SHILOH MESSENGER - April 2013
















 

Curious Pilgirms

"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them,” Hebrews 11:13-16.

I love this particular scripture, because it reveals much about a pilgrimage that all of us are on. It is a journey called life. From the time we took our first breath, the journey began. For a great multitude, the journey is a supernatural one that leads to a Heavenly Country. For the others it is a journey of deception (2Cor. 4:4). I do not claim to have all the answers to the journey called life, but the Bible does. The Bible ( God’s Inspired Word) is a Treasure House of wealth, for the curious. “I rejoice at Your word As one who finds great treasure,” Psalms 119:162. In the Word of God, the Holy Spirit reveals that Jesus Christ is the Light of the world and He came to illuminate all who were living in darkness (Jn. 1:1-5). We  know that down thru history and even now people continue to reject Jesus Christ as Savior of the world. Some just boast and say “there is no God!” Romans 1:19 says,  “what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.” What is being said is, when God created us, He put an intuition in us to know that He exist and we should be curious to know Him. With me, I was attracted to the Light of the Gospel Message. My spirit man was  awakened from a dark place and shown a path that leads to True Life. From that place I began my spiritual pilgrimage to know Christ and to make Him known.
 
I have been shown much mercy and given much grace. This acknowledgement comes from a heart that realizes I have done nothing to deserve this blessed life. What have I learned from this Great Grace given to me? I learned it demanded a response. I responded in repentance, because His goodness was revealed (Rom. 2:4). I have learned the way to encounter Him is by the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in John 6:63, “ It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” Life does not have to be difficult. Everything we need to know about our purpose in life is found in a deep intimate, loving relationship with the Holy Spirit. As He (Holy Spirit) reveals who God is, there is an invitation to discover more. The more I surrendered, the more I discovered Life is in the Son of God (Jn. 1:4). This curiosity about Christ Jesus is leading me to my destiny. I have a saying that both Deb & I quote, “I have not arrived, but I have left the starting place.” My wife & I have both discovered that we are on a journey that is taking us to a destination (a Heavenly Country). As we journey, we are compelled by a Presence to invite others to go with us, to this Heavenly Country.
 
It is amazing how the transformation of a carnal mind to a spiritual mind takes place. It is not by mystical means, but by an invitation to encounter Him in the Spirit thru Worship, Prayer & meditation  in the Word of God (Rom. 12:1-2). God who designed us has put eternity in our hearts (Ecc. 3:11). There is this knowing in each one of us that there is more to life than we currently know. Intimacy with the Savior reveals secrets that are now made known to those who are curious to know more about Christ Jesus.  “The mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory,” Colossians 1:26-27. The Lord always rewards a heart that is out to discover the riches in Christ. The Father delights to share His Heart in the things hidden for our discovery. He has never hidden things from us, but for us to discover. The very things that were once a mystery has now been revealed to a curious heart. God was intentional in creating a people, not satisfied with man made ordinances. He created us for encounters, thru discovery. The more curious we become about Christ, the greater the reward in revelation about Him.
 
The reference topic (top of page) verse in Hebrews 11 is all about a company of people who saw things from afar. There were things put in them by God that caused them to sojourn for years in order to accomplish what was given to them by God to complete. This great chapter in Hebrews is called the roll call of faith. Each and every individual encountered a God who invited them into a journey that would take them to a Heavenly Country. We do not know what all personally took place, but it had to be such an encounter that they forsook all (including death) to gain a City that would was not made with human hands. But what they saw from a distance is now revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God,” 1 Corinthians 2:10-11. Most of us know that all of the people described  in these passages (Heb. 11)died under an inferior Covenant. “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,” Hebrews 10:19-20. It is only thru this new and living way that we gain access into the Throne Room of God.  It is in the Holy Of Holies with Jesus our Great High Priest that we have favor and obtain the proper perspective to see clearly in the journey. Everything that we need for our journey as pilgrims has been provided for “in Christ.” My prayer for you is in Ephesians 1:18, “ the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of inheritance in the saints.” Amen!


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