His simple plan
Hosea 11:7 My people are bent on backsliding from Me, though they call to the Most High, none at all exalt Him.
Hosea 13:6 When they had pasture, they were filled; they were filled and their heart was exalted; therefore they forgot Me.
God had a plan even when Adam and Eve chose to think they were as knowing as God. They stepped away from sinless harmony and living with God, into sin. He was not surprised when Eve convinced Adam to sin with her, but that caused death to come upon humans. Part of that death is a separation from God, called sin. And that separateness can cause greater sin and hurt, hunger and despair to be everywhere. But He had a plan to save us, to bring us back to His kingdom if we would depart from our cocky sureness of making our own decisions as though we are always in charge. He would send His Son to be the final sacrifice for our sinful natures and many sins.
We all sin. We are born with a sinful nature, a self-seeking nature. Parents teach their children to share, to be nice to others, to give to others. It does not come naturally, so others must teach children to share and to be kind and gracious to others.
Jesus came to earth, Son of God, part of the trinity, alive forever, part of the Creator, the Alpha and Omega. But God’s plan was to send Him to earth to live as a fully human man, although God. He was and is sinless and He was to be an example, to teach and to fulfill more than 200 prophesies. The prophets told the Israelites what His grand plan was to offer them eternity with Him. They predicted He would be born of a virgin in a town of Bethlehem. (Isaiah 7:14)
It was predicted He would save the Israelites and He would be hurt, scourged, ridiculed and killed. ( Isaiah 53). Prophets told how He would die on a cross, but His legs would not be broken (Psalm 34:20) as it was determined He was already dead, hanging on the cross before it reached the sunset hour. The Old Testament gives us more than 200 prophesies which were fulfilled about Jesus, our Savior, and the One who would redeem us.
The Israelites and people who knew the stories of the scriptures waited for a soldier to fight and free them from oppression, the tyranny of the Romans, the evils of high taxes. They were not expecting a quiet, loving, calm teacher who explained and showed through example how to love. Like many of us who feel some of the unfairness, they wanted radical change now; they were anxious to join the fight for freedoms, and they wanted to push back at the oppressors. Nowhere in the Old Testament does it proclaim a mighty soldier will free them with violence and so forth.
God’s plan was so much better. And even as He traveled those dusty streets, spoke and taught, demonstrated His quiet loving ways, He reached many people. He healed the sick, the blind, the deaf, the demented, those paralyzed, with a touch, sometimes with just a quiet sentence…”Your servant is healed.” He explained repeatedly that He was in close communion with His Father…”He is in Me and I am in Him.” (John 14:11, 14:20) And the many who believed in Him, chose to follow. I would love to have walked those times and heard that voice and teaching then, on those dusty streets, maybe when He waited for water and a meeting with a scorned woman in Samaria. (John 4)
So many prophesies were predicted of Him. And some He had no responsibility to seeing fulfilled. He was already dead when the soldiers were breaking the legs of the two robbers crucified on each side of Him; therefore they had no need to break His legs. They did pierce His side, again He could have done nothing to cause or prevent this…yet another prophesy fulfilled. ( Psalm 22:16).
It is so amazing to me to read the OT and find how God fulfilled in the testimony of those men who walked, talked and learned with Him. And, these men, His chosen disciples, once they were filled with the Holy Spirit and fully knew Jesus, they never refracted their stories of belief. They all faced persecution, beatings, prison, abandonment and death, and never said, “NO, I just made it up. I just continued the great story.” Because they knew the truth, that Jesus is the Messiah. They knew He awaited them in glory. And they faithfully realized and were compelled to tell us what they knew, what God told them to say through visions and more. Those martyrs wanted all to be saved, as it was written, the words of God need to reach all the peoples of the earth to all the corners.
I know many don’t believe in heaven or hell, God or Satan. I can’t stand the idea of nothingness at my life’s end. Satan is alive and well and searching to destroy, lie and suck the life out of people and add to his dominion. He thrills at the idea of you not choosing God or him, because by you not choosing and reaching out by a simple sincere prayer to God, you will spend eternity in the fires and sulphur burnings in hell. It is not straddling the line. You either stand for Jesus… or you declare you are not sure, or you declare for Satan. But by the not clearly stating for Jesus, you choose Satan and hell’s eternity. That scares me for all those I love and care about and in their eternity.
It sounds simple, and the plan is simple. Humble yourself, reach out to God/Jesus, admit you are a sinner, and you want to honor Him, have Him guide your life. Confess and invite Him in and you are freed of the certainty of spending eternity in hell and damnation. But we are a STUBBORN people. And we believe we are in charge, in control, and we make and are responsible for all decisions and events that occur in life. Wrong! We can become humble rather quickly once things spin out of our control. That is when many reach out for the Savior.
I know I want one of “the many mansions, and I go to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:3-4) Believe me, for just the chance I could sit on a distant hill and sleep in a tent to hear Him and spend time with Him, I would sign up. But I received so much more. I have the reassurance of heaven, I know more love and peace and see beauty in each and every day, am surrounded with like-minded people, and it a ‘yahoo!’ feeling to hear the testimonies of others and the wondrous things He has done. And I get to share in it, to praise Him and to just be with Him. Nothing like it!
So thankful I reached out for “mybellaviews.”
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