2015-11-20
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, I was led to discuss the meaning of “circumcision of the heart,” and it’s a subject to which I will return here and in future devotions. This is not done by human hands, but by the Holy Spirit. It is closely tied with RO 12: 2, which describes the change that takes place in the minds of people who come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is referred to as a “transformation by the renewal of one’s mind.” One is given a new mind and a new heart by being in union with Christ. We have access to God’s word. There are some results which arise from this transformation. One begins to understand God’s perspective from assuaging a growing hunger for God’s word. What the believer comes to understand is obtained from frequent prayer in which he listens for God, not just makes his own appeals. Effective prayer focuses on God, in acknowledging Him and His accomplishments and remembering to confess sin and offer God praise and thanks for the blessings the believer has. This doesn’t mean supplication isn’t part of a good prayer. Instead, it means it’s not the only point of it.
Prayer alone isn’t our only pipeline to our Deity. Study of His word, helps us to grow and know Him better. It informs us of God’s will; it gives us God’s perspective; it changes the way we think and want to behave. A big talker may become a listener; a quiet person might gain the confidence to speak out to others about his love of God, his changed life as a believer, and certainly about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A once negative person may become a very positive one. The content of 2 TIM 3:16-17, which reminds us of the benefits of studying God’s word, come to mean a great deal to the believer.
RO 10: 4, 9, and 17, “Christ is the end of the law, so there may be righteousness for everyone who believes…That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you are saved…Consequently faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” These three weighty verses tell us that our righteousness comes from Christ, not from an emphasis on following human-crafted laws or on rituals. This does not mean we no longer need to follow the civil laws where we live. That would lead to chaos. What it means is that all those 613 religious laws of Judaism and other human-crafted rituals are no longer necessary. Instead, only God’s Ten Commandments apply and not in any legalistic form. Salvation comes through faith in Christ, the belief that the Father raised Him from death to eternal life. Moreover, anyone who believes in Christ and physically dies in that faith will also be raised in God’s perfect time and way [JN 3: 16; RO 3: 24-25; RO 8: 29; 1 COR 15: 1-8]. Christ speaks the message in the Scriptures, and those who hear and believe this message through Christ’s words have inherited the greatest blessings our God has given us –His love, His presence and intervention in our lives, and salvation leading to eternal life.
PS 15 describes the answer to: Who may dwell in Your [God’s] sanctuary? PS 15: 1-3 gives us a taste of the answer. “Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, and who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman…” When such a person lives righteously, the Lord blesses him, as we see in PS 84: 11. “For the Lord God is Sun and Shield; the Lord bestows favor an honor; no good things does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” PS 121: 5-7 further describes God’s reaction to human righteousness. “The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your Shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm---He will watch over your life.” Our Lord is eager for us to be righteous, does all He can through His word and prayer to make it possible, and then, He is eager to bless us in response to this righteousness.
The other side of the coin is also true. To be true to Himself, He must react against unrighteousness on our part. If one rejects God and refuses to obey Him, there are negative consequences. PS 37: 1-2, “Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for the like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.” The evil ones will soon be forgotten, but the memory of the righteous one will be remembered forever. PS 9: 7-8, “The Lord reigns forever; He has establish His throne for judgment. He will judge the world in righteousness; He will govern the peoples with justice.” 2 THESS 1: 6, “God is just; He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with His powerful angels.” In the course of our preparation to ask God for renewal of our personal covenant with Him, we must ready ourselves to be honest and open with Him. We must prepare our hearts to be open to the Holy Spirit’s teaching, promptings, and wisdom. Yes, we must flush our hearts clean of control by human desires and stand firm in our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
PRAYER: O Lord, we are so grateful for Your presence and intervention. We acknowledge Your sovereignty over our lives and accept that Your wisdom is far greater than ours. You told us, in PR 3: 5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on human understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” With reverence and awe, we make this plea: PS 31: 3-5, “Since you are my Rock and my Fortress, for the sake of Your name, lead and guide me. Free me from the trap that is set for me, for You are my Refuge. Into Your hand I commit my spirit; redeem me, O Lord, the God of truth.” The only sensible choice for us is to hold fast to You and choose a righteous life. This means that we must not allow human desires, things like greed, jealousy, materialism, power-hungriness, sexual impurity, and the like to rule our lives. We must avoid temptation by thinking through various situations and appealing for Your help with decision-making and action taking. If we are young, we must observe wiser people than us and follow their examples. If we are older, we must use patience, wisdom, and kindness in dealing with younger people. You have given us the gifts of the Holy Spirit as goals and guides for our behavior. GA 5: 22-23, “But the fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” We have been told, in COL 3: 17, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks [and praise] to God the Father through Him.” We do this now in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: We will continue our preparation for personal covenant renewal by looking at some major differences between law and grace. It’s important for us to go over reminders that God has given us. Undergirding all of this is acknowledgment by us of God’s sovereignty over our lives. We are in an unequal and dependant covenant relationship with our Father in heaven, one in which He occupies the position of greater power. We have been told in JN 3: 30, “He must become greater; I must become less.” The tacit call to discipleship is clearly in this command. It means a great paradigm shift must happen, from control by human desires to obedience to God’s commands. An understanding of God’s will and an ever-closer covenant relationship with Him and with other believers (and potential believers) is required. And, that can only be obtained by daily study of God’s word and prayer. God will give us this amazing relationship, one that involves His protection, power, healing, direction, intervention, and so much more. All we must do is to get to know Him better and believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. Getting to know Him better is experiencing His power in our lives. This comes through cooperating with Him in the process of sanctification—by genuinely revealing and confessing sin. When we stop the sinful behavior, He grows us in our spiritual maturity. He opens our hearts to the prompting and teaching of the Holy Spirit. Here is my wish for each of you: ZEPH 3: 17, “The Lord your God is with you; He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing.” Our God deserves all the praise and thanks we can muster! Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2015. All Rights Reserved.
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