The Heavenly Connection

~~~ Numbers 21:4-9 ~~~ Psalm 102 ~~~ John 8:21-30 ~~~

“Make a saraph and mount it on a pole,
and whoever looks at it after being bitten will live.”

In the Garden of Eden it was the serpent
 who tempted Eve with the forbidden fruit.
Thus God condemned the serpent to forever crawl on its belly.

Today God instructs Moses to take the serpent
mount it on a pole and raise it high for all to view.

God takes the very thing that thrust us
into sin and now makes it a symbol of healing.

For all who look upon the serpent
 after being bitten will be healed.

It seems right for us to make the connection to Jesus.
Of course Jesus is not sin and Jesus is no serpent...
but all who look upon our crucified Jesus
will be granted healing for their soul.

When you lift up the Son of Man,
then you will realize that I AM,
and that I do nothing on my own,
but I say only what the Father taught me.

Jesus wants us to understand that he
 is not of this world;
he is from the heavenly world.
He says we belong to what is below...
he belongs to what is above.

When we lift our eyes to gaze upon his crucified body
then we realize that his dying for our sins
could have only come from above.

Jesus is the I AM...

God's ways will never be our ways.
When God sent Jesus to live among us
 it was only until his mission was accomplished.

During this time of Lent we remember
all that God has done for us.

He has done great things for us.

We invite you to pray the Stations of the Cross
sometime within the next few days.
Praying with these fourteen stations gives us time
 to reflect on how God has healed our soul.

The Lord looks down from above and heals our soul...
he saves us from the darkness of sin.

We are Blessed from our Father above.
Now is the time to express our deepest gratitude
for all that was sacrificed for us.

~~~Peace~~~

Was Jesus Just a Novelty?

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 16:1-10 ~~~ Psalm 100 ~~~ 

~~~ John 15:18-21 ~~~

...because you do not belong to the world,
and I have chosen you out of the world,
the world hates you.

Each time members of the early church encountered obstacles
they were given direction from God.

Jesus came to earth but he never belonged to our world.
He never relinquished his heavenly world.
Jesus brought with himself while here
 in our world a portion of his heavenly world.

A world in which much of our world was not ready to accept.
They found Jesus to be a novelty...a curiosity to some...
a threat to others. 

The world hated Jesus because he was not of this world.

The truth is we are not of this world either,
because we have been chosen and called by God.
We belong in his world, with him.

For now we look like we belong in this world.
Our soul is disguised in our physical body,
but it belongs in heaven...it longs to be there.

We act like we belong in this world,
because we inherited original sin.
Instead of having a natural inclination to always being good
we face temptations that tell us otherwise.

...you do not belong to the world...

Many days the world is all that we relate to.
This world seems so real when compared to the heavenly world.
Jesus gave us a peek into the heavenly world,
but it seems so distant and foreign.
It seems so strange to contemplate not having our physical world.

Our entire spiritual journey, which we experience here in this world,
is about getting to the heavenly world.
To reach the heavenly world we must be
willing to give up this world. 

We have been chosen by Jesus
to be in his heavenly world,
but first we must make it through this world.

Jesus has indeed prepared a place for you;
he chose you to be with him from the very beginning.

Keep walking through this world...
Be confident that you can make it to the heavenly world.
The heavenly world is where we belong...
where we have always belonged.

Thank you, Jesus, for claiming
 my soul to be with you.

So Blessed to belong in God's world.
~~~Peace~~~