PSALM 138:2

Promise Received

I WILL BOW DOWN TOWARD YOUR HOLY TEMPLE

AND GIVE THANKS TO YOUR NAME,

FOR YOUR LOVING KINDNESS AND YOUR TRUTH;

FOR YOU HAVE MAGNIFIED YOUR WORD

ACCORDING TO ALL YOUR NAME.

DAVID EXPRESSES HIS GRATITUDE TOWARDS JEHOVAH,

ACKNOWLEDGING THAT HE HAS NOT BEEN LEFT WITHOUT DIRECTION.

IN MODERN LANGUAGE, HIS WORDS CAN BE UNDERSTOOD AS SUCH:

"I WILL BOW DOWN TO YOUR HOLY TEMPLE

AND PRAISE YOUR NAME, FOR YOU HAVE SHOWN ME MERCY AND TRUTH

BY FULFILLING EVERYTHING YOU HAVE PROMISED ME."

AS BELIEVERS WITH THE INDWELLING VICTORIOUS SPIRIT OVER

SIN AND DEATH, WE ARE MUCH MORE THAN MERE MORTALS.

WE ARE GOD'S TEMPLE, AND HIS NAME IS JEHOVAH SAVES!

GOD VALUED MY SOUL EVEN BEFORE I VALUED MYSELF,

AND I OWE MY LIFE TO HIM.

THE TRUTH DEFINED IN SCRIPTURE IS THE SPIRIT HIMSELF,

SPEAKING THROUGH HIS PERFECT TEMPLE, JESUS THE CHRIST.

GOD NOT ONLY PROMISES BUT ALSO FULFILLS HIS PROMISES.

THERE ARE UNIVERSAL (BIBLICAL) PROMISES THAT APPLY TO THE CHURCH AND

EVERY MEMBER

AND THOSE UNIQUE PROMISES THAT HE DECLARES TO EACH INDIVIDUAL.

“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:40)

The will of Jesus’s Father is a right now event with two aspects that Jesus offers.

See Him AND Trust Him!

The scripture declares every eye will see Him. This must also mean that every heart can trust Him. Has your heart submitted and obeyed this one injunction? How do you see Jesus? It could not be easier. Trust Him! Once?

No, every moment.

Lord Jesus, I obey by knowing You know me.

“But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe.” (John 6:36)

What the regular folk wanted was not being offered by Jesus. Everyone believed they had to obey God, rally around a leader, and fight Caesar. With words like these, Jesus seemed so heavenly-minded that He was no earthly good. The Jews wanted an economic system honoring the Law of Moses, with God blessing their efforts. This upstart was saying, “Look to Me and trust Me. I have it all under control.” That sounded possible until He declared what His first strike and victory blow would look like over the Romans. He was letting them crucify Him.

They asked, “Is there another Messiah out there?”

Lord, Your victory continues in hearts ready to trust Your plans, ways, timing, and outcomes for them individually. I bow to You and submit to Your will.

“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.’” (John 6:35)

Jesus is as good as said, “I am the whole menu. There is no more. If you sense need, you are consuming something other than Me.” We can so easily get distracted by the flesh’s desires raining on us 24/7 that we put God on some back burner, looking to other things to satisfy. Many believers ask God to “open the Heavens” and expand their menu today. Jesus is the full meal deal. Trust He is the menu, front to back.

Jesus is the ultimate comfort food.

Dean: May I see the dessert menu? I would like joy topped with peace. Lord, can I start with some chocolate ice cream?

God: NO!

“So they said to Him, ‘What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform?’” (John 6:30)

Several times, Jesus declared He could do nothing but what He saw Father doing. Twice, He said He could not initiate one thing. Yet the people wanted Him to initiate and do according to their desires. He would be their King if He did their bidding. The people wanted to graduate from servants of a king to a democracy electing a servant king. God forgives your trespasses once you get off His turf and stop using His property for your gain.

Using God for your ends is trespassing.

How can I do what Your Spirit excites me to do, what only You can do? I can pray, praise You, Father, wait, rest, receive, and give thanks to Your Name “Jehovah Saves.”

“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.’” (John 6:29)

Men asked what they could do that looked like God was doing it. Jesus answered their question. He declared God was at work in them to trust in the One He had sent. It is Father’s good pleasure to raise up to Himself many sons. Father had sent many judges, kings, and prophets. He also sent His One and Only Son to raise up to Father, many of whom would trust Him to accomplish His promises.

Every moment is a moment to lean on Jesus.

Father, thank You for Jesus in whose lap I may rest. There, I abide in His love, care, joy, and good pleasure. There is no other God. He is the righteous One. There is none except Him.



Now that we know Heaven is God Himself, we can say, "Hell is anything other than God." God is life; the other is not. God is Light; the other is not. God is love; the other is not. Here is a list of God things: joy, peace, temperance, self-control, patience, and so on.

If you have the Not things, you have what we call Hell. Hell is the permanent place for the not-God stuff. It is a place where you can try and do what your heart desires without the earth and a body with which to satiate the desire. Let's say you really feel fulfilled eating fine food. Death removes the food but not the desire. If your soul is attached to the desire, you get to have the desire but with no way to satisfy it. Now, that is hell. It is hell on earth and hell without the earth. So then, heaven is being both attached and addicted to what goes on forever; hell is both being attached to and addicted to the flesh, which ends, but your soul goes on wanting.

Thus, our simple conclusion is, "Hell is anything other than God, and He going on forever."

Welcome to today's face-to-face episode titled "What is Heaven?"

Many envision Heaven as the ultimate abode, where love abounds, desires are fulfilled sans government interference or taxes, and even the neighbor's dog refrains from incessant barking. Smiles are ubiquitous, and accolades flow freely, creating a euphoric earthly paradise. However, this perception is a far cry from the truth.

Heaven is the very essence of God, unchanging across eternity. God, synonymous with selfless love, is revealed in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, in whom we place our trust. Heaven is where God is, and aligning with His will becomes our joy. Our actions mirror His in heaven, even if it means sacrificing personal desires for His greater purpose. It's a realm where selflessness prevails.

Excitement in heaven isn't derived from accumulating for oneself but from giving selflessly, mirroring God's love. The prospect of abandoning personal desires for His divine will defines heaven's bliss. If we have that attitude now, we share in His bliss.

“For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” (John 5:46-47)

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The Jews of Jesus’s day said they trusted Moses’s words. Jesus reminds them that Moses told them of the coming Christ and that they should listen to Him. On the Mt. of Transfiguration, Peter thought they should build three temples—one for the Law people, one for the children of prophecy, and one for Jesus. Just then, there had to be an intervention. While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”

There is only one voice to which to listen.

Give me ears, Lord, that hear Your voice and feet to follow in Your steps.

You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent.

It takes hard work to distrust God. I met a man who declared he once trusted Christ. Now, for him to continue to do so is foolishness. He has all sorts of reasons why he cannot trust there is a god. Yet his life is swimming in conspiracies. He traded in God’s love for a few dozen conspiracies. Down deep, he knows someone else is in control. He cannot figure out exactly who.

God’s conspiracy is that He has joined you to His heart of Love.

Lord, I am already joined to Your heart of love by Your gifting Christ. It is Your Light, the light with which I shine on all I meet.