Insight for your “Journey across the Sky”

As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. _{Psalms 103:12 (NKJV)}

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” _{Heb 8:12 (NKJV)}

How many of us remember our school days and the permanent record? How many times have you, like me, been threatened with the words, “it is going into your permanent record”. It was the duty of the school to keep a permanent record of our activities both good and bad during our tenure. This permanent record was a history of who we were, when we were in that institution of higher learning. Ideally this permanent record would have been kept spotless and only list accomplishments, not the exploits of a wayward teen.

School discipline was something we feared as children. Being sent to the principals office was not a school trip we looked forward to taking. We feared the permanent record almost as much as we feared failing a class.

Some miscreants enjoyed the permanent record of misdeeds and foibles. To them it was a badge of honor, a written record of their misdeeds. They were proud of these outlandish acts that others thought were not so noteworthy. To them a trip to detention was an admirable goal. For me however it was something to be avoided at all costs.

Law enforcement has a record of all the lawbreakers in their data base as well. I wonder how many miscreants from high school found themselves with a permanent record of lawlessness? I wonder how many have permanent criminal records to coincide with their high school permanent records? I wonder how many of them spent time in a detention center of a different sort?

Truth be told we are all lawbreakers when it comes to the ways of God. The bible teaches clearly that no one is righteous. _{Romans 3:10} None of us seeks after what is true and right, we all like sheep have gone astray, each one following after our own way of doing things. _{Isaiah 53:6} We all have sinned and come short of God’s glory. _{Romans 3:23} We all have a record of wrongdoing so to speak. In the end we must stand before the principal and give an account of what we have done with our life. _{Revelation 20:12}

Unlike the school district’s and law enforcement’s permanent records God does not keep a permanent record of wrongs. They are not written with a permanent marker. God made a way to erase all those permanent mistakes without having to endure detention. God’s way was to send someone else to detention in our place. God sent an advocate, a substitute, a scapegoat who would take our punishment for us. Jesus would take all our misdeeds with him to the cross of Calvary where they are forever engraved on his hands.

If we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and acknowledge that he died for our sins, and if we repent of our sins, then Jesus will go to work on our permanent records to blot them out of God’s record book and replace them with forgiveness.

Therefore the only permanent marks in heaven are the marks in the hands, feet and side of Jesus. They are permanent reminders of the price he paid for our sins. A permanent mark of the sacrifice offered for our forgiveness. These scars are a permanent record of His love for us.

God loved the world this way: He gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. _{John 3:16 (GW)}

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. _{Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)}

Insight for your “Journey across the Sky”

A View from the Nest www.eagleviews.org

For all that is in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–is not of the Father but is of the world. _{1 John 2:16 (NKJV)}

How many ways can you serve chicken? Well just ask the Chinese, it appears they have discovered at least 101 ways to serve it. Take a look at the menu and you will see things like: Ginger chicken, garlic chicken, orange chicken, pineapple chicken, cashew chicken, General Taos chicken, sweet and sour chicken, chicken and broccoli, chicken and mushroom, chicken chow mien, and the list goes on.

The main ingredient in all these items is – you guessed it – chicken. In fact, for the most part, the chicken is made the same in all the dishes. The only thing that changes is the sauce poured over it and the vegetables that accompany the chicken. Remove all the extras and you have a piece of chicken – no more, no less.

That is how it is with sin. Although it may come in different dressings, to appeal to different taste buds, it is still the same basic ingredient. Lusts of the eyes, lusts of the flesh, or the pride of life. These three main ingredients remain no matter how much you change the dressing.

Some people may not be enticed by orange chicken, but perhaps the mushroom chicken will be more appealing. Not a connoisseur of pineapple? Well then, try ginger or garlic chicken instead. No matter how you disguise the chicken it is still after all, chicken.

Faith, hope and love are the anti-sin ingredients in life. Faith battles the pride of life, hope deals with the lust of the eyes, and love deals with the lust of the flesh. Although these too may appear in different recipes they still remain when all the dressing has been removed. When you strip away all the added ingredients, what you have left is a simple message of faith. God love the world so much that he gave his only son to die so that whosoever believes on him will not perish but have everlasting life.

How do you like your chicken?

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. _{Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)}