2020-12-25
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The functions of the personalities of the Trinity are just too important to give them short shrift, so I’ve been commanded to continue writing about them today. COL 1: 16-17, “For through Him [Christ], God created all things of earth and heaven, the seen and unseen. This included spiritual powers, lords, rulers, and authorities. God created the whole universe through Him and for Him. Christ existed before all things, and in union with Him all things have their proper place.” If we have ever wondered how the earth, heaven, and all the things in them were created, the Lord is telling us here. My analogy of the Father being the CEO, Who makes all the decisions, Christ being the vice president in charge of the work of creation and especially redemption, and the Holy Spirit being the vice president in charge of sharing God’s wisdom and inhabiting the souls of believers is true! Because of Christ’s carrying out of His responsibilities as He has, He deserves His lofty and admirable position in our belief. Christ is the Master of sacrifices indeed! No one has suffered as He has, for the good of those who don’t deserve it. When I hear of someone committing crimes against another person or against society, it is insulting disrespect to Christ, the One Who has sacrificed so much for others. God gave mankind the responsibility to care for all the animals and plants on the earth [GN 1: 28]. When an animal has been abused or neglected, it is particularly objectionable.
I’ve often chosen to relate examples of God’s goodness in my own, so that I leave the experiences of other people for them to tell. The following experience is a part of my life for which I will always be grateful. It seems as if I never had a childhood, and the adults around me always said, “she was born an adult.” I wasn’t any different than a lot of people; I had plenty of household responsibilities in addition to working hard to get good grades in school. Both of my parents worked outside our home. It was back in the days when doctors made house calls till all hours of the night and were rarely home, except when they were exhausted and crabby. My mother did the billing in my father’s medical office. I was expected to do my part from age 10 on, doing housework. While my brothers were to help, they didn’t always do that. Due to my own emotional immaturity at the time, I deeply resented having this extra burden. What I didn’t realize is that learning to handle putting dinners on the table and clean house would prepare me well for what would be expected of me as an adult. One further expectation was that I would attend the Jewish religious classes regularly every week at our shul. These classes didn’t do anything for me, except to build my resentment about my situation. Little did I know that the Lord Jesus would use my eighth- grade religious class to make His appearance in my life. Up to that time I didn’t believe God really existed.
My memory of that occasion is forever etched on my mind. We were having a discussion in class about the Canaanites and how the Jews under Joshua were fighting them. The teacher mentioned that everyone wanted the Jews to stop the practice of their faith and disappear, “even those who believe in Jesus!” Something snapped in me, and I suddenly said, “you shouldn’t say another bad word about Jesus. He is our Lord and Savior!” To this day, I can only tell you it happened, but not where that notion had come from at the time or where I got the courage to speak up. I had spent 8 years sitting in class and participating only when I had no choice. Later that evening, my father got a phone call from the teacher. “I don’t know what we are going to do about Lynn. She really doesn’t understand what she was saying.” The was the beginning of this very circuitous path my spiritual maturity has been taking. You can be sure that my father had plenty to say to me that night. Whenever Christ was mentioned, it was always in the context that His deity should be questioned.
I have since matured into strong faith that Jesus can do anything He wants. After all, He feed 5000 men and their families from 5 loaves of barley bread and 2 fish. Since Christ is God’s second personality, He never does anything of which God doesn’t approve. His disciples, Phillip and Andrew, could only look on in amazement [JN 6: 7-11]. The explanation for what has happened to my spiritual life can only be described as in Titus 3: 5-7, “…He saved us. It was not because of any good deeds on our part, but because of His own mercy that He saved us through the Holy Spirit, Who gives us new birth and new life by washing us. God poured out the Holy Spirit on us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that by His grace we might be put right with God and come into possession of the eternal life, for which we hope.”
PRAYER: O Lord, we come into Your presence today with the hope of better understanding how people can be brought to faith in the Lord Jesus. As a person raised to reject Christ, I personally know the great power for good that You use for this purpose. The Titus citation above was surely used to bring this author to faith. While I may never know why You called me to the ministry I have today, I am eager to serve with an accurate knowledge of the Scriptures and a keen desire to do so with a caring heart. Long ago, You told us in EZK 36: 26-27, “I will give you a new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart. I will put My Spirit in you and see to it that you follow My laws and all the commands I have given you.” This is a hugely important promise, something You have never broken. You reside in our homes, guide us toward the everlasting light, and offer us the best hope there is. Dearest Father, we are forever grateful for the goodness and kindness You bring to our lives. Continue to teach us with patience for our many foibles. We embrace Your promise made in 1 COR 10: 13, that You will never give us a challenge so intense as to break our resolve to remain faithful to You. Thank and praise You for all You are and all You do. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’m commanded to write about unity next week. We’ve been touching on that subject anyway. There are basic ideas upon which the Lord builds to bring us a good understanding of His teaching. God’s will really matters, and I believe it’s His will that we agree on these basic notions. Of course there are denominations which don’t agree on them, and the Parable of the Sower comes to mind [MT 13: 1-9, 18-23; MK 4: 1-9, 13-20; LK 8: 4-8, 11-15, particularly MT 13: 7 & 22]. I take enormous comfort in the idea that we will eventually know the truth from God Himself, when He feels the time is right. It is not within our purview to judge the fate of another person, so I’ll leave that to the Lord. Whatever He deems will be right, fair, and wise. In the meanwhile, let me encourage each of us in our faith and obedience to Him. My wish is that we will all meet face to face in heaven someday with each other and with our Lord. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2020. All Rights Reserved.
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