Rock of my Salvation...

My lovingkindness and my fortress, My high tower and my deliverer, My shield and the One in whom I take refuge,—Psalm 144:2a

God is my lovingkindness (my steadfast love, my mercy). God is my fortress (my castle, my defense, my stronghold). God is my high tower ( my high place, my retreat).  God is my deliverer (my escape). God is my shield (my buckler, my protector, my defense). God is He in whom I take refuge (He is the One to whom I flee to for protection and He is the One in whom I place my trust). 

My God in His steadfast love will make me look in triumph on my enemies. O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me lovingkindness. You are my rock in whom I take refuge.  He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."  My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart. My God is a righteous judge, and God who feels indignation every day.  I will call upon the LORD who is worthy to be praised. The LORD lives!  Blessed be my Rock!  Let God be exalted, the Rock of my salvation!

By My Spirit...

“This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.—Zechariah 4:6

This word to Zerubbabel was to assure him that he would have an endless supply of the Spirit of God to complete the work of the temple.  Praying that my own heart would receive this word “to Zerubbabel” with meekness.  That I would come away strengthened with wisdom and might through His Spirit in my inner man and ready to obey.  Oh, for a greater dependence on God and a decreased dependence on myself!  Neither human might, wealth or physical strength is gonna be sufficient to get me through this vale of tears.  This is so hard for me to learn. Even though I know intellectually that I have an abundant supply of His Spirit to carry me through each day, my heart’s natural bent is to trust in me...in my power...in my ability...in my resources.  Weakness then for me is a good thing.  I can rejoice in it, because it forces me to look to my God for help.  In trusting myself,  I miss out on seeing the power of His Spirit in my life.  I miss out on what He has for me, because I am rejecting the help of the Spirit of God.  Think about that for a second!  Even saved with the evidence of His lovingkindness surrounding me, my heart STILL rebels and fights against Him.   No good comes of it and yet I return to that same wall over and over again.  How silly and foolish we are when we contend with our Maker.  Praying that this morning, as I leave my chair and enter in to the “real” world filled with curve balls, trials and challenges, that I can be a light to my family and others, not in my own strength, but by the abundant supply and operation of His Spirit in my life.  

Including some cross-reference verses that I found helpful to read.  

2 Chronicles 14:11 (KJV)

11 And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, [it is] nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou [art] our God; let not man prevail against thee.

Isaiah 30:1 (KJV)

1 Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:

Isaiah 32:15 (KJV)

15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.

Isaiah 63:10-14 (KJV)

10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, [and] he fought against them. 11 Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, [and] his people, [saying], Where [is] he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where [is] he that put his holy Spirit within him? 12 That led [them] by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name? 13 That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, [that] they should not stumble? 14 As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name.

1 Corinthians 2:4,5 (KJV)

4 And my speech and my preaching [was] not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

2 Corinthians 10:4,5 (KJV)

4 (For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

2 Chronicles 32:7,8 (KJV)

7 Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that [is] with him: for [there be] more with us than with him: 8 With him [is] an arm of flesh; but with us [is] the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

Psalm 20:6-8 (KJV)

6 Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand. 7 Some [trust] in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. 8 They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.

Psalm 33:16,20,21 (KJV)

16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. 20 Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he [is] our help and our shield. 21 For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.

Psalm 44:3-7 (KJV)

3 For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them. 4 Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob. 5 Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us. 6 For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me. 7 But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us.

Perseverance and Preservation of the Saints...

He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.—Revelation 13:10

Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus—Revelation 14:12

Though the saints in the time of the end are viciously attacked by the Antichrist and his minions they patiently (steadfastly, constantly) endure. Believers are to accept persecution and suffering and endure by trusting and depending on Jesus to see them through.  When I think of suffering like that my soul shrinks in fear.  Would my heart remain faithful in the midst of that kind of suffering?  My comfort here, as in everything else, is in the word of God.  Our God loves us with an everlasting love and has drawn us to Himself in lovingkindness. The Bible tells us that His grace is sufficient and that when we are weak, He is strong. He is our sufficiency.  Our victory is NOT of us.  It is of Him.  This is called the doctrine of endurance which assures all believers that they will never lose their faith.  Those who are truly born again will continually endure, right up to the end, in obedience to His truth, come what may.  Why?  Because He is the One that preserves them through.  God, by His own power through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, keeps the believer forever. This AWESOME and COMFORTING truth is spoken in Ephesians 1:13-14.  Believers are “sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchase possession, to the praise of His glory.”  Believers are eternally secure because God is eternally faithful. 

I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. (Jeremiah 32:40, ESV)

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.  I and the Father are one." (John 10:27-30, ESV)

But the one who endures to the end will be saved. (Matthew 24:13, ESV)

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:4-5, ESV)

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6, ESV)

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?  Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.  Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:

“For Your sake we are killed all day long;

We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.—Romans 8:31-39

We Have an Advocate...

Revelation 12:7-10.  And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.  Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 

There is a spiritual battle and it has been going on since the fall of Satan.  (See Daniel 10:13 and Jude 9)  The battle in heaven is intensifying perhaps reflecting the chaos and tribulation occurring below in the earthly realm.  Job 1:6 and 2:1 tell us that although Satan was cast down from heaven, he still has access to it.  His access will be denied here in Revelation 12 forevermore. All days in heaven are good ones but maybe this will be a paricularly good day. 

Satan is not our friend...He is called the accuser of the brethren. He may appear as an angel of light but his desire is for the destruction of mankind.   Satan has been described biblically as the serpent, the adversary, the devil, the prince of demons, the unclean spirit, the evil one, the author of all evil, a murderer and the father of all lies, the prince of this world, a demon, the god of this world, Belial, the prince of the power of the air, the angel of the abyss, the great red dragon, the accuser of the brethren and the dragon, the serpent of old. 

Fortunately, we have an advocate, Jesus Christ, who ceaselessly intercedes for us before the throne of God.  

Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.--Hebrews 7:25

and from Romans 8... 

Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.--Romans 8:33-34

Praising Jesus for His unchangeable priesthood and looking forward to the time when Satan is cast down forever and quelled permanently!!

Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 

How was the dragon overcome?  The same way we overcome...by the blood of the lamb.  We claim the victory that was won at the cross.  By our testimony for Christ...our belief and our obedience to the word.  And lastly we live our lives for Him not for ourselves.  

Search Me and Know my Heart...

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.—Psalm 139:23-24

As a younger Christian I literally winced when I prayed this kind of searching prayer.  My heart really didn’t want to know.  I was afraid of the increased trials that might come my way in order to refine and purify my heart.  There were also probably things in my life that maybe I wasn’t quite ready to give up or to put under His scrutinizing eye.  I am now a pretty much a search and scrutinize away kinda person.  Lord...show me my sin...I WANT to know when I am in the wrong and not walking according to Your commandments.  My heart takes comfort in knowing my God sees me...all of me.  The good, the bad and the ugly. I am greatly comforted that He knows every one of my thoughts...that He watches over me and is ALWAYS with me.  I am me, and I often don’t understand me!   I am so grateful that HE does.  He knows the way I take.  He leads me.  His plans for me are good.  I want to walk in the right way.  I don’t want to have to go the long way around.  I want to go in the “way everlasting”...the way that is pleasing to God and profitable for me.  The way that ends in awaking in His likeness and living in His Presence forever.  

Jesus Loves Me to Perfection...

The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.—Psalm 138:8

The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.  (Psalms 138:8, ESV)

I love that what concerns me, concerns my God, also!  I am so thankful for this assurance, because there are times in my life that I wonder (wrongly) if “I” am truly fulfilling my God’s purpose.  My pride goes before me and my eyes look at my circumstances and I become restless.  Lies from the enemy invade my thoughts making it difficult to discern truth.   All I see is me...my faithless, fearful thoughts have dethroned my God.   I have increased...He has decreased.  When my eyes are clouded with me, I see nothing as it really is.  I begin to disparage the good work He is doing in me...have “I” or am “I” really making any impactful difference anywhere?  Beloved, it is so hard to “see” God working in our life as we wade through all the dailiness of it.   Be assured, His promises are true. He is intimately acquainted with all our ways.  He knows the way we take.  There is no where you or I can go to flee from Him.  He WILL have His way in each of us and fulfill all His purpose.  He WILL complete that good work He began in us and bring it to completion.  What is our job, then?  We are to abide...to cling to Him and live moment by daily moment depending on His grace and strength to see us through.  He gave His Son to save us...He WILL give us everything we need.  Behold Him in all that you “see” today and give Him thanks because His steadfast love endures forever and ever.  My life here is a testimony to His mercy and grace. Whatever good is in me is all Him.  It is Him that works in me both to do and to will for His good pleasure.  My Jesus loves me to the end...to perfection.  He will NOT forsake the work of His hands.  

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!

For my soul trusts in You;

And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,

Until these calamities have passed by.

I will cry out to God Most High,

To God who performs all things for me.—Psalm 57:1-2

Faith Living...

“Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.—Habakkuk 2:4

Obviously, the “proud” here refers to the King of Babylon and the Chaldeans and the “just”to the believing remnant of Israel.  The former would die in their pride and the latter live...by their faith.  God differentiates between the wicked and the righteous. The wicked are puffed up trusting in themselves.  The righteous live by faith trusting God moment by moment.  The literal rendering in Habakkuk's context, is "By his faith the just shall live." It could also be paraphrased "the justified-by-faith-one shall live." Faith is not a one time act, but a way of life.  The true believer perseveres in faith as the pattern of his life. 

This “faith” living is hard for me.  I find myself going backwards daily...returning to worry and fear rather than trust and faith.  I keep at it though and my perseverance has blessed me in that I am beginning to feel a  sweet joyful peace and sense of relief as I cast the burdens that He has allowed in my life back on Him who promises to sustain me through them all.  I come to Him when I am laboring and heavy laden and He truly does give me rest.  He is a gentle Savior.  His yoke is easy and His burden light.  

God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.—1 Peter 5:5b-7

As we see at the end of Chapter 3 this kind “faith living” triumphs! Praying that we, like Habakkuk, can trust in God and go in His strength.  

Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls—18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19 The LORD God* is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills. To the Chief Musician. With my stringed instruments.—Habakkuk 3:17-19

Paul’s attitude in Philippians 4 also comes to mind:

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things.—Philippians 4:4-8

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christfn who strengthens me.—Philippians 4:11-13

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.—Philippians 4:19-20

My God Knows Me....

The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him.—Nahum 1:7

As I read the Book of Nahum last night, my heart kept returning to this verse.  The LORD IS good...a stronghold in the day of trouble...and He KNOWS  those who trust in Him.  Verse 7 stands as an oasis of comfort and consolation not only for the people of Judah but for you and I as well.  It is a jewel hidden amidst the doom foretold against the Assyrians and stands in stark contrast to the rest of the book. 

I took this verse to heart last night by memorizing it.  It is a perfect “go to” verse when the world begins to tilt and spin.  We who love Him “see” His goodness.  We “see” as Ezra says the good and gracious hand of our God upon us.  The LORD Himself is our stronghold in the day of trouble and where we find our protection.  My God knows me.  He knows that I am His.  He knows the way I take.  He knows my heart and is intimately acquainted with all my ways.  He knows my frame...that I am weak.  He knows what I need.  He knows how to deliver me.   My God knows those who trust Him.  

for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.  (Psalms 1:6, ESV)

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, (John 10:14, ESV)

But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. (1 Corinthians 8:3, ESV)

For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.  (Psalms 100:5, ESV)

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah  (Psalms 46:1-3, ESV)

For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,  (Isaiah 25:4, ESV)

What Does the Lord Require?

"With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 

Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?"  He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?  (Micah 6:6-8, ESV)

Micah’s short and quick response here makes it obvious that they should have known the answer to this one.  So simple and even simpler now from the NT point of view because Jesus demonstrated it moment by moment.  Psalm 85 tells us that righteousness goes before Him and His footsteps are our pathway.  My Beloved wants me...He wants my heart.  He desires the pre-eminence in my life.  I can bring nothing to Him acceptable except  empty hands and a heart filled with love and gratitude for what He has done for me.  When my heart is committed my actions will follow.  

And Samuel said, "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.  (1 Samuel 15:22, ESV)

"And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, (Deuteronomy 10:12, ESV)

And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40, ESV)

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.  (Isaiah 57:15, ESV)

He is Worthy!!

And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.”—Revelation 4:9-11

Worthiness is ALL of Him!  The twenty four elders who represent all the redeemed of God, throw their victory crowns back at His feet because all their achievements point back to Him and are from Him.  Without Him we can do nothing.  I like the KJV of verse 11 best. It reads:

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

It reminds me that I was created by Him for His pleasure.  My life is not my own.  It belongs to Him who sits on the throne and lives forever and ever.  

Have Thine own way Lord

Have Thine own way

Thou art the potter I am the clay

Mold me and make me after Thy will

While I am waiting yielded and still

Have Thine own way Lord

Have Thine own way

Search me and try me Master today

Whiter than snow Lord wash me just now

As in Thy presence humbly I bow

Have Thine own way Lord

Have Thine own way

Hold over my being absolute sway

Filled with Thy spirit till all can see

Christ only always living in me

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Pollard Stebbins

Have Thine Own Way, Lord lyrics © Hope Publishing Company

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1, ESV)

For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.  The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.  (Psalms 33:9-11, ESV)

"Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. (Acts 14:15, ESV)

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, (Ephesians 1:11, ESV)

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!"  (Revelation 5:11-12,  ESV)

To Him Who Overcomes...

To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.—Revelation 3:21

Jesus’ humility to us, His creatures, is always astounding to me.  Jesus overcame the world and sat down with His Father on His throne, and He promises that we will do similarly!!  He gives this precious promise to all who hold fast to what they have and persevere...to all who overcome this world by faith.  As believers, we are already overcomers and conquerors through Him who loved us.  The end has already been written.  We WILL sit on His throne with Him and with Him rule and reign!  Revelation 2:26-28 tells us:

The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star. 

The Morning Star (Jesus) has already dawned in our hearts (2 Peter 2:19) but someday we will have Him in all His fullness.  We will be clothed in white garments and our names will never be blotted out of the book of life. 

Believers will be pillars in the temple of God and enjoy an unshakable, eternal, secure place in His presence.  In that day, He will write on us His name.  According to John MacArthur, in Biblical times, one’s name spoke of his character. Writing His name on us then means imprinting  His character on us and identifying us as belonging to him.  ❤️❤️

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18, ESV)

Without Love, I Am Nothing...

Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.—Amos 3:7

I read this in Amos this morning and as I read Revelation 2, it was clear that God still warns His people before judgment comes.  (Revelation 2:4-5)

1. “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: 'The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

2 "'I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.

3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary.

4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. (Revelation 2:1-5, ESV)

God warned the Church at Ephesus that if they did not repent and do the works they did at first, He would remove their lampstand.  To be a Christian is to first and foremost love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.  1 Corinthians 16:13-14 says this:

Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.

Let all that you do be done with love.

Yes, we are to do all for which the Church at Ephesus was commended.  They watched.  They were brave and strong. Truly as the KJV says they, “quit like men.”  Their doctrine, their moral purity, their zeal for the truth and their disciplined service, were however, no substitute for the love of their Savior which they had abandoned.  As believers, love for God must define us and characterize all we do and say.  The Ephesians church was missing this key ingredient.  Love for Christ was no longer the motivating force behind their works.  They had become “clanging symbols” because without His love we are nothing and can do nothing good.  

If I feel myself going awry during the day, it is ALWAYS helpful for me to remember love. Love never fails because love is of God.  When we walk in love, we walk effectively not only temporally but also eternally.  I love thinking on that.  Loving others with God’s love has eternal consequences.   God’s  love reaches beyond this world and into eternity.  

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.—1 Corinthians 13:2

Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.  For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,”“You shall not covet,”fn and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.—Romans 13:8-10

Who Will Give That there May Be Such a Heart In Them?

“Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” 13 So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.  Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him—Joel 1:12-14

These verses from Joel brought this verse from Deuteronomy 5 to mind:

Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever! --Deuteronomy 5:29

That is God's heart for us. He wants our hearts to be completely His.  When this is the case, He knows it will be well with us forever.  As a mom I can so understand those words.  I want it to be well with my children and my grand children forever. I want them to walk with their God in truth. I know that the best life they can live is one lived in the will of God.  One lived for Him. There is no better or safer place.  The language of the original is emphatic: "Mee yittain wehayah levavom zeh lahem", literally, "Who will give that there may be such a heart in them?"  They refuse to receive such a heart from me, who then can supply it?

No truer words were ever spoken. A changed heart is a miracle from God.  We must be willing to receive it.  Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem knowing the fate it would suffer a short 70 years after His crucifixion. He wanted to gather His children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but they were not willing!  I am so thankful that our God pursues us relentlessly.  He is not willing that any should perish but that all should have life in His name.  

No Greater Joy...

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.—3 John 1:4

"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you? (Luke 6:46, ESV). 

There is something that goes right to our heart and fills us with joy when someone treats our words with respect and obeys them from a pure heart of love.  Conversely, there is sadness when someone professes to care about our words, but walk in a way that belies them. According to John MacArthur, the word “my” is emphatic in the original.  The apostle’s heart had a deep affection for his spiritual children and delighted when they walked in truth....when their conduct was becoming of their position in Christ.  Those who walk in the truth...in belief...have integrity; there is no contrast between professing and living. When our own children display their love through their obedience to us and to the truth of God, our own hearts fill with joy. 

Ending with some exhortations from Paul’s epistles.  He expressed similar sentiments and desires for his spiritual children. 

14 I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children.

15 For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

16 I urge you, then, be imitators of me.—1 Corinthians 4:14-16, ESV

11 For you know how, like a father with his children,

12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.—1 Thessalonians 2:11-12, ESV

6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you-

7 for this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith.

8 For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord.

9 For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God,

10 as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?—1 Thessalonians 3:6-10, ESV

Loving Others in Truth...

To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all those who have known the truth, because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever:—2 John 1-2

And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another.  This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.—2 John 5-6

There are so many ways that the world loves, but what does it mean to love in truth?  Loving in truth, as verse 5 tells us, is walking in accordance to the commandments of God.  Loving this way, then,has eternal effects because truth is eternal.  It abides in us and is with us forever.  God is love so when we love in truth, we love as He loves.  Romans 13 says it perfectly...

Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.  For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,”“You shall not covet,”and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.—Romans 13:8-10

Loving someone in the truth of God is loving them unselfishly and seeking the best for them.  It is walking according to His commandments and being continually guided by His precepts. The best commentary on loving in truth is found in 1 Corinthians 13...I end with it. 

4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;

5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;

6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;

7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never fails.—1 Corinthians 13:1-8b

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.—Col 3:16

Overcomers...

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith.  Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:4-5, ESV)

As I read these two verses this morning from 1 John 5,  I was reminded of the following verses from Romans 5 which speak of our faith as the conduit to the grace of God in which we stand.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.—Romans 5:1-2

By His grace through faith, I have been born again of God...born not for this world but for another.  I am now at peace with God and justified before Him, because God has imputed Christ’s righteousness to my account.  I am an overcomer!  I STAND...I ABIDE...I AM PERMANENTLY FIXED IN...His wonderful realm of grace.  It is in this place of His unmerited favor and forgiveness of sin that I live, move and have my being.   My peace and my access into this grace is purely and completely based on Christ’s finished work on the cross.  When I sin, this grace upon which I stand provides me with complete forgiveness, because Christ has paid my penalty in full.

My ultimate destiny is to share in the very glory of God. I rejoice in this hope because it is sure and certain, my Jesus secures it.  As believers our access to God and to our eternal home in heaven with Him is through our faith in Jesus Christ.  God gives us the victory over this world through our union with His Son. We are now children of God and He Who is in us is greater than he who is in the world. (Satan and all his allies).  According to John MacArthur, the word “overcomes” in the original language conveys the idea that the believer has continual victory over the world.  That is such good news.  We stand before God victorious in an atmosphere of grace....All because of what Christ has done.

No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. (1 John 3:9, ESV)

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33, ESV)

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:57-58, ESV)

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; (Ephesians 6:16, ESV)