Just that word, "valleys" initially brings to my imagination the beauty of a river valley. It is lush and green and full of life. River valleys are often referred to as the bottom lands where crops and animals may thrive. Yet valleys, upon further meditation, can also refer to a difficult time spiritually. We say we are "down in the dumps" when we are sad yet also refer to "mountain top" experiences when we feel happy and times seem good. These two types of valleys are not mutually exclusive as I will share with you here in a bit.
The earliest reference to valley that I found in my study (please let me know if you found another!) is of the Jordan Valley in Genesis 13:10. This reference is before the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrha where the river valley was a desirable and choice place for Lot to settle. It was referred to as "like a garden of the Lord". Another positive reference of a valley is from Joshua 10:12 where God caused the sun to stand still to benefit the Israelites.
Jesus is called the Lily of the valleys...which is a picture of purity and beauty. (Song of Solomon 2:1) And as I thought on this "picture" I am reminded that He is with us, in His beauty and purity, in the valleys of life, good or bad, easy or difficult. He is the Lily of the valleys (singular in reference to Jesus, plural in reference to our lives).
There are other references to valleys in Scripture. Psalm 23:4 mentions the "valley of the shadow of death" or the NLT translates it as the "valley of deep darkness". This valley of deep darkness expresses what we feel as we face difficult times. Yet, God does not end it there in Psalm 23-the Shepherd's Psalm. As we go through the valley of the deep darkness, He is with me! His rod and His staff comfort me (and directs me). What love that is! Verse 6 states that "goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." So even though we go through the valley of deep darkness, the Lord is there! He is Jehovah Shammah.
Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Joel also have a reference to valleys, but there are two others that I would especially like to focus on. These two passages demonstrate that the valley can be both positive and negative. These two valley references speak of turning what would considered a negative situation into something good and full of blessing.
"Passing through the valley of Baca, they make it a spring, the early rain also covers it with blessings. They go from strength to strength." Psalm 84:6-7(a)
This valley is also referred to as the valley of weeping. The cedars which grew in this valley would "weep" their sap/gum of balsam and it is for this reason that the valley is also referred to as the valley of balsam.
The beauty of this passage is that the valley of weeping will be turned to blessings. Our sorrows will be turned to joy. And we are promised the strength (aka "resources") we need to continue on the journey God has set before us.
"Therefore, behold, I will allure her, bring her into the wilderness, and speak kindly to her. Then I will give her vineyards from there, and the valley of Achor (valley of Trouble) as a door of Hope...and it will come about in that day, declares the Lord, "That you will call me Ishi and will not longer call Me Baali." Hosea 2:14,15 & 16
This portion of Scripture became significant to me most recently as my family and I faced tremendous challenges. The Lord seemed to confirm this message to me as the Bible study group I was in suggested we study the book of Hosea. What a journey of blessing that was!
In this passage, Hosea is inspired by God to write about His (God's) great love for Israel. This applies to we believers for we have been grafted in as God's children through Jesus Christ. God allures us and draws us to places we might not choose to go...like the wilderness. Yet, He draws us away to these places of solitude to speak kindly and lovingly to us. The promise that follows is amazing.
The valley of Achor is also referred to as the valley of Trouble or Troubling as this is where God's judgment fell on Achan for his disobedience and rebellion. This valley of Achor God promises will become a door of Hope!
So, what must we do? Walk through the Door. I think sometimes standing at the threshold is what we settle for, yet Jesus bids us come in! As we face difficulties, heartaches, sorrows-these Jesus will turn into joy. He exchanges beauty for ashes. He restores that which the locusts have eaten.
We must go through the wilderness and listen to the Words of God. We must walk through the valley of trouble to reach the door of Hope and then...step through to His peace, His love, His joy.
May you be blessed with the knowledge that the God of the Universe, the Sovereign Lord is not ignorant of your situation but is intimately acquainted with you for He is your Creator. He has great plans for you if you only trust Him, walk in obedience to His Word.
We serve a God Who can change a valley of sorrow into joy. He can change a valley of trouble into a promise of hope. We serve an Awesome God!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Bedrock Remembrance
"The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and kind in all His deeds. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth." Psalm 145:17-18
Bedrock remembrance. This is the foundation by which we live whether we are aware of it or not. We live by what has occured in the past. Throughout Scripture, God reminds us, even commands us to remember Him. He reminds us to remember His character, His faithfulness in the past which holds the promise of His faithfulness in the future. We remember that, "God is unchangeable in His character though His works are unpredictable."
What does this mean for us? It means that God is always righteous. God is always kind. He is righteous and kind in all of His ways and all of His deeds even if we do not understand them. This is the "bedrock of remembrance" that helps us through difficult times. Those of us who cling to Him and belong to His family can take comfort in this.
The "bedrock remembrance" is remembering God's faithfulness throughout the ages and in our lives. It has been said that we can only "live forward, but we learn backward". This applies to our remembering all that God has done for us through the years. We can start with this morning...He caused our hearts to continue to beat and our lungs to function throughout the night. We awaken to a new day with the promise of His new mercy and His never ending lovingkindness. We practice this thankful remembrances with the smallest things as well as the huge ones. There is much to remember and be thankful for and the thankful heart is a heart that is drawn to God.
We can awaken with each new day recalling God's past goodness and anticipate His future activity! Though difficulties and afflictions arise, we remember that "the Lord is righteous in all His ways, and kind in all His deeds." I do not suggest making light of very difficult times. I have many friends who are facing, from my perspective, chronic, unbearable difficulties. Even so, the circumstances of our lives does NOT change Who God is...and THIS is what we are to remember. The Lord wants us to thirst after Him not seeking a quick fix to our problems but longing for His life altering refreshment of His portion.
"O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek the earnestly; my soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee; in a dry and weary land where there is no water." Psalm 63:1
"As for me, I shall call upon God and the Lord will save me. Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and murmur(cry out my distress) and He will hear my voice...Cast (give) your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken (slip and fall)." Psalm 55:16-16, 22 NAS (NLT)
May we long after God as one who is desperately thirsty or ravenously hungry. May we pour out our longings to Him knowing that He is faithful to answer. He hears the voice of those who belong to Him through Christ Jesus. May we give the Lord all our burdens and be yoked with He Who is more than capable to care for us, making our burden light.
"May we long to see the Lord even if it means the light of His presence is best seen against the veil of darkness." Priscilla Shirer
We must will ourselves to turn our attention to what God is doing in the midst of the driest season(s) of our lives...and choose to remember His goodness, His kindness, His faithfulness...even in the midst of pain, disillusionment, and sorrow.
"And my God shall supply your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19
God is unchanging. He was faithful in the past, He is faithful now and He will be faithful. He is the God Who Was, Who Is, and Who is to Come! Scriptures proclaim God's work. Our lives proclaim His faithfulness. How awesome to realize that God supplies our needs and this is according to His riches in glory! And since God is Creator and therefore Owner of everything, this is an amazing promise. One we can put in our "bedrock of remembrance" for difficult times.
I would like to leave you this time with the following Scripture from the New Living Translation-
"Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong... May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to fully understand." Ephesians 3:17 &19
Bedrock remembrance. This is the foundation by which we live whether we are aware of it or not. We live by what has occured in the past. Throughout Scripture, God reminds us, even commands us to remember Him. He reminds us to remember His character, His faithfulness in the past which holds the promise of His faithfulness in the future. We remember that, "God is unchangeable in His character though His works are unpredictable."
What does this mean for us? It means that God is always righteous. God is always kind. He is righteous and kind in all of His ways and all of His deeds even if we do not understand them. This is the "bedrock of remembrance" that helps us through difficult times. Those of us who cling to Him and belong to His family can take comfort in this.
The "bedrock remembrance" is remembering God's faithfulness throughout the ages and in our lives. It has been said that we can only "live forward, but we learn backward". This applies to our remembering all that God has done for us through the years. We can start with this morning...He caused our hearts to continue to beat and our lungs to function throughout the night. We awaken to a new day with the promise of His new mercy and His never ending lovingkindness. We practice this thankful remembrances with the smallest things as well as the huge ones. There is much to remember and be thankful for and the thankful heart is a heart that is drawn to God.
We can awaken with each new day recalling God's past goodness and anticipate His future activity! Though difficulties and afflictions arise, we remember that "the Lord is righteous in all His ways, and kind in all His deeds." I do not suggest making light of very difficult times. I have many friends who are facing, from my perspective, chronic, unbearable difficulties. Even so, the circumstances of our lives does NOT change Who God is...and THIS is what we are to remember. The Lord wants us to thirst after Him not seeking a quick fix to our problems but longing for His life altering refreshment of His portion.
"O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek the earnestly; my soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee; in a dry and weary land where there is no water." Psalm 63:1
"As for me, I shall call upon God and the Lord will save me. Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and murmur(cry out my distress) and He will hear my voice...Cast (give) your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken (slip and fall)." Psalm 55:16-16, 22 NAS (NLT)
May we long after God as one who is desperately thirsty or ravenously hungry. May we pour out our longings to Him knowing that He is faithful to answer. He hears the voice of those who belong to Him through Christ Jesus. May we give the Lord all our burdens and be yoked with He Who is more than capable to care for us, making our burden light.
"May we long to see the Lord even if it means the light of His presence is best seen against the veil of darkness." Priscilla Shirer
We must will ourselves to turn our attention to what God is doing in the midst of the driest season(s) of our lives...and choose to remember His goodness, His kindness, His faithfulness...even in the midst of pain, disillusionment, and sorrow.
"And my God shall supply your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19
God is unchanging. He was faithful in the past, He is faithful now and He will be faithful. He is the God Who Was, Who Is, and Who is to Come! Scriptures proclaim God's work. Our lives proclaim His faithfulness. How awesome to realize that God supplies our needs and this is according to His riches in glory! And since God is Creator and therefore Owner of everything, this is an amazing promise. One we can put in our "bedrock of remembrance" for difficult times.
I would like to leave you this time with the following Scripture from the New Living Translation-
"Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong... May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to fully understand." Ephesians 3:17 &19
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
God's Sovereignty
"Oh Lord, to see You, even if the Light of Your presence is best seen against the veil of darkness!" Priscilla Shirer
This prayer was shared by the woman who wrote the Bible study I just completed. It is a reminder to me that God is faithful and unfailing. He is good all the time. His character never changes. He is the same today, yesterday and forever! What I know of Him now and know of Him from His Word will never change. My circumstances, my situations, the seasons of my life may change, but God never will. I can count on Him to sustain me. May I purposely turn my attention on to what God is doing. May I have His perspective on life and the situation I am in. Whether this be the wilderness and dry season of my life or a season of abundance. I must have a "bedrock of remembrance" of Who God is. He is Sovereign. He is good. He is unchanging. And through the difficult times of the wilderness walk, God peppers the desert with oases.
"The Lord is righteous in all of His ways, and kind in all of His deeds." Psalm 145:17
A dear sister made a delightful statement the other day. "If you don't like the fruit, the problem is in the root!" How true this is. If we are unhappy with what we are seeing in our lives, the fruit we are bearing, then we must evaluate the problem as being a root problem. We are to be rooted and grounded in God. Then the fruit of His Spirit can abound to us.
No plant or tree can bear fruit in poor soil. The roots will not bring up the necessary nutrients for life. The fruit will be of no good to anyone. Agricultural parables were often used in Scripture to explain difficult spiritual concepts. "If we don't like the fruit, the problem is in the root." Are we nurturing our minds with things of God. Are we having our lives, our hearts, our minds renewed by God and His Word? This is being rooted and grounded in God. When our foundation is in God, we are firmly established and can face anything this life throws our way as we trust our Sovereign God, who is Lord over all.
And as the parable of the sower speaks of where the seed falls will determine it's success, so too with the lives of people who hear God's Word. (You can read this parable in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark & Luke).
Some seed falls by the wayside and is quickly snatched up by the birds. This seed is likened to the people who hear God's Word but Satan quickly snatches it away.
The sower sows and some seed falls on rocky soil. Seed in rocky soil cannot have substantial roots. It quickly sprouts up only to wither and die because it has no roots to bring in life sustaining water and nutrients. This seed is like the individual who hears God's Word with zeal but never allows a life change to occur. This individual does not have roots that sink down into the Truths of Scripture. Interest in spiritual things last then only for a short season. I am speaking of the necessity to not only hear God's Word but believe it and receive Christ's gift of forgiveness and new life in Him.
The sower sows and some seed falls on soil but thorns also are there. Weeds and thorns compete (and usually win) for nutrients and space in gardens. The sower sows and when the seed sprouts, the life is strangled out by the thorns. This situation is the person who hears the Word of God, receives it but then allows the world, it's cares and materialism to choke out the Truths in God's Word. Jesus gives another picture of this when He says it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich person to enter Heaven. Why? Materialism. This view of life is idolatrous. One of the Ten Commandments tells us to have no other gods. Yet, we cling to the things of this world and it chokes the life from us.
The last soil receives the seed and is fruitful to abundance. Why? Because the seed was able to sink down roots into the good soil and grow. This soil is the person who hears God's Word, believes it and receives the gift of forgiveness and new life in Christ. This person allows her life to sink roots down into the Truths of God's Word. What does this parable promise? Fruitfulness!
So, where are we sinking our roots? Are we abiding in Christ, the Vine? Are we being rooted and grounded in God by being in His Word and in fellowship with His Body? Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to renew our minds and conform us to the image of Jesus? Are we being the sweet fragrance of Christ?
I pray that we all would be actively living our faith...not because it saves (because it does NOT) but because we love the One Who came and died in our place. And on the third day, He rose again.
In Christ Jesus there will be no disappointment with the fruit. And we, in Christ Jesus, abide in His sovereignty knowing that He is using all that comes in to our lives to draw us into His likeness. Though difficulties arise, we know God remains the same. He will never forsake us. He may even deliver us out of difficulties. But if He doesn't, we can trust Him and be assured that He will see us through to the end because He loves us and we belong to Him.
This prayer was shared by the woman who wrote the Bible study I just completed. It is a reminder to me that God is faithful and unfailing. He is good all the time. His character never changes. He is the same today, yesterday and forever! What I know of Him now and know of Him from His Word will never change. My circumstances, my situations, the seasons of my life may change, but God never will. I can count on Him to sustain me. May I purposely turn my attention on to what God is doing. May I have His perspective on life and the situation I am in. Whether this be the wilderness and dry season of my life or a season of abundance. I must have a "bedrock of remembrance" of Who God is. He is Sovereign. He is good. He is unchanging. And through the difficult times of the wilderness walk, God peppers the desert with oases.
"The Lord is righteous in all of His ways, and kind in all of His deeds." Psalm 145:17
A dear sister made a delightful statement the other day. "If you don't like the fruit, the problem is in the root!" How true this is. If we are unhappy with what we are seeing in our lives, the fruit we are bearing, then we must evaluate the problem as being a root problem. We are to be rooted and grounded in God. Then the fruit of His Spirit can abound to us.
No plant or tree can bear fruit in poor soil. The roots will not bring up the necessary nutrients for life. The fruit will be of no good to anyone. Agricultural parables were often used in Scripture to explain difficult spiritual concepts. "If we don't like the fruit, the problem is in the root." Are we nurturing our minds with things of God. Are we having our lives, our hearts, our minds renewed by God and His Word? This is being rooted and grounded in God. When our foundation is in God, we are firmly established and can face anything this life throws our way as we trust our Sovereign God, who is Lord over all.
And as the parable of the sower speaks of where the seed falls will determine it's success, so too with the lives of people who hear God's Word. (You can read this parable in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark & Luke).
Some seed falls by the wayside and is quickly snatched up by the birds. This seed is likened to the people who hear God's Word but Satan quickly snatches it away.
The sower sows and some seed falls on rocky soil. Seed in rocky soil cannot have substantial roots. It quickly sprouts up only to wither and die because it has no roots to bring in life sustaining water and nutrients. This seed is like the individual who hears God's Word with zeal but never allows a life change to occur. This individual does not have roots that sink down into the Truths of Scripture. Interest in spiritual things last then only for a short season. I am speaking of the necessity to not only hear God's Word but believe it and receive Christ's gift of forgiveness and new life in Him.
The sower sows and some seed falls on soil but thorns also are there. Weeds and thorns compete (and usually win) for nutrients and space in gardens. The sower sows and when the seed sprouts, the life is strangled out by the thorns. This situation is the person who hears the Word of God, receives it but then allows the world, it's cares and materialism to choke out the Truths in God's Word. Jesus gives another picture of this when He says it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich person to enter Heaven. Why? Materialism. This view of life is idolatrous. One of the Ten Commandments tells us to have no other gods. Yet, we cling to the things of this world and it chokes the life from us.
The last soil receives the seed and is fruitful to abundance. Why? Because the seed was able to sink down roots into the good soil and grow. This soil is the person who hears God's Word, believes it and receives the gift of forgiveness and new life in Christ. This person allows her life to sink roots down into the Truths of God's Word. What does this parable promise? Fruitfulness!
So, where are we sinking our roots? Are we abiding in Christ, the Vine? Are we being rooted and grounded in God by being in His Word and in fellowship with His Body? Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to renew our minds and conform us to the image of Jesus? Are we being the sweet fragrance of Christ?
I pray that we all would be actively living our faith...not because it saves (because it does NOT) but because we love the One Who came and died in our place. And on the third day, He rose again.
In Christ Jesus there will be no disappointment with the fruit. And we, in Christ Jesus, abide in His sovereignty knowing that He is using all that comes in to our lives to draw us into His likeness. Though difficulties arise, we know God remains the same. He will never forsake us. He may even deliver us out of difficulties. But if He doesn't, we can trust Him and be assured that He will see us through to the end because He loves us and we belong to Him.
Abundance and more abundance
My family and I live on a small farm. We are so blessed that our God gave us this little bit of land to be His stewards over. Though we are not full-time farmers, we have learned some about farming and can now relate a bit more easily to the agricultural parables and analogies used in Scripture.
God chose to use these agricultural stories to help us understand some deeper spiritual truths about Him. The following three Scripture passages are but a few that speak of God's abundance.
"I will send you the seasonal rains. The land will then yield its crops, and the trees of the field will produce their fruit. Your threshing season will overlap with the grape harvest, and your grape harvest will overlap with the season of planting grain. You will eat your fill and live securely in the land." Leviticus 26:4-5.
"Then the Lord will bless you with rain at the planting time. There will be wonderful harvests and pleanty of pastureland for your livestock. The oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat good grain, its chaff blown away by the wind." Isaiah 30:23-24
"The time will come," says the Lord, "when the grain and grapes will grow faster than they can be harvested. Then the terraced vineyards on the hills of Israel will drip with sweet wine!" Amos 9:13
Farmers depend upon a time for sowing and reaping, rain, sun, seed, harvest and time for threshing. In these Scripture passages God is describing what a life restored in Him will be. His promises will be fulfilled. In the book of Leviticus, God is describing a time of such abundance that there is overlap from one season to the next-from the time of harvest of grains and threshing its bounty to the gathering of grapes until it is time to plant grain again...this agricultural description is speaking of God's abundance which is without end!
Now this promise of abundance is indeed conditional. It is to those who belong to God through Jesus Christ. To the Israelites of the time, verse 3 of Leviticus 26 states, "If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands," and is then followed by the promise of abundance. In the New Testament the following of God's decrees and obeying His commands is certainly reinforced but NOT as a way to "earn" entrance into Heaven. We obey Him out of a changed heart and is evidence of a life changed by the hand of God.
God's abundance is unending.The definition of abundance is: more than adequate quantity or supply. Abundance means that there is fullness, overflow, plenty. The Greek word we translate to abundance perissos means: in the sense beyond, super abundant in quantity, excessive, exceedingly, beyond measure.
"For Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon Thee." Psalm 86:5. And Jesus said, "I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly." John 10:10(b)
Paul reminds us "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed." 2Corinthians 9:8
What do we learn from this exercise? That God is good, ready to forgive and abundant in lovingkindness (His lovingkindness is super abundant, His love is excessive). Now in todays society excessiveness is only self serving. However Scripture gives us a picture of a good kind of excessiveness. God is excessive in His abundant lovingkindness. His love toward us is beyond what we can comprehend! Now THAT is the kind of excessive we can live with!
We also learn that God is able to make His grace abound to us (His grace will be super abundant!) and that we will have this abundance for every good deed. We will have super abundance for every good deed we are called to do. God does provide.
Now if we think back to the agricultural terms used to express more about God and His kingdom, we learn that He provides all that we need and is necessary for life. Paul, inspired and compelled by the Holy Spirit writes, "All Scripture is inspired by God an profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." His Word is what we need for life. His Word gives us pictures of His character. And what we can learn from today's reading is that God is generous. He gives in abundance, according to His riches. Are we, who are His children, ready to live like children of the King? To live in His abundance, according to His riches and His mercy and His lovingkindness. I pray that it is so for each one of us.
And if you do not belong to Him, the free gift of His adoption of you is still available. God tells us that He so loved the world that He sent His Son to die in our place so we could join Him in His place. It is a free gift to repent of our sins and receive new life in Christ. Then...you too can enjoy the super abundant life in Jesus.
God chose to use these agricultural stories to help us understand some deeper spiritual truths about Him. The following three Scripture passages are but a few that speak of God's abundance.
"I will send you the seasonal rains. The land will then yield its crops, and the trees of the field will produce their fruit. Your threshing season will overlap with the grape harvest, and your grape harvest will overlap with the season of planting grain. You will eat your fill and live securely in the land." Leviticus 26:4-5.
"Then the Lord will bless you with rain at the planting time. There will be wonderful harvests and pleanty of pastureland for your livestock. The oxen and donkeys that till the ground will eat good grain, its chaff blown away by the wind." Isaiah 30:23-24
"The time will come," says the Lord, "when the grain and grapes will grow faster than they can be harvested. Then the terraced vineyards on the hills of Israel will drip with sweet wine!" Amos 9:13
Farmers depend upon a time for sowing and reaping, rain, sun, seed, harvest and time for threshing. In these Scripture passages God is describing what a life restored in Him will be. His promises will be fulfilled. In the book of Leviticus, God is describing a time of such abundance that there is overlap from one season to the next-from the time of harvest of grains and threshing its bounty to the gathering of grapes until it is time to plant grain again...this agricultural description is speaking of God's abundance which is without end!
Now this promise of abundance is indeed conditional. It is to those who belong to God through Jesus Christ. To the Israelites of the time, verse 3 of Leviticus 26 states, "If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands," and is then followed by the promise of abundance. In the New Testament the following of God's decrees and obeying His commands is certainly reinforced but NOT as a way to "earn" entrance into Heaven. We obey Him out of a changed heart and is evidence of a life changed by the hand of God.
God's abundance is unending.The definition of abundance is: more than adequate quantity or supply. Abundance means that there is fullness, overflow, plenty. The Greek word we translate to abundance perissos means: in the sense beyond, super abundant in quantity, excessive, exceedingly, beyond measure.
"For Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon Thee." Psalm 86:5. And Jesus said, "I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly." John 10:10(b)
Paul reminds us "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed." 2Corinthians 9:8
What do we learn from this exercise? That God is good, ready to forgive and abundant in lovingkindness (His lovingkindness is super abundant, His love is excessive). Now in todays society excessiveness is only self serving. However Scripture gives us a picture of a good kind of excessiveness. God is excessive in His abundant lovingkindness. His love toward us is beyond what we can comprehend! Now THAT is the kind of excessive we can live with!
We also learn that God is able to make His grace abound to us (His grace will be super abundant!) and that we will have this abundance for every good deed. We will have super abundance for every good deed we are called to do. God does provide.
Now if we think back to the agricultural terms used to express more about God and His kingdom, we learn that He provides all that we need and is necessary for life. Paul, inspired and compelled by the Holy Spirit writes, "All Scripture is inspired by God an profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." His Word is what we need for life. His Word gives us pictures of His character. And what we can learn from today's reading is that God is generous. He gives in abundance, according to His riches. Are we, who are His children, ready to live like children of the King? To live in His abundance, according to His riches and His mercy and His lovingkindness. I pray that it is so for each one of us.
And if you do not belong to Him, the free gift of His adoption of you is still available. God tells us that He so loved the world that He sent His Son to die in our place so we could join Him in His place. It is a free gift to repent of our sins and receive new life in Christ. Then...you too can enjoy the super abundant life in Jesus.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Hang On
My pastor shared a story of a World War II vet whose job it was to make certain the bombs that were launched from the plane did indeed deploy. There was one event where the bomb got stuck on the doorway and this man, I will call him Joe, had to push it through. Hammer in hand, Joe began hammering on it (yes, God is merciful, isn't He?) and pushing on it. Finally the bomb released and was airborne, but so too was Joe. However, Joe was tethered to the plane and knew to hang on to the rope for his life depended on it. He swung back and forth on the tether being smashed into the bottom of the plane. Yet Joe hung on to that lifeline and used it, though disoriented, as the direction to move toward safety. Joe's crew mates slowly and agonizingly were pulling him back to safety.
This story has a spiritual application as well. Jesus Christ is our lifeline, our tether. We can do nothing in our own power to make our way to Heaven, it is by and through Jesus Christ that we are tethered to Him and our eternal destination. Yes, initially we must decide if we will grab hold of the free gift Christ offers and then hold on. The rest is already done having been accomplished at the Cross and through the resurrection of our King Jesus.
We may be battered and bruised while on this earth, yet IF we hold on to Jesus, He will never fail us. If Joe, the WWII vet, while swinging at the end of the tether, decided he no longer wanted to endure the pain and confusion of being smashed into the plane's belly, untied and let go of his tether, his lifeline to safety would have been lost and Joe perished. Joe endured the pain knowing that in the end was life.
Yes, we face pain and heartache while here on earth but we know that holding onto Jesus, His promises to us are eternal. We are being drawn Home and along the way are difficulties. If we belong to God through Christ Jesus, then all the promises of Scripture apply to us. We have indeed "grabbed" hold of the Lifeline. Each part of our life is used by our loving God, drawing us to Him and conforming us to the image of His Son. This life's sojourn is preparing us for our life with Him, face to face.
Are you ready?
Are you holding on? Are you walking with the vision of Home?
This story has a spiritual application as well. Jesus Christ is our lifeline, our tether. We can do nothing in our own power to make our way to Heaven, it is by and through Jesus Christ that we are tethered to Him and our eternal destination. Yes, initially we must decide if we will grab hold of the free gift Christ offers and then hold on. The rest is already done having been accomplished at the Cross and through the resurrection of our King Jesus.
We may be battered and bruised while on this earth, yet IF we hold on to Jesus, He will never fail us. If Joe, the WWII vet, while swinging at the end of the tether, decided he no longer wanted to endure the pain and confusion of being smashed into the plane's belly, untied and let go of his tether, his lifeline to safety would have been lost and Joe perished. Joe endured the pain knowing that in the end was life.
Yes, we face pain and heartache while here on earth but we know that holding onto Jesus, His promises to us are eternal. We are being drawn Home and along the way are difficulties. If we belong to God through Christ Jesus, then all the promises of Scripture apply to us. We have indeed "grabbed" hold of the Lifeline. Each part of our life is used by our loving God, drawing us to Him and conforming us to the image of His Son. This life's sojourn is preparing us for our life with Him, face to face.
Are you ready?
Are you holding on? Are you walking with the vision of Home?
Friday, December 24, 2010
Abundant Living!
"For Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon Thee." Psalm 86:5
"...I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly." John 10:10(b)
"...for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you." 2 Peter 1:11
Christmas. The time of year where good cheer is proclaimed and we flock to church for the Christmas Eve candlelight services. It is also the time where shopping seems to prioritize our lives and readiness for the holidays is a constant activity. It seems a time of abundant living, but what did this time in Bethlehem, at the birth of the Man, Jesus Christ, mean to Israel and ultimately, humanity?
The Scriptures quoted above remind the reader of what we have in Christ Jesus, however I think something is lost over the years and often lost to the Gentile readers. The Israelites lived their lives in anticipation of their Messiah. They awaited His birth as fulfilling God's promise to them. God promised a Savior and a King. One who would fulfill God's Law 100% and to perfection. Following God and honoring Him would lead to abundant living and the faithful Israelite tried to do just this. Their failure was ever before them.
When Jesus started His public ministry, His cousin, John the Baptist, proclaimed to the people to make themselves ready for the Messiah.This was a time of repentance and a time to be ready to receive the Messiah. Those who received the Christ, received Him as the Good News. He was Good News to the Jews for He fulfilled the Law of God that they were unable to do on their own.
The Good News. This is the part of the message I think we lose over the years. If you are not Jewish or not a Jewish person who is following the God's Word, I don't think we understand fully what Christ did for us. He fulfilled the Law of God (think of the Ten Commandments to begin with) perfectly and fully all the days of His earthly life. This was an impossible feat by man, even though there were those who attempted to do this. The sacrifices offered at the Temple were not enough to cover all the sin that clung to them. Being born of Adam, by nature, they (and we) are with sin. I think the Israelites of the time of Scripture grasped this more fully than we do today.
Jesus came to fulfill all the prophecy of Messiah. Each prophecy was fulfilled and is fulfilled in Him. Jesus came as the Son of God and the Son of Man.
Jesus, the Son of Man, when He fulfilled His mission on earth, He willingly went to the cross and was crucified in our place. For without Him, we will die and face the consequence of living a life not honoring the Creator of life...God's wrath. There is a price to pay in this life..."for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23.
We can live this life rejecting God and get paid the "wages" of it which is death or we can receive the free gift of Christ Jesus and enjoy life in Him abundantly.We can have abundant life in Christ Jesus because Christ not only died in our place but He rose again from the dead and is not seated at the right hand of God. Our hope is in Him and His life.
This abundant living is not to say that life is without trouble. In fact our Lord promised us otherwise. He told us that those who belong to Him will also face what He faced while on this earth. But...that is for another time.
"And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:19
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