2013-01-18
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week the Holy Spirit concluded the section of these “Our Covenant” messages called “Covenant to be Discovered” by reminding us of 1 TIM 2: 1-4. “I urge, then, first of all that requests prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for everyone—For kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, Who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” Those of us who have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ know that faith in Him is the way for us to lead this kind of God-pleasing life.
Miriam Webster wrote a praise hymn called “Made Me Glad” which we sing often in church. The words of it’s chorus are particular favorites of mine, and as you read them, you’ll see why.
“You are my Shield, my Strength
My Portion, Deliverer,
My Shelter, Strong Tower, my very
Present Help in time of need.”
These are apt descriptions of God as He fulfills the descriptions in the other stanzas too.
“I will bless the Lord forever. I will trust Him at all times. He has delivered me from all fear. He has set my feet up on a Rock, and I will not be moved. And I’ll say of the Lord: (chorus).
Whom Have I in heaven but You? There’s none I desire beside You, and You made me glad. I’ll say of the Lord: (chorus).”
[NB: 2001 Miriam Webster; Hillson Administration in US and Canada by Integrity’s Hosanna Music. CCLI # 187159]
As you know the capital “R” on Rock refers to the Lord Jesus. If anyone understands the truth of these descriptions, it’s a person who has been taken on the path I’ve followed, and who has been given the gift of totally undeserved salvation, peace, and forgiveness. When I felt the emptiness that I couldn’t initially explain and for which traditional Judaism offered no nourishment, I somehow knew that something had to be done about it. It gnawed at me and wouldn’t leave me alone. The older I got, the more it gnawed. From much OT-based teaching, I knew it had to be something to do with God, but I had guilt which arose from my denial of His presence in my life. He just hadn’t been on my radar! I knew there was supposed to be more to my life, but had no idea how to access it.
Once my first marriage ended, I found myself with a sea of choices and was trying to find which way to go. One of my brothers had found peace by joining a church which believes in Christ, so I thought I would do that too. God was taking me on this zigzagged journey that would eventually prepare me for what I’m doing now. I was in my late twenties, and the Lord Jesus was calling me. I would spend the next 12 years in that church, surrounded at first by what appeared to be loving attention, and my prideful ego was being assuaged with the tasks I would do. But as time went on, I was steadfastly being denied the most holy ordinances of that church, because I wouldn’t force my present husband to join it. I then, began to compare their doctrine against the Scriptures, including the NT, which I had begun to read. Something was terribly wrong, and that old gnawing feeling resurfaced. Then, trouble of another kind loomed.
I had lost physical custody of my 5 year old son six months after my second marriage took place. This was devastating, as I was to miss raising him until the age of 11, when he returned to our home. The way this happened was the result of cold and calculating actions taken by his natural father. Then, we were transferred first to southern CA and then, to GA. I decided to leave the church I had been in two years later, because I could no longer live with the lack of help they had given during the custody matter and the glaring differences between that church’s doctrines and the Scriptures. I joined the church in which my second husband, Peter, had been raised.
MICAH 6: 8, “He has showed you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” God can only be one’s Strong Tower, if He is allowed by a believer to be that. God was calling me on this journey for His reasons, and I could only fulfill His mission for me if I was willing to put pride aside, submit to His teaching, and follow His Son, Jesus. No other person could do these things for me; I had to decide to do them myself and to put a new attitude into action. I’m reminded of MT 5: 3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” I couldn’t do this alone; I needed to pray to God for His intervention and wisdom in decision-making. It was here that I learned one needs to PRAY FIRST before doing anything for or with God.
PRAYER: O Lord, we come before Your mighty throne to acknowledge You are our Strong Tower, our Deliverer, our Strength, our Portion, our Shelter, our very present Help in time of need. Just as You remembered the covenant You have made with the Jews enslaved in Egypt [EX 2: 23-25], You will remember it with us. We pray to You to give us Your wisdom in decision-making, Your direction, and the out-stretched hand of the Holy Spirit when we need it. Frankly, I can’t imagine a time when we don’t need it! Dearest Abba, You know we will face difficult circumstances, losses, disappointments, ailments, and other challenges. These have been made a part of our lives, so that You can grow us. And yet, You never allow a challenge to go on beyond our ability to remain firm in our faith in You [1 COR 10: 13]. You have loved us and continue to love us in a way we can’t fully or yet understand [HO 14: 9]. This problem is due to the limitations of our human perspective in comparison to Yours [PS 139: 6; IS 55: 8-9]. You watch us from heaven and become our Strong Tower as You protect us from the work of the evil one [PS 33: 13]. We pray, PS 31: 3-5, “Since You are my Rock and my Fortress, for the sake of Your name lead and guide me. Free me from the trap that is set for me, for You are my Refuge. Into Your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O Lord, the God of truth.” We acknowledge You and submit to You, O Lord, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: Just as the Lord has prodded me along the journey I’m on to spiritual maturity, He does this for others too. Next week, I’m led by the Holy Spirit to write about some cases of how He is our Deliverer. Since I lost people in my own family in the Holocaust, it’s appropriate that I should share such a story and also ones from the Scriptures of God’s deliverance. Of course, the most famous story from the Holocaust is that of Ann Frank, and I got to see the very place where she and her family were hidden by Dutch merchants who lived over their shop in Amsterdam, Holland. Ann perished in a concentration camp after their arrest by the Gestapo, but thankfully others were saved. Pleas for deliverance are very important to us and to God. God’s plan is carried out, because His will is supreme over those of humans. IS 46: 9-10, “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’” Everything God does is righteous and in a person’s best eternal interests. 1 JN 1: 5, “This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.” We may not always understand this when circumstances don’t go our way, but we must come to know that God cares about us all, no matter what our challenges might be. We share the same suffering that all believers do, and God is always watching us to strengthen us. 2 CH 16: 9, “The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those who hearts are fully committed to Him.” Never forget He loves us, justifies us, and forgives us eternally. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson, 2012. All Rights Reserved.
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