2015-02-27
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week we considered the hurt and self-loathing that comes from lies told us while we are growing up. They come in the schoolyard, at home from misguided but well-meaning parents, and from lots of other sources. We carried them into adulthood, making it quite necessary for us to put them on trial by updating them in the light of adult wisdom and Biblical truth. It is only then, that we are willing and able to accept God’s invitation to His table (filled with blessings). How sad to me it is that in the course of my job for In Search of Shalom, I take so many secured chats from college-aged young people who have no idea of how much God loves them. They are weighed down by childhood untruth about themselves at the time in their lives when they must sift through what they will retain and what they will jettison from their childhoods, what career they want, and what their spiritual beliefs will be in adulthood. All of this is young people facing a huge challenge, only facing it with one hand tied behind their backs. 1 COR 1: 27, “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.”
But, the situation isn’t hopeless. 1 COR 1: 30-31, “It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, Who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Therefore, as it is written [JER 9: 23-24; PS 34: 2], ‘Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.’” Eventually, emotionally and spiritually-balanced adults will find out the truth, because God gives them both the opportunity and the ability to do so. As always, we must suffer first to appreciate the faith we have and gain inner peace through obedience to God. It is then, that we become aware of God’s invitation to His feast of blessings, the King’s table, and that we begin to partake of it. And what is best about this invitation, is that it is just as we are. Is it any wonder that Rev. Billy Graham loves this song and has it played when people come up to accept Christ at all his crusades-- “Just As We Are?” And, for those of us who come to faith, we don’t worry that PS 33: 13-15 is true, “From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from His dwelling place He watches all who live on earth—He Who forms the hearts of all, Who considers everything they do.” As a matter of fact, they are comforted by knowing it.
As a person raised in traditional Judaism, I only knew the law and the legalistic ways of looking at things. We know that the law was given by God, so that we would know what is acceptable to Him and what isn’t. However, with adoption into God’s family that comes by having faith in the Son, Jesus Christ, the picture is further elaborated upon, and we learn what grace is [EPH 2: 8-10]. GA 3: 29, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.” The old black and white picture of our lives is now painted with vibrant colors. GA 4: 7, “So you are no longer a slave but a son; and since you are a son, Christ has made you an heir.” We are heirs to His Kingdom, the hope of the resurrection, and eternal fellowship with the Lord and believers gone to heaven before us.
The story of Mephibosheth, that crippled, last remaining member of Saul’s household, foreshadows us accepting the bountiful feast at the King’s table. When we come to faith, we should not boast about any aspect of our own accomplishments or beliefs. If any passage in the Scriptures points out the folly of mankind’s schisms into various denominations, it is 1 COR 3: 23-24, “Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas [Peter] or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ and Christ is of God. Yes, Dear Ones, no matter what our Judeo-Christian denomination is, we are one in the family of God! To God alone belongs the glory [PS 115: 1]. It is He Who puts out the feast and offers it to us at the King’s table. It is because God was a Party to the covenant of friendship between David and Jonathan, that Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth, and his entire household ended up moving from Lodebar to Jerusalem and were invited to King David’s table for the rest of their lives. This included Mephibosheth, his servant, Ziba, Ziba’s 15 sons and 20 servants, increasing David’s household by 36 people! Mephibosheth’s inheritance was fully restored [2 SAM 9: 9].
This last remaining member of Saul’s family was not the only one, by far, who was invited to the feast at the Lord’s table. Consider what happened between Isaac and Abimelech, in GN 26: 24-30, after Abimelech had been hostile toward Isaac. Later Abimelech and his men came to Isaac and offered to make a treaty with him, “because we could see the Lord was with you” (25). Again, we see the Lord’s hand at Mizpah, in GN 31: 44-54, when Jacob finally was able to make a covenant with Laban after Jacob married his two daughters, Leah and Rachel, and greatly increased their shared flocks. Then, Jacob left Laban in peace. Later, in EX 24: 7-11, we once again see the Lord’s hand at the occasion of the making of the Covenant of the Law between Moses, God, and the Israelites. It, like all covenants, was a blood promise to keep the Ten Commandments, iterated in EX 20: 1-17. The treaty between Abner (of Saul’s household) and David which led to consolidation of David’s power to rule over all Israel is another example of feasting at the King’s table, found in 2 SAM 3: 12-20. Certainly, the growth of the early Christian church at Paul’s leadership was yet another example. We can look at our own lives and find the Lord’s hand in good things that have happened to us. My second marriage to Peter Johnson is definitely in this category.
PRAYER: O Lord, once again we approach Your mighty throne with humility, reverence and awe. We ask, “Who are we, that You love us so much and are so eager to bless us?” Your answer is that we are Your adopted children, who chose to believe in Your Son, Jesus Christ. Thus, we are qualified by our faith in Him and confession of sins, for salvation and eternal forgiveness [JN 3: 16: RO 3: 24-25; 1 JN 1: 9]. You, and You alone deserve the credit for these great blessings that You bestow upon us. We can never do it for ourselves. You have matured us to the point where we were able to unravel the lies that robbed us of feeling any self-confidence while we were being reared by our human parents, and give us our trust in Your word. Your Son, as a part of His Sermon on the Mount, has given us the Beatitudes [MT 5: 3-12], messages that only begin to describe our blessings. We are created in Your image [GN 1: 27], and You don’t create junk. When we are faithfully obedient to You, we are given inner peace and the confidence to approach Your throne with freedom [EPH 3: 12]. You urge us to demonstrate the fruits of the Holy Spirit [GA 5: 22-23], knowing that we will be reliant on You and You will lead us to eternal life. Thanks and praise to You for all You are and all You do for us. In Christ’s holy/mighty name, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: Our feast at the King’s table continues with more of my own story and more on people from the Bible. We’ll delve into how secure those who feast at the King’s table can feel. As we view our own lives, this statement, from RO 14: 7-9, applies. “For none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason Christ died and returned to life, so that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.” Is there any objection to God’s words regarding us standing before His judgment seat, found in IS 45: 23? “’As surely as I live,’ says the Lord; ‘every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.’” How about to the fact that God’s will shall stand [IS 46: 9-10]? These questions are asked in the face of God’s love for His human creation and His lack of evil [1 JN 1: 5]. If you are feeling the warm glow of God’s love, then together, we are getting to know Him better. If we are learning to make the sometimes hard choices that represent faith obedient to Him, then we are pleasing Him. If we are praying often, asking for His help and remembering to rehearse the blessings He has given us, then He smiles. If we are reading and meditating over the Scriptures every day, we are reminding Him that the great sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, on the cross was truly worth it. Moreover, we are making His agenda our own when we treat our fellow humans with love, compassion, patience, and wisdom. We should never forget the forgiveness He has given us through Jesus Christ, our Lord. 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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