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)

No One Has Seen God...

No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. (1 John 4:12, ESV)

This verse is short, beautiful and so convicting.  I have read it often, but I have to admit I never really understood why the first part of verse 12 was even there.  Um...yes, no one has seen God at anytime, but what does that have to do with us loving one another.  Dawn broke!  EVERYTHING!  

Verse 7 tells us that love originated with God.  Verse 9 that this love was made manifest among us when God sent His only Son into the world that we might live through Him.  Reading Verse 12 again:

No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. (1 John 4:12, ESV)

Verse 12a now makes perfect sense.  God is invisible...no one can see Him loving His people.  Jesus is no longer in the world to make His love manifest, but we, His people, are!  Love is the heart of Christian witness.  Jesus said that love is the main identifying mark of a Christian. (John 13:35)   God sending His son to die for us gave us the opportunity for salvation, but also the obligation to be imitators of Him and follow His pattern of loving others sacrificially.  As His people, we are to demonstrate His love to in our hearts and in our lives.  

By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”—John 13:35

Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.—2 Corinthians 5:18-20

Loving in Deed and in Truth...

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?  My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.—1 John 3:16-18

Paul said this in Philippians 

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.  Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may REJOICE in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.  Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and REJOICE with you all.—Philippians 2:12-18 (emphasis mine)

Paul truly understood the love of God and loved others in deed and in truth.  He viewed his entire life as a drink offering, and here in Philippians 2 it was poured out on the sacrificial service of the Philippians.  An attitude of joy accompanies any genuine, sacrificial Christian service.  That became very evident to me as I read through the following verses connected with sacrificial service and the accompanying attitude of joy that followed.  It is important to note that this joy isn’t drummed up, it is produced by the Holy Spirit as a believer lays down his own will and pours out his life in service to God. 

always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy,—Philippians 1:4

What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.—Philippians 1:18

that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.—Philippians 1:26

Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation.—2 Corinthians 7:4

 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,—Colossians 1:24

therefore, brethren, in all our affliction and distress we were comforted concerning you by your faith. For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord.

For what thanks can we render to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sake before our God,—1 Thessalonians 3:7-9

Living as Christ desires us to live brings joy!  God has built blessings in to our sacrificial service in His name. This is helpful for me to understand and remember, because it encourages my faith in two ways.  It stirs me toward good works and assures my heart before Him as I walk in the rewards that accompany this service. Joy is one of these rewards.  His commandments are not burdensome.  Our obedience to them reflect our love toward God and brings blessing.  One of these blessings is joy.  

looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.—Hebrews 12:2

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,—Hebrews 10:24

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.—Romans 15:13

Unto You I Lift My Eyes...

1 A Song of Ascents.

I will lift up my eyes to the hills--

From whence comes my help?

2 My help comes from the LORD,

Who made heaven and earth.

3 He will not allow your foot to be moved;

He who keeps you will not slumber.

4 Behold, He who keeps Israel

Shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD is your keeper;

The LORD is your shade at your right hand.

6 The sun shall not strike you by day,

Nor the moon by night.

7 The LORD shall preserve you from all evil;

He shall preserve your soul.

8 The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in

From this time forth, and even forevermore.

Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens.  Behold, as the eyes of a servant look to the hand of his master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so MY eyes look to the LORD MY God, until He has mercy on me.  Lift up your eyes, Isaiah says to God on high...He has created the stars and brings out their host by number.  He calls them all by name.   Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one is missing.  Jeremiah reminds us that truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills and from the multitude of mountains...our salvation is in the Lord our God.  God is my helper...I will not fear...God holds my right hand. He is my support.  He will answer me when I cry.  I will walk in the way safely, and my foot shall not stumble, for the LORD is my confidence. My God goes before me and He NEVER slumbers.  He stays awake to guide and guard my path.  He is close by...my shade at my right hand.  Like He was to Israel as they journeyed to the Promised Land, He is to me...a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night. 

They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.—Isaiah 49:10

Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; [nor] for the arrow [that] flieth by day; [Nor] for the pestilence [that] walketh in darkness; [nor] for the destruction [that] wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; [but] it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the LORD, [which is] my refuge, [even] the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.—Psalm 91:5-10

The last verse of this Psalm has always been a favorite of mine.  

The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in

From this time forth, and even forevermore.

Deuteronomy 28 says something similar.  

Blessed [shalt] thou [be] when thou comest in, and blessed [shalt] thou [be] when thou goest out.—Deuteronomy 28:6

So very thankful that He directs and guards my comings and my goings.  Lift up your eyes this morning to the God that is greater than whatever you are facing and greater than anything you can imagine.  See by faith the God who is above the sighs and above the skies, whose care for Your soul is from everlasting to everlasting. 

Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,

Whose hope is in the LORD his God,

6 Who made heaven and earth,

The sea, and all that is in them;

Who keeps truth forever,

7 Who executes justice for the oppressed,

Who gives food to the hungry.

The LORD gives freedom to the prisoners.

8 The LORD opens the eyes of the blind;

The LORD raises those who are bowed down;

The LORD loves the righteous.

9 The LORD watches over the strangers;

He relieves the fatherless and widow;

But the way of the wicked He turns upside down.

10 The LORD shall reign forever--

Your God, O Zion, to all generations.

Praise the LORD!—Psalm 146

Trusting in the Lord...

He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, But he who trusts in the LORD will be prospered.—Proverbs 28:25

When my kids were little, I remember reading the following verse from the book of James. 

Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?—James 4:1

I asked myself,  What causes me to be contentious, impatient or unkind?  The answer came very quickly...when I am not getting what I want....when I am not getting what I think I am owed.  

I can remember spending days after that in this verse and others that spoke to pride and humility.  As a young believer, I loved that God had placed built in rewards for the humble, and I was even thankful for the consequences that were pride’s result.  The battle of my will versus my God’s is always a struggle, but the more I surrender and trust God instead of struggling for myself, the more I see that I am made to prosper or made “fat” as the KJV says.  Struggling for “my”rights or “my” way ALWAYS brings discord, discontent and strife.  I dwell at ease when my heart commits its cause to my God.  So much effort and energy goes into fighting for my way...energy that could be expended in His Spirit for His cause.  God’s people do not have to worry about themselves.  They can focus on others because, as Spurgeon says,  God cares for their “estate.”  Beloved, the Lord brings us forward and the Lord holds us back. Let Him do His perfect work in your life and your heart.  Allow Him full sway.  Live in continual dependence upon your God and His grace.  Find your satisfaction in Him and dwell in ease and fullness of joy.  Now the just shall live by faith, and if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ❤️

Poured Out Love...

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life--the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us--that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.  And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.  This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.—1 John 1:1-5

As I read these words my eyes filled up with tears at the love John, through the inspiration of His Holy Spirit, poured out in this passage.  John was the disciple that Jesus loved and an eyewitness to the physical reality of His humanity and His earthly majesty.  Reading John’s word warms my heart and encourages my faith.  Jesus is not a “made up” person...He is an historical reality.  It is so obvious as I read these verses that John wanted them to produce salvation in his readers.  His words are poured out love pleading with us to hear the Spirit speaking to our hearts. 

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore [you] on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.—2 Corinthians 5:20 

Today is the day of salvation!  Gods does not want any of us, His beloved creatures, to perish but all to come to life in His name.  The God of the Universe wants me to be in fellowship with Him.  He wants ME to be one with Him, in whom there is no darkness at all, now and forever.  This is where our joy will be full both here on earth and in heaven. 

that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (John 17:21, ESV)

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. (John 15:9-11, ESV)

Your Commandments are My Delights....

141 I am small and despised,

Yet I do not forget Your precepts.

142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,

And Your law is truth.

143 Trouble and anguish have overtaken me,

Yet Your commandments are my delights.

144 The righteousness of Your testimonies is everlasting;

Give me understanding, and I shall live.—Psalm 119:141-144

For David the answer to every question and to every situation he faced was ALWAYS the word. What an example for us he was of abiding and clinging to His God no matter his feelings, no matter his circumstances.  David was a man after God’s own heart....one in whom God delighted. He was also, however, small and despised in the eyes of others probably because he WAS beloved of God.  Verse 143 implies that he was miserable as well. Trouble and anguish had taken hold of him, but the Psalmist not only does not forget the commandments of God (vs 141) but ups the ante in verse 143 by saying that they are his delight! 

For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.—2 Corinthians 1:5

The righteousness of God’s  testimonies are everlasting and his word our righteous judge.  His word to us is truth and the Spirit of the law of life in Christ Jesus, brings our will into submission to our Creator’s and enables us to walk as His Spirit directs.

In verse 144 David prays for more grace and understanding to be given him The more time spent in the Word of God, the stronger our desire will be for it.  Beloved, if you desire a heart like David’s that delights in His precepts, you desire a good thing.  It is the word and only the word, that can do this work in your heart. Drink it in...immerse yourself in it.  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, will shine in our hearts, to give us the light of the knowledge of His glory in the face of Jesus Christ.

Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, “but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”—John 4:13-14

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.—John 17:3

On Hating My Vain Thoughts...

SAMEK

I hate the double-minded,

But I love Your law.—Psalm 119:113

I opened my bible last night to the reading for Psalm 119 and felt immediately called out and convicted. I do HATE my double-mindedness. I liked the way the KJV version said it.

“I hate vain thoughts:  but thy law do I love.”  

I felt that the NKJV’s use of the word double-minded accused me of blatantly doubting God. That accusation made me angry.  The KJV word, vain, in my humble opinion, makes it more about anxiety and fear than about doubting God.  In reality though, my feelings aren’t worth a hill of beans. Whether double-minded or vain the result is the same.  The abundance of my heart is not from faith but from sin.  SIGH!!  My heart is not united in the fear of the Lord and both my faith and my thinking are fractured.

I don’t know about you, but ninety percent (and that is being conservative) of my thinking is vain, fear-filled or control driven...the latter taking the prize for most relentless. Most of my sin, if not all, rises from my vain thoughts. Thoughts that ultimately say I know better than God.  Here is the thing...God wants us to take our thoughts captive.  Other people might not hear them, but He does.  How can I, like David then, not HATE them. They divert my mind from what is good... the precious promises in His word...or worse toward evil giving Satan a foothold. 

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.  For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,—2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Father...

Praying that today when my thoughts go awry, I can remember that it is Your word to me that I love.  Vain thoughts are contrary to Your word and draw me away from Your law (which I love).  It is Your word that sets my heart free from my useless thoughts because it is Your word that speaks truth over them. 

Grace and Peace Multiplied...

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,—2 Peter 1:2

This verse reminded me this morning of what the LORD said to Abram in the 15th chapter of Genesis. 

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”—Genesis 15:1

Our Father in Heaven is truly a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Grace and peace are multiplied in our hearts and in our lives as we abide and grown in our knowledge of Him. The word for knowledge here, according to John MacArthur, implies a strengthened, larger, more intimate form of knowledge. I love that my precious faith is based on KNOWLEDGE....on objective, historical, rational and revealed truth.  God WANTS us to know and understand what we believe.  

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.—John 17:3, ESV

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:8, ESV)

Verse 3 tells us that we have received through HIS divine power all things necessary pertaining to life and godliness THROUGH the knowledge of Him!  Christ is the source of our sufficiency and our ability to persevere.  Every spiritual resource is ours.  In Christ, we have everything we need.  In Christ, we are eternally secure.  In Christ we have been given exceedingly great and precious promises (OUR SALVATION!!) through which we are partakers of the divine nature.  John 14 spells this out beautifully. 

even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.  Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.  In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.  Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him."  Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, "Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?"  Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.—John 14:17-23, ESV

Trusting God...

Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.—1 Peter 4:19

I was blessed yesterday and my heart was encouraged by someone telling me in the course of a conversation (and really meaning it) that they were going to trust God with a concern.  “I am going to give that situation to God and trust Him to work it out.” “It is too big for me.”  Now, of course, as believers we all need to trust God with people and circumstances.  But do we?  Do we say it aloud?  Do we pray through it and consciously leave it with Him?  Those words said aloud by another believer to me yesterday really impacted my heart.  If they can trust God with their situation, I can certainly trust God with my own. Beloved, you never know how the words that you say will work in another’s heart or how your godly example will affect them. 

The BLB says this about the phrase “Commit their souls to Him”:

The ancient Greek word translated “commit” is a technical one, used for leaving money on deposit with a trusted friend. Such a trust was regarded as one of the most sacred things in life, and the friend was bound by honor to return the money intact. It is the very word Jesus used when He said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit” (Luke 23:46).

When Christians “commit” their souls to Him, they leave their souls (and their circumstances) in a safe place. God is a faithful Creator, and we can trust Him. He is the Potter and we are the clay in His hands.  He is my Creator and has the right to do with me as He pleases.  His will for me comes from His heart of love...my faithful Creator will do what is best for me. Faith is a choice and our faith pleases God.  

Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel* and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own.—Daniel 3:28

Living in the fear of the Lord...

Happy is the man who is always reverent,

But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.—Proverbs 28:14

Oh, how blessed is the man who fears the Lord always...who stands in awe of Him and trembles.  God is always in his thoughts and he lives with his heavenly father’s glory, greatness and purposes in mind.  He desires to do good because His God is so good.  Like the Psalmist’s, the statutes of the Lord are his songs and his sufficiency is from God.  He lives soberly and is serious and watchful in his prayers.  His love for others is fervent and he delights in the commandments of God. 

The fear of the Lord leads to a life of abiding satisfaction. The world desires to convince us that a life founded on the fear of the Lord leads to unhappiness and misery.  In reality, a life that sets the Lord always before him is a satisfied and protected life.  This man lives in the center of God’s will.  Blessedness and joy are his, both in this life and in the the next. A heart hardened, is a heart set in opposition to God.  This man will find no rest or peace either in this life or in the next. In this life, his lack of rest is God’s steadfast love toward him to draw him.  In the next, it is His judgment for despising His goodness and forbearance toward him.  

Psalm 16 is very appropriate here...

1 A Michtam of David.

Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust.

2 O my soul, you have said to the LORD,

“You are my Lord,

My goodness is nothing apart from You.”

3 As for the saints who are on the earth,

“They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.”

4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god;

Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer,

Nor take up their names on my lips.

5 O LORD, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;

You maintain my lot.

6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;

Yes, I have a good inheritance.

7 I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel;

My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.

8 I have set the LORD always before me;

Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;

My flesh also will rest in hope.

10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,

Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

11 You will show me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Remember...

Remember the word to Your servant,

Upon which You have caused me to hope.—Psalm 119:49

Remember Your word to me by which You have caused me to hope. His promises are sure and are yes and amen in His Son. God gives us the grace to hope and His grace will not disappoint. Our God cannot lie and He cannot deny Himself and He will never fail those that place their trust in Him.   He will do what He says.  He will finish what He began. I can pray through His promises...I can ask God to remember His word to me. I am poor and needy and yet He thinks on insignificant me...I am not forgotten.