2016-04-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
It seems as fresh as a warm early morning breeze, carrying the sweet scent of Jasmines, to be able to begin a new series of messages, “Knowing God,” being able to write about living in the Light of God’s love. That is what the Holy Spirit directs me to do. EPH 5: 11, 15-17, “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them…Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” This raises the questions: What is the best way to know what is dark and what isn’t? What is the Lord’s will? When one is young in the faith, he has what his parents tried to teach him as a sounding board. But that raises the question: Did his parents even know the answers to these above questions? This may sound like a “which came first, the chicken or the egg,” kind of question, but it isn’t. The Lord Jesus came first, complete with the Father’s teaching! We need only read JN 1: 1-4 and 1 PET 1: 20-21 to know that. But on first inspection, these first two questions are deceptively simple.
After many years of acquiring real, in-depth faith in Jesus Christ, I had a lot to learn. Thankfully, I was directed to take an interest and was given the self-discipline to spend time every day studying the Scriptures. And today, I still do. I also participated in many Bible studies with others. The hand of the Holy Spirit has been in this activity right from the start. He even saw to it that I was placed in a congregation that put me in the company of many people who were well-versed in the Bible and set remarkably wonderful examples for me to follow. God’s Spirit knew I needed this to mature in my faith walk. He took a person who had questioned the voracity of claims about the power of prayer and gave me the task of being the head of a large prayer chain for 15 years. I was charged with the responsibility of writing a daily prayer list, which I sent out to the rest of our chain. This forced me to see for myself, as I wrote updates on various people working through challenges needing prayer, just how powerful prayer really is. But that wasn’t all.
A friend in CA wrote to me that she had been diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor that takes the lives of most of its victims within three months. I was devastated, and she asked me to write to her every day with the promise she would reply to these letters as for as long as she could. Writing about oneself gets old quickly, and so the Holy Spirit commanded me to write about God instead. Then He gave me what to say every day! Others became aware I was writing these letters and also asked to receive them. A snowball formed and started it’s way down a hill! That is how these devotions got started. One April night after I came home from helping to lead a Jewish seder at our church, so that our congregation could learn the connection between the Passover and Easter, I got the news that my friend had succumbed to her illness. Later, the daily devotions were changed to once a week, so that I could keep the quality of my work for God good. Today, I have a large readership all over the world and my own web site. These anecdotes from my life and service are to demonstrate how the Holy Spirit guides and motivates us to get God’s Kingdom-work done.
EPH 4: 14-16 further illuminates God’s will for us. “Then we will not longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him Who is the Head, that is, Christ. From Him the whole body joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Living in the Light really makes a huge difference. People have asked me how I acquired the peace of mind I have and how to find true happiness. This important paragraph from the Bible is a primer for doing just that. Of course not just one paragraph from the Bible will do. We desperately need to read all of them, with the understanding and appreciation that only the Holy Spirit can give us. That should always begin and end with prayer---pray to ask for God’s help in understanding beforehand and prayer to praise and thank God for His blessings afterward. There is a cost to being a disciple of Christ. One will have to forego some pleasures to be obediently faithful to Him. The treasures of the world tempt us to put distance between ourselves and our Savior, but we must remain strong and keep our priorities straight. Living rightly with God may not be easy, but it will yield greater inner peace and happiness than anything else can. To write this new series of messages, I had to do a very intensive study (one with many cross-references to consult) of the book of Colossians. What I found is a great and precious treasure to me, and I’m hoping it will be for you, as I reveal what I’ve studied. I can witness first-hand to the enormous blessing studying the God’s word can be.
PRAYER: O Lord, we are humbled by Your awesome wisdom, by the love You show, and by the heroic deeds You do. Nowhere and from no one have we ever seen anything to match them. IS 64: 4, “No one has ever seen or heard of a God like You, Who does such deeds for those who put their hope in Him.” From my first-hand experience, we arrive at the point of conversion to faith in Your Son, and then, as “newbies” in the faith, we learn and grow at the feet of the Master. PS 52: 8, “But I am like an olive tree growing in God’s house, and I can count on His love forever and ever.” You do not want us to remain as infants who can only take spiritual milk. After a time, Your will is for us to eat meat. HE 5: 13-14, “Anyone who lives on milk, being still and infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by consistent use have trained themselves to distinguish between good and evil.” We learn about the depth of Your love in RO 8: 38-39, which tells us nothing can separate us from the love of God. Your heart is revealed in RO 8: 1, 28, “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” These are basic truths that outline our covenant relationship with our Covenant Partner. He (the Father) sent His Son to the cross, so that all who believe in Him can have everlasting life [JN 3: 16; RO 3: 24-25]. What greater blessing can there be? By the genuine confession of our sins and our faith in the Lord Jesus, we are saved, justified [RO 4: 3], and our sins are eternally forgiven [1 JN 1: 9] . Every day when You guide us by the Holy Spirit and listen to our prayers, You pour out Your love for Your believing human creation. That is Your heart, a heart which gives us great comfort. PS 145: 18-19, “The Lord is near to all who call on Him in truth. He fulfills the desires of all who fear Him; He hears their cry, and He saves them.” We offer You utmost thanks and praise, in the holy/mighty name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’m commanded to write about how to study the word of God and what questions we need to be asking, as a part of this introduction and overview of this segment of the “Knowing God” messages. If space permits, then I’ll share some of the historical background of Paul’s letter to the Colossians. In the meanwhile, a question that has long been asked should be discussed here. Does the Lord hear and answer our prayers? To begin, He knows that we are facing challenges, disappointments, losses, and other negative trials in our lives. He allows this in a carefully measured way to cause us to emotionally and spiritually mature. These trials naturally give rise to prayer. PS 3: 3-4 and PS 116: 1 help answer this question. “But You are a Shield around me, O Lord; You bestow glory on me and lift up my head. To the Lord I cry aloud, and He answers me from His holy hill…I love the Lord, because He hears my prayers and answers them.” I believe wholeheartedly in the truth of the word of God! I can say this, even when challenged to describe why by a seeker who is not a believer. How can I be so sure? It is the net result of many years of experiencing God, of God telling me the truth and seeing it first-hand. HE 4: 12, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” The Holy Spirit has trained me to take time to look at the blessings from God that are in my life. I wish we would all do that, because it can convince well of Biblical truth and God’s profound love of each of us. 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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