Who continually guarantees and secures my capability to live my everyday life faithful to my solemn marriage vows as the bride of Christ in our Sacred Covenant relationship.
- IT IS FINISHED…The Eternal Power of the indwelling Holy Spirit is now made continually available to me, Whose Power in me continually guarantees and secures my capability to live my everyday life faithfully within the Holy Of Holies, in the inaccessible Light of the Glory of Your unclouded Presence, Father, in our Sacred Covenant relationship.
JUDICIAL STATUS OF ETERNAL RIGHTEOUSNESS
Though I am overwhelmed by my sins, You forgive them all. Blessed, and filled with joy, are those whom You choose, whom You bring to live in Your Heavenly Sanctuary! I shall forever be satisfied with the good things of Your House, the eternal blessings of Your sacred Temple! My soul shall forever be satisfied, Father… as with the richest of foods! I feast on the abundance of Your House; You give me drink from Your River of delights…a River of unceasing glorious and rich eternal pleasures at Your right hand…eternal pleasures at Your right hand beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations…rich eternal treasures that no eye has ever seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered into the heart of Man to ever begin to imagine, what wondrous things God has prepared for those who love Him…a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness nevermore to cease!
ETERNAL LIFE
Our Lord Jesus’ High Priestly prayer to the Father…on that night in the Garden of Gethsemane just prior to His betrayal…clearly defined eternal life: Now this is eternal life: personally knowing You, Father, the One True Living God, continually ever more deeply and intimately in a daily living-out union of oneness,
and knowing Jesus Christ Your Son…the Messiah Whom You have sent…in that same deep and intimate personal relationship,
joined inseparably together with Us in an eternal living union of oneness in a Sacred Covenant relationship. [John 17:3]
God Himself has given this testimony concerning His Son: I have granted you eternal life, and this life is given through union with My Divine Son Jesus.
Whoever is joined together with My Son in a living union of oneness
possesses that life;
whoever is NOT joined together with My Son in a living union of oneness
does NOT possess that life.
I have written this to you so that you who place your trust in Christ My Son will know, beyond the shadow of any doubt, that you do now indeed have eternal life.
3B. GIFT OF MY HOLY SPIRIT
My Holy Spirit, given to dwell in you…never to leave you, never to forsake you…to be the Divine Nature abiding in you Whose Power continually guarantees and secures your capability to live your everyday life:
faithful to your solemn marriage vows as the spiritual bride of Christ My Son;
faithfully within the Holy of Holies and the inaccessible Light of the Glory of My unclouded Presence in our Sacred Covenant relationship.
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you of all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; yes…I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and move you…to follow My decrees and to be careful to keep My laws.
And this is My covenant with you, “My Spirit will not leave you, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children from this time on and forever! I, the Lord, have spoken! You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God.” [Ezek 36:25-28; Isa 59:21]
ABBA FATHER
My brothers and sisters in Christ…our God and Father has given us the eternal gift of His Holy Spirit to dwell in each one of us…never to leave me, never to forsake me: Because you are My child, I have given you the Spirit of My Son to dwell in your heart, and He continually cries out, “Abba, Father!” All who are indeed My children are continually led by My indwelling Holy Spirit!
POWER OF THE INDWELLING HOLY SPIRIT
Blessed Holy Spirit…Your Divine Power dwelling within me has given me everything I need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Jesus, the One Who called me by His Own Glory and Goodness. Through these, Christ Jesus has given me His Own very great and precious promises, so that through them I may participate in Your Divine nature now dwelling within me, and thereby escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. [2 Pet 1:3-4]
SUMMARY OVERVIEW
The Gift of My Son makes it possible for you to appropriate My Eternal Purpose for creating you and bringing you into existence…Relationship…through becoming His spiritual bride, the bride of Christ.
The Gift of My Holy Spirit makes it possible for you to embrace and be engaged in My Eternal Plans specifically and personally ordained for you in bringing you into existence: I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.
Entrance into the Eternal Blessings I have for Mankind…My Eternal Promise of an abiding rest for My children…BEGINS with your solemn vow before me to become the bride of Christ My Son in a divine spiritual marriage, to be joined inseparably together with Him through the new life to be conceived in you by the Holy Spirit.
- ETERNAL PLAN
God’s ETERNAL PLAN for my existence: I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. You are My workmanship, created in Christ Jesus My Son to do good works…works I Myself have planned in advance for you to do.
I made you to be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, consecrated and set apart to the worship of God…consecrated and set apart to worship Me!
You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, My Own purchased, special people, that you may set forth My wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of the One Who called you out of darkness into My marvelous light. Now therefore, if you will obey My voice in truth and keep My covenant, then you shall be My Own peculiar possession and treasure from among and above all peoples; for all the Earth is Mine.
ETERNAL PLANS FOR YOUR LIFE
God has eternal plans for your life…absolutely, and very specific. He determined and formulated plans for you in eternity past…an Eternal Plan for your life in the physical realm, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. And He has prepared a body for you suitable to be engaged in those plans and to fulfill those purposes. He Personally knit you together in your mother’s womb with the necessary capabilities, capacities, and faculties to do the particular work He had ordained for you. You were custom made, tailor made!
And then He gave you a specific allotment of time for your life in the physical realm…an allotment of time known only by Him that you would need to carry out His work and His will ordained for you. He Himself has determined the day and the hour of your physical death here on Earth…and no one, nor any circumstance, event, or thing…can override it. Every day of your life was recorded in His book before you were born…before you ever began to breathe!
CHILDREN OF GOD BY ADOPTION
We were all born into this world, but we are NOT one of God’s children by virtue of our physical birth. We were all brought into existence by God, and are therefore His Creation. But I don’t become His child unless, and until, I am specifically and Personally adopted by Him into His Family and thereby become one of His children…when I make a solemn vow before God in giving myself to be the bride of Christ, receiving Jesus the Christ into my life in a spiritual marriage, promising to honor and obey Him as both Lord over my life and Savior of my soul.
Friends and neighbors…You can’t even begin to be part of God’s Eternal Framework for Mankind’s existence…including His plans for you…until you become one of His children in the Family of God. Until then, you will just be floundering through life, with no meaning or purpose.
- ETERNAL PROMISE
God’s ETERNAL PROMISE for my existence is an abiding rest. I have prepared a promised rest for My children. No matter what storms of life may be raging…a fierce tempest, whipping the waves into a tumultuous, churning, turmoil…beneath the surface, in the depths of God, all is peaceful and calm, all is tranquil and unruffled. In the shadow of the Almighty, you will find an unruffled child-like rest for your soul.
Are you sorely troubled and vexed by various pressures, trials and afflictions that worry and weary a human soul? Deep sadness and sorrow, intense crying and pain, overwhelming grief, loneliness, brokenheartedness?
- Physical infirmities…physical disorders, diseases, and illnesses?
- Broken and strained relationships…between husband and wife, parents and children, brothers and sisters and family members; between friends and neighbors; brothers and sisters in the Family of God?
- Bondage to addictions and habits…addictions to pornography, drugs, alcohol, gambling; addictions to food, tobacco, television, spending; addictions to video games, Internet, social media?
- Various other bondages…financial, emotional, social, or spiritual?
- Depression, discouragement, disappointment, disheartened, disillusioned?
- Downcast, downtrodden, distraught, dismayed, distressed?
- Discord, disharmony, disunity, dissension and division?
No matter how fierce the storms of life, God has prepared a promised rest for His children…peace in the midst of the storm, here and now, as well as for all eternity in Heaven!
SPECIAL REST PREPARED FOR MY CHILDREN
Beloved…My promised rest is there for you to enter, but your ancestors who first heard this good news failed to enter because of their unbelief. When God swore in His wrath and indignation, “They will never enter the land where I would have given them rest”…of whom was He speaking? He was speaking of those whom Moses led out of Egypt and then rebelled. We see, then, that they were not able to enter the land, because they did not believe.
God’s rest is there for His children to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because of their unbelief. So God set another time for entering His rest, and that time is Today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted: “Today when you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”
There is a special rest still waiting for My children. My deepest desire is for you to enter into My promised rest…where you will abide in Me with an unruffled child-like rest and an unclouded child-like carefree joy. Do not fail to enter in as they did because of their lack of faith.
Wherefore brethren, having now boldness to enter into the Holy of Holies by the Blood of Jesus, by the way which He dedicated for us…a new and living way to God through the veil, that is to say, through the veil of His flesh…let us then without further hesitation or delay draw nigh in fullness of faith; here let us continually abide in the fullness of faith. [Heb 10:19-20, 22] Those who abide in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
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Friends & neighbors, brothers and sisters in Christ…
I don’t know whether in the depths of your heart you really believe there is a God in Heaven or not, but this I do know…my Father’s ear is attentive to the voice of His child, and He loves to give His child little tokens of His Divine Love whenever my requests are within the framework of His plans, purposes, His will. Scripture tells me, “You have not because you ask not…or you ask with wrong, selfish motives.”
My Father loves to show His child His Glory…that I may see it with my own eyes, and thereby have occasion to testify to His great Name and mighty Power. I have testified to it continually, and I will do so again:
https://preservechristianfamily.org/category/testimonies/
Beloved…be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. Be alertly waiting for your master’s return from the wedding feast, so you may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those whom the master finds ready when he comes. You also, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect! [Jesus…Luke 12:35-37, 40]
When our God shall come, even Christ, to set up His Kingdom on the Earth…a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. Only the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord will return. We will enter Zion with singing, our heads crowned with everlasting joy! Gladness and joy will overtake me, forever free from sorrow and grief! [Isa 35:8-10]
Brothers and sisters in Christ…
In that soon coming Day of the Lord…Men’s hearts will be failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the Earth: for the powers of Heaven shall be shaken. When God spoke from Mount Sinai His voice shook the Earth, but now He makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the Earth but the heavens also.” This means that the things on Earth will be shaken, so that only eternal things will remain. When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. [Heb 12:26-27; Luke 21:26, 28]
The Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire. In that day, the Earth will burn as an oven. Everything in the physical, material realm will be burned up…EVERYTHING; nothing will remain.
Beloved…keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him. [Jesus…Matt 24:42-44]
Beloved…sow for yourselves righteousness and reap the fruit of My unfailing love! Break up the fallow ground within your heart! For it is time to seek Me, the Lord, until I come and shower righteousness upon you! Look off unto Me and My strength; seek My face and My Presence continually! Those who know My Name will trust in Me, for I have never forsaken those who seek Me! [Triune God…Hos 10:12; Ps 105:4; 9:10]
At that time the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and did not take extra oil with them. The wise, however, took extra oil in jars along with their lamps, and so were ready for his coming. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. [Jesus…Matt 25:1-13]
In that great and terrible Day of the Lord, Father, Your Divine Son Jesus will manifest the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God against all those upon the Earth who stand in rebellion to His Throne, and He will destroy all those upon the Earth who are enemies and usurpers of His rule and authority, until He has placed every one of His enemies under His feet. Then in that Day, Your will, Father, will be done on Earth even as it is in Heaven. [Heb 1:8-13; Isa 13:6-9; Joel 1:15; 2:11, 31; Zep 1:18; 2 Pet 3:10; 1 Cor 15:24-26; Matt 6:9-10]
Beloved…continually wash your robes in the Blood of Jesus; wash your garments that have been soiled with sin, making them clean again, dazzling and white. Wash your feet with pure water; wash the dust of sin off your feet. Continually and diligently do these things, that you may always abide with Me in the Holy of Holies, in My unclouded Presence. [Rev 19:7-9]
These are the days of the separation of the wheat from the chaff. I [John] baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come One Who is more powerful than I, Whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor, gathering His wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire. “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty.
“Not a root or a branch will be left to them.” [Matt 3:11-12; Mal 4:1-2]
But also in those days there arose false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among yourselves. They will subtly and cleverly teach their destructive heresies about God, even denying the Sovereign Lord Who bought them. Theirs will be a swift and terrible end. Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of them, Christ and His true way will be slandered. In their greed they will make up clever lies and cunning arguments to get hold of your money. With eyes full of adultery, their lust is never satisfied. They make a game of beguiling and luring unstable people into sin. They train themselves to be greedy; they are doomed and cursed. But God condemned them long ago, and their eternal misery is on the way. [2 Peter 2:1-3, 14]
And so, my brothers and sisters, first of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. Even so…The Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire. Since everything on the Earth will be destroyed in this way, you ought to live a holy and godly life as you look forward to the coming Day of the Lord! Everyone who has this hope purifies himself, just as He is pure. So, beloved, since you are expecting these things to happen, be eager to be found by Him at His coming living a pure and blameless life and at peace… in serene confidence, free from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts. Let me warn you therefore, beloved, that knowing these things beforehand, you should be on your guard, lest you be carried away by the error of lawless and wicked persons. I don’t want you to lose your own secure footing. But grow in the special favor and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as He Who called you is Holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am Holy.” [2 Peter 3:3, 10-12, 14, 17; 1 John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:14-16]
This is what the Most Holy, Most High, Triune God declares:
No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him. [Matt 24:36-39, 42-44]
“Behold”, says the Lord Jesus in His last warning for the last opportunity offered to mankind to be among His redeemed, “I come for the last time like a thief in the night to gather those who would be among the elect! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, in watchfulness, prayer and readiness for the summons when it comes, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed, eternally without remedy.”
PREPARE YOURSELF
We are in the Last Days; time is moving very quickly, and we are drawing near! And so, my brothers and sisters, first of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ He promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of Creation.”
Son of man, you’ve heard that proverb they quote in Israel: Time passes, and prophecies come to nothing. Tell the people, This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will put an end to this proverb, and you will soon stop quoting it. Now give them this new proverb to replace the old one: The time has come for every prophecy of Mine to be fulfilled! [2 Peter 3:3-4, 10-12, 14, 17; 1 John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:14-16; Ezek 12:22-23]
God is calling a holy remnant to Himself…to personal revival…a holy remnant of His children who will not bow down, who will not shrink back, who will not compromise, who will remain steadfast and immovable in their commitment to follow the Lamb whithersoever He goes. God’s holy remnant is called to a life of obedience and suffering, self-sacrifice and self-denial…to walk along the path that Christ Jesus dedicated for us, and to follow in His footsteps as our Forerunner. You cannot become part of My holy remnant without being willing to sacrifice your desire for anyone & all others, and for anything & all else this world has to offer. Obedience is what characterizes the life of My child…obedience continually and unceasingly day and night. You are called to a life of obedience. Obedience is better than sacrifice; rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as evil as worshiping idols. [1 Sam 15:22,23]
Wherefore brethren, having now boldness to enter into the Holiest by the Blood of Jesus, by the way which He dedicated for us…a new and living way to God through the veil, that is to say, through the veil of His flesh…let us then without further hesitation or delay draw nigh in fullness of faith; here let us continually abide in the fullness of faith. [Heb 10:19-20, 22] Those who abide in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. [PS 91:1]
Arise My bride, and prepare to see My Face
Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.
Then the angel said to me, “Write this down: Blessed are those summoned to the marriage banquet of the Lamb…all true believers who are members of His Universal Church. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with Power and great Glory. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect…God’s holy people…from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” And he said to me further, “These are the True Words of God.” [Rev 19:9]
Blessed Jesus…I rejoice and shout triumphantly for joy! I celebrate and ascribe to You glory and honor, for the marriage of the Lamb draws near, and Your bride, the Universal Church and each of her members, has been preparing herself and has made herself ready! [Rev 19:7] Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! For our Lord God, Sovereign All-Ruler, reigns! Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him Glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready. The finest linen, dazzling and white, was given her to wear. Then the angel said to me, “Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage banquet of the Lamb!” [John…Rev 19:6-9; Luke 14:15-23]
The washing of one’s robes and the keeping of one’s garments relates to this very attitude and habit of looking for the return of Christ as an imminent event. Brethren, as you hope to walk those golden streets, and eat of those immortal fruits, see to it that you have your garments clean and your loins girded about like unto men waiting for their Lord. [Seiss…Rev 21:9-22:5]
Then the king said to his servants, “The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.” So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding garment. “Friend,” he asked, “How did you come in here without putting on the appropriate wedding garment?” The man was speechless. Then the king told the attendants, “Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are invited and summoned, but few are chosen.” [Matt 22:8-14]
ENDURE TO THE END
Behold, I am coming quickly. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will deprive you of your crown. Everyone who overcomes by means of their faith…I will make a pillar in the Sanctuary of My God. Never again will you leave it. I will write on you the name of My God and you will be a citizen in the city of My God…the new Jerusalem…which will come down out of Heaven from My God; I will also write on you My Own new name.
Holy:
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