"Grace, grace wonderful grace! Coming down from the Father Above!"
Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:Not of works, lest any man should boast." Amen!
There is this verse that is so precious if we saw it in its entirety. It is 1 Cor 6:19, and it says, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”
You know in our daily life we are required to keep a law. Our bodies have a law, our countries do too. It’s beautiful. Imagine a lawless country. Would any of us feel protected? Imagine if it wasn’t a crime to murder. We already have people who end up in prison because of this, and look at the damage such acts leave behind 😞
I was thinking the other day, that for anything to remain consistent, it has a law behind it.
Imagine the heart, the flow is endless, the digestive system, endocrine system and when failure comes in or an obstacle- what happens? Sickness or even death.
The same way with gravity, and do you remember the different laws you learned through life? All these as a result bring about consistency. As a friend of mine added, in this case nature/creation declares of His maker - A consistent God. Imagine if gravity changed, but it doesn’t.
All this to say, praise God for the law. For His law. You know, if not for the grace of God, who knows what I would do with this temple (me) that He has told me about, in the verse I mentioned earlier. If you know me through out my life and have seen the changes God has brought in my life, and the life I lived without God, then you have an idea to an extent of what I’m capable of doing with this temple. I’m thankful for my relationship with God which as a result He protects me from myself (from my sinful nature that is in me) that left to myself I would be willing to do anything and everything (given time and the opportunity) but praise be to God who sets us free from that bondage ~ John 8:36
Without God educating me that i’m His temple and how precious I am, I would be capable of putting the wrong things in this temple, probably take this temple to the bar and intoxicate it, or even put it in-front of tv and watch the wrong things that waste time, and don’t help the mind. I would not respect this temple with modesty but parade it unlike how a princess should be. I am a daughter of the King because that is who He says I am. The list goes on. It’s so sad that without God’s grace, I would not care about myself and as a result I wouldn’t want to do what the law mentions, and with that I would break the system. My body system, and also the system of society (caring for my neighbor) The law truly protects. It keeps the devil away from molesting us. Keeps us from the devil’s harm.
His law is love, His law is grace unto us. Without gravity we wouldn’t be able to live here, without do not murder - what would happen to us?
What are your thoughts about the 10 Commandments? What are they all about? Can we live without them? Can we make void those 10? How about make void either of them?
James says, “breaking one is like breaking all” - James 2:10
Why?
What about the Sabbath? Why do most people have an issue with a law that asks us to remember and wants us to rest?
You know what? I’ve come to appreciate the beauty of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is deep. It is spiritual. It’s not just about stopping from going to work from Sunset Friday to Sunset Saturday. It is beyond that. One can cease from outward work but the mind could be at work (that’s a matter of the heart) one can cease from work, but can be waiting to get back to work. Nothing like what God intended for the Sabbath to be like. Let’s go to the garden. What do you see? Here is Adam and Eve created by God on the 6th day, and right after, God creates the Sabbath to be with them. This is the deep part - to be with them. Jesus said to the children of Israel (make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them - Exodus 25:8) and then with Him coming in the flesh demonstrated what that dwelling meant. A communion. A visitation, that we never have to end. He wants to dwell with us, and you know what? He wants to dwell in us. This is what He wanted from the beginning. Through the in dwelling of the Holy Spirit we can have “Christ in us, the hope of glory” - Colossians 1:27, the hope of revealing His character to everyone. Being able to experience His character in us, His character is not molested with sin, and He wants us to experience that every moment. His character contained keeping the commandments of God with joy, and that is what He is wanting to do in us. His law is love. He is love. His love is balanced between justice and mercy. His character contains both law and grace. As mentioned earlier His law shows the outcome of consistency, and His grace brings the ability to keep the law with joy. - Hebrews 12:2
You know to keep the law of God with joy requires something. Left to ourselves we are sold under sin. What is sin? Sin is the transgression of the law - 1 John 3:4. Which means to desire the will of God and delight in His law, we need to first be set free. We need to be converted, otherwise His law will be a gulling yoke. Because left to ourselves we are naturally opposed to the law of God. We would not desire to keep it, because to the natural man spiritual things are as foolishness - 1 Corinthians 2:14. We think we know better, and we would listen to our feelings (which change all the time). If we don’t feel like it we wouldn’t do it, and possibly vice versa. This is why even as we choose to walk with Christ, those feelings, emotions don’t disappear. Sin doesn’t vanish from inside of us, but we are given power to resist and overcome. This though requires an ongoing relationship with Christ. A communion - as was exemplified by Christ in the flesh who is our example. He kept a continuous communion with the Father, and that’s why He was victorious and consistent because He was one with the Father John 10:30. He calls us to be one with Him, and with that we would be able to be one with each other ~ John 17:23, because we would agree to the same truth - Him (I am the way, the truth and the life ~ John 14:6) and therefore Amos 3:4 (we would be able to walk together with Him and with each other) A wonderful reconciliation.
Things do not idly happen because we have been affected, and that unregenerate nature backed by the whole host of darkness will continue wanting to keep us from God. Therefore it is a battle, and that is why it is a battle of faith, not feelings. Because our feelings change, they’re affected. But faith is a result of carrying through what God has said (who is consistent) and no matter how I feel or get deceived by what the devil tries to tell each one of us. He tries to steal our identity and destroy God’s law because he knows the benefits and he knows before being converted we would naturally listen to him because we would naturally not want to follow and do what God says, therefore he tries his best. Which is why we need to storm through all that (NOT ALONE though, PRAISE THE LORD!) and therefore take and apply what God is saying (and that is Faith) therefore living by faith not by feelings, not by sight.
The just shall live by His faith. - Habakkuk 2:4
The woman at the well, only saw a wayfarer, thirsty traveler, who said you worship that which you do not know.~ John 4:22. When her eyes were open she saw the Lord. May we listen to the Holy Spirit. When Christ was talking to the woman at the well, He saw you, He saw me, and He was coming to visit us, generations later. May we see Him, and accept Him and put away these things that don’t have life ~ Luke 19:44. It is worth it to put away alcohol for Christ, the movies, the immodesty, the anger, to put in the kindness, the mercy, the long suffering. It is not easy because it is a battle against sin in the flesh, but we have a general that Has never lost a battle if we rely on Him. If we listen to the Holy Spirit. If we are filled by Him. John 15:5 “without Him, we can do nothing”
Jesus who kept the law, keeps it in me as I allow Him to live out His life within me. His life that He lives in me consists of the law. His life consists of the grace of the Father in His life and that is also imputed to me. This is why when we wholeheartedly follow Christ He will never lead anyone to sin, but to righteousness. To His Word. As we heed Him, He keeps us from sinning. It is a moment by moment real journey that requires our full cooperation which is our full surrender of our hearts and minds to Him. This will result in change to our daily living with what we behold and put in the temple. As it says, “thy word have a hid in my heart, that I may not sin against thee”~ Psalm 119:11
He is the Word become flesh. And He now wants to come into our flesh (our mind) and then we can have the mind of Christ. We need to learn to practice 2 Cor 10:5 (bringing every word, every thought to Him) and listen to His responses that we may be one with Him, as He is one with the Father like He prayed in John 17, with this we would be able to be one with one another, and live a victorious life, because the gospel is meant to set us free, and as He said, He came to cleanse us from all unrighteousness 1 John 1:9-10🙏
Hope you're blessed! Please share your thoughts if you have some!
Extra Resources that I know will be a blessing to you:
The Third Angels Message by A.T Jones: https://ellenwhiteaudio.org/the-third-angels-message-1893/
National Sunday Law by A. T Jones: https://ellenwhiteaudio.org/national-sunday-law/
History of the Sabbath by J.N Andrews: https://ellenwhiteaudio.org/history-of-the-sabbath/
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