Loving God Above All Else

Is it odd to proclaim that I have a love affair with my God?  Am I weird to confess it?  Does this make me a "Jesus Freak"?  One of those crazy Christians who's a little off balance, a little out of touch?  Well it can't be because I'm single and long for a man.  I'm quite happily married.  And it isn't because my husband isn't living up to his end of the marriage, because I have no reservations in that regard.

There is nothing missing in my life that I'm conveniently filling with Yeshua.  In fact, He fulfills my life.  It's sad that a lot of folk today look upon a Christian who's all in for Christ as an "abnormality".  Even fellow Christians might think zealous people are overdoing it.  This is not to say that a quiet, comfortable love isn't acceptable in His sight either, however, what I am saying is that the overwhelming love of Christ...changes you.

Yeshua had Two Great Commandments.  We always remember the second one -- Love Thy Neighbor.  It comes up frequently when there's talk of intolerance, racism, sexism, or any other hot-button issue comes into play.  And it is quite poignant and to the point.  Love your neighbor as you love yourself.  What a novel concept!  We should all be so lucky to be recipients of that kind of love.

And yet, all too often, we forget the first commandment -- Love the Lord thy God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.  (Luke 10:27)

Before we're told to love our neighbor, we're told to love God, above and beyond anything else on earth.  Loving God above all things means abiding in Him.  Studying Him, reading His Word, and spending time with Him in prayer.  The more we learn about the love of God for us in His Son Yeshua, the more we fall head-over-heels in love with Him.  The more we wonder and marvel at His grace, the more we stand stunned at what our God has done on our behalf.  The more we see His beauty, the more we're blown away by His loveliness - the more we want to get to know Him.

 

That's when He sets your heart on fire.  It's no longer enough to wonder about Him or to think about Him, you've got to study Him and seek Him and talk to Him.  You've got to get to know Him, because if He's truly as wonderful and amazing as you are learning He is, then He has no equal in the whole of creation.  He is the consuming fire that burns up all the wood, hay, and stubble, leaving behind nothing but purity, compassion, faith, patience, goodness, kindness, and above all, LOVE.

And the more you learn of Him, the more you see His love for you.  It is reciprocal.  It is a relationship.  And it transcends the Bible itself to become real to you in your every day life.  When you know and abide in God, He leaps off the pages of Holy Writ and becomes absolutely glorious.  And you begin to see His beauty everywhere you look.  I liken it to someone you find attractive.  They are handsome or beautiful.  But the more you get to know them, the more you fall in love with them, and the more they become the most lovely person in the world.

Relationship with God is like THAT.

Those who don't have this kind of relationship think it's quite odd indeed.  But those who do have it, BASK in Him.  The more you know Him, the more you abide in Him and live your life by His commandments, the more you understand His sovereignty and His infinite Glory.  The more beautiful He becomes.  It's overwhelming to realize just how much He loves us.  

 

Most folks believe the Song of Songs is a book about lovers.  And it is.  But the wording is so strong, about a king coming to sweep his "ordinary" shulammite bride away, we can clearly see the allegory for Christ and His Church.

In Song of Songs 8:6-7, we see a powerful picture of Christ's longing for us. 

"Set me as a seal on your heart, like a seal on your arm..."  -- Keep Me forever in your heart, and declare Me publicly forever on your arm.  I love the beginning of this verse.  I love the aspect that the heart is secret and personal, but the arm is open and public.

"For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as unyielding as the grave..." -- Christ ultimately died to bring us into His Glory.  His Love was the only thing strong enough to conquer the grave.  His jealousy over us, that He was unwilling we should perish and be lost to Him forever, proved once and for all that it's as unyielding as the grave.

"It burns like a blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love, rivers cannot wash it away."  -- God's love burns for us, how amazing is that?  In fact, God's love is so powerful, so total, so unrelenting, and so completely overwhelming that not even water can quench it, not even roaring rivers.  God is an eternal flame.  Nothing can quench Him.

Oh, to be loved so completely!  So amazingly!  So eternally!  Why do I love Him so very much?  Why do I dedicate all my energy and strength to loving Him and spending time with Him and learning of Him?  Because I have come to know and understand His Love, His blazing fire, His mighty flame... for ME.

All my life, I've never once seen nor experienced a life that truly abided in Yeshua.  I've seen fanaticism, and that can often be mistaken for abiding.  But fanaticism is taking things to extremes, crossing uncrossable lines, and turning God into an idol of your own creation rather than worshipping and loving the One True God of Scripture.  Those who twist Scripture to fit their fanaticism know nothing about loving Christ.  If they truly knew the love of God, they would keep His commands.  And in a heart that truly loves, there is no room for hate and anger, mistrust and unforgiveness.

But a Christian that rejoices always?  A Christian who prays without ceasing?  A Christian who gives thanks in all circumstances?  Who does that?  Who can continue praising God just as fervently on the bad days as on the good days?  Who can truly say "My help comes from the Lord"?  Who's faith is so rock-solid they can look Satan in the eye and say, "Do your worst"?  How many people can pray with such power that their prayers are answered?  Or pray with such humility that their prayers are answered?  Who can stare down adversity and say, "Thy will be done, Lord, on earth as it is in Heaven"?

THIS is abiding in Yeshua!  And I've never seen it in ANY Christian my entire life.  That is why I wish to BECOME a Christian who abides in Him, as a branch abides in the Vine.  If I've never seen anyone live like this, I want to BECOME the one who does.  I want people to give Christ glory when they see my walk with Him, because there's just something "different" about me.  I LOVE God and PRAISE His holy name, unrelenting, without remorse, with complete abandon, and yet...I'm not a fanatic.  I want to be the spark that lights my brethren on fire.

Why?

Because I LOVE Yeshua, with all that is in me.  And if He put me here, it was for good reason.  He created me to live for Him.  Love is not cold.  Love is not lukewarm.  Love is HOT and it BURNS with a passion to ignite a burning love for God within every beating heart that is home to the Holy Spirit.  The very temple of God.

Do not neglect Christ's first commandment to love God above all else.  Loving God is abiding in Yeshua.  Spending time with Him.  Obeying His commands.  It's the abundant life!  It's every thing Christ promised us and more.  Those who love God with an unrepentant passion are not odd nor strange, but rather, examples of Christians who totally trust their God with all the faith inside their hearts.  Come what may, rain or shine.

Yeshua, teach us how to love You and know You so well that we become unshakeable in our faith, unwavering in our resolve, and solid rocks upon which Your Church can stand.  Lead us to the shelter of the Most High so that we may rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  (Psalm 91:1)  In Your holy Name, Amen.

~~Becka

How About a Little Praise?

Today, God spared my father's life.  He had a triple bypass open-heart surgery.  Considering my father's failing health, his success in surgery is quite the feat.  But he was covered in prayer by those at my church, on my Facebook page, in my family, and my brethren on Christian forums.  He needed a quadruple bypass, but his fourth artery was too calcified to graft, and the surgeon did not bypass it.  The lesser of the two evils is that he may still have a heart attack, but not a massive one that takes his life.

Our family breathed a big sigh of relief today that he pulled through with "no complications".  He's got a long road ahead of him recovery-wise, and he'll be staying with us once he's out of the rehab center, but tonight, I'm in such a good mood, I wanted to praise the Lord.

Let's praise Him together for His goodness, shall we?  God is good.  All the time.











Hallelujah!  \O/

~~Becka

Full Acceptance In Yeshua

How often have we felt unworthy of Yeshua?  That old sin rears its ugly head.  We say something vile.  We hurt those we love.  We aren't "model" Christians (whatever that means).  We aren't living holy lives.  Sometimes we're ashamed to come before His Throne.  So we avoid praying.  We avoid spending time with Him.

We say things to ourselves, such as, "I'm not worthy.  I'm not deserving."  Surely there are others in the Body of Christ who are "better" than we.  But brethren, this is simply NOT true.  This is a LIE from the enemy.

Do you believe, as a blood-bought Christian, that you belong to Christ?  Do you believe His blood has washed you of your sins?  Any Christian would say, "Yes!  Absolutely!"  However, we say things to ourselves that convince us we don't believe it.  We know the Gospel of Grace has nothing to do with works (Ephesians 2:8).  Therefore, it is not our works that make us holy.  According to 2 Corinthians 5:21, we have been given CHRIST'S righteousness.

And He took all our sins to His grave.

A life for a life.  It was not Christ's life that was crucified on that day so long ago...  it was YOUR LIFE.  Galatians 2:20 says we have been crucified with Christ and it is not we who live, but Christ who lives in us.  Colossians 3:3 says our lives are hidden with Christ in God.  Christ's life was given to you when He took your life upon His cross. 

This means our ENTIRE life's sin-record has been expunged!  Christ paid the penalty for sin in our stead.  So why, brethren, do we continue to "resurrect" our old man and beat ourselves over the head with the corpse of our sins?  THEY NO LONGER EXIST!

Do we continue to sin?  Yes, we do.  However, since our punishment was met in Christ's sacrifice, we are free from the power of sin to condemn us to death.  It no longer sends us to the grave, because it sent CHRIST to the grave.  But hallelujah, He rose from the dead!  He proved He has Absolute Power over sin and death upon His resurrection.  The resurrection is the guarantee of our inheritance, because where the Head goes, the Body follows.  That is why believers call those who have passed away merely "asleep".  They are asleep in Christ, because one day, they will awaken at that blessed Trumpet Sound! (1 Corinthians 15:52)

 
So, what makes us worthy?  Not our works.  The Bible is quite clear on that.  What, then, makes us worthy, brethren? 

The righteousness of Christ. 

Amen?

Think about this for a moment.  Is there ever a time when Christ ISN'T worthy?  Is there ever a time when the Father looks upon the Son and doesn't absolutely Love Him?  He willingly took our sin and died our death so that we could live in Him.  But even upon the cross, God loved the Son.  The Father turned His face away because in that moment, YOUR life was upon Yeshua's shoulders.  Therefore, the answer to the question is NO.  There has NEVER been a time when God the Father looked upon the Son and didn't consider Him worthy.

Because while Christ was suffering your fate, YOU were given His righteousness.  And that makes YOU worthy, because CHRIST is Worthy.

I have touched upon this subject before on this blog, that when God looks at you, He sees Christ.  And this is true.  But stop for a moment and let the full force of this reality sink in.

Christ is the Second Member of the Godhead.  We are accepted into the family of God through His sacrifice.  We have been given His righteousness, and He has forever done away with our sins.  Now God loves each one of His children as PERFECTLY and COMPLETELY as He loves His Son.  We are loved by God the Father as if we were members of the Godhead ourselves.

We shall never be gods, however, we will share in the Divine Nature (2 Peter 1:4) by ruling and reigning with Christ as kings and priests (1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 1:6) at His right hand (Revelation 3:21).  We have become One with Him through His atonement, like a husband and wife become one flesh (Ephesians 5:31-32).  This is how we are co-heirs with Him (Romans 8:17).

Perhaps there was a time, before we were born again, when we were not worthy.  But after we believed, we were made worthy by Yeshua's finished work on the cross.  He presents to HIMSELF a Bride without spot or wrinkle (Ephesians 5:27).  Our worth is found in His Worth.  And Yeshua is Worthy FOREVER.  No longer can we say we're "not worthy".  No longer can we claim we are "undeserving".  If we have the Spirit of Christ living within our bodies as His temple (1 Corinthians 6:19), then we are worthy because HE is Worthy.

We, quite literally, have been given the very Worth of God Almighty.

So let us not entertain such self-debasing thoughts.  Let us not speak so poorly of ourselves.  This is not humility!  These are LIES from the enemy!  Our worth is found in Christ.  And if we are not worthy, then HE is not Worthy. 

And that, brethren, is simply NOT POSSIBLE.

 

~~Becka

God is Humble

Matthew 11:29:

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

Yeshua preached to the masses that He was humble in heart.  He is our God in flesh.  Yeshua Messiah, God Almighty, proclaimed Himself...  to be humble.

I don't know about you, but that blows my mind.  It goes against everything this world tells us.  It rubs us the wrong way.  Someone in authority, with grand power, should be high and lifted up.  Puffed up with pride.  Looked upon in awe.  Cowered away from.  Someone to be frightened of.  We often picture God On High with a lightning bolt or a mad look on His face, ready to smite mankind.

But Yeshua called Himself "gentle and humble in heart."

I often wonder about God's nature.  He's Holy, He's Love, and His Love is Humble.  True love IS humble.  Think about it.  We are more often drawn to people who are sincere, who don't seem to know their own worth, who smile often and give with an open, willing heart.  But those who feel entitled, who walk on others to get to the top, who steal, lie, cheat, and maybe even kill to get what they want, we feel no love for them at all.

True Love is humble.  And in that, so is God, because God IS Love.  

Everything about Yeshua was humble.  He was born in a manger.  He lived in Nazareth.  He was a carpenter's (adopted) son.  He had no permanent home after coming into His ministry.  He was not rich, revered, or even worshiped, except, perhaps, by His disciples after they fully realized Who He was.   And He even taught His disciples how to be humble themselves.

Peter wouldn't have it.  He refused to have Yeshua wash his feet.  "No," he said.  "You will never wash my feet!"  (John 13:8)  You see, Peter thought of Christ as we all do, our LORD.  We should be washing HIS feet.  We are not worthy for Him to touch us and soil Himself with the caked-on dirt from the road!  But Yeshua says in verse 9, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

Immediately, Peter cried, "Then Lord, not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"

The lesson Yeshua taught that day was that our LORD cleanses us Himself.  HE makes us clean.  He does not need us to cleanse Him.  But also, even Someone as awesome and amazing as the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE isn't above getting dirty to wash someone's nasty feet.  He proved that day that Yahweh is Humble.

Once I truly internalized this, I began thinking of other things.  God is quite fond of saying things like: "But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." ~1 Corinthians 1:27   

 

This idea of God's humility wouldn't let me go.  I got to thinking about our planet.  It's one speck of blue circling a non-descript, mediocre yellow star in the far arm of a random spiral galaxy that is parked in a bunch of fifty-some-odd galaxies called the Local Group.  Why?  Why is the earth in a "humble" place?  We don't circle a colossal red giant and we aren't camped out in a fabulously-arrayed nebula.  Our planet isn't huge, and we have never witnessed or come in contact with any life on another planet.  Out of this ENTIRE, ENORMOUS universe, God chose an infinitesimal little rock to display His Majesty.  Why?

Because God is Humble.

Like Peter, we wrestle with the idea that an Almighty God would care about us so much that He would get down in the trenches WITH us.  WE should be washing HIS feet.  Why would He bother?  If He had all the glory and power in the universe, why would He care about some random anthill in the boondocks?  God's humility answers that question. 

He uses the weak to confound the strong.  And He MAKES the weak strong in Him.  

If True Love is shown through humility, then God must give us a demonstration to teach us how to walk in love.  And that's exactly what He did in Yeshua.

He loves us because it is His nature to Love, and He chooses to humble Himself, to be involved in our affairs and even live among us, because it is Love's very nature to be clothed in humility.

God has no use for proud people.  It is the proud who look to themselves for salvation, gods of their own universe, masters of their own fate.  Proud people are constantly reminding everyone how awesome they are.  They want all the glory for themselves and they take it, sometimes by force.

But the humble are generous, givers, lovers, and they put others before themselves.  These are the ones God strives after.  Christ Himself was the blueprint for a life lived in humility.  Everything He asks us to do for Him -- HE DID FOR US. He put our eternal salvation before His eternal glory.  He loved us so much that He thought nothing of leaving His Throne for a life lived in dust, sweat, and heartache.

 

God did not think of Himself when He came into this world as a helpless infant.  He was thinking of US.  This is the ultimate act of humility from our very Creator, Who loves humble little creatures on a humble little planet in a humble little galaxy in our humble little corner of this vast universe.

I, for one, am so VERY glad our God is a Humble God.  If He puts no great esteem on any of His possessions -- save for US -- then likewise, I will put no great esteem on any of MY possessions -- save for Him.

Amen.  To GOD be the glory.  Now and forevermore.

~~Becka

God is....Holy

One of the things believers consistently forget about God is that He's holy.  "Holy" is defined as sacred, blessed, consecrated, and set apart. We ramble through life as if Yeshua is our homeboy, conveniently forgetting the *reason* He came and died for us.  We should not reduce the divine holiness of the Almighty God of the Universe to meaningless frivolity.  I am guilty of this as well from time to time.  But I do well to remember He is Yahweh, Lord of Hosts, Creator of Heaven and Earth...not my Poker Buddy.

Through Christ's sacrifice on the cross, we were given an unheard of privilege.  He took our sins while we are given His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21), and as such, we're considered priests of God (1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 1:6).  We are now allowed into His manifest presence without fear (Hebrews 4:16), peeking behind the Temple Veil and walking right in to the Holy of Holies.

We've got to remember, only the HIGH PRIEST of Israel could do this ONCE a year on Yom Kippur, and if his atonement wasn't acceptable, he'd be struck down.  They had to tie a rope to his foot in order to pull him out, lest any other priest be struck down for daring to come into the absolutely holy Shekinah Glory of God.  God is not evil, He does not wish to kill, but sin cannot stand before Him, it is the nature of His holiness.  We have no concept of such Absolute Holiness.  We define "holy" as an ancient relic or scroll that's been revered for centuries.  Or perhaps a well-respected priest is considered "holy".  But the truth is God's Holiness is a tangible thing, not some "concept" or "idea".  He is not holy because He is Deity, He is Holy because it is His very Nature.  His holiness is the only attribute named in the Bible that's repeated three times, "Holy, holy, holy" (Revelation 4:8).  In ancient Israel, if something was repeated twice, you needed to listen.  "Truly, truly..."  But if it's said three times, you needed to sit up and take note.

God's holiness is so great that any being with a single spot of sin wouldn't be able to stand a chance of surviving.  The only way to come into His presence was to be covered by the holiness of another, one equally as holy -- the Son of God -- Yeshua Messiah.  But in order to be covered, a sacrifice had to be made, a debt had to be paid, hence Christ's death on the cross in our stead.  Now, through our belief, our lives are hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). 

In our exclusive privilege of coming before His Throne, we have sometimes forgotten that God is HOLY.  We are free to have a relationship with Him, we are free to dance and sing and be ourselves.  We are free to tell Him our hopes and fears, our anger and our sadness.  But we must also have the utmost respect whenever we're before Him.  His holiness should never be belittled.  If we were to actually stand before Him, even covered by His redeeming blood, we would still fall lifeless to His feet as St. John did in Revelation 1:17.  As Paul did on the road to Damascus in Acts 9:4. 

Through Yeshua, God is our Friend.  He is our Healer.  He is our Redeemer.  He is our Bridegroom.  He is our Provider. 

But He also reigns On High in absolute, unrivaled, unequaled MAJESTY.  We should always be reverent, even in our joy, always be admiring, even in our excitement.  We should always be obedient, even during our trials, and always be respectful, even in our anger. 

God is my very Best Friend.  I tell Him everything in my life.  I spend time with Him, I study His Word.  And I joke with Him, I sing to Him, I dance for Him (maybe not very well, but He enjoys a heart of praise).  But I never forget Who He is.  I never forget what had to be done in order to give me such a sweet relationship with Him.

He has given us Freedom and Life in His Son.  He sits on the Throne of Glory. 

Let us not grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30) by reducing His beautiful Holiness to parlor tricks.

~~Becka

Yeshua Practiced What He Preached

Whatever Yeshua preached that we should do, He did Himself.  I have a few examples to share, but I'm sure there are more.  I've been thinking about this again and again, and it fascinated me to know that Yeshua did for us everything He told us to do for Him!

Let's start with the picture above.  It's a bit...interesting.  We might actually get a chuckle out of it.  But if you think about it, Christ did exactly what this picture shows.  He traded His eternal Throne of Glory for the life of a homeless man.  Likely His clothing was tattered.  He probably slept where He could.  When you internalize this truth, it really AWES you.  The eternal Son of God Almighty humbled Himself to become a man.  He willingly emptied Himself of His Glory to be born into our world.  He even describes Himself as humble (Matthew 11:29).  Imagine that for a moment.

A Being that can speak anything into existence, Who owns EVERYTHING...is humble.  He doesn't think twice about being generous.  It is His very nature to Love.  This is one of the qualities of God that brings a person to their knees.  An Almighty Being such as He cares *that much* to step into His own creation?  How many times have you heard someone wonder why an Almighty Being would even care about the "ants" on that blue speck in an unremarkable arm of the Milky Way, one of a bajillion galaxies?

But He does.  An eternal God of Love would love everything He's created, AND love it with an infinite Love.  Especially creatures made in His own image.  It wouldn't matter if we were all giants and lived on a planet the size of Jupiter -- we'd still be tiny to Him.  And yet He cares.  SO much.  Because He's humble.  And He's giving.

Point Number One: Yeshua told us not to worry about tomorrow (Matthew 6:34).  He never did.  You never once saw Christ fretting about food, clothing, or money all throughout the Gospels.  He was peaceful.  He completely trusted His Heavenly Father to provide.  In fact, He frequently told His disciples to have faith when they descended into worry.

Point Number Two: Yeshua told us to give everything we owned to the poor and come follow Him (Luke 18:22).  Like the picture above -- if He expects us to live a life without comfort, He likewise lived a life without comfort to set an example.  It's an extreme example, granted.  But the ultimate point was to put no value in material gain.  If you lose something material, it matters not.  You have treasure in Heaven.  Christ knew this.  Therefore, He was willing to live a life without material possessions.

Point Number Three: In Luke 6:28, He tells us to bless those that curse us and pray for those who abuse us.  In Luke 23:34, Yeshua prays for those who are about to crucify Him - "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."  Does this mean God the Father turned away from what they were about to do?  I don't know.  But I do know that after the crucifixion, when the earthquake hit, the centurion and those soldiers with him cried out in Matthew 27:54 - "When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”  If we are to believe that grace is by faith alone, and if the very Son of God prayed for the Father Himself to forgive them, clearly we see the fruit of the Son's prayer moments after His death.  We pray for those that abuse us and bless those that curse us because we never know how the Father will answer our prayers and bring them to faith.

Point Number Four: Yeshua tells us to turn the other cheek when someone strikes us in Luke 6:29.  Yeshua is the Prince of Peace.  Here, He's telling us to keep the peace.  Do not stir up contentions with petty fights.  We see Yeshua keeping His peace at His kangaroo court of a trial (Matthew 26:57-68).  Even when they beat Him and tugged at His beard and mocked Him, He stayed silent and did not sin.

Point Number Five: Luke 6:31 tells us to "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."  This is actually quite profound.  If God want us to give our lives to Him, He must give His life to us.  If He wants us to give up everything to follow Him, He must give up everything to save us.  He doesn't tell us to do anything without first doing it Himself.  I don't know about you, but I find this truth amazing, even though I've read the New Testament a million times.  If He asks for a commitment from us, He commits first.  Always.  And in the same manner.

Point Number Six: Yeshua says in John 15:13 that "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."  This is probably the most obvious of Christ "practicing what He preached" teachings, as He did, in fact, lay down His life for His friends -- US.  Notice how He says this is the GREATEST of loves.  Notice who is dying -- the Son of God.  Therefore we know that God Loves us with the GREATEST of Loves.  His Own.  Because He IS Love.

Point Number Seven: Matthew 5:44 has a great and humbling truth hidden within it.  This is the famous "Love your enemies" Scripture.  Christ definitely practiced this one.  And Paul even reinforced this idea in his epistles.  We think this is because God is a loving God and we should love everyone -- Kumbaya and all that.  But this is deeper when we scratch at it.  EVERYONE was an enemy of God before Christ came.  And He died for us WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS (Romans 5:8).  Yeshua told us to love our enemies because He first loved US, those of us who were at enmity with God (James 4:4).

Some people think what Yeshua asks us to do is beyond us.  That we can't possibly do it.  Perhaps they are right.  We are sinners, after all.  But everything Christ taught, He practiced.  I'm sure there are scores of other examples I haven't shared.  Like the Two Great Commandments, for one.  Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.  Yes, Yeshua honored them.  Imagine -- treating us, His neighbors, as Himself.  How does God Love within the Godhead?  Perfectly.  Amazingly.  All-consumingly.  And this is how He loves us.  The Father loves us as He loves Christ.  Christ loves us as He loves the Father.  The deeper you dig, the farther you fall into the height, depth, length, and breadth of the Love of God.  No one and nothing compares to Him. 

What He has done for us cannot be put into mere words.  There aren't enough ages to come to sing His praises.  My heart isn't big enough to contain my awe.  My spirit is overwhelmed at the beauty, the sheer and utter beauty of the King of Kings.

My Bridegroom, My Beloved, My Yeshua.

Lord...  I love You.  Because I know beyond the SHADOW of a doubt that You undeniably Love me.  My only lament is that words are not adequate to describe what I feel for You...  And if I cannot describe my own love for You, when I am but a human, how then can I even BEGIN to fathom Your unfathomable Love for me?

If my love is a drop of rain, 

Your Love is the ocean.

~~Becka

Understanding our Inheritance in Christ

 

In church, we're taught that the Body of Christ is made up of many members.  Each member has a certain job and we represent Christ here on earth.  He is the Head, and we are the Body.  And this is quite true.  Every member of our Lord's Church has a role to play in the Kingdom of God.  I heard someone say once that you are who you are in the Body of Christ because you are needed.  I recently asked Yeshua what I was in His Body.  I wasn't quite sure.  

He showed me that I'm an edifier.  One of my greatest gifts is to encourage others, as well as having a way with words.  There's no doubt in my mind Yeshua allowed me to grow in the knowledge of how to write stories and weave words together to keep things interesting when He finally called me to do His work.  I believe I was put here to edify other members of the Body, as well as sharing what I've learned through the Holy Spirit.  I suppose I have a ministry of sorts, writing on my Facebook page, this blog, and posting in Christian forums.  A humble little ministry, but our Lord is humble (Matt. 11:29), so I'm in good company.

And while it's true we're all members with different jobs, we also must realize that we are ONE BODY with Christ as the Head.  This doesn't just mean that He is above us with all authority, it means we are ONE with Him.  He is one with us.  He is our Lord, He tells us what to do, and as His Body, we do His will in this world.

But a head can do nothing apart from a body.  It has no feet.  It has no hands.  Apart from the body, the head is useless.  Now, I'm not saying CHRIST is useless, God forbid!  My point is, if it wasn't for Christ's Body (ie., US), the Word of Christ wouldn't have spread much farther than the Promised Land.  In that light, the body is likewise useless without the head.  It cannot move, cannot walk, it has no life.  Both are interconnected, both are one.  Your head is not separate from your body, and likewise, Christ is not separate from His Church.

Where the head is, there the body is also.  Where the body is, there the head is also.  Christ illustrated this when He said in Matthew 18:20 - "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."  He is with us when we are gathered in His name.  Ephesians 2:4-6 says - "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus".  We have been raised up with Christ, therefore, we are likewise with Him.

This is a fascinating truth, because in Ephesians, the wording is past tense.  We won't be seated in the future, we are seated RIGHT NOW with Christ in heavenly places.

The picture above might be a little crude, as there's only ONE Throne in Heaven, not two or three.  Even though God is three Persons, He sits on one Throne because He is one God.  Just as Christ sat down at the Father's right hand, we, too, will sit at Christ's right hand.  

Revelation 3:21 - "The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne."

Now, this is NOT to say we become God or gods ourselves.  Rather, Peter explained that we share in the Divine Nature in 2 Peter 1:3-4 - "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire."

What does that mean, to partake of the Divine Nature?

To put it simply, there was only one loophole through God's holiness.  He is so perfect, that only perfection can stand before Him.  This is why we must be redeemed.  God's justice is met when payment for the sin can be made.  This is what Christ did for us, He paid our debt for sin by dying in our place and taking God's wrath upon His Own shoulders.

This also accomplished a spiritual switcheroo.  2 Corinthians 5:21 explains it this way - "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

In order for Christ to take our sins upon Himself, He had to give US His righteousness.  The whole point of salvation is to make us clean, perfect, righteous, and holy.  This cannot be accomplished by our own ability, therefore, we have Christ's own righteousness.  This is what it means to partake of the Divine Nature.  He literally gave us a piece of Himself in order to redeem us.

While we are not "gods", we have been given the authority to rule and reign with Christ.  And this privilege comes with sitting on God's Throne with Him.  We are allowed, because we share in His Nature -- not even the angels can boast of this!  Right now, we are a little lower than angels, but when we sit upon Christ's Throne in our glorified bodies, we will be FAR ABOVE any other power in the universe, according to Ephesians 1:21.

Romans 8:17 tells us we're co-heirs with Christ.

 

We inherit what Christ inherits.  Well...  What does Christ inherit?  

ALL OF HEAVEN AND CREATION!!  The Father has given ALL power and authority to His Son! 

This is amazing, because it means that not only do we get to go to Heaven, we get to inherit what CHRIST inherits.  We're also allowed to sit ON His Throne to rule and reign with Him, and we've been given His authority.

If you go back through your Bible, you'll see countless promises given to the coming Messiah all throughout the Old Testament.  Here's the kicker in all this -- if we're co-heirs with Christ, if we're spiritually united with Him, if we share in His Divine Nature, if we're One with Him as the Head and Body are one, then WE likewise have ALL the promises given to Messiah!

Heaven will not be some boring, endless church service before the Throne of God singing worship songs to Him into eternity future, but rather, we inherit CHRIST, who has inherited EVERYTHING.  We are granted a place to sit at His right hand, just as He sat at His Father's right hand.

This is why we're called His Bride!  Just as a man is the head of the household, Christ is the Head of His Church.  We'll submit to His authority, but we'll also wear His name and work under His authority, just as a wife with her husband.  Yeshua quite literally gave Himself to us on the cross of Calvary.  

In more ways than one!  \O/

~~Becka