Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate.  Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach.  For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.

 
 
 

Going to Jesus

Daily Thoughts

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Thought for Today
Mar. 04

RIGHT BOUNDARIES

I have previously written to you about "boundaries" that the fleshly nature of man erected in our spirits before we knew Christ to "defend" against the light and the will of God. Those are strong boundaries that nothing but the love of God can persuade us to dismantle. There is always, in the flesh, the drive to erect such boundaries; the nature of the flesh will never change. It sets limits to what it is willing to hear from God. It says to the Lord, "I will not follow you beyond these boundaries." You already have learned about those boundaries of the flesh.

There are, however, boundaries that are good. These are the boundaries that God establishes for us. God's boundaries are for our protection and our blessing, and no person will ever be made perfect without them. It is only by respecting the boundaries God has established for men that we can find our way out of darkness and into His kingdom of light. And once we have been admitted into God's holy and bright kingdom, it is only by respecting the boundaries that He has ordained for His people that we, as individuals, ever can find our proper place.

To find one's place in God's kingdom is to find perfect peace. Those who have found the place that God has appointed for them are the happiest people on earth. Those who still have not learned where their personal boundaries are have not yet learned to enjoy that precious "resting place" that God has prepared for them. They are still searching, trying to "fit in" or "be established" outside of God's set boundaries, but Jesus is patient and kind. His Spirit is summoning all of us to come and dwell within the boundaries God has appointed to us. It is a good place that God has chosen for you, one that you could not improve upon even if you were the wisest man on earth.

To find our appointed place in our Father's kingdom, we must respect those limitations that God has ordained for us, the divine limitations that define our lives in the Spirit. For example, when a man who is anointed to heal the sick goes beyond those boundaries to try to prophesy or teach, his spirit is not at ease, and he harms those who listen to him. A prophet has boundaries set by God; a teacher has his boundaries; even an apostle will find that there are holy boundaries beyond which it is not good for him to go. God's boundaries are an essential part of the government that He has ordained for His children. If we resist the authority of His boundaries, we frustrate and confuse ourselves. If we try to skirt around them to make for ourselves a place in the kingdom, we only send ourselves on a long journey into nowhere.

Solomon said, "There is no wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel, against the Lord" (Prov. 21:30). Neither is anyone in heaven or on earth able to love us as He can and as He does. If we know these things, then we are content within the boundaries that God has set for us, for we know that the place in His kingdom that the Father has chosen for us is the happiest, most blessed place we will ever find.

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