Hello, John and Doves,The Kingdom of Heaven begins here and now, according to John 17:1-5.Jesus Prays to Be Glorified
1After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began."Jesus defines eternal life joyously:3"Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."Clearly, eternal life for the believer has already begun. And yet, we are not in heaven."There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God...."So we also do not see our rewards, except by faith. We would not choose this life of pain for ourselves, our loved ones, or any new convert. Nevertheless, we are motivated as Jesus was to do His Father's will. Jesus prayed to the Father:4"I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do."Now the focus is on glorifying the Son:5"And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began."This is why it is written,1"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."And what is "the race marked out for us?"It is written,"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."Rabbi Shaul writes of this gospel,1"Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas [Peter], and then to the Twelve. 6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
9For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed."
Friends, we're not going home until we finish the race--each one of us in his turn.We must be able to say with Rabbi Shaul,"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."A very short treatise on faith:Faith in Action1"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2This is what the ancients were commended for.
3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
5By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” (Genesis 5:24) For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
Thus, it is written,"Behold, his soul which is lifted up [prideful, arrogant, boasting of oneself] is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith."~Blessings,Mike