2022-02-18
Good Morning Dear Ones,
It seems strange to me to begin writing about joy right now, because there are so many woes happening on earth. However, we must realize our Lord has some really hard work to do to keep His promise of giving us the joy of salvation. Read 2 PET 3: 3-7 and REV 20: 11-15 to see what I mean. These are events that are to take place in our future, in which God “separates the sheep from the goats” [MT 25: 32]. We are not told when in our future these momentous events will happen, just that our Lord, Who never lies, tells us that they will. These events are hardly joy-builders in those who have serially rejected faith. For those who do have faith, they will give us that joy of salvation and eternal peace with the Lord that we have been promised. It is the same thing that so long ago, David begged for, in PS 51: 10-12 and was a part of his great prayer of confession. And what is this promise? REV 7: 16-17 was said about the martyrs who found themselves beneath God’s throne in heaven. “Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb (the Lord Jesus) at the center of the throne will be their Shepherd; He will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
If we look at God’s power exercised between the sixth and seventh seal judgment, in REV 8: 1, we see that the process is stopped for a half hour, whilst God affixes his seal upon the true believers. It is a sign of His protection after an angel, in REV 7: 2-3, called out, “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of God.” Knowing this ahead of time, gives us motivation to be obedient and strong in our faith in the Lord. It also should generate joy in our hearts. Our Lord loves us enough to exercise His will to lead us to eternal life with Him.
What must come before our salvation is the destruction of evil promised in DN 9: 24-27. The Greek noun for “destruction” is “apoleias,” or “apoleia” [pronounced: “ap-o-lei-a”] which is the verb for “perishing, eternal ruin, or loss of wellbeing.” The book of Philippians talks about God’s instructions for how to gain eternal life and have that joy of salvation. PHIL 2: 9-11, “Therefore God exalted Him (Jesus) to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Having read the citations above, we know that God has been working since the beginning to carry out His plan of salvation and has been rehearsing our history with Him. When we pray, we should rehearse our history with him on an individual basis and with as much godly perspective on our lives as we can get. He does test the status of our individual and corporate faith, so that both He and us can know if we are maturing in our spiritual relationship with Him.
What about the length of our lives on earth? God gives us perspective on that, as seen by the prayer of the Psalmist, in PS 39: 4-7. “Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath. Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it. But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in You.”
PRAYER: O Lord, when we compare the length of our time on this troubled earth, it is a flick of an eyelash, a blink in time, compared to eternity. When we rehearse our history with You, Your promise of not separating us from Your love [RO 8: 38-38] is being kept. You endow us with Your blessings every day. Some of us don’t see them, because they have not taken the time or have refused to do this. They will be entered in Your Book of the Dead if they persist in this attitude. We, who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and who follow Your teaching with honesty and openness, will enjoy eternal life. Our time on earth is difficult with our faith being tested and with avoiding temptations set before us by the evil one. However, if we endure in our faith, then we will spend eternity with You. Thanks to the Lord Jesus for His obedience in going to the cross for us, the joy of our salvation will be granted to those who persevere in their faith in Him. We honor, praise, and thank You for giving us inner peace and joy. In the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: We will continue to look at the subject of the joy of our salvation next week. In the meanwhile, our lives are impacted by the Lord’s presence in them every day. We need to pay attention to His wisdom given to us in the Scriptures, so that we have use of the power He gives us against evil. We can and will succeed in gaining eternal life with Him, if we are persistent in our decision to proclaim the Lord as our Savior and follow His teaching in all the thoughts, decisions, and actions we take. There are times when people in our own families will be serially denying the Lord’s power. It is not our decision to judge their fate [MT 7: 1-2]. That’s up to the Lord Jesus [DN 7: 13-14]. All we can do is our best to obey God and our joy will be infectious. At some point each person must decide if he will walk through the door marked “FAITH.” I will pray each day for you, my dear readers, that you will experience the joy that comes with knowing you are saved and having the strength to avoid the temptations of the evil one. His destruction is going to happen at God’s perfect time in our future. Take comfort in knowing that and use the wisdom God’s gives us in how we live our lives. Praise and thanks be to Him, from whom this joy is shared!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2021. All Rights Reserved.
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