2014-11-28
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, I was led to write about the negative consequences of not properly preparing oneself before taking Communion. This most precious and intimate rite of the church is our closest contact/interaction with Christ while still on earth. It commemorates the Lord’s Last Supper. 1 COR 11: 23-25, “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus on the night He was betrayed took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same way, after supper He gave thanks and took the cup saying, ‘This cup of the new covenant is My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’” He knew the new covenant to which He referred was the same one that would be sealed by His death on the cross, the very one that Jeremiah had spoken of, in JER 31-: 31-34, the Covenant of Grace. 1 COR 11: 27-31 reminds us that anyone not preparing himself properly by revealing and genuinely confessing his sins beforehand is inviting condemnation.
Do you recall the story I wrote last week from my own life in which my son, who had broken a long-held family rule, had been asked what he thought would be a proper punishment? We were quite shocked by the severity of the punishment with which he came up. I suspect that if God were to ask us our opinion of what is a proper consequence for some of our sins, we would do the same as our son did. Thankfully, God is good Parent and Covenant Partner with a fair, just and compassionate heart [PS 103: 13]. LAM 3: 22-24, 31-32, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning: ‘great is Your faithfulness,’ I say to myself. ‘The Lord is my Portion; therefore I will wait for Him’…For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Thought He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love.” The Hebrew translation of this reference to God’s great love denotes His loving faithfulness to His covenant promises [see PS 107: 43 and PS 89: 1]. That “His compassions are new every morning” conforms to PS 36: 5-6. The use of the word “Portion” here indicates the Lord Himself is the share given to the ancient priests, Levites led by Moses’ brother, Aaron [NU 18: 20]; it is described in PS 73: 26 and PS 142: 5. The use of “therefore will I wait” in Hebrew denotes “therefore, I will have hope” in English. Will God’s wrath last forever ?, JER 5: 3 asks. “No,” we learn in both LAM 3: 32, for the same God Who judges also restores [JOB 5: 18; PS 30: 5; IS 54: 8].
A thorough knowledge of the Scriptures and of God’s heart reveals that if we don’t judge ourselves, God will [RO 3: 26]. He has to, because otherwise He comes across as a hypocrite, and that wouldn’t describe at all Who He is. PS 20: 4-6, “He summons the heavens above, and the earth that He may judge His people: ‘Greater to Me, this consecrated people, who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice,’ and the heavens proclaim His righteousness, for He is a God of justice.’” Our God wants us to judge ourselves without provoking guilt [MT 7: 1-2]. The idea is restoration and not continual condemnation. Only the unpardonable sin (mentioned in precious devotions) is so embarrassing to God and demoralizing to the building of His Kingdom as to go without forgiveness. That is serial sinfulness and refusal to believe in the Holy Spirit [LK 12: 10; HE 6: 4-6; 1 JN 5: 16-17]. This is the one sin that dishonors our covenant and our Covenant Partner, the Holy Spirit.
One just beginning to study the Old Testament might ask: why did God make the ancient Jews wander for 40 years in the desert before they were allowed to enter the Promised Land? Those of us who have studied it over time know that it was because of the refusal of so many of them to completely believe in and obey God. NU 32: 23, “But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.” The italicized words may confuse us in modern English, but their meaning in Hebrew is clear. A covenant has been struck, but not without strong warnings, if believers failed to live up to their word. Breaking a covenant with God has negative consequences. Such is the case in modern times as well. A pastor of a church takes on a serious covenant responsibility when he is ordained; his ordination is a kind of covenant before God that he will shepherd His people, bringing them closer to our Covenant Partner. Not long ago, the pastor of one of the mega-churches broke his part of such a promise when he began quietly visiting houses of prostitution. A member of his congregation discovered this behavior of poor choices and brought it to the attention of the church’s leadership. That pastor lied at first, and he only compounded his sinning. Later, he was defrocked and made to leave his lofty position. This man proved the same truth that Judas Iscariot did, and it’s likely he brought condemnation upon himself. Our God is forgiving and kind, however. With genuine confession and stoppage of the behavior, most sins can be forgiven. COL 3: 13, “Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another whenever one of you has a complaint against someone else. You must forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you.” When we are forgiving, the Lord will be so.
PRAYER: O Lord, We come before Your mighty throne as sinners in need of Your intervention and guidance. We submit to You- in view of Your wisdom, loving heart, and compassion [PS 31: 3-5]. We place ourselves in Your care, knowing full well that Your desire is for us to obey and love You as Your human covenant partners, while You bless us. You are the God we love and obey. Long ago, You commanded the Jews, to proclaim You as our one and only God and to love You with all our heart, soul, and might [DT 6: 4-5]. Part of loving You is to obey Your commands and to work toward knowing You better and better, as a manifestation of our commitment to the Covenant of Grace. In COL 3: 10, You reveal that You work every day to recreate us in Your image, so that we might know You better. This demands our cooperation in studying Your word, praying often, making Your agenda our own, and in inviting You as a Resident in our homes and churches. In return, You grant us with opportunities to mature in our faith and to avoid condemnation by obeying Your commands. We also accept our responsibility to share the life-giving message of the Gospel-- that wonderful way to salvation, eternal forgiveness, and peace-- with others who haven’t yet come to faith in the Lord Jesus. We appeal to You to instruct the Holy Spirit to guide us in every aspect of our lives, and to give us the strength to be faithfully obedient to You. We offer You praise, honor, glory, loyalty, and thanks forever, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: We’ve looked a lot at how our own behavior and attitudes should be faithfully obedient to the Lord. Next week, we’ll see what the Bible has to say is the standard for our church leaders. Frankly, I wish we could apply all these standards to our secular society’s leaders, individual, corporate, and national. A lot of human suffering could be prevented. Being a leader means being held to a higher than normal standard, because one influences more people than an ordinary person does. Anyhow, let’s leave that for next week and consider the heart of our God today. The book of Proverbs is filled with wisdom that we can’t deny. A frequently cited proverb comes from PR 16: 18 and deals with the problem of pride and arrogance. “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” God’s omnipotence is seen in PR 16: 8, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” My own experience with avoiding writing for as long as I did is a beautiful example of this. It went against God’s will; as we learn in IS 46: 9-10, His will shall prevail. PR 16: 20, “Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.” If we pray often, letting God speak first, if we study His word every day, He blesses us extraordinarily. Just look back and see this, as I have, in your own lives. God loves it when we make Him the Center of our lives. He gives us peace of mind that is greater than any other human can. There are so many reasons for faithfully obeying God that we simply can’t ignore this directive any more. Our God is eager to hear our prayers and to bless us with His wisdom and compassion [PS 116: 1]. What a blessed people, we who believe, must admit we are! So, join me in lifting Your hands and be on your knees as we offer Him our heartfelt thanks and praise! Remember the Hebrew letter, tzadi, צ, which is a good representation of this.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24:15
© Lynn Johnson 2014. All Rights Reserved.
<-- Back to Archives