2002-01-01
Good Morning Fellow Believers,
Yesterday, we examined some citations that revealed some of Satan’s tactics, relevant “combat intelligence” God gives us in our battles against the adversary. We begin to know from RO 5: 10-11 how the Lord changed the nature of our relationship with Him when we repented and came to faith in Him. “We were God’s enemies, but He made us His friends through the death of His Son. Now that we are God’s friends, how much more we will be saved by Christ’s life! But that is not all; we rejoice because of what God has done through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has now made us God’s friends.” That is not where this blessing stops. God loves those who love Him so much that He makes another promise and takes the next step to closeness to Him seen in RO 8: 1, 13-16, and 28. “There is no condemnation now for those who live in union with Christ Jesus…For if you live according to your human nature, you are going to die; but if by the Spirit you put to death your sinful actions, you will live. Those who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. For the Spirit that God has given you does not make you slaves and cause you to be afraid; instead, the Spirit makes you God’s children, and by the Spirit’s power we cry out to God, ‘Abba! My Abba!’ God’s Spirit join Himself to our spirits to declare that we are God’s children…we know that in all things God works for good with those who love Him, those whom he has called according to His purpose.” Yes, Dear Ones, He has adopted us as His very own children!
Long before Christ’s earthly ministry and Atonement, believers had a chance to understand God’s heart. This is seen in IS 49: 14-16, “But the people of Jerusalem said, ‘The Lord has abandon us! he had forgotten us!’ So the Lord answers, ‘Can a woman forget her own baby and not love the child she bore? Even if a mother should forget her child, I will never forget you, Jerusalem. I can never forget you! I have written your name on the palms of my hands.’” How can we miss the true nature of God’s love for us when we read JER 31: 31-34, “The Lord says, ‘The time is coming when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. Although I was like a husband to them, they did not keep that covenant. The new covenant that I will make with the people of Israel will be this: I will put My law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. None of them will have to teach his fellow countryman to know the Lord, because all will know Me, from the least to the greatest. I will forgive their sins and I will no longer remember their wrongs. I, the Lord, have spoken.” These are not the words of a God wanting to hold His creation at arm’s length. More of God’s heart toward those who believe is revealed in Christ’s words in JN 15: 15, “I do not call you servants any longer, because a servant does not know that his master is doing. Instead, I call you friends, because I have told you everything I heard from My Father.”
Whenever, any adoption takes place, there is always the question if the child is old enough to ask it, “will my new parents get tired of me and abandoned me if the going gets too hard?” God answers this question repeatedly in the Scriptures regarding our adoption as His children. HE 13: 5-6 is a good example of where this is addressed. “Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, ‘I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.” If we stop and think about it, God’s attitude toward our adoption is exactly the opposite of what Satan would do. Satan wants to take no responsibility for his actions and wants to do nothing for those under his control except to teach them to be hateful and evil as he is. We need only look at some cases of people under his control. The husband who abuses his wife physically and is unfaithful to her, the women who make gossip that hurts its subject their main pastime, the politician who works behind the scenes to destroy the career of a colleague, the pedophile who destroys the emotional life of a child placed unknowingly in his care, and the predator who lures teenagers into a rendezvous for sex and/or to kidnap over the Internet are examples of people under Satan’s power. When we consider there are more people in today’s world under Satan’s power, we should be grateful for the blessing our faith in God gives us and motivated to join God in His work of bringing more lost people to faith.
We are blessed by what is revealed to us in EPH 3: 8-10 by Paul. “I am less than the least of all God’s people; yet God gave me this privilege of taking to the Gentiles the Good news about the infinite riches of Christ, and of making all people see how God’s secret plan is to be put in effect. God, Who is the Creator of all things, kept His secret hidden through all the past ages, in order that at the present time, by means of the church, the angelic rulers and power in the heavenly world might learn of His wisdom in all its different forms.” The humility of Paul’s statement, and the importance of what the Body of Christ can do by engaging in faith-building lives shouldn’t be lost on us. God will never abandon those who endure in faith, and we should never abandon Him either. That is what families do for each other, and we are blessed to be part of the family of God!
PRAYER: O Lord, we are so useless and helpless without Your leadership in our lives. We are like “sheep gone astray, each one going his own way” [IS 53:6]. Your are so loving, powerful, compassionate, righteous, and magnificent a God that You gave us the will to repent and come to faith in Your Son-Your only begotten Son Whom You sacrificed so we could be saved. Still, even as young in the faith, we were wanting and needed guidance. You brought that to us by means of the Holy Spirit, so that we could remain in two-way constant communication with You through study of Your word and prayer. The power we have to battle against evil is the same power You used to raise Christ from the dead to life eternal [EPH 1: 18-20]. Each day that we love, honor, and obey Your commands, You prove that Your grace is sufficient to see to all our needs [2 COR 12: 9]. Then, You encourage us by reminding us that “we can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us” [PHIL 4: 13]. We come before Your altar to offer ourselves to Your service in humble adoration after confessing our sins. We beseech You to fill our vessels with the Holy Spirit before we carry out any task in Your service. We pledge to live lives of holiness following the admonitions given to us by You and the Son to love You with all our hearts, souls, and strength and to love one another [DT 5: 5; JN 13: 33-34]. Today, we say a special prayer for those who are lost and have not yet come to faith. Make us Your instruments, using Your infinite power, to bring them to where the Holy Spirit can bring them to faith. We acknowledge that Your are our perfect Covenant Partner Who will never abandon us even in our hour of greatest suffering. You have our worship, loyalty, diligence, honor, glory, praise, and thanksgiving for being the Presence in our lives You are and for giving us the leadership You do. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow’s message begins a discussion of God’s plan that I am led to engage in for several messages. The research for these messages really blessed me as I hope it will you. All of this “combat intelligence” come from our Dearest Abba, Who has not only made us His friends, but has adopted us as His children. We must recognize our need to always count on God, and give Him our promise that He can always count on us to be obedient, trusting, and lead lives of righteousness serving Him. This is the nature of this amazing love relationship which He has opened to us through the death of His Son and our faith in Him. His love for us can’t be missed when we see and understand the magnitude of what He has done and continues to do for us. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn