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A WORD FOR TODAY





The Looking Glass

My dear friends that are in the body of Jesus Christ, I greet you with the Love of Jesus Christ, which God has given unto us all. We are God’s children, and I am compelled to write a word of edification. We need to realize the glorious impact of God’s true gift given unto us. Jesus Christ the Righteousness of God, revealed.

I dare say, as one who had believed as men, do, of that which is heard by the ear, and not examined by the HOLY, Himself, I argued against every side of many doctrines. “I knew I was right.” After all, I grew up in a home with a father being an ordained minister, and a mother being a Bible teacher. I also attended a Christian Bible School throughout my growing years. I was extremely active in Church, traveled among many leaders in the churches (several denominations) and have continued in ministry through music, and Bible teaching. A lot of "I's."

WITH ALL these known ‘spiritual’ acts, God got my attention in another manner. I dare say, looking backwards now, I see that the pride of my heart had lifted up. I’d say, through that pride, I had the training, and even saw the hand of God working many wonderful things. I knew the scriptures. Yet, I didn’t think I approached God with such an obvious arrogance. Yet, I did so with spiritual power, none the less. I attained much knowledge, and yet good solid Biblical foundation. Still a lot of I's."

God gave the fire of the Holy Spirit in my life, and then things that appeared to be true, now appeared as provoking God to have to honor His Word. God, Himself didn't have the true impact in my heart. He seemed untouchable, and distant. Things failed through the testing of fire. The only things that remained were the precious things that were truly of God. All else became ashes as wood, hay, and stubble does when fire is set to them. Little was left except the very foundation that was of God.

It now appeared that I was truly at the Mercy of God, at this point. Man failed, religion failed, knowledge ceased to have power. I testify, EVERYTHING has to be proven (tested) through His Righteousness, His Holiness, and not anything, or anyone else. There is NOTHING that can prove all things as His fire of indignation which burns away unrighteousness and leaves nothing but His righteousness.

The fire of the Lord is a very good thing! You are then left with HIM. Man’s doctrines can have holes. Yet, God’s WORD brings Mercy to the hearer. God said, “Buy of Me GOLD tried by fire.” This is the Righteousness of Jesus Christ which HE Himself paid that price of Life. His Life in exchange for our dead soul. This was the Law of Holiness. His very LIFE was “Tried, True, and Tested”, through God’s consuming Fire. His Life proved to be TRUE (genuine, holy)

I, then, began to ASK God questions. The first question on my mind was one of , well...I knew God’s Word was True, and there was no lie contained, so therefore I MUST NOT understand it the WAY HE meant it. Surprisingly, His answer was totally different than I would have considered. Since being an “educated Christian”, (nothing wrong with education or Christianity), but, I had spent much of my time “sticking up” for what I believed. Not much wrong with that either, but, all that had been built in me, didn’t complete a longing in the depths of me. SOMETHING was still MISSING, so, WHAT was it? .

God revealed to me, it was His Revelation knowledge and His understanding of HIS MERCY power within HIS LOVE, I didn’t KNOW. So WHAT is this Mercy-Love? He then expressed, “It is the (same) LOVE WHERE WITH I HAVE LOVED you. Where and with are big words. Where is : right at the pivotal point and moment I am standing within, at that very time. With is: with HIS LOVING MERCY that has been tried and tested to be TRUE and HOLY.

I had been LOOKING at everything in reverse. God said to me, “Look into the mirror, and what do you see?” “ME”, I said. “Not so”, He replied. This is your image in reverse.The image wasn’t ME. It is the reflection of the TRUE. I, myself, was the TRUE. He showed me more. "Look at a photo of yourself. Then look at the negative of it." Photo is an image of the subject and not backwards. Photos are DEVELOPED in a DARK ROOM. All light on a photo, shows WHITE, and dark shows BLACK. It’s an IMAGE of the TRUE. The negative is a total reverse, yet looks like the IMAGE. White is black and black is white. He showed me, this is HOW mankind sees in the natural, until we look through the OPEN GLASS, and not just through the GLASS DARKLY, as Paul spoke. What does this sapiritually mean? This is similar to our perceptions of the TRUE, called Jesus Christ, the IMAGE of God. Mankind see through NEGATIVE eyes, until the Light shines in our DARK ROOM and reverses the sight.

When we became spiritually born of God, things appeared so crystal clear. This was our first LOVE. We SAW HIS LOVING KINDNESS IN MERCY for us. We KNEW we could trust in Him. We felt we could conquer the universe!!!!!! His Mercying LOVE was overflowing.

As time progresses our child like trust in Him , begins to turn into a teenage independence, and rebellion sets in.....“ I KNOW MORE THAN MY PARENT.” We don’t kick our kid out of the family, we help them to grow within the confounds of that independence, until he finally “Sees the light”, and realizes that DAD was doing things for my benefit. With all this conversation, what then is a problem? We are conditioned from birth to look at the negatives in life, so it's carried into our spiritual relationship. We then see the dark and call it light, and vice versa. We look for the 'don'ts' rather than looking for His Mercy within His eternal righteousness. . He said, "LOOK for MY MERCY contained within every Word, thought, and idea." This became a difficult task. It meant I HAD to LOOK for the Righteousness, Holy, and Pure, and not the tainted thoughts and my own or others’ preconceived ideas. Until that attitude turned around, I‘d see spots, and wrinkles in the WORD, and NOT THE PURE and HOLY.

This is NOT that power of positive thinking, it’s much beyond that realm. It’s LOOKING into the HOLY GLASS, and seeing CRYSTAL CLEAR.

We need to come to a point where we need to take His Mercying Loving Word for it.. If it doesn’t POINT to THE HOLY, then examine it. It may be the IMAGE of something else, rather than OUR HOLY GOD. Let us learn to “Buy of HIM GOLD tried by FIRE”,. There are images that look like the TRUE, but in total reverse of His Holiness, These, BUY, SELL, and TRADE, unholy images. Let’s not get caught off guard, and miss out in the opportunities that God has set before us. The enemy of God wants nothing more than to kill, steal and destroy, all the advantages of the Mercying Love of God, that was laid before us, through His shed blood. He PAID the price of REDEMPTION. That price He BOUGHT back FOR us, of what the enemy has stolen. It’s HIS Spiritual victory, which spills over into the natural AFTER we know our true inheritance. To KNOW God and Jesus Christ, which is THAT ETERNAL LIFE. John 17:3 Eternal is ...WHAT IS. GOD IS, “I AM”. HE IS! And it needs to be manifested into our LIFE, that HE IS!

Summary

The image of the beast is one that is being looked upon as “who is LIKE unto the beast? ’Rev. 13:4, and in vs. 3 it says, “ALL the world WONDERED after the beast”. Jesus said,'Follow Me.'What then are we to follow? Are we not to LOOK INTO HIS LIFE, if we are to find LIFE? What about His Righteousness, Mercy/Grace, Holiness, purity, good reports, balanced Word(just report)? Are not these that we are to place our thought upon? It is a known thing that WHERE we FOCUS OUR ATTENTION, is WHERE we either will be, have been, or are. If one zeros in on good verses evil, he can run around the mulburry bush with one word that counteracts the other one, forever. A conclusion becomes one of CONFUSION of MYSTERIES. This brings no one into the eternal life, Himself (Jn.17:3). One remains right in the same dark he started, or he may get into a gray area, called by God's Word, neither hot nor cold, neither, light nor day. He actually remains, "in the dark" still not knowing LIFE. The mercy of God reflects the Life giving sound through His Word, Jesus Christ. What then? We find His Mercy-Life that is contained within His Word, LOOK upon HIM whome we LOVE(desire) and the full attention to this, will bring us into the glorious place of that Eternal Life. Let us FOCUS upon His Life giving sound of Mercy, and we will BE where our FOCUS IS. His Righteousness is the Mercy of God, manifested before our eyes. As we look upon HIM, we are to SEE Him AS He IS, and HIS reflection of HIS Righteousness will be seen within our own eyes, waiting to be seen by others that LOOK FOR HIM. What Image are we looking upon in this mirror? Self? Good vs. evil? Pure, holy, righteousness of Christ which is seen through God's mercying Love? Let us examine upon WHOM we FOCUS!

I suggest you study with us on the Mercy studies. You will be blessed.

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