2011-06-24
Good Morning Dear Ones,
It’s perfectly appropriate for each of you to be called “Dear Ones,” by me, because we are united in the family of God by our shared faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That makes us brothers and sisters in Christ. There is a truth that God has already promised us and delivered. It is found in EZK 36: 26-27, which I cite again for it’s importance to us. “I will give you a new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart. I will put My Spirit in you and will see to it that you follow My laws and keep all the commands I have given you.” Are we perfect in the execution of these new gifts? Certainly not. But we do have the desire to work to get rid of the sin in our lives, and with Christ’s Atonement, we have the choice to do this.
There are two verses that must be mentioned in any kind of covenant discussion: JN 3: 16 and RO 6: 23. Of all the memorized verse, JN 3: 16 is probably the most familiar. “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.” Let’s add the next verse, JN 3: 17, to place this remarkable statement in context. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” If we go back to 1 COR 11: 24-25, our understanding can even be more complete, for these are said during the Communion, a time to clarify this great sacrifice made for us against the circumstances of our lives. “And when He had given thanks, He broke it [the bread] and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it , in remembrance of Me.’” How many of us are willing to die for a friend, much less enemies without belief in us? Are we thinking about Christ’s statement in JN 15: 13, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” At the time we are taking Communion, what are we thinking about? Is it that when we drink the wine/grape juice, are we truly appreciating all the ramifications of this new covenant which was instituted with Christ’s blood shed for us? Do we really understand that taking Communion is a great privilege extended only to those who are able to understand our remarkable covenant relationship with the Lord and what it really means?
Now, let’s look at RO 6: 23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.” Before this unselfish sacrifice of His life was made on the cross, we had no choice but to sin and to eventually suffer spiritual death. Early on in my experience as a believer in the Lord Jesus [my Yeshua], I was asked what spiritual death/hell is. Over the years from studying Scripture daily, it occurs to me that hell is conscious torment from which there is no escape. The condemned individual is awake all the time and suffering pain beyond description. He is forever separated from the Lord he now realizes he should have loved. I think the story of the rich man and Lazarus, in LK 16: 19-31, really helped me to understand this awful fate as well as any. This excerpt, from (23-26) will further explain. “In hell, where he [the formerly rich man] was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. So he called him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony.’ But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And beside all this between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to there cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.” I [Lynn] am here to tell you that I believe this. My own family has some people on one side of the chasm and others on the other. They have no goals in common, nor common values. Their spiritual lives have nothing in common either. And sadly, I believe their fates have nothing in common. Christ told us, in MT 10: 34-35, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the world. No, I didn’t come to bring peace, but a sword. I came to set sons against their fathers, daughters against their mothers, daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law; a man’s worst enemies will be the members of his own family.” Shocking statement? You bet it is, but it’s true! Christ’s bottom line is stated in MT 10: 38-39, “Whoever tries to gain his own life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will gain it.”
The unthinkable fate of death described above is so horrible to me or anyone who is a believer in Christ, that we are motivated to avoid it at all costs. And yes, there is a cost to being a disciple of Christ. It means being ostracized by some people, being insulted for our beliefs, or even being martyred, as that teenaged girl in the Columbine High School shooting that I so often mention was. At rifle-point, she was asked, “Do you believe in Jesus Christ?” by her assailant. Her last word on earth was, “yes,” and then she was shot to death, or I should say, to eternal life with the Lord Jesus. As for eternal life, there are descriptions of it written in places like DN 2: 35 and REV 21 and 22. But all we must know is that it is the opposite of being separated from the love of our Lord, that it is greater joy than the limits of the human mind can imagine. We also know it goes on forever, without end or limits. We know that it is something well worth making a sacrifice, even if it is one’s earthly, physical life, to have. After all, HE 12: 1-2 matters. “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes upon the Lord Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, Who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” If our wise and loving Lord did this for us, then we shouldn’t waste a drop of His blood shed for us!
PRAYER: O Lord, we come before Your mighty throne to pledge ourselves to You, to ask for Your help in remaining resolved to avoiding and battling temptation to sin. Our desire is to be obediently faithful to You and to truly appreciate the great sacrifice of Your Son’s life on the cross, so that we might have the chance to be saved from spiritual death. 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 all danger. I place myself in Your care, You will save me, Lord; you are a faithful God.” This is our prayer. We recognize we are far from perfect, and we also know we can’t reach this goal without Your loving presence and intervention in our lives. Your goals for us are our goals for ourselves. Yet, we must beg You to show us how to avoid sin and to stop the sinning we are already doing. Discovery of those subtle sins we still have can be painful, so we must ask You for not only Your guidance, but also Your comfort and courage. You have told us, in JS 1: 9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” You have also given us wise advice in JS 1: 8, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” We offer You our reverent love and desire to improve in Your eyes. We praise and thank You. This is done in the holy/mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: In the last message in this section of “Our Covenant” on “God is Faithful”, we will examine the first and second Adams, from RO 5. It will help to round out the notion of Who our Lord really is and of what He is capable. Then, we can really appreciate what the Father has done for us in sending His Son to earth to teach and sacrifice for us. We must remember that enormously comforting fact that He chose us first, not the other way around [JN 15: 16]. The Father understands the predicament in which we are placed by the original sin [GN 3: 1-6], and that if He were to bring us back to Himself for eternal life, there would have to be a way to accomplish this. It was by the sacrifice of His only begotten Son’s earthly physical life on the cross, taking all of our sin with Him. It would be making Christ’s Atonement the propitiation [the satisfactory and acceptable sin-sacrifice] once and for all [RO 3: 24-25]. Never again would animal sacrifices or any other type of atonement be necessary, as Christ’s life on the cross was enough. Are we feeling loved enough by now? We should be. In recognizing the enormity of this crucifixion and resurrection as “the First among many brothers” [RO 8: 29] for what it is, we should feel surrounded by love from Him and know that nothing can separate us from that love [RO 8: 38-39]. Now, that’s my idea of being comforted! Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15