We live in a world that calls shadows substance and substance shadows.
The Word of God is substance; those who attack it and the reasons they give for doing so are trying to sell you a shadow. Try gift wrapping that.
The Old Covenant's sacrificial system is the shadow; the sacrifice of the Son is the substance. He died once. He paid for all our sins. He paid for all our sins eternally. There is nothing you can do to make His sacrifice better. There is nothing you can do to make sure His sacrifice was good enough. To attempt to do so is to blaspheme His character. To attempt to do so is to claim that He couldn't do it without you, to expect someday to stand is His presence and get a pat on the back for saving yourself. Will He weep when He holds out His nail-scarred hands and whispers, "By these wounds you are healed" ? "I need no other argument. I need no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died and that He died for me."
To the child of God, death is a shadow. Sometimes when it sneaks up on us, we fear it. But even fearing it will not make it substantive. It has no power to harm you. It's a stingless bee. Death is dead. Jesus killed it.
Sometimes we fear the future; but, it's just a shadow. Our "vision" of it has no substance. We can never predict it or control it. The substance is what I choose to do today. As the old evangelist Bob Jones Sr. used to say: "Do right till the stars fall." To be so afraid of the future that I'm afraid to do right today is to live in the shadow of spiritual defeat. Walk in the light of obedience to His Word moment by moment, and you will not fear or dread the empty thing we call the future. "I don't know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future." And He's the King of love, my Abba, my Daddy.
Shadows. The light of God's Word reveals to us their emptiness. The Sun of Righteousness casts no shadows.
"I could not see through the shadows ahead so I looked in the face of my Savior instead. Rejoice in the Lord. He makes no mistakes. He knows the end of each path that I take. And when He has tried me, I will come forth as gold."
The Word of God is substance; those who attack it and the reasons they give for doing so are trying to sell you a shadow. Try gift wrapping that.
The Old Covenant's sacrificial system is the shadow; the sacrifice of the Son is the substance. He died once. He paid for all our sins. He paid for all our sins eternally. There is nothing you can do to make His sacrifice better. There is nothing you can do to make sure His sacrifice was good enough. To attempt to do so is to blaspheme His character. To attempt to do so is to claim that He couldn't do it without you, to expect someday to stand is His presence and get a pat on the back for saving yourself. Will He weep when He holds out His nail-scarred hands and whispers, "By these wounds you are healed" ? "I need no other argument. I need no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died and that He died for me."
To the child of God, death is a shadow. Sometimes when it sneaks up on us, we fear it. But even fearing it will not make it substantive. It has no power to harm you. It's a stingless bee. Death is dead. Jesus killed it.
Sometimes we fear the future; but, it's just a shadow. Our "vision" of it has no substance. We can never predict it or control it. The substance is what I choose to do today. As the old evangelist Bob Jones Sr. used to say: "Do right till the stars fall." To be so afraid of the future that I'm afraid to do right today is to live in the shadow of spiritual defeat. Walk in the light of obedience to His Word moment by moment, and you will not fear or dread the empty thing we call the future. "I don't know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future." And He's the King of love, my Abba, my Daddy.
Shadows. The light of God's Word reveals to us their emptiness. The Sun of Righteousness casts no shadows.
"I could not see through the shadows ahead so I looked in the face of my Savior instead. Rejoice in the Lord. He makes no mistakes. He knows the end of each path that I take. And when He has tried me, I will come forth as gold."
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