- araratchurch
- Jun 11
- 4 min read
“Draw me after you; let us run. The king has brought me into his chambers. We will exult and rejoice in you; we will extol your love more than wine; rightly do they love you.”
Song of Solomon 1:4 ESV
The breakdown of faithfulness in marital relationships is one of the main causes of the breakdown of the family, and indeed, of society. Strong family units produce a strong society. The truth is, this lack of faithfulness in marital relationships was and is fallout from unfaithfulness toward our Lord.
Unfaithfulness toward the Lord is nothing new. Indeed, all through the Old Testament we see the Lord speaking to His people, Israel, with whom He had made an everlasting covenant, concerning their idolatry and their running after the gods of this world.
One particularly poignant passage illustrating God‘s love and His broken heart concerning Israel’s infidelity, is found in Ezekiel. The Lord sent Ezekiel to speak to Jerusalem concerning her breaking of His covenant with them. In this prophetic word to Jerusalem, the Lord describes His relationship with Jerusalem by speaking of the way He had rescued His people when nobody cared for them. He blessed them, made them beautiful, and then they thanked Him by turning to other gods, being faithless concerning their covenant with the Lord.
“And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born. “And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full adornment. Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare. “When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, and you became mine. And your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord God. “But you trusted in your beauty and played the whore because of your renown and lavished your whorings on any passerby; your beauty became his.”
Ezekiel 16:4-8, 14-15 ESV
Sadly, the story of broken covenants does not stop with Israel and the Lord. Even though the Lord has loved us to a degree our human minds can not begin to understand, many Christians deem Him unworthy of our faithfulness. So many of our personal stories reflect the story told in Ezekiel: We come to the Lord, broken, needing to find hope and a way out of our trouble. Yet, we too soon can forget what He has done for us, and be found in the tent of the world.
Our opening scripture is only a portion of a beautiful love story found in the Song of Solomon. This love story can only begin to express the love and devotion our Savior has shown to us.
Child of God, there is nothing better you could do than to ask the Lord to draw you close to Him and allow His love to envelop you. And—in the moments of that precious union—commit to staying close to Him and to living such that you will reflect the faithfulness due to the One Who has given us EVERYTHING! Why should we fight against a love that was proven on a rugged cross where His death restored us to life? Let’s be faithful to Him. Let’s be His virgin bride waiting for His soon coming with great joy and anticipation. The King is coming! Our King is coming! And He desires that we rule and reign with Him. How can we not seek to please Him only?
“He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. Sustain me with raisins; refresh me with apples, for I am sick with love. His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me!”
Song of Solomon 2:4-6 ESV
“For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. For the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God.”
Isaiah 54:5-6 ESV
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Dec 1, 2023
- 4 min read
“For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me. And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
II Corinthians 12:6-10 NKJV
When I was a little girl and taking piano lessons, I didn’t want to practice where my sister or brother could hear me. You see, I didn’t want them to hear me messing up on the songs as I was trying to learn them. I know, that’s perfectionism, right?
Unfortunately, that need to do whatever I was doing in a perfect way, also bled over into my relationship with the Lord. At one point I became aware that I rarely spoke to the Lord concerning my personal struggles or weaknesses. Now, the way I became aware of that dynamic was when the Lord spoke to me and said, “Janet, you need to know you need a savior to have one.”
Yes, those words, so matter-of-factly spoken to me, made me see the foolishness of trying to show the Lord how “perfect” I was!
Now, please understand, this was not in any way my thinking that I was somehow better than those who struggled. Rather, it was me actually trying to “earn” the Lord‘s favor by being a “perfectly” good girl.
Of course, I still want to comport myself in a way that is pleasing to the Lord and reflects Him to others. But, I now know that He actually wants to help me with those things I can’t do or endure by myself.
In fact, we can’t really do ANYTHING by ourselves. Jesus made this point clear when speaking of our need to stay connected to Him.
““I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5 NKJV
Indeed, Christ did not come and do what He did for us so that we could live our lives trying to show Him we don’t need Him. As a matter of fact, it is in knowing our need for Him that we are strengthened and enabled by His marvelous gift of grace!
Our Lord, our High Priest, struggled with everything we will ever struggle, so, He knows where we’re coming from. Therefore, we can go to Him in confidence that He will help us with whatever current affliction or resistance is coming against us.
“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 4:15-16 NKJV
Additionally, the wonderful thing about our depending on Him, living a life vitally connected to Him, is that He never runs out of grace for us.
“And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
John 1:16-17 NKJV
The apostle Paul understood that anything we are able to do or to endure, is because of the Lord’s grace, His enabling power within us.
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”
I Corinthians 15:10 NKJV
In speaking to the church at Philippi concerning their ministering to his needs, Paul made it clear that, although he appreciated what they were doing for him, his peace and contentment did not come from anything but the Lord. Yes, the Lord helped him endure whatever he needed to endure.
“Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Philippians 4:11-13 NKJV
In our opening scripture we see Paul illustrating his vulnerability by openly talking about some thorn in the flesh he had. He tells of how he had fervently sought the Lord to remove this resistance and/or affliction from him. Instead of the Lord removing the thorn, He helped Paul to understand that it is when we know we can’t do something alone, and depend completely on Him, that we are at our strongest.
Dear friend, whatever you must endure, whatever your affliction, whatever resistance comes against you, whatever the thorns you may find yourself up against, remember, the Lord has already overcome everything you will ever face; and, His overcoming power is an ever-present help in the time of your need.
Don’t allow your personal pain, suffering, hurt, loss, and so on, cause you to turn away from your only hope. Rather, take everything to the Lord: the good, the bad, and the ugly, depend fully on Him, and stay tapped into His grace.
Yes, whatever you need, whatever you’re going through, His grace is sufficient.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Dec 1, 2023
- 4 min read
“Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.”
Genesis 50:19-20 NKJV
You’re probably familiar with “resistance training.” In resistance training, those wanting to increase their muscle mass and strength, engage in different activities wherein a muscle’s normal movement is done with added resistance against that movement.
Now, there are any number of infomercials touting the latest and greatest contraption offering the “perfect” resistance to build muscles. In fact, they make it look so very easy to do. But the reality is, resistance is resistance, and most people don’t enjoy the experience; what they do enjoy is the results.
Yesterday we spoke of the thorns Jesus bore, and how our association with Him will bring thorns of affliction and resistance, simply because we believe in Him.
But, the fact is that ongoing thorns of resistance and affliction in our life, can actually be serving a contemporaneously positive purpose.
The Bible is full of stories of people who were saved from destruction by what was seen at the time as a thorn of resistance or affliction.
For example, we have Balaam, who was determined to curse the children of Israel. He thought his donkey was trying to hurt him. The fact was that the donkey saw something he didn’t, and it was better for him to get his foot crushed, than to end up walking into the sword of the Angel of the Lord.
“And the Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me. The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.””
Numbers 22:32-33 NKJV
Indeed, the psalmist wrote of the benefit of an affliction that produced course-correction for him.
“Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word.”
Psalms 119:67 NKJV
And, the writer of Hebrews extols the benefit of chastening in terms of our spiritual development.
“And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.” If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
Hebrews 12:5-8, 11 NKJV
As well, what is seen at the time as affliction and resistance, can actually put us where we need to be to do what God has called us to do.
For Isaac it was the Philistines who kept driving him from the wells he was repairing (Genesis 26). Indeed, their constant interference eventually brought Isaac to where he was intended to settle down.
For Jacob it was a series of hardships (fleeing from Esau, deceit from his father-in-law, actions from his own family) that eventually brought him to having a personal relationship with the Lord. Through the struggles, the God of Abraham and Isaac, became the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
In our opening scripture we see probably the most employed example of God using circumstances to put a person where they were supposed to be. Indeed, in the story of Joseph, his brothers meant to do him harm, but their actions actually put him where he needed to be to save all the children of Israel.
Again, nobody enjoys resistance and affliction. Face it, we all want to smell the rose without engaging the thorns. But, we need to be grateful that as children of God, whether the thorn of affliction or resistance is used to correct a course that was leading to destruction, or is used to get us to where we need to be to fulfill our purpose, we can be sure the thorns are working for our benefit.
Yes, we must even be grateful for what the Lord allows to come our way.
“pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
I Thessalonians 5:17-18 NKJV
The fact is, we may not have the benefit of seeing all things being worked together for our good, but we can be sure that the Lord is doing just that.
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”
Romans 8:28-32 NKJV
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!