Are We Ready For Eternity?***

        

The Holy One calls to me this morning. The Holy Spirit was sent by our Lord to lead us into all Truth.  I came to the realization only recently that I have not, over the course of my life with the Lord, asked Him to do what He was sent to do.  I have not specifically prayed that the Holy One lead me into all truth. 
 

I hear myself pose the question, “Do I have to ask Him?”  When we consider that free will is part of our design, I believe there must be a “willingness” on my part to co-labor and co-operate with my indwelling counselor.  I believe that in our relationship, there is still a measure of freedom to ignore, defy, or deny His ruling authority.  That is what makes up the process of sanctification (being set apart and made Holy) and it requires our co-operation and the surrender of our will.

I now have a standing prayer that the Holy Spirit lead me into all truth.  It is different than asking for specific wisdom in given situations that the Lord has said if we ask for it, we have it.  To be led into all truth has been like a major overhaul of the mind.  The thoughts of God are so much higher than ours and yet He is willing to share what He knows we can and are willing to handle.

To be led into all truth, we must be willing to go there.  Many actually fear truth.  Truth may hurt.  Truth may be hard to swallow.  Truth may crack our precious self-image or contradict our long-held beliefs. But once we get past all that resistance, truth does set us free.

Today the message of the Holy Spirit comes to me loud and clear: “The truth must be spoken regardless of who chooses to believe it”.

The truth and issue of Eternity is pressed on my heart and has been swirling in my mind.  The Lord directed me to pray that His people will have a greater sense of eternity in this age than ever before.  I responded with my usual “curious George” OK but WHY?  Why is it more urgent in these days? 

His answer comforts my mind and confirms his promise.  “For all the generations since the beginning of earth time, man has lived between the boundaries of birth and temporal death.  Only 2 escaped the death experience: Enoch and Elijah.  But this generation of my people will not all face temporal death nor have time to process what death and facing their own mortality does provide.  In the blink of an eye, they will translate as they are: people of eternity; children of the Eternal Father and they need to be ready.” (Enoch: Gen 5:21-22   Elijah: 2 Kings 2:11)

The Kingdom of Heaven is the Eternal Kingdom of our Sovereign Creator God.

Whether you believe in the Kingdom of Heaven or not you are part of its vast expanse.

Whether you believe in the Creator God or not you are part of His creation.

Whether you believe in His word (the Bible) or not, it applies to everyone ever born.

And whether you believe that God sent His one and only Son, Jesus to reconcile the relationship between the Creator and His created or not, the provision for our reconciliation has been given for all mankind to accept or reject.

In every issue, what we choose to believe does not alter what is:  Truth IS Truth.

Even if a lie is believed by most, a lie will always be a lie.  Even if truth is denied by some, truth will always be truth.

In these days we will be presented with lies by the one Jesus said is the “father of lies”: Satan the adversary of Truth. This is why Jesus sent His Holy Spirit of Truth to indwell His people.  Jesus does not want us to be deceived.  We, God’s people, have no excuse for being deceived because Truth dwells in us and He is here to lead us into all truth.

Lies destroy trust…We have an enemy who hates the Creator and knows the Kingdom of Heaven.   The way for the enemy to assault the Creator is to destroy His crowning achievement: Humans made in the very image of God Himself.   

How better to hurt the heart of the Creator than to destroy the object of His affection.  To sever the relationship, Satan attacks us with lies about our Creator.  Satan is the “Prince of the power of the air” and operates from the spirit realm.  He plants lies in our ears that misrepresent God and are designed to cause suspicion of God’s good intentions toward us.

If a person is of the “intellectual” type the enemy will bring fine sounding arguments to debate even the existence of God.  Emotionally vulnerable types will be challenged with lies about God’s love and their worth.  Many who fear rejection will reject Him first to defend against the potential pain.  Power people will hear how surrender to God will interrupt their control over life and circumstances that they can manipulate.  Satan is an ancient and supernatural enemy but a created being none the less and will never be equal in power to the Creator.

Truth sabotages the Saboteur and sets the captives free to live in a loving and trusted relationship with our amazing Creator God.

Humanity’s understanding of the Truth about our Creator God impacts where we will spend eternity.  Our job as Christians is to share the truth about our God, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  And to correct any and all misrepresentations of Him and His love.   It is imperative for His people to know Him so we can share what we know. 

It is also an imperative that we live our lives in such honor of our Lord that He can and will make a distinction between those who serve Him and those who do not since the testimonies are the real deal in most people’s lives. 

Living as if the rapture of the Body of Christ could happen at any moment keeps us focused on eternity and if we are focused there, we might be better servants here. 

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?