Jeremiah 12:5 –“If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you run with horses? And if on level land, where you have confidence, they have wearied you, then how will you cross the raging Jordan?”
In my morning devotional time, the Holy Spirit spoke to me succinctly from this text. I recently came home from church and saw water on the garage floor. There was not a lot of water, but I knew there had to be a leak. It was the inline water filter’s plastic bowl leaking. The same thing happened last year. The leak became so bad that it filled a 5-gallon can in just over an hour. I called the well service and turned off my well. The repair was expensive.
Then, I went inside, and the lights in the main part of my refrigerator were so dim it was dark. I did all the potential resets to no avail. My research suggested it might be the control board. That could lead to the cooling not working, etc. Per the research, that repair could range from $500-800.
For a moment, I thought, “Why me? Why now?” Then, I got mad at the thief. He owes me double to seven times the amount, and I’m filing my case against him in heaven. As I stewed over the situation, this passage in, Jeremiah came to mind.
I knew God was speaking to me about trust. I repented of my self-pity; although momentary, it was not acceptable. That is not trust, confidence, or peace. I want to always trust Him in all things. Something that came to my mind during the message Sunday reverberated in my mind – Romans 8:28 – “ALL things work TOGETHER for GOOD to those who love God and are called for His purpose…” [Emphasis Mine].
I do love Him. I am called by Him, as are all believers. All Things are not always good things, but God uses all Things to bring us to His ultimate good and purpose. That means even our mistakes will be blended into our lives to produce the ultimate good.
Like Joseph said to his brothers, you meant to do me harm, but God used your hate, envy, and jealousy for the ultimate good and the preservation of His people through it. He did not let the footmen or horses sidetrack him, enabling him to lead them across the overwhelming flood of adversity.
We have a choice. In All Things, give thanks or, in Some Things, complain. I chose to rejoice! I want to have the heart and attitude expressed by Job – “Even if He slays me or lets me be severely tried, I will trust Him, serve Him, and love Him. He is my hope, help, and God! Hallelujah.
Don’t be wearied by the footmen or the little foxes; rejoice because God is still God, and you are His!
2 Peter 1:3 – “Everything we could ever need for life and godliness has ALREADY BEEN DEPOSITED in us by His divine power.” [Emphasis added]
As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word, I was overwhelmed with the depth of the reality of what having Christ in us means and looks like. We struggle to be or dismiss why we are not what He declared using human logic and reason. We say things like, “I’m only human, or I’m not perfect.” Please hear me, “We are not only human, and we are not perfect, but He is.”
Peter made an incredible revelation in 2 Peter 1:3, and in verse 4, he tells us that through those deposits, we are enabled to enter into a partnership with the divine nature. So, Christ, “in” us, becomes Christ “through” us. That enables us to become manifestations of His character, as depicted in the progressive list of qualities in verses 5-7: faith, goodness, understanding, self-control, patient endurance, godliness, mercy, and Agape.
Notice 2 Peter 1:8 – “Since [because] these virtues are ALREADY planted DEEP WITHIN, and you possess them in abundant supply, they will keep you from being inactive or in your pursuit of KNOWING Jesus Christ more intimately. ” [Emphasis added]
In verses 10-11, we find the declaration that we will not stumble, and the kingdom’s gates will open wide for us as God choreographs our triumphant entrance into the eternal kingdom! It is not trying to produce it. It is partnering with what is in us because He is “in” us, and He is those things. It is Him being Himself “in” us.
What does Christ “in” us look like experientially? It looks like Jesus. It exhibits a settled confidence in God. Jesus was in constant contact with the Father, and if He is “in” us, we are in constant contact with the Father.
The only way we do not manifest Him is revealed in 2 Peter 1:9 – “But if anyone lacks these things, he is blind, constantly closing his eyes to the mysteries of our faith, and forgetting his innocence-for his past sins have been washed away.”
The only way He is not manifested in us is when we willingly choose to be in control rather than partnering with Him and dying to ourselves. If He is “in” us, He will live “through” us and be Himself “in” us, producing the fruit of righteousness as a natural result of that partnership.
We need to stop trying to be and let Him be what He is, transforming us into His likeness. We are “in” Him, and He is “in” us, so just BE! Relax and let Him be Himself in us.
Have a fantastic day, and live in full consciousness that Christ Jesus is “in” us and lives “through” us!
1 Peter 1:8 –“You love Him passionately (do we) although you have not seen Him, but through believing in Him you are SATURATED with an ecstatic joy (are we), indescribably sublime and immersed in glory.”
The Power of God’s Grace and our faith filled my thoughts during my morning devotional time. 1 Peter 1:3 tells us that we were reborn to experience a living, energetic hope through the resurrection of Jesus. Our inheritance is perfect and imperishable and never lessens in magnitude.
1 Peter 1:5 – “Through our faith, the mighty power of God constantly guards us UNTIL our full salvation is ready to be revealed in the last time.”
By trusting God as savior and surrendering to Him as Lord, we are Constantly Guarded by heaven’s armies and power. If that doesn’t give peace and confidence, what will happen?
Peter made a declaration about Christianity that seems foreign to many. 1 Peter 1:8 – “You love Him passionately (do we) although you have not seen Him, but through believing in Him you are SATURATED with an ecstatic joy (are we), indescribably sublime and immersed in glory.”
Peter said something about Jesus that needs to be the foundation of our relationship with the Father. 1 Peter 2:23 – “Jesus faithfully entrusted Himself into the hands of God…”
This issue and the key is Total Trust! Trust when we understand and when we do not. Trust when it is easy and hard. Trust! Jesus faithfully entrusted Himself. He was kept by power by trusting God.
That is the question for us today, “Do we faithfully entrust everything to Him? “ We need to run to Jesus. He is the author and finisher of our faith, and He will guard and guide us all the days of our lives. Rejoice! This is your day to be all you can be! Victory today!
Song of Solomon 8:7 – “Many waters cannot quench love; neither can rivers drown it. If a man tried to buy love with everything he owned, his offer would be utterly despised.” NLT
Everyone, not just Christians, should not need a special day to focus on Love. Love should be the rule, not the exception, in our relationship with that special person in our life and our dealings with everyone at all times. There are numerous passages in the Bible regarding love and how relationships should be conducted on virtually every level. I chose this particular passage for what it says and want to address a couple of things on this day in which there will be more flowers, cards, and candy given than almost any day of the year.
This verse describes that true love cannot be washed away even with a flood. It is not fickle or fragile as is often the image we get from today’s society. If we look at 1 Corinthians 13, we realize how strong love really is in the human heart. If we consider John 3:16, we understand how powerful and committed love is in the heart of God.
If we read this verse with an open heart, we understand that Love is not for sale. That is a powerful point. True Love is not a purchasable commodity, nor is it an earned commodity. It is GIVEN! It may grow stronger based on the actions within a relationship, but actions, gifts, or even words alone are not the foundation of love.
It is not fragile and fickle. In that scenario, if one or the other forgets the gift, the words, the look, the touch, the kiss, the card, the flowers, or whatever, then love wanes. That is not love by any definition. I won’t attempt to tell you what it is, but love it isn’t.
We should all be the loving husbands, wives, friends, companions, neighbors, and human beings the Bible encourages and even dictates that we are to be. Yet, we know that that goal is impossible to attain without God’s love being first shed abroad in our hearts. Without a change in our very nature, through Christ’s giving of grace, we will remain selfish, though some are much more so than others. We will demand rather than give and receive. In a sense, we will sell what we call love, but it isn’t.
Love is not an emotion or something one falls into; it is a commitment of the heart and a decision of the mind, soul, and spirit. It is a choice that develops into a bond that becomes a covenant that is not fragile or fickle. Love is not necessarily easy because we must overcome our expectations, demands, and selfishness.
We must allow the Holy Spirit to keep our hearts attuned to God’s heart and desire the best for someone other than ourselves. Love, as Paul says in Corinthians, “Does not seek its own.” That is a picture of God’s love toward us and an example of how our love should be to others!
God’s expression of love through the sacrificial work of Christ on the Cross was not for Him but for us. His focus was not to amass a multitude of people to praise and worship Him, which would make Him selfish and self-centered; it was about bringing us out of darkness into light and redeeming man from Satan’s bondage. It was about giving!
I am thankful that God’s love is not something I have to earn because I would fall so short that I’d never taste even the slightest morsel of His bountiful and beautiful love.
I’m glad my wife’s love is not something I have to purchase or earn through meeting her requirements; it is bestowed on me because she has chosen to commit to me to love me, flaws and all. Mine for her is the same, and out of that covenant comes true love. It is not swayed by our temporary moments of selfishness. Our momentary lapses in our displays of our human frailty do not diminish it. It is strong because of the love of God in our hearts, our commitment to each other, and the covenant bond that we have developed and grown into, which keeps our love growing stronger each day!
Did you have children and begin loving them only after they were old enough to fulfill your expectations?
Did you only begin to love your parents after they had fulfilled your desires, demands, wants, and wishes?
Did you begin to love God only after He fulfilled a certain number of prayer requests?
I dare say you did not in any of those. You love your children because they are God’s gift to you and “flesh of your flesh;” they are part of you. You love your parents in response to their love, nurture, and care for you even before you knew or could rationalize anything. They loved you, and you responded to that love. The Bible tells us you love God because “He first loved us.”
In loving, we are responding to love! When two people find that the bond between them, the attraction that may have begun as physical, has risen to a higher level, they decide to commit, form the bond, and “cut the covenant’ that love requires; then it can be said that they are in love with each other! I’ve heard so many definitions of love in my years of ministry that were a million miles from what love really is that I wonder if most really know what love is.
My desire is that the Holy Spirit will enable me to love unconditionally as and with the Love of the Lord. If God loved us according to the definition, understanding, or commitment that is demonstrated among human beings, we would all be in serious trouble eternally.
So, my prayer is that on this day, when the focus is on Love, each of us will reexamine our understanding of and commitment to love. It is my prayer that we will allow the Holy Spirit to not only deposit the Love of God in our hearts but enable us to let that love flow out of us to others, especially to that special person or those special people in our lives that we treasure.
May God be with you on this day and make it a day with an Abounding Overflow of Love from you and to you! Blessings!
Exodus 20:1-3 – “God spoke all these words: 2 “I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me.”
Let me begin by saying, “Hold this in your heart and rest in its reality. God values and treasures you! God can transform your life and encourage you through others in Christ. Encouraging one another is part of our Body Ministry in God’s Love!”
Today, several things exploded in my consciousness as I read, prayed, and pondered His Word.
Number One – God speaks!
He has been and always will be the Speaking God! When He speaks, it is vital to hear and heed His words. In Exodus 20, He spoke to the entire nation of Israel, and it shook them to their core. They stopped hearing God and wanted Moses to interpret and relay God’s words to them. That is a tragedy. If we cease hearing God personally, it is easy to get off track.
God sent an angel before them, and Psalm 91 informs us that He is doing the same for us. Our key is the same as theirs (Exodus 23:23): Listen closely to the directions and obey, and then God’s might is displayed and His provision realized.
Hebrews 3:1 says something amazing that is connected. Not only have we been made Holy by the Blood of Jesus, but we have also been invited “to the feast of your Heavenly calling…” That could be translated as “You are called to share the life of heaven.” The Aramaic is “called with a calling from heaven.”
Thy kingdom come was the model prayer Jesus taught. The Father desires and goals to give us the kingdom and empower us to bring the culture of the kingdom of God to earth and into our daily lives. That requires hearing God and obedience. It requires cooperating with the angelic help he sends. It requires embracing every word of God with faith and obedience.
Number Two – God Expects us To Have Expectation.
Hebrews 4:3 –“…faith activates the promise, and we experience the realm of rest.” Hebrews 4:12 reminds us of the incredibleness of God’s Word. It is Alive, full of power and energy. It penetrates deep into the core of our being and interprets and reveals our thoughts, motives, and God’s purposes.
If we realize our call and invitation, we can realize the reality of Hebrews 6:18—God does not lie and never takes back His promises. Then, “We run into His heart to hide ourselves in His faithfulness.” There, we find strength and comfort, and “He empowers us to seize what has already been established ahead of time—an unshakable hope!”
Think about who we are in Him, and as we obey His Voice, we enter into the heaven life on earth. Today would be a great day to seize the day, rejoice in God, and expect Heaven to come down and glory to fill our souls!
I pray that your day will be filled with expectation and a demonstration of God’s Love, Mercy, Peace, Presence, and Power!
Roy's Covenant Corner 