Jesus' Joy- Eternal Salvation for Us.

Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

The joy set before Jesus. What was the joy set before Jesus?

Heb 5:9  And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him

The AUTHOR of ETERNAL SALVATION.

What JOY! Jesus could endure the cross, Jesus could despise the shame because after all He suffered He sat down at the right hand of the throne of God- the AUTHOR of ETERNAL SALVATION.

Had Jesus NOT endured the cross He would NOT have become the Author of Eternal Salvation.

Jesus looked BEYOND the suffering. No one can say He didn't suffer, that He didn't feel pain. Jesus felt every single bit of the pain given to Him. Jesus didn’t live in a magical bubble that made Him feel the horrors of the world less than others. Jesus wasn't given super-human flesh that could bleed yet feel no hurt. If Jesus suffered to obtain Eternal Salvation for us, why do we believe we shouldn't suffer? Did Jesus complain about His suffering? Did our Savior say these words--

Luk 22:41  And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, 

Luk 22:42  Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. 

Is that a complaint? If not a complaint it was a recognition about what was to come, what needed to be endured. The cup Jesus had been given was filled with agony- mental, emotional, and physical torture. Clearly no one would WANT to drink from that cup, and if there were any other way surely they would seek that other less torturous way. Jesus asked His Father to remove the cup from Him if He was willing, but the Father wasn't willing. The atonement had to be made if the humans were to be offered eternal salvation. If that cup had been removed from Jesus as He willed it to be removed, He would NOT have become the Author of Eternal Salvation. More than His own will, Jesus wanted the Father's will to be done.

Joh_10:30  I and my Father are one.

Jesus and His Father were one in agreement- they BOTH agreed on the plan of salvation long before it was implemented.

1Pe 1:18  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 

1Pe 1:19  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 

1Pe 1:20  Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you

Before the foundation of the world Jesus and the Father agreed that Jesus would take on flesh and in that flesh He would suffer and die to redeem mankind should they choose to be separated from them through sin. The plan of salvation was one that was made long before Jesus came to earth to suffer. This "cup" Jesus willed would be removed from Him was a "cup" He knew He had to drink from for thousands of years.  Herein again we have to remind ourselves that a day is as a thousand years with God, still, Jesus knew the plan of redemption wouldn't be a pleasant one and He agreed to the plan before the world even had a foundation. Jesus and God agreed on the plan and still Jesus prayed that if God the Father willed, that the plan be stopped.  Jesus' will seemed to have gone down another path away from God's and yet in the same breath of asking, Jesus relented- saying NOT HIS WILL, but GOD'S WILL BE DONE. As much as Jesus asked for something He knew He couldn't receive, He revealed that even HE was subject to the Father's will- even though He and His Father had already agreed as one. Jesus WANTED the Father's will to be done because He knew He agreed with His Father's will. The agony of the beginning of Jesus' end on the cross was terrifying and not something any human should have wanted.

Jesus was looking to the JOY of Eternal Salvation that He could author into existence by His sacrifice.

Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

For the JOY SET BEFORE HIM,  HE ENDURED!

For the JOY set before us THROUGH HIM, we must endure!

Eternal Salvation- this wondrous, joyous gift to us came at an incalculable price. One of our three Gods-  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit- DIED to give this gift to us-- let us never forget.

Suffering For His Sake.

Php 1:28  And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. 

Php 1:29  For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; 

Php 1:30  Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me

Terrified by our adversaries- they view our terror as evidence of our not holding fast to salvation in our Savior.  We know that we will be confronted by our adversaries, flesh and spiritual adversaries. And we know how terrifying it can be when we are under attack. As we fight the very real Christian fight, the spiritual fight, we feel the pain, the horror of the viciousness of Satan. We have to realize as we suffer that it is for our Savior, to believe on Him, suffering for Him.

Why do people tell others they won't suffer? 

Yes, we are to count it all Joy-

Jas_1:2  My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations

Jas 1:3  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 

We are to count it joy when we suffer afflictions yet when we are in the throes of suffering it's so hard to do so. Joy in pain, joy in heartache, joy in sorrow, joy in loss, joy in abandonment, joy in sickness, joy in betrayal, and the list goes on and on. Joy- Jesus- salvation-eternity.  This is the joy we have to have. We can't place our joy in things of the here and now as if we can't lose everything.  Yes, we need to be JOYFUL, and our joy must be in CHRIST first and foremost!  We can joy in our family, joy in our blessings, but we have to do so because we've been given these joys by Christ, through Christ. If our family falls apart, our joy still must be in Christ that somehow, some way it will all work for good. We won't be able to comprehend how the awfulness of a torn apart family can work for good, but it's not for us to comprehend. We must trust in our Savior, we must have faith in Him and know that His ways are far above and beyond ours. As our health deteriorates and we feel pain beyond our ability to even think, we still need to find our hope, our joy in Jesus Christ our Lord. Our hope is in eternity with the love of our Lord, not in ANYTHING here and now. Please Lord, bless us with joy in YOU. Help us to find our joy IN YOU, now and always!

Paul- An Example of Suffering.

1Ti 1:12  And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; 

1Ti 1:13  Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 

1Ti 1:14  And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 

1Ti 1:16  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. 

1Ti 1:17  Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen. 

Paul's suffering is a pattern for all of us.

Paul who assented to killing Christ followers, Paul who once He was shown the Light of the Savior Jesus Christ and the truth was revealed to Him, followed Christ with His whole heart.

Paul suffered terribly. If you think for one second He didn't suffer horrifically you are deluding yourself.  We read things and sometimes we don't comprehend the full truth of what we're reading.  When we read that Paul was whipped do we feel the pain of each strike across his flesh? Do we feel the skin of his back being split open, blood spraying from the whip as it is yanked back coiling for yet another blow? Do we cry out in agony as the whip cuts through muscle all the way to the bone? Thirty nine vicious strikes with the whip, and what? We don't imagine the true horror of how it felt? What about having stones whipped at you? Can you imagine the pain of that? Paul was stoned, and that doesn't mean a single little pebble was thrown at him. Stones rained down upon him, cutting him, bruising him, making him bleed profusely. These physical assaults Paul endured over and over never stopped him from loving the LORD, it never turned him from his belief in the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Paul was an example to us all.

No, we all may not face physical abuse for our faith, but Satan will assault us viciously with the spiritual weapons he possesses.

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

We suffered as Christ followers. Our lives are NOT meant to be easy, not when we stand for the truth.

1Ti 1:16  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. 

Don't fool yourself into believing your life should be easy, expect suffering in whatever form it may take and don't be discouraged. Hold fast to our Savior!

1Ti 1:17  Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen. 

Is Your Affliction Light?

2Co 4:17  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory

Did someone who said these words, inspired by the Holy Spirit, say them haphazardly? Were they written without real knowledge of 'light affliction'?

Let's find out-

2Co 11:23  …I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. 

He was in prisons frequently. He faced death often.

2Co 11:24  Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 

Five times he received thirty-nine whippings.

2Co 11:25  Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; 

Three times he was beaten with rods. 

One time he was stoned.

Three times he was in shipwrecks.

One night and one day he was in the water.

2Co 11:26  In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 

He journeyed often.

He was in danger with water.

He was in danger with robbers.

He was in danger by his fellow countrymen.

He was in danger by the heathen.

He was in danger in the city, the wilderness, and in the sea.

He was in danger from false fellow followers.

2Co 11:27  In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 

He was weary, in pain, watching often, hungry, thirsty, fasting, cold and naked.

And this man could say his afflictions were light.  LIGHT AFFLICTION- beaten, stoned, whipped, imprisoned… just to name a few of his afflictions.

I've never been beaten, I've never been whipped, I've never been stoned, I've never been imprisoned, I've never been confronted by robbers, I've never starved. I've never had those particular 'light' afflictions.

2Co 4:17  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory

The afflictions I have had are nothing like Paul's afflictions, not at all. Yet, not to diminish anyone's afflictions, we ALL experience our afflictions to our own degree. What I mean is I can't make light of your afflictions if I think they are nothing compared to mine, that's not truth, that's not acceptable at all. Your heart maybe so deeply hurt by something that wouldn't hurt mine much at all. I can't know another's heart. Our afflictions are ours to endure through the power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  No MATTER the affliction though, the greatest to the least, they are ALL but for a moment when you compare them to eternity. Seventy, eighty, ninety years of affliction is still but a moment next to time eternal.  All the afflictions we are called to endure will work in us, drawing us ever closer to our Savior. The exceeding and eternal weight of glory this is our hope through our Savior! This is something we need to cling through during all our afflictions. It's not easy, it's horrible what we suffer, but it is temporary to eternity! Praise the LORD! Please, Lord, help us to keep our eyes on YOU through ALL life's many, many horrors! 

All through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, now and forever!!!!!!!

We Choose to Love Him.

Rom 1:28  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient

God does NOT force us to love Him.  We must choose to love Him. God will allow people to go the way they choose. Salvation is offered, but not forced.

Rom 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 

When a person doesn't choose to retain the knowledge of God, they still often recognize His reality yet choose not to glorify Him.  Knowing God yet willfully choosing to deny Him glory, is it any wonder that God allow their hearts to be darkened?  God isn't going to FORCE anyone to love Him! You say you need to be forced?! God says, no. God says, choose me.

Job 21:14  Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. 

Job 21:15  What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him? 

Psa 10:4  The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. 

Joh 3:19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 

Joh 3:20  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 

We need to love the Light. We need to shun evil. If our deeds are evil then we won't want the Light. If we aren't willing to shun the evil as the light reveals it to us, then we are asking for our deeds not to be reproved.  We need any evil deeds in us to be reproved. Please, Lord, please reprove any evil in us!

We need to choose.  We don't have to choose the Light, we can remain in the dark without any reproof. If we choose the Light we are choosing to lay ourselves bare before our God so He can see any darkness that may lurk in us and chastise us as we need to be chastised.  Choosing the Light, choosing God isn't asking for our lives to be easy, it's asking for our lives to be loved all through the ups and the downs.  We need to retain God in our knowledge, daily.  We don't want God to give us over to reprobate minds! We need God to watch over us always, to be in our whole lives, every part of our lives. Please, Lord!

All through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior now and forever!!!!!!!

True Light.

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

Joh 1:2  The same was in the beginning with God. 

Joh 1:3  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 

Joh 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 

Joh 1:5  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 

Joh 1:6  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 

Joh 1:7  The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 

Joh 1:8  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 

Joh 1:9  That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 

Joh 1:10  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 

Joh 1:11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 

Joh 1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 

Joh 1:13  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 

Joh 1:14  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 

Everyone that comes into this world will have the LIGHT of the Savior shine upon them. What happens after the LIGHT of our Savior shines upon a person is up to them. Some may protest and say the Light of Jesus has never touched them, not once. However it has, or it will in the time Jesus determines. No one will be able to say that they weren't given the light of truth from the Savior, the opportunity to know Him, to love Him.

'But as many as RECEIVED Him to them gave He the POWER to BECOME the sons of God- even to them that BELIEVE on HIS name.' 

The Light shines and we have to Receive that Light. Once we receive the light we are given the power to become the sons of GOD.

We have a Father in heaven, we have a Savior in heaven and they have sent the Holy Spirit to us to bring truth, to bring light to us. We have the hope of heaven that goes so far beyond ALL there is in this world, in this life. All the pain, all the horror, all the awfulness that exists IS NOT the only hope we have in our lives. This is NOT our world, this is NOT our true life, this is a temporary existence we live in until we are reunited with our Savior at His return. We can't forget these truths, we just can't. If we forget and begin to live with our hope in our lives now, expecting only good and glory now, without the hope of our Savior in eternity, we are going to suffer needlessly. Jesus came preaching the gospel of the kingdom, of hope in eternity, of hope in our heavenly home, this is what we need to focus on, our heavenly home.

May the Light of our Savior shine upon all of us and may we receive that Light!

All in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, now and forever!!!!!!!

Our Joy May Be Full.

1Jn 1:1  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 

1Jn 1:2  (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) 

1Jn 1:3  That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 

1Jn 1:4  And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. 

Loved unconditionally- this is joy- this is Christ Jesus.

Fellowship with Jesus, fellowship with the Father- is there anything more joyful? 

We can have the knowledge of truth, and that knowledge brings understanding as the Holy Spirit enlightens us.

We are sinners. We are filthy sinners. Even the kindest person upon earth is a sinner. The only ones exempt from sin are those who are innocent through youth, and through mental impairment, these have no knowledge of sin or its consequences. Only those who comprehend can be held accountable.  We are sinners and as sinners we are separated from our Creator by our sins. Having a way to overcome that separation and be reunited with our Creator is miraculous. Through NO effort of our own are we able to redeem ourselves. We are presented with the truth of salvation and told we get to choose to accept it or not. Salvation will never be forced upon a single person.

We can choose salvation.

What does it mean to choose salvation? It means we choose to be reunited with our Creator, and then in turn be the creatures He created us to be. Salvation doesn't mean a trouble free life on earth. As long as sin exists we will be at war with it. Salvation assures us of victory over all sin, because our Savior already gained that victory and promises us His victory. So while we live here and now, we can have that promised hope and that promised hope gives us fellowship with our Savior, with the Father God, with the Holy Spirit and this is our JOY, that knowledge is our JOY, that HOPE is our JOY.