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April's newsletter from Right From the Heart.
While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be to you.”
Luke 24:36
Want to blow your mind? Our world deals in the elements of three dimensions ... 3D ... measurable space or volume of length and breadth plus time. When you add time in what science calls the fourth dimension where speed compresses time into the present, our brains have trouble comprehending the concept. A lack of comprehension doesn't mean the concept is invalid, however.
Our God is omnipresent which means always present, not bound by time. He is with us and everyone else all the time. In Luke 24:36, Jesus suddenly appears in the Upper Room startling the disciples by His "instant" presence, a great example of the fourth dimension. Time and space are simply not an issue for the Creator of the Universe whether we grasp the concept or not.
Over the weekend, we commemorated the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As believers, we accept the fact the Jesus took all our sin upon Himself on that horrible, torturous cross ... past, present and future. We can never be thankful enough for this redemption in the here and now for the mercy He has shown you and me for our shortcomings and failures. But think about this ... in this concept of the 4th Dimension, as we find ourselves deliberately committing a sin we know is contrary to God's will at the time, the thought that we are persecuting Jesus Christ at that very moment is sobering. He was on the cross suffering then for what we are doing now. But in the mysterious concept of time, is His "then"... our "now?" When I think of it that way, it sure causes me to be aware even more of my sin. None of us want to cause pain and suffering for our Savior, yet that is exactly what our sin does. It kind of boggles the mind but sure makes me grateful -- because I am one of those sinners.
The Good News is Jesus not only offers us forgiveness for all our sin but defeated the penalty of sin by rising from the dead. That is what we as Christians celebrate Easter, the Risen Christ! We can only "know and understand what we know and understand." I know that Jesus died for my sin and conquered the grave to reign at the right hand of the Father. I know that He loves me and reserves a place in Heaven because of my trust in Him. At Right From The Heart, our fervent prayer is that you know that as well. It is very important that you "know that you know." He is RISEN!
In Christ,
Bryant Wright
Founder, Right From The Heart Ministries
Thinking about the fourth dimension and God being outside of time, has always fascinated me. I guess it is in this dimension that spiritual warfare takes place and this is why we battle on our knees in prayer and why the weapons of this world are useless when it comes to spiritual warfare.
After reading this newsletter and thinking about... the thought that we are persecuting Jesus Christ at that very moment is sobering. He was on the cross suffering then for what we are doing now. But in the mysterious concept of time, is His "then"... our "now?" This thought concept blows me away! Even though I find it hard to wrap my mind around the fourth dimension and how it works, the thought that my today's sin causes Jesus pain on the cross helps me to consider the sin before I do it and helps me to reconsider my course of action.
Hebrews 13:8 NIV
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Blessings,
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Hi Child of God,
ReplyDeleteI do believe this and I believe that is what it means in the scriptures where it says that if we deliberately keep sinning then we crucify Him afresh, and there are many other scriptures that suggest that we do this.
Hi Brenda,
DeleteYes, I do know that verse!!
Hebrews 6:6 and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.
Thanks for pointing that one out.
It is such an interesting concept, one that I have been thinking about all week.
Thanks for sharing.
Blessings,
<><
Yes, even in Acts ch.26 Jesus said that Saul was persecuting Him and kicking against the pricks (thorns), yet He had risen from the dead.
ReplyDeleteHi Brenda,
DeleteI have no idea how I missed this comment from you. It wasn't in my in box and now it just appeared. I am so sorry for the delay in posting this.
Acts 26:14 ...‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
I have been at a loss for words in the last while. I have been stuck on this fourth dimension and realizing just how amazing prayer is and how powerful it is to pray out loud. I keep having this deep desire for the Lord to open my eyes and draw back the curtain so I can see this battle that is happening all around us. There is so much more to write here but, as usual, I cannot put these pictures into words.
Blessings hon and again, I am so sorry for missing this comment from you.
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Like what you and Brenda had to share. I also think that picture is kwel....
ReplyDeleteHi JBR,
DeleteThanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. :) I love the picture too.
Blessings,
<><
Hi Child of God,
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of time, yesterday I was reflecting on it. I was thinking, time has no beginning or end, but we are here. Just like space, it has no beginning or end, yet we are here. Just thinking about the stars and planets and such in space. Could they likewise keep on going for ever? There is no end. Somewhere out in space, you do not come to an end of the stars. After all we serve an infinite God. This God stepped down from heaven to die for you and I along with everyone else. That is amazing. Thank you for sharing and God bless,
Ken
Hi Ken,
DeleteThat is a very deep thought, one of the thoughts that we just cannot understand or grasp. We, who are bound by time, pondering the timeless and the infinite. Time is something that has always been happening yet man manipulates it like he does to everything he touches. I wish there was more, in Scripture, about when God made time stand still like He did for Joshua and how the stars fought Sisera. These two show us the other side of time, the outside that we cannot grasp or have control over.
God is so amazing and to think that He was willing to come down from heaven to die for us who wish to control it just awesome.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Ken.
God bless you brother,
<><
It's ok,
ReplyDeleteI was not sure whether to put this comment on anyway as it is something I noticed years ago, and even though there are several scriptures in the old and new testament that appear to suggest that this is referring to 'thorns', and it would have a deep spiritual meaning as regards to the crown on Jesus head, many translations have referred to the word as meaning 'goads' and used an old saying as a suggestion to what it means. So perhaps you weren't meant to find it and maybe I will look more into those scriptures and share what I feel one day on my blog. God bless
Hi Brenda,
DeleteThank you for understanding. :)
I am glad you shared this verse, maybe I just needed to think about the fourth dimension for a while before I saw this. It is amazing that the verse in written in present tense, persecuting, meaning it was happening at the time Paul was after the disciples.
Goads:
Noun
A spiked stick used for driving cattle.
Verb
Provoke or annoy (someone) so as to stimulate some action or reaction.
Yes a different meaning than thorns and can be applied more of Paul continuing to afflict Jesus. This is deep and I can see how it leads to many thoughts all around the same theme persecuting and inflicting pain on Jesus.
I sure do hope you make a post on these thoughts you have, I would be so interested in reading them.
Blessings my sister and thank you for sharing.
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kind of fun to think about, isn't it..how God transcends time...and how we can pray for things that already happened.
ReplyDeleteHi Annmarie,
DeleteIt is fun thinking about these things. It is also pretty neat knowing Father knows so much more and one day we will have a chance to start learning stuff that we could not even dream of.
Blessings sister,
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