2010-12-03
Good Morning Dear Ones,
We ended last week’s devotion with a short word study of “friend,” which is Greek is expressed as “philos,” meaning very close to, or loving kindness. In Hebrew, the same word is “checed” pronounced gutturally as kheh’-sed and implying “toward God,” “having rare piety,” “merciful,” or “very good deed.” In any event, the meaning is a person of importance in one’s life. This week, we will examine how covenant takes the veil off truth. To begin, let’s look at HE 4: 12 to see what truth is. “The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edge sword. It cuts all the way through to where soul and spirit meet, to where joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of man’s heart.” I’m reminded that a battle is going on, which Paul described in RO 7: 14-25, between the fleshly human self with its desires and the Holy Spirit in a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. As a person becomes more mature spiritually, the Holy Spirit gains more control over the person than the human desires do. This is a good, healthy kind of control, the kind that leads the person to eventual eternal life with the Father, rather than spiritual death. The person in whom this battle is going on is exerting his own will in trying to let the Holy Spirit gain leadership; it is not a case of God making human beings His own puppets on a string. This battle sometimes leads us to some rather uncomfortable places, but it never is designed to defeat our own spirits [1 COR 10: 13]. How can we miss the obvious mention of the word of God? It’s important to understand that giving us the word and ability to understand it is a function of being in a covenant relationship with God. God is all about this relationship, without ever denying the human his free agency. The truth of God’s word cannot be understood without the Holy Spirit’s presence indwelt in the human [1 COR 2: 14-15].
God’s very presence in our lives is dedicated to the sanctification of the human is so much a part of this covenant relationship, that it can’t be forwarded without Him. In turn, God, Who knows ahead that suffering, tests, and challenges must be a part of this process, carries out His promise not to abandon the human believer. 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.” I remember the time when I first professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, my Yeshua. That was a pretty challenging situation in view of my traditionally Jewish upbringing and threats that I was “turning my back on my Jewish heritage.” My marriage was crumbling, I felt alone, and moreover, I knew in my heart that the belief system of my upbringing was not giving me any kind of inner solace. My ex-mother-in-law told me that if I went through with converting to Christianity, she and her family would consider me dead. It reminds me of the ancient Jews who told their children never to go east of the river Jordan, because is was tantamount to going to hell. That is what makes the Parable of Prodigal Son [LK 15: 11-32] so poignant and meaningful to me. In an effort to teach forgiveness, Christ took this story written three hundred years before His earthly advent by the rabbis and changed the ending. In the ancient Jewish version, the father tells his returning son, “You are dead to me.” Of course in Christ’s version, the prodigal son is forgiven in the end. Because of my own stubbornness, the Lord God must have felt it necessary for me to go through all the disasters of my pre-believing life, so I would awaken from my spiritual sleep and accept the truth of His Son. In any event, all’s well that ends well. I am blessed to testify that He has never abandoned me, even though I have given Him many reasons to make that choice in my time.
We who believe have every reason to raise our hands to Him daily expressing the sentiments of PS 16: 9-10, “And so I am thankful and glad, and I feel completely secure, because You protect me from the power of death, and the one You love You will not abandon to the world of the dead.” We are like the child who falls, scrapes his knees, and can run home in tears to his parents for succor. Even when our earthly parents have long ago left this earth, we still have a Parent to Whom we can take our woes and receive love upon which we can count and advice wiser than the wisest human. These are examples of our security in the covenant relationship we have with our Creator and His Son, Who died on the cross for us. Christ died there so that we might be saved to live forever in blissful fellowship with Him. We can take great comfort in knowing that our cooperation with God in the sanctification process leads us toward spiritual maturity and at last, to sufficient perfection as to be swept up to His loving arms in heaven for a blissful eternal life with Him [1 THESS 4: 13-17]. PS 94 :14, “The Lord will not abandon His people; He will not desert those who belong to Him.” We mustn’t forget Christ’s mission statement of JN 6: 39-40. “And it is the will of Him Who sent Me that I should not lose any of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them all to life on the last Day. For what My Father wants is that all who see the Son and believe in Him should have eternal life. And I will raise them to life on the last Day.” My Dear Friends, we should feel the loving arms of the Holy Spirit around us, His encouraging presence in the face of our trials, and the warmth of knowing that we are never left alone to deal with pain, loss, or other aggravation. We should feel all of that, because we remember that our Lord, Who deserves our eternal praise and thanks, loves us that much!
PRAYER: O Lord, each time we approach Your mighty throne, we are reminded of Your amazing love, love which You have given us-not because we deserve it, but because of Your amazing grace. Never before have any of us experienced a love like Yours from any other human being. It is a love that covers us through our trials and takes great interest in our victories. Each time, we inch forward in our spiritual maturity, You are delighted. Each time we regress backward temporarily, You are patient and willing to help us turn things around. There is no other God like You. IS 64: 4, “No one has ever seen or heard of a God like You, Who does such deeds for those who put their hope in Him.” PS 65: 5-7, “You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God, our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and the farthest seas, Who formed the mountains by Your power, having armed Yourself with strength, Who stilled the roaring seas, the roaring of their waves and the turmoil of the nations.” This remarkable passage is prophetic, as we believe that the day will come when You will triumph over all the evil in the world and vanquish the adversary in all he tries to do. That day will happen in our future, but it could happen an hour from now, a day from now, or at any time You deem the right time. MT 24: 36, “No one knows, however, when that day [when the end times events will begin] or hour will come-neither the angels in heaven nor the Son, the Father alone knows.” But we must understand 1 JN 4: 12, “No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.” For it is God Who is the Author of all the goodness on earth; it is God Who will bless us with both salvation and eternal life in our Lord, Jesus Christ. It is in His holy and mighty name that we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: The word of God reveals our heritage as God’s people, the people of a covenant God. The security we have in our covenant relationship with God is nothing to be kept only to ourselves. It is to be shared with believers and non-believers alike. When we share it with believers, we help to strengthen their faith and ours. When we share it with sensitivity and deliberateness with non-believers, we often help them to wish they had this security. That might be the beginning of a journey for them toward the Holy Spirit, Who alone can give them faith in the Savior Jesus Christ. Our God is a Promise-keeper, a Deity Who puts His actions right in line with His words. IS 54: 10, “’The mountains and hills may crumble, but My love for you will never end; I will keep forever My promise of peace,’ so says the Lord Who loves you.’” Bask in the warmth of His love. Know that we are not facing our challenges, disappointments, and trials alone. Can we imagine what would have happened to a young David armed only with a simple slingshot before Goliath, if God weren’t there? [1 SAM 17: 46, 50]. That same God is right here with us! Never forget that and always know that through Christ, He has given us the power to fend off the adversary-the same power the Father used to lift Him from death to eternal life [EPH 1: 18-20]. So, the next time, which hopefully will be soon, that we go before His throne to pray, we can be reminded He wants us there and is willing to listen to our prayers- no matter how insignificant or important we think they are. Let’s not forget Paul’s words in EPH 3: 12-13, “In union with Christ and through our faith in Him, we have the boldness to go into God’s presence with all confidence. I beg you, then, not to be discouraged because I am suffering for you; it is all for your benefit.” Our Lord is always on the job! Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15