Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
David sang that as he turned his attention on Me in the pit of destruction, as he focused his eyes on Me, on My Word and My wonders, and looked for My counsel, that I answered him and brought him out of the pit of destruction and corruption to put him high on a rock. How did I do it? I put a new song of praise in His heart and from his heart it went right into his mouth.
And what did he sing?
You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11.
I have promised you eternal life and that life is in My Son and I have sealed you in Him by the Holy Spirit by depositing the seed of My eternal Word in your heart when you believed the good news of your salvation in Him and received Him as Lord. I have given you to My Son and commanded Him to raise you up from the dust to glory in the resurrection of those justified by His blood, who have believed in and called upon His Name. Caught up in the glory, as you are raised from glory to glory, beginning now as you behold Him who is the way, the truth and the life, and never to cease.
The promise of eternal life means to dust you do not return, that is only, as we discussed in the prior life lesson, the seed coat for the eternal glory that is within you who have received the implanted Word by which you have been born again from above from death to life, from darkness to light, from judgment to acquittal, and from corruption to incorruptibility in Him.
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also preordained to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He preordained, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. Romans 8:28-30.
In Christ, I have done it as My gift to you. I have brought you out of the darkness of sin and death to the glorious freedom of My children, qualifying you for the inheritance of the saints in light—which is the inheritance of Christ in you, that firstborn blessing of the double portion. I have made you children of light, cleansed and made new by the blood of My Son.
Now joined with Jesus, you are one spirit with Him and in you is resurrection power and that power is in My Word. The Spirit hovers over My Word, over the seed, to quicken it in you when the time has come to bring out the glorified body, the embryo of which is in My Word.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16.
When you start talking about death and ashes instead talk about the Kingdom and eternal life. Talk about the glory that is in you yet to reach full stature. Raised glorious you shed the seed coat and leave the ashes behind, free at last when the last enemy is under your feet. I have given you beauty for your ashes and a glorious mantle of praise to lift you out of your depression and the weakness of your flesh.
For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:1-8.
In Jesus is everything. You need look no further to find the abundance your heart is seeking for life and godliness. Think as one in Him and then you can do all things wonderful, bright, beautiful, and excellent. There is no limit on the wonders I can and will do in union with you. You just must agree with Me and be faithful as I am faithful and true to you and I reward you for faithfulness in tremendous ways when you step into the eternal Kingdom.
Death is not the end, it is the beginning. Resurrection power is there for all of you. Death is the culmination of your faith, deeds, and works with Me upon the earth. It is the beginning of a new and glorious adventure that keeps ascending higher and higher, but also the completion of what you did in this life as you know it now with the hope of My calling to My eternal glory and Kingdom, the richness of Jesus’ inheritance that is in you, and the power I flow into you by My Spirit in you quickening your mortal body in this world and raising you up to eternal life in glory.
You do not need to worry about anything—not the past, not the present, and not the future—you have Me. And who am I? From everlasting to everlasting I am your God, the One who is, who was, and who is to come. All life is from Me, in Me, and sustained by Me. All times and seasons are in My hand. I have revealed Myself to you in the works of My hands, the Words of My mouth, and by My Spirit abiding in your midst; do not fear! I am the God of wonders. And My greatest wonder of all, the ultimate Wonder, the culmination and fulfillment of all wonders, is Jesus Christ, your Messiah and Lord, uniting My divine nature and with your human nature and filling every need with the overflowing abundance of redemption.
He is the exact expression of who I am for He is My Word made flesh dwelling among you and in you by My Spirit of holiness. He is the radiance of My glory and the exact representation of My nature, and upholds all things by the Word of His power. In seeing Him you see Me, in knowing Him, you know Me. And that is eternal life. The knowing that will give you confidence in life as you know it now, death, and life as you know it forever. There is no end to love and I am love.
And now let Me reveal to you who I am as I have shown you in Him. Let us begin with the child born to you according to the flesh as a descendant of David who, according to the Spirit, is One with Me as the everlasting God, My Son who is the fulfilment of all My promises and Covenant Names as God with you, in you, and for you. He is the light of the world that brought you out of the darkness into which sin has plunged the whole world. The Old Testament is about eternal life lost and the prophecies, types of shadows of the redemption to come, the New Testament is about the fulfilment of the promises and prophecies in the promise of eternal life regained in the Wonder of Jesus Christ.
In Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy; they rejoice before You according to the joy of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For You have broken the yoke of the burden and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of the oppressor, as in the day of Midian. For every warrior’s boot from the noisy battle, and garments rolled in blood, will be used for burning and fuel of fire. For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government [misrah (מִשְׂרָה): dominion, government, rule] will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, God Hero, Forever Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice (righteousness) from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Isaiah 9:2-7.
I gave this description of who My Son is to Isaiah about seven hundred years before He took flesh and dwelt among you and the same with the perfect description of the physical and spiritual aspects of the crucifixion of My Son in the fifty-third chapter of his book. Isaiah saw the glory of Jesus ahead of time to release My Word into the earth so I could perform it.
My Son did most of His miracles in Galilee and that was the great light that invaded the darkness of that land and drove out that shadow of death with the eternal life that was in Him. It was harvest time of all the prophesies that foretold His arrival upon earth. And My anointed Son destroyed the yoke and lifted the burden of the captivity of sin which was more than you could bear. He is your peace. He was chastised to give you shalom. And in that Child born to you, the Son given you, all My wonders, riches, wisdom, righteousness, and holiness were made available to you. A cause for rejoicing!
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:10-12.
I sent a little child, meek and humble of heart, to begin the mission of bringing you back to Me, reconciled and justified as if sin had never been for I put it all on Him and He knocked down that wall of sin that held you in and Me out. And all the promises came together in Him as “YES” to you and dominion rests upon His shoulders.
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20.
And who is He to you? And who He is, that is who I am. Your Wonderful Counselor, who directs you with My eye upon you and My Spirit in you to lead and guide you, your God hero who came down to rescue you from the realm of darkness unto eternal light, your Father forever that supplies for all your needs and gives you every good thing and perfect gift, and your Prince of Peace. Peace with Me and peace with yourself eternally.
Today look at the name of Wonderful Counselor. I list this first because wisdom is the principal, the first, thing you need to navigate this life successfully. You need to hear from Me.
The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward. Psalm 19:7-11.
Everyone who has taken the initiative to draw close to Me to hear Me has become so fascinated and awed by what they see and hear in Me that they lose track of time and it seems but a moment of the day. When Moses was with me forty days and nights, it seemed to him but a moment from which he was drawn by the revelry of the people in the camp all too soon. And he wanted more. He wanted more than anything to be with Me and wanted to see My glory. He wanted to know Me in all My wonders.
David felt that same excitement and joy to be in My presence, he longed to dwell in My house constantly to gaze upon My delightfulness and inquire of Me for answers. The same was true of My apostle Paul—to know Me became the passion of his life.
And when you get a glimpse of My glory, it will draw you as well until it becomes such a longing of your heart that you walk with Me at all times and refuse to let go. There will come a point when you are so tuned to Me that you never leave My presence no matter where you are or what you are doing. Like Enoch, he walked with Me. The eyes of your heart are on Me while your physical eyes are on the world and all you have to do in your busy day. It is a continual conversation. You become mindful of Me in all your ways so that I can direct your paths in righteousness for My Name’s sake. It is then that you have begun to know the Wonderful Counselor and your life has become a wonder.
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. And when He departed this world to return to Me He promised to send you another Paraclete just like Him to be your helper, teacher, guide, leader, and unending source of supply from Heaven, pouring My love and divine nature into your heart. And not just for this life, but to be with you and in you forever. John 14:16-17.
I love you. Do not worry, be anxious for NOTHING, you have a Wonderful Counselor who knows all, sees all, and can speak the end from beginning. You don’t need to worry about anything because you have Me. Your life is a gift from Me—a treasure for you to enjoy and cherish as I form you anew, as I make you again like Me. Love.