The Holy One calls to me this morning. His Presence is always felt at the start of my conscious day. I "feel" His presence as a warm protection. His gentle voice speaks of that in an uncommon way, "My will has boundaries and you must observe them".
My thoughts take me back to lessons in the "Christian" history of our great nation. For those who may not be aware, there are two histories to our nation. There is our secular history and our Christian history. The stories in our pubic school textbooks only focus on our secular history and deny our young citizens the other accounts that emphasize our Christian history and reveal the fingerprints of God that have been evident from our very foundation.
Our geographical boundaries have been set by the One who called this nation into existence. We sing about our nation as being the land from sea to shining sea. But the north and south boundaries are land masses and conquest was a matter of battles and ground wars. Powerful and anointed generals fought battles for the turf we now call America. I accept that as one nation under God, He set the geographical boundaries as well as the laws governing our society that we know as the Constitution of the United States of America.
It seems that the boundaries of our nation were set by the Hand of God and not one inch of ground beyond those boundaries could be taken or given away even by a great military campaign. Many lost their lives or reputation trying to go beyond or surrender the land that God established as our boundaries. Benedict Arnold's name comes to mind.
This speaks to me about the Spiritual boundaries of ministry and God's will. Did it ever occur to me that I am battling beyond the boundaries of God's will? If I am being defeated, is there a boundary that has been breached and rather than assuming the loss is due to an enemy that must be bound up or cast down do I need to bring the situation to my Holy Counselor for Truth?
Did it ever occur to me that have been baited to step onto a battlefield that the enemy controls and in so doing I have, in pride or flesh vulnerability, left the protected place within God's will and suffered an unnecessary defeat?
The Holy One takes me back to the days that Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. Each one of the temptations recorded was a challenge to the Divine purpose and will of God.
Jesus was sent to die for the "sin" of Adam. He was sent to put humanity back on course and in restored relationship with the Creator. In each of the temptations, Jesus was asked to go beyond the boundary of God's Sovereign will for Him at that time.
Jesus did not debate with the devil, even as the Savior Son of God. The plan required His complete submission to the Father's will since Adam's rebellion of God's will caused the fall of man back in the Garden of human origins.
In Luke 4:3, the devil began his temptations with "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread". But Jesus answered him saying, "It is written that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word of God".
Jesus could have turned all the stones into bread yet God's will would not have been accomplished because flesh need would have pre-empted and dictated a flesh remedy. Boom! A Divine boundary.
In Luke 4:6 "And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give you and their glory for this has been delivered to me and I give I to whoever I wish, therefore if you worship me, all will be yours and Jesus answered and said Get behind me Satan, for it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve".
Jesus is God and as part of the Triune Godhead, He created the world and technically it already belonged to Him. So why not exercise His Divine ownership? Boom! A Divine boundary.
In Luke 4:9 the exchange continues, "If you are the Son of God throw yourself down from here for it is written, "He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you and in their hands they shall bear you up lest you dash your foot against a stone". And Jesus answered and said, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God"
At this point we might wonder why Jesus didn't identify Himself and tell the pip-squeak "game over!" Why not enlist the 2/3 of the loyal Heavenly Host (who were BTW of the same origins as the devil himself) to do away with the illegitimate usurper of man's dominion of the earth? Boom! A Divine boundary.
I get the picture. If Jesus, who was God in the flesh resisted the temptation to go beyond the boundaries set by the Father's will and plan, then it is critical for me to observe them as well.
God's boundaries serve God's purpose and in God's timing we will understand the wisdom they represent. The ultimate purpose in Jesus life was to redeem and restore humanity to the relationship man had with the Creator before the rebellion that caused the fall.
Until Jesus was crucified on the Cross, humanity was in bondage to the Devil. The original Adam lost relationship with the Creator and set all humanity on a death course. Adam rebelled and went beyond the boundary set by God for his well-being and experienced the heartrending separation from the loving Creator of his soul.
Jesus, the God Son, came to restore the relationship the original Adam sacrificed. To do that, Holiness required the death producing shedding of the life blood of "man". But in the mystery of our creation and fall, it is ordained that only Holy innocent blood can resurrect. The sacrificial substitute for humanity had to have Holy blood not tainted by sin passed down from original Adam.
For us to resurrect in a glorified eternal way, Holy Blood must be transferred to us and as we accept the sacrificial death of Jesus in substitution of our own we have that Holy Blood transferred to our chart of accounts.
Jesus came and brought with Him with the understanding of Holiness. None understood it at the time even though it was written and recorded in the Old Testament. And I wonder how many of us today have still missed the Truth:
Only Holy eternal innocent blood can resurrect in glory. Only as we take claim to that Holy eternal blood shed in our behalf can we be resurrected in glory. The soul lives on but the flesh body does not. The "resurrection" has to do with a glorified body with the eternal quality that will house our eternal soul, as was modeled in the resurrected glorified body of Jesus.
The boundaries that Heaven set applied to the One sent from there. Divine privilege would have removed all boundaries but unless Jesus lived and died a flesh death within them, none of humanity would have been saved to experience eternal life. Jesus observed God ordained boundaries for the greater purpose: the redemption of mankind.
The point to me today is that if Jesus observed the boundaries of Holiness, then so must I. If Jesus modeled the humility of obedience to the Father and the Holy Spirit then so must I.
Understanding the "why" of boundaries is not the issue, obedience to stay within them is. To know the boundaries requires wisdom that comes from the Holy Spirit within. After His baptism and before Jesus went into the wilderness to face off with the devil, the Word says, "Then Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness being tempted by the devil".
The Holy Spirit who indwells all believers is the same Holy Spirit who filled Jesus. And it is by Him, our indwelling Counselor that we can know and honor the boundaries of our Heavenly Father's will. Boundaries set by our Father in Heaven are for our protection and our good.
I am thankful for the Truth about God ordained boundaries. Today's lesson from the Holy One brings even more understanding of the need to live within them.
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
My thoughts take me back to lessons in the "Christian" history of our great nation. For those who may not be aware, there are two histories to our nation. There is our secular history and our Christian history. The stories in our pubic school textbooks only focus on our secular history and deny our young citizens the other accounts that emphasize our Christian history and reveal the fingerprints of God that have been evident from our very foundation.
Our geographical boundaries have been set by the One who called this nation into existence. We sing about our nation as being the land from sea to shining sea. But the north and south boundaries are land masses and conquest was a matter of battles and ground wars. Powerful and anointed generals fought battles for the turf we now call America. I accept that as one nation under God, He set the geographical boundaries as well as the laws governing our society that we know as the Constitution of the United States of America.
It seems that the boundaries of our nation were set by the Hand of God and not one inch of ground beyond those boundaries could be taken or given away even by a great military campaign. Many lost their lives or reputation trying to go beyond or surrender the land that God established as our boundaries. Benedict Arnold's name comes to mind.
This speaks to me about the Spiritual boundaries of ministry and God's will. Did it ever occur to me that I am battling beyond the boundaries of God's will? If I am being defeated, is there a boundary that has been breached and rather than assuming the loss is due to an enemy that must be bound up or cast down do I need to bring the situation to my Holy Counselor for Truth?
Did it ever occur to me that have been baited to step onto a battlefield that the enemy controls and in so doing I have, in pride or flesh vulnerability, left the protected place within God's will and suffered an unnecessary defeat?
The Holy One takes me back to the days that Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. Each one of the temptations recorded was a challenge to the Divine purpose and will of God.
Jesus was sent to die for the "sin" of Adam. He was sent to put humanity back on course and in restored relationship with the Creator. In each of the temptations, Jesus was asked to go beyond the boundary of God's Sovereign will for Him at that time.
Jesus did not debate with the devil, even as the Savior Son of God. The plan required His complete submission to the Father's will since Adam's rebellion of God's will caused the fall of man back in the Garden of human origins.
In Luke 4:3, the devil began his temptations with "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread". But Jesus answered him saying, "It is written that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word of God".
Jesus could have turned all the stones into bread yet God's will would not have been accomplished because flesh need would have pre-empted and dictated a flesh remedy. Boom! A Divine boundary.
In Luke 4:6 "And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give you and their glory for this has been delivered to me and I give I to whoever I wish, therefore if you worship me, all will be yours and Jesus answered and said Get behind me Satan, for it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve".
Jesus is God and as part of the Triune Godhead, He created the world and technically it already belonged to Him. So why not exercise His Divine ownership? Boom! A Divine boundary.
In Luke 4:9 the exchange continues, "If you are the Son of God throw yourself down from here for it is written, "He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you and in their hands they shall bear you up lest you dash your foot against a stone". And Jesus answered and said, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God"
At this point we might wonder why Jesus didn't identify Himself and tell the pip-squeak "game over!" Why not enlist the 2/3 of the loyal Heavenly Host (who were BTW of the same origins as the devil himself) to do away with the illegitimate usurper of man's dominion of the earth? Boom! A Divine boundary.
I get the picture. If Jesus, who was God in the flesh resisted the temptation to go beyond the boundaries set by the Father's will and plan, then it is critical for me to observe them as well.
God's boundaries serve God's purpose and in God's timing we will understand the wisdom they represent. The ultimate purpose in Jesus life was to redeem and restore humanity to the relationship man had with the Creator before the rebellion that caused the fall.
Until Jesus was crucified on the Cross, humanity was in bondage to the Devil. The original Adam lost relationship with the Creator and set all humanity on a death course. Adam rebelled and went beyond the boundary set by God for his well-being and experienced the heartrending separation from the loving Creator of his soul.
Jesus, the God Son, came to restore the relationship the original Adam sacrificed. To do that, Holiness required the death producing shedding of the life blood of "man". But in the mystery of our creation and fall, it is ordained that only Holy innocent blood can resurrect. The sacrificial substitute for humanity had to have Holy blood not tainted by sin passed down from original Adam.
For us to resurrect in a glorified eternal way, Holy Blood must be transferred to us and as we accept the sacrificial death of Jesus in substitution of our own we have that Holy Blood transferred to our chart of accounts.
Jesus came and brought with Him with the understanding of Holiness. None understood it at the time even though it was written and recorded in the Old Testament. And I wonder how many of us today have still missed the Truth:
Only Holy eternal innocent blood can resurrect in glory. Only as we take claim to that Holy eternal blood shed in our behalf can we be resurrected in glory. The soul lives on but the flesh body does not. The "resurrection" has to do with a glorified body with the eternal quality that will house our eternal soul, as was modeled in the resurrected glorified body of Jesus.
The boundaries that Heaven set applied to the One sent from there. Divine privilege would have removed all boundaries but unless Jesus lived and died a flesh death within them, none of humanity would have been saved to experience eternal life. Jesus observed God ordained boundaries for the greater purpose: the redemption of mankind.
The point to me today is that if Jesus observed the boundaries of Holiness, then so must I. If Jesus modeled the humility of obedience to the Father and the Holy Spirit then so must I.
Understanding the "why" of boundaries is not the issue, obedience to stay within them is. To know the boundaries requires wisdom that comes from the Holy Spirit within. After His baptism and before Jesus went into the wilderness to face off with the devil, the Word says, "Then Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness being tempted by the devil".
The Holy Spirit who indwells all believers is the same Holy Spirit who filled Jesus. And it is by Him, our indwelling Counselor that we can know and honor the boundaries of our Heavenly Father's will. Boundaries set by our Father in Heaven are for our protection and our good.
I am thankful for the Truth about God ordained boundaries. Today's lesson from the Holy One brings even more understanding of the need to live within them.
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
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