Jesus Always - September 30th

Are we to seek knowledge or experiences?
Part II - Path To Heaven / Knowledge

In part I we looked at the phrase "the Light of the gospel of My Glory," and I still don't know what that means. So let's move on and take a look at the second paragraph of the September 30th devotion. We'll take it one sentence at a time. (All quotes are from the 2016 edition of Jesus Always by Sarah Young, page 285)

First Sentence:

"When you trusted Me as your Savior, I set your feet on the pathway to heaven."

It sounds good, but is this statement true? When we trust in Jesus as our Savior, does that start our journey down the pathway to heaven? When you are saved, what is your status? We are immediately adopted as children of God. We immediately are citizens of heaven. We already have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Here is what scripture says:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ - Ephesians 1:3

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. - Galatians 3:26

For our citizenship is in heaven - Philippians 3:20 (Visit GotQuestions.org for more on your citizenship in heaven.)

In his book,, "The Plain Man's Pathway to Heaven" Puritan Arthur Dent describes the pathway to heaven in six "principles heads" (his words). He wrote:

"First it sheweth man's misery in nature, with the means of recovery, secondly, it sharply inveigheth against iniquity of the time, and common corruptions of the world; thirdly, it sheweth the marks of the children of God and of the reprobates, together with the apparent signs of salvation and damnation; fourthly, it declareth how hard a thing it is to enter into life, and how few shall enter; fifthly, it layeth open the ignorance of the world, with the objections of the same; last of all, it publisheth and proclaimeth the sweet promises of the gospel, with the abundant mercy of God." - Arthur Dent

What Dent is describing as the "pathway to heaven" It is the path to salvation. Once we are saved, we have heaven. We are not physically in heaven, but the only step that is missing is our physical death. Once we are saved, we are at the end of the path. The way Sarah Young describes it, it sounds like our salvation just puts us on the beginning of the path to heaven... and that this not true. When we are born again we are immediately born into the kingdom of Heaven.

While Jesus Always may not be totally wrong in what it says in this sentence, it certainly is misleading. This

Second Sentence:

"Forgiveness of sins and a future in heaven are wondrous blessings, but I have even more for you."

I've read this sentence over and over. I'm having trouble believing that any Christian would say this. There is something more that is even better that forgiveness of sins and being in heaven? Something more? Something better? I don't think so. Let's go t to the next two sentences where we'll find out that this "more" is based on New Age beliefs, not Christianity.

Third & Fourth Sentences:

"I have made My Light shine in your heart to give you the Light of knowledge of the Glory of My Face. I want you to seek My Face wholeheartedly, so you can enjoy the radiant knowledge of My glorious Presence."

Part of the third sentence is in italics. It is a quote from 2 Corinthiams 4:6:

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. - 2 Corinthians 4:6 (NIV)

There are distinct and significant differences between scripture and how the Jesus Always "quote" of that scripture is worded.

This Jesus Always devotion is saying that Jesus is giving us "the Light of the knowledge of the Glory of My Face." Scripture says that God gave us "the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ." That's a major difference. Those two statements have very different meanings.

Jesus Always then says that the result will be that you will "enjoy the radiant knowledge of My glorious Presence." What does that mean? It certainly is not Biblical, as there is nothing like this described in scripture.

What Does Scripture Say?

This verse is about salvation. Paul is using the Genesis creation of light as an analogy for salvation.

"The same God who turned on the light physically turns on the light spiritually--and does both without using any evolutionary processes." - John MacArthur, New Testament Commentary 2 Corinthians, 2003, page 134

The result is that we have true knowledge about Christ. We were in darkness. When God saves us it is like a light coming on. For the first time we know who Christ is; God incarnate. And we see that the glory of God shines in the face of the Son.

Appendix I of "Should I RUN From Jesus Always" talks about seeking God's face. This is an Old Testament term with several meanings, depending on the context. It most often means to seek blessing that only can come from God. It can also mean to seek God's presence in a holy place such as the Temple. So talking about the face of Jesus means to see the truth... to see reality... it means to know you are fixing your eyes upon God, the source of your faith, your life, and your salvation... the glory of God. Hebrews states the same thing, and describes the glory of the face of Christ:

"fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." - Hebrews 12:2

What Is Jesus Always Saying?

I can't say for sure what Sarah Young is saying in Jesus Always. Once again, as is typical with New Age teaching, it is vague and it uses unconventional terminology that allows the reader to put whatever meaning they wish into the text.

Since "Face" (capitalized) in Jesus Always may have the same meaning as "face" (never capitalized) in scripture, we could take it to me the presence of God. The Jesus Always quote then says:

"I have made My Light shine in your heart to give you the Light of knowledge of the Glory of My Presence. I want you to seek My Presence wholeheartedly, so you can enjoy the radiant knowledge of My glorious Presence."

Jesus Always is not talking about salvation. So it is perverting scripture. That's a fact, even though we're not sure what Jesus Always is saying. My understanding of what it is saying is that, as a result of Jesus' "Light" (capital "L" meaning it is god) shining in our hearts, we gain knowledge of the Presence (capital "P") of Jesus. If we further seek that Presence we can better enjoy that Presence.

By the way, what is it like to experience the Presence of god? Sarah Young describes two of her experiences in the introduction to Jesus Calling:

"Suddenly I felt as if a warm mist enveloped me. I became aware of a lovely Presence, and my involuntary response was to whisper, 'Sweet Jesus.'" - Sarah Young, Jesus Calling, 2004, page vii

"When I prayed for myself, I was suddenly enveloped in brilliant light and profound peace. I lost all sense of time as I experienced God's Presence in this powerful way." - Sarah Young, Jesus Calling, 2004, pages x-xi

Have you ever read anything like this in scripture? I haven't. Read chapter 11 in the book "Should I RUN From Jesus Always?" It decribes how people in the Bible reacted when they came into the presence of God. In general they fell on their faces.

Go to: Part 1 (Jesus Always September 30 | Part 3 (Jesus Always September 30th)

Website Copyright 2016, 2017 | site map
All quotes from Jesus Always are copyright 2016 by Sarah Young
Hebrews 7:25 -- 2 Corinthians 2:14 -- John 8:29 -- Matthew 28:19-20 -- Isaiah 57:16 -- Psalm 103:9