1 Peter 4:8  – “Love covers a multitude of sins.”

Last night, through the night, and today, in reading, praying, and pondering, a singular truth kept tugging at the chords of my heart.  That was the Power and Covering of Love!
That caused me to examine my own heart.  Not only to consider my failures, but also my response to others who have erred.

Love Covers…   That is intriguing on many levels.   Luke 17:3 and Matthew 18:15 instruct us to confront sin, so what about “Love” covering sin?   Covering can be understood as shielding from view.   It is not to make it a public display.   Not ignoring or justifying it, but not spreading it around as “News.”

Psalm 51 speaks of awareness of sin, and 1 John 1:9 assures us that if we confess (to God and whoever has been hurt or affected by it) our sin, we are forgiven by God.  If by God, then who is man to withhold forgiveness?

Proverbs 17:18 – “A friend loves at all times…” James 3:6 tells us the tongue is a raging fire.  We seem to forget that it is not just being harsh-tongued but being a purveyor of “News,“ exposing to public scrutiny a brother or sister who has erred. 

We say (thinking our words are benign), Did you hear, or what do you think about?  We are not covering them in love and are not fulfilling Galatians 6:1 to restore them.

Forgiveness carries with it the grace to cover transgression in a brother or sister.  We help our brothers confront their sins and help shield them from the tongues of gossip and accusers so they can be restored.

For example, if someone confesses to us and we expose that to others, the vicious tongues can use that and destroy their lives.  It can bring physical, financial, social, and emotional harm to them.  By spreading it rather than covering them, we participate in their harm rather than being instruments of restoration.

Galatians 6:1 says we cover them considering ourselves.   It could be us in that predicament.   Consider our forgiveness from God.   He covers us in love as He enables us to be restored.  Should we do less?  Love covers it, does not justify, but seeks complete restoration.  We deal with each other through love or selfishness, not both.

Lord, help me to love enough to cover my brothers and sisters needing restoration.  Let me be iron that sharpens iron, but not a rasp or a hammer doing harm.  Help me to always keep Your Forgiveness in the forefront of my heart and mind.

Rather than trying to be the Chief Exposers of Error, why not seek to be the Chief Reconciler and Restorer?   Which is the heart of Jesus?

Proverbs 1:1-7 – “The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel: ² To learn wisdom and moral instruction, to discern wise counsel.   ³ To receive moral instruction in skillful living, with righteousness, justice, and equity.  ⁴ To impart shrewdness to the morally naive, a discerning plan to the young person. ⁵ (Let the wise also hear and gain instruction, and let the discerning acquire guidance!)  ⁶ To discern the meaning of a proverb and a parable, the sayings of the wise and their riddles.  ⁷ Fearing the Lord is the beginning of discernment, but fools have despised wisdom and moral instruction.”

As I read, prayed, and contemplated the Word of God today, the first few verses of Proverbs 1 resonated deeply with my heart.  In verses 2-7, we get a glimpse of the heart of Solomon at the time of this Proverb.   He offered four steps to spiritual awareness that opened the door to God’s presence and power. Those were: Learning, knowledge, wisdom, and understanding.

Proverbs 1:2 contains those four elements.  He expands them in the following verses, but those are the foundation.

In a state of learned awareness of knowledge, wisdom, and understanding, one can receive discipline because we understand that it is not for punishment alone but also the development of character.   In that state, we learn and develop reverence and commit to the pursuit and practice of justice (God’s, not man’s).   Man’s justice has an element of vengeance in it, whereas God’s is redemptive.

In that heightened state of spiritual awareness, we can give subtlety to those who are naive or easily misled.  We can expose them to discernment because we have been taught.  We can only give what we have.

In Proverbs 8:1, we read an interesting directive. “Therefore, preach wisdom and understanding will answer you.”   (Lamsa).  If we pursue God and His precepts, the light of revelation comes on for us, and we see God’s purposes.

Proverbs 8 is filled with the benefits and necessity of wisdom (God’s). In verse 22, its value to God is revealed. “The LORD created me (wisdom) as the first of His creations before all of His works.”

Two passages that have become a go-to for me are Matthew 6:33 and Jeremiah 33:3.

First things first – Seek God before and above everything.  In finding God, we find wisdom, knowledge, learning, and understanding.  We find peace through surrender.   When we resign as the sovereign of our lives and submit to Him, we become conditioned to enjoy true kingdom living.

In that condition, we cry out to God; He finds fertile soil to plant His seeds of wisdom, which lead us to His fullness and an understanding of His purposes.  The Light comes on!

Do you desire to know His will?  First, seek to know Him. In that knowing (developed relationship and intimacy) comes understanding. Obedience and faith are the keys that unlock the door.  Being willing to do His will is vital to knowing and understanding.

We need to become more aware of God to become more moved and inspired to pursue His purposes. As we know Him, we understand His character and desire for redemption. The harvest is before us. Will we be equipped to reap?

Lord, help us to seek Your wisdom, embrace Your precepts, and enter into Your provisions!

Genesis 3:20-21 – “The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. ²¹ The Lord God made garments from skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, the Blood and the Cross became my focus.  The Law of First Mention was impressed upon my mind as I pondered those two things.

In Genesis 3:21, the first recorded sacrifice is mentioned.    After man rebelled, God supplied an animal, shed its blood, and used its skin as a covering for their nakedness.

In the Law of First Mention, the first use of a word, phrase, or occurrence of an incident, we have the key to its exact meaning everywhere else in the Bible.

Applying this Law to Genesis 3:21, we discover it teaches three things:

1. Salvation Must Be of the LORD.
2. It Must Be by the Death of an Innocent Substitute.
3. It Must Be by Blood.

Every acceptable sacrifice must meet those conditions. It must not be the work of man’s hands but come from God.   Cain and Abel provide a clear example.

Salvation must be God’s gift. (John 3:16)    Salvation must be by the death of an innocent sacrifice.  

1 Peter 2:22-24 – “Who did not sin, neither was guile found in His mouth: who when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judges righteously: who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sin, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes we where healed.”

Salvation must be by blood.

1 Peter 1:18-20 – “Forasmuch as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.”

That stream is still flowing today and will be available for all eternity.   The blood was necessary.  The reason is rooted in the nature of God and the nature of sin.  Since God is perfect and undeniably holy, sin can never be passed over without the satisfaction of divine justice by God.   Since sin is rebellion against God, the highest being, only the greatest and highest price can be accepted as an atonement.

The broken law demanded eternal damnation, but God’s love and mercy planned a mercy seat to cover the sin.  The blood was sprinkled on the Mercy Seat once each year to cover the broken law (sin).   God said to Israel in their deliverance, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.”

Removing the blood is to invite destruction.   The blood is mentioned 700 times from Genesis to Revelation. God did not say When I see your goodness, works, morality, etc.  He said, ‘When I see the blood, I will pass over you.’

The value of the blood of Jesus has been lost, disregarded, and disrespected today.   The life of the flesh is in the blood, and the blood is God’s only purchase price for redemption.

We used to respect and value the blood of Jesus.   We would plead the blood, meaning we asked God to cover us with the redeeming and impenetrable covering supernaturally.  The blood of Jesus cleanses by removing the judgment for rebellion.  It pays the price of divine justice and thereby removes the guilt.  The blood is impenetrable from the outside. It is redemptive and protective.

I am awed by God’s love and willingness to pay the purchase price for my redemption.  I am inspired to realize that as I live under the covering of the blood, I am cleansed, protected, and empowered to wage war from inside that protective shield.   I am challenged to reverence the blood.

There is a foundation filled with blood drawn from Immanuel’s veins, and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

I John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to CLEANSE us from all unrighteousness.” Hallelujah, thank God for the Blood!

May today overflow with an awareness of God’s Love, Mercy, and Grace!   Have a Wonderful Day!

Psalm 103:5  – “I trust in the LORD, my soul waits for His word.”

Today, as I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God, a thought that challenged me filled my mind.   It originated from the translation of Aramaic to English in Psalm 130:5. The KJV renders it, “In His Word do I hope.”

The Holy Spirit tugged at my heart about waiting and especially waiting “for” not just “on” God’s Word.   Waiting is not something most of us do well.   We live in a microwave, instant-everything world. We want it immediately, if not sooner.

Psam 119:38 – “Strengthen Thy Word unto Thy servant, who is devoted to Thee.”    How do you strengthen the Word of God?   Hebrews 4:12 makes that seem implausible because of the incredibleness of the Word of God.   If we understand “strengthen” to be to increase its importance, it becomes powerful.

Psalm 119:82 – “My eyes WAIT for Thy Word…”

Psalm 119:105 – “Thy Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

Psalm 119:140 – “Thy Word is very pure…”

Psalm 119:160 – “The foundation of Thy Word is truth…”

I wonder how often we confuse what we want God to say with what He actually says.   Then we wait “on” for the fulfillment of what we hope He said, repeating it enough we believe He said it rather than waiting “for” the Word.

When we think we have heard God, we need to examine that Word (test it).  Is it in Harmony with the written Word of God?   Is it in Harmony with the revealed nature and character of God?  Does it move us to deeper submission to Him?  If it contains a promise, prophecy, or provision, what is its objective?  Is there any room in it for selfishness and being focused on self? Is it 100% kingdom-focused?

It is easy to be deceived into believing that what we hope for is what God is saying and then waste our valuable time waiting “on” its fulfillment.   If God did not say it, He won’t provide it.   We may alter our lives waiting “on” it rather than waiting “for” His Word.   There must be no hint of self in the perceived Word.   We must empty ourselves of self so that we can receive His Word, no matter what that Word is.

I’m waiting “for” and hoping “in” His Word.   I desire His Word to be strengthened in and to me. I long for the Word to illuminate my pathway and expose all the lurking dangers.   I know that God’s Word is pure and will always penetrate to the foundations of my heart.

Each Word that we believe we have received must be tested by the Word and Spirit of God, and our hearts examined.   Waiting “on” the Word God did not give prevents us from being aware of the need to wait “for” the Word of God. Waiting on false hope hinders our growth and opens us to deception.

Remember Psalm 119:140 – “Thy Word is very pure…”    It always moves us toward transformation, not selfish gratification.   Lord, send your Word and countermand all words You have not sent.   Expose the lies we have believed and enable us to patiently listen “for” Your Word, then embrace and act upon it.

Father, help us to divest ourselves of self in our prayers and surrender fully to You, even if it is not what we wanted You to say!

2 Timothy 3:1-5 –   “ But understand this, that in the last days difficult times will come. ² For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, savage, opposed to what is good, ⁴ treacherous, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God. ⁵ They will maintain the outward appearance of religion but will have repudiated its power. So, avoid people like these.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, I was impressed with the lateness of the hour on God’s timetable.   I sense the urgency of the hour and see the diligent attempt of the devil to distract and sidetrack God’s laborers.   I sense the longing of God for the harvest and the culmination of our salvation.   Time is short, and the church and world are largely distracted.  We are more moved by the events in the world than the stirring in the heavens.

Paul warned Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 of the conditions of the Last Days. One of the signs would be inordinate self-love, selfishness, greed, overpowering hate, and faux religion.   There would be churches going through the motions, thinking they were godly and pleasing God, but empty and impotent spiritually.  The lost would not be touched, and the believers would not grow spiritually.

In 2 Timothy 4:3-4, he prophesied that in the Last Days, there would be a rejection of the Gospel in favor of a more humanistic and flesh-serving Gospel.

 The Bible makes it clear that God requires those who would enter into His kingdom to be holy and live in righteousness.   But the Last Days people will find that too confining and demanding, requiring discipline, and creating a faux Gospel that appeals to the flesh and gives false security.

There is an increasing acceptability today for man-made doctrines that eliminate hell and make every lifestyle acceptable.   They insist that since God is love, love would not punish but would accept everyone, no matter what.   God is love.    That is an undeniable fact!   He is also just, and nothing unholy can abide in His presence.

From this time forward, there will be an increase in flesh focus in the church, and thousands, if not millions, will participate in attacking those who teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ that requires dying to self. It may appear that the faux Gospel is succeeding, but when the shaking begins and the chaos is unleashed, many of those formerly deceived will turn to the truth.

We must prepare for the harvest.   Every follower of Jesus who rejects the flesh Gospel will be a harvester and be required to teach others the way of life.  Every follower of the truth will be called upon to become a spiritual father or mother to those seeking the truth.   The church services will be transformed from the norm of today into a time of testimony, reporting, and strategy.

Pastors will be transformed into a more apostolic role, and the believers will again take the Gospel to the marketplace.   They will pray, study, and witness with their words and lives.   Some will become martyrs for their faith. Harvest time requires laborers, and the fruit of the harvest will have to be processed (taught and equipped).

The time is short, and the urgency is permeating the atmosphere.   The call of the Spirit of God is to prepare our hearts for service!  There can be no more casual part-time Christianity.  The time has come to get out of the boat and walk in the water.  We will give what we have; the question is, what do we have to give?  Prepare for harvest!

Fasten your seat belts; the ride is about to get exciting!   Lord help us to be ready and be involved in the Last Day’s Harvest!