2013-08-02
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, I was led to write about the non-believer’s treadmill. We saw that it led them to feelings of abandonment and hopelessness. That alone is sufficient motivation to believe in God, but we all know that it takes even more than that to cause stubborn humans to come to the end of themselves and seek out their real Creator. PS 139: 13-14, “For You created m inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Remarkably, these potential believes can learn what we already know from PS 119: 73, “Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn Your commands.” Yes, He made us with the ability to learn these things. It’s a shameful waste that more people don’t seek out the Lord. We who have a covenant relationship with our Lord and with other believers are deeply blessed. This is something none of us should ever forget or try only to keep to our selves. Instead, we are directed to reach out to present non-believers who potentially might come into the fold [MT 28: 19-20].
It’s time to look even deeper than we already have into the meaning of the exchange of belts and robes that was a part of the friendship covenant between David and Saul’s son, Jonathan [1 SAM 18: 1-4]. This was indeed a solemn two-way promise that not only involved David and Jonathan, but also encompassed their entire households. In addition, God was present and very much a Partner in this agreement, since it was done before Him. It was done with His tacit approval. That is one reason that Christ teaches us, in MT 5: 33-37, about the importance of being careful when taking vows before God. We are instructed to keep any vow taken before the Lord and not to enter lightly into vows we are invited to take. Prayer and thought should come first. Christ’s prayer for believers, found in JN 17: 18-23, 26, reveals His will for us. “As You [the Father] sent Me [Jesus] into the world, I have sent them [believers] into the world. For them I sanctify Myself that they too may be truly sanctified. My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one. Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. I have given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as We are one. I in them and You in Me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me…(26) I have made You known to them, and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for Me may be in them and that I Myself may be in them.”
The Lord’s desire for our unity with Him and other believers in Him is clear from this prayer. However, let’s look into the belt/robe exchange as it applies in this friendship covenant between Jonathan and David. 1) ECCL 4: 9-10 makes the first point crystal clear. “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” David and Jonathan as friends before God would never find themselves alone or abandoned again. Neither would their families, as we see in David’s eventual home offered to Jonathan’s crippled son, Mephibosheth [2 SAM 4: 4; 9: 1-13]. We can correctly extrapolate that our Lord Jesus has our back the same way, because we are part of His household, and He loves us. PS 146: 5, “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, who hope is in the Lord his God.” 2) Basically, Jonathan and David’s covenant is a lot like ours with the Lord. Our family and God’s are now merged into one. Thus, we share the same enemies and the same friends. Our ideals mesh with God’s ideals. We make God’s will our will.
In David’s time, the belt worn held arrows and his sword. In Roman times, it held the breastplate, the protective covering of the very core of a covenant partner’s body. In modern hand to hand combat, the “belt” worn holds knives, bullets, and hand grenades. God girds us with covenant strength and power by giving us His armor, as described in EPH 6: 10-18. He does this because He knows we must do spiritual warfare and wants us to alert, informed, and ready to use the covenant strength and power which He has given us. Thus we fight using “the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the readiness from the Gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, and prayer.” As Paul said in EPH 6: 12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of the dark world and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Justice Sonja Soto-Mayir, who is a lady born to a poor Puerto Rican family, who grew up in a tough neighborhood in NYC, who went first toPrinceton and then to Yale for law school, and who served in the NYC court system later to become a Justice in the Supreme Court, was asked a difficult question. “Do you believe some people are evil beyond redemption?” This plucky lady thought first and then said, “Yes.” One could see the sadness in her voice as she gave the answer she didn’t want to have to give. Justice Soto-Mayir is a believer in Jesus Christ, a lady who wanted to answer differently, but a tough lady who gave us the truth. This author doesn’t have to agree with all her politics to respect her as a person. That is why we so badly need to have covenant strength and power to do spiritual warfare and to encourage as many potential believers to join us in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Then, we have the equipment to prove ourselves worthy of eventually gaining His Kingdom.
PRAYER: O Lord, we come before You as weak sinners in need of Your guidance and intervention in our lives [MT 5: 3]. We are so grateful that You are here for us, to listen and to guide us in our weakness. With You, we can have the knowledge, understanding, discernment necessary to have self-discipline to come to You FIRST when we are troubled or confused, to study Your word daily, and to have good two-way communication with You (where You speak first). Prayer and study are the ways You connect with our intellect and our emotions. By them, You grow us spiritually. When we take Communion, we interact with You in the most intimate way we can while still on earth. These are such great blessings that only fools would refuse to praise, honor, glorify, and thank You for them and so much more. We are weak and ineffectual without You. And yet, there are so many people who haven’t yet benefitted by coming to full faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ. Use us as Your instruments in carrying out both outreaches to potential believers and Your Kingdom work. The covenant relationship we have with You, allows us to open our souls to Your armor, Your wisdom, and Your many blessings through sanctification. Every day, we know that You are with us, love us, and have compassion for our suffering. Remain with us, and we know we can overcome whatever challenges come to us. We ask this and Your blessing in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I am led to continue writing this “Covenant Strength and Power” segment of the “Our Covenant” messages. We will look at how God’s power gets revealed through our weaknesses. The first step is to admit our weaknesses. I’ll share the story of how I came to have to do many things sitting that others do standing. Then, we will look into some of what His word has to say about the subject at hand. In the meanwhile, we need to strap on God’s “belt” and get at the business He has directed us to do-- first in cooperating with Him in our own sanctification and then, reaching out to unbelievers in our sphere of influence. We can state our plan in prayer using PS 119: 10, 14-16. “I seek You with all my heart; do not let me stray from all Your commands…I rejoice in following Your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I consider Your ways. I delight in Your decrees; I will not neglect Your word.” God will make it known to each of us as individuals how He wants us to reach out to others. He will do this while having us use our talents. PR 16: 3, 9, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans…In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” Our God is sovereign, loving, wise, and good to us. He is generous and kind. Praise and thanks be to Him forever!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2013. All Rights Reserved.
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