Thank You dear Father, for all of my blessings and the prospect of physical and spiritual renewal,with more time to come closer to You, upon the day for worship and rest. After a very busy week my body and mind are certainly ready for time spent focusing upon You, in quiet settings. I am so very blessed in this part of the world, with relative peace, and the pleasure of a plentiful harvest from my fruit trees, and garden. From what I read in scriptures, all this fades into insignificance, when compared with what has been prepared for the righteous redeemed in heaven. It would be true to say, I have no excuse to covet another, with so many blessings to share with others, Hebrews 13: 5, 6 and 8 “Let your conduct be without covetousness, be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” v8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.”
I give testament to the goodness of God, and the answers to my prayers, that are comforting, yet powerful and true to the many promises of God. There is such a blessing in honouring God, and speaking about His goodness and rescue strategies from fumbling human endeavours, as well as the peace given into the mind of any needy person who sincerely reaches out and talks with Him, in any way and in any place or time. Isaiah 43: 10, 11 “You are My witnesses,” says the Lord “And My servant whom I have chosen. That you may know and believe Me, and I understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed. Nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no savior.”
The Israelite nation, that had been preserved and blessed of God, had forgotten all His wondrous doings on their behalf, and compromised from Gods righteous ways, and served the gods of the nations around, and took on doing their wicked ways; including horrific atrocities to one another and all around. They ignored the pleadings of God, even though they had lived peaceful and fruitful lives, when serving God. As James puts it in the New Testament, Verses 2: 1 “My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.” V 7, 8 “Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? If you really fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself,’ you do well.”
They did not see that the bad things happening to them were due to their own actions. God as with us never gave up loving them and trying to bring them back to loving and serving Him. Verse 12 “I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, and there was no foreign god among you; therefore you are My witnesses,” says the Lord, “that I am God.” Only when we have an intimate personal relationship can we witness about God or anyone we know. To claim that we are the children of God, is a special privilege and as with any liaison comes with a responsibility, to be true to the agreements therein; and in this case we are to love God with all the heart, as He does us, and be obedient and righteous as He is. Verse 7 “Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.”
There are times when all seems black and it is so easy to forget that a breath away, there is a loving merciful, Saviour, Jesus Christ, who waits to be called and asked for help. Isaiah 60: 1-3 “Arise and shine, for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you and His glory will be seen upon you………” How good it is to know, that as repentance is placed in our heart, and we harken to the promptings of Jesus, all sin is forgiven. 2 Corinthians 5: 17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.”
All praise to You our God and Saviour.