2011-03-04
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Without a very special kind of love that God has, a love called agape, which is unconditional, such a covenant as the Covenant of Grace wouldn’t be possible. The closest thing to true agape love is the love that an emotionally balanced human parent has for his/her child. However, that second kind of love, parental love, is far from perfect, because humans are far from perfect. That leaves God alone as capable of perfect, unconditional, agape love. His example has a profound effect for good on those who are true believers, but our imperfections keep us from the pure perfection God has. God wants to build in us greater perfection than we have now, as we spiritually mature toward the goal of eventually being glorified, i.e. perfected in the process of sanctification and ready to be taken up to God’s side in heaven. Both testaments of the Scriptures have a way of expressing the word, covenant, which is a two-way promise. Because God is one of the covenant partners, these are very uneven promises, with God always keeping all of His promises, in keeping with His perfection. Mankind strives to keep their part of the covenant, but falls short in doing this. The word for covenant in Hebrew is briyth [pronounced ber-eeth]. Interestingly enough, it almost sounds like the English words “breath” or “breathe,” which is often used for God’s breath of life breathed into things, like His word [2 TIM 3: 16] and the life of Israel as a nation in [EZK 37: 5], for example. In the NT Greek, the word for covenant is doxa, from which we get doxology. In the Noahtic covenant which I wrote about over the last two weeks, GN 6: 18 gives us an example of the use of “briyth.” [God speaking to Noah] “But I will make a ‘briyth’ with you. Go into the boat…”
In getting to know our God better, we must come to understand His heart. God aches for the lost and seeking. Surely a person like me, raised in traditional Judaism, wouldn’t be a believer in the Lord Jesus if God’s heart didn’t ache the way it does! Traditional Jews are taught to reject His Son, Jesus. And yet, God doesn’t give up on us or any potential believer. If anyone tries to convince us of this replacement theology, he is lying. [Replacement theology is the wrongful belief that God has given up on the Jewish people]. I now know from hindsight He was willing to send the Holy Spirit into my life intermittently until I came to faith in the Son. Then the gift of the Holy Spirit dwelling in me was given, as it is to all who come to true belief in the Lord Jesus. JN 6: 39-40 reflects God’s heart. “And it is the will of Him Who sent Me t hat I should not lose any of all those He has given Me, 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.” The same can be said for EPH 1: 4b-5, “”Because of His love God had already decided that through Jesus Christ He would make us His sons-this was His pleasure and purpose.”
The effects of not knowing God can be devastating. One is left vulnerable to the efforts of the evil one to establish strongholds in his life [see EPH 6: 12]. These strongholds take different forms and are not recognized for what they are. In my own experience, they led to my spending some time in a cult, marrying to wrong person in my first marriage for the wrong reasons, and encouraging my self-loathing. These are only a few of the ways this happens. Fear of so many things takes over one’s life, most especially fear of one’s physical death. When Christ enters the picture, we can rely on Him to remove that fear. HE 2: 14-15, “Since the children, as He calls them, are people of flesh and blood, Jesus Himself became like them and shared their human nature. He did this, so that through His death He mighty destroy the devil, who has the power over death, and in this way set free those who were slaves all their lives because of their fear of death.” I grew up thinking that once one’s physical life is over, he goes back into the carbon cycle to disintegrate-that being the end of him. No discussion of an afterlife or the soul was welcomed. Not knowing God means not having spent significant time studying His word, because that is one of the two primary ways God reveals Himself to us [2 TIM 3: 16-17]. God refreshes and renews our lives through His word. PS 119: 24, 93, “Your instructions give me pleasure; they are my advisors…I will never neglect Your precepts, because by them You have preserved my life.” It helps us to know PS 36: 9, “For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.” Otherwise, we wallow in the darkness from crisis to crisis, always miserable and feeling abandoned. Hopelessness, despair, anger channeled in destructive ways, poor choices, and the list of miseries goes on and on. It isn’t until the Lord comes into our lives that this vicious cycle established by the adversary is broken. PS 130: 5, “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope.”
The other main way that God reveals Himself and breaks the cycle of misery is through prayer. From my own experience, the best place to start is with a humble confession, such as PS 51: 2, 10-14, “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin…Create a pure heart in me, O God, and put a new and loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from Your presence; do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Give me again the joy that comes from your salvation and make me willing to obey You. Than I will teach sinners Your commands, and they will turn back to you. Spare my life, O God, and save me., and I will gladly proclaim Your righteousness.” Of course there are other ways, specific to each of our lives, that “God calls us out of darkness and into His own marvelous light” [1 PET 2: 9b].
PRAYER: O Lord, Your power to yearn for us is great. Your heart is so tender and compassionate. Your patience unparalleled. Do we have the courage to answer Your call? Are we empowered by the Son to stop our sinful ways and come closer to You? Will we make the changes necessary, so that we can hear Your commands and learn to obey them? Those without strong faith ask these questions, not realizing that the question itself is the beginning of Your influence on our lives. The very fact that we become unsatisfied with the status quo in our lives is our first inkling of Your willingness and power to begin chipping away at the hard shells of evil thoughts/deeds wrapped around our lives. Anyone who has quit smoking, lost weight and kept it off, or overcome some bad habit in his life knows none of this is easy. If someone has committed a crime, he knows he must serve whatever punishment awaits him. But he doesn’t have to be defeated. You enter us wherever we are in our misery. You invite us to change our lives and ways of thinking. IS 55: 6-7, “Turn to the Lord and pray to Him, now that He is near. Let the wicked leave their way of life and change their way of thinking. Let them turn to the Lord, our God; He is merciful and quick to forgive.” Those who never had a chance to know You are invited and offered forgiveness. HE 10: 16-17, “’This is the covenant that I will make with them in the days to come,’ says the Lord: ’I will put My laws in their hearts and write them on their minds.’ And then, He says, ‘I will not remember their sins and evil deeds any longer.’” These are words of a loving God, who deserves nothing less than our eternal praise and thanks. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I am led to continue discussing the effects of not knowing God and how a covenant relationship with Him dissolves misery from one’s life. We will consider Paul’s experience and how it might impact our thinking. We must see that an idea that we are not happy with the way our lives are, then come to the end of ourselves. This can be followed by confession of sins and the taking of responsibility for our own thoughts and actions. Such steps are a good pathway to coming closer to God. Faith in His Son doesn’t come at the snap of a finger, except for God’s, of course J. It is gained through opening our minds and hearts to a paradigm shift, the one described in RO 12: 2. “Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by the complete renewal of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God-what is good and is pleasing to Him.” Normally, this process isn’t easy, because it takes being honest with yourself about yourself. We sinful humans hate to admit our faults and the wrongful deeds we have committed. But once we do, it is like a refreshing shower. And over time, it can take a person filled with self-loathing and give them humility, hope, a feeling of being loved, and a real direction that is constructive. It can even enable him to withstand trouble and losses in his life, because he is able to see them from God’s perspective, learned from Scriptures and prayer. While a believer feels pain and sorrow, he doesn’t have to feel hopelessness. Now, that’s my idea of something worth anticipating, if we don’t already have it! Our God loves us and wants only the best for us in the eternal sense. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15