Boot Camp for Heaven

Ephesians 2:10 1Peter 1:7 2 Peter 3:14 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. These have come so that your faith- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. So, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him. 
 
When we, God's chosen, begin our walk as children of the Most High God, we begin a journey from infants in the faith to mature Christians. We learn, after much tumbles and landing on our fannies, to being able to walk and even run in faith toward the goal of heaven. We don't know what struggles and trials are before us. We do, however, know the ultimate destination. We are assured of a heavenly home when our training is completed. 

When soldiers first arrive at boot camp, they are taught to follow orders. They are pushed, sometimes far beyond what they feel they can do. They are taught how to march, stand in line for hours and how to obey commands for the good of the unit. In the beginning, they may not understand the why of the orders but they learn to trust in their leadership and fellow soldiers. 

As Christians, we also must learn to follow order. We must learn to wait on the Lord and follow Christ even when the path ahead is confusing and hard to understand. The ways of the Lord are far beyond our ability to understand but He has a plan for us. He has a goal for us to achieve.  

We have been given the task of occupying the war-torn world ruled by Satan. Occupying troops can never let down their guard against the efforts of the enemy to destroy God's anointed. 'For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.' (Eph 6:12)  
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The reference goes on to tell us to put on the full armor of God. All of the armor, except the sword is defensive. As we embrace the difficulties of boot camp, we become more and more like Jesus. We find trusting Him easier with each trial and struggle we endure. We become more than conquers, we become residents of heaven. ​

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