2023-08-11
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Today’s topic is: How may we have peace, in aloneness, provision, storm, while we wait for God to respond, during times of sadness and tears, and at the time of physical death? We must understand that reconciliation with God is a necessary ingredient of peace. Jesus Christ is God’s second personality, the One the Father put in charge of redemption. The latter was needed because we humans inherited sinfulness from the original sin of Adam and Eve, in addition to our own sins. This leads us to the question: How is the Lord Jesus qualified to make our reconciliation with God possible? COL 1: 15, “Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God; the Firstborn of all creation.” This clearly identifies Him as God’s second personality, that of the One and only God. DT 6: 4-5 tells us, “Here, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.” The “Firstborn of all creation,” tells us that the Father decided to create the earth and the heavens, and that Jesus was appointed to do the work of creation. COL 1: 19-20, really nails this down. “For God was pleased the have all his fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.” For those who have some familiarity with the book of Revelation, they can read and understand the Lamb [Jesus] was the only one qualified to open the scroll with the seven seals [the scroll that when opened began the process of the judgments to follow that would eventually lead to the consummation of every prophecy of His Lordship and eventual victory over evil].
Now, to what the Holy Spirit gives me to write about those circumstances in italics above. 1) aloneness as opposed to loneliness is what Jesus craved when He sought remote places to pray. Jesus prayed for all of us, as in JN 17: 23, “I in them and You in Me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.” He prayed for His disciples, for example right after He fed the five thousand. MT 14: 23, “After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.” Jesus prayed just before making His atoning sacrifice in the Garden of Gethsemane, in LK 22: 42, “Father, if You are willing take this cup from Me, yet not My will but Yours be done.” No doubt, there were times when Jesus prayed in the temple too. MK 14: 58, “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.”
Times when we need provision provide another source of stress. Before the advent of modern farming and husbandry, people couldn’t make sure that families and individuals had sufficient nutrients and water to sustain good health and life itself were serious problems. In some countries even today, these problems persist due to famine, war, and other causes. I shutter to think of starvation in some African countries this year, due to Putin’s shut down of Ukrainian food exports. The same can be said in Niger and Haiti. MT 6: 33, “But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” PS 34: 10, “The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” We need to understand that every good thing in our lives originates with our Lord. This includes the peace and confidence we have as believers in Jesus Christ.
Few of us have ever endured the kind of weather the world has had this year. Human habits have a large part in it, and we are only now awakening to this reality. Of course, there were incidents of bad weather that probably led to deaths in the past, but nothing like the horrendous, pounding rainstorms leading to floods, fires from drought and heat, hail as big as baseballs falling, tornados, and hurricanes of the present year. We have never seen the polar ice calving and melting at this rate, and that doesn’t even mention the loss of habitats for plants and animals. Could it be that we are reaching close to the end- times? Only the Lord can answer that question. Is there time for mankind to reverse the dangerous trends we are experiencing? The story of Jesus calming the storm, from LK 8: 22-25, which I hope you will read, gives us insight into the power He possesses. Our faith is truly being tested.
PRAYER: O Lord, You, [Jesus] asked Your disciples, “Where is your faith” after You got up in the boat and rebuked the wind. You can calm our storms for us, perhaps as an answer to prayer for ways to live “green” in our time. MT 14: 32-33 is yet another account of You [Jesus] walking on water and calming a storm after rescuing Peter, who tried to join You and lost faith. You have the power to do whatever You want. IS 46: 9-10, “I am God and there is no other; I am God and there is none like Me; I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’” We bow to that purpose knowing full well that it is in our best eternal interests. We thank and praise You for the many blessings of intervention in our lives that You give us. In Christ’s holy/mighty name, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: The Holy Spirit has more to give us on waiting patiently for God’s response to our prayers, carrying us through times of sadness and tears, and at the time of a physical death, either ours or that of someone close to us. There are times when something painful is to be anticipated, and yet we seek after peace. I’m in such a time now, as I anticipate major surgery coming up. However, during a time of prayer, the Lord has reminded me that I can place this burden on His shoulders and that He will take me through it. I am reminded of MT 11: 28-30, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” That is our Lord, proving that He will never abandon us in our time of need. 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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