2023-04-28
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Our loving God first chose us in making peace with us and then, in the long, gradual process of teaching us that we can and should trust in Him. Two passages of Scripture that come to mind are GN 22, the story of how God commanded Abraham to offer his “son of the promise” Isaac on the altar [a crude Rock -and yes, the capital R is on purpose-surrounded by some bushes] as a test of Abraham’s faith. Abraham did what he was told, but just before lowering his knife, God uttered, “Do not lay a hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from Me you son, your only ‘son of the promise’” [GN 22: 12]. Abraham looked up after lowering his knife safely away from Isaac. A ram had been caught by its horns in a thicket. He took the ram and sacrificed it on the altar as a burnt offering instead of his son. Abraham and all believers in Him receive God’s provision. Our faithful hero named this place, Jehovah Jireh- God Will Provide. The story of this test of Abraham’s faith isn’t ended here. GN 22: 15-18, “The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, ‘I swear by Myself ‘ declares the Lord, ‘that because you have gone and have not withheld your son, your only ‘son of the promise,’ I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed Me.’”
This ram that Abraham sacrificed was the first substitute or propitiation in Abraham’s test of faithful obedience. It gave “legs” to Abraham’s justification found in GN 15: 6, “Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.” I mentioned above that the story of GN 22 was one of two repetitions of this notion to be discussed. The other is found in the NT, is RO 8: 32-33. (By the way, RO 8, the entire chapter, is a special gift to us as believers in the Lord Jesus). “He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God Who justifies.” Yesterday was Easter, “Resurrection Day,” my idea of the year’s most holy day. That is because it not only signifies the coming of spring (new life) but it is the commemoration of the day Jesus, who had given His physical life as a Propitiation for the justification and eternal forgiveness of the sin of all believers in Him. The suffering, humiliation, and crucifixion leading up to Easter is no accident. The ancient Jews and Jews today celebrate Passover -Pesach, in Hebrew-which is an archetype of Easter. All true believers are well-served by remembering JN 3: 16-17, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but shall have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” Dear Ones, we must consider what God did for us in light of our eternal lives. We are justified [RO 4: 3] and eternally forgiven [1 JN 1: 9], as well. When our God called Isaac, Abraham’s “son of the promise,” this is the promise God makes possible. These things are enough on their own to warrant our praise and thanks to God. And just think, we haven’t even added all the blessings He gives us in our personal, professional, and spiritual lives!
Trust isn’t established in a day, because of our sinful nature. We learned from GA 5: 16-17 that what the flesh and the Spirit want is opposite to or in conflict with each other. To underline in red, we should recall PHIL 4: 19, “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.” If we have allowed ourselves to mature in our faithful obedience to God, then all these wonderful blessings will come our way. Despite our sinful nature, God created us to be capable believers in Christ, thus overcoming that sinful nature. Moreover, COL 3: 13 tells us, “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” If it occurs to each of us to serve Him, and well it should, then we are only doing good deeds that He created us to do [EPH 2: 10]. With all the blessings He has given us in the past, is giving us now, and will give us in the future, we are giving our loving God His due!
PRAYER: O Lord, the difficulty some of us have in trusting God is our sin keeping us apart from Him. The Lord Jesus had some wise words of advice for us, in JN 14: 1, “Don’t be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in Me.” Dearest Lord, we can rest easy knowing that Your Son, Jesus, is strong enough to carry any load we have. Easter is a cherished holiday, the most cherished one I personally commemorate each year. I asked You that Saturday before it, when my traditionally Jewish relatives were planning a seder [ritual meal recalling the exodus of the ancient Jewish slaves from Egypt at Passover] that night. [This story is told in EX 12: 1-42]. We had three troubling problems that day, the first two with our car away from home, and the last one what appeared to be our hotel on fire that night after the seder. I asked You to give my son and I the faith and wherewithal to work through these problems. You delivered, protecting us from the difficulties and danger in which we found ourselves. Repeatedly, You provided for us and protected us. MAL 3: 6, “I am the Lord, and I do not change; and you, children of Jacob, have not perished.” How grateful we all are and how richly You deserve our praise and thanks! In the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ, we offer this prayer. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: “Trusting God 3” is next week’s devotion, because this subject is so important for us to learn and to our lives eternally. These are hard lessons for us but they can be done. PS 9: 10, “Those who know Your name trust You because You have not abandoned any who seek You, Lord.” The day before Easter, we had three contingencies which put us in danger and called for my son and I to work our way through them. My son used his head and worked through each contingency. That I did the praying. That night we attended a seder at our relatives’ home. Easter morning, my son and I attended services at Christ Lutheran Church in Santa Clarita, CA—part of the greater Los Angeles area. We were warmly welcomed to that church and made to feel as if we were a part of it. And yes, we sang our Lord’s richly deserved praises and thanks. These things we will spend our lives saying and meaning to the Lord!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2023. All Rights Reserved.
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