2013-08-30
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, the Holy Spirit directed me to write about how our weaknesses are necessary to reveal God’s strength, based on 2 COR 12: 7-9. If we look back at our own experiences working through the challenges that originate from the adversary and are allowed by the Lord, we will see our greatest spiritual growth. We can take comfort from knowing that God is “on the job” watching over us and never allowing a challenge that will destroy the faith we have in Him [1 COR 10: 13]. That resolve when coupled with increasing knowledge of the Lord is what keeps us going and emotionally/spiritually balanced. It also motivates us to seek ways in which we can serve the Lord with His guidance.
Who can forget the story of Abraham and Sarah after God told them that Sarai’s name would be changed to Sarah, she would bear a child at the age of ninety, and she would be a “mother of nations, kings, and people” [GN 17: 15-19]? Abraham and Sarah momentarily forgot “anything is possible with God” [MT 19: 26; MK 10: 27; LK 18: 27] and laughed. When you understand the Hebrew language, you can see the pun in the name for this child, Isaac. For the word Isaac means “he laughs.” That child was indeed born to Sarah, and he was the “child of the promise,” i.e. a covenant child. This story is a beautiful example of strength through covenant faith. Indeed, Abraham’s and Sarah’s status as father and mother of nations certainly is carried out in their establishment of not only the Jewish people but also of the direct line [as seen in MT 1: 1-17 and LK 3: 24-37] of the royal line of David out of which Christ arose. The word in Greek for faith is “dunamis” and in Hebrew is “emoonah.” The word “dynamite” is derived from the Greek word and suggests power. The Hebrew word out of which it’s word for faith arises is “emoon,” which means trust. This gives even greater understanding to HE 11: 1, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
The example above of strength through covenant faith is in the Bible, but we need to know that it can apply to our everyday modern lives. Let me give you an example from the family of actor, Stuart Damon. Many years ago, he played the part of the prince in the musical “Cinderella,” and he also played the part of “Alan Quartermain” in the soap opera, “GeneralHospital,” for many years. Because of problems in his real family, he and his wife, Deidre Damon, needed to raise their grandson. Their daughter was not able to do this. Stuart is an observant Jewish man, and It was his strength through covenant faith that allowed him to do this successfully, even though he had already raised a daughter and a son (who suffers from juvenile Diabetes). Returning to the Scriptures, let’s look at Christ’s last words just before the Ascension in AC 1: 8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses inJerusalem, and in all Judea andSamaria, and to the ends of the earth.” The word for power in the original Greek used here is that same word, “dunamis.” Our faith in Christ brings us the Holy Spirit, which gives us strength because of this precious and powerful covenant relationship we have with Him.
Another way of looking at this is to realize that our covenant strength through faith covers our weaknesses, i.e. it is Christ Who covers them! The NIV states 1 COR 1: 26-27, “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” Place this in the context of speaking to the Corinthians who were not from high society or the intelligentsia, but who had been putting a premium on human wisdom and who exalted preachers who made their teaching more acceptable to the worldly. The truth being given here by Paul is that salvation doesn’t depend on anything a man can supply. That is why we can boast of God, but not of what man does when a person is saved. God will pass by the worldly, but He will grant salvation itself to the faithful. Now, that’s covenant strength through faith! Think of these examples of God’s strength: He used shofars [ram’s horns] blown to crumble the walls of Jericho [JS 6: 20]. He gave Shamgar, son of Anath, the power to strike down 600 Philistines using an oxgoad (a long rod with a metal tip used for driving draft animals) [JG 3: 31]. He reduced the army of Gideon from 32, 000 to 300 to rout the Midianites [JG 7: 7, 22, & 25]. Samson was enabled by God to defeat a whole army with the jawbone of a donkey [JG 15: 15]. And we mustn’t forget that our Lord Jesus fed 5000 with nothing more than five loaves of bread and two fishes [MT 14: 17-21]. We are urged to think about how this concept of strength through covenant faith applies to our own lives.
PRAYER: O Lord, there is so much truth in the fact that nothing is impossible for You. When we have faith in You, then You transfer amazing strength to us by virtue of the nature of the covenant relationship we have with You. You give us hope that is beyond anything other humans can give us. 1 PET 1: 3, “Praise be to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” The promise of eternal life is only part of what You, our God, does for us. Every day, You are available to us, so that we might call on You and seek out Your advise, wisdom, and guidance when we need it. And that, Dearest Abba, is often! You have told us, in JER 29: 11-13, “I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you not to bring disaster, plans to give you the future for which you hope. Then you will call upon Me and come to pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.” In addition to prayer, You have given us Your word. You have told us, in RO 15: 4, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” With these great blessings, Father, we can see why we should have a different approach than is governed by the desires of the flesh to our challenges, losses, and disappointments. RO 5: 3-4, “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” We can now live for You and not selfishly only for ourselves. You have given us many ways to do this in serving You while we serve others and in conveying the Gospel message of salvation and peace to others presently without faith in Your Son. We are truly blessed and offer You are unending praise and thanks for the hope You give us. In Christ’s holy/mighty name we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: We will remain with the subject of Strength Through Covenant Faith as we look at how this impacts our modern lives. In addition, I will share another portion of my own experience and how our God sees us as His faithful ones. As seen here, the subject of hope is threaded throughout this entire devotion. That’s no accident, because the Holy Spirit wants us to realize that strength through covenant faith is not for the select few. It is for each one of us and all we can bring to the Holy Spirit, Who brings them into Christ’s fold. It really is His desire to bring as many people as possible to where the Holy Spirit can give them saving faith and peace with God [JN 6: 39-40]. No matter how insignificant a person we might think we are, we are not insignificant to our God. Everyone matters to Him. 1 PET 5: 6-7, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” We need to read and take in these marvelous words often, lest we never forget the love He has for us. It is His love that compels Him to give His human covenant partners the faith and strength that we have. PS 146: 5, “But happy are those who have the God of Israel as their Helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God.” When we compare our lives before and after coming to faith in the Lord Jesus, we can’t help but see the great blessings He gives us. We need Him every day and must remember MT 5: 3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” We are loved and urged to live with confidence in our Lord Jesus Christ. For when we do this, we are blessed beyond human imagination. Praise and thanks be to God forever!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2013. All Rights Reserved.
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