NOT FOR GRANTED (a reminder)

Exodus 33:3

Go up to this land that flows with milk and honey. But I will not travel among you, for you are a stubborn and rebellious people. If I did, I would surely destroy you along the way.”

The revelation of Jesus the Christ brought a liberty that up till today many people including religious people cannot understand.

I was talking to someone from a particular religion and he/she told me they were not ready to take the witness of the writers of the New Testament since it was written after Christ's death, they wanted to hear what Christ said Himself and what He had written.

I answered by saying that Christ did not write, He did not come to write, even the one you said you believe did not write someone wrote for him/her.

I further asked why one would not believe the same testimony from different people at different times, but would easily believe the testimony of one man, whose character was questionable, whose source of testimony could not be verified cause he/she had night meetings with some religious sects, we must be able to see through manipulations and plagiarism.

Thus our work with God is by faith, listen:

1 Peter 1:8-12

You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.

The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.

This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you.

They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward.

They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.

So the whole story of the old testament was leading to this one thing. The revelation of Christ and the salvation of all humanity.

Galatians 3:9,16,29

So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.

God gave the promises to Abraham and his child. And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say “to his children,” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says “to his child”—and that, of course, means Christ.

And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.

Acts 13:32-33

“And now we are here to bring you this Good News. The promise was made to our ancestors,

and God has now fulfilled it for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus. This is what the second psalm says about Jesus:

‘You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.’

2 Peter 1:3-4

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.

And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

However, there is the "beyond the elbow", which we must be cautious of, this is what our opening verse talked about. For, yes, we have free access to the Father we must be careful not to get carried away. The Lord warned Moses that His presence with the people will lead to their destruction because of their rebellious nature.

The people showed remorse, they even went ahead to take off all their jewels, a sign of mourning and humility before God. Some today have taken this as a doctrine. The question remains, taking of the outer ornaments, did they also take off inner ornaments of pride, self righteousness, hate, envy and rebellion? (Remember they were yet destroyed)

We must be careful when we seek closer walk with God, no matter what, He remains the Almighty, great and powerful, He is to be feared. Yes, He lovingly keeps us to Himself but we must NOT "let the handshake pass the elbow".

NEVER TAKE THE HEAVENLY FATHER FOR GRANTED!

Hebrews 12:28-29

Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.

For our God is a devouring fire.

The more He entrusts you with, the more is expected of you. You cannot live anyhow, if you represent the Lord, represent Him well.

We live in times when spiritual fraud is rampant, this is not only with the new generation "wanna bes", but even from the time when secularity and world politics entered the church, a lot of things have been mixed up. However, the Lord yet preserved His church. We need to be cautious and know the Lord for ourselves. For when this time is over everyone will independently stand before the judgment seat of Christ. It is better to know Him now. That He will not deny you.

2 Corinthians 5:10

For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.

Be careful how you walk with God. Remember HE IS GOD, and you are still human. What happened was that He adopted us who believed as sons this He did through, His Word,  Jesus the Christ . He remains God to be reverenced and feared.

Thus we should never say "thus says the Lord", if He didn't say. We cannot afford to walk in sin or hate and still claim we are His:

1John 4:20

If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

We must reverence the Heavenly Father and one way to do this is to display His character. The character of God is Love. This character He revealed to us in Christ Jesus, who is the fullness of the Godhead bodily. 1John 4:16, Colossians 2:9

We would not be careless, we will be accounted as worthy. Help us Good Lord.

He calls us blessed.

Love

@the watcher