2022-01-14
Good Morning Dear Ones,
We continue to look at the blessings of God’s agape. Let’s start with peace, strength and joy seen in the return of the seventy-two, in LK 10: 17-20. “The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.’ He [the Lord Jesus] replied, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. l have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’” This example demonstrates difficulty that we have in seeing the big picture. Of course, the power to overcome enemies is fulfilling in the short term, but our Lord wants us to think in eternal (big picture) terms. He does this here with His disciples.
One reason that the Lord considered David “a man after My own heart,” [ 1 SAM 13: 14] was David’s remarkable ability to get the message from correction of his own mistakes. Consider PS 51: 12, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” Most of you know that David had sinned by arranging for the death of the soldier, Uriah, and sleeping with his widow, Bathsheba. The prophet, Nathan, came to him with God’s anger, causing David to realize his mistakes. The quote above from Psalm 51 is a part of David’s honest confession of those sins. He sees that forgiveness and salvation come only from God. The book of Revelation gives us a picture of what will happen in heaven as decisions are made during the period of judgments of the end times. A multitude of believers gathers, wearing white robes and holding palm branches. REV 7: 10, “And they cried out in a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God, Who sits on the throne and to the Lamb (Jesus, after He has atoned).’”
One might ask: Why does salvation belong to the Lord God and not us? The answer is found in EPH 2: 8-10. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” The Greek word, charis, means unmerited favor, i.e. favor from God which we don’t deserve. That is what grace really is! If our God was cruel in His judgments, He would have no forgiveness in His heart. Such was never the case. Our God is not only just but loving and forgiving. However, we must also do our part by confessing our sins to Him, stopping the thoughts and behavior that offends, and understand that our salvation and forgiveness comes from Him alone.
We must be genuine in this effort, even if it brings us emotional pain in the short run. Understanding this from the eternal perspective that God gives us in His word makes it real and permanent. Those who commit a sin, confess, and repeatedly commit that same sin don’t understand the eternal issue. That’s why it is so important that we have an active and dynamic prayer life, staying in close touch with Him. That is how we can relate to our loving God, so that our joy can be complete. HE 2: 1-3, “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him.” What we must avoid is making ourselves the “center” of the universe. This is the mistake that human-earthly led people make. Those of us who have lived putting our Lord as the Center of our lives, those who have learned to think in eternal terms, can really experience lasting joy, strength, and joy. JN 3: 29-30, “The bride belongs to the Bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for Him and is full of joy when he hears the Bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.”
While this may seem to be counterintuitive, making oneself less and Him greater actually leads to strength, peace, and joy. The reason is that these things in the eternal realm mean they can be with us forever, no matter what happens around us. If the events of Revelation actually lay out as God promises symbolically and in reality, we will be protected because we placed Him in leadership and at the center of our lives. My daughter, Maria, who is a nurse and has been present when people experience physical death has noticed a tremendous difference between how the faithful people react and how those without faith in Christ do. The former understand that their faithful relatives/friends have been called home to the Lord for eternal life. The latter have no such assurance, and they feel emptiness and hopelessness. We surely don’t want to be in that group!
The faithful obedience to the Lord that we have keeps us from such an unhappy fate. Praise and thanks be to Him!
PRAYER: O Lord, looking back to our willingness to obey and be faithful to You leads us to observe a learning curve. Upon close inspection, we see that its arc isn’t perfect; we have had regressions along the way. You have much to teach us, not the least of which is that we must see Your perspective on grace, joy, strength, and peace. These things don’t come naturally to us, and we must take the time necessary to learn them. Understanding that forgiveness, salvation, and justification all come from You. Once we work toward Your knowledge and understanding we will slowly and surely gain wisdom. We will avoid the pitfalls that come from human knowledge and understanding alone, You give us joy, strength, and peace. We are grateful beyond imagination for the agape and charis that You show us. Let us take this time to pledge our fidelity to Your training and desire to align our lives with that of Your Son, Jesus Christ, saying this prayer in His holy/mighty name. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: Yet another blessing of God’s agape is our names inscribed in God’s book of life. This concept began with traditional Judaism and has continued on in Christianity. The first resurrection, that of the just, is for what we hope. The more we study the Scriptures, the closer we who believe align our lives with the Lord Jesus’ example. This is not always taking the easy decisions, but in the end is always the most rewarding. I’ve given only a few examples here, but plan to do so in next week’s message. Please believe that the graph of my own life is filled with regressions. Hopefully, the Lord sees me maturing into a Messianic Jew who is well-acquainted with Him, His thinking, and His ways. I feel very motivated to spend time daily in study of His word, prayer, and encouragement of faith in Him in others. It is a joyful, peaceful, and strong motivation that He has given me by His grace. I’m not unusual, as He will do this for anyone who loves and has reverence for Him. I pray you will find this out for yourself.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15 © Lynn Johnson 2021. All Rights Reserved
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