“That the God of our lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:” (Ephesians 1:17)
Salvation is not simply an agreement or assent to the idea of Christ or to a carefully constructed presentation of verses about Him.
We must believe the Word of God AND we must receive a “revelation” of the Lord Himself.
Does that sound shocking?
“For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: but we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us: (II Corinthians 1:8-10)
They keep telling us that we will not be pushed beyond what we can bear. I beg to differ.
God will take us to the place where we can only trust in Him.
Where nothing is left but Him.
It is there, in that desolate place, where He will show us how He is all that we will ever need.
It is sobering to look around and see how the world is completely absorbed with its own vain show. Men are focused on things that will soon change and be forgotten. They bite and scratch for a taste of glory that will soon vanish like smoke in the wind.
This life is short. At most, it is usually no more than 70 or 80 years. Then we pass away.
The work we have done may be endure through generations . . . or it may not.
We do not know if the things we have written, spoken or labored for will produce the fruit we seek. We cannot know. The causes we strive to push forward may last for a time.
Or they may not.
One of my favorite movies is, “The Outlaw Josey Wales”. This is one of Clint Eastwood’s finest.
And one of my favorite scenes is near the end of the film. Josey has ridden to make a pact with a local tribe of Comanche. They are led by a chief called, Ten Bears. He is a formidable-looking character. This meeting could easily cost Josey his life.
Check out this short clip from that movie.
Words of Life and Words of Death
Something about that exchange moves me deeply whenever I watch it. Because it has to do with truth on a very primal level. Where men risk their lives to be straight forward with each other. And then stand solidly upon that which they promised.
“Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:11)
In previous posts, we have discussed the biblical foundation of our “reckoning”. Some call this the “reckoning of Faith”. Watchman Nee discusses this in greater detail in his book, The Normal Christian Life (which I heartily recommend).
The point today is that “Reckoning” can often be misunderstood. Even by those who have understood God’s truth on these matters.
For example, our victory in Christ is based purely on faith. It is based upon the specific words and phrases of scripture that God has inspired that tell us how we are “crucified with Christ“. (Galatians 2:20 ).
This is a fact. It is an eternal reality when we trust Christ as our Savior.
Wherever you go these days, you will hear someone say that education is the answer to the world’s problems. That the lack of proper education is at the core of wars, intolerance and a host of other evils.
Now, I truly do not know how anyone survives without being able to read. That is critical. On so many levels. Life opens up like a flower when we can read.
At that point, however, we have a great many decisions to make. What to read? What to study? What to believe about what we read?
But when we talk about “education”, we are really talking about philosophy. Because, the materials we decide to read become the foundation of all that we believe.
In other words, we choose the sources of truth.
Everyone is fighting Vampires and Zombies these days. Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Slayer. Pride, Prejudice and Zombies. The Walking Dead. Next it will be Jesus Christ, Demon Slayer. It may already be out there and I don’t even realize it!
Oh, how complicated Christian “scholars” can make the scriptures. As Charles Spurgeon once said, “It is amazing how much light the Bible can shed upon the commentaries.”
Eternal Approach 
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