In Isaiah 66 we read that God is recreating the heavens and the earth.
He is making everything new
The old will pass away
All will acknowledge Him.
Does this fill us with confidence? Just what kind of God is he?
consuming fire
glory before which none can stand
too holy to look upon evil
In Luke 13 Jesus tells us that some will be shut out of his kingdom.
strive to enter
difficult to gain a position in God’s kingdom
even the recognition and association we think we have will fail
but what about all those things I’ve done?
we may be cast out - beware - salvation is not from our good deeds, our life, our righteousness
We need to bring ourselves to Hebrews 12.
As Jesus told us in Luke - yes, strive to enter by the narrow path.
But . . .
our hands hang down
our knees are weak
our arms are tired
my brain hurts
we strive against sin and it wins
we tried to be better
we tried to live a joyful life
we tried to be victorious
we tried that positive confession
Again and again it has failed us. We try and try only to find ourselves as moralists and legalists. We don’t value what God values, we see his perfection and are confronted by it.
blazing fire
darkness
gloom
tempest
a trumpet
a voice which paralyzes us with fear
even to approach the mountain of God’s holiness brings death
terrifying even to Moses.
Do we want to see God in his glory? Lord, deliver us from that.
But we have not come to Mount Sinai. We have come to Mount Zion.
The Law came through Moses, but grace and peace came through Jesus.
the city of God
heavenly Jerusalem
our home
angels gathered for a festival, not for battle
assembly of those called by Jesus’ name - those whose names are written in heaven
God acting as the judge of his enemies, treating us as his dear children
we find ourselves made perfect
this perfection through Jesus
new covenant
sprinkled blood
Welcome to Zion! We are not in Sinai any more.
forgiveness
life
salvation
hope
peace
joy
Jesus present for us, bringing us all the life we can ever need.
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