"When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against him."
This is another verse that has been comforting me lately.  We have had at least 3 families in our small fellowship really hit with some anguishing tests lately...in that each has a child either going  through something very painful; or one that is turning his back on the Lord to embrace a destructive life style that the Lord says He can never bless.    In times like these, oh how we need strength, wisdom and  ALL that He is, to take us through the valleys.  I am reminded of the verse also that says, "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound."  And again--"greater is He that is in you that He that is in the world."

We are seeing how much HE has to arrange pressing circumstances, so there will be more of Him through us, and less of our selves.  And none of us is so spiritual that we don't need this kind of help.  Yet--sometimes the Lord does not rescue His child "out of" a test, but simply supplies His abounding grace "in it."   He did leave John the Baptist is Herod's prison, to die while He was performing all kinds of amazing miracles at the same time. When John sent Him  a message, basically the Lord responded by saying, "Yes, many miracles are happening. I am the Lamb of God that you baptized earlier--and blessed is he who is not offended in Me."  And He left John where he was.  Sometimes I can see that He does that with us.  Instead of miraculous deliverance out of the test--there is HIS supply in it.

How very,  very dependent we are on His life!! In order to obey we need Him to empower!  Even to write a letter of concern, then to go across the street to give it to my neighbour I needed His boldness.  How pathetic to be so fearful of a simple verbal rejection for sharing concern about a friend's spiritual well being.

To faithfully follow our Saviour IS impossible without His divine supply--but we do have it, if we will take what He offers.  Then I do believe we will experience and see the Spirit raising up His standard in these days! We will taste the greatness of the grace abounding to us!  And we will not be offended by Him.

Believers in Christ Have an Amazing Destiny!!

While reading I Corinthians 3 this morning I was again impressed that there is a reward for "building, for co laboring" with the Lord. As believers we are His fellow workers, but we are also His building...His dwelling place.  He has come to live in us, and out through us! 

We are to co labor with His  divine life which produces in type; precious stones, silver and gold that will not burn up when tested at the future judgement seat of Christ.    The chapter goes on to say that we are the temple of God and  therefore our whole being is holy, because His temple is holy.      

This word "temple" can be used to describe the Most Holy Place (the Holiest Place) in God's old Testament temple, where only the high priest could enter once a year- or it can refer to the universal Church- but here it is used to describe His local Church.   There is a serious warning  NOT to defile, ruin morally, harm or spoil the Church in any way because there are severe consequences to doing so--we are warned that God will destroy, wither or spoil any who do.    This is explained further in the 11th chapter of the book, where in verse 30  those who participate in the Lord's supper unworthily can have the following happen to them:  "For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep."(die!)     God loved the Church and gave Himself up for her. He is jealous for her as these dire warnings show.

But back to the picture of  building and our amazing destiny we go to Ephesians 2, near the end of the chapter. "Now...you are members of the household of God...in Whom the whole building...grows into a holy temple...in Whom you also are being built together for a swelling place of God in the Spirit."  While we live out our lives, following through with His leading; meeting with the other believers to  worship and to serve, something invisible is happening.  God is building a place where He will dwell with us!!   This is His heart--His focus because the Lord Jesus is also a Bridegroom and this building will become His Bride!!   If we go to Revelation 21 we read verse 2: "...I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a Bride adorned for her Husband...the tabernacle of God...and He will dwell with them..."  

As I was seeing this, my verse was burning in me again!   The reason our Lord is so very serious about His Church is that the Church becomes His Bride...the final temple which here is called "the new Jerusalem."   Later in the same chapter it says; "But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple."   When believers gather together to worship in Spirit, this is a foretaste of the New Jerusalem--the final temple and dwelling place of God with His believers--forever mingled together!! 

 THIS is a calling and purpose worth giving up everything for!!  And--this is not just an 'intellectual' understanding, but God gives us wonderful downloads, foretastes when we fellowship with Him now!  Yes--there is a horrific battle against this, but the enemy will ultimately lose, because "what He purposes, that HE does!"