2009-10-02
Good Morning Cherished Ones,
God wants us to recognize the essence of being, not just doing in the context of judgment and MT 7: 12, the Golden Rule. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you: this is the meaning of the Law of Moses and of the teachings of the prophets.” Last week, we saw that the order of the Beatitudes: With God [MT 5: 3-6]-Blessed are the poor in Spirit, blessed are those that mourn; blessed are the meek; blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. The same is true for the beatitudes with others [MT 5: 7-12]-blessed are those who show mercy; blessed are those who have purity of heart; blessed are the peacemakers; blessed are those who re persecuted because they do what God requires…
This is what is meant by being, not just doing. Being is limited by what we are, not just our strength or according to its own moral code, as doing can be. We must remember that in essence, we are created in the image of God [GN 1: 27]. Anything else we add to that is an act of alteration, due to the influence of sin’s temptation which we have allowed. Yes, the truth is that once we became believers, Christ has given us the same power to reject temptation to sin as He gave Christ, when the Son was brought from death to life eternal [EPH 1: 18-20]. Then Christ gave us this power and authorized us to use it. The painful truth is that too few of us when so tempted by the evil one and his agents remember we have this power in invoke it. Just as Christ rebuffed the devil’s temptation during those 40 days in the wilderness [MT 4: 1-11], so we too can tell the devil to take a powder. It isn’t easy, and sometimes requires us to face our own personal demons to reject this temptation. However, the reward for doing this is definitely worth the spiritual battles in which we must engage. My own experience on this is very clear. Long ago when I was a young wife, I was living in a home with no carpeting or curtains. I didn’t have much money, but I bought 33 yards of unbleached muslin and fashioned curtains out of it. This home had wooden floors. Since I couldn’t afford carpeting, I kept those floors polished [they didn’t have polyurethane coatings like today’s] with an old WW II grade floor polisher that my mother had given me. The builder of that home stopped by to see how I was doing. His motivation for this visit soon became apparent; he had sin with me on his mind. I never let him get far enough with his plan to do me any harm; he was invited out in no uncertain terms. Thankfully, he never came back again. I didn’t even know of God’s protective presence at that time, so God worked through me while I was clueless about his love for me.
We simply can’t fulfill the Law of the Prophets without God’s intervention. Trying to do this by ourselves is fruitless. With the New Covenant, the Covenant of Grace, spoken of by Jeremiah in JER 31: 31-34, we can have greater understanding of our need for this intervention and His love for each of us. With the acceptance of the Covenant of Grace, we have entered into a working relationship with God, a two-way promise in which we can know that the Lord will keep it perfectly. We learn that He wants us to accept Him as our God, and He accepts us as His people. Our part in keeping our end of the promises made should be the main occupation of our earthly lives. We should know we can depend on God. The question is: Can God depend on us to keep our promises? Each of us must evaluate how we are doing with that between ourselves and God.
One more point must be taken up here. It’s God’s right to Leadership, where the capital “L” is not a typo. For God to be in leadership, we must agree to submit to Him. Such a decision isn’t easy, because we have all been disappointed at one time or another by submitting to the leadership of a human being or small group of them. But God is different. PS 31: 3-5, “You are my Refuge and Defense; guide me and lead me as You have promised. Keep me safe from the snare that has been set for me; shelter me from danger. I place myself in Your care. You will save me, Lord; You are a faithful God.” How many of us recognize the truths of these statements and actually place our full trust in God. We can’t see God, but those of us who have trusted Him can attest to His presence and intervention. God really does listen for and answer our prayers [PS 116: 1]. He may not answer our prayers exactly as we think He should or when we think He should, but He does answer them in ways and times which are perfect. They are perfect for delivering the maximum good and maximum lessons to be learned.
The relationship that God wants with us is real and very personal. It’s also a 24/7 kind of relationship, not one which turns on and off during work hours only. It involves every facet of our lives, our corporate worship, our private worship, our work, our play, our sleep, our lifestyle-all of it. Some of you may think I’m crazy if I tell you that I feel God’s presence, even though I can’t see Him, all the time. Sometimes we have running conversations, and sometimes I pray, and He listens to me. I am always blessed when He reveals His will to me. My aim is to be reverent toward Him all the time, even when I’m angry about something or impatiently waiting for Him to answer my prayer. Other times, I beg Him to let me know why something is allowed to happen that I don’t like, or for Him to answer a prayer for which I’ve waited a long time. Normally, His answer in these times is, “I’m waiting for the perfect time,” or “I have a greater goal which you can’t know right now for allowing such and such to happen or not answering a prayer just when you want it to be answered.” The bottom line is that God is in charge, and we must come to terms with that. Trusting God is hard but always necessary. This reverence in relationship is not just what we should do; it is the attitude that we must have-our way of being.
PRAYER: O Lord, there is no goodness on this earth without You, for You are the Source of all of it. PS 16:2, “I said to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord. Every good thing I have comes from You.” PS 31: 19, “How wonderful are the good things You keep for those who honor You! Everyone knows how good You are, how securely You protect those who trust You.” If we understand Your goodness, often through frequent observation of You putting it into practice, we will be more willing to trust You, even when the stakes are high. I prayed hard for this: My son and daughter-in-law were facing having to live apart against their wills for a protracted period of time. Everyone knows how tough our economy has been, and how so may freezes in hiring were in place. And yet, it was not Your will that this should happen to this young couple with our new little grandson. You made a good job available near to where my son lives for my daughter-in-law, and thus prevented their living apart by 300 miles. How thankful all of us should be for the many times You have brought Your goodness into our lives. When we are faced with a difficult decision, You are always there for us when we turn to You. PS 51: 6, “Sincerity and truth are what You require; fill my mind with wisdom.” PS 57: 2 reflects what we must do when and where God’s intervention is needed. “I will cry to the God to heaven Who does such wonders for me.” And Lord, this is what You do for us. PS 85: 12-13, “Yes, the Lord will give what is good; and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before Him, and shall make His footsteps our pathway.” You are a wise, generous, compassionate and loving God. We praise and thank You, in the holy and mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Next week, I am led to continue writing about God’s leadership and how it affects our judgments and our lives, in the context of MT 7:12, the Golden Rule. We all of us walk the often indistinct line between temptation and submission to God. Trite as it may seem, the Golden Rule gives us a plumb line to use in measuring our response to the situation. We can ask: how would I want to be treated if the roles were reversed? It reminds us to evaluate why does this other person act in a way which brings this challenge to us? God has given us the way to make judgments after His own. It would have been much easier for the Lord Jesus to have refused to go to the cross. He could have tried to escape at the time just before His arrest, for after-all, as an omniscient Being, He knew what was to happen before it happened. And yet, Christ obeyed God and fulfilled His main assignment-to be our Redeemer. For this He was mocked, scorned, scourged, and subjected to the most humiliating and painful death known, crucifixion. Our Lord Jesus was the perfect Sin-substitute and Propitiation, taking our sins with Him on the cross for us [JN 3: 16; RO 3: 24-25; HE 8: 12 and 10: 10]. Because of the example He set for us, He has given us forgiveness, salvation, a model for behavior, the example of true friendship, and the greatest demonstration of the Father’s goodness and love we could have. And yes, He deserves our thanks and praise eternally for giving us these things.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn