2023-03-03
Good Morning Dear Ones,
We don’t think much about access to privileges, except with regard to credit and other things of earth. But we should also think eternally about our access to God. Let me share some examples of Christ’s words from the book of John. JN 14: 1-3, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God believe also in Me [Jesus]. My Father’s house has many mansions; if that were not so, would I have told you that I an going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to come with Me that you will also be where I am going.” Again Jesus gives us this message in JN 14: 12-14, “And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask Me for anything in My name, and I will do it.” JN 14: 24b gives us essential information about Christ’s relationship with the Father. “These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father Who sent Me.” Christ’s sentiments toward those with the courage to proclaim faith in Him and receive the Holy Spirit are shown in JN 14: 27, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not be troubled and do not be afraid.” There’s more to this chapter and I hope you will read the rest of it.
We can’t experience the peace of God until we are at peace with God. We must take the Lord at His word. RO 5: 10 shows us how we become at peace with God. “For if, while we were still God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!” I can claim to believe in Jesus Christ as evidence of the Father’s will. Yes, I was 25 years old when He saw fit to give me the faith in Him that I have and later, to call me to His service in ministry. At that point, the trajectory of my life changed in a big way! I not only became sure there us a God Who loves those who love Him, but I also realized He had taken me through those many unhappy years when I was being reared and was in an unsatisfactory first marriage. Later, when I met my second husband, Peter, our Triune God “lifted me up out of the slimy pit and set me on a firm Rock” [words taken from PS 40: 1-2]. Because of Christ’s Atonement and my faith in Him, something that anyone can have, I can anticipate eternal life. That is the Lord, Who is giving me access to Himself. Anyone with faith in Him can have the same. With His physical death on the cross, Christ paid the ransom for our sinfulness. HE 9: 15, “For this reason, Christ is the Mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.” This is one difference between the Covenant of the Law and the Covenant of Grace. We no longer serve under the written law, but at the direction of the Holy Spirit [RO 7: 6].
We get a view of the fate of the righteous versus that of the wicked, in IS 57: 18b-21. “I have seen their ways, but I will heal them, I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners, creating praise on their lips. ‘Peace, peace to those far and near,’ says the Lord. ‘And I will heal them.’ But the wicked are like a tossing sea, which cannot rest, who waves cast up mire and mud. There is no peace,’ says my God, ‘for the wicked.’”
If you are wondering what the real gift of access is, it is that with true faith in Christ, we need never that we are alone in facing our trials. RO 8: 1, 28, “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…And we know that in all things that God works for the good of all who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Praise be to Him!
PRAYER: O Lord, Your hope is to draw as many of us as possible close to You. Nothing can separate us from the love that You have for us [RO 8: 38-39]. Before You give us the undeserved gift of faith, You worked to bring us and our fellow followers of You to the place where we were: 1) aware that You exist; 2) recognizing that choosing to believe in You opens the door to the path where we can choose eternal life; 3) that through the Scriptures, we have found compelling reasons to believe in You; 4) an apt description of Who You are can be found COL 1: 15-20; 5) we can see that You are the Mediator of the Covenant of Grace. The example set for us by Jesus Christ is a guide to how we should feel and behave with our fellow man. Each day You bless us with stronger faith as a result of solid friendships You forge in our lives. We thank and praise You, offer You our honor, loyalty, and undying respect. You are our Lord and Savior, as we pray in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’ve been commanded by the Holy Spirit to write about God’s peace through Christ, next week. Many years ago, I had one of the greatest disappointments of my life. My whole life was turned upside down—friends taking sides in the dispute, family betrayal, social upheaval, my faith tested, the temporary loss of custody of my only child, and much, much more. With the shock of realizing all the things that would happen to me, I initially wandered around a park, numb and depressed. Then, I became so angry, that I strapped a spinet piano to me, was able to lift it from the floor, and walk across a room with it before setting it down. (I certainly could no longer do that once my anger died down)! I’ve been told that these feelings and actions are not as surprising as one would think. After all of that, the good Lord let my common sense to return and I began to take the steps necessary to get the help I needed to finally pull out of my morass. Step one was to turn to the Lord in prayer. My faith was new at the time, but still withstood the stern test it was receiving [1 COR 10: 13]. The cacophony of agony in my life slowly but surely became a clear-cut revelation of God’s will for my life and career. Even while my pain was still going on, the Lord sent Peter into my life, and I had the benefit of his amazing intelligence. I often quote PS 40: 1-3, which I hope you will read, even memorize. And to think, it’s only one of many blessings and manifestations of God’s marvelous grace! Praise and glory be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2023. All Rights Reserved.
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