Passing Through The Fire...

[lighthousejohn]

In 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, Paul tells us about the foundation that has been laid for us by Jesus Christ. He cautions us to build carefully on that foundation and to be aware of the materials we use. Now this thread is not about the doctrine of works, or the value of one ministry over another. I am interested in your thoughts on verse 15.

10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
I can see several doctrinal concepts in this verse. What do you think?
In Christ,
John

 

[pickles]

Im going to have to think on this one for a while.
Right now all I can think is the foundation is all that counts.
smiles and God bless, pickles

 

[wattie]

Yeah this verse is about rewards in heaven.

If we build on our faith with good works, seeking after Jesus whole-heartedly, we build up gold and silver to await us in heaven.

If we do not build on our faith, and our works are like wood, hay and stubble.. then when we go to heaven and are judged.. we will still be going to heaven because of Jesus' payment for us at salvation.. but we won't have built up the same rewards as someone who was faithful.

So there is no works to get to heaven.. only works to determine rewards in heaven. This is good justice.. like an instructor saying - you have already met what is needed to get to this course-- but now if you want to get a great grade or reward.. then put in greater effort. The requirements are already met.. but the extra rewards need effort.

So at salvation.. we are immediately granted entrace to heaven.. but then Jesus says.. if you seek after Me and love me.. you will gain greater rewards when you die and go to heaven.

 

[VW]

I feel that Paul is thaking about the judgement seat of Christ. I think that this is somewhat different from how we normally concieve of judgment. I believe the key is that Paul says the day will reveal the work gold, silver, wood, hay, stubble. The works of faith, those that are done in Christ, will abide. I believe that these works are characterized mainly by how much they were motivated by and done in the love of God. The day will reveal the motives of our hearts for each deed and word and thought, in the light of God's love.
But according to Jesus, we can come to this light now, to have our deeds revealed as having been wrought in God. In that day, the light will reveal all things. But we love the light, and we come to the light. Jesus is the light. Those acts and words and thoughts which are not in the love of God are destroyed by fire, by the light. And some will be saved, even as by fire.

 

[Sharp]

Good topic - I'm studying Corinthians at the moment.

Questions I have would be:


How will our work be judged?

What loss will those whose work is burned up suffer?

 

[Israel]

In 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, Paul tells us about the foundation that has been laid for us by Jesus Christ. He cautions us to build carefully on that foundation and to be aware of the materials we use. Now this thread is not about the doctrine of works, or the value of one ministry over another. I am interested in your thoughts on verse 15.

10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
I can see several doctrinal concepts in this verse. What do you think?
In Christ,
John

1 Peter 2

Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,

2As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
3If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
4To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
5Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
6Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
7Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
8And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
9But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;
10Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
11Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
12Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.
13Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;
14Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.
15For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
16As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.
17Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.
18Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.
19For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.
20For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.
21For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
22Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
23Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:
24Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 25For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.


This chapter of Peter says alot about it. Think about this. Many Christians believe that the law was nailed to the cross. Many also believe that the Bible is the true word of God. So if we believe that our law is fulfilled in Christ, Why then judge another based off of the law he lives by? If God is powerfull enough to nail His own law to the cross, is He not equally strong enough to do the same for say, the laws of the Qu'ran? If Allah is not the God of our Bible, then surely he can't be stronger! Again, I'm not an expert on the Qu'ran, but the Bible I read teaches that God offers salvation to All who believes! It also teaches that ALL things work together for the good of those that believe! And if the law of the soveriegn God of the universe is fulfilled in Christ, then the Bible teaches me that the muslim is no different than the christian. The common thread is that they both BELIEVE! The man who prays to an image of Jesus is no different than the man who believes that he has to pray five times a day in a certain way to reach God. For both men, it is the appearance, the desire to make one wise; the image that the world portrays where there is malice and guile, and hypocraicies and envies, and evil speakings! It is this type of work that will be burned in the fire. But what of the spirit? It is here that the righteousness of God is shown. For they both have access to God by the same spirit! Now think about what else this is saying. I'm a man of God. I try my earnest to do what is acceptable to Him as well as obey the law of the land. So based off of this chapter, I laugh when people honestly believe that the mark of the beast is a micro chip! We must put to silence the ignorance of foolish men! How can a drug dealer sell drugs with a micro chip? How can someone buy an illegal firearm with no cash? A micro chip cannot harm a child of God in any way shape or form as our lives should be on public display as an example to follow! The work we must continue is that of adding lively stones to the house of God. Anything else is burned in the fire!

 

[VW]

Very strange doctrine. The muslim is very different from the christian. The qu'ran is very different from the bible. Jesus is not in one, and the living word spoken of in the other is Jesus, the word of which we desire the milk of is a man, who is God.

As to microchips implanted, I don't want one, and I will not take one. The government in the country I lived in stopped being concerned with my welfare a long time ago. If it ever really was, excluding a few of its statesmen.

 

[Dmurray]

I could be wrong, probably partially am. But oh well.

We go through valley's in life, and through trials. Gods love for us is like a burning consuming fire, right?
So if we build on top of the foundation with wood, hay, and straw. Whenever God tests us we won't be as strong because it will be burned up.
But if we build it with gold, silver, and precious stone, each time we come to a test and his love burns inside of us we will become more pure.

Because whenever we put gold, or silver, or precious stones into a fire, it burns away all of the impurities and comes out truly pure.

God Bless.

 

[Israel]

Very strange doctrine. The muslim is very different from the christian. The qu'ran is very different from the bible. Jesus is not in one, and the living word spoken of in the other is Jesus, the word of which we desire the milk of is a man, who is God.

As to microchips implanted, I don't want one, and I will not take one. The government in the country I lived in stopped being concerned with my welfare a long time ago. If it ever really was, excluding a few of its statesmen.

This is my point. We believe in Jesus. Have any of us in the last 2000 or so years claim to have seen Him (with natural eyes)? No! Now, in speaking as a carnal man, be honest with yourself, but what image comes to mind when you think of Jesus? Christianity is bombarded with these such imagery. Now in thinking as a natural man, was Jesus even His name? What about Yashua? Does He have a say so in this? Come to think of it, How would anyone know the real name of the messiah? We simply weren't there! My name is Victor. If you ask for Vincent, then I won't respond. But what does the spirit say? Jesus said to help the least of His brethren is to help Him! So the muslim, by the laws of the flesh or sin as it is called in our Bible, might only worship Allah, but of the spirit or righteousness he naturally obeys the law of Christ in doing all he can to help his neighbor! So when the day of visitation comes, his work may be burned in the image of God portrayed by Islam, but the man is saved by his faith and belief in God! In Christianity, there are some very sincere, good and honest people. There are also some bad ones. It is the same in Islam and everyother religion.

And as to microchips, my point is that whatever you choose, make it based off of your decision. The person who accepts a chip is not destined for hell no more than a person who doesn't is destined for heaven. The world has feared this for many years now and the rulers of this world knows this! THEY. WILL. PLAY. ON. THAT. FEAR! But what does the Bible say about fear?

 

[charisenexcelcis]

Good topic - I'm studying Corinthians at the moment.

Questions I have would be:


How will our work be judged?

What loss will those whose work is burned up suffer?

I think that they will be judged by our faithfulness rather than by our success. There are some that will be greatly honored whom we considered of little consequence.
I think there will be that moment of painful disappointment, beyond that it is difficult for us to imagine the function of reward in a existence free for covetousness.

 

[VW]

This is my point. We believe in Jesus. Have any of us in the last 2000 or so years claim to have seen Him (with natural eyes)? No! Now, in speaking as a carnal man, be honest with yourself, but what image comes to mind when you think of Jesus? Christianity is bombarded with these such imagery. Now in thinking as a natural man, was Jesus even His name? What about Yashua? Does He have a say so in this? Come to think of it, How would anyone know the real name of the messiah? We simply weren't there! My name is Victor. If you ask for Vincent, then I won't respond. But what does the spirit say? Jesus said to help the least of His brethren is to help Him! So the muslim, by the laws of the flesh or sin as it is called in our Bible, might only worship Allah, but of the spirit or righteousness he naturally obeys the law of Christ in doing all he can to help his neighbor! So when the day of visitation comes, his work may be burned in the image of God portrayed by Islam, but the man is saved by his faith and belief in God! In Christianity, there are some very sincere, good and honest people. There are also some bad ones. It is the same in Islam and everyother religion.

And as to microchips, my point is that whatever you choose, make it based off of your decision. The person who accepts a chip is not destined for hell no more than a person who doesn't is destined for heaven. The world has feared this for many years now and the rulers of this world knows this! THEY. WILL. PLAY. ON. THAT. FEAR! But what does the Bible say about fear?

I see what you mean in the works aspect. In fact, I see that those who are resurrected in the last day to life are those who actually have good works because of love. Included are those who denied the antichrist, were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus. It does matter which of His names we call Jesus, in our hearts we must know that He is the only begotten Son of God, sent as the sacrifice for our sins, to restore us back to God, that we might share in grace, that is, fellowship with God. For this is life. The muslim religion does not have this factor in it, and while they could hear the voice of the Son of God, and I pray that they do, until they do, they will not have life as we are to have life in Him.

I agree, taking a microchip is not as far as I can see, taking the mark of the beast. Although it could turn out to be so.

Blessings in Christ Jesus,
vic

 

[lighthousejohn]

This is my point. We believe in Jesus. Have any of us in the last 2000 or so years claim to have seen Him (with natural eyes)? No! Now, in speaking as a carnal man, be honest with yourself, but what image comes to mind when you think of Jesus? Christianity is bombarded with these such imagery. Now in thinking as a natural man, was Jesus even His name? What about Yashua? Does He have a say so in this? Come to think of it, How would anyone know the real name of the messiah? We simply weren't there! My name is Victor. If you ask for Vincent, then I won't respond. But what does the spirit say? Jesus said to help the least of His brethren is to help Him! So the muslim, by the laws of the flesh or sin as it is called in our Bible, might only worship Allah, but of the spirit or righteousness he naturally obeys the law of Christ in doing all he can to help his neighbor! So when the day of visitation comes, his work may be burned in the image of God portrayed by Islam, but the man is saved by his faith and belief in God! In Christianity, there are some very sincere, good and honest people. There are also some bad ones. It is the same in Islam and everyother religion.

And as to microchips, my point is that whatever you choose, make it based off of your decision. The person who accepts a chip is not destined for hell no more than a person who doesn't is destined for heaven. The world has feared this for many years now and the rulers of this world knows this! THEY. WILL. PLAY. ON. THAT. FEAR! But what does the Bible say about fear?

This sounds like you are saying that faith in and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and saviour is not necssary for salvation. If all I have to do is love "god" and treat my neighbors as I would myself, then I will be saved. Following this line of thought negates the sacrifice of Christ and can be destructive to the spreading of the gospel.

Being good and doing good things without faith in Christ will not give us salvation and eternal life, only believing in Christ will (ref: John 3:16)

In Christ,
John

 

[Israel]

This sounds like you are saying that faith in and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and saviour is not necssary for salvation. If all I have to do is love "god" and treat my neighbors as I would myself, then I will be saved. Following this line of thought negates the sacrifice of Christ and can be destructive to the spreading of the gospel.

Being good and doing good things without faith in Christ will not give us salvation and eternal life, only believing in Christ will (ref: John 3:16)

In Christ,
John

We must understand that it is one thing to say it, but what does this mean?

Matthew 25:32-46

And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

33And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

There is a difference in only providing lip service in accepting Jesus and actually showing one's acceptance by how he treats another! Again, how can one believe in a person they've never seen? By having faith and belief in the message or spirit that person represented! So anyone who does what is mention above, BY SCRIPTURE will be considered righteous and will receive eternal life. Abraham is the father of all those that believe and he didn't even know the name Jesus! The Bible says that he believed! And he demonstrated that belief in offering his son Isaac.

 

[lighthousejohn]

We must understand that it is one thing to say it, but what does this mean?

Matthew 25:32-46

And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

33And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

There is a difference in only providing lip service in accepting Jesus and actually showing one's acceptance by how he treats another! Again, how can one believe in a person they've never seen? By having faith and belief in the message or spirit that person represented! So anyone who does what is mention above, BY SCRIPTURE will be considered righteous and will receive eternal life. Abraham is the father of all those that believe and he didn't even know the name Jesus! The Bible says that he believed! And he demonstrated that belief in offering his son Isaac.

You seem to be eqating confession of Christ as mere lip service.. The passage you quoted in Matthew does not negate the need of faith in Christ. I first believed in the message of Christ and had no idea of the Holy Spirit. My faith has produced good works of faith that I pray will be found as a pleasing aroma to God. Even the pagans do good things for other people but the gate to eternal life is narrow for a reason. Not everyone will be received in heaven and given eternal life. That reward is only for those who have believed with a penitent and contrite heart that Jesus is Lord. We must look at all of scripture to fully understand the process of salvation.

In Christ,
John

 

[Israel]

You seem to be eqating confession of Christ as mere lip service.. The passage you quoted in Matthew does not negate the need of faith in Christ. I first believed in the message of Christ and had no idea of the Holy Spirit. My faith has produced good works of faith that I pray will be found as a pleasing aroma to God. Even the pagans do good things for other people but the gate to eternal life is narrow for a reason. Not everyone will be received in heaven and given eternal life. That reward is only for those who have believed with a penitent and contrite heart that Jesus is Lord. We must look at all of scripture to fully understand the process of salvation.

In Christ,
John

How does one demonstrate their faith in Jesus but by how one treats his neighbor? All the law hangs on two commandments. To love God with all of your being. The second, being SIMILAR to the first is to love your neighbor as yourself! There are two ways to look at this. In the physical, I can feed and clothe as many people as my money would allow me to. This is good for the body, but what of the spirit? We must feed and clothe the poor with the truth and righteousness of God! How do I love a muslim? By saying we need Jesus? How do I do that? The same way Paul did, in that he preached Christ CRUCIFIED!

John 6:63

It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Here, Jesus says that the words that He speaks is that spirit and life! This is what's important as we were all baptized into His death, now to live in the spirit and newness of life by the righteousness of God! Christianity and Islam is both passing away with with this world. I would tell a muslim not to see me as christian as I don't see him as a muslim. To see each other as a righteous child of God in the Spirit as the outward appearance or image brings envy, strife, bitterness, division, and hypocracy. The Bible says that when Michael disputed Satan over the body of Moses, he dared not bring accusation but simply said the Lord rebuke you. Who are we to speak of things we don't understand when that same Bible states that All things (good and bad) work for the good of those that love God?

 

[VW]

There is a difference in only providing lip service in accepting Jesus and actually showing one's acceptance by how he treats another! Again, how can one believe in a person they've never seen? By having faith and belief in the message or spirit that person represented! So anyone who does what is mention above, BY SCRIPTURE will be considered righteous and will receive eternal life. Abraham is the father of all those that believe and he didn't even know the name Jesus! The Bible says that he believed! And he demonstrated that belief in offering his son Isaac.

You ask how one can believe in a person that they have never seen. Jesus answered this:
Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear shall live.

 

[Israel]

You ask how one can believe in a person that they have never seen. Jesus answered this:
Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear shall live.

But VW, we don't literaly hear a voice from heaven. We hear Him with our spirit. And that Spirit of Jesus is speaking even now in His words! Here's another scenario. Two members of a gang. One member is a diehard gangbanger. He's robbed and killed. Sold drugs and all of this while working for the police! The other hasn't robbed or killed anyone. He struggles within himself for acceptance. He's all but homeless and sells drugs to keep afloat. He knows that the old lady down the street gets a nice social security check, but instead of trying to rob her, he looks out for her. Now based on the outward appearence, person number 1 is considered a stand up guy by the world. He's a police officer! But look what he does when the world isn't watching. Person number 2 is considered a loser by society. But the difference is that #2 is hearing His voice. He doesn't understand that voice, but naturally he tends to follow the law of Christ, as the Spirit is bearing witness with his own conscious. It is the same with religion as well. God judges the heart and not how it looks to the world.

 

[VW]

But VW, we don't literaly hear a voice from heaven. We hear Him with our spirit. And that Spirit of Jesus is speaking even now in His words! Here's another scenario. Two members of a gang. One member is a diehard gangbanger. He's robbed and killed. Sold drugs and all of this while working for the police! The other hasn't robbed or killed anyone. He struggles within himself for acceptance. He's all but homeless and sells drugs to keep afloat. He knows that the old lady down the street gets a nice social security check, but instead of trying to rob her, he looks out for her. Now based on the outward appearence, person number 1 is considered a stand up guy by the world. He's a police officer! But look what he does when the world isn't watching. Person number 2 is considered a loser by society. But the difference is that #2 is hearing His voice. He doesn't understand that voice, but naturally he tends to follow the law of Christ, as the Spirit is bearing witness with his own conscious. It is the same with religion as well. God judges the heart and not how it looks to the world.

This is true, but it ignores a very important point. If #2 would listen, not just be bothered by his conscience, but listen and receive life from God through Jesus, then he would come alive to God. And when this happens, everything changes, nothing is the same, old things have passed away, behold all things have become new. Now in the scenario above, #2 could maybe be resurrected in the first resurrection, maybe. But I don't know what his status would be in eternity, where he would live. #1 would maybe be part of the second resurrection. But if either one heard His voice, and received, they would be in neither resurrection. They would be alive in Jesus, never to die.

Yes, we hear Him in our spirit, but this does not make His voice less, but rather much more. In fact, this is the single most important event in our lives. Many harden their hearts to this voice, put it off, ridicule and disbelieve. It just cannot be, says the liar.

 

[OreoSoleil]

We are saved through our own iniquity

 

[VW]

We are saved through our own iniquity

Absolutely, sister. Without iniquity, how would we even know that we need saved? Jesus did not come for the righteous, but for the sinner. Of course, we know that there is none righteous, not even one. But our salvation is a relationship with God the Father, and in this relationship, we are in Jesus Christ. And as the Father relates with us, it is as with Jesus, of whom He said, "This is My Son, in whom I am well pleased." Everything that Jesus did, from the instant of His birth to His resurrection, and even now as we draw near to God through Him, is to make this relationship possible. For He lives always to make intercession for us.

Blessing in Jesus,