- araratchurch
- Oct 27, 2023
- 3 min read
““What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.””
Luke 15:4-7 NKJV
Man was created to have unbroken fellowship with God.
Tragically, that unfettered access was cut off when man chose to go against the instruction of the Lord.
“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.””
Genesis 2:16-17 NKJV
When man went against the command of God, death entered in. That is to say, he was now corruptible, and would die rather than living forever. As well, the shame of sin caused him to be afraid of the coming Judgment.
“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.””
Genesis 3:8-10 NKJV
Now man was cut off from knowing God’s heart. Therefore, the Lord would have true fellowship with only a few.
However, God could still know and see man’s heart.
“The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, Searching all the inner depths of his heart.”
Proverbs 20:27 NKJV
And, for the most part, the heart of man was seen by God for what it was: desperately wicked!
“The heart is deceitful above all things And it is extremely sick; Who can understand it fully and know its secret motives? I, the Lord, search and examine the mind, I test the heart, To give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.”
Jeremiah 17:9-10 AMP
Praise God—through Jesus Christ—we are called back into fellowship with God!
“God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
I Corinthians 1:9 NKJV
Indeed, the Lord Jesus became a way where there was no way, so that through Him—and only through Him—we can have Union with the Father.
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “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. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”
John 15:4-6 NKJV
In our opening scripture, we see Jesus describing His desire to find that which was lost.
Indeed, as we discussed yesterday, without Him, we were lost. But, through His work, we were found.
“who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”
I Peter 2:24-25 NKJV
Praise God, when the Shepherd of our souls picked us up, He put our ear against His heart. And, the heart we hear, is the heart of God!
Tomorrow we’ll talk more about how He made a way for us to hear His heart.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Oct 27, 2023
- 3 min read
“O Lord, I know that the path of [life of] a man is not in himself; It is not within [the limited ability of] man [even one at his best] to choose and direct his steps [in life]. O Lord, correct me [along with Your people], but with mercy and in just measure— Not in Your anger, or You will crush me and bring me to nothing.”
Jeremiah 10:23-24 AMP
When thinking about my father, one thing that always comes to my mind is that he never lost the joy of his salvation. Now, what I mean is, he never failed to react with deep, cheerful gratitude, when referencing what the Lord had done for him in terms of his own salvation.
I remember my father singing the song, “When My Savior Reached Down for Me”:
“I was near to despair when He came to me there
And He showed me that I could be free
Then He lifted me up out of Satan’s dark snare
When He reached down His hand for me
Chorus
When my Savior reached down for me
When He reached way down for me
I was lost and undone, without God or His Son
When He reached down His hand for me”
I still remember how he would illustrate the Lord’s reaching down for him, by putting his own large, wonderful hand down toward the ground, all the while crying tears of joy because of the depths from which the Lord had pulled him.
Yes, my father knew that he was headed to Hell, but had been redirected toward Glory through the mighty miracle of salvation.
I fully believe that the aspect of recognizing from what depths we were saved by the work of Jesus Christ, is lost in many modern churches.
You see, in an attempt to present a more “positive” message, what people need (in terms of salvation) is often represented as just a “sprucing up,” or a “bringing out of their best self.”
The reality is, we who are now saved, were all on our way to destruction; and, but for the grace of God through Jesus Christ, that would still be our destination.
As we remarked yesterday, it is tragic that many Christians—even spirit-filled Christians—tend to walk in their old ways of being and doing, never recognizing that the new life, the better way, comes by walking in consistent obedience to the Lord. We weren’t redeemed to continue walking in our old ways.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.”
Proverbs 3:5-8 NKJV
Upon hearing the words of the proverbial writer that we should acknowledge the Lord in all of our ways, we may too quickly suppose that we’ve got that covered.
However, the sad reality may be that our idea of acknowledging the Lord in all our ways, is simply that we acknowledge that He exists, or that we express gratitude for the good things that come by His hand. But, that is not truly acknowledging the Lord in all of our ways.
The proverbial writer also instructed that we should be always reverent.
“Happy is the man who is always reverent, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.”
Proverbs 28:14 NKJV
What being always reverent means is that everything we do is done within the context of the fear of God. That is, we eschew sin, while pursuing righteousness (God’s way of being and doing).
In our opening scripture we see the prophet Jeremiah acknowledging the reality that man—in isolation from God—is incapable of rightly ordering his own steps. Indeed, Jeremiah asks for the Lord’s correction to keep him from falling into the same judgment the disobedient children of God were experiencing.
Tomorrow we will look into how the Holy Spirit of God provides the ability to consistently pursue the path of righteousness.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Oct 24, 2023
- 3 min read
In preparation for our discussion over the next five days, please carefully read and meditate on these passages of scripture:
“Happy is the man who is always reverent, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.”
Proverbs 28:14 NKJV
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.”
Proverbs 3:5-8 NKJV
“The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, Searching all the inner depths of his heart.”
Proverbs 20:27 NKJV
“Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.””
John 10:25-30 NKJV
“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”
John 14:16-18 NKJV
“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”
John 15:15-16 NKJV
“Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”
John 16:7, 12-13 NKJV
“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
Romans 8:26-27 NKJV
We may look at how people experienced God, how He spoke to them, in the days of the Old Testament, with envy. Yes, it seems that the Lord spoke to them in more “dramatic” ways.
But, the fact is, any of the patriarchs would have been in awe of us being able to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God!
Indeed, by way of the Holy Spirit, we have the Lord inside of us, working with us, to fulfill His purposes. We only have need to listen and follow His leading.
Sadly, even some spirit-filled Christians still fail to walk in consistent obedience to the voice of the Lord.
Over the next several days, we will be discussing what it means to live a life characterized by always being mindful of God’s way of being and doing, always being mindful of His heart and His will.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!