2017-05-19
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Oftentimes, I have heard people say, “I decided to leave this relationship or this congregation, because of the hurtful things someone has said or the things people have done.” When such a situation has come up, Christ’s love hasn’t been shown, and His most excellent grace hasn’t been a part of what happened. His grace is an important part of that mystery of God, i.e. Christ in the believer [COL 1: 26-27; COL 2: 2-3]. Without His grace, Christ in the believer isn’t present or apparent. Can God be disappointed by this? I believe He can! With the grace of genuine faith and Christ in us, one with prayerfully think first about the consequences of his words/actions and then proceed with relationship. Without this mystery of God, he won’t. COL 3: 3-4, “For you have died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, Who is your life, appears then you too will appear with Him in glory.” This is the grace that Christ extends to us, who have genuine faith in Him.
Along with the element of God’s mystery in our lives, we are expected to think eternally and to keep our minds on the things of heaven. Exactly what does this mean? It means that we must consider the eternal perspective and consequences of our thoughts and actions. Our relationships with other believers and potential believers are impacted by our relationship with God, and those relationships must be directed by the Holy Spirit. Those who only consider the earthly perspective are led by human desires and not the will of God. Our lives and relationships are radically changed when the Holy Spirit directs us. We become obedient to God’s teaching; we don’t hurtfully disappoint others, and we certainly don’t disappoint God Himself. Ridding ourselves of sexual immorality, greed (a form of idolatry), impurity, lust, destructive anger, grudge-holding, malice, slander, lying, filthy language, and other evils for example, can stave off God’s coming wrath against a person. We learn in REV 7: 3 and 8: 1, that a seal of protection will be placed on the foreheads of true believers against the judgments of the end times. God’s love for the church [subset of all believers] is so great, that He will stop the judgments for 30 minutes to do this. His power and will to do this is that great!
EPH 3: 12, “In Him and through faith in Him, we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” As the church, Christ’s body, we are one—horizontally, with other believers and vertically, with Him. That is what the cross symbolizes. We are “God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” [EPH 2: 10]. We can’t take credit for this grace extended to us, for it is a gift from our Lord Jesus, for we have been saved through faith in Him [EPH 2: 8-9]. We need never feel alone or abandoned. He is with us 24/7, watching over us and having commanded the Holy Spirit to dwell within us after having ascended into heaven to be at the Father’s side [AC 2: 2-3; JN 14 : 21, 25; RO 8:16-17, 26-27].
As far back as Moses’ time, there was the issue of God’s secret truths. DT 29: 29, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and our children forever, that we may follow all the words of His law.” But since that time, divine revelation through the prophets, Jesus Christ, and the writers of the word of God have opened up the essential truths to us that we need to live by in order to be saved for eternal life, forever forgiven, and justified in the Father’s sight. JN 15: 13-15 tells us that Christ hasn’t held back any of what God has told Him from us. This is crucial and demonstrates the profound love for each of us that our God has. Just how much love is this? EPH 1: 13-14, “And you who were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked by Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, Who is a Deposit guaranteeing our inheritance, until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of His glory."
PRAYER: O Lord, as we delve deeper into the nature of the blessing that is God’s mystery, we are finding what a great gift the sacrifice of Your physical life on the cross really is. Without You, we have no reason for being; with You, we are guided by the Holy Spirit to a life of blessing and responsible obedience. While once a secret held, God’s truths are no longer held back from us. In ancient times, believers could only learn what pleases You and what doesn’t. But the promise made long ago when the Father slayed an animal, causing the shedding of its blood to provide fur pelts for Adam and Eve just before their expulsion from the Garden of Eden [see GN 3: 21; LV 17: 11; HE 9: 22], has been kept. Without the shedding of blood there could be no forgiveness. For this was the first promise of sending a future Savior. A substitute sacrifice of a ram was supplied to Abraham at the time he obeyed the Father’s command to sacrifice Isaac, his son of the promise, on an altar [GN 22:12-14]. In the same way, He never held back Your sacrifice on the cross for our salvation. With the advent of Your death on the cross, the way was opened for salvation, eternal forgiveness, and justification for all those who repent from their sins and profess genuine faith in You. Now, that is one measure of the extraordinary and precious love You have for us. We ask for Your continuing presence and intervention in our lives and offer thanks and praise for blessings received, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: Next week, I’m commanded to write about God’s mystery and how it provides purpose for our lives as members of His body, the church. My everyday life, in more ways than I can count, is impacted by my membership in Christ’s body. Things I do at home, things I do at church, and the nature of my very attitudes and practices are all tied into being a Messianic Jewish believer in Christ. It’s a fact that Jesus Christ has more impact on my life than any other person does. My belief in Him and desire to be obedient to Him affects my relationship with my husband, family, friends, community, church, and every aspect of my life. Long ago, I was asked, “who is the most important person in your life?” Without much thought, I replied, “my husband.” It was the wrong answer. The right answer was, “Jesus Christ,” because when God is put first, every other person in one’s life is blessed. I stand on this belief, and it has blessed me to know this truth. Each of us does well to answer that question for himself. Our Lord loves us beyond measure and is always here for us, if we will only remember to seek Him out. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2017. All rights reserved.
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