2019-04-26
Good Morning Dear Ones,
I’m commanded by the Holy Spirit to continue writing about God’s love and how He shows it. This is a continuing presentation of supporting Scripture to the book of Colossians. We are also, as a part of this writing, doing a long, slow, and important examination of our relationship with God. His truth, given to us by the prophets, Jesus, and the apostles of the OT and NT, is the most important teaching for our lives. I recently attended the memorial service given for a friend’s mother. JN 14: 2-3 was read at it. [Jesus speaking] “There are many mansions in My Father’s house, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I would not tell you this if it were not so. And after I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you Myself, so that you will be where I am.” This may be His ultimate blessing for those who are faithful. It means eternal life with Him. And how great is that!? As great as it gets. We can truly take Him at His word. The lady that passed away was faithful to the end of her life, raising four children who themselves are faithful believers.
We must remember that “Jesus lives forever as our High Priest. His work doesn’t pass to someone else. He is the Guarantee of a better covenant. He advocates for all who are saved by faith in Him. He pleads to the Father on our behalf” [HE 7: 24-25]. When we think about this, we should feel greatly blessed. Throughout our believing lives, He is there for us to help us deal with losses, challenges, illness, and other troubles. We are not alone. He has us in His sight and knows the pleadings of our prayers. He knows our real needs and supplies them. We may not see Him at this time in mankind’s history, but by faith, we know He is there. It may take us some time to realize a blessing disguised by our limited perspective. As I look back on my own life, I assert that this is the truth. We often need to mature to come to an understanding of some things that happened to us. 1 COR 10: 13 promises that our loving God is on the job, making sure that we are not given a challenge that will ruin our resolve to be faithful. He limits these troubles. Yes, there are times when a parent must endure the heartache of losing a child. But it may be that this child is taken home to Him, because He recognizes the child’s innocence and goodness that deems him ready for eternal life. The emotional pain his earthbound parents endure can be eased with time and faith that the Lord knows best. The Lord Himself will strengthen them. This is just one example of many that can be given of Christ’s amazing intervention in human griefs.
2 COR 5: 14-17, “We are ruled by Christ’s love and shared in His death which means we recognize one Man died for all. He died, so that we no longer live for ourselves, but for Christ, Who died and was raised for our sake. We no longer judge anyone by human standards, despite judging Christ by them in the past. We are new creations in Christ, the old has gone and the new has come.” What does it mean to be a “new creation in Christ?” It means we have the choice to sin or not sin. When one makes sin a lifestyle, he will die and be forgotten. However, when we choose not to sin as our lifestyle, we will gain eternal life. That is a life of eternal bliss and fellowship with the Lord Himself in heaven. I’ve often written that one who is faithful has no desire to sin. That has been my experience. I’m still a sinner, but I have no desire to make sinning my lifestyle. Our Lord keeps His Covenant of Grace promise to work to advance our maturity spiritually, offering us His guidance as an answer to our prayer. He knows our deficiencies and our strengths. He listens to our confessions and knows the status of our heart-attitudes. He advocates with the Father on our behalf and blesses us with His extraordinary wisdom and love. Remember: COL 3: 3-4, “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Your real life is Christ and when He appear, then you too will appear with Him and share His glory.” I can’t imagine more comfort than this truth can give us!
PRAYER: O Most Heavenly Father, it may be that our limited human perspective keeps us from recognizing all the daily blessings You give us. But we come to You to acknowledge every blessing You shower on us. Your blessings are like rain on young grass, so important that they are needed for growth itself. Your grace and generosity are deeply appreciated. You have given us instruction on how to live for You, how to learn to take stock of what You are doing in our lives. As we progress in our spiritual maturation, we come to feel Your presence with us wherever we are, whatever we are doing. The Jews were first directed by You to light an eternal light to be kept in their place of worship. This light symbolizes Your very presence with them, and our own congregations kept an eternal light lit. That light is known in Hebrew as the Ner Tamid [pronounced: Nair Tah-meed]. We are taught to turn FIRST to You, when at a crossroads or in a time of trouble. We also recognize Your interest in our victories and our need to see Your part in them. When we are troubled, we can come to You in prayer, and Your Son, Jesus, will intercede for us. This constant presence and loving help show that You deserve our faithful relationship with You. We offer You our love and that true friendship. Our relationship is based on our trust in You and love for our Lord Jesus. We offer thanks and praise for Your faithfulness in keeping Your part in the Covenant of Grace. We humbly try to do the same with ours. There are times when we err, and then we should turn to You for advice. You are like a parent who loves and sometimes must discipline us. You are a most responsible and wise Parent for us. We make these acknowledgments in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: In presenting supporting Scriptures to the book of Colossians and discussing our relationship with Christ, I am led to write about RO 8: 9-13. This passage deals with how we belong to the Holy Spirit, how we interact with Him, and what will happen to humans are deemed by God ready for glorification. In essence, this is living by the Holy Spirit. In the meanwhile, as I write this devotion, I am honored that you are willing to read what the Lord gives me to say. I wanted you to know that, because all of what I have written is a thing for which I can take no credit [PS 115: 1]. Please know that if anything I have written has been of help in your everyday lives, then I am blessed. I care about you, Dear Ones, and hope that God working through me gives You His wisdom. Amazed by His grace, blessed by His constant presence in my life, comforted in times of trouble, and delighted by His care and love of me are all ways to describe my reaction to some of His many ways He shows me His love. I would like to close with a very sweet set of truths He gives us. 1 COR 13: 4-8a, “Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil but is happy with the truth. Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail. Love is eternal…” Praise and thanks be to the Lord!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2019. All Rights Reserved,
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