Unveiling... Vignettes of Life

by Lynette Woods

Other titles:

Unveiling... Lessons from Life

Unveiling... Portraits of Life

Unveiling... Being Full of Life

Unveiling... Life, But Not As We've Known It

Copyright Lynette Woods 2014

Published as an E-book by Unveiling.Org

Email: woods@unveiling.org

Contents

Christ Alone

Being Subject to the Back-to-Front Kingdom

Christ or Religion?

In Christ

Paradoxology

Ten Commandments... but not as we've known them

Google Heaven

All

Chapter 1 - The Beginning of All

Chapter 2 - The Meaning of All

Chapter 3 - What Is the Ekklesia?

Chapter 4 - What is the Word of God?

Chapter 5 - What is Reality?

Chapter 6 - What is True Love?

Chapter 7 - Why is Unity Vital?

Chapter 8 - Why Were We Created?

Chapter 9 - What is the Purpose of Life?

Chapter 10 - The End

Christ Alone

In order to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding, please note that in this writing Christ is understood to mean ALL of Himself.

"Who shall not reverence and glorify Your name, O Lord? For You alone are holy." (Revelation 15:4a).

If seeing Christ alone does not make me want to look and keep looking only at Him,

Then I may as well just concentrate on what I can see here and now on this earth instead.

If hearing Christ alone does not matter much to me,

Then I may as well seek and listen to the opinions and advice of other people instead.

If touching Christ alone does not thrill me,

Then I may as well look for excitement, amusement and pleasure in this world instead.

If Christ alone does not make me know I am wanted,

Then I may as well look for some people who will need and want me instead.

If Christ alone does not make me laugh at myself and my many blunders,

Then I may as well laugh at other people instead.

If Christ alone does not make me sing every song for Him,

Then I may as well sing for myself or other people instead.

If Christ alone does not cause me to grieve and pray with Him for others,

Then I may as well pray and cry tears of self-pity for myself instead.

If Christ alone does not soften my heart by causing me to identify with Him in His sufferings,

Then I may as well experience the suffering caused by my hard-heartedness and rebellion instead.

If Christ alone does not share His thoughts with me,

Then I may as well be occupied with my own thoughts instead.

If Christ alone does not share His heart with me,

Then I may as well be affected by those things which affect me and my affections.

If knowing Christ alone does not make me give up on myself,

Then I may as well defend myself (using His Word if need be).

If knowing Christ alone does not destroy my pride and ambition,

Then I may as well promote myself (using His Fame and Glory if need be).

If knowing Christ alone does not make me content to be unknown by man,

Then I may as well create and maintain a good name for myself (using Christ's Name if need be).

If knowing Christ alone does not bring me face down to the dust,

Then I may as well stand tall and accept people's admiration and appreciation (on His behalf, of course).

If I do not submit to Christ alone hiding me in Himself so that only He may be seen,

Then I may as well expose myself so people will look at, admire and notice me.

If Christ alone does not fulfil my need for Love,

Then I may as well prostitute myself by looking for love from people instead.

If Christ alone is not my only anointing,

Then I may as well manufacture my own version by manipulating people's emotions.

If Christ alone is not my only qualification and definition,

Then I may as well get a title and some credentials from man instead.

If belonging to Christ alone does not satisfy my need for acceptance,

Then I may as well join a group of people and commit myself and my time to them.

If knowing Christ alone does not make all other relationships pale by comparison,

Then I may as well concentrate more on my relationships with people here on earth than with Him.

If receiving Christ alone does not in turn release me to freely give because of All He has given,

Then I may as well just take all I can from both Him and others and give nothing.

If Christ alone does not give me freedom to trust and obey what I have heard Him say to me personally,

Then I may as well disobey and do what I (or other people) want me to do instead.

If Christ alone does not go along with my plans or use me as I desire,

Then I may as well just use others for my own ends and make things happen myself.

If trusting Christ alone is not deemed sufficient for anything and everything I may encounter,

Then I may as well do whatever I can to ensure my success and survival in all areas of life.

If Christ alone does not have first place in my life,

Then I may as well go any place I like, whenever I like.

If Christ alone does not have control of my life,

Then I may as well exercise my rights to do and say whatever I believe to be right.

If Christ alone is not my Teacher and Unveiler,

Then I may as well just accumulate and articulate the knowledge of others.

If Christ alone is not my Wisdom and Light,

Then I may as well jump to conclusions based on what I think I see from the light of my own candle.

If Christ alone does not make me know true Peace and Joy,

Then I may as well fill my life with many things and many people instead.

If Christ alone does not bring me real Rest,

Then I may as well keep myself very busy so I don't notice my internal lack and restlessness.

If Christ alone is not becoming the essence of who I am,

Then I may as well spend time 'finding myself' and bolstering my poor self image.

If Christ alone is not my Life,

Then I may as well just live for myself and forget about eternity.

If Christ alone has not proved to be more than sufficient for any trial I face,

Then perhaps my trials need to be repeated...

If Christ alone is not enough for me,

Then perhaps I am a hypocrite using His Name...

If Christ alone is not the Love of my life, then who is?

If Christ alone is not my reason for living, then what is?

If Christ alone is not real to me in every aspect of my life, then am I being unreal?

If Christ alone is not enough for me, then do I really know Him at all?

If Christ alone will make me nothing,

Then He will be my Everything.

If Christ alone is the One Thing that matters to me,

Then the "many things" will totally lose their power and ability to trouble me.

If Christ alone will open my eyes, then I will truly see because of Him.

If Christ alone will open my ears, then I will genuinely hear because of Him.

If Christ alone will break me, then I will be gloriously free because of Him.

If Christ alone will touch me, then I will be completely healed because of Him.

If Christ alone will breathe on me, then I will really live because of Him.

If Christ alone will feed me, then I will be fully satisfied because of Him.

If Christ alone will come and live in me in spite of my total unworthiness,

Then I will be worthy because of Christ alone.

If Christ alone will come and show me that I am irrevocably and completely His,

Then I will be lost in the wonder and glory of being joined with Christ alone!

If Christ alone is what I see, then HE will be seen through me!

If Christ alone is what I hear, then HE will be heard through me!

If Christ alone is what I touch, then HE will be felt through me!

If Christ alone is what I eat and drink, then HE will be tasted through me!

If Christ alone is the Fragrance I wear, then HE will be smelt through me!

If Christ alone is all I know, then HE will be known through me!

If only Christ alone will come and make us One...

If only Christ...

Yes, COME Lord Jesus!

"The Holy Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let him who is listening say, Come! And let everyone come who is thirsty, who is painfully conscious of his need... and whoever earnestly desires to do it, let him come, take, appropriate and drink the water of Life without cost. He Who testifies to these things says, Yes it is true, Surely I am coming quickly. Amen, so let it be! Yes, come, Lord Jesus!" (Revelation 22:17,20).

Being Subject to the Back-to-Front Kingdom

The way of the Wind is the way of greatest emptiness;

The way for the Water is the place of the lowest depth;

The way for the Lightning is along the line of the greatest weakness.

'If any man lack' - there is God's condition for His inflow. - Lilias Trotter

God's modus operandi is usually the opposite of what we think. We tend to apply our earthly principles to heavenly matters and then wonder why things don't work out as we think they should! But God's Heavenly Kingdom operates on completely different principles to what we on earth are used to. If He gave us everything we thought we needed, even "spiritual" things like wisdom, love, joy etc, we would take them and think we owned them and deserved them. We would see those things as ours and would have no need to depend on God.

There is no greater gift we can give others than the gift of ourselves: our friendship, our love, our time, our thoughts, our lives... and it is exactly the same with God: He gives HIMSELF! Instead of giving us things, God gives us one huge Gift: Himself in His Son. It is easier for us to give gifts of things, than to simply be a gift to someone. Perhaps it would be easier for God to give us things than to BE Himself in us, but if He were to give us Love as a thing, we would think it was us that was loving; if He were to give us Wisdom as a thing, we would think that it was us who was wise...

For Him to be Love, Light, Wisdom, Peace, Joy and everything we not only need but also want, we need to accept His Life instead of ours, and His Way instead of ours. But His Way is not our way, and the principles of His upside-down and back-to-front Kingdom are the opposite of our own...

It is when I know emptiness, that I know Your fullness;

When I know silence, I know You are speaking;

When I stop, I see You begin;

When I know death, then I experience real Life;

Only when I know how weak I am, do I know true Strength.

It is when I trust like a little child, that I am spiritually mature;

When I am bound to You, then I know true Freedom;

When I am broken, I know Restoration;

When I can't carry on, You carry me on;

Only when I see who I really am, do You reveal who You really are.

It is when I am in darkness, that I find Light;

When I am alone in the wilderness, I have entered the Promised land;

When I am decreased, You are increased;

When I am stupid, I learn Your Wisdom;

Only when I give up, do You take over.

It is when I know real Rest, that I am working;

When I realise how poor I am, I am becoming wealthy in Your Kingdom;

When I am misunderstood, I understand You more;

When I am rejected, I am really accepted;

Only when I am tested, do You become my Testimony.

It is when I see how wrong I am, that I discover how Right You are;

When I mess up, then I know You as Grace;

When I know I am lost, that I am found;

When I lose my mind, that I gain Your mind;

Only when I consider myself last, are You really First.

It is when I have nothing, that You become Everything;

When I can't see anything, that You reveal everything;

When I stop relying on myself, that You prove everything;

When I can do nothing, I see You do everything;

And only when I am nothing, can You be seen in me as "I Am Everything"!

Instead of giving me wisdom, You give Yourself as Wisdom

Instead of giving me love, You give Yourself as Love

Instead of giving me truths, You give Yourself as Truth

Instead of giving me peace, You give Yourself as Peace

Instead of giving me many things You give me One Thing: everything You are...

"Don’t deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise in the ways of this world, you should give up that wisdom in order to become really wise. The wisdom of this world is nonsense in God’s sight. That’s why Scripture says, “God catches the wise in their cleverness.” Again Scripture says, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are pointless.” So don’t brag about people. Everything belongs to you... You belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God... What do you have that God hasn't given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift? You are partners with Christ Jesus because of God. Jesus has become our wisdom sent from God, our righteousness, our holiness, and our ransom from sin. Therefore, as the Scriptures say, "If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord." "My kindness is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak." So if Christ keeps giving me His power, I will gladly brag about how weak I am. Yes, I am glad to be weak or insulted or mistreated or to have troubles and sufferings, if it is for Christ. Because when I am weak, I am strong." (1 Cor. 3:18-23; 4:7; 2 Cor. 12:9,10; 1 Cor. 1:30,31).

We have given up our wisdom for Christ.

1 Cor 4:10 GWT

Christ or Religion?

"Don't assume that you can lean back in the arms of your religion and take it easy, feeling smug because you're an insider to God's revelation, a connoisseur of the best things of God, informed on the latest doctrines! I have a special word of caution for you who are sure that you have it all together yourselves and, because you know God's revealed Word inside and out, feel qualified to guide others through their blind alleys and dark nights and confused emotions to God. While you are guiding others, who is going to guide you? I'm quite serious. While preaching "Don't steal!" are you going to rob people blind? Who would suspect you? The same with adultery. The same with idolatry. You can get by with almost anything if you front it with eloquent talk about God and His law. The line from Scripture, "It's because of you Jews that the outsiders are down on God," shows it's an old problem that isn't going to go away.

"Have some of you noticed that we are not yet perfect? (No great surprise, right?) And are you ready to make the accusation that since people like me, who go through Christ in order to get things right with God, aren't perfectly virtuous, Christ must therefore be an accessory to sin? The accusation is frivolous. If I was "trying to be good," I would be rebuilding the same old barn that I tore down. I would be acting as a charlatan.

"What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn't work. So I quit being a "law man" so that I could be God's man. Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with Him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.

"Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God's grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily." (Paul - Romans 2:17-24; Galatians 2:18-20 TM)

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to Me. Get away with Me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." Matthew 11:28-30 TM

In Christ

"In" is one of those little words that means an awful lot.

Being in Christ is to be...

In Truth

In Love (loved and loving)

In Joy (enjoyed and enjoying)

In Trust (entrusted and entrusting)

In Tenderness

In Faithfulness

In Heaven

In Revelation (revealed and revealing)

In Light (enlightened and enlightening)

In Glory (glorified and glorying)

In Resurrection

In Victory

In Peace

In Rest (rested and resting)

In Freedom (freed and freeing)

In Family (born and birthing)

In Fellowship

In Relationship

In Hope

In Comfort (comforted and comforting)

In Strength (strengthened and strengthening)

In Energy (energized and energizing)

In Wisdom

In Patience

In Grace

In Ability (enabled and enabling)

In Life (enlivened and enlivening)

In Fullness (filled and filling)

In Humility

In Faith

In the Word of God

In Power (empowered and empowering)

In Richness (enriched and enriching)

In Union (united and uniting)

In Jesus Christ Himself

In Eternity...

"May blessing be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm! Even as He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless in His sight, even above reproach, before Him in love" Eph. 1:3,4

Paradoxology

The word "paradox" comes from the Latin word "para" meaning "beyond" and the Greek word "doxa" meaning "popular opinion or belief". In other words a paradox is beyond orthodox, beyond what is popular - or perhaps beyond what we are comfortable with because it is beyond our understanding! Our belief systems can prevent us from seeing beyond the veil of our present understanding...

I see many these days who are proclaiming only one side of what is true, and while our reaction in not wanting to see or accept the other side may be understandable, if we are not adjustable we can become adamant, dogmatic and eventually blind to further truth. Often in my passion for what I have seen as a wrong emphasis in me or in others, I have reacted by going to the other extreme. Over the years Father has graciously corrected me through a very good friend who has had to say to me time and time again: "It's not a case of either/or but both/and. Why does it have to be either this or that, why can't it be both?"

"Either" and "or" are separating words. "Both" "and" are joining words. When we see things only as either this or that, we can divide and separate what God means to be joined. Obviously there are things which are separate and which we are not meant to join together, but I am thinking of dogmas and opinions of things we have seen which are only half of the truth or one side of the truth and therefore are not the full picture. Often we cling to these "truths" as though our Life depended on them rather than on Christ.

There are many characteristics of God given in the Bible which seem to be opposites, yet they reveal to us the many aspects of God. While they may initially appear to be opposites - a paradox - yet both are true and both need to be held in tension with each other in order to achieve a balance. We need to "note the kindness AND the severity of God" (Romans 11:22). The following is given with the prayer that Father will continue to reveal to us both His Truth AND His Grace, that we may truly know, accept and love Him as He really is rather than accepting only those things about Him which we like and understand while rejecting those we do not...

God loves AND hates

He brings mercy AND judgment

He is approachable AND unapproachable

He is a consuming fire AND rivers of living water.

God delights in spontaneity AND in order

He brings sight AND blindness

He softens hearts AND hardens them

He creates AND destroys.

He is knowable AND unknowable

He is the Word AND the Spirit

He chose us AND we chose Him

He is similar to us AND completely other.

God's ways are hidden AND seen

He is universal AND local

He is inclusive AND exclusive

He blesses AND curses.

Christ is in heaven AND also within me.

He is the Prince of Peace AND He brings a Sword

He comes to unite AND separate

To build up AND tear down.

I have been crucified with Christ AND I take up my cross daily

I can do nothing myself AND in Him I can do anything

My relationship with Him is personal AND corporate

Both a journey AND a destination.

I am hidden in Christ AND on display for all to see

In Him I know true rest AND real work

I know the greatest joy AND the deepest sorrow

I experience liberty AND restriction.

He is my Father AND He is God

I am His child AND His servant

I am His friend AND His slave

I am free AND a prisoner.

Christ is the Son of God AND the Son of Man

His fragrance brings Life AND death

He is the Lamb AND the Lion

He is our Brother AND our King.

He is revealed

AND

is delightfully,

intriguingly,

a Mystery...

I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God.

Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God's great Mystery.

All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that Mystery and nowhere else.

(Col. 2:2,3).

Ten commandments... but not as we've known them

Most of us are so used to living by rules that we find real freedom threatening and uncomfortable. It is easier to follow a set of static rules, than to follow Someone who often breaks our rules. And so, unconsciously we develop new rules and unwritten commandments that we bind ourselves to without realising that by doing this we forfeit our freedom...

"Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God's grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily... Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you. I am emphatic about this. The moment any one of you submits to circumcision or any other rule-keeping system, at that same moment Christ's hard-won gift of freedom is squandered... When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off from Christ, you fall out of grace. Meanwhile we expectantly wait for a satisfying relationship with the Spirit. For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love." - Paul in Galatians 2:21, 5:1-2,4-6.

The Ten Commandments of the Religious

Thou shalt love thy church with all thy heart, with all thy mind and and with all thy soul.

Thou shalt tithe and go to church whensoever thou canst do so.

Thou shalt blindly follow and worship thy leaders and traditions, and question them not.

Thou shalt quote the Bible even if thou knowest not in experience that of which thou speakest.

Thou shalt judge thyself as not only holier than others, but also worthier than others.

Thou shalt secretly despise them that go not to church, nor worship God as thou dost.

Thou shalt not confess weakness, sin, nor faults, but have the likeness of a perfect Christian at all times.

Thou shalt associate thyself only with them that believest as thou dost.

Thou shalt busy thyself serving others, that thy good works might be heralded by all.

Thou shalt have a ministry, that thou mayest receive praise and be proud of that which thou hast done in God's name.

The Ten Commandments of the Irreligious

Thou shalt make God in thine own image, and believe Him to be as thou thyself art.

Thou shalt love thyself and have no other gods before thyself.

Thou shalt obey and believe whatsoever thy heart telleth thee and not question it.

Thou shalt be a law unto thyself and receive not correction, but believe that thou art good, and that thy heart is not deceitful.

Thou shalt measure all things by thine own experience and feelings, and despise them that have not thy revelation and "freedom".

Thou shalt not listen to truth which may offend and cause thee to suffer, but rather hear and pass on partial truths and beautiful lies.

Thou shalt speak only encouraging words of love and grace and speak not of holiness nor righteous judgment.

Thou shalt not judge, but rather accept all things.

Thou shalt refuse to feel convicted or repent, for that would admit transgression which thy pride cannot abide.

Thou shalt hear and read many words, but thou shalt not hear nor read the Word of God.

The Commandment of God

My dearly loved Son... hear Him:

"I have loved you even as My Father has loved Me. Remain in My love. When you obey My commandments, you remain in My love, just as I obey My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. This is My commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are My friends if you do what I command. If any one desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me because whoever wants to save his life loses it and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow Me, you cannot be My disciple. None of you can be My disciples unless you give up everything. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" - Jesus Christ (Mark 9:7; John 15:9-10, 12-14; Matthew 16:24,25; Luke 14:26-27,33,35).

Google Heaven

Most of us are familiar with Google Earth - digitally zooming in on areas of the earth.

If there were such a thing, what might Google Heaven be like?

What would we see?

Most people who live on the earth see heaven from an earthly perspective - looking up.

A few live in the heavenlies and see the earth from a heavenly perspective - looking down.

It has been said that love does not consist of gazing at one another, but of gazing together in one direction.

It has also been said that we have been raised up and are seated together in Christ in the heavenlies.

Being Together with the One we love IS heavenly.

That being true, our Love consists not of gazing at one another so much as gazing Together, as One, in one direction:

the earth.

We see that heaven's focus is not itself but this world: seeing Christ as the consummation of all - becoming All - in all!

We look at the One we love and find our focus is directed to look at what He looks at.

We become passionate about what He is passionate about.

It is only when we are far above the earth that we can see the big picture.

The higher we go, the smaller the things become which previously had loomed large before us and occupied our vision.

Everything looks so different when viewed from above!

If my universe is limited to what I see outside my front door, then that will be my focus - and my limitation.

If I am raised up and see my house from 1000 feet up in the air, then I see it in relation to the neighborhood and city.

But if I am 30,000 feet up in the air, then I can no longer distinguish things, instead I lose sight of it all and see only the big picture.

The higher we go the bigger the picture becomes and the more our horizons expand.

We begin to see something of what God sees as we gaze Together...

Together... in unity, in cooperation... as One.

Google is used to do searches and sometimes we too zoom in and search...

Sometimes we delight in what we discover.

Sometimes we grieve.

Sometimes clouds obscure our view of the earth and all we can see is the glory of the Son reflecting off the top of the clouds!

We realize that our Heaven, our World, our Life, our All, is Christ.

What we see Together from heaven's perspective above all else is unimaginable, indefinable, inexplicable

LOVE!

This will be written for the generation to come, that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord. For He looked down from His holy height; from heaven the Lord gazed upon the earth, to hear the groaning of the prisoner, to set free those who were doomed to death, that men may tell of the name of the Lord in Zion... Ps 102:18-21

All

Preface

In these days when there are so many voices speaking and so many authors writing, it is imperative that we each see, hear and know All we need. There are many who will willingly take the place of All we need, and there are also many people and things which we allow to take that place; but the bottom line is that nobody else can either see or know this All, Jesus Christ, for you or me.

The following chapters are an attempt to relay this message in a very simple way - a "book", but not as we've known it... At first glance the content may appear to not have much to it, but we believe there will be some who will see that the content is in fact so full and complete as to never be fully understood on this earth. As we are each taken through the process of apprehending this message as Truth in all aspects of our lives, may we be brought into a deeper, closer and more intimate understanding, revelation and knowledge of All God has given and received in His Son Jesus Christ.

We pray to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation of insight into mysteries and secrets in the deep and intimate knowledge of Him, by having the eyes of your heart flooded with Light, so that you can know and understand the Hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints, and so that you can know and understand what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, above every title that can be conferred, not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which are to come. And He has put all things under His feet and has appointed Him the universal and supreme Head of the Ekklesia, which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all, for in that body lives the full measure of Him Who makes everything complete, and Who fills everything everywhere with Himself. (Ephesians 1:17-23).

Contents

Chapter 1 - The Beginning of All

Chapter 2 - The Meaning of All

Chapter 3 - What is the Ekklesia?

Chapter 4 - What is the Word of God?

Chapter 5 - What is Reality?

Chapter 6 - What is True Love?

Chapter 7 - Why is Unity Vital?

Chapter 8 - Why Were We Created?

Chapter 9 - What is the Purpose of Life?

Chapter 10 - The End

Chapter 1 - The Beginning of All

C H R I S T

He Himself existed before all things, and in Him all things consist (cohere, are held together).

(Colossians 1:17)

Chapter 2 - The Meaning of All

C H R I S T

Yet for us there is [only] one God, the Father, Who is the Source of all things and for Whom we [have life], and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through and by Whom are all things and through and by Whom we [ourselves exist].

(1 Corinthians 8:6)

Chapter 3 - What Is the Ekklesia?

C H R I S T

He has put all things under His feet and has appointed Him the universal and supreme Head of the Ekklesia, which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all [for in that body lives the full measure of Him Who makes everything complete, and Who fills everything everywhere with Himself].

(Ephesians 1:22,23)

Chapter 4 - What is the Word of God?

C H R I S T

In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.

(John 1:1,14)

Chapter 5 - What is Reality?

C H R I S T

We [have seen and] know [positively] that the Son of God has [actually] come to this world and has given us understanding and insight [progressively] to perceive (recognize) and come to know better and more clearly Him Who is true; and we are in Him Who is true - in His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah). This [Man] is the true God and Life eternal.

(1 John 5:20)

Chapter 6 - What is True Love?

C H R I S T

No one has greater love than to lay down (give up) his own life for his friends. (Christ) gave Himself on our behalf that He might redeem us (purchase our freedom).

(John 15:13 & Titus 2:14a)

Chapter 7 - Why is Unity Vital?

C H R I S T

Because of Him the whole body, closely joined and firmly knit together by the joints and ligaments with which it is supplied, when each part [with power adapted to its need] is working properly [in all its functions], grows to full maturity, building itself up in love.

(Ephesians 4:16)

Chapter 8 - Why Were We Created?

C H R I S T

It was in Him that all things were created, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [by His service, intervention] and in and for Him.

(Colossians 1:16)

Chapter 9 - What is the Purpose of Life?

C H R I S T

He planned] for the maturity of the times and the climax of the ages to unify all things and head them up and consummate them in Christ, [both] things in heaven and things on the earth. In Him we also were made [God's] heritage (portion) and we obtained an inheritance; for we had been foreordained (chosen and appointed beforehand) in accordance with His purpose, Who works out everything in agreement with the counsel and design of His [own] will, so that we who first hoped in Christ [who first put our confidence in Him have been destined and appointed to] live for the praise of His glory!

(Ephesians 1:10-12)

Chapter 10 - The End

C H R I S T

The revelation of Jesus Christ [His unveiling of the divine mysteries]: I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord God, He Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty (the Ruler of all). (Revelation 1:1a,8)

Other titles:

Unveiling... Lessons from Life

Unveiling... Portraits of Life

Unveiling... Being Full of Life

Unveiling... Life, But Not As We've Known It

To read more, or to contact the author please visit:

www.unveiling.org