2023-12-22
Good Morning Dear Ones,
After reviewing the supernatural events that happened at the end of Christ’s first advent on earth, His appearances to over 500 of His followers and His Ascension to the Father’s side in heaven, we began looking at the lessons for faith in them and their significance to us. 1) Gaining the Lord’s perspective is something we get from understanding them and from carefully studying the Scriptures over time. 2) We can’t help but understand that our Lord Jesus wants us to have an active relationship with Him. This means for us to enter into the New Covenant or Covenant of Grace. He promises to love, protect, heal, provide for, be faithful to, help us, comfort, direct and correct, be merciful and compassionate to, listen to our prayers, teach, guide, give us hope, be a Resident in our homes, reward righteousness bringing out our best, reveal truth, bless, reveal Himself in our daily lives, dispel confusion and doubt, forgive, be generous, renew and refresh our lives, perform occasional miracles, give us rest, instill us with joy, and most important of all-- show us how to eventually gain eternal life with Him in heaven. God sacrificed His only Son, Jesus Christ, so that we could be saved, eternally forgiven, and justified in His sight.
The other part of the New Covenant is what we are to do. God wants us to find and exclude sin from our lives. We do this with introspective thinking and with prayers of confession to Him. He wants to know if we are doing what is necessary to be ever closer to Him. Prayer is critical to this process. God wants to hear from us and know the state of purity of our motives. He teaches us what love is, eg 1 COR 13: 4-8a. As the Bible progresses from the OT to the NT, we see increasingly clear prophecies of what is to come. 1 COR 13: 12-13 is very important to us. “For now, we see only a reflection in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain, faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” This strongly implies that we should be Christ-like, people of peace, mutual respect, loving, forgiving, etc. There are many aspects to our relationship with God, and a particularly salient part of us is our understanding that He is the greater, smarter, more dominant Leader in it, i.e. we must yield to Him.
3) An active prayer life matters tremendously. Prayer is communication with God, two-way communication. Often, it’s accomplished corporately in places of worship or in smaller groups. But our main form of prayer is accomplished in privacy—just between God and ourselves. Some churches have a “prayer closet” for this purpose; most of the time it’s in the privacy of our homes. My experience shows me that the more mature one is spiritually, the more he feels God’s constant presence. Effective prayer is not only asking for what is wanted. It is listening actively for God’s responses. One should acknowledge his history with God, what God does or His attributes, confess sin, ask for needs (as opposed to wants), consider the needs of others, and offer thanks, loyal, glory, and praise. God wants to know that we understand He is the One and Only God. PS 5: 1, “O Lord, hear me praying; listen to my plea, O God my King, for I will never pray to anyone but You.” Because I love to knit and crochet, I’ve made many prayer shawls, the modern Christian form of a tallit (prayer shawl worn in Jewish worship). Donning it makes me feel that God is giving me a hug. It is so comforting to me to know that God listens to our prayers and the Lord Jesus is our Advocate [1 JN 2: 1-2]. Since God’s time is different that ours, [2 PET 3: 8-9] there is no promise that God will answer every prayer we offer when we want it, but God does select a time to reply that will maximize the good it will do. One amazing answer comes from Jesus in JN 15: 7, “If you remain in Me and My words in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
PRAYER: O Most Holy One, You never abandon us and we need never feel we must deal with our trials, illnesses, disappointments, or losses alone. You are a wise God, One Who wants what is in our best interests for us. Your Son, Jesus Christ, freely gave His physical life on the cross so that we could choose to live righteously in Your sight and gain eternal life. This remarkable act of sacrificial atonement shows an unselfish love for Your human creation unparalleled in mankind’s history. We can never do anything like this, and all You ask is that we have obedient faithfulness to You. Our relationship with You is a blessing and is transformative in all the ways that make eternal life of our spirits possible. We thank You and praise You for the open, two-way channel of prayer available to us. We love You for caring about all our cares. You are our Kinsman-Redeemer, and we pledge You our loyalty. Please continue to intervene in our lives to bring us ever closer to You, in the hoy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I find myself knee-deep in the rich and wonderful lessons that arise out of true faith in the supernatural qualities of our amazing God. There are so many more than I have discussed in the first two devotions in the subseries (last week and this week). So, at the behest of the Holy Spirit, next week’s devotion will have more of these valuable takeaways. Can’t help loving the paths on which the Holy Spirit takes me! I happen to be writing today’s message on the week of Thanksgiving. Thoughts of how important thanking God for our blessings [1 THESS 5: 16-18] and praying for world peace are running through my mind. He wants us to be aware of what He gives us and is doing for us. I believe peace is His will and feel that if more people had the relationship with Him that He desires, we wouldn’t be caught up in the news of the horrific things that some people do to each other. Please join me in praying for the well-being of those who are suffering and that more people can know the inner joy of an active relationship with our Lord Jesus. 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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