2018-02-02
Good Morning Dear Ones,
There is more that the Holy Spirit is giving me to write about godly principles, as they apply to the church. You’ll notice that I didn’t specify any denomination, because only mankind can’t settle their squabbles and established this system of denominations. From God’s point of view, we are all one in Christ. Today’s message, to be an honest one, must include mention of 2 CH 20: 1-30. This is the story of how Judah’s King Jehoshaphat led the Hebrews, with the Lord’s help, against a combined army of Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites. They had already captured Engedi – a settlement in today’s southern Israel. As the realization of their danger spread, people from all over Judah went to Jerusalem to ask the Lord for guidance. A Levite named Jahaziel son of Zechariah (descended from Asaph) was visited by the Holy Spirit and went to the king to deliver this message. “Do not be afraid or discouraged; this battle depends on God, not on you” (15b). “You will not have to fight this battle. Just take your positions and wait. You will see the Lord give you victory” (17a). The king and the people worshipped the Lord, bowing low. He then praised the Lord and told the people, “Put your trust in the Lord and stand your ground.” They began to sing, and the Lord put the invaders in a panic. The invaders began attacking each other! The Hebrews spent three days taking loot from the dead invaders, and on the fourth day, went to the Beracah Valley to praise the Lord for what He had done. [The name, Beracah, means praise]. So, Jehoshaphat ruled in peace, and Judah’s enemies feared attaching them, because of God’s ultimate power.
Throughout this bit of history, we can see some overarching principles to remember. Honest prayer and willingness to turn to God FIRST matters. Taking advise God gives through the Holy Spirit makes a difference for good. Recognition and acknowledgement of God’s omnipotence and omniscience (all power and all knowledge) enables us to let Him take the lead in our lives. Offering God praise and thanks for what He does matters to Him and ultimately, to us. God may test our faith at times, because He wants to know that we really trust Him. And yes, for all of us who are sinners, this is a learned attitude and behavior. Can we do this? Yes, we were created with the ability to go against our sinful natures and do this successfully. The real question is: Will we choose to do this?
There is a timeless quality to godly principles. They don’t just apply to Jehoshaphat’s time or before him, but to modern times and for eternity. Let’s look at some verses that reveal this: HE 13: 5b, 8, “The Lord has said, ‘I will never abandon you’…Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” We must remember, RO 8: 38-39 tells us that nothing, no entity, can ever separate us from the love of God. 2 PET 3: 8-9, “…There is no difference in the Lord’s sight between a day and one thousand years, to Him the two are the same. The Lord is not slow to do what He has promised, as some may think. Instead, He is patient with you, because He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins.” Does this mean that once we have accepted Christ and confessed our sins, we can do anything we want? The answer is definitely “no.” It’s our part of the Covenant of Grace that we should continually put God first and obey His commands throughout our earthly lives. Our sanctification is an on-going process in which we look to uncover even the most subtle of sins, confess them, and stop the attitude and/or behavior that offended our loving Lord. Consider how this impacts our willingness to forgive, for example [see COL 3 13].
PRAYER: O Lord, Your principles are what we need to know, and the Holy Spirit is only too willing to share them with us. It is He, Who causes us to hunger for Your word and to read it repeatedly in various contexts. You are wise beyond human comprehension. Your power is unmatched anywhere or any way in the universe. Your presence is always with us, because You always keep Your promises. Your wisdom is revealed in the limits to our sinfulness You will tolerate. You are like a parent, who sometimes tests, sometimes disciplines His children, for their long-term good. As we pray to You this morning, we stand in awe of Your supernatural ability to always be with all believers and potential believers. This means that we can turn to You any time of day or night, any day of the year, and share our victories and our sorrows with You. We know, all the while, that You care deeply for us. 1 PET 5: 4b-6, “God resists the proud, but shows favor to the humble. Humble yourselves, then, under God’s mighty hand, so that He will lift you up in His own good time. Leave all your worries with Him, because He cares for you.” As we work to take responsibility for our sinfulness, confessing those sins to You, we ask that You continue to intervene in our lives for our good and make Your will clear to us. We thank and praise You for what You have already done, in the holy/mighty name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: The Holy Spirit directs me to write about the Trinity, it’s nature, and what each personality of it does for us as a church. As you know, my use of the word, church, is meant to mean the body of Christ made up of all believers and potential believers. With the space remaining in this devotion, I would like to weigh in on a very serious problem in our society that is in the news at this writing. It is the problem of sexual harassment, which has been going on since time in memorial. Mankind, at least in North America, is waking up to the reality of the pain and suffering, both emotionally and in some cases, physically, of victims of sexual predators. We hear about the more famous ones, but there are plenty of men in positions of power, who have abused their female subordinates. For all we know, there may be females in power who accost men in positions below them. We all agree this is wrongful behavior, but little attention is given to unwanted pregnancies that happen and children who are born to unmarried, uncommitted parents. I ask each of you to pray for it to become illegal to sign secrecy agreements, make payoffs, and that each victim will be able to overcome the humiliation and sinfulness of what happened. I also ask for prayers that any child born out of this behavior will be cared for and supported emotionally and financially. My heart breaks that it has taken this long to bring this behavior into focus. It must be stopped! Our Lord loves His human creation; let us act as we should in deserving that love! 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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