2021-04-16
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Learning to be choosy regarding who you befriend is a lesson God wants us to have. Some people want so badly to have a friend that they resist learning to choose the right ones. This includes non-Christians willing to listen to accurate witnessing to our own faith in Christ. Even a person who has become faithful in Christ needs to move forward in this area. Sadly, there are people whose job it is to find out what flatters you and to pour it on for their misguided motives. I learned this the hard way at a time of great emotional pain in my life. My own guard was down, and I was sucked into a group that was totally wrong for me. The pain and disappointment I had for several years resulted. We have been told, “Beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing” [MT 7: 15]. I was the quintessential object of the attention of people who had been easily deceived by others as to their own fate. What made me their target was that my self-confidence was at a low point and I needed to feel that I belonged and was valued. I was spiritually starved and badly in need of the opportunity to use my God-given skill set. This had come after years of emotional abuse at the hands of people around me.
My very wise husband has always said, “You can learn a lot about a person from the kinds of friends he has.” I’ve returned to this bit of godly wisdom repeatedly as the years have gone by. It took me several years to unravel the damage and extricate it from my life that this group did. It was necessary for me to study the Scriptures and find the many ways God’s wisdom could be applied in my life to experience His blessings. It was necessary for me to stop deceiving myself and to understand the entirety of this citation, 1 PET 2:9, “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 the darkness and into His magnificent light.” I’m not writing this because there is anything special about me, not even that I’m Jewish. I’m saying this because God is so special that He was willing to pull me out of the morass that I had been in. PS 40: 1-3, “I waited patiently for the Lord’s help; then He listened to me and heard my cry. He pulled me out of the dangerous pit, out of the quicksand. He set me safely on a Rock and made me secure. He taught me a new song, a song of praise to our God. Many who see this will take warning and will put their trust in the Lord.” And by the way, my being Jewish only puts a greater responsibility on my shoulders to be a “light to the nations” [GN 12: 3; IS 49: 6]. To me, that Rock with a capital “R” is Jesus Christ!
God doesn’t intend to leave us in a pit of despair; instead, it is His will that we understand that most pits of despair are of our own making. It is necessary for us to come to the end of ourselves and to finally take the helping hand that He is offering. PHIL 1: 6, “And so I am sure that God, Who began this good work in you, will carry it until it is finished on the Day of Christ Jesus.” He has begun a work in us, and we must not deter Him from completing it. When I had made such a mess out of my life, I was in no shape to see the wisdom and need in another of His teachings, that we must learn to help with one another’s burdens as a way of obeying God [GA 6: 2]. This is so consistent with Christ’s Parable of the Good Samaritan [LK 10: 15-37].
Just as Christ taught His disciples God’s wisdom, He is also teaching us. We are to share what we learn with Him, as no one fools God. He knows if we are learning and if we are not [GA 6: 6-7]. If we are not willing to do the work of adjusting our ways and claim to be doing that, God knows-to be sure [HE 4: 13]. We are only deceiving ourselves. If we do the work, then God is pleased and will give us the inner peace for which we search. GA 6: 8, “If you plant in the field of your natural desires, from it you will gather the harvest of death. If you plant in the field of the Spirit, from the Spirit you will gather the harvest of eternal life.” It can’t be clearer than that! While easily read, it is not always the easiest path to take. We are to persevere, as it is the path that will give us the greatest satisfaction in the long run. We are to do as much good to everyone as we can, especially to our brothers and sisters in Christ.
PRAYER: O Lord, the apostle Paul wrote about not holding back his weaknesses [2 COR 12: 5-10], for when he was weak, he could feel the Your power protecting him. Your comment was, “When you are weak, I am strong. My grace is sufficient.” It takes us some time and careful, prayerful thought to understand this point and put it into practice. We must conclude that the people who show us their humility by example, are the kind of people we want as friends. We are not alone, because You are always here with us, always loving us, and always willing to protect those who humble themselves before you. Paul, in 2 COR 11: 22-33, wrote about all the many sufferings he experienced in his life, in order to serve You and follow Your direction. You never mean for us to be like dead leaves blown by the winds of the flesh or chance. Instead, by being aware of our weaknesses and willing to admit to them, we’ve taken the first step in confessing them before You and asking for Your help with them. You have told us, in EPH 3: 12, that when we are in Christ, we can approach You with freedom and confidence. We are grateful for the love and loyal help You give us and for the faith we can have in You. You are to be richly thanked and praised, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’m commanded by the Holy Spirit to write about the Law and God’s grace. Many times when we are in a scrape, we turn to the nearest, easiest human help we can find. God wants us to turn to Him FIRST as He is the best One to bring us out of the pit of despair. I’m not saying that a human can help, but I am saying we should always turn to God FIRST. If the help of another human is appropriate, then God will empower that person to help. I remember at time in high school, long before I accepted Christ as my personal Savior, a teacher accused me of having my mother help me with an essay I was supposed to have written and edited before I handed it in. I was innocent and had spent long hours working on that assignment. The teacher decided to give me a failing grade on it, and I was a senior at the time. Yes, I was very upset indeed! My grades mattered to me by then, because I wanted to get into a good college. My mother, whose handwriting was very different from mine, wrote a note to the teacher, asking him to reevaluate the grade he had given me. I later found out that this English teacher had spoken to other teachers about me in the faculty lounge. I had been in their classes over the years. They claimed that I was a good student and had never given them reason to think that I would cheat on an assignment. Even then, the Lord cared about me and led them to be supportive. Finally, my teacher met with me and told me he decided to change my grade to one that was fair. I wasn’t aware at that moment that the Lord was calling me to faith, nor did I even know to pray to Him, but we all know that He is a loving Deity Who “calls us out of darkness and into His marvelous light.” Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2021. All Rights Reserved.
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