2010-08-27
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Our God loves us beyond measure, and we must know that He is calling us to a covenant relationship with Him. Last week, I mentioned how God makes it known to us that we will be secure in that love when we commit to a covenant relationship with Him. We learned this through David’s kind treatment of Saul’s crippled relative, Mephisbosheth and from PS 40: 1-2, “I waited patiently for the Lord’s help; then He listened to me and heard my cry. He pulled me out of the deadly quicksand. He set me safely upon a Rock and made me secure.” Today, we will look at the transforming power of a covenant relationship with God.
There are some examples of how God thinks in PS 72: 14, “He recues them from oppression and violence; their lives are precious to Him.” PS 9: 9-10 also reveals God’s heart. “The Lord is a Refuge for the oppressed, a Place of Safety in times of trouble. Those who know You, Lord, will trust you; You do not abandon anyone who comes to You.” There is also PS 10: 18 to help us understand. “You will listen, O Lord, to the prayers of the lowly; You will give them courage. You will hear the cries of the oppressed and the orphans; You will judge in their favor, so that mortal men may cause terror no more.” Let me give some examples. The first is from a man who was married to a woman in Africa who caused him a lot of trouble in his personal life. In addition, he espoused views that would put an end to Aparteid, a very oppressive belief system that kept people who were black set apart and with fewer civil rights than people who were white in his country. He spent a large part of his adult life in prison. I remember thinking there would be a very explosive war between the various parties in this man’s country and wasn’t looking forward to news of such a blood bath. When he finally was released, his God-given belief that is shared in this country that all men are equal finally reached acceptance. Aparteid finally came to an end. To my surprise, it ended without violence. His name was Nelson Mandela, as you have undoubtedly guessed by now. His party, the African National Congress [ANC] came to power in South Africa, and Mandela was made its president. He certainly had every reason to want to take revenge, but God had given him the wisdom not to do this. The result is that now South Africa is a healthy and ascending economy in that part of the world. An orderly transfer of power occurred when Mandela finally stepped down due to advancing age.
When I last wrote about my own story, I had just been “snapped” [surrounded with ego-boosting attention, given responsibilities that I enjoyed, and asked to quickly commit to membership in the LDS church at the age of 25. I was even given the chance to share my testimony in front of 15, 000 people at the Mormon Inter-stake Center in Oakland, CA. Over the ensuing 12 years, I gave over my life to the practice of this faith system and enjoyed considerable satisfaction. I had also ended my disastrous first marriage and had moved to condo. During the last six years of that marriage, I had become a mother. So, when I parted with my first husband, I took my son with me. Even with all of this, I was falling into a pit that the evil one had dug especially for me. I had financial woes, a son who at the age of 5 was misbehaving in response to all these changes, and I was becoming less and less satisfied with the beliefs of the church. My legal problems associated with this divorce were mounting, and so was my misery. For the first time in my life, I prayed. I was reaching the bottom! It was then, that God first made His presence known in a real way to me. He was calling me to a covenant relationship with Him, but I was too immature in the faith to understand what was happening to me.
God, to this day, retains the power to “transform us inwardly by a complete renewal of our mind” [RO 12: 2]. He was doing that to me, just as He can do it to the leader of a nation. PR 21: 1, “The Lord controls the mind of a king as easily as He directs the course of a stream.” While I have no political power, I surely have the power to make choices for my own life. What the Lord did was to cause me to get involved with studying His word in a very intense and real way. I began comparing it to Mormon doctrine and found too many disagreements to remain comfortable with the latter. It was also dawning on me that the LDS church reserves certain teaching to be revealed to the believer at a later time. The Lord Jesus let it be known that He doesn’t reserve anything any more for later revelation [JN 15: 13-17]. He is willing to die for us, and we are considered His friends and His servants [RO 5: 9-11]. There is nothing in the Bible that says women are to be held in a secondary position and not given all the rights and blessings of full faith in Him because of their gender. This is also true in the context of age, socio-economic station, educational background, or any other individual difference. The Gospel of Jesus Christ with its message of peace and salvation is for everyone [RO 1: 16-17]. The benefits of study [2 TIM 3: 16-17], faith in Him [JN 3: 16; RO 3: 24-25; RO 8: 29] and prayer [PS 86: 5, 7, &15] are for everyone. More of my story later.
PRAYER: O Lord, as we gather before Your throne today with heads bowed in reverence to You, we cannot help but recognize the love, patience, and compassion You have for us [HO 14: 9; IS 64: 4; 2 PET 3: 9; 1 JN 4: 12] . You allow for our individual differences; You wait patiently for us to recognize Your presence, and You stand eager to listen every day to our prayers. You encourage us and don’t push us away. JS 1: 9, “Remember that I have commanded you to be determined and confident! Do not be afraid or discouraged, for I, the Lord your God, am with you wherever you go.” It boggles our mind that You can be with each of us all at once, wherever we are. And yet, You are known for being omnipresent. It confuses us that You can wield such superior power without using it unrighteously [NH 1: 7; PS 68: 19-20]. And yet, Your power is omnipotent, above that of any other entity [IS 55: 7-8]. We can’t understand how You can know everything, but You do. Your omniscience is unparalleled. And yet, You are willing to share Your wisdom and discernment with us. That is why we can pray PS 51: 6 and PS 119: 125, knowing You are willing to hear our prayers and answer them. PS 16: 11, “You show me the path of life. In Your presence there is fullness of joy; in Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” What are these pleasures? You let us know that You are here for us and will guide us out of our difficulties, if we will only pray to You and listen to Your answers. You give us the confidence that we can pray to You at any time [EPH 3: 12]. When we face loss, disappointments, even death, You have promised us the hope of the resurrection. When we are faithful, our lives are not lived in vain. Even at times when some of us become martyrs for our faith, You have promised us deliverance and eternal blessings [REV 6: 9-11]. Dearest Abba, You call us to a committed covenant relationship, and You make it our very best choice of lifestyle, because You love us. We thank, honor, and praise You for this and so much more. In the holy, mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
Next week: We will begin trying to understand what is meant by a covenant relationship, as opposed to an ordinary relationship. I will share my own experience as well as some Biblical principles God wants each of us to know and come to believe. PS 145: 17-18, 20, should engender confidence and security for all who believe in the Lord. “The Lord is righteous in all He does, merciful in all His acts. He is near to those who call to Him, who call to Him with sincerity…He protects everyone who loves Him, but He will destroy the wicked.” During my 12 years in the LDS church, not all that I learned or everyone I met was bad. There are many wonderful people in that faith system, some of the in my own family. Their family lives are the most wholesome for which one could ask. They serve this country with great distinction and loyalty. Their motives in witnessing to their faith are the very best. I learned some of these values for family life and still hang on to them today. My problem is with their theology. I finally made the decision to leave that church, but never to leave my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, which God is still working on me to mature to this very day. I am still, just like everyone else, a sinner, but I’m a sinner who believes that one day, God will have me and all still on earth who believe in His Son sufficiently perfected to return to Him to for a life of blissful fellowship with Him in heaven. For now, my task is to continue building my faith, making the “head-heart-hands” connection, and to encourage faith in others through the use of my God-given talents. I believe He wants this for all of us: 2 COR 13: 11, “Be happy and grow in Christ. Live in harmony and peace. May the God of love an peace be with you all.” Praise, glory, honor, and thanks be to God Who loves us all!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15