None of the understanding that is coming forth today is an addition to the Bible. The concepts of spiritual war, of the removal of our sins, of the forming of Christ in us, of our change into the moral image of Christ, of our entering untroubled rest in the center of God's will, of the return of Jesus Christ to call up to Himself His army, of the coming of Christ and His saints to establish the Kingdom of God on the earth, are all found clearly in the Scriptures. We do not have to cut and paste verses together to support them as we do our traditions, such as having a mansion in Heaven, living in a state of grace, or being caught up to Heaven in a "pre-tribulation" rapture.

Today is a time for all of God's leaders to go back to the Bible and verify their doctrinal emphases. Some may be surprised that their favorite expressions, such as God seeing us through Christ, or our being covered with the blood, are not found in the Scriptures. Actually, the purpose of the blood is to forgive us and keep us free from condemnation as we are gaining the victory over sin, not as we wait to be carried to Heaven by grace. We wash our robe in the blood of the Lamb. But the blood is not our robe. The blood is as Divine soap that cleanses our robe. But the soap is not our robe. It is the righteous nature of Jesus Christ expressed in our person and behavior that is our white robe, and it is kept clean by the blood of the Lamb as we confess our sins and turn away from them.

We are trusting in the blood of Christ to keep God from seeing our behavior. This is not the purpose of the blood of Christ. The purpose of the blood of Christ is to forgive the saints and then make it possible for them to be so transformed morally that their godly character is a purified white robe that will cover their nakedness in the day of resurrection.

The believers who press into Jesus may be physically attacked, tortured, or even killed in the days to come. But what is that! The saints have always left bloody footprints in the snow.

We want to be among those who leave everything that we may build the wall against sin, the wall of the Kingdom of God. We want to be one of those who make the Glory our own, not just an onlooker who is warming his or her hands at someone else's fire.

We want to know God for ourselves and hear from God ourselves. We can, you know, if this is what we desire above all else.

When something of value is given to us freely we usually do not appreciate it. But when we have to regain it by a long, arduous, painful, sometimes dangerous struggle, we truly appreciate it. And, as I stated previously, in some cases the Glory we have gained, if it has been crucified and risen with Christ, is our treasure for eternity.

The Lord be with you as you press into Him. (from Making the Glory Our Own)