2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Readers,
I am led this morning to share citations that will deal with Adonai, our Lord God and Master’s, response to those who refuse to respect Him and with His power. In this part of the journey He is taking us on, we can examine our own relationship with Him to see the nature of our own respect for Him and the righteously applied power He has in our lives. PS 2: 1-5, “Why do the nations plan rebellion? Why do people make their useless plots? Their kings revolt, their rulers plot together against the Lord and against the King He chose. ‘Let us free ourselves from Their rule,’ they say; ‘let us throw off Their control.’ From His throne in heaven, the Lord laughs and mocks their feeble plans. Then, He warns them in anger and terrifies them with His fury.” This is a most interesting passage of the OT, because of the use of the word, “Their,” in (3). While traditional Jews don’t see it, this word refers to the Trinity. Look up PS 110: 1 and see what I mean. A deeper examination of this passage reveals several important attributes of Adonai. We can see His ultimate power in the way He determines their fate with no fear that His will shall be thwarted implied in it. We can also see our Lord has a sense of humor; He can laugh at the foolishness of men at times. We learn that He can be emotional, a part of our own personalities that demonstrates that we are, indeed, made in His image [GN 1: 26-27]. God’s compassion and patience can also be seen. If He had none, He would not grant evildoers the opportunity to repent. He would annihilate them right away in all cases. We know He has the power to grant and to take away life. By His omniscience, He knows that people like King Beltshazzar of Babylonia will never become faithful. So, He takes them out [DN 5: 25-30]. The same way, God knows who will eventually come to belief in Him, as was the case with King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon [DN 4: 34-37] and Saul of Tarsus [AC 9: 3-6]. The righteousness of these decisions can be seen in what these once rebellious men came to accomplish.
David’s song of God’s glory and man’s dignity further demonstrates the power Adonai holds. PS 8: 1-2, “O Lord, our Lord, Your greatness is seen in all the world! Your praise reaches up to the heavens; it is sung by children and babies. You are safe and secure from all Your enemies; You stop anyone who opposes You.” This superb song not only expresses God’s power, but it reveals the enormous love He has for mankind through the choice of His appointed King. PS 8: 3-9, “When I look at the sky, which You have made, at the moon and the stars which You set in their places-what is man, that You think of him; mere man, that You care for him? Yet You made Him [1 COR 15: 27; EPH 1: 22; HE 2: 8] inferior only to Yourself, You crowned Him with glory and honor. You appointed Him ruler over everything You made; You placed Him over all creation: sheep and cattle, and the wild animals too; the birds and the fish and the creatures in the seas. O Lord, our Lord, Your greatness is seen in all the world!” I wouldn’t be surprised if we all sing this song when we are together eternally in heaven. The bottom line is that God loves us so much that He offered His only begotten Son on the cross, so that we may never perish but have everlasting life [JN 3: 16]! Adonai’s power is supreme, but so is His love for each of us! He is our Creator, One Who loved us enough to create us in His own image. I find that wholly comforting to know.
God has made it very clear to us that He has patience for people that will repent and turn to Him. He also makes it clear what He will do with those who make a stubborn lifestyle out of sin and refuse to repent. PS 37: 12-13, “The wicked man plots against the good man and glares at him with hate. But the Lord laughs at wicked men, because He knows they will soon be destroyed.” In the last message, I spoke about the urgency of our becoming obedient to God. It is difficult to grasp that time is a relative entity. 2 PET 3: 8-9, “But do not forget one thing, my dear friends [Peter writes]! There is no difference in the Lord’s sight between one day and a thousand years; to Him the two are the same. The Lord is not slow to do what He has promised, as some think. Instead, He is patient with you, because He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins.” When we realize that our perception of God’s time can’t be accurate, we awaken to the fact that He could send for us at any time. If we are not obedient, we are not prepared to be taken up with Him. The urgency of our acknowledgment of His ultimate power and our need to respond to it with obedience is upon us. The message is loud and clear that our destruction will occur if we reject His teachings. People who do that show disdain for the great sacrifice that our Lord and Master made of His Son on the cross for our salvation. In that circumstance, the Lord’s wrath and punishment are righteous actions-the only ones He can take that demonstrate His consistency. Destroying anyone surely is no pleasure for our Lord Who loves us.
PRAYER: O Lord, Your power over us is supreme, ultimate, and righteously applied. How can we ask for more than that? You are our Lord and Master, One Who loves us more than we can comprehend. You laugh at our foolishness when we disobey You; You feel sorrow when we refuse to repent. When You know we are clumsily trying to learn to follow Your teachings and slip, You are often patient and forgiving. But when we refuse to acknowledge our sin or turn away from it, You are right to punish us with destruction. We stand challenged to examine the nature of our relationship with You and offer You thanks for making us conscious of our need to obey as soon as possible. The same power that You use to destroy the continually wicked is that which You use to bless those who live righteously. We acknowledge that Your greatest desire for us is for us to be perfected, so that we can dwell in the joy that close eternal fellowship with You brings. We accept Your supreme sovereignty and our responsibility to be Your good servants. We humbly pledge our adoration, worship, honor, glory, trust, obedience, praise, and thanks to You for all that You are in our lives. In Christ’s name, amen.
Our path through citations using God’s name as Adonai continues tomorrow. Each day that I write these messages, God is blessing me with a reminder of His love. When the temporal matters of my life grate on me, I am reminded that He is there to soothe and comfort me. The desire of my heart is that you are aware of His presence this same way in your lives. Peter and I also send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn