2023-01-06
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Life without peace and joy is unbearable. We learn in PS 37: 37-38, “Consider the blameless, observe the upright; a future awaits those who seek peace. But the sinners will be destroyed; there will be no future for the wicked.” PR 14: 30, “A heart of peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Whoever opposes the poor shows contempt for his Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.” JOB 3: 25, “I have no peace, not quietness, I have no rest, but only turmoil.” God knows what lack of peace over time can do to us, just as Job depicts here. However, God is most definitely in charge of our fate, whether it be surviving the tests to our faith, as in Job’s case, or being the object of evil on the part of others. It’s one of the reasons that God wants us to read and know the Scriptures well. Doing that gives us God’s righteous perspective on our circumstances. What that does for us is to arm us when spiritual or even physical warfare is going on.
Right now, with the help of those sympathetic to Ukraine’s predicament, the west is trying to help this beleaguered country get through a very harsh winter. The enemy is sending drone bombs which are taking out Ukraine’s power grid. People are going without light, heat, and even water. The enemy’s behavior is known by God, in accordance with HE 4: 13, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to Whom we must give account.” We can’t say why God allows such malevolence to go on as long as this war has, but He always picks the time to intervene that will maximize the lessons he wants mankind to have.
This is one of many circumstances that leads us to an important question: For Whom do we live? There are people who live for themselves, for the acquisition of material things, like money and power. And there are those who recognize how crucial it is that we live for God. We may disagree on which day should be the sabbath, but what God cares about is that we commemorate one day a week that is dedicated to Him. RO 14: 7-9 helps answer the question above. “For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life, so that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.” All of us, believers in Christ and those who reject Christ, will stand before God’s judgment and must give account of ourselves. This fact alone is sufficient motivation to faithfully obey His teaching and that of other righteous people. Because such teaching is righteous, all will be of one mind, thus lending unity to the basic principles governing our lives. Paul writes, in RO 15: 13, “May God, the Source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by your trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
A gift is something given by another, usually involving a sacrifice by the donor—something that didn’t originate with the recipient. Let’s view what a loving God has given to mankind. Jesus is “the visible image of the invisible Father; the Firstborn of all creation,” COL 1: 15. We owe our very lives to Him, because, at the behest of the Father, Christ did the work of creation. That’s not all! The Father, who loves us beyond measure, decided that the work of redemption must also be done by the Lord Jesus. This was the great sacrifice of His physical life, so that those who believe in Him might not perish but have everlasting life [JN 3: 16]. Christ’s perfection in obeying the Father’s decision is why we should emulate the love He taught us by example and recognizes our need to live and physically die for Him. Moreover, I’ve qualified what I’m saying as “physical” life, to differentiate it from “spiritual life,” which is not what the Father wants us to sacrifice. Instead, he wants us to live spiritually after physical death eternally. Therein lays the real gift that he gives us, a gift the blesses us forever. What greater love and peace is there but spiritual life??? Our Lord loves us that much!
PRAYER: O Lord, You have equipped us not only to live forever, but also to serve You for the benefit of the rest of mankind. That is what is meant by “living for You.” Along the way when we live for You, we derive a peace and joy the strengthens us in our faith, causes us to hunger for Your word, and to emulate the Lord Jesus in the kindness and caring we show toward others. In GA 5: 22-23, You give us precious gifts that cannot come from another source. With can use these gifts to set an example for others, to become known not as self-righteous but as righteous people. We are Your head, heart, and hands, here to do Your work, and here to be given love, joy, peace, and grace in our time on earth. We thank and praise You always, for Who You are, for what You do, and for showing others the way to happiness. This prayer is offered up in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: The Holy Spirit directs me to write about the price of peace. We should note that real giving is sacrificial giving. As the Lord Jesus set an example for us, we need to understand that if what we give doesn’t involve sacrifice, we are not emulating Him. We should spend some time meditating on His words, in JN 15: 12-13, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Does this mean we must lay down our lives to be good, righteous people? Not necessarily, except when that is the only choice left, as it was for our Lord Jesus. I can’t help but think of all the innocent people that had their lives violently taken from them by force, like the citizens mowed down so violently in Ukraine. Some escaped by leaving their country for the sake of their children. Others survived the bombing despite staying there. When hospitals, schools, and other public places were bombed, that evil reflects on the enemy for his rejection of Biblical truth, not on the ones killed. It was clear the enemy was focused on evil. We can’t blame the innocent citizens of that enemy country, but instead must look to its government. Vengeance is God’s right and not ours! [RO 12: 19-21]. Rest assured solace can be found when reading REV 6: 9-11. God knows that some people are unfairly forced to give their lives--become martyrs. He doesn’t ignore them but seals their fate with His usual goodness. We can always count on God; now, can He count on us? Honor, praise, thanks, and glory be to Him!
Grace be with You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2022. All Rights Reserved.
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