2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Our Lord has placed His footsteps in the sand for us to follow. When we do follow them, we find ourselves picked up and carried in His loving arms. The path He is taking me on continues through more wonderful “how to” Scriptures on being “new creations in Him.” COL 3: 8, “But now you must get rid of all these things: anger, passion, and hateful feelings. No insults or obscene talk must ever come from your lips.” That’s a tall order, and the Lord knows it. Yet, He never asks us to do anything that isn’t in our best interests. I keep going back to one of the most difficult lessons Christ has for us. That is the lesson in MT 6: 43-48, the central point of which is found in (44), “But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” There are times, particularly with this lesson, when I can’t help but ask Him, “Lord, why can’t you give us something that is easier to do?” When someone or some group is acting outright ugly toward you, you want to strike back in anger. Yet, here is the Lord asking you to pray for them. In His wisdom though, he knows that your prayers are the most powerful weapon against the work of the devil that we have. We underestimate that often. We must live with the reality that God has three answers for our prayers: “yes,”” no,” and “maybe later.” So herein, we are being asked to trust in the Lord’s wisdom, and to know that His answer, no matter what it is, is always the right one. By obeying the Lord’s will not to strike back in anger, we are drawing ourselves closer to the model He set for us in Jesus Christ, the model of Godly obedience. We let God’s sovereignty to deal with the wrongdoers reign as it should. We don’t try to usurp it.One last comment before moving on: as a person who writes, I know the power words can have. We can use them for God’s purposes or for the devil’s. When we consider that, we might think twice before we cuss. Believe me, I’m speaking to myself as well as you. I was raised with three older brothers, so there aren’t many of those little four-letter words I haven’t learned. My father was a wise man when he placed a “swear box” on the table into which our hard-earned allowance had to go when we weren’t careful about which words we chose. When things really got bad, he would make the offender suck on a bar of soap. Now, that’s nasty! I can’t report on his total success in this effort. But, I will tell you that none of my brothers nor I can be branded as foul-mouthed. The Holy Spirit does let me know in no uncertain terms when I have an occasional lapse, and thankfully there have been many fewer of them lately. But I know there is still room for improvement. Oh how the Lord asks us to examine ourselves against the Ideal He has given us!Now, let’s look at another important issue raised in COL 3: 9-11. “Do not lie to one another, for you have put off the old self with its habits and have put on the new self. This is the new being which God, it’s Creator, is constantly renewing in His own image, in order to bring you to a full knowledge of Himself. As a result there is no longer any distinction between Gentiles and Jews, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarians, savages, salves and free men, but Christ is all, Christ is in all.” God has a very important purpose. It is to break down the man-made barriers that people erect between each other. I have spoken about this in a previous message in the context of the social rank of prestige given one occupation over another. Now, it needs to be seen from the point of view of the barriers between one ethnic group for another. God’s perspective on this has always been that He wants each person without regard to his nationality, ethnicity, or language to come to Christ and to be a part of the Body of Christ. When we looked at RO 12, we saw that God’s perspective is that no one person’s talent is more important than another, and that each person is needed to unify and edify the Body of Christ. God’s perspective flies in the face of man’s prejudices. I am no more important to God because I’m Jewish than another believer who comes from another group. We all share the same responsibilities and the same privileges given to us by God’s grace.God hates lying, and there is an important reason why. People who lie can’t “guard the treasure entrusted” as we have been charged to do in 2 TIM 1: 13- 14. Let me share these important words as they appear in my Bible. “Hold firmly to the true word that I [Paul] have taught you [Timothy], as the example for you to follow, and remain in the faith and love that are ours in union with Christ Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Who lives in us, guard the treasure that has been entrusted to you.” That treasure, Dear Ones, is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When we were given the great commission in MT 28: 19-20, we were told to spread the Gospel. While the apostle, John, was speaking about the prophecies of the book of Revelation in REV 22: 18-19, his words really apply to everything in the entire Bible. “If anyone adds anything to these words, God will add to his punishment the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes anything away from the words of this book, God will take away from him his share of the fruit of the tree of life, and of the Holy City, which is described here.” In other words, we are to spread the Gospel totally and accurately. Liars can’t do that. You already know that lies lead to pain in people’s lives. JN 8: 32, “So Jesus said to those who believed in Him, ‘If you obey My teachings, you are really My disciples; you will know the truth and truth will set you free.’“PRAYER: O Lord, We are “new creations in Christ.” You command us to get rid of anger, passions, and obscene words from our lives. And, You teach us to be truthful. All of these directions are for our good as You polish our rough surfaces in preparation for us to experience the joy of eternal fellowship with You. By giving us these commands, You prepare us to do Your work. Help us to understand what a great honor that is, so that we will be committed to obeying You. For this and all the other aspects of Your presence in our lives, You deserve praise, worship, adoration, honor, and glory. We are fully served by desiring nothing more than to be joint-heirs to the Kingdom with Your Son. In His name, amen.Tomorrow, the Lord continues to lead me on the path through COL 3 for more direction on how to be a “new creation in Christ.” I hope you are feeling as blessed as I do in receiving this Godly perspective on our lives. I know in my heart that our Lord values each and every one of us. So, bask in that love today and always. Peter and I also send you our love too.Grace Be With You Always,Lynn <-- Back to Archives