2013-12-27
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Today, I have been led to write about what resistors to faith in Christ miss. However, we need to briefly recap what was written about in the last two devotions in the “Love That Lasts” segment of the “Our Covenant” messages. Two weeks ago, I wrote about how followers of Jesus began deserting His way of thinking to avoid committing to a way of life that would make huge changes for them-in their thinking and in their actions. Last week, I witnessed to my own experience of the blessings that having a covenant relationship with the Lord gives us. And yes, I believe it is a great blessing and privilege to belong to God forever. One blessing is to know that even though many at the time were Christ’s “fair-weather” friends, others came to Him, making it possible for the early church to form and grow. It was God’s will.
Trouble comes to all people. It does so in various forms, forms which God allows and measures for believers in His Son to maximize spiritual growth and maturation. I’m reminded of REV 12: 12, “…But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” This end times verse is clear-cut limitation to do his dirt put on the evil one by God. This is not the only place in the Bible that tells us God is in charge, by far, but it’s one of the clearest and explains the malevolent anger the devil has for us. Peter gives us a warning in 1 PET 5: 8-9, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” The very fact that Peter and James, in JAS 4: 7, can both give this advice tells us that we have the power to resist the adversary. JAS 4: 7, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Both these NT writers are telling the truth, that God, through Christ, has given us the power to chase away the devil. The central issue here is having faith and obeying the Lord Jesus. Without it, people are sunk! EPH 1: 18-20 is telling us we have been given the same power to resist the devil that the Father used to raise Christ from death to eternal life. Belief in the truth of His word should be enough to convince a person of this kind of force. As true believers in a covenant relationship with the Lord, we need to remember this power we have and be willing to use it at the right time and in appropriate ways.
I believe the word of God to be inerrant truth. It’s the basis of these devotions that I sent each week and always will be. That’s why there are so many citations from the Scriptures in them. One verse that I consider compelling words from our Covenant Partner is found in JN 14: 11, “Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; or, at least, believe in the evidence of the miracles themselves.” How sad that Jesus even needed to reiterate this truth in the first place! But this reminder tells us why so many otherwise unexplainable events happened in both the stories of the OT and the NT. A young man contacted me to tell me that he was having trouble believing God was real and thus, the Scriptures, were truth. He wanted to see tangible evidence. He reminded me of the OT Jews who insisted on the same thing [DT 19: 15]. I reminded this young man that archeological evidence has been found all over Israel backing up the accounts of such things as the battle of Jericho etc. [JS 6: 15-17]. In fact, nothing ever found in the last 3000 years has proven the Bible to be false! Those who reject Biblical truth miss out on so many blessings, that they can’t be all enumerated here.
We often pray to the Lord Jesus, however, we shouldn’t forget that He prays for us too. JN 17: 21, “Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You, may they [believers and potential believers] also be in us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.” He knows what this rather seemingly simple request entails, and it’s tremendous blessing for all who believe. It is salvation [JN 3: 16: RO 3: 24-25], justification [RO 4: 3], and eternal forgiveness [1 JN 1: 9]. We are left with a pressing truth from all of this. We shouldn’t waste a drop of Christ’s blood shed for us. We should come to faith in Him as soon as possible, if we haven’t already done this. We should waste no time, because of the eternal consequences of the alternative-spiritual death. Moreover, we should do our best, once we come to faith, to be faithfully obedient in our willingness to follow the direction of the Holy Spirit, to serve Him well, and to be obedient to the teaching of the Bible. This means our Covenant Partner wants us to pray often, follow His direction, and to study His word. He wants us to live ethically and to be like Him in our gentleness and in displaying the fruits of the Spirit [GA 5: 22-23]. If we will do this, He will give us “the peace that goes beyond human understanding” [PHIL 4: 7]. Our humility and faithfulness will be more than worth it over eternity. Our ability to think and act in eternal perspective will broaden, as will our knowledge of Him. As for living blessed lives, we can count on that, even if we have to endure tremendous challenges. He will never abandon us [PS 9: 9-10]. And yes, “I love the Lord, because He hears our prayers and answers them” [PS 116: 1]!
PRAYER: O Lord, “…by Your wounds, we are healed” [IS 53: 5b]. This is one remarkable truth! You died on the cross after enduring horrific rejection and cruelty, taking the sins of the world with You. That You did this for us is nothing short of amazing, because we never deserved such remarkable grace. And yet, You continue to love us, despite the fact that we are sinners. You, Dearest Lord, were roundly criticized by sitting at the table with the lowest layers of society. At the time these were beggars and tax collectors, for example. But You are in the business of reclaiming lost souls. What greater work can there be? We approach You today with both our reverence and adoration. Your patience in bringing people to faith and in granting them the blessings and privileges of a life in You is unparalleled. We come before You to acknowledge the goodness and kindness You show us by guiding us through our trials, by loving each of us without prejudice, and by blessing us with Your presence and intervention in our lives. Many of us are stressed with working through our trials. You are always there to pick us up and pull us out of the pit of despair [PS 40: 1-2]. We know we must remember to turn to You, that You have given us the power to fend off the adversary. This is only one blessing out of so many, we can’t count them all. You love us, protect us, comfort us in time of sorrow, and heal us when we need it. We are grateful for Your presence, all You are and all You do in our lives. Today, we acknowledge Your love and supremacy. We submit to You, knowing that You will never guide us into sin. We pledge our willingness to listen for You in prayer, get to know You better through prayer and the word, and to serve You as best we can using the talents the Father created in us. You are a loving and kind God, Who watches over His flock with diligence as our Good Shepherd [JN 10: 9,11, and14-15]. We praise, honor, glorify, and thank You in the Your holy/mighty name. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: Our Covenant Partner, Jesus Christ, carried our wounds and sorrows to the cross for us. Our enemies are His enemies, because He is our Covenant Partner. I am led to begin a new segment of these “Our Covenant” messages called “Carrying Our
Wounds.” Have any of us taken time to consider what criteria we would want to see in a leader? One might answer “yes” in the context of an election of a human leader. But this is not the context that is our greater, eternal one. We will examine this question in the context of our God, the One Who is the real Center of our whole lives, not just our human government in next week’s message. It’s difficult for someone considering what to believe to know how to approach such a question. More settled and experienced Christians know that beginning with prayer is the way to approach it, but that assumes the decision has been made to believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. A mature believer knows that our God is always righteous and never abandons those who belong to Him. Thus, taking His advice given through prayer and His word is the best way [PS 86: 5,7; 2 TIM 3: 16-17]. Our God is trustworthy and loves us more than any human can. There is no evil in Him [2 TIM 2: 13; JN 7: 18]. Take comfort in knowing that each of us can trust our God. Let me end with PS 62: 7-8, “My salvation and my honor depend on God. He is my mighty Rock, my Refuge. Trust in Him at all times, you people. Pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our Refuge.” Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2013. All Rights Reserved.
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