Today I share with you once again a word from Seeds of the Kingdom that really blessed me this week. In a time where there is so much uncertainty and things we can fear as a result of all that we see happening around us - it is good to shift our perspectives to the fear that drives out all other fears.
Read it here: Seeds of the Kingdom: The fear that drives out fear
The Afters - I will fear no more
Somewhere in the past week a whats-app post appeared on my phone with a picture of a yoked pair of oxen and the message with it read something to this effect:
A teacher read the following scripture to her class one day:
Mathew 11:28-30
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Then she asked the class what a yoke is. Some children could explain the yoke very well as they were familiar with how a yoke works on a farm, but one little girl put up her hand and said:
"I think its when we are having a difficult, trying time and God puts His arm around our necks and helps us through that difficult time"
I just thought it is such a profound picture to keep in mind. When we are struggling, God does not leave us alone. He puts His arm around us and helps us break up our fallow ground so that when the rain comes, the ground is ready to receive the seed and to produce the growth in us.
Hosea 10:12-13
Sow for yourselves righteousness;
Reap in mercy;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the Lord,
Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.
His yoke is easy and His burden is light because He is the stronger covenant partner - the one that puts His arm around our necks and ploughs with us...
These days when I look at everything that is happening in the world, I do sometimes wonder "where will our help come from?" The world is falling apart bit by bit everyday. Daily there are reports of hunger, war, violence, corruption, natural disasters, illness etc... enough to make us look around in fear and uncertainty. I am sure the Psalmist felt like this when he wrote psalm 121. Not only does He say that our help is from the creator of the universe, but also gives the assurance that God will not allow our feet to be moved, that our God does not sleep nor slumber, that He is at our right hand side, that He is our keeper in all and every natural circumstances, but above all that He Himself will keep us from evil, preserve our soul and watch over our coming in and going out - forevermore!
What an assurance that we have the God who created heaven and earth, mountains and sun and moon - He himself will preserve us and keep us from evil!
121 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.
I lift my eyes up (Brian Doerksen)
Romans 5:6-11 really made me stop and think about how much God loves us. I do not think we can even comprehend the answer to that question. He loves us even though we are sinners, rebellious and disobedient to him. He loves us even when we are still His enemies. Jesus the Son of God's life was more valuable than the accumulative value of all the people in all of the history of mankind. In other words His life was more valuable than all the lives of all human beings that lived in the past, are living at present and will still live in the future added all together. He could pay the price for all of human kind, trading places with us when He took our sin upon Him and gave us His righteousness. When He said 'It is finished' on the cross everything that needed to be done so that we could be reconciled with God was done.
Now there is only one thing left for us to do. We need to respond to this love. We need to accept the gift of reconciliation so that we can have a new life in and through Christ. He is waiting for your and mine answer. He waits with abated breath because more than what He already did for us He cannot do. We have the choice to accept or reject. What is your answer? How do you respond to a love like this?
Romans 5:6-11 NKJ
6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
No one ever cared for me like Jesus - Stephany Gretzinger
In the last couple of weeks I have just realized how much I miss the corporate worship celebration of God during this pandemic where we are often not able to go to church and share fellowship with the body of Christ. This psalm and this song brings back some wonderful memories but also just help me to focus again on the greatness of our God and the fact that He is greatly to be praised - especially in a time such as this!
48 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised
In the city of our God,
In His holy mountain.
2 Beautiful in elevation,
The joy of the whole earth,
Is Mount Zion on the sides of the north,
The city of the great King.
3 God is in her palaces;
He is known as her refuge.
4 For behold, the kings assembled,
They passed by together.
5 They saw it, and so they marveled;
They were troubled, they hastened away.
6 Fear took hold of them there,
And pain, as of a woman in birth pangs,
7 As when You break the ships of Tarshish
With an east wind.
8 As we have heard,
So we have seen
In the city of the Lord of hosts,
In the city of our God:
God will establish it forever. Selah
9 We have thought, O God, on Your lovingkindness,
In the midst of Your temple.
10 According to Your name, O God,
So is Your praise to the ends of the earth;
Your right hand is full of righteousness.
11 Let Mount Zion rejoice,
Let the daughters of Judah be glad,
Because of Your judgments.
12 Walk about Zion,
And go all around her.
Count her towers;
13 Mark well her bulwarks;
Consider her palaces;
That you may tell it to the generation following.
14 For this is God,
Our God forever and ever;
He will be our guide
Even to death.
Psalm 46 was sent to me this week by a friend and when I read it I just realized how relevant it is for us in this time. It is so encouraging to know that God is with us in the storm. To be reminded that He is YHVH Elohe Tsevaot - the Lord of the heavenly armies, The Lord of hosts, is a great encouragement in this time.
Let us be still and know that He is God
Even when the world around us is shaken - He is our shelter, He is with us never leaving us nor forsaking us. He is our ever present refuge and strength - Let us not fear!
In this past week I have many times felt like I do not really know what and how to pray. With everything happening in our beloved country from riots and looting to friends being sick with covid and generally the numbers surging overall, I have many times been at a loss for words. Thankfully I know that Jesus is interceding for us before the Father's throne and His prayers for us are always perfect. He knows what to pray, but I was also reminded that His disciples once asked Him "Lord, teach us to pray", upon which He then gave them what we call "The Lord's prayer". Yesterday Ellel Ministries posted their daily devotions with exactly this message, and I thought it is confirmation to revisit this prayer of Our Lord Jesus in this time. I share their post with you this morning:
There are so many beautiful versions of the Lord's prayer but this morning I opt for a more traditional version:
The Lord's Prayer - Susan Boyle
Listen to the Word of God as Wisdom describes herself:
Proverbs 8:21-36
22 “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way,
Before His works of old.
23 I have been established from everlasting,
From the beginning, before there was ever an earth.
24 When there were no depths I was brought forth,
When there were no fountains abounding with water.
25 Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills, I was brought forth;
26 While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields,
Or the primal dust of the world.
27 When He prepared the heavens, I was there,
When He drew a circle on the face of the deep,
28 When He established the clouds above,
When He strengthened the fountains of the deep,
29 When He assigned to the sea its limit,
So that the waters would not transgress His command,
When He marked out the foundations of the earth,
30 Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman;
And I was daily His delight,
Rejoicing always before Him,
31 Rejoicing in His inhabited world,
And my delight was with the sons of men.
32 “Now therefore, listen to me, my children,
For blessed are those who keep my ways.
33 Hear instruction and be wise,
And do not disdain it.
34 Blessed is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at the posts of my doors.
35 For whoever finds me finds life,
And obtains favor from the Lord;
36 But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul;
All those who hate me love death.”
Continuing in Proverbs 8:12-21 lets hear what Wisdom wants to teach us this morning:
“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,
And find out knowledge and discretion.
13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
Pride and arrogance and the evil way
And the perverse mouth I hate.
14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom;
I am understanding, I have strength.
15 By me kings reign,
And rulers decree justice.
16 By me princes rule, and nobles,
All the judges of the earth.
17 I love those who love me,
And those who seek me diligently will find me.
18 Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring riches and righteousness.
19 My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold,
And my revenue than choice silver.
20 I traverse the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of justice,
21 That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth,
That I may fill their treasuries.
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil..... Wisdom love those who love her and those who seek Wisdom diligently will find Wisdom...
Let us hate evil and love Wisdom, Let us fear the Lord and diligently seek Wisdom this week in all that we do.
