2015-04-17
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The track to redemption is laid out by God in three important covenants: the Abrahamic Covenant, the Covenant of the Law, and the Covenant of Grace. It’s important that we review some things we know about each and add additional information to consider. This will help us have a better understanding the importance and precious nature of our covenant relationships with the Lord and with other believers/potential believers. One important point to remember is that God reached out first to us. In JN 14: 9, 11, the connection between God (the Father) and Jesus Christ is made. In JN 14: 16-17, the relationship between Them and the Holy Spirit is cemented. Christ’s words, “And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you.” Now, look at verse 21 to see what we need to know. Also Christ’s words, “Whoever has My commands and obeys them, he the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love him and show Myself to him.” In JN 15: 13-17, our Lord Jesus clarifies the nature of initiating this entire covenant relationship with God’s human creation. “Greater love has no one than he lay down his life for His friends. You are My friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead I have called you friends, for everything I learned from My Father, I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then, the Father will give you whatever you ask for in My name. This is the command: love one another.” No other belief system other than Judeo-Christianity agrees that God invited us first into a covenant relationship of this kind. In other belief systems, the believer reaches up to god(s) first.
While this answers many questions that I had in the beginning of my own journey to faith in Christ, it left me with other questions about what God is doing in the bigger picture, the eternal perspective. Over the course of mankind’s history, God has attempted to civilize mankind with only mixed success. I was quite respectful of the view of Kareem Abdul Jabar, when he wrote that terrorists are not behaving badly for religious reasons, but instead, for acquisition of money. This article was written at the time there had just been two horrific hostage and bombings in France. These evil people who set off bombs in crowds and kill people are doing so at the behest of the evil one, who has established strongholds in their minds. It was scary to realize that spiritual warfare is a reality of our lives, and that we must prepare ourselves to engage the enemy throughout our earthly lives. How is this done? I can only say with confidence that we must recognize that Christ has given us the power to be victorious over the enemy in His name—the same power God used to raise Him from hell to eternal life [EPH 1: 18-20]. Certainly, we need to put on the armor of God, described in EPH 6: 10-18. Going to a Christ-led church, making faith-strengthening friendships in it, learning to study the Bible every day, and having an active prayer life are ways to prepare us for whatever is ahead. We must know that we can approach God with freedom and confidence whenever we need [EPH 3: 12].
It is helpful for us to review the three covenants mentioned above and to see how they apply to our individual and corporate lives. PS 111: 9 -10, “He provided redemption for His people; He ordained His covenant forever—holy and awesome is His name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding. To Him belongs the praise.” By the time this author was in her mid-thirties, I came to understand that all was not hopeless. In the end, the meek really will inherit the Kingdom, and that makes it a worthwhile goal to engage in Kingdom-building activities and relationships. The old adage that “hope springs eternal” has new and deeper meaning for us all. I’m at the point in my life where I am finally in a position to do something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time—it is to answer people’s questions about the Lord Jesus, using my knowledge of the Scriptures and prayer. Instead of approaching non-believers with fright, I’ve learned that the ones who will chat with me about faith matters are potential believers. They deserve my patience, compassion, and wisdom. When crazies try to clog up the chat lines with nonsense or with foulness, God has given me the discernment to know what to do about it. As long as I am dependent on His leadership, this task for Him will be accomplished. My immediate superior at In Search of Shalom commented, “Always present the Gospel first, even if the seeker aborts right afterward. It may be the first time he has heard it, and you never know if it will remain with him to consider when he is more mature emotionally.” So, I ask this question right after asking how I can help the seeker. “Do you know that God loves you so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to the cross, so that all who believe in Him can have everlasting life?”
PRAYER: O Lord, as Your Son, Jesus said, in JN 15: 5, “I am the Vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” We are useless and unable to comprehend the enormity of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross or our need to depend on You without Your initiation of and continual participation in our covenant relationship with You. Our heads are bowed in reverence and in awe of Your amazing love and grace, grace which we don’t deserve. We have learned what love is only from You, as no human ever can fully love without the indwelling of Your Spirit to guide him. Each day, we are faced with decisions to make and actions to take. As we began this life with total selfishness and greed, we had to learn from You to balance taking care of ourselves with serving You and other people. By Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, You made it possible for us to experience real freedom, which comes from knowing Your will for us and getting better acquainted with You [JN 8: 32]. As we studied Scriptures, we learned that Abraham was the first human You chose to justify, i.e. deem acceptable to You [GN 15: 6]. You set him apart, even though he was not perfect, because You knew he would come out of Ur of the Chaldies [Mesopotamia; modern day southern Iraq] and would follow Your instructions, eventually settling in the land of Caanan [modern day Israel]. You chose him to enter into a covenant with You and to establish a people set apart by their belief that You are the One and only true God [monotheism-DT 6: 4-5]. You made a covenant with him that still applies to us today [GN 12: 1-3]. Just as You have written our names on the palms of Your hands [IS 49: 18], You never will forget the covenant that You made with all who believe in You, because that is the loving heart You have. We thank and praise You in Christ’s holy/mighty name for all You are and all You do. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: We will look closer than before at the Abrahamic Covenant and examine how it still applies to our lives over 3000 years later. As readers of these messages, it wouldn’t be a surprise that there must be some repetition in them. My point, the point that the Holy Spirit gives me, is that important things must be said repeated, because due to our limited human perception, we need that to fully understand how they impact our lives. Today, as I write this message, it would be easy for me to complain, because I have a bad case of Bronchitis and have totally lost my speaking voice. But I don’t complain, because I am looking at the unbelievable number of blessings in my life, including the writing voice God has given me to convey His will and help all of us get to know Him better. That has always been God’s goal, and His reasons for it are always-righteous. 2 COR 5 17 and COL 3: 9-10, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!...Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in the knowledge in the image of the Creator.” Important reconnaissance? You bet it is! God is doing this for me and for each of you. We are not perfected yet, or He would have us by His side in heaven. But we are His works in progress, and that is a huge blessing! Learning to exhibit the gifts of the Holy Spirit [GA 5: 22-23], gaining discernment from Biblical truth, to have God’s wisdom, leadership, compassion, and patience in our lives are more blessings. In fact we have so many blessings, that we haven’t yet learned how to recount them all. Praise and thanks forever be to the Lord Jesus!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2015. All Rights Reserved.
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