Homeward Bound – Christ’s Incredible Journey is Far
Away but One Day Closer- Purity 597
Purity 597 12/09/2021 Purity 597 Podcast
Good morning,
Today’s photo of a man’s best friend leading the way up Waite Rd in
Easton NY under an overcast December sky
comes to us from yours truly as I decided to capture a picture of my canine
friend, Harley as “I took him” for a walk on Sunday.
When I look at this photo I think of those old Homeward Bound movies,
about a group of animal friends that take an incredible journey to make it back
to their family, and can imagine that Harley is setting out on a mission of his
own to find his owner, Rachael Pinter, who is far away completing the process
of becoming a Marine on Paris Island in South Carolina.
Little does our friend Harley know that his incredible journey isn’t
necessary as his owner is one day closer to home as she graduates tomorrow and
will begin her own incredible journey to be reunited with him. They are each one day closer to being “home”
in each other’s company.
Likewise, I am currently separated from my fiancé who has travelled to
the Palmetto State to share in the joy of Rachael’s accomplishment. Although we are graphically separated by 788
miles, the physical distance between us doesn’t diminish the love we have for
one another. One of the songs on the “TammyLyn
playlist” that I have compiled long before she went away is The Cure’s “Lovesong”:
which proclaims:
“Whenever I'm alone with you
You make me feel like I am free again
Whenever I'm alone with you
You make me feel like I am clean again
However far away
I will always love you
However long I stay
I will always love you
Whatever words I say
I will always love you
I will always love you”
This latest road trip that has increased the physical distance between
my fiancé and me has verified the truth of these words for our relationship. No
matter how far away we are from one another, I will always love you,
TammyLyn.
As much as I can love my fiancé and as much as a young women can love
her dog, God’s love for us is so much greater and in this season of Advent we
shouldn’t forget two things about our relationship with Him:
1.
For the Christian, no
distance, and no circumstances, can separate us from God’s love.
Yeah those words in Romans 8:38-39 that declare this truth are written to
Christians, so although God loves all of His creation, some will refuse to come
to faith in Christ and will separate themselves from God. We don’t celebrate the coming of the newborn
King because it doesn’t matter who we put our faith in.
The Christian has been sealed by Christ’s atonement and can fully enjoy
God’s love right now and for all of eternity. That’s one.
2.
Christ is coming back.
Although we don’t know the time of His return and it may be far away, Christ’s
“incredible journey on earth” that began with His birth and will culminate in
His return to rule and reign can be fulfilled any day, without warning, and is
one day closer.
As much as we might be counting down the days to Christmas, we mustn’t
forget that Christ isn’t being “born again” in a manger in Bethlehem each
December 25th. “Baby Jesus” doesn’t
really exist anymore guys. Just like “Baby
MT” has moved on from infancy, Jesus did become a man, preached the gospel of
the kingdom of God, was persecuted, crucified, died, and rose again with a
glorified body.
We shouldn’t think of Christ as a baby anymore. Neither should we think
of Him as perpetually nailed to a cross.
Christ is risen! Remember? The glorified Christ, whose body was approximately
33 years old at the time of His resurrection, is seated at the right hand of
the Father and will come again to judge the living and the dead, right?
When you speak about “Baby Jesus” in anything more than as a historical
fact of the Incarnation of the Word made flesh, you reveal your ignorance, or
immaturity, and are perhaps displaying more than you should of your “childlike”
faith and understanding of the spiritual realities that God has proclaimed.
When we think about the “coming of Jesus” this Christmas season, although
we should remember and rejoice over the original incarnation, we really should
think of the “present day Christ” who is fully grown/glorified, alive, and waiting
for the day of His return.
The Christian’s hope is a living hope with a future fulfillment. We are
not looking back at “baby book” for our hope.
The NLT version of Hebrews 11:1 puts it clearly:
Hebrews
11:1 (NLT2)
1 Faith is the confidence
that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things
we cannot see.
So keep walking and talking with God, share the good news that Christ
came to save that which was lost and that He is coming back for those that were
found to bring them home for good.
Today’s Bible verse is
drawn from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.
This morning’s meditation verses are:
2 Peter
1:10-11 (NLT2)
10 So, dear brothers and
sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and
chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away.
11 Then God will give you a
grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Today’s verses encourage us to walk the walk and talk the
talk of being an authentic Christian and that if we walk out our faith on the
path of Christian Discipleship we need not worry about our “spiritual relationship
status” and are assured of our grand entrance.
Now don’t get this twisted, we don’t “walk out our faith” by
living according to the Biblical principles of morality to gain the grand
entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Peter’s letter is to his brothers and sisters in Christ. In Christ.
They made it already. When you put
your faith in Christ, you are “in”. Nothing
can separate you from the love of God, remember?
So Peter is encouraging a victorious experiential life of
purpose for his brothers and sisters in Christ.
Yeah, you are in the kingdom. I know it’s hard to believe.
It might seem too good to be true. But it is true.
One way we can settle the uncertainty about whether we are
in the kingdom, is to answer the Lord’s call to be sanctified, to be more like
Jesus, by living like He would.
Why? So we can be saved? NO!
So we can experience the fruit of the Spirit and the full
assurance that we are children of God.
We walk out our faith so we can not only be assured that we
are not a false convert, because in reality you really can’t fall away – but some
men and women who proclaim their “relationship status” as a Christian will one
day be discovered as false because their lives and their hearts have not been
given to Christ; we walk out our faith to also encourage others to place their
faith in Christ to join us in our grand entrance into God’s kingdom.
So work hard to prove who you already are in Christ. Our “work” is to remind ourselves – “Yes, I
really am a Christian” and to show
others that “That’s a good thing to be!”.
When we “work hard” to live out our faith, we reap the benefits of the
fruit of the Spirit and may just also play a part in God’s claiming more souls
for His harvest.
Our “hard work” to prove we are “among those God has called
and chosen”, results in peace, love, and joy as we walk ever closer to being
reunited with Jesus. We can have the
assurance of our status as God’s called and chosen by living our faith every
day.
So walk that walk of a Christian, not only will it give you
peace and empower you to meet your purpose in Christ, it just may be used by
God to give you company of more saints that God allows you to usher into His
kingdom.
As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org
where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors
to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
DAY 13
CHRIST—THE CHANNEL OF GRACE
For the law was given by Moses, but
grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
JOHN 1:17
The idea that the Old Testament is a
book of law and the New Testament a book of grace is based on a completely
false theory.
There is certainly as much about
grace and mercy and love in the Old Testament as there is in the New. There is
more about hell, more about judgment and the fury of God burning with fire upon
sinful men in the New Testament than in the Old.
If you want excoriating,
flagellating language that skins and blisters and burns, do not go back to
Jeremiah and the old prophets—hear the words of Jesus Christ!
Oh, how often do we need to say it:
the God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament. The Father in the
Old Testament is the Father in the New Testament.
Furthermore, the Christ who was made
flesh to dwell among us is the Christ who walked through all of the pages of
the Old Testament.
Was it the law that forgave David when
he had committed his great sins? No, it was grace displayed in the Old
Testament.
Was it grace that said, “Babylon is
fallen, the great harlot is fallen, Babylon is fallen” (paraphrase of
Revelation 18:2)? No, it was law expressed in the New Testament.
Surely there is not this great
difference and contrast between Old and New Testaments that many seem to
assume. God never pits the Father against the Son. He never pits the Old
Testament against the New.
The only contrast here is between
all that Moses could do and all that Jesus Christ can do. The Law was given by
Moses—that was all that Moses could do. Moses was not the channel through which
God dispensed His grace.
God chose His only begotten Son as
the channel for His grace and truth, for John witnesses that grace and truth
came by Jesus Christ.
All that Moses could do was to
command righteousness. In contrast, only Jesus Christ produces righteousness.
All that Moses could do was to
forbid us to sin. In contrast, Jesus Christ came to save us from sin.
Moses could not save, but Jesus
Christ is both Lord and Savior.
Grace came through Jesus Christ
before Mary wept in the manger stall in Bethlehem.
It was the grace of God in Christ
that saved the human race from extinction when our first parents sinned in the
garden.
It was the grace of God in Jesus
Christ yet to be born that saved the eight persons when the flood covered the
earth.
It was the grace of God in Jesus
Christ yet to be born but existing in preincarnation glory that forgave David
when he sinned, that forgave Abraham when he lied. It was the grace of God that
enabled Abraham to pray God down to ten when He was threatening to destroy
Sodom.
God forgave Israel time and time
again. It was the grace of God in Christ prior to the incarnation that made God
say, “I have risen early in the morning and stretched out my hands unto you!”
The apostle John speaks for all of
us also when he writes of the eternal Son and reminds us that we beheld His
glory.
Tozer, A. W. (2016). From heaven: a
28-day advent devotional. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers.
---------------------------more
tomorrow------------------------
Join our “Victory
over the Darkness” or “The Bondage Breaker” series of Discipleship Classes via
the mt4christ247 podcast!
at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, You can also find it on Apple podcasts
(https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mt4christ247s-podcast/id1551615154). The mt4christ247 podcast is also available on Google Podcasts,
Amazon Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartradio, and Audible.com.
Email me
at mt4christ247@gmail.com to receive the class materials, share your progress, and to be
encouraged.
Encouragement for the Path of Christian
Discipleship
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.