The Mystery of God

Dear Father,

       We praise You because You are incomprehensible. Every aspect of Your character is unfathomable and limitless. Please give us the faith that pleases you and leads to obedience. Enlarge the territories of our grasping of Your Truth. Please show us by Your Spirit the mystery of You, revealed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Your union with Your Bride, and Your ultimate fulfillment of Your purpose. Also give us faith to behold sin as resulting in the mystery of death which we will never know because Your judgment has been lifted from us. Give us wisdom which is full of desire to know the infinite God and yet saturated with contentment in Your comfort, Fatherhood, love, and grace. In this way we may be self-controlled in every area of our lives. 

In Jesus Christ's Name,

Amen


Theme Song: It was Love

²⁵ Now to Him who is able to establish you by my Gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, ²⁶ but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey Him— ²⁷ to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen. Rom 16  

     In this letter, God's purpose is that we understand the existence of the "Mystery of God". This mystery regards the Spiritual realms which we can behold only with the Spiritual eyes granted to us by the gift of faith which He has given us. From the beginning of time (and before) events have been occurring in the heavenly realms and continue to occur for all eternity. As soon as man had become separated from God after the first fall in the garden, his eyes have been closed to the events of the heavenly realms. God in His grace bestows His Holy Spirit and Word to mankind by which their eyes may be opened to behold the heavenly realms in part by faith. To us who have tasted salvation, the heavenly realms are a reality that we base our lives upon though we have not seen the Spiritual world with perfect vision. To call ourselves followers of Christ indicates that we have given up everything to pursue by faith the Mystery of God. In this way we "walk by faith not by sight". God has revealed His mystery in part to us through the Spirit's revelation of the Word of the Gospel. 


 ²⁹ The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the Words of this Law. Deut 29


     As we walk in faith we become aliens and strangers in the world and we know that we are citizens of heaven. This knowledge results in the channeling of all of our earthly being, possessions, and actions into the obedience that comes from faith. For "though we live in the world we do not wage war as the world does" but rather we employ the Divine Weapons of the heavenly realms to fulfill God's purpose on earth according to His will for each of our lives here of earth. The Mystery of God for us who believe regards the purpose and plan for God to reveal the full extent of His glory and love to His unified Bride through the Gospel of His Son, Jesus Christ. 

¹³ All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. Heb 11



     What is the Mystery of God? It is "the Gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ". What is the purpose of this Mystery? It is "so that all nations might believe and obey Him--bringing glory forever to the only wise God through Jesus Christ". 


     When we remember our Spiritual forefathers who lived before the birth of Jesus Christ, we consider the great and glorious faith that was given to them to perceive the forgiveness of their sins through a future Deliver who was unknown to them as to His Name and the time of His coming. As King Solomon inquired, "Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His Name and the Name of His Son? Tell me if you know! (Prov 30:4)". We also regard Abraham who waited 25 years for the birth of the promised child Issac who was to bring forth a people blessed far above other nations and through whom this chosen Deliver would come. Abraham's faith, which God has credited to him as righteousness, to await the birth of his natural son was not only filled with eager expectancy because of his manly need for an heir, to be a father, or to satiate the barren longings of Sarah. The strength and zeal of his faith came from His recognition of the need for One to come who would bear his sins onto Himself and free him from bondage to the fate of God's wrath against sinners. As Moses poured out His loving instruction from God to the Israelite people he said "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from from among your own brothers. You must listen to Him (Deut 18:15)". Recall Job as he boldly stated "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth (Job 19:25)". 


     These forefathers will willing to walk by faith in the same manner as we are called to walk by faith. They had not known the exact earthly details of the birth, death, and resurrection of the Christ as has been revealed to us, but God in His grace had revealed to them the Gospel and the glories of Christ that we have written down in our New Testaments. All of their hope was in the future Deliver. Indeed they walked by faith and not by sight. The love they had for their brothers is revealed by the declaring of these prophecies aloud to the people of God alive at that time. The love they had for us is also revealed in their obedience to hear and write the God-breathed Word of God which prophesied the coming of the Deliver. They served us in this way for their intent was that we may read these Words and be encouraged and strengthened in our faith. These forefathers are "the great cloud of witnesses" and in the will of God to bring all of His people from all time together in unity under the Head of Christ, He has united us through the Gospel of Christ. The same love which unites you and the family of God which you know in the present day is present between our Christian forefathers and through their prophecied Word of the Gospel of Christ.


¹⁰ Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, ¹¹ trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. ¹² It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the Gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things. I Peter 1



     To all of these patriarchs regarded by God as faithful, the mystery of Christ had only been revealed in part. As Christ promised, they were blessed for having "not seen and yet believed". 

    Our Christian ancestors not only had faith to believe in the future Deliverer to provide forgiveness and eternal Life for their souls and to write down the prophecies of the Word of Christ that we may be united with them in Spirit through our interpretation and understanding of these Words, but also that this Deliver would bring salvation to people from every nation. 

² Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, ³ that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. ⁴In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, ⁵ which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. ⁶ This mystery is that through the Gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. Eph 3 


     These patriarchs did not glory in the flesh with regard to their Israelite blood to the point that they rejected the notion of their future Deliver bringing salvation to all peoples, but surpassed many Jews who could not accept this Truth even after Christ came and preached salvation to all. They were willing to acknowledge with faith, hope, and love the "highway from Egypt to Assyria" where these two nations would worship together (Is 19:23). Even the oldest patriarch Abraham believed that "ALL nations would be blessed through him".

²³ This is what the LORD Almighty says: “In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’” Zech 8:23


     We are so very blessed, dear family, to have the Word of the prophets fulfilled in the certain completed birth, death, and resurrection of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. The mystery of the time and events surrounding Christ's coming which was looked upon with belief by the patriarchs has been revealed to us in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, Christ, the hope of glory, dwells in us through the Holy Spirit, the promised seal of our sonship.


²⁵ I have become Its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the Word of God in Its fullness— ²⁶ the Mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. ²⁷ To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this Mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Col 1 


     Though this Mystery has been disclosed to us in Christ, there are still events in the heavenly realms which constitute the Mystery of God in which we put our faith and our hope in. Indeed, Christ in us is the hope of glory. There are a future events which remain a mystery to us and yet Christ in us is the hope of the coming glory. For certainly the things in the Spiritual realms which remain a mystery to us pertain to the glory of God, and Christ in us is the hope of that Mystery of glory. Yes, the Father reveals His glory to us now, but one day we will behold the glory in full.

The Mysteries of the Coming Glory:

1. The Mystery of Godliness:

     The manner in which the Spirit transforms us and conforms us into the image of Christ is unfolded before our eyes in the present days as He refines, disciplines, and reveal Himself to us. The transforming power of the Gospel of Christ forms the basis for the Mystery of Godliness which we behold in our hearts.

¹⁶ Beyond all question, the Mystery of Godliness is great:
   He appeared in a body,
   was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
   was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
   was taken up in glory.I Tim 3


⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, Godliness; ⁷ and to Godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. ⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  2 Peter 1 



2. The Mystery of the Unified Bride: 
     
     Though not seen completely now, we behold by faith the promised unified and perfected Bride of Christ. ³² This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.  Eph 5 Though we see her in part today, we see her perfect unity, purity, and holiness by faith. This unity extends between each and every believer of Jesus Christ from every denomination, nation, language, people, tribe, time of lifespan (e.g. patriarchs versus the children who are to come), culture, social status... Do you believe this? The unity between believers who make up the Bride will one day be stronger than any other relationship among mankind. 


     This bond of peace and love exists as Christ is the Head whose signals are transmitted to the entire body causing this body to live, function, and thrive together in perfect unity as each one does the will of God. This bond is even stronger than the strongest Christian marriage. We often hear the question "Will I recognize my beloved one in heaven and commune with him/her there". The answer dwells in this mystery of the perfect unity and love that God brings among His people. Each of us will be infinitely closer to each and every believer than the man and woman in a blessed Christian marriage that we see now on earth. This is true because Christ's request to His Father was that we "may be one as We are One" (John 17:22).

3. The Mystery of our Resurrection with Heavenly Bodies: 


⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

 ⁵⁵ “Where, O death, is your victory?
   Where, O death, is your sting?”I Cor 15

4. The Mystery of our Complete Perfection: 


     By faith we know that the One who calls us will remain faithful to us  and will keep our lives which we have entrusted to Him for the Day of the Lord. Though we do not see Him fully, we believe that He has granted us the goal of our faith, the salvation of our souls. This belief will result in an inexpressible and glorious joy through the Holy Spirit. We ought to ask Him to "increase our faith" since we have often felt devoid of this kind of joy, even us who have believed. 

⁸ Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

 I Peter 1


²Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. ³Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as He is pure. I John 3 


5. The Mystery of The Fulfilled Purpose of God to Bring Everything under Subjection to Himself in Christ: 


And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, ¹⁰ to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one Head, even Christ. Eph 1

     In the book of Revelations the seventh angel's sounding of his trumpet symbolizes the accomplishment of the Mystery of God. The accomplishment of this Mystery will result in the kingdom of the world becoming the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ and He will reign forever and ever.

⁷ But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the Mystery of God will be accomplished, just as He announced to His servants the prophets.” Rev 10...
¹⁵ The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:
   “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ,
   and He will reign for ever and ever.” Rev 11


The Mystery of Hell

     In addition to the Mysteries of the coming Glory, there is an ignoble mystery of the destiny of the world and those who follow its wicked practices:The Mystery of Babylon.

⁵ This title was written on her forehead:

   MYSTERY

   BABYLON THE GREAT

   THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES

   AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

 ⁶ I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. Rev 17

     By faith we behold the object of this mystery as exceedingly distasteful, appalling, and destructive. Though we are constantly plagued with arrows from the enemy, we use our shields of faith. These arrows are deceitful promises given to us by evil spirits present in the world. These promises often involve pleasure, happiness, satisfaction, earthly needs, wants, desires... But when these promises are heeded the result will be aimless unsatisfied strivings, strife, jealousy, sorrow, and hatred among mankind. Ultimately the sins of the inhabitants of the world will result in eternal destruction under the wrath of God in hell. In the same way that we behold by faith the Mystery of the glorious heaven of our Lord, we believe the mystery of hell and fear the One who holds our lives in His Hands. For we have not known hell. Even our worst miseries and trials would give us little insight into a life separated from God and filled with the judgments of the Lord. We do not understand the horrendous nature of these judgments (Revelations describes tormenting scorpions, horses with snake tails, deadly plagues...) and yet by faith we believe that we have been saved from something of utmost torment, pain, lifelessness, agony...something of which we would be the objects of God's perfect hatred.


⁶ During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them. Rev 9

God's Commands For Us Regarding His Mystery:


1. Pay attention the His Mystery as to a Light Shining in a Dark Place


¹⁹ And we have the Word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to It, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the Day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.  2 Peter 1 

2.  Fearlessly make known the Mystery of the Gospel


¹⁹ Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the Mystery of the Gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare It fearlessly, as I should. Eph 6

3. Align our Purpose to Encourage the Believers in Heart and Unite Them in Love that they may Know the Mystery of God in Christ

² My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the Mystery of God, namely, Christ, ³ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  Col 2

Love to You, dear Bride of Christ, forever in Him who has betrothed us to Himself in faithfulness.

14 But as for me, I will always have hope;
I will praise You more and more.
15 My mouth will tell of Your righteousness,
of Your salvation all day long,
though I know not its measure. Ps 71



On Sun, Mar 25, 2012 at 5:03 PM, Preethi David <preethimdavid@gmail.com>wrote:
Dear Anand, 

       Thank you for sending these! They are a blessing to watch. God is good and His love is incomprehensible! The crippled girl scene was really touching. 

When Anand uncle asked Timothy what he wants to be when he grows up, he said "I want to be like Anand". He and Abby are growing in the Lord. 

May God bless your Sunday in His grace! He is preparing you and Prasanna for His good purpose in His Kingdom. 'Be content with such things as you have because God Himself has said "I will never leave you or forsake you."'

Love in Christ,

Preethi

On Sun, Mar 25, 2012 at 12:22 PM, Anand David <nlaicadavid@gmail.com>wrote:

Dear Preethi,

  

   Here is the video of Paul Washer when he was a younger missionary.

Love in Christ,

Anand

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L3uUFM524c

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTIk5e3a2T4

To Continue

Dear Father,
      I praise You that You never cease to labor on our behalf until the Day of our redemption. Thank You never leaving, forsaking, or abandoning us in our weaknesses. Surely we love You because You first loved us. Your message for us is that unless we continue in You, we will perish. Help us to know every good thing that we have in Christ and to continue in the narrow path that leads to eternal Life. Your will is for us to be active in sharing our faith and to not be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. To continue is to abide in You and to tarry with You for apart from You we can do nothing. 
In Jesus Christ's Name,
Amen


Theme Song: Press On


I have made You known to them, and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for Me may be in them and that I Myself may be in them.” John 17


       Dear family, remember the day of your salvation, the day when you first believed. Remember the conviction of your desperate need and the contrition and brokenness that the Spirit brought to your heart. Remember the Spirit's revelation of the Father's love shown through His Son on the cross. Remember the joy and love you had for Him as you meditated on His resurrection and His abiding Holy Spirit. You always wanted to be with Him. You never wanted to turn away from Him. You wanted to tell others what you had found. You no longer spent your time worshiping the idols of worldliness, but you "turned from these idols to serve the true and living God". You knew that in Him was Life and that Life was your only Light. You wanted to give your life in living and in dying to Him. He was the Bread of Life and the Living Water. You had searched and searched for the meaning of this life. Every earthly avenue fell short. Hopelessness and despair came over you. You almost succumbed to the aimlessness of the life that you knew. Every arena of worldliness had been tested and tried by you and left you with disdain.


     You wanted the Life abundant, real and true. You wanted restoration and refreshment in your Spiritual hunger. You knew that you would die for all eternity if you did not find Him. You cared not for the crowds who chose their earthly lots and passed you to join the feasting room of the world. They bid you to make your choose from the array of worldly idols and to join them in their feasting. But you told them to go and that you would not come until you had life.


     Then you heard the message of the Gospel and with eagerness and zeal you gave all you had to purchase the finest treasure of the salvation and Spirit of the Sovereign God. He alone had the Words of Life. As you embraced His Words, you comprehended in your heart that these Words would be your satisfying Bread for all eternity. You joyfully dined with Him with all fears removed. You knew that His Words would cause you to never hunger or thirst again.


      But then you started to hear the noises from the room of feasting. Laughter and promises of noble earthly purposes rang in your ears. Some beckoned you to join them. You then thought about Your Savior, at Your Bread of Life, and you did not see the abundance of eternal nourishment that you had set your hope on. It seemed to you that you did not find any satisfaction in Him at all. The eternal inheritance of righteousness, peace, and joy that you comprehended in the Spirit earlier on vanished before the eyes of your mortal heart. You no longer comprehended the worth of this Bread of Life that you had held so dear. 
     
     And, now the Savior calls us TO CONTINUE IN HIM. He calls us to abide in Him with everything we have: mind, soul, heart, body. He calls us to wait for Him and to believe in His Words each day. He tells us that unless we comprehend the worth of His Word, the Living Manna, we cannot continue in Him. He warns us that unless we continue in Him, we will surely fall prey to the wiles of the devil. We will be as the rocky and weed-filled soil whose plants could only last until trials, persecution, temptations, and desires for worldly pleasure came. 


Dear Saint, do you desire to continue?


To Continue by Abiding in Him


⁶ So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, ⁷ rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Col 2



     After we have believed, we are called to continue in what we have become convinced of. We know that the Spirit has revealed the love, mercy, and grace of the Father through the Gospel and it was this very love that convinced us that He is the true and living God. When the Spirit opened our eyes to behold the glory of the Father and the love that He showed to those who received His Son, it was our knowledge of the Father's love that caused us to believe unto salvation. 


     But we know that "we have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the confidence we had at first (Heb 3:14)". Of utmost importance for us now, dear family, is that we continue to abide in Him, to know Him. Sharing in Christ involves a daily surrender to self and a taking on of the yoke of Christ. This yoke is light and easy because we are not called to labor on our own, that is, to work apart from Him. But we are called to abide in Him, to believe in His power and authority, to tarry in His love. There is no way to continue in Him if we do not daily abide in Him. We will certainly fall sway to the arrows of the devil. 


     God has provided us with His armor. The pieces of His bestowed armor involve belief and trust from our side. He is the one who fights our battles, but He calls us to stand firm in belief. Remember the Truth which holds us together. Surely this Truth comes from His Words of Life and from no other source. He tells us to believe that our souls are forever saved and protected by His helmet of His rich store of salvation and Knowledge. He calls us to believe continually in Christ's righteousness covering us. His righteousness protects our hearts from the arrows of accusation thrown at us DAILY by the serpent and his evil forces. He tells us to pick up the shield of faith, the gift of God. The shoes of readiness of the Gospel of peace come from the faith that He has given us that His Word is true and must be proclaimed as we fulfill our role as peacemakers in this world of turmoil. The Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God and with It, we do fight. But what are we fighting with? His Words!


     And throughout these days of evil we must surround ourselves by prayer. Dear saint, go into your inner room and seek Him with all your hearts. This is how we continue in Him. Stay in His Words and read them to see the Father's glory, to be set free. We have been in bondage to far more snares of the world than we could ever comprehend right now unless He intervenes. 


To Continue by Offering our Bodies as Living Sacrifices


¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. ² Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will. Rom 12

      He calls us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices. The extent to which our bodies are spent for Him and His Kingdom reveal the path in which we have chosen to continue.  For there are many paths that we are prone to continue in which are apart from His narrow path. Some of these paths appear to be the narrow path, but they are laden with deceptive features that would mislead even us, if it were not for His Good Shepherding. 


¹² See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. ¹³ But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.  Heb 3

     For those who have seen the Father's glory through the conviction of the Word through the Spirit, their hearts desires are changed so that they will offer themselves as living sacrifices. Not only are they willing to die for their Savior, but they are called to lay down everything as they live.

     The Spirit's work is not half-hearted. It is not lax. It does not refuse to quicken the Spirit's of those who have committed their souls to Him. The Spirit is a seal on those who believe and a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until Christ returns. He is transforming us to be living sacrifices.

What kind of living sacrifices does He make out of us?

     He is working to make all of our thoughts directed towards Christ and the heavenly realms. He is working to make all of the feelings and motives of our hearts be filled with His grace and channels through which His love flows to and through. He desires for each step we take and each flickering motion of our bodies to be done in faith for His glory alone. Consider your life which He is making into a living sacrifice. This sacrifice is something unlike anything we have considered until this day. But as He transforms us and inspires us, we will know the Father in a way that fills us with love, light, and hope. This is the only way to live. There is no other way that we can have Life.


To Continue by Waiting for Him


³ Let us acknowledge the LORD; 
   let us press on to acknowledge Him. 
As surely as the sun rises, 
   He will appear; 
He will come to us like the winter rains, 
   like the spring rains that water the earth.” Hosea 6



     He calls us to wait for the One thing which remains forever, His restoration of His people unto Himself. He calls to us to wait for the Day of His return. He calls us to wait for His sanctification of His people. He calls us to wait through trials, fires, refinement. No extension of His timing beyond our perceptions of when He ought to act should cause our faith to waver. Even if we die not receiving what we had believed, that is, beholding the Kingdom of God in its entirety, we are to faithfully wait for Him. HE IS FAITHFUL.

³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. ⁴⁰ God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Heb 11


     He encourages us with eternal encouragement and good hope. When our hope is in Him, indeed, we have a GOOD hope. He will never disappoint us. Even as we wait through trials and uncertainties, our hope is not in the relieving of the trial or the granting of our heart's desires for earthly things or events, but rather in God Himself. Our hope is that that through everything He is revealing His glory. 


     There was once a blind poor man who sang a song conveying that he did not desire for his healing of blindness. He rather praised God for refusing to grant him sight for then he may become distracted by the sights of the carnal world. He praised God for giving Him Spiritual eyes to behold glimpses of the heavenly realms of the glory of God. He knew that to behold Christ and be free from earthly attachment was the greatest lot for a man and was willing to live with nothing so that he might be found in Christ. He spent his life waiting for the day that he would see Jesus face to face.


     We are called to wait for Him to remove our fears and earthly desires and also those of all the elect. We are one with each and every believer who ever lived, lives, and will live...the patriarchs "only together with us would they be made perfect". Do not behold the weaknesses in your brothers and sisters with hopelessness and despair. Turn your eyes to the King on His Throne. He will rides the clouds in His majesty and comes down to bring salvation: to CONQUER HIS BRIDE'S HEART. He surely is able to do this and He will. Do we have patience? Do we believe? For unless He conquers our heart, we are lost. But we are found in Christ's righteousness. 


To Continue by Sharing Our Faith


I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.   Phil 1:6


     If we truly believe in Him, that only in Him is salvation and life, we cannot withhold the knowledge of the holy One from others. It would be the vilest hatred towards mankind to withhold the Way of salvation when we ourselves had found it.

     Do we hate our neighbors? Or do we not believe that He has the Words of Life? Would we speak of a joy unspeakable that we could not portray? Would we speak of a forgiveness that we had never received and known? Would we love in words and not in our deeds? Would we speak of His victory over the sins of the flesh and refuse the victory of the cross in our own lives?

     If we have truly been transformed and regenerated, we will share His Words of Life. He will fill us with boldness and love. We will be to the world the aroma of life and the fragrance of death. He makes us into powerful and effective witnesses. Surely the power of the Gospel is in the message of the Gospel and not in our deliverance or earthly status. Do we not know the transforming power of the Gospel? Must we seek Him yet again that we may look to His Bread of Life and behold It as eternally satisfying that we may understand "every good thing that we have in Christ". Indeed we could not share the Gospel effectively unless we had believed It. The One who calls us is faithful and regardless of how much faith we think we have, we ought to share the Gospel while holding onto Him and trusting Him. We need not fight or stand up for ourselves. He will do this for us. His Gospel will be the banner behind which we may hide. When we trust Him wholeheartedly and believe in His Gospel, His Gospel will surely have Its ordained effect on the listening souls. Trust Him, dear saint, with everything, and He will refine you even through your sharing of the Gospel.

³ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that He appeared to Peter,and then to the Twelve. I Cor 15




HE WHO STANDS FIRM UNTIL THE END WILL BE SAVED
THE ONE WHO CALLS YOU IS FAITHFUL AND HE WILL DO IT
NOTHING SHALL SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF CHRIST!

Blood-derived Peace

¹⁹ For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, ²⁰ and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross. Col 1

Theme Song: It is not Death to Die 


Dear Father,
      I praise You that You are always faithful. Thank You for commanding us to trust in You...for allowing us to trust in You through the ever-winding path of this earthly life. You are our peace and through Your blood, Your people are granted peace. Each and every one of Your people has been reconciled to You in Your time. And in You, Your people are irrevocable reconciled to one another. Father, it is hard for me to see Your peace through my weak Spiritual eyes, but I pray that You will grant us faith to know the peace that You have acquired for us.
In Jesus Christ's Name,
Amen


Peace with God through His Blood
     
     The relationship of the human soul to the Sovereign soul keeper is of primary importance in the eternal Kingdom. As we consider our own peace in light of this relationship, we know that the status of this relationship will dictate our own peace, yes even the presence of turmoil, fear, worry, gloom...ultimately condemnation in our conscious thoughts and feelings which result in the absence of peace. The absence of our peace came from presence of a great distance and a great separation between our human souls and the great I Am.


     The wall which stood between us is like the veil in the Temple which separated the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place. Even the holiest one among the people of God, the high priest, could only enter once a year and not without the blood. The veil was literally our hostility towards God manifested in our disobedience, which was revealed through the law. 


 But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.⁸ The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing. Heb 9


     As Christ was crucified, His Life was numbered with the transgressors and His blood was poured out onto death. Here the very constituents of the veil, our sinful hatred of God, was placed on the perfect Lamb. As He bore our guilt, His blood was shed to make atonement for, or to remove our guilt. 


     As the Messiah finished the work of atonement, He cried out "It is Finished" and the veil in the temple was torn in two. In the heavenly realms, the separation between God and His people was removed. No longer was there condemnation looming over their heads or the fear that the Israelites had when the Lord commanded Moses to command the people to not come any closer to the mountain of God where God spoke to Moses. It was not as though God had overlooked our sin in light of the atoning sacrifice of Christ. Rather, in Christ, the full price for our sin had been paid. Our sin had been removed entirely. The price for our sin was the price for our soul. In atoning for our sin, He was purchasing our souls for His own keeping. Yes, the fearful and awesome God, whose holy fire would have consumed the fallen earth in Its splendor, has truly loved His people. He has loved them unto death on a cross. He has loved them to call them His own and to give them Life in knowing Him. 


     What is eternal Life? What is this Life that was intended to make our joy and peace compete? Jesus has prayed:


³ Now this is eternal Life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. John 17


     Though the veil has been torn, few have found the Eternal Life in Christ. For to know Him we must come to Him. We must approach His throne of grace with freedom and confidence. This requires that we believe in the complete forgiveness of our past, present, and future sin. And it is a strange work that the Spirit performs. For as we receive forgiveness we are being granted that very humility and response of love for our Sovereign Lover that enables us to live a righteous life. 


²¹ Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. ²² But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation— ²³ if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the Gospel. Col 1


      There is an ongoing temptation in our hearts to harbor condemnation and the associated consequences of a perceived absence of peace: fear, gloom, despair, anger... The devil uses our momentary sins and the accusations given to us from the world and those around us to destroy our peace. We often think that when we lack peace, there is some earthly event or person who is responsible. But it is quite true that the necessary and sufficient predecessor for our lack of peace and thus our pained relationship with our Good Shepherd is the perception of guilt. 


Here is a personal example:


     One major arrow against my peace has been physical discomfort. There are times when I am overcome with exhaustion or stomach ailments. I have felt utterly condemned in them. For on my heart is written the Law of God (and even the law of men) that we ought to "lay down our lives for others", "pour ourselves out like a drink offering", "set an example to believers in life, love, faith, and purity", "be content in all circumstances", "rejoice in the Lord always", "not be idle"... and in my weakness I feel completely incapable of thinking of others or fulfilling God's or the world's or even my own standards. I could dream of 101 potential occurrences in which I would fail to walk in faith in such a state. And yet God's Word to me is that "My child, your sin has been forgiven and My grace is enough for You. My Holy Spirit still indwells your being though you have felt this way. I have allowed these weaknesses to come upon you in order to reveal my glory. You need not fight against it, but stand firm in faith and You will see My deliverance."


     And there are many instances in our lives when the literal continuous sins of the flesh, that is, when we are not walking in faith, bring to us inclinations of condemnation and judgment. And yet when we consider the finished work on the cross we realized that if the guilt of even one of these momentary sins were to be borne by us, we would be entirely damned. Do we feel guilt for our sins? Then we are claiming that we are eternally damned. We ought to approach the throne of grace with freedom and confidence that we may find mercy and grace to help us in our time of need. 

     There would be no hope for our continuing in Him if we do not have the humility and child-likeness to believe that each and every sin is forgiven. We may pray, "Father if You have not forgiven this sin, then I am not Your child. But I believe that Christ has borne them and Your Spirit in me confirms to my mind and heart that I am Your child." 

    The momentary bearing of shame and guilt is something that occurs deep within our hearts and minds and we are often not even aware that we are bearing them. But ultimately, what prevents us from seeing and remembering our Savior is our holding onto guilt and shame. It is that very refusal to acknowledge His forgiveness that causes us to think that we are separated from Him. For we know that we were included in Him when we believed and that each sin is forgiven.

     There is another Spiritual state called "Godly sorrow that brings repentance" which is a brokenness and contrition of departing from the Law of the Spirit of Life. The Law of the Spirit of Life is the life lived in faith in the righteousness that comes from Christ and not through obedience to the Law. Thus, the very act of refusing to receive the forgiveness of God is an act worthy of Godly sorrow. We ought to have Godly sorrow for not receiving His forgiveness each moment. Our refusal to receive it indicates a heart that still strives to derive a righteousness of its own and thus incompletely believes that Christ has borne our sin on His Body or that He was raised to Life for our justification and sanctification.

     He wants us to abide in Him. He tells us to "Come to Him, all of us who are weary and heavy laden that He may give us rest". He tells us to eat of Him, the Bread of Life, and drink of Him, the Living Water. He tells us to cast our burdens onto Him for He cares for us. He tells us to commit our ways to Him and to put upon Him those impossible trials and temptations that He may do the impossible for us. Even the uncertainties of the future can weigh hard on our consciences (as though it were a sin for us not to know the future) and He tells us to trust in Him with all our hearts. 

1. To believe in Christ is to know that all of the sin, big and small, is forgiven because of Christ's death and resurrection. The receiving of His forgiveness is a prerequisite for the living of a Godly life. The humility and faith that God requires of us starts with the receiving of His forgiveness. If we do not receive His ongoing full forgiveness we cannot live with Him or for Him. 

2. To believe in Christ is the way to know Him in His glory, splendor, holiness, righteousness, and LOVE. In this way we are reconciled to Him and HE HIMSELF WILL BE OUR PEACE.

² Open the gates 
   that the righteous nation may enter, 
   the nation that keeps faith. 
³ You will keep in perfect peace 
   him whose mind is steadfast, 
   because he trusts in You. 
⁴ Trust in the LORD forever, 
   for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal. Is 26

Peace Among God's People

     In the believing of our sin placed on the Lamb of God and the full sufficiency of His blood to make atonement for our sin comes the belief in this same truth for the souls of those around us in the family of God and even forgiveness for those who are outside of it in the present time. The same eyes which behold the righteous robe of Christ that covers our own sin sees this robe on the family member as well.

² Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³ Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Eph 4

     The faithful are constantly receiving His forgiveness and they are constantly seeing as forgiven the sins of others. Focus on the word "CONSTANTLY". It is common for us to receive His forgiveness for sin and to forgive through seeing as already forgiven the sin of others during personal prayer time. But we are not unaware of the devil's schemes. For more often He would plague our hearts with temptation in our every day living when we are not walking by faith: those very times when we feel condemned. The times when we are unable to forgive and love and bear with the sin in others always occurs during those very times when deep in our hearts we are not receiving God's forgiveness for our own sin and weaknesses. The one who is condemned in his heart can only condemn and judge the other. The one who receives the forgiveness of the Father can only love and forgive the sin in another while sometimes rebuking but not without tears, Agape, and deep humility. 

     To constantly receive forgiveness means that the eyes of our hearts are always on Christ. They are fixed on Him. They are unmoved. They do not consider their circumstances based on the spirit of the prince of the power of the air who works in the sons of disobedience or on their past failed experiences. There hearts are set on Christ above who is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. This is abiding in Christ. This is letting His Words remain in us...to constantly trust in His Words that His Body has been broken for us and His blood has been shed for the forgiveness of our sins.

     Even the very act of remembering the Bread and the Cup are referred to as "Communion". The very essence of Communion is the remembering that HE has paid it all, that HE has allowed His Body to be broken for us. And as we remember together, we are really receiving His forgiveness for all of our sins collectively. For certainly we are all part of one Body with Christ as our Head. 

     God uses the trials and discipline in the lives of believers to unite them. As our Father removes from us the very objects of our heart's adultery and idolatry, we are drawn to His comfort and the true satisfaction of knowing Him. As we see the same discipline occurring in the lives of each other, we identify as brothers and sisters with the same Father and the same Firstborn elder Brother, Jesus Christ. The true children of God are all experiencing trials and discipline. And there is a mark on them all that we see. We see the mark of brokenness and uncertainty in the future and yet the distinguishing mark is the presence of the Holy Spirit and the responsiveness to the Word of God and the discipline of the Father. Look around you among the people and God and behold the mark of the Spirit on the people of God. This mark is a mixture of earthly brokenness and Godly light and the glory of God. When God gives you the eyes to see this mark, you will praise God for His great love lavished upon His children. 

¹⁹ Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²² And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit. Eph 2

     For surely in the midst of the Father's discipline He is removing that very earthly glory that had caused us to bear hostility towards one another. In causing us to glory and boast in Him and not in our fading and unworthy fleshly glory, we are no longer viewing each other from a human perspective. And when we see each other falter in  valuing the glory of the flesh, may we humbly plead their case before our Father. We may only be united with one another in Spirit when He removes, through His discipline, our desiring or even acknowledging of earthly glories, and when He instills that very vision of the Father's glory. 

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11

      A subset of earthly glory is the presence of our own standards of righteousness. We remember the described hostility between the Israelites and Gentiles because of the law. The Israelites sought to follow their own law and were circumcised in the process. The Gentiles had their own standards of goodness yet were uncircumcised. But in the complete acknowledgement of our sinfulness apart from Him, He has removed from us the dividing barriers of our own self righteousness. Only as we hold Him as exclusively righteous and only as we claim no righteousness apart from Him are we united with the bond of peace.

¹⁴ For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, ¹⁵ by abolishing in His flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶ and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility. ¹⁷ He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Eph 2

Excellent Finds:
Puritan Prayers: Link to prayers by old Puritans...could not get past a few lines without tears.
Sermon: Prayer as Communion

Perfection of Ignorance

Theme Song: I Stand in Awe of You


Dear Father,

     You are Sovereign over the hearts and minds of Your people. Please help us to understand that You have perfected our ignorance in every way. You have circumcised from our hearts those destructive things which we ought to be ignorant of. You have allowed the Word of Christ to be preached to Your elect that their minds may be enlightened to the Gospel. You have given them new hearts which have new eyes that see Your glory and Your Kingdom's work. Please save Your Bride from the false feelings of necessities for destructive knowledge which can never satisfy. Give her faith to believe in You though there is knowledge that we will only have on Your glorious Day when we see You face to face. Forgive my willful and hidden sin and grant me faithfulness in my inmost being through Jesus Christ.

In Jesus Christ's Name,

Amen

¹⁷ I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. ¹⁸ I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and His incomparably great power for us who believe. Eph 1

     The message of God for us is that He is perfecting our ignorance. He is not only removing our ignorance of His Spiritual Being, His workings, and His Word. He is also restoring and maintaining our ignorance of earthly knowledge which we were not meant to have. He has called us to be "innocent of what is evil and knowledgeable of what is good". In the very beginning the first man and woman had eaten from that tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and thereafter, mankind has become ignorant of the purity of heart and mind, that result in great peace and satisfaction, deep fellowship in the Father's love, and His eternal pleasures. There is also a removed ignorance concerning those destructive slaveries of the mind and heart which proceed the consequences of sin. 


     For from the beginning we know that the consequences of sin involve not only the curse of the toil of work and bearing the pains of physical life, but also the ever-present fear of death...ultimately separation of our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls from union with God. Our minds fall into the seas of torment, despair, and confusion. Our hearts were cast upon beds of sorrow and fear, hatred and anger. We become very knowledgeable of these sorrows and the darkness that overcomes the man of lawlessness. 

²⁹ They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹ they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Rom 1

     We could not escape this new found knowledge. It was ever present with us, intermingled with the sin that corrupted our being, hardening our hearts and minds so that in that state we could not even receive the True Light that came into the world . For it was only the restoration of the true Knowledge of God that would give us any hope of receiving the Light. Yes, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the True Light who has come into the world. 

⁹ The true Light that gives Light to every man was coming into the world.

 ¹⁰ He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. ¹¹ He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. John 1

Needed Ignorance

     The present world can be compared to a conference with many tables. The theme of this conference is knowledge. Each table presents a particular subset of worldly knowledge. A set of promises are made with regard to the knowledge of interest. Men and women of all kinds stand to maintain each table. They stand as representatives of the portrayed worth of the knowledge presented at the table. The types of knowledge range many topics involving money, materials, earthly success, natural disaster, environment, health, mental issues, religion... Before each table stands lines and crowds of eager men and women who have not heard the Knowledge of God and/or who have rejected It. Some are desperate and seeking to survive and to escape the hell that dwells within their souls. Others are seeking to fuel the streams of earthly pleasure that enable their flesh to thrive and that destroy the soul while deceiving the mind and the heart. All these people are discussing with each other the knowledge and the promises which they have heard with one another. They are running to and fro the tables. There are some individuals wavering between deep sorrow and elated glee. Deep inside nothing has satisfied them yet. 

But you, Daniel, close up and seal the Words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.” Dan 12:4

     But our heavenly Father has known the one Thing which we ought to know: the love of the Father shown through Jesus Christ. It is His will that the eyes of our hearts comprehend how high and deep is the love of Christ. 

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Eph 3

     It is His will for us to abide in the True Vine of Christ and to let His Words dwell richly in us. From the world's perspective all things are permissible [for us to know], yet our Father knows that certainly we are called to be ignorant, that is, we are called to not know, many and most of all these worldly presentations of their knowledge. He calls us to let the Mind of Christ be in us. 

 Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. Rom 16:19

    And yet, He calls us to be aware of the devils schemes. He calls us to use worldly wealth to gain friends for ourselves that we may be welcomed into our heavenly dwellings. He calls us to be all things to all people that we may save some and thus to know the people we are called to love. He calls us to use His Spirit's gift of discernment and we are commanded to be the saints who may judge the things of the world with the Word of God in Hand. 

¹⁶ I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Matt 10

Ignorance of the Mind

     There is a state into which we were all born into: the mind that is ignorant of the Word of God. We did not know the Words of Christ. We were not learned in the discourses of Spiritual men. We did not understand the dialect of the Law of God. We were as sheep without a Shepherd. We did not have faith because we were ignorant of the Words of Christ which the Spirit uses to inspire faith within the elect. 

     God has shown His patience and mercy to those who did not have the Knowledge of God throughout the millennia.

In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent. Acts 17:30 

Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. I Tim 1:13

     In the present day, for you and me, the Gospel has been presented to us in His Word and through the Word of the testimonies of the saints among us. The Words of Life are poured out to us in the Word of Life contained in the Bibles we carry and peruse. He commands us to not let our heart be hardened, but that we ought to let His Sword pierce our hearts that we may be circumcised from the world and the evil within us.

⁷ So, as the Holy Spirit says:

   “Today, if you hear His voice,
 ⁸ do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion, 

   during the time of testing in the desert,  Heb 3 

     But for those who have been taught the Words of God and still reject them, there is another condition that pervades the steering center of the soul: the ignorance of the heart that accompanies the hardening of heart.

The Ignorance and Hardening of the Heart

They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the Life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Eph 4:18

     Without the knowledge of the Words of God (that is, the ignorance of the mind) the ignorance of the heart pervades. Thus, the people who lack the Knowledge of God are not able to direct their hearts into the presence of God and would be destroyed unless the Redeemer intervenes. 

My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.
   “Because you have rejected knowledge,
   I also reject you as my priests;
because you have ignored the Law of your God,
   I also will ignore your children. Hos 4


     The Father gives a great warning to those who cannot call themselves ignorant [in the mind] of the Words of Christ. To those who have been granted this Knowledge, there is a calling to receive and believe the Word, to take to heart everything in these Words, to cling to Them, and not depart from Them...


But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. Luke 12:48


     When the granted Word of God is rejected, God may choose to harden the hard hearts of the ones who have rejected the Truth. 


 ^{21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles....28} Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. Rom 1 


     When we do not receive and believe, hold dear, the Word of God, we are giving the evil spirits free reign on our hearts, minds, souls, and bodies. For surely our bodies are hosts for the spirits. For us who have believed, our bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit and no one can harm us. But for those who have been hardened in heart, the evil spirits are given power to accuse, condemn, give momentary deceptive pleasure, and other soul wrangling acts.

 ⁴³ “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.” Matt 12


     There is the most terrible outcome for the one who has shared in the heavenly Gift and tasted the power of the Spirit and still chooses to reject the Word of God: the committing of the unforgivable sin. 


⁴ It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly Gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵ who have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the coming age, ⁶ if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Heb 6


     May our faithful Savior set a guard on our hearts that we may not become entangled in any corrupting slavery to sin. Only in Him are we granted the power that raised Christ from the dead. May we humbly accept the Word planted within us that saves us.


²⁰ If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.²¹ It would have been better for them not to have known the Way of righteousness, than to have known It and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.²² Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,”and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”2 Peter 2


Dispelled Ignorance of God

     Indeed, by the abounding grace of God, the chosen ones are granted a removal or dispelling of the ignorance of mind and heart of the Words and Character of God the Father revealed through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the full representation of the Father's perfection. Our ignorance of mind is removed by the "heavens which portray the glory of God and the skies which proclaim the work of His Hands". It is removed as we hear and read the Words of God in our Holy Bible. In His grace we all have access to His Word through some means. Indeed, even the spirits in prison heard the Gospel from the very Spirit through which Jesus went and preached to them (I Peter 3).

     To us who have received and believed His Words through the faith gifted to us by God, the Holy Spirit opens our hearts that we may no longer be ignorant of the Light of the glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ. We are given a new spirit and the new heart. The Holy Spirit reveals the character of Jesus Christ. The eternal blessings, the gifts of the Spirit, and the things prepared for those who love God are revealed to our hearts through the Spirit.


For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the Light of the Knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 2 Cor 4:6


⁹ For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. ¹⁰ And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the Knowledge of God. Col 1


Faith that Sustains our Ignorance of the Perfect Glory of God


     There is a day when we will behold the perfection of the Father and see our Savior Face to face. At that time our mortal and perishable bodies with be clothed with the Immortal and Imperishable. At this time, our Knowledge of God will be completed and perfected. 


8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away...12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. I Cor 13


     Our incomplete knowledge and understanding of the Father at the present time is satisfied by our faith and hope in the eternal glory that awaits us. Our faith will also allow us to have the Knowledge of God that we ought to have at the present time. 


But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. Gal 5:5


Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. ³Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. I John 3


      Dear Bride, may your knowledge of the Father in Jesus Christ grow more and more. In Him we find the Light of Life. Our hope will not disappoint us for surely the Father is pleased to call us His own and God poured His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Surely our Lord longs to be gracious to us and rises to show us compassion. Healing and comfort are under His wings. His storehouses are filled with righteousness and eternal pleasures are at His right Hand. May we hide ourselves under His glorious wings until the disasters of this world pass over us.


      He is humbling many of us in the present days and continues to do so. We know that as we humble ourselves under His mighty Hand, He will lift us up in due time. May we cast our anxiety onto Him for He cares for us.


We proclaim that Jesus Christ, the Son of God who was born in the flesh, is our Lord, God, and Savior!


Love Forever in Christ,
Preethi


Mom's teaching notes from today's phone conference with Mom, Anand, Prasanna, and I