Keep The Faith In The Land of The Living

 

Psalm 27:13
I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of The LORD in the land of the living.

DON'T LOSE HEART
Isaiah 40:31
But they that wait upon The LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

KEEP THE FAITH
Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in The Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

THE LAND OF THE LIVING

Psalm 116:9
I will walk before The LORD in the land of the living. (this life we have now)
John 8:12
Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I Am The Light of The World. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the Light of Life.” (the life eternal)

    Keeping the faith means that we believe The Word of God to be Faithful and True. We believe that Jesus Christ is God's Only Begotten Son. We believe that as The Son of God He gave His life in willing obedience to His heavenly Father's design for the salvation of they who would believe such.

John 3:16-18

16. For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting Life.

17. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.

18. He that believes on Him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in The Name of The Only Begotten Son of God.

    Keeping the faith means that even though we live among unbelievers, we live not like them any longer. Though we once were sinners, lost and undone, now that we have placed our faith, our hope, in Christ Jesus for our salvation, we no longer live according to the desires of the flesh: we live according to The Word of God.

Ephesians 5:8

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in The Lord. Walk as children of Light.

Psalm 107:14

He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke away their chains.

Acts 26:18

'To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to Light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me.'

    Yet, keeping the faith in the land of the living isn't going to be easy. While there are times we may enjoy the comforts of this life -- water, food, clothing, shelter -- many times we will endure trials and tribulations not uncommon amongst God's people.

    The life of the Christian is one of obedience to God, hope in Jesus Christ, and faith-walking with The Holy Spirit. It is a life lived in trust, trusting that God will always be with us regardless of how bad our circumstances become.     Keeping our faith while we live this life we have been given in Christ will bring us to the land of the eternally living: the heavenly places where God dwells.

Revelation 21:3

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.

Isaiah 6:1-4 (Isaiah's vision)

1. In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also The Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.

2. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he did fly.

3. And one cried unto another, and said, "Holy, holy, holy, is The LORD of Hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory."

4. At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke.

Ezekiel 1 (Ezekiel's vision)

Revelation 4 (John's vision)

    Someday soon we who have believed on The Name of The Only Begotten Son of God for our salvation will arrive in God's eternal dwellingplace and take up residence in the place which Christ has prepared for us. The reward is worth the journey, regardless of how long it took us to get there, or how difficult the path was to walk.

ONCE I WAS A SINNER - classic hymn (choir)

IT WILL BE WORTH IT ALL - classic hymn

HOLY (I SAW THE LORD) - Christ For The Nations Worship

The Lord is Savior - - First Sunday in December

 

THE SHIPPING LABEL

TO: The World

FROM: GOD

WEIGHT OF PACKAGE: Everything

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him, should not perish but have everlasting life. 

There's more to this life than just living it. We have been given the opportunity to live it (1) Eternally with God and His Christ; (2) Abundantly in Christ; (3) Fully in The Spirit of God. 

Though death tarnishes life with its shadow, we need to remember that that is all  death is to the believer: a shadow. Shadows have no power, they are merely a whisper of passage through which the Son shines. David wrote in Psalm 23, "Yes, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me." He knew that The LORD was with him at all times throughout his days because he made the decision to TRUST GOD. 

We have been given a glorious gift (John 1:14) and it is our decision whether or not we open it and receive it or just leave it under the tree, the cross. For everyone will eventually make their way to the cross of Christ; some will see and believe, some will glance and walk away, some will mock the cross and what it stands for. It is the few who believe The Word of God and receive The Christ of God that will forever be changed by The Power of God. 

There is no RTS (return to sender) on this package. The Word tells us that God's Word does not return void (Isaiah 55:11): His Word accomplishes Its mission. This may seem like a hard thing to hear but its just as hard to write: not all seed will root. But The Word has gone forth and it is still in accomplish-mode. There is still time to come back to the cross and really see what God allowed His Son to go through. You woke up this morning and you managed to crawl out of bed. God gave you another day. Thank Him for that. 

Thank You, Lord, for this new day which You have given me. Thank You for the opportunity to glorify You and bless You. Help me to accomplish Your purpose in me. Have Your Way in my life today. For I have given You my heart and my mind and my life. You are my everything and without You I know that I am nothing. As the song says, In You I live and move and have my being. 

Thank You, Lord, for saving me. When I was lost and undone, You found me at just the right time. I was that lost sheep You went looking for and I'm so glad You picked me up and carried me back to where You knew I needed to be. Thank You for writing Your Word on my heart and filling me today with a new infusion of Your Holy Spirit. For without these I accomplish nothing on my own. I'm just a lump of clay waiting for the potter's hand to transform me. 

I praise You. My soul blesses You. In You I live and love. Make me a blessing to You and for You today. 

In Jesus' Name, Amen.

IN HIM WE LIVE AND MOVE