2017-07-14
Good Morning Dear Ones,
At the end of last week’s devotion, you’ll remember that I cited JN 15: 16, which states that we were chosen first by the Lord Jesus “to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask for in My name.” Now, I am commanded to continue writing about Christ’s relationship to the church. EPH 2: 20-22, “You too are built upon a foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, the Cornerstone being Christ Jesus Himself. He is the One Who holds the whole building together and makes it grow into a sacred temple dedicated to the Lord. In union with Him you too are being built together with all the others into a place where God lives through His Spirit.” One can’t help but feel warmth at the thought that the Lord chose us first, rather than the other way around. My own experience as a member of the community of believers in Christ conforms to one who feels cared for, at peace with the Lord, considered a person to be loved, and given a useful purpose for her life. Beforehand, I didn’t experience the feeling of being lovable. I came to this community with a working knowledge of the OT, taught to me in the traditionally Jewish home in which I was reared. I knew nothing about the NT in those beginning years. Familiarity with the latter and its relationship to the former was acquired as I went along. This is what being a “completed Jew” means.
Being gregarious comes naturally to me, so I quickly got acquainted with other believers in Christ throughout the years. At age 39, I perceived through an answer to prayer for direction that the Lord was calling me to a life of ministry. Oddly, the circumstances of my life never allowed me to complete seminary, but I gained what is taught there on my own. This even extended to studying beginning Greek and Hebrew, although I’m not a fluent speaker of either language. Just as the apostle Paul is not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, neither am I of the service to others and belief in Christ that fuel my own life. While not every believer becomes a minister, being a part of this community brings joy in service, depth in belief, and acceptance of God’s mystery-Christ in us and access to God’s wisdom. It is Christ, Who I believe has given me the confidence to speak in front of groups, to lead adult Bible studies, to write these weekly messages, to be a Stephen minister to people in crises, and to lead a group who knit and crochet prayer shawls and the like for them.
1 PET 2: 4-9 really expresses our relationship to Christ and the consequences of rejecting Him far better than I can. “Come to the Lord, the Living Stone rejected by people as worthless but chose by God as valuable. Come as living stones, and let yourselves be used in building the spiritual temple, where you will be used as holy priests to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ. For the Scripture [IS 43: 20] says, ‘I chose a valuable Stone, which I am placing as the Cornerstone in Zion, and whoever believes in Him will never be disappointed.’ This Stone is of great value for you that believe: ‘The Stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all.’ And another Scripture [IS 8: 24-25] says, ‘This is the Stone that will make the people stumble, the Rock that will make them fall.’ They stumbled because they did not believe in the word; such was God’s will for them. But you are the chosen race, the King’s priests, the holy nation, God’s own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God, Who called you out of darkness into His own marvelous light.” Those are powerful words!
LK 17: 1-3 gives us motivation not to stumble. “Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Things that make people fall into sin are bound to happen, but how terrible for the one who makes them happen! It would be better for him if a large millstone were tied around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin…If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.” As believers in Christ, we are taught to think in eternal terms and to consider the consequences of our actions. Jude, the author of the little penultimate book of the NT and half-brother of Jesus ends his writing with a prayer of praise. JUDE 24-25, “To Him Who is able to keep you from falling and to bring you faultless and joyful before His glorious presence—to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, might, and authority, from all ages past, and now and forever and ever! Amen.”
PRAYER: O Lord, we acknowledge all Your mighty attributes and deeds with our reverence and awe. Your loving heart and protection of us against the temptations of the evil one can be found in no other Being. We are weak and imperfect in so many ways. Yet, You never abandon us or stop trying to lead us on the path to eternal life. MT 7: 13-14, “Go in through the narrow gate, because the gate to hell is wide and the road that leads to it is easy, and there are many who travel it. But the gate to life is narrow and the way that leads to it is hard, and there are few people who find it.” We thank and praise You, O Savior, for watching over us, intervening in our lives, teaching us the Father’s wisdom, protecting us, and providing for our needs. We say this prayer in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’m led by the Holy Spirit to continue writing about the relationship of the Lord Jesus to His church as the Mediator of the New Covenant and the Firstborn of those to be resurrected. In the meanwhile, we are to be aware that in PS 139: 5-6, 24 we find both acknowledgement of what our Savior does for us, as well as a plea for Him to judge and direct us. “You are all around me on ever side; You protect me with Your power. Your knowledge of me is too deep; it is beyond my understanding…Find out if there is any evil in me and guide me in the everlasting way.” How precious these words are that describe our relationship with Christ! I stand to testify to the joy that living my own life in Christ gives me. From the moment that a cancer patient first tries on a soft acrylic knitted hat to cover the loss of his hair, or a newly widowed person first tries on a crochet prayer shawl reading the tag with verses on it and the message “made especially for you by…” followed by the name of our church, there is indescribable joy in my heart unlike from any other source. I know that my joy and peace is from the Lord, Jesus Christ. Anyone who believes in Him can have this joy and peace, not just myself. What a blessing! Praise be to His name!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2017. All Rights Reserved.
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