RELATIONAL PRIVILEGES

Posted byDianne HornePosted inUncategorizedTags:, , , ,

With the last couple of “posts,” you may be assuming that I’m a “frequent flyer.”  That assumption would be wrong.  In fact I seldom fly, I still prefer the automobile.

Because of my husband’s travel for his job, he has accrued thousand upon thousands of air miles.  I call him Mr. Mileage Plus! But with these air miles, he has access to the various airline clubs at many airports throughout the United States and other countries.

On those rare occasions when I’m on a flight, because I’m Mrs. Mileage Plus, I can assume the privilege of enjoying the comfort of these dining delights.  I say that because regardless of the time you enter a particular airline club, there are a variety of cuisines to dine on. 

The relaxed seating is comfortable, along with showers and restrooms available to freshen up, as well as coffee machines with every possible combination of choice and milked foam-height on your latte or cappuccino.

On my recent flight to visit a friend in Portland, Oregon it dawned on me, as I ate my scrambled eggs and toast using my husband’s “air miles perk,” I wouldn’t have been allowed to have access to this lovely club, if I wasn’t using Peter’s “ACCESS CARD.”  

His privileges were obtained by flying over two and a half million miles over the years to accrue the required miles to obtain his status as a “Mileage Plus Platinum” status.  I did nothing and wasn’t qualified to enter the Airline Club.  It was only because I was married to him…. that “his perks became mine.”

When a person surrenders themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ and accepts Who He is (the Savior of the world), what He did on the cross for them (taking our place and receiving God’s punishment for our sin), and why only Jesus could qualify as a perfect sacrifice receiving this glorious Gift of God…. making him or her a “child of God” and in a relationship with this living Savior.   It is only then, that all that is now available to one of God’s kids…………is available to them.

People often think that they’re pretty good and will be allowed to enter heaven and all it’s joys, pleasures and living forever with unending treasures of the Kingdom of God.  It’s a false hope, because God is not only loving, but He is Holy.  And most of His creation feel that their “good deeds” are going to qualify them for heaven.  Only the true God is “good.”

That means absolute perfection with not a taint of sin.  None of us qualify.  You might be better acting than your neighbor, in your book.  But God holds the entry book.  It’s called the Lamb’s book of Life.  It’s a record book of all the names of the individuals who have accepted what Jesus Christ did on the cross for them, taking their deserved punishment for offending the perfect and Holy God.

“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  Romans 3:23

“For the wages/payment of sin is death. “Romans 6:23

There is none righteous, no not one No one understands; no one seeks for God.  Romans 3:10-12              

“No one is good – except God alone.”  Mark 10:18

Jesus’ death on the cross paid the debt for my sin.  He met God’s perfect requirement to pay for “sin.”  I had nothing to do with it.  It’s His heaven and only perfection can be there.  We could never qualify because we were born with a sinful nature that’s like cancer.  It’s a sinful-cancer that we cannot hide from or eliminate from our lives.  His death took care of the “death penalty” we deserve.

And so, as I thought about this privilege of being allowed in the airline club, I was allowed in only because of my relationship with my husband.  He earned the right for the privileges at the club and I could only enter because of his earned “access card.”

In a similar way, Jesus paid it all for me to be allowed to be called God’s child and have all the privileges and access to Heaven for all eternity.

YES, JESUS PAID IT ALL….AND ALL TO HIM WE OWE.

Jesus declares, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  John 14:6

JESUS IS OUR ACCESS………….TO GOD THE FATHER

AND A HEAVENLY DESTINATION

Why not make sure you’re in the “Guess Registry Book”

And you do that by calling on the Lord to be saved.

“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13

Published by Dianne Horne

I can’t think of anything I enjoy more than to see lives changed! There’s nothing more that puts “oxygen and joy” into my life than to bring the application of Scripture into the “shoe leather” of our lives and to share it with others. I feel awkward speaking about myself, but I understand it can be helpful to enable others to relate to and enjoy the work of our Lord does in other people. Another down-to-earth way of sharing who I am, is that I love to eat, laugh and to talk about the Lord. I’m not a very exciting individual, but my Savior sure is! I’ve been happily married for many years, and I now reside in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. God has transplanted my husband and I 28 times in our years together; and it is only when in His presence that you can ask the “why questions” as to the adjustments He’s brought us “to” and “through” in the numerous locations and countries we have lived. God’s care, love, forgiveness, faithfulness and moment-by-moment presence has not only carried me (when I had every reason to fall apart), but lifted me to a joy I’ve never known. There’s one thing to have joy when things are going great, and quite another dimension of joy and peace when everything in your world is crumbling and unknown. Most of our lives will appear like “ordinary oatmeal living”, but when we allow Him to “establish our steps”, He alone takes our mundane acts of kindness or aid and makes them “extraordinary” for His purpose in the lives of others. The seasons of caring for my parents and the associated grieving process has forever changed me. It was my honor, joy and privilege to participate with my Lord in what He was accomplishing in their lives, as they both gave their lives to Jesus Christ just days before they were escorted into His presence in heaven. The medical challenges and decisions that needed to be made for a number of those years thrust me into a trust and dependence upon the Lord that I had never known up to that point in my life. In my journey, I’ve come to realize that our “weakness” is our greatest “strength”, because real power, provision, and His purpose being carried out in and through our lives, depends on Him orchestrating such through His sovereignty. My “heartbeat of fulfillment” lies in sharing with women, in various settings, helping them to enjoy, study and apply the principles of God’s Word in a down-to-earth fashion. I thrive interacting with women and encouraging them to put their trust in the One Who knows them best and loves them extravagantly; and to prioritize “spending time alone with God each day” developing their relationship with Him. Our lives aren’t designed to just get answers to prayer….but to know and love a very personal Savior, and to surrender daily to “His plans, His agenda and purpose” for our lives. Several years ago I was challenged to respond to a critical question I had never considered: Why do you exist? What’s your purpose in life? I live to bring an expression of God in the ordinary events of life, seizing every opportunity of serving and delighting in others. I want my life to be an infectious expression of His love for others, and for them to know how special “they are” to Him; and thus be contagious with His grace. My life compass is: After people spend time with me, what do they think of Jesus Christ? The stories that will appear in my blog, are true events that have taken place in my journey. They’re all “very ordinary” circumstances that have occurred through sharing them with Jesus and watching Him orchestrate and demonstrate what He can do when we yield “our ordinary” to the Extraordinary One.

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