The tent of meeting was set up without the camp. This is where people went to inquire of the Lord. (Exodus 33:7) But the place where the unclean were sent to purify themselves was also without the camp. (Leviticus 13:46) I have noticed that those who have left the camp to inquire of the Lord are sometimes mistaken for the unclean. Hebrews 13: 12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. 13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.

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John 14:6 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Jesus is the way to the Father. But I do not believe this ends with salvation. He is the continual way to the Father. Luke 10:22 22 All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. It is the Son who makes known the Father. Not ministers. Even true ministers can only help you to see this and encourage you to look to Christ your Head, but they cannot reveal the Father to you. Only the Son can. And isn't that the knowledge we all seek? To know our Heavenly Father intimately?

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All that He expects of us to do is what He asks of us to do: no more...no less. Doing "more" can be as bad as doing less. Although doing "more" may appear to be virtuous, it can be a waste, a drain and result in discouragement because it bears no godly fruit. Not to mention the fact that we could find ourselves "in over our heads" being out there on our own. He equips us for the jobs He asks us to do. He is love, not a slave driver. But, if we take it upon ourselves, in our over zealousness, to do "more" than He is asking of us, you can pretty much count on it being something that was "inspired" by the flesh, no matter how "good" it may look, or make us look. Perhaps it is insecurity concerning His unconditional love for us, so we find ourselves trying to earn it through service. Or maybe we want to feel useful and productive, having a sense of accomplishment. Or maybe we are going for that "feel good" feeling that comes from thinking we have just helped someone. So, while we are busy doing things that make us feel useful, productive and helpful; we just might be so busy that we won't pick up on the very thing that the Lord will be asking of us to do that day.

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Acts 17:10-12 10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These (the Bereans) were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. 12 Therefore many of them believed;... So what can we learn from this? That you can be willing to receive the Word with all readiness of mind, but at the same time, be cautious enough to search the scriptures to check out whether those things you're hearing are so or not. It is very important for us to take the responsibility for what we believe.

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Have you ever judged your own performance as a Christian and then found yourself shrinking back at the thought of the Rapture feeling like a face of disdain was gonna greet you when you get there saying: "I'm so dissappointed in you" or something like that? Recently I have been thinking about how the Lord might be feeling about getting all those for whom He shed His precious blood to safety, never again to be hurt or troubled by this evil world again. He'll be so happy to see us out of harms way and will greet us with such love I am sure! But we will also stand before Him to be judged for services rendered. He will hand out rewards to those He judges worthy. As I thought about this the other day, a beautiful distinction was made to me. Heaven's welcome will be warm to us all being based upon His unconditional love for us. But Heaven's rewards will be based upon our love for Him. We don't have to serve Him for Him to love us but we have to love Him in order to serve Him and that will be what will be rewarded in that day.

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The hope of Christ's appearing to take us to be where He is, is the whole point of our salvation as one sister so beautifully put it. (good one Michelle) 1 John 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. When you are alive with hope, you don't want to be found in some dark place when the Lord returns. So it is quite an incentive to keep yourself in the light...in a pure place. Hebrews 7:19 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. People do all sorts of things to get closer to God but it says here that when we are in hope, we actually are drawing near to God. Ephesians 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints This was in Paul's prayer for the Ephesians. How important was the hope to Paul that he would pray for this understanding to be in the believers there? 1 Thessalonians 5:8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. To have the hope of Christ's appearing near at heart is the helmet of our spiritual armament. It protects our head and particularly our mind against the enemies onslaughts. Hebrews 6:18 & 19 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; We can actually flee for refuge into the hope of Christ's appearing and find strong consolation there. How valuable is that in such a fearful and dark world. It is both sure and stedfast. So it also keeps us stable. And how does the hope affect our desire to minister God's word of salvation to people? Doesn't it put a fire in you because you know that at any future moment Christ will appear? Romans 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. Those of us who hold His appearing close at heart have nothing to be ashamed of. As a matter of fact, as far as Jesus is concerned, it is something for which He will offer heaven's crown. 2 Timothy 4:8 Now there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that Day; and not to me only, but also to all those who love His appearing. I don't see a copout here. Do you?

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Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah) is born of God... 1 John 5:1a There's gotta be a catch right? Maybe that's why so many are adding works to this grace. Because they are trying to define a concept they cannot understand by human standards and they're not going to the Lord for the spiritual understanding. So they propound false teachings which say we can only keep our salvation if we remain faithful. If Adam taught us anything, it was that under the most perfect conditions, outside (Garden of Eden) and inside (a sinless nature), he could not hold on to God's spirit. And he was asked only one thing to do. "Don't eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." (Gen 2:17) So depending upon the rules of the group you are adhering to for doctrine, you will have anywhere from 10 to 10,000 things to do to keep your salvation. Get real! Do we honestly think in our present condition and the present condition of the world, that we will do any better than Adam? Besides, since the judgment that came upon us all through the disobedience of Adam was so sure that there wasn't anything we could do to reverse it; wouldn't the judgment that came upon us through the obedience of Christ be at least as sure that there wouldn't be anything we could do to reverse it? Romans 5 19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made* righteous. This word made* in the Greek means "to place down permanently!" But one thing that has given grace a bad name is that some confuse it with license as if "anything goes" now, which plays right into the hands of the legalists. Grace is undeserved kindness and, when whole-heartedly received and understood, will inspire the good works that God has ordained for us to walk in, (Ephesians 2:10) not works of the flesh done to "make ourselves worthy of" or, to "hold on to" our salvation. The good that we do will be duly rewarded on that day when we stand before Him but will not qualify us to stand before Him. The good that Jesus did qualified us! We have to stay razor sharp on this matter...with His help of course.

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Matthew 25: 40 ...Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. In this context, Jesus was speaking about those who did acts of kindness to those who were in need. The hungry were givem food, the thirsty were given drink, the naked were given clothes, the sick or imprisoned were visited, the strangers were given a place to stay. Does Jesus regard these people as being "the least of His brethren" because of their need? Absolutely not! But that is how the world judges people in these circumstances and He was using their own judgment system to make this point. That the way we treat those regarded as "least" in this world will show the degree of love we have for Jesus.

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We rejoice in the things that Hebrews 11 tells us that faith can do and we desire to experience these great victories in our lives as well. For example, obtain promises, get the dead raised back to life, stop the mouths of lions, escape the edge of the sword, put to flight the armies of the enemy, etc. But have we considered the other side of the experience of the faithful mentioned here? The trials of cruel mockings, beatings, being put in restraints, imprisoned, wandering about in deserts; being destitute, afflicted and tormented, tempted, stoned, slain with the sword, and cut in two. By today's standards, the judgment call on believers who are experiencing such things because of their stand of faith, would be that they are people who aren't exercising their faith. After all, if they were, they would not be in such a state. But the testimony of the truth stands sure that: these also obtained a good report through faith. (Hebrews 11:39)

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