Do you have any idea of who you truly are? Do you really know your worth? You're not just the physical reflection you see in the mirror--not just the persona defined by your name, your address, your family, your school, your possessions, or your achievements. Those are the characteristics and fringe benefits we accumulate along life's journey--like your favorite thinks, what image you have, what you have accomplished, what you own, what your profession is, what family you have, what you or others think about you, and so on. The essence of "who" your really are goes much deeper. Who are you? Go ahead; ask yourself, "Who am I really?"
The upside down order of humanity started at the dawn of civilization, as recorded in the Book of Genesis in the Bible. In the first chapter of Genesis, we get a peek into The History of Creation, where "God created the heaven and the earth, and the earth was without form…the Spirit of the Lord [the Holy Spirit], moved upon the waters." Now, God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit have always existed as One, united Holy Trinity from the beginning of time.
I believe that when God called The Creation Meeting in the Boardroom of Heaven, all three personalities of The Holy Trinity (The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), sat together at the conference table in heaven as God instructed "Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over..the earth." (Genesis 1:26)
I often hear people mistakenly say that God has tempted them, but God doesn't tempt you. As a matter of fact, He always provides a way of escape for you, if you will listen to and follow His instructions. Think on this: It wasn't God who caused sin to happen to humanity; it was man who opened himself to sin, by disobedience to God and by allowing evil to have access to his soul.
Years ago, I used to wonder why God just didn't destroy the devil in the Garden of Eden and remake Adam and Eve. But as I grew closer to the Lord over time, I realized that He is such a loving and remarkable Father, that He doesn't force anyone to come to Him. The awesome gift that He had given to the first man and woman is the same gift humans have today-the gift of free will or free moral faculty. That means that each of us has the ability to choose right from wrong. But keep in mind-with every choice you make, there is a condition that comes with it.
Do you know how important Jesus is to the turning point in humanity's history? I'm not talking about the text book history that we learn in secular school. I'm referring to everlasting history-the infinite time between The Alpha and The Omega, the beginning and the end-the history that is etched on the realm of time and recorded in God's spiritual Book of Life that is kept in the great Hall of Records in heaven.
There is indeed a Book of Life that has the personal biography of each of us-everything we think, say and do. It's actually more of a spiritual autobiography of each individual, because each human helps to write their specific life story, by their specific actions. Whatever we do is etched in this book. And just like each choice we make has a consequence, for each personal action there is personal accountability.
Read the entire story of Jesus' life, purpose, passion, and victory on earth. Because of Him we have a restored relationship with God, the Father. It's recorded in The New Testament. The Gospels (the four books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) narrate His life and teachings. Although they all tell the same story, each of them gives unique gives unique insights and details. The first three are called The Synoptic Gospels because they are very similar in content; John, however, gives us unique details not found in the other three. It is amazing when you really understand and grasp how Jesus has literally saved humanity.
The crucifixion of Jesus was brutal beyond belief. He suffered immensely on our behalf. If you haven't seen The Passion of the Christ as yet, I urge to buy or rent the DVD. The term passion is based on the Latin word passio which means to suffer. The passion of Christ includes all the suffering Jesus went through in human form on our behalf-specifically the events leading up to His crucifixion and death on the last day of His human existence-which includes The Last Supper where The New Covenant between God and Man was established, His betrayal by one of His disciples, His arrest in The Garden of Gethsemane, His trials, the torture, the scourging, His carrying the Cross to Calvary, and His crucifixion and death.
The New Testament is the New Covenant Relationship between God and man. The Blood of Jesus is the essential factor, while The Cross of Jesus is the central point, which represents the reconciling, re-joining, the re-connecting, the re-establishing of humanity to its Creator, the Father-the specific meeting place symbolizing the Spirit of God coming down to earth, and the spirit of man being lifted up, both meeting at this crucial Crossroad of Life.
The Messiah completed His part of the deal. His Blood was the seal on the deal that was set in motion in Heaven's Boardroom eons ago. It had finally come to pass. Everything that was prophesied through the Old Testament prophets had finally come to pass.
When Jesus went back up to heaven [His ascension after His resurrection], the Holy Spirit came down to earth to dwell with and within believers as planned. Jesus, the Christ, ascended to heaven to take His place as High Priest at the right hand of God, the Father, then the third person of The Holy Trinity-the Holy Spirit-cane down to continue the work that was set in motion by Jesus' fulfillment of The Salvation Plan. If Jesus didn't go up, then the Holy Spirit couldn't come down.
