2010-10-15
Good Morning Dear Ones,
My day began with prayer, and it really makes a difference. It’s a good way to start any day, particularly one where you know you have tasks to do for God. For me, that is every day. The Holy Spirit directs me to continue writing about “heaven’s very gate” and our security in the covenant relationship with God. We begin today with some comments about the fact that everything God does is based on covenant. It was God Who set the parameters of what is covenant, and He did it in such a way that those who keep to it would be saved and eventually enjoy a blissful eternal life with Him. Let’s start out by looking at a very familiar passage, JN 3: 16-17, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” Of course, I am writing about the Covenant of Grace, that second covenant that is better than and replaces the Covenant of the Law. This is clear; it was Christ’s given task that He should serve this three year ministry on earth, go through all the dangers, temptations, and feelings that we do [HE 4: 15], and then give up His physical life after much suffering on the cross as the perfect sin sacrifice for us [RO 3: 23-24]. What awaits those who believe in His saving power and in Him is something that makes any suffering we do definitely worth it. RO 8: 18, “I consider that what we suffer at this present time cannot be compared with all the glory that is going to be revealed to us.”
God tells us that He will keep His promises. The Psalmist understood this when, in PS 138: 8, he told us, “You will do everything you have promised; Lord, Your love is eternal. Complete the work that You have begun.” Soon after, in PS 139: 1-2, the Psalmist expressed his understanding of God’s omniscience. “Lord, You have examined me and You know me. You know everything I do; from far away You understand all my thoughts.” The only part of that statement that we may question is the phrase “from far away,” because people who are mature in the faith know that God is right there with them 24/7. PS 145: 17-18, “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.” What is far away is God’s knowledge in comparison to ours. IS 55: 7-8, “’My thoughts,’ says the Lord , ‘are not like yours, and My ways are different from yours. As high as the heaven’s are above the earth, so high are My ways and thoughts above yours.’” When God says He will protect us, He makes good on that, if my own experience is any teacher. PS 139: 5, “You are all around me on every side. You protect me with Your power.” God heals us in keeping with covenant. We can pray PS 6: 4, “Come, O Lord, and make me well. In Your kindness save me.” And the prayers of a believer are never fruitless or not heard. PS 86: 5, 7, “You are good to us and forgiving full of constant love for all who pray to you…I call to You in times of trouble because You answer my prayers.” One might argue that God allows people to undergo physical death even after a good person prays for them. The answer is found in our faith in God’s goodness [PS 16: 1-2]. He does allow physical death to happen for believers and unbelievers alike, but the difference is that a true believer never experiences spiritual death. As for those who die physically in faith, they are taken up to heaven for a much-deserved reward of fellowship and happiness with the Lord there. So, they are saved, and they are then fully healed. So when an obediently faithful cancer patient dies, his relatives know that he is taken up to heaven and is fully healed. They don’t have to worry about his fate, only about their need to grieve for him and eventually accept God’s decision with unselfishness.
And then, there is the question of forgiveness. We have been promised that in return for repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we will be eternally forgiven. HE 8: 12, “I will forgive their sins and will not longer remember their wrongs.” How many humans do we know who will do this? I dare say, not many. Paul, inspired by God in COL 3: 13, put it right out there. “Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another whenever any of you has a complaint against someone else. You must forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you.” Yes, the Lord really has forgiven us and even put our sins out of His mind! PS 32: 1, “Oh, what joy for those whose rebellion is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!” Does this mean that we can go ahead and put new sins on our plates? Of course not, because God is expecting us to cooperate with Him in the process of sanctification [purification and perfecting us] by not repeating those sins again. If new sins are uncovered in the process of maturation spiritually, then they must be expunged-the behavior and/or attitude stopped. The whole idea is to let God prepare us for the time of our glorification, going up to Him in heaven. And as for justification [being deemed innocent and acceptable to the Lord], that is another gift, along with the Holy Spirit, to us at the time we come to saving faith in the Lord Jesus. No human has ever loved us, not even our dear spouses, as God does. He promises never to abandon us. PS 9: 9-10, “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.” Now, that’s a God Who always does everything based on the covenant He has made with us! Praise, honor, glory, and thanks be to Him!
PRAYER: Dearest Father, our prayers are letters to You, pleas to draw Your attention to matters that are important to us. Even some things that we consider unimportant matter to You. That is because of Your amazing perspective, which is so much greater than ours. PS 136: 3-4, “O give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His steadfast love endures forever; Who alone does great wonders, for His steadfast love endures forever.” You know so much more than we can ever know. PS 139: 6, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to know!” And yet, You take the time to pull us out of the pit of misery that we sometimes fall in; You love us enough to be so patient with us. 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 a dangerous pit, out of the deadly quicksand. He set me safely on a Rock and made me secure.” That Rock is Jesus Christ. 2 PET 3: 9, “The Lord is not slow to do what He has promised, as some think. Instead, He is patient with you, because he does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins.” What a loving and kind God You are! We stand before Your mighty throne with great reverence and a desire to serve You obediently. We pledge to listen for Your direction in prayer and study of Your word. We look to You for leadership in our lives and stand thankful and grateful for the loving care You take of us. NH 1: 7, “The Lord is good; He protects His people in times of trouble; He takes care of those who turn to Him.” We offer this prayer in the holy and mighty name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: We will begin looking into why the covenant we are in is the very gate of heaven. Many of the subjects raised in this morning’s message, i.e. the things that God does for us, give us reasons why the only way to real happiness is being a partner with God in the Covenant of Grace. Anyone, no matter what his past sins might be, can open his heart to the Lord Jesus and become a covenant partner with God in the Covenant of Grace. We can be assured that God will judge us with wisdom, justice, and patience. We must remember the story of Jesus coming upon a group of Pharisees about to stone a woman who had been a harlot. He stops them and says, “He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone” [JN 8: 7]. We are given important reconnaissance in our covenant relationship with God when, through Matthew, in MT 7: 1-2, we are told, “Do not judge others, so that God will not judge you, for God will judge you in the same way you judge others, and He will apply to you the same rules you apply to others.” God wants us to not only be our brother’s keepers, but He wants us to practice the same patience, kindness, and forgiveness as He does. In other words, “Be holy, because God is holy,” something He mentions in LV 11: 44, LV 19: 2, and 1 PET 1: 16. And we must remember that if something is repeated, as most of the concepts in this message are, then it matters a lot to God. God loves His human creation, with all the flaws that we might have. He wants everyone to be saved and to enjoy a blissful fellowship for eternity with Him in heaven [JN 6: 39-40; EPH 1: 4-5]. And yes, that means every one of us, warts and all! Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15