Time Is Not

     Eternity is a strange thing. We have nothing to compare it with in our way of thinking, and so it's hard to comprehend. Even using the word "comprehend" , meaning to grasp with one's mind, doesn't fit, because eternity is a spiritual concept.
     I want to try and put into words, however, what I "see" as I gaze into that realm concerning our salvation, and in particular a certain aspect of that salvation, which is our deliverance, or being set free from what holds us captive.
     In this realm, there is not time as we know it. So, the past, the present and the future are all wrapped up into one. Take our salvation: We were saved, we are saved and we are being saved. What has happened in what we know as the past, has happened in the now and will continue to happen in the future, as we know it.
     With our deliverance being a part of the salvation, the same is true. Jesus came to set the captive free, and He died so that we could be set free. We are free from the power of sin, we are free from obeying the law perfectly to earn our own salvation, and we are free from the things that formerly held us back or hindered us from walking in the new life He has given to us. This is our sanctification, (cleansing that makes us whole) and being delivered from our former ways, is certainly part of that.
     Many people in Christ remain oppressed of the devil, simply because they don't know that they don't have to be. They don't know that their deliverance has been secured at the cross, as well as other aspects of their salvation, and that they can receive it. He overcame death and the devil when He finished the "work" of the cross. And so, because they don't know the truth, they stay in their former state, when all they would have to do is to come to Christ, acknowledging their present deliverance because of what He completed in the past on their behalf. Open the eyes of our hearts, Lord.
     Why is this important? Not only does knowing this truth, and appropriating it set us free in real time (in the spiritual realm), but it secures our future deliverance as well. In other words, we can be sure of what He started in us , that He will complete it. We have been delivered, we are delivered and we will be delivered, and so as it was then ("it is finished")  and so it will be.
     When we see what we consider ourselves as  slipping back, or judge ourselves after the flesh and it seems like we haven't or aren't going to be delivered from our former behaviors, attitudes or actions, we accept the lie that what Jesus paid for on the cross on our behalf, didn't really happen. Of course, it would be the enemy of our souls who would plant such a thought in our head, because he knows if we receive that thought, we will become discouraged, and maybe even depressed, or under oppression again. Our behavior then will mimick the old man which has been buried with Christ, and we will think that is who we are. In doing so, our lives begin to reflect the enemy's ways instead of Christ, and not glorify Him to others.
    So, knowing this truth, no matter how it appears to our senses and fleshly judgements against ourselves sometimes, we can be assured that He secured our deliverance (which involves being delivered from the schemes of the devil, because he was defeated there), and the outcropping of all of that.  IT IS FINISHED and WILL BE FINISHED (our actualized) in us until the day of Jesus Christ, as He tells us in His Word. HE IS NOT A MAN THAT HE SHOULD LIE!!!
     Be encouraged, brothers and sisters! Jesus did it on your behalf, so you could be free of the devil's torments and it's subsequent behaviors! Let him who steals, steal no more. We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, our Lord who has defeated him. Rest in that!!!