2014-09-19
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, I was led to discuss how God keeps His OT promise, made in EZK 36: 26-27, to “change our hearts of stone to hearts of flesh” capable of genuine faith in the Lord Jesus. We also saw it’s NT counterpart in MT 5: 6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” There is a great change made possible by the Atonement of Jesus Christ on the cross [JN 3: 16: RO 3: 24-25]. Rather than sure spiritual death-conscious and eternal torment from which there is no escape, people now had the choice as to whether or not to sin. A choice not to sin leads to eternal life when exercised in cooperation with God in the process of sanctification—the process of God’s effort to perfect, purify us in preparation for that day in which He takes us back to His side in heaven for eternity. This happens despite the fact that all of us must endure physical death. When God takes us to heaven, we are said to be glorified.
God is indeed our Strong Tower and much, much more. Let me share the words of Miriam Webster’s hymn Make Me Glad.
I will bless the Lord forever. I will trust Him at all times. He has delivered me from fear. He has set my feet upon a Rock, and I will not be moved. And I’ll say of the Lord:
Chorus:
You are my Shield, my Strength, my Portion, Deliverer, my Shelter, Strong Tower, my very present Help in time of need.
Whom have I in heaven but You? There’s none I desire beside You, and You have made me glad. And I’ll say of the Lord: chorus repeated.
As I have written before, this song means a lot to me, because it begins (yes, only begins) to describe God’s wonderful attributes and His deeds for each and every single believer in Christ. This is only one more example of how we find our lives at stake, and His heart for us revealed.
If we reread EX 24: 1-11, we are reminded of the giving of the Law to the Jews at the base of Mt. Sinai who had been wandering in the desert. It was at this point that God began His path toward keeping a promise made (and often overlooked) in GN 3: 21. “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” What makes this verse significant is the timing and what this act represented, for it was just before Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden. An animal(s) had to have been killed, thus blood shed, for skins to have been made available. We already learned, in LV 17: 11 and HE 9: 22, that the “life is in the blood” and “blood must be shed for forgiveness.” With the giving of the Law, God was allowing mankind to know what is right with Him and what isn’t. Traditional Jews even today celebrate the giving of the Law with the feast of Shavuot, every year so it won’t be forgotten. It is celebrated every year 50 days after Passover—the remembrance of the exodus of the Jews from Egyptian slavery. The price God exacted: the firstborn sons of the Egyptians, including that of the Pharaoh as the last of the Ten Plagues.
God’s next step toward keeping His promise is the Covenant of Grace, something that came with Christ’s Atonement. But that was not the end of what God would do in this continuing effort. As we know, Easter-commemorates Christ’s Resurrection—being taken from hell to eternal life with the Father in heaven, as “the first among many brothers” [RO 8: 29]. But there was a next step, which God accomplished 50 days after Easter, one which is described in AC 2: 1-36, especially vs. 1-4. It was the giving of the Holy Spirit on the day called Pentecost. It’s my hope that a pattern can be seen here between Passover and Shavuot in the OT, which foreshadow Easter and Pentecost in the NT. God was in the process of changing human hearts, of not only civilizing mankind but of giving them a system of ethics, which would allow them to gain eternal life. This is God’s plan for us, and all the parts of it fit like hand in glove in not only changing human hearts but in also fulfilling His mission statements in JN 6: 39-40 and EPH 1: 4-5. Amazingly, we’ve also been told what to expect in the future in the books of Daniel, Ezekiel, and Revelation. So God isn’t finished yet with all He plans for mankind. Nor should we be finished yet in obeying His teaching and making His agenda our own. Remember the four steps I shared so long ago: 1) recognize a need for a change for better in the status quo of one’s life; 2) accept Christ as one’s Savior, repenting of sin; 3) live according to Biblical truth, cooperating with God in sanctification; 4) Don’t be a Christian Lone Ranger—share the Gospel message of salvation and peace with others. We can offer praise and thanks to God that these choices are available to us, that they will lead to happiness and eternal life.
PRAYER: O Lord, You have laid out Your magnificent plan to bring us back to You when You feel the time and way is right [2 PET 3: 9]. We stand before Your mighty throne, awed by what You can do, reverently thankful for what You are doing for us, and wholly committed to the preparation You offer us for a heavenly eternal life with You. PS 107: 8-9, “Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men, for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.” You have commanded us to serve You and to be Your friends. You have given us each gifts so that we can do so [RO 12: 1-2, 4-8]. Little by little, You teach us to live according to Your Biblical truths, and we eagerly ask for Your guidance in decision-making and in the actions we take [PS 32: 8; 1 PET 2: 24]. We ask for pardon for the sins we commit and hold the hope that we will learn Your will and how to carry it out [PS 19: 12-13]. We submit to Your direction and place our trust in You. We ask You to help us live by PS 105: 4-5, “Trust the Lord and His mighty power. Remember His miracles, His wonders, and His fair decisions.” We acknowledge that there are times when this is hard for us to do, when You take us away from what is comfortable. But Dearest Abba, we know You have only righteous reasons for doing this. We will remember, PHIL 4: 13, “I can do everything through Christ, Who strengthens me.” We acknowledge You with PS 95: 6-7, “Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the lord, our Maker; for He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care.” We thank and praise You for all You are and all You do for us. We are blessed to have You as our one and only God, in Christ’s holy/mighty name. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: Once the Law was given that day at the base of Mt. Sinai, Moses reminded the people that they were to possess the land God was giving them, and they were to obey the Law from that day forever. Next week, I am commanded to share the verses where Moses’ advice is found. We’ll see a comparison between the advice given and compliance or lack thereof with it. If nothing else, we who have read and understood the Bible can see why and how our very eternal lives are at stake in complying with God’s will. His long-standing patience as the Lord awaits our willingness to comply is only one glimpse at the loving compassion of His heart. But we must remember that God won’t wait for us to obey forever. If He did, He would not be true to Himself [RO 3: 26]. We hold the power to do God’s will, even in times when it is hard for us. He never gives us so much trouble that it will break the faith of a true believer [1 COR 10: 13]. While we and Israel struggle with God’s wishes at times, He gives us the teaching of Jesus Christ and the indwelling/guidance of the Holy Spirit [RO 8: 14-16, 26-27]. He gives us the always open channels of prayer and His word, so we can get the individualized help we need. I truly believe the Holy Spirit is with a believer 24/7, no matter what our emotional, physical, or even intellectual state is. Our Covenant Partner is the greatest, most loving and constant Companion a person can have. His desire for us is always righteous, always in our best eternal interests. We don’t have to worry that our Covenant Partner is going to leave us [PS 9: 9-10] or refuse His help. There is no evil in Him. And for His many blessings, especially His presence and His help, we owe it to Him to offer Him praise, loyalty, honor, and thanks in Christ’s name forever! Praise and thanks be to God!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2014. All Rights Reserved.
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