“Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things. ”
To some people, Jesus Christ was a failure because He died not having set the nation of Israel free from the earthly burden of the Roman occupation. To many others, around the world, Jesus was a great teacher or a prophet or worse yet, a false Messiah. But to those of us who walk with Him daily, He is the greatest and most perfect example of SUCCESS there could ever be.
You see, the WHOLE REASON we are alive in this time/space continuum is to decide where we will spend eternity. Yes, it is the MEANING OF LIFE. Think of all the effort people around the world have given just to discover this simple truth. People have spent or wasted their entire lives to discover what I just wrote and never discovered it. The point of Jesus' entry into His own Creation was for one and one reason only: to get us out of the Meal Covenant with Satan and into a Blood Covenant with Him. He created the marriage covenant as a representative of the relationship He wants to have with each and every single one of us. That's why, when we enter into covenant with Jesus at the point of salvation, we enter into our own, personal, marriage with the one and only Lord God Almighty; the Maker of Heaven and Earth.
The way to know if you are being a failure or a success has nothing at all to do with the amount of money you possess, the shape of your body, the amount of knowledge and wisdom you have accumulated, the address of your house (or houses), your occupation/career position, what music you listen to, what shirt, jeans, or shoes you wear or even what you drive.
The world's system has a far different idea of what success is. I've seen a bumper sticker that reads, "He who dies with the most toys wins." Have you seen that one, too?
Thanks to Mid Century Modern Mag.com for the use of the picture.
Nonsense. Pure, unadulterated nonsense. The truth of the matter is this: failure or success depends on one and only one thing: your citizenship.
“But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.”
But how can our citizenship be in Heaven when our feet are firmly planted on Terra Firma and we remain in this earthly tent?
“For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”
Re-read that passage: "we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven." Paul is talking about our Heavenly, glorified bodies being, "not built by human hands." We are 'clothed' with one body while we are on Earth, but when this one is destroyed, we will be given a brand-new, glorified "dwelling" (body) once our spirit translates into eternal life in Heaven because, truth be told, we are already seated in the Heavenly realms in Christ Jesus! In other words, if you are in the Blood Covenant in Jesus Christ, you are already a citizen of Heaven, though you remain on Earth.
Now take a long look at what Jesus promised us when He expressed His desire for us to go to be where "I Am."
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
Understand this statement "be where I am," as a very clear statement that Jesus is revealing, yet again, His true nature to His disciples. He is the Great I Am in bodily form. He says, "I am," three times in that discourse. His promise to them is the same He makes today to us: if we will hold up our end of the Covenant, He will most certainly uphold His end of the Covenant. Moses had, and the second pair ended up in the ark of the covenant, the Ten Commandments on the two tablets. One for Israel's copy and the other was God's copy. Why? Because God cannot tell a lie and He will never break a promise. Why? Because He never lies or deceives. He is the Truth! Plus, there is no shadow of turning with Him!
Conversely, think, for a moment, of the person who once was saved, but betrays God and breaks the covenant (divorces God) by returning to the 'pig sty' (sinful life) he/she left and rejects Jesus as their Lord and Savior. That person will have lost their salvation and their citizenship in Heaven. It would have been better for that person to have never entered a Blood Covenant with God with now no salvation for them after having left so great a salvation! If you break a blood covenant, your blood must be shed for breaking it. Never let that be you! Remain faithful to Jesus in the marriage and know He will remain faithful to you, as well.
Prayer
Lord God, I thank You so very much for saving my spirit and soul from the pit of Hell and for preserving my life so I can live for You. I greatly appreciate Your tender mercies and love that brings me to the point of joy and excitement knowing the best is most certainly yet to come! I worship You because I have experienced Your loving grace and I want to affirm and confirm my vow to never leave You or forsake You. I acknowledge that I am free to live as I please and suffer the consequences or to live as a slave of righteousness and serve You for the rest of my days. I choose to serve You, my Lord and to bring You glory until the day I translate into my Heavenly home; my place of true citizenship! I am a raving success because I am in the Blood Covenant in Jesus, and there is no other reason. Thank You, thank You, thank You, my Lord! In Jesus' awesome and Devil butt-kicking name, amen!
* Sometimes, fortune cookies have solid, parabolic, or even, Biblically truthful statements. However, just because I used a fortune cookie, that doesn't mean you are free to use their messages as direction in your life -- that amounts to seeking a medium. Always seek Holy Spirit for wisdom. ; )