2023-05-19
Good Morning Dear Ones,
I’m commanded by the Holy Spirit to continue writing about trusting God. He has a lot to say about this subject, because it is so important to both us and Him. The story of the transfiguration is compelling indeed. MT 17: 7-8, “But Jesus came and touched them. ‘Get up,’ He said, ‘Don’t be afraid.’ When they looked up, they [the disciples] they saw no one except Jesus.” This exchange happened at the time of the Transfiguration-that unique event in which Jesus engaged with Peter, James, and John (the brother of James, both sons of Zebedee). The Lord had led them up on a high mountain. There Peter, James, and John saw Christ transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun and His clothing became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus. At this sight, our impetuous friend, Peter, questioned the wisdom of staying there, and he came up with the idea that if Christ agreed, they should put up a shelter for each of the three of these surprising sights. A bright cloud covered Himself, Moses and Elijah, and the disciples were terrified. A voice from the cloud said, “This is My Son, in Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him" [MT 17: 1-6]. Later, Jesus, beginning in MT 17: 11, tells them to keep this experience confidential. Surely Elijah will come and restore all things; Elijah had already come, and the people did not recognize who he really is and that he was obedient to God, just as the Son of Man is. Then, the disciples understood that He was talking about John, the Baptist [MT 17: 11-13]. Every so often, we as readers of the Bible are invited to see glimpses of supernatural events or circumstances that require the Holy Spirit’s intervention for us to understand; the Transfiguration is one of them. Another happens in a supernatural response to long-standing prayers by Daniel. The latter had a vision and Israel’s guardian archangel, Michael, appeared to him. Michael had been engaging in spiritual warfare with the Prince of the Persian Kingdom, and that fight delayed Michael from answering Daniel’s prayer [DN 10: 11-21]. Daniel had also responded with terror originally, but at the end of the vision, which only Daniel had seen, he was told that God esteemed him and his prayers had been heard.
Both of these events in the Scriptures tell us some important reasons for being trustful of God. The things Jesus and the prophet teach us are true, and we should trust that God loves the humble, faithful, and obedient believers and teaches only the truth [HE 4: 12]. We should also have faith in God’s power to do good things to us and for us. Another supernatural event with at least 500 witnesses who saw Jesus leading up to it was when He was risen. Christ’s resurrection had been prophesied throughout the OT. Christ had been scourged, mocked, crucified, and buried in the tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea Mary Magdalene had come upon the tomb with its heavy, round stone door rolled open the day after it had been closed. She peeked in and found the tomb empty with Christ’s linens carefully folded on the seat where His body had lain [JN 20: 11-18]. Mary saw a while-clad figure standing near the tomb, whom she thought was a gardener. She reached out to him, not recognizing Him at first. And, He drew away saying she shouldn’t touch Him, because He hadn’t yet ascended. Then Mary Magdalene ran to tell the other disciples Who they had seen. By that time, Jesus had said Who He was and to told them He is the risen Lord. Shortly after His resurrection and return to earth, He ascended before their very eyes, but not before He instructed the Holy Spirit to come as the believers’ Counselor [MT 28: 1-13; LK 24: 6-8; JN 14: 14-16; RO 8: 1, 26-27; AC 1: 1-9; 1 COR 15: 2-4]. We are given remarkable motivation to trust in the Lord, but still, we resist due to our inherent sinful and skeptical natures.
PRAYER: O Lord, our inherently sinful and skeptical natures make it hard to accept parts of the Scriptures, particularly the supernatural events. There is nothing wrong with questioning these things, as we are students, but we must eventually come to the point of acceptance due to our Lord’s record of telling the truth and keeping His promises. It pleases You when we ask intelligent questions, come to carefully and prayerfully considered conclusions, and have the self-discipline to persevere in our studies. As time goes on and we become ever-close to knowing the Lord, it becomes increasingly difficult to deny the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our relationship with You is meant to have a resounding impact on our lives. Our ethical qualities, our acceptance of JN 13: 34-35-the new commandment, and our commitment to establish both a vertical relationship with You and a horizontal relationship with other people are measures of how important it has become to us to please You. We offer you thanks and praise for all the blessings our faith in You brings to us. In the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: All that the Holy Spirit is bringing to us on learning to trust God suggests how important this topic is to Him, and thus for us. Next week, God’s Spirit commands me to continue writing about trusting God. Like anything of true value to us, it doesn’t come easily and must be allowed time and persistence in study, to develop it. No reliance on other people can match up with that on God. The classic HE 11: 1 definition of faith “[the confidence in what we hope for and assurance of what we do not see]” rarely can be put in physical terms. Rather it normally deals with intangible phenomena. We will begin with the story of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus to show how trusting God impacts behavior. If space permits, we will look at the Stephen ministry program and how it affects those involved in it, as an example. In the meanwhile, consider how our God-given skills are designed to be used for serving God and benefitting/growing the set of all who believe in Jesus Christ. Praise and thanks be to Him.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2023. All Rights Reserved.
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