2013-02-08
Good Morning Dear Ones,
God, our Strong Tower, grants deliverance to His believing children from persecution. Last week, I related the true story of believing, imprisoned Holocaust survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto, Jozeca and her husband, Jakob. Their faith delivered them through the actions of the Holy Spirit. This week, I will relate another series of events from the history of the Roman empire. I can’t help but believe that this deliverance is an outgrowth of a truly committed covenant relationship with the Lord. PS 60: 11-12 is a worthy prayer at this time and always before and during the end times. “Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless. With God we will gain the victory, and He will trample down our enemies.”
Persecution and death were commonplace under Emperor Diocletian and his evil assistant, Galerius. This began with the destruction of the church in Nicomedia in 303 AD. Following this, came one death edict after another with Scriptures being burned, believers sent down to the mines or imprisoned, church leaders being hunted down and/or executed in numerous vicious ways. Eventually, the empire grew sick of this and even the lions weren’t eager for human flesh. Then Galerius fell ill and was dying of a terrible disease described as being “eaten by worms.” Pleas came for deliverance from the persecuted to the Roman government. Finally in 311 AD, Galerius issued an edict to end persecution of Christians, if they would pray for him. The weary and wary Christian prisoners streamed home from prisons, mines, and forced- labor camps. Five days after signing that last edict, the “worms” did their job, and Galerius succumbed to his illness. God manifested His judgment on earth, as He will in eternity. PS 40: 1-2, “I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a Rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”
So, must we question my assertion above that this deliverance has come from the Lord? I must first look at Christ’s own words about those persecuted. MT 5: 10 -12, “Blessed are those persecuted because of righteousness; for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Now, let’s go back to the covenant of friendship between Jonathan and David [1 SAM 18: 1-4] to better understand the symbolism of the exchange of the sword, bow, and belt that Jonathan gave to David. It must be understood that one covenant partner is taking on all the enemies of the other. All one’s belongings in those days were held in common with the other’s. One’s covenant partner, just as with one’s kinsman-redeemer in the past, was expected to come to one’s aid when the need arose [LV 25: 25]. A covenant relationship is a bond in blood unto death.
If there is still any question about God’s involvement with David and Jonathan’s friendship covenant or with our own covenant relationships with fellow believers, let this be put to rest by DT 7: 8-9. “But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath He swore to to your forefathers that He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of the Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commands.” As for His decision to allow the destruction of His enemies, the enemies of His covenant partners, like Galerius above, DT 7: 10 also leaves us with no equivocation. “But those who hate Him He will repay to their face by destruction; He will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.” This can be seen in any review of what latter happened between the united houses of Saul [remember Jonathan was Saul’s son] and David [1 SAM 19-20; 23: 7-24; 25: 44; 26; 2 SAM 1-2: 7; 4: 4; 5: 5, 9, and 10; 7: 12-13; 9: 1-13]
The principles of this Kinsman-Redeemer/ Covenant Partner relationship with other believers and with God apply to our modern lives as well. Our Strong Tower [the Lord] stands mightily over us ready to help in time of need [PS 46: 1] just as He has for believing mankind from they’re inception. We must remember to think in eternal, not just earthly terms. Oftentimes when a fellow believer or potential believer falls ill, we pray for him. We look to our Strong Tower for protection against the enemy, which in this case is the devil and his work in bringing illness. Many of you know that for the last 15 years, I have led a group of about 193 prayer servants [servants of God’s not mine] in an e-mail prayer chain for my congregation. If anything will put your own life in God’s perspective, that will! If anything causes question about the power of our Covenant Partner to bring healing, that will answer it. PS 41: 1-3, “Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the Lord delivers him in times of trouble. The Lord will protect him and preserve His life; He will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desire of his foes. The Lord will sustain him on his sickbed and restore him from his bed of illness.” God will do everything in accordance with righteousness, the person’s best eternal interests, His goodness, and His compassion. Believe it; it’s true!
PRAYER: O Lord, we are humbled and reverent in Your presence. We are awed by Your power. We begin and end our prayer with thanks and praise to You! Your consistency is unparalleled by any human [HE 13: 8]. Today, You taught us the connection between the kinsman-redeemer of old and a covenant partner, the term we use now. You have forged a connection between us, as believers with each other and with You, as the one and only Triune God that cannot be broken [RO 8: 38-39]. We still have more to understand about the statements You made about our lives being hidden with Christ, and we now reread GA 2: 20, COL 1: 26-27 and COL 3: 3-4. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me…[This is] the mystery [word of God] which has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints [believers]. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of the mystery which is Christ in you…For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ and when He appears, then you too will appear with Him and share His glory!” This unity of the true believers with each other and with You is a tremendous blessing, for which we must forever offer you praise and thanks. We do so in the holy and mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’m led by the Holy Spirit to continue writing about our Strong Tower, our Covenant Partner, Who delivers us out of His love, compassion, goodness, and righteousness. He has connected us as believers to each other and to Himself in covenant relationship, which is real and precious. It is intimate, active, and dynamic, filled with prayer, study of His word, meditation, mutual-responsibility, and a great blessing in our lives. It stands on the rock solid foundation of God’s ethical principles. We can begin to understand now why we can have inner peace when we act according to God’s teaching with deep and abiding faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We can recognize when He is delivering us from evil and why our prayers for each other are so very important. Moreover, we can begin to think about why He has organized us into congregations and wants us to be one body of Christ, rather than many bickering denominations. GA 3: 26-27, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” We should remember what we learn in EPH 4: 3-5, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Sprit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to one hope when you were called-one Lord, on faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, Who is over all and through all and in all.” And we are told the answer to the question: am I my brother’s keeper, in GA 6: 2, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” If each of you reading this devotion feels warm and deeply loved by the Lord and by all your fellow believers, than this author has done her job. I sure do! Our God deserves our forever praise and thanks!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson, 2012. All Rights Reserved.
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