Things To Consider

"He desired our rescue, our forgiveness, so we could be family, close to Him."

“But what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham trusted God, and his trust was recognized as righteousness because the distrust caused through Satan’s lies had been removed, and through trust he was endowed with a new heart, right motives and Christlike principles.’” (Romans 4:3, Remedy)

ABRAHAM WAS made righteous long before Jesus was born on this earth. In fact, Jesus is His direct descendent from Isaac (Matthew 1:1;Luke 3:34). We know Abraham’s bosom as the place the dead awaited Jesus’ Resurrection and their life in heaven (Luke 16:22). It was designed in advance to surround those who would become heirs of salvation. Teaching in the church omits this truth, for the large part. Yes, salvation is through the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Jewish Messiah, but there are those whom God loves who lived their lives righteously before His birth, so the Father had a place prepared for them until they accepted salvation. It is a truth also seen in 1 Peter 4. The newly released Renner Interpretative Version speaks clearly:

“For indeed, it was for this purpose that the Gospel was preached also to the dead—in order that they might be judged indeed according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." (1 Peter 4:6 RIV)

God is merciful and of great lovingkindness. His heart is never to condemn anyone. He desired our rescue, our forgiveness, so we could be family, close to Him. I speak to Him minute-by-minute, and He replies. Though this came to me through affliction, as the church would phrase it, it is available to anyone who will lay down themselves, who you are and what you would choose, and pick up His nature. This means letting go of even what you eat. Hear me carefully here. This is not a nutrition comment but a submission one.

In reading the words of the apostle Paul in Romans 14, it is clear that our food choices should never cause arguments. Speaking of food, he said, “An idol is just a piece of wood or stone that cannot affect the nutrition of the meat offered to it (Romans 14:2, Remedy).” Those things men worship outside of God have no voice, no breath in them, and therefore, there is nothing to fear. But then he made it clear, to eat what was dedicated to idols in front of someone who is afraid to eat of it would cause you to make their weakness in that area to be a sin to them. This is what is wrong. I can’t justify my choices if they deliberately upset others. He also applied this thought to days of worship. If I worship on Sundays or Sabbaths but you worship every day of the week, it cannot become an offense. It all boils down to submission to God.

“If we live, we live for the Lord—a cause greater than ourselves—and if we die, our death will also serve God’s cause. So, whether we live or die, we have surrendered all to the Lord." (Romans 14:8, Remedy)

“The mature person, who eats everything that is healthy, must not demean or make fun of the person still struggling with fear and insecurity over what they eat; and the person who is afraid to eat all healthy foods must not condemn as wicked the person who eats everything healthy, for they are at peace with God.” (Romans 14:3, Remedy)

Consider here salvation. Many have died and because of their behavior, the church says they were not saved. No one knows the heart of men except our merciful God, so it is wrong to say what we have no idea about. We should not declare what we cannot fully know. By example, one well-known minister, who I trust, tells of praying with a woman in a coma, at the Holy Spirit’s request. Was that a waste of his time? Many would say so, but what we do not know, we should not speculate about. 1 Corinthians 13:10 tells us that one day prophecy will vanish and we will know all, which means right now, we don’t. We cannot joke about these things as it grieves the Savior who died for all men, and the Father and the Spirit, all who are Christ.

Which leads me to another topic along this line. I have mentioned this before, but when God spoke to me in my darkest moment, the voice of evil I knew. I’d heard it plainly. What I did not recognize was the Spirit, was Jesus. He is so unlike the picture the church paints. One thing that I actually struggled with was that He has a sense of humor. The church describes Him as so austere and separated from humanity, when, in fact, Jesus is humanity perfected. He jokes about many things that would surprise you, and the Spirit and the Father are lighthearted. This is because they are personal to each of us. Though I knew they know all things about me, when They shared moments from my life with me, things I had forgotten, that has been the most precious thing to me and such encouragement as it was intended.

We must stop drawing boundary lines around the Presence of God and containing Him within our thinking, our preferences. We must understand God is infinite, with many things beyond our knowledge. Psalm 139:6 in the Remedy Translation says, “The full knowledge of you is too immense for me; you are infinite, and I cannot comprehend it.”

Here, I will stop. It is His heart for you to KNOW Him, and from that relationship for trust to form, from His great love for you. Whatever I ask of Him, I know He hears me and will provide safety and peace and health for me. He loves me. The Spirit of God brings revelation to anyone who seeks Him. I love what Minister Bill Johnson said when preaching from Psalm 91:1:

“When it talks about dwelling in the shelter of the Almighty, we’re not talking about a point of theology. We’re talking about a lifestyle. In other words, it’s not just a verse you’ve memorized. It’s supposed to be the developing of an ongoing lifestyle, of a consciousness, an awareness of the abiding Presence of the Holy Spirit. Many people stop short of a Divine Encounter because they’re satisfied with good theology. The Word is the invitation to meet the Person.”

I invite you to meet the Person, Jesus Christ, the Anointed One, who is now seated in heaven with Our Father, whole and healed in body and mind, full of joy and peace and without a single worry about the devil, who He de-feeted. It is written so you will see it and know Him and believe.

“Grace to you, that is, supernatural favor that empowers you to be and do all that is needed—and peace that brings cessation to wars in your life, closures to conflicts, and the removal of distractions. This peace allows a time for rebuilding and reconstruction, ushers in prosperity, fosters the rule of order in the place of chaos, and produces a calm, inner stability that results in the ability to conduct yourself peacefully even in the midst of circumstances that would normally be traumatic or upsetting. May this grace and this peace and all they entail multiply and proliferate until they abundantly overflow in your life.” (1 Peter 1:2, RIV)

Photo by Ricardo Moura on Unsplash


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com