2014-10-24
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Let me reiterate HE 2: 1-4, which warns us not to drift away from the teaching of the Bible and why. “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders, and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.” To satisfy a personal curiosity, I consulted the dictionary to better understand what signs, wonders, and miracles really are. As for the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we find them in GA 5: 22-23—love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These and many other gifts arise from Him—things like ability to recognize blessings and opportunities, God’s wisdom in specific situations, His guidance, our conscience, and more.
For us, the easiest ones to understand are miracles: Things that are supernatural, beyond human possibility or natural laws. An example is a person suddenly cancer free after mounting a battle against this disease, long before doctors can go through whole cycles of chemotherapy. Miracles are few and far between, but they do happen. We must remember MK 10: 27 [Christ speaking], “With man, this is impossible, but not with God; with God all things are possible.” God’s wisdom is in another realm from ours. IS 55: 9-10, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.” To this author’s way of thinking, it is a miracle that the Lord called to us to faith first, in view of our sinful nature and ways. He chose to make us His friends and invited us to be adopted into the family of God [JN 15: 13-16; RO 5: 9-11; RO 8: 14-16]. Moreover, God saved us and granted us eternal forgiveness, just for having faith in His Son, Jesus Christ! [JN 3: 16; RO 3: 24-25; 1 JN 1: 9].
A sign: A mark, token, that by which a person or thing is distinguished from others and is known; a sign or portent of remarkable events soon to happen; used by God to authenticate men sent by Him; a visual form of information or direction. An example might be the many prophesies of the OT of the coming of the Lord Jesus. The fact that He alone fits all the prophesies made about Him and no one else does. If one reads IS 53: 1-12, an example of this can be seen. There is reference to a sign that will appear in the sky in REV 12: 1, “A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head…” Another example of a sign appeared in the distant past when Hezekiah, then king of Judah during Isaiah’s time as God’s prophet, was so ill. 2 K 20: 9-11, “Isaiah said, ‘This is the Lord’s sign to you that He will do as He has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps or back ten steps?’ ‘It is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,’ said Hezekiah. ‘Rather have it go back ten steps.’ Then the prophet Isaiah called upon the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.”
A wonder: is defined as a marvel; a miracle performed; prodigy or portent. It’s a word rarely used by secular people outside the Jewish community, and a wonder refers to God, the Creator Who governs all events, especially the destiny of people; miraculous acts of God done together with a sign. One example that comes to mind is the tearing of the veil between the Holy of Holies and the outside from top to bottom, that we see in MK 15: 38 and again referred to in HE 9: 11-12, “When Christ came as High Priest of the good things that are already here, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, i.e. not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the Holy of Holies once and for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.”
I have just enough space here to introduce the next topic of discussion: why the Covenant of Grace is superior to the old Covenant of the Law. Like Melchizedek, Christ became a priest “not on the basis of regulation as to His ancestry, but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life” [HE 7: 16]. Now, look at HE 7: 22, “Because of this oath, Jesus has become the Guarantee of a better covenant. (The oath referred to here is found in a section on Jesus being a “Priest forever in the way of Melchizedek.” HE 7: 21 [God speaking], “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind. You are a Priest forever.”). HE 8: 6, 10 compares Jesus’ ministry to that of other high priests. “But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which He is Mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises…’This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people.’” If those words are familiar, they are recalled from JER 31: 33-34 and in other places in the Scriptures. We must remember if something is repeated, it’s important to God, and thus, to us.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we come to You today with reverence and awe. Our heads are bowed in prayer to thank and praise You for Your many wonderful attributes and your marvelous deeds. No human has ever had a heart exactly as loving, compassionate, and wise as Yours. You constantly bless us and give us the ability to see those blessings and their impact on our lives. We can approach You with freedom and confidence any time in our lives [EPH 3: 12]. You hear all our prayers and answer them, using Your attributes in such as way as to be perfect in timing and method. You maximize Your teaching with each reply or saying nothing at all for awhile. It is our responsibility as your human covenant partners, despite the limitations of our perception compared to Yours, to listen for You and to obey Your commands. There are times when You patiently listen to us complain or express anger, knowing full well that Your response will help us mature and grow in our faith. We have learned, Dearest Abba, that we need to rely on You and to look for the Lord Jesus in all we think, decide, and do. The loving covenant relationship that we have with You, should be mirrored in all the covenant relationships we have with other humans. This is just as Jesus mirrors all that You think and do [JN 14: 9, 11]. In the past when the Jews heard Your Law, they learned what was right and what wasn’t with You. However, they became legalistic, placing the format of their worship over the content of Your teaching. This displeased You and led to You sacrificing Your only Son, Jesus, on the cross, so that the new covenant, the Covenant of Grace, which is superior to the old one would come into being, replacing the old one. We express our love, devotion, and faith in You, in the holy/mighty name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I am commanded to continue showing why the Covenant of Grace is superior to the old Covenant of the Law. In the meanwhile, IS 50: 4 expresses what our attitude should always be. “The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.” For over 50 years, I have dipped each morning into the amazing well of living water that the Lord Jesus supplies to us. JN 7: 37 describes it in His words. “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture [IS 55: 1] says, ‘streams of living water will flow from within him.’” It is this living water, which motivates me to share what I learn from the Holy Spirit with each person reading my weekly devotions. It is what fuels my devotion to God. There is nothing special about me, because anyone can drink from this well and “streams of living water will flow from within him.” Our Lord lives among us in the souls of true believers. He, though the Holy Spirit gives us the guidance, encouragement, and love that we need every day to use our God-given talents to help build His Kingdom. He even gives us the God’s full armor and the power to use it in spiritual warfare [EPH 1: 18-20; EPH 6: 10-18]. Just as David was sufficiently armed to slay the giant, Goliath, we are prepared by God to convey His goodness, and the other fruits of the Holy Spirit, also battle the adversary successfully in the name of Christ. Our God deserves our forever praise and thanks! So, praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2014. All Rights Reserved.
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