Friday, January 18, 2008

God's Plan

Scientists who have studied how the human brain works have identified that a specific area of the brain controls a person’s ability to cope with stress of all kinds. This ‘coping center’ in the brain can be developed all through a person’s lifetime. A specific ‘cycle’ of experiences that grows one’s capacity for ‘handling’ stress contains two vital ‘parts’ - identified as JOY and PEACE. JOY - life giving energy received when you experience someone genuinely loving you
and PEACE - Comfort and ‘quiet’ Confidence you Experience through trusting one who loves you. A person can be content alone, but true JOY and genuine PEACE can only be experienced when two minds become synchronized - come into a ‘oneness’ and unity - with each other.

God’s Original Plan
God created ‘man’ as ‘male and female’ to provide for loving interaction between different minds, including interaction with Him. This would increase JOY and PEACE for everyone - including God Himself. God loves for His human family to experience JOY - to be in His presence. He loves for His human family to feel comfortable, to be at Peace, in Him.

A Major Problem
When Adam and Eve chose to believe Satan’s lies instead of God’s Word the spirit of fear intruded where before was only PEACE; the spirit of shame swept in where before was only JOY; and the ugly spirit of ‘rejection’ which leads to ‘blaming’ others for pain caused by believing lies, destroyed Adam and Eve’s common unity and the capacity to experience love based JOY and PEACE in their lives.

The Divine Remedy
God still loved His human family so He provided a ‘plan’ to rescue man from sin - choosing any will other than God’s will - and from the accompanying fear, shame and rejection, leading to death (no life). God’s plan also reveals to everyone in the whole universe more about what He is really like and what His love really is.

Why a ‘Divine Rescue’ Needed?
When Adam and Eve sinned, that choice disconnected them from God who is life. They should have died right then but a dead person cannot experience anything - including JOY and PEACE. But God had created this family to experience His love and even though they had chosen ‘another will’, God still loved them. So instead of allowing the complete result - death - to take place immediately, God’s ‘rescue’ plan provided a ‘way’ whereby each person would be given ‘probation’ - more opportunities to learn what God’s true love really is. And as a sinner experiences love and chooses to accept God’s ‘rescue’ plan, God restores that person’s capacity to live and to love.

God shared His plan with Adam and Eve and they told their family, but Satan’s lies andsophistries brought confusion and many even rejected God’s plan. But not everyoneignored God. One of God’s special friends was Abraham, whose family was later called Israel. During a famine they moved to Egypt. After many years an Egyptian king (whorefused God’s plan) enslaved them. The time came, however, when God miraculously set them free from Egyptian slavery, opened a path for them to cross the Red Sea on dry land and then led them to Mount Sinai in Arabia (Galatians 4:26).

Covenant of Freedom and Signs of the Covenant
Israel camped around Mount Sinai and there the Creator God spoke His covenant of freedom (See Exodus. 20). He began by saying “I am the Lord thy God”, and then He declared that He was the One who had set them free. He then described that freedom. 1. Accepting Him as their God set them free from serving any other ‘gods’. 2. God’s love set them free from allegiance to any power other than His love. 3. As part of God’s ‘love family’ He set Israel free from any other ‘name’ (family). 4. God then restored to them His ‘outward’ sign of freedom - “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy ....For the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God”. It had first been celebrated at the end of creation week (See Genesis. 2:1-3) as God ‘rested’ with His ‘new family’ and shared with them His JOY and PEACE based in love. 5. God also restored the outward ‘sign’ of loving others as one’s self (also established in Eden) when He said “Honor thy father and thy mother....” Since God’s government is ‘family’ based, God’s plan sets people free to live love - love others as themselves. 6. God’s love sets his family free from killing others - either physically or spiritually.7. God’s love frees His family from having improper relations with others.8. The love of God frees His family from stealing what belongs to others. 9. The freedom God gives keeps His family from saying or acting what is not true. 10. Experiencing God’s love frees His family from coveting what others possess.

Why the need for a Sanctuary?
Israel listened to God, but they misunderstood Him and responded in shame, terror and rejection because they didn’t know who the Creator God really was and what He was like. God knew this and so He told Moses ‘Let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. Exodus 25:8.

A Map
The sanctuary is like a ‘map’ illustrating God’s rescue plan.
Each symbol illustrates a ‘step’ toward new life in God. Believing truth about God sets a person free from bondage to Satan’s sophistries and lies. And to know God is to love Him and become part of His family of love.

The Sanctuary’s Meaning and Purpose
God is not in the business of saving ‘buildings’ or ‘places’. The sanctuary illustrates God’s ‘rescue plan’ to save human beings from death (no life) - the consequence of ‘sin’. God’s great desire is to restore a love relationship between Himself and His human family. Paul wrote ‘Ye are the temple of God’’ I Corinthians 3:16 and also, ‘Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost’ I Corinthians 6:19. The sanctuary map reveals how God wants to become reunited to each person. It is therefore applicable to every person.

JOY/PEACE Cycle
Interestingly enough, the sanctuary illustrates the same ‘steps’ scientists found to be essential to developing a person’s ability to cope with all kinds of life’s stresses. God’s plan leads to uniting a person with God’s life in love (the first part of God’s law - see Matthew 22: 37-39) and uniting individuals together in love (the second part of God’s law). And when two minds unite, JOY and PEACE result. God created the human family to be His ‘temple’. His greatest desire is to live in you - His temple - by His Holy Spirit.
Your Choice, God’s Power You can’t experience JOY and PEACE by yourself and Jesus will never force His way. But as you ‘look’ to Jesus - learn what He is like - and ask Him to fill you with His love, He will ‘do it’. Choosing to accept God’s plan gives Jesus permission to empower you to cooperate in Him - both in experiencing His JOY and PEACE and in sharing it with others. This ‘love life’ flowing through you gives you a new attitude, a new life in Christ.

Precious Promises
“What a God is our God! He rules over His kingdom with diligence and care, and He has built a hedge -- the Ten Commandments -- about His subjects to preserve them from the results of transgression. In requiring obedience to the laws of His kingdom, God gives His people health and happiness, PEACE and JOY, He teaches them that the perfections of character He requires can be attained only by becoming familiar with His Word.” Counsels to Parents, Teachers and Students 454 “In the cleansing of the temple, Jesus was announcing His mission as the Messiah, and entering upon His work. That temple, erected for the abode of the divine Presence, was designed to be an object lesson for Israel and for the world. From eternal ages it was God’s purpose that every created being, from the bright and holy seraph to man, should be a temple for the indwelling of the Creator. Because of sin, humanity ceased to be a temple for God. Darkened and defiled by evil, the heart of man no longer revealed the glory of the Divine One. But by the incarnation of the Son of God, the purpose of Heaven is fulfilled. God dwells in humanity, and through saving grace the heart of man becomes again His temple.” Desire of Ages 161 Shall we not find time in which to praise Christ for His REST, PEACE and JOY, and make manifest by daily thanksgiving that we appreciate the great sacrifice made in our behalf, that we may be partakers of the Divine nature?” Counsels to Parents, Teachers and Students 343

Symbols of Life
Each sanctuary ‘symbol’ represents an experience Jesus loves to have in you daily. Ask God to show you any lies you have believed about Him or others so you can ‘let go’ of them. As God reveals Satan’s lies to you and you renounce them, God takes them away and gives you HIS TRUTH, LOVE, JOY and PEACE to fill the void. As you choose to accept God’s rescue plan ‘There is JOY in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.’ Luke 15: 7,10 Receiving God’s Word also brings you JOY! ‘These things have I spoken unto you, that my JOY might remain in you, and that your JOY might be full.’ John 15:11. You will also experience PEACE, a quiet, deep abiding sense that you can truly trust the God who loves you - just as a little child can comfortably ‘cuddle up’ in mother’s arms in trust that mother loves. The Sanctuary ‘map’ - Path to JOY - leads you to God and reconnects you to His life, giving you JOY and PEACE in Him. ‘Great PEACE have they which love Thy law.’ Psalm 119:165 Jesus also sets you free from Satan’s lies you previously believed about you, others or Jesus and which have enslaved you. In place of fear God gives you rest, for shame He gives you His JOY and instead of rejection He gives PEACE.

Gems of Joy and Peace
“We should never give to the world the false impression that Christians are a gloomy, unhappy people. If our eyes are fixed on Jesus, we shall see a compassionate Redeemer, and shall catch light from His countenance. Wherever His Spirit reigns, there PEACE abides. And there will be JOY also, for there is a calm, holy trust in God.” Desire of Ages 152 “When the Spirit of God takes possession of the heart, it transforms the life. Sinful thoughts are put away, evil deeds are renounced, LOVE, humility and PEACE take the place of anger, envy, and strife. JOY takes the place of sadness, and the countenance reflects the light of heaven.” Desire of Ages 173 “Christ has made every provision that His church shall be a transformed body, illumined with the Light of the world, possessing the glory of Emmanuel. It is His purpose that every Christian shall be surrounded with a spiritual atmosphere of light and PEACE. He desires that we shall reveal HIS OWN JOY in our lives.” Christ’s Object Lessons 419 “God hears the prayers of all who seek Him in truth. He has the power that we all need. He fills the heart with LOVE and JOY and PEACE and holiness. Character is constantly being developed. We cannot afford to spend the time working at cross-purposes with God.” Counsels on Health. 394

“God desired to bring all peoples under His merciful rule. He desired that the earth should be filled with JOY and PEACE. He created man for happiness, and He longs to fill human hearts with the PEACE of heaven. He desires that the families below shall be a symbol of the great family above. Christ’s Object Lessons 290 “When the beams of Christ’s righteousness shine upon the soul, JOY, adoration, and glory will be woven with the experience.” Signs of the Times, June 9, 1890

* ”For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; in returning and REST shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: . . .” Isaiah 30:15
*“To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes,the oil of JOY for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might becalled trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified.” Isaiah 61:3
* “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you REST. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find REST unto your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
*“These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have PEACE. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
*“Thou wilt keep him in perfect PEACE whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength:...”Lord, Thou wilt ordain PEACE for us: for Thou also hast wrought all our works (for) us.” Isaiah 26:3,4,12
* “PEACE I leave with you, my PEACE I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”John 14:27
* “Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding JOY, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen” Jude 24,25
*Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy word was unto me the JOY and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Thy Name, O Lord God of hosts.” Jeremiah 15:16
* “Now the God of hope fill you with all JOY and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. Romans 15:13
* “But we also JOY in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” Romans 5:8
* “Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; who for the JOY that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2
* “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation. Therefore with JOY shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” Isaiah 12:2,3
* “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will JOY in the God of my salvation.” Habakkuk 3:18
* “ But let all those who put their trust in Thee rejoice: let them ever shout for JOY, because Thou defendest them: let them also that love Thy Name be JOYful in Thee. Psalm 5:11
* “Then the Lord answered Job of the whirlwind and said, . . . Where was thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? . . . Or who laid the cornerstone thereof; when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for JOY.” Job 38: 1,4,7

Friday, January 11, 2008

Welcome

I have been learning about a special 'cycle' that increases a person's capacity to 'handle' stress of all kinds. For anyone who is interested I will be posting thoughts along this line. The more I have been learning the more meaningful and useful this information has become to me. I hope it will also be that to anyone who reads this blog.