These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, "Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give ---eternal life--- to as many as thou hast given him. And -this- is life eternal, that ---they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. " - John 17:1-3
" Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, ---hath--- everlasting life, and ---shall not--- come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto --life.
For as the Father hath ---life in himself---; so hath he given to the Son to have --life in himself--;
And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. " - John 5:24 - 5:40
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If you have been following along with us, we have been deep diving into what the Word has to say about Blood ("The Life of the flesh is in the blood" ), and we saw that there is a unified thread of blood being analogous to life from Genesis chapter 4 (the blood of Abel).
We saw that there are exacting and equal penalties imposed on both man and beast for spilling innocent blood. We saw in Leviticus that the ---ordained-- use for blood was to make atonement for the souls of Israel, ONLY at the ONE & ONLY altar of the Tabernacle/Temple, and we saw the mission of Christ, prefigured in the Passover and the temple sacrifices, which covered, but could not take away, the sins of the people.
We then saw that blood, water, and air/fire are powerful witnesses of the life-giving qualities of God --- being critically necessary to sustaining life on this planet as well as providing a hint into His Nature, and the oneness that pervades these three concepts that are so inter-related.
They are a powerful, and ever-present witness of the Grace of God that gives Life to all (good and evil, man and beast alike) to the inhabitants of this planet, and which ALSO provides a way for man to atone for his sins.
And THAT is the raison d'etre for this entire drama of the restoration of Man - the glorification of the Grace and power of God, and the vindication of His ways and thoughts against the wiles of the enemy and the rebellion of men.
That is the reason for Palm Sunday, for Good Friday, for Easter, for Passover & Yom Kippur, and the feast of Tabernacles!
We serve a LIVING God, as LIVING creatures. The concept of LIFE is intimately wrapped up in, and originates from the Nature of a God that has the power to create LIFE, and also to grant that it be ETERNAL! ..... and eternal fellowship with His creatures is what God desires with all His heart.... but there are some things which must come to pass before mankind is fully restored.
We (as individuals, and collectively as mankind) must GROW UP in the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ, before we can come to the full and abundant (eternal!) life to which we were destined before the earth was created.
Knowing the difference between good and evil, we must learn to choose the good, and refuse the evil!
Knowing the nature of God, and the true intent of the Law (Love God & your neighbor as yourself), we are to stand firm in the liberty that God, His Christ, and the Spirit have wrought for us, and not be entangled in the bondage to the letter of the Law.
Knowing the heart of God, we can understand why the first great council at Jerusalem on doctrinal issues ended with these words...
" For it seemed good to the ---Holy Ghost--, -and to -us, to lay upon you ---no greater burden than ----these necessary things----; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well. " - Acts 15:28-29
These words were spoken through people that were eyewitnesses and hearers of Jesus' teachings, and who saw the Spirit fall upon uncircumcised believers and circumcised Jews alike!
In the New Covenant, walking in the Spirit, all things are permissible to us, but not all things are beneficial or good for us!
We NEVER shall come into condemnation, but it is up to us to make use of our brains and will, supported by the indwelling counsel of the Word and the unction of the Holy Spirit, to walk as salt and light in this world, worthy of Him that called, saved, keeps, and restores us!
The prohibitions of the 1st Jerusalem council are completely consistent with all the principles in the Word, expressed through many voices over multiple generations --- as we should rightly expect from the voice of God.
Don't eat/drink actual blood (its not good for you), stay away from food offered to idols --- it may contain blood, people may mistakenly think you are participating in idol worship.
Even if you CORRECTLY judge & know that ALL food is created by GOD and is good, and an idol is an empty, powerless, human creation -- it is not a good look for a Christian --- to be seen eating that food.
Strangled animals die with the blood in them, and sexual immorality is condemned from the days of Sodom and Gomorrah.
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Stay away from these things, and you will DO WELL , there is ---NO OTHER BURDEN---- IMPOSED ON A BELIEVER!
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Its not about whether to use lipstick or makeup, clothing choices and hemlines, worship music, church membership/attendance, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs even... we will pay in this life for the consequences of our choices ---- but these things DO NOT impact your eternal destiny!
That destiny has been authored and sealed by God Himself, in the words of His Covenant, in the blood of His Son, and in the earnest of our inheritance that dwells within us. He is the one that convicts our hearts when we KNOW we have sinned, and lovingly washes us clean each day with the power of the Word and the blood of the Lamb!
So then, our task is to pray for all to come to the saving knowledge of God and His Son, to be mindful of every opportunity we have to minister to people and show them the LOVE of God.
We ALL can minister, where we each are, and even a cup of cold water is AS SIGNFICANT (in HIS eyes) as a WORLD DOMINATING ministry!
We have the power to change our world (our hearts, our homes, and those around us) by our witness.
This Easter season, every Christmas and Passover, let us take the opportunity to be living witnesses of the LIFE that is within us, and glorify the one who called us from darkness into the wonders of His LIVING LIGHT!
Let us wave our Palms and celebrate the victory of the ONE who triumphed over our failings to gather us to Himself!
Hallelujah!