Inheritance

Ephesians 1:11-14 - In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Don't skip over the verses above. Read them again, slowly. Take them in. Eat these words. Taste and see that the Lord is good and that what He tells us is good, what all He does is for good. We all are offered an inheritance. (Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts. How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!) (Jeremiah 15:16, Psalm 119:103)

We pretty much all have inherited something or will someday. Families pass on down prized possessions or what money they have earned, grown and saved. We can inherit good genes...or not. Whatever. You get the point.

Here The apostle Paul is telling the followers in Ephesus what they have inherited. In Christ we have the greatest inheritance, although we won't see it until our days are done. But we can know it is there during our days on earth and look forward to it. There are offshoots that we can enjoy here on earth: peace that passes all understanding, wisdom of the mysteries of God, God's presence in our lives...and more. But the greatest inheritance is eternal life.

Somehow, in ways only God knows, those who choose to follow Christ were predestined for being a follower. I'm not going to try to pretend I understand how it works! I'm thankful that God hounded me for years before one day...one hour...I could not hold back any longer. I submitted, giving Him the go-ahead to begin a work in me. He still has a long way to go...

But...off came the blinders, down came the veil, the wax was removed from my ears and my heart changed! In no time I was realizing truth and seeing where He had been prodding me, steering me from one disaster or another to clear the way for His grand entrance into my life.

What are you experiencing that might just be His prodding? What dead ends...what disasters...what illness...what turmoil...what unhappiness? He could very well be working them into His plan for your life. He will turn that thing that seems like a thorn in your side, that thing that is constantly on your mind to unsettle you, to work in His favor to open your heart to Him.

He wants as many as possible to receive the inheritance He has to offer. No matter what sort of earthly family you have or have had, His is far superior and definitely the most important. What makes you predestined for this inheritance is your acceptance of it! That's it! He will give you His seal of promise, His Holy Spirit. Imagine, the same Spirit that rose Jesus from the grave can do the same for you! Life to death. He will live inside You to perform wonderful things.

This same Spirit is the only guarantee for eternal life. We need to question what happens after life on earth. We need to know there are two eternal lives. We don't just die and that's it. One is this eternal life with Jesus. The other is eternal death, a torturous time of agony that is never consumed, never ends. Which would you prefer? God and satan are both jealous after us. Only they are different types of jealousy. God is jealous after us in that, according to the definition, He has a passionate intensity to protect or defend those who are jeopardized. He wants to save us.

Satan's jealousy originated long ago when he was kicked out of heaven for thinking he could be God and trying to replace Him! His pride and arrogance got him the boot. He will not have eternal life and it's his goal to take as many with him as he can. He's doing a good job... satan's jealousy is the jealousy we're more familiar with: covetousness, enviousness, resentment. For what? Whatever our pride and arrogance determine we should be or have, what WE think we rightly should possess. Satan wanted to be God. What is it we want to be? Remember, God lifts up the lowly and brings down the proud.

Jesus purchased our redemption. He died on the cross for our sins. Now He offers it as a free gift to all who receive. He did it so that anyone who chose to receive WOULD receive through Him the perfect eternal life, not the opposite that our enemy has to offer...the temptations of the world, wrapped in glittery paper and tempting little bows. satan promises the best the WORLD has to offer but can offer no more. When death comes, all the "good" stuff is gone and we are destitute in our eternal death because we did not choose the free gift that Jesus has to offer.

Which do you want? Will you be among those predestined to receive the inheritance? 

The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him [prophesying about Jesus], the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. [And] if the [same] Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (Isaiah 11:2, Romans 8:11)

A Second Chance

Ephesians 1:4-5 - For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will…

Words to a song by Todd Agnew from the song Reached Down: You knew you`d save me long before I called your name. I listened to this song on my way to meet a friend for the day. And the words flowed through my mind...one thought, then another, then another.

Long before time began God knew who will receive Him as Lord and Savior which means He knows which will reject Him. He has given us free will to make this choice. He has placed within each of us a part that is empty and needs to be filled. He would prefer we fill it with Him. What we fill it with is up to us. Fill it with the things of God and you can't go wrong. What causes us to maintain our distance from Him is pride, arrogance, inability to handle authority, selfishness...self being the big one!

He already knows. He already knows. Are you going to turn Him down or are you going to let Him do what He does best? Are you going let Him strip you of all the things you should not be and allow Him to make you into the truly great person you can be? We struggle, even those of us who have received Christ, with clinging to those things that bind us, make us captive. We are free in Christ but we haven't totally relinquished everything and that's the sad part and the thing He works on. He whittles away all our lives. 

We think we know who we are but we don't. Not until we are in Christ. Then we know because we ARE in Christ  and that's all that matters. He has new plans for us and, you know, if you aren't satisfied with your life the way it is now, you can change it. Jesus gives us that second chance. And even more chances if you need it...although it's best to take that second change now. Even if you do like the way your life is now, if you receive Him and allow Him to do what He knows is best, not that this is a bad thing as some might think, it's the better thing. He created us so He knows what He created us to be.

He wants everything we do to glorify Him. Some might not like this idea either, not being able to take credit for the things they do. That's where pride and self come in. If we aren't glorifying Him in all we do we are not in His will and we are not His. He will strip away all the yucky stuff in our lives, and this may take a lifetime. But it's not a bad thing. It's a better thing.

He just wants the best for us. Without Him there is no best. There's mediocrity, failure, death and what do we want? In our earthly minds it's hard to imagine that what we have, even if good stuff, and a good life, is nothing in comparison to what He can give to us.

Our second chance is Jesus Christ. If we've messed up or we have a life of frustration or unhappiness or whatever the circumstance is that bogs us down, Jesus is the answer. There was a situation I couldn't change years ago. I went to church for the first time in years and the pastor that morning said that he knew there were people in church that morning who were in the middle of something that they couldn't change…but here was the truth…we would not be able to make that change, but he knew who could and His name is Jesus Christ. And all I needed to do was face that fact and give my life to Christ and allow Him to do the work necessary. I'll tell you, that was the answer I needed. Little did I realize that the work would start with me!! Hah! Not quite what I had in mind...but definitely for the better.

This is what He does. He gives you the strength and wisdom to be able to handle these things. We are called to carry our crosses daily and part of that is going through the hard times…and calling on His help...and praising Him through it all. The situation isn't always going to just change because you receive Christ, although a lot of people are miraculously delivered from addictions. But you make that commitment to Christ first and then things begin to happen. Scripture tells us to seek the Lord first and all the things we truly are in need of are given to us as well (Matthew 6:33). 

Receiving Christ really makes a difference. Not all is a bed of roses but what we face we face with a newfound outlook, strength and peace knowing we are not alone but that Christ is with us in the midst of battle. Even in the world today, which is not looking too good, because we know what God tells us the last days will be like, we know what's in store and yet there's a peace beneath it all that if we hold to the truth of God's word and continue in our walk and trust in the Lord, He will see us through it. It may be through death but when we get through to the other side of the terrible times, we will find we have entered a far greater place. We will be living with God.

Adam and Eve were created to commune with the Father. When they sinned He removed that relationship. So in time He sent Christ to bridge that gap…He made a way, He made the Way…He brought us Jesus on the cross as that bridge. I saw this in my mind's eye as I wrote that: There's the painting by Michaelangelo where God's arm is outstretched and His finger appears to be reaching another…that is Adam's creation. Think of Christ's arms outstretched, one hand reaching for the Father and the other to us in one selfless act of devotion to reconcile us once again with God, being the bridge. Like Adam upon his creation, his birth as it were, he saw God; upon our death, if in Christ, we too will see God face to face.

What's unfortunate, to draw this back to the beginning of this blog, is that there will be many who will reject any notion of this and they will be in their own torment for the rest of their lives and anybody who rejects this chance to receive the Lord…it doesn't matter what your religion says, it doesn't matter. If your church doesn't talk about being born again or promote it or promote the idea of receiving Christ and these words are not in your church language, you can do it outside of that. It's not wrong, not heresy, it's biblical. It's not about being born into one religion or another. It's about you and your personal relationship with God. Do you have that? It's between you and God. 

I do have to apologize…I have said in the past that Christ died for all...but even that comes with restrictions. Christ died for all who come to Him. Not for this denomination or that, not religion. He came for us to be in relationship with Him. With HIM. One on one. Not religion but relationship. His desire is that NONE should perish, but He also knows that not all will receive Him. He's known that since before time began.

The lyrics to that song again: You knew you`d save me long before I called your name. Can you say that for a fact? You can make that happen...and along with it come promises.

Isaiah 43:1-2,7 …thus says the LORD, who created you…and He who formed you…: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you…When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.  Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him."

One Small Word With So Much Meaning

Isaiah 53:10-11 - But it was the LORD's good plan to crush him and fill him with grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have a multitude of children, many heirs. He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD's plan will prosper in his hands. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of what he has experienced, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.

Try as I might to do a blog today, I struggled to get a concept in my heart and mind into words. So I gave up...for a time. 

The scripture above is a prophetic word God gave to Isaiah. It spoke of the coming Messiah, Jesus. It foretold of what Jesus would go through and do for the sins of God's people. Read it a couple of times and picture Jesus. Didn't what Isaiah write come true? LORD above refers to God.

I'm reading this deep book, The Sovereignty of God by A.W. Pink. He goes into such depth about God's sovereignty that it seemed a blog was not the place to expound on all his concepts and all the scriptures that back up what he's written.

Some of us know we were predestined for salvation. God chose us. How in the world do I say that when the truth is He did this because it was His will, because He can, because He's God and because He's sovereign? If you truly want to understand this, just Google sovereignty of God scriptures. Google God's elect. I'm just not about to go into the depth of it all! My words are not adequate.

We say we receive God...but that's because He chose us to receive. He didn't die for all mankind, like I've been writing about. He died for "many." Many is a small word, but packs a wallop.  Jesus said: The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28)  Those "many" are His elect. Who are His elect? Those He has already chosen. Confusing? You bet. 

I am not holier than thou! But when I write these words, I feel like I am. But I'm not! This is God's choice, not mine. He chose me; He called me; I just happened to hear Him call and when I made the decision for Christ became one of His elect. He knew before the beginning of time that I would make this decision. I'm humbled.

I've written we can receive Christ. Who are the "we?" If one says I won't receive Christ and never does, He's certainly not one of God's elect. If one says I know who Christ is and that's as far as I go and never chooses Christ, He's not one of God's elect either. If one says I have a personal relationship with Christ, and this person is sincere about it, he is God's elect! There are always those who say they won't choose Christ and change their mind. Hey, they have just become part of God's elect.

It's all about our own will. It's about God's calling to individuals. Our church as well as many others invite people to receive Christ. God, in the form of the Holy Spirit, is there prompting someone to make the commitment, or He is there to see those who choose not to. He already knows. Those who choose are His elect. 

It takes all my trust and faith in this amazing God to understand just where He comes from in His infinite thinking. All I can say here now is if God is truly tugging at your heart, don't balk. It is an honor to have been and to be elected of God for His kingdom, to be His child, His heir. This truly is not arrogance at work. It's a humbling experience and one that none of us deserves. None of us deserve salvation because, as we are told, all our works are as filthy rags. 

He chooses us as we are. He doesn't take just the rich, famous, elite or intelligent. He has also chosen the base things of the world, those that are the complete opposite of the others I've mentioned. No one is better than the next. We are just chosen...what a great conglomeration of personalities. Look at the people Jesus chose to follow Him: fishermen, a zealot, a tax collector and others we aren't told about. And then those who followed later: prostitutes, adulterers, sinners of all kinds.  

Jesus did not die for all, but for many. In the Sovereignty of God, Pink explained something from the Old Testament. The High Priest, the only one able to enter into God's presence for the atonement of sins of the people, wore a breastplate as part of his priestly garments. On this breastplate were the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. Back then Israel was God's elect, His chosen people. The High Priest did not seek God's presence for all the world, only His elect, His people, Israel. 

That was Old Testament. Today God's elect extend beyond Israel. Jesus came to die for many and they can be from any race, color or creed. Being His elect, therefore, is extended all nations in the world. However, out of all nations there will be selected many, or some. But not all. It's all so mysterious and glorious at the same time. Don't count Him out of your life. Take hold of His mysterious truths.

Romans 11:33 - Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!