Judgment must Begin

” For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? “1Peter 4:17

“— If even the godly have chastening judgments now, how much more shall the ungodly be doomed to damnatory judgments at last.” JFB

 Proverbs 11:31 teaches “Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner —

but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary.” Ezekiel 9:6

The Passover., of Exodus Chapter 12 is a great example of God’s judgment executed as an overwhelming scourge of the Death angel, and yet not touching His marked out ones, who obeyed the protective instructions from heaven.

Friends, I would be exaggerating to say that I have discerned the judging patterns of our Great God. Seems that when calamities come to large groups of people, God enables a perspective to His Saints to help them, like a special mark or special symbolism (as spoken above). However it seems a Saint still must sometimes make choices in these trials, and Peter advises committing the soul’s keeping to God. 1Peter 4:19

Perhaps the Passover instructions can offer advise to us. First, get a lamb — A lamb, a perfect one, a male, a son of a year. “Kill it in the evening.  take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses.” Now, “eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. ” ” …eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste.”

The lamb, symbolic of Christ, our perfect sacrifice, who bled and died as our vicarious substitute to unite us with Himself in Atonement, is indeed depicted in our actions obeyed. So in effect we affirm our co-crucifixion with Christ, Galatians 2:20

Second, the blood of the Lamb, taken and sprinkled on side posts and upper door post, alert the coming Death Angel of our “already dead” state. Death cannot slay dead things. Next, we enjoy the feast prepared and partake of the lamb, fellowshipping with our oneness with His person and work. We have passed from death unto life. Lastly, we hold an urgent expectation for our ascended state, and deliverance from the trap of our actual situation.

From the depths of my heart, a few more thoughts. Enough cannot be said about having friends. I don’t often notice or even matriculate towards that horizontal aspect of the Christian life. In times of trouble, perhaps, I feel compelled to reach out. Love, God’s love, coming through individual body members, is a hidden secret of why we are on the earth . Friends, I use the word ‘friends’ because these are not your run-of-the-mill folks. A true friend sticks closer than a brother, and the few that I have, maybe more than most, never cease to touch my heart at a tough time.

When we have a lot of stuff, perhaps a series of times, reaching out to friends and family can seem redundant. The last thing that any of us want is to be a burden to others. All the more moving is it when these friends willingly make themselves available again and again. Heart wrenching or heart touching, or heart thrilling, tears often flow at your love oh God. Thank you 4 for the hard times as we fellowship around the Lamb of God. We discover the meek one ,the gentle one, the loving, caring comfort of the blessed one, We eat the Passover and enjoy the safety. Then we get our clothes on and take our blessed fellowship to the world.

Love ya