August 7.
The Path To Paradise

2 Corinthians 12:2

I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.

I think God cruises around and finds people that he can use as models. He showcases a person who can endure one crisis after another. Such a person was the Apostle Paul, who had set up churches all over Asia Minor. He was a person that loved God, believed in God, trusted God, and made sacrifices for God. Moreover, there were some privileges that Paul experienced that most of us never experience. The text says that he was caught up into the third heaven or paradise, the place where God is. Of course, to have a privilege like that it was very expensive. Never think that privileges come free of charge. For those of us who are saved, our privilege is that we have been born again. We have been washed in the blood of the lamb.

And because we have the privilege of sonship, of salvation, of security, we become a target for Satan, self, and sin. Sin is always moving around trying to degrade us, trying to make us believe we re not who we are. Self is constantly talking to us saying, “You ain’t what you claim to be.” Satan is setting traps to try to dethrone us. Satan doesn’t bother his own and that’s why some people are not tempted by the devil because they are still in the camp. You see, Satan will never fight Satan; he will never war against himself. But if you are attacked by Satan, that’s good news. It’s because you have moved from his camp to the will and the word of God. Have you ever asked yourself, “Why is it that since I have been saved, it looks like everything is happening to me.” It means that you’ve moved from where you were to where you are. Satan doesn’t take it lightly when you move out of his camp and start serving a true and a living God. However, exceptional things await us!