God's Doors

God has some interesting Doors, a door we may not enter, a door when we are welcome to come through but back out of, and a door we look forward to!

 Revelation 3:7-8, 11-13

The Door of Our Past:
Well thank God that one is closed, though there has been oft the time I would have reopen that door and twiddled with a few of the remnants from the past, changed just enough to remove some if not all my shame.  There are no rewrites, no re-do's, no explanations, the past is what it is!

I have known friends whom have lived in the past for three decades, never able to reconcile their present with what went wrong 30 years ago.  It is agony for us whom knew them because they can not be slapped back to reality and just get along in life!  No, life ended for them in a split second of a bad decision and it took them unawares what the repercussions were for the decision.  Yeah, they are now able to realize what their error was, as well as repent, so that is awesome.  But, they still look back when they think no one is looking.....

If you can not accept what you have done in the past, then you are in for some major spiritual damage!  Oh yeah!

But, luckily, the Grace of God says, the past is over.  All you have now is a present (which is fleeting) and a future.

The Door of New Beginnings:
So to continue the thought I just ended with:
Old things have passed away, behold all things become new!

Assuming of course, that you are in Christ, that you are called according to His purpose and are performing that purpose!  Yeah, always some fine print somewhere, eh?

The Door of Providence:
This is God's purpose for you.  So many worry this one to death.  "I'm a Christian, God isn't using me, I am doing nothing! ..... etc"

God chose you.  He did not have to, it was planned, it was not random, you were not the result of His confusion.  It was not random what made you turn to Him for salvation to occur - it what it took for you to see your need and know you have to find Him or you were going to die!

In God's providence He does have a purpose for you - a direction you are to proceed, a task you must perform, the very reason for your being.  And it just might be to help someone else or lead tens of thousands to salvation.  All the same to God, obedience is equal to obedience when it comes to rewards.  Just something to consider, there are no numbers which will impress God, however there is obedience which will.

Probably the most important point here is that God's DETERMINATIVE Will, will not be THWARTED by your choices or your life, however, God's PERMISSIVE Will for you can really get messed up if you are in rebellion.  As my acquaintance I mentioned earlier.  Yeah, they and you will do what it is you all are to do, but it will not be without extreme pain and multiple opportunities to get your act together.  The person above took 28 years, seven suicide attempts and massive therapy to then independently understand that they had a spiritual problem with God.... Yeah.  That was painful for everyone involved!

As for Satan and the World (culture), yes, they can turn us sideways to where we need to be /  what we need to be doing.  But, that does not diminish God requirements on us.  There are no excuses when you have been shown the truth and then walk away.  Yeah, just slip back to the previous paragraph if you think you can get away with it....

Just as a side note, the major reason so many Christians I run into complain that they have no answers to their prayers, no spiritual gifts, no peace - because they walked away from what they knew.

The Door to Home:
There once was a time, in a less affluent culture where the average man and woman looked forward to Heaven.  To just desire the Door, to just know that Door was there, waiting, inviting, fulfilling our hopes and our desires.  But, now we have a three bedroom rambler with a white picket fence, 1.8 children, a beefcake daddy, a svelt mamasitta and an SUV in the garage.  Who needs heaven now, eh?

But, of course, things can not and will not substitute for our natural desire to be in the presence of God.  We are to look forward to Heaven.  It is afterall, our permanent home.  Yeah, no dogs, hopefully spiritual children, arguable spouses situation, no picket fences, etc.

For now, you must look beyond life as you know it and see God, and your new home in Heaven.

Where you were meant to be from eternity past.