Like Jesus - Love Good and Hate Evil

"I speak Jesus over every heart and mind," which is the beginning words of a powerful worship song.  There is something supernatural about the peace and power released as we declare His name.   Guess that is why Colossians 3:17 instructs us, "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."    

Using the name of Jesus is so much more than just speaking the word Jesus, it is actually the privilege of representing Jesus Himself.  We all agree that Jesus stated that He is the light of the world, but Jesus also said we are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14).  Clearly that depends upon God shining through us, which is, of course, the reason He gave us His Spirit.  

Jesus didn't begin HIs ministry until the Spirit of God came upon Him, as He declared in Luke 4, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted ...."  Surely, we have received the same Holy Spirit and Jesus pointed out that the Spirit is given without measure "For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. (John 3;34)  Therefore, it follows that with the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, we can and should do the same works that He did.  (Actually, Jesus says we will do greater ones!)

However, the strong hindrance to being this lighthouse and accomplishing these great works is sin.  Even though the blood of Jesus forgives sin and cleanses us from all unrighteousness, we have this flesh nature, these desires of body and mind, that is sold out to sin, and the wages of sin is death. It is vital that we choose life and obedience to the Word rather than give in to these selfish seductions.  Notice the attitude of Jesus toward sin, found in Hebrews 1:9, "You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than your companions."  Jesus hated sin.  Fear of the Lord is defined as hatred of evil in Proverbs 8:13.

  

Unless we let the Lord help us develop a hatred toward sin, we will always be deceived into thinking it is desirable.  Psalm 34:11 shares God's invitation, "Come, you children, listen to me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord.  Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days that he may see good?  Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.  Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it."  God is waiting to teach those who come to Him.

By loving and delighting to do His will, we choose life and can learn to reject, yes even hate, evil.  Psalm 112 declares, "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments."    

God of the Open Hand

You have been given everything you need to share the fullness of God and to enjoy His mercy and goodness today.  His hand is open to you.

Psalm 104 describes how God in wisdom and power provided everything man and beast needed to thrive on the earth.  Then, verses 27-28 summarizes this interaction: "They all wait for You to give them their food in due season.  You give to them, they gather it up; You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good. "

God is faithful.  He has given us all that we need to meet every need and He calls on us "to gather it up."  Psalm 145 celebrates this theme also, declaring His greatness and heart toward us.  "You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.  The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His deeds.  The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.  He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them.  The Lord keeps all who love Him."  You can know that this is how good God is toward you. 

Natural, or soulish man, cannot know or appreciate the gifts of God.  Therefore, the world and those who live by their mind, will, and emotions are just spectators that do not see or know the God who has provided everything.  However, when we receive our born-again spirit, we now can taste and see the goodness of the One who created all things for our good.  Our spirit has three basic functions: worship, revelation, and fellowship, which enable us to live by His Word, to let the revelation of God's greatness and goodness direct our thoughts and feelings.  Our spirit is in charge of the reaction of the soul, as David states in the Psalms, "Bless the Lord, O my soul."  His spirit directed his soul (thoughts, will, and feelings) to worship and yield to God.  The Word is spirit and life, so it provides the revelation, or enabling truth, that produces worship with God.  This fellowship with God allows us to know and enjoy all He has given.      

Let this truth that God's hand is open toward you direct your thoughts and feelings. Receive and rejoice in God's fresh mercy and goodness, for He "satisfies the desire of every living thing."  God's hand is open to you, releasing whatever you need to satisfy your heart's desires.  Just as Jesus asked the blind man in Luke 18, He now asks you, "What do you want Me to do for you?"

 

No More Excuses, Come!

"Come, for all things are now ready." is the invitation given to attend the wedding banquet in Luke 14. This also is the Father's invitation extended to each of us to share His banquet, the celebration feast of Jesus' victory over sin, sickness, and death, as all things are now ready.  Jesus has accomplished the work.    

However, we often are prone to act just as people did in the parable that Jesus told, "but they all alike began to make excuses."  The DNA of fallen human nature is rebellion, to want to do things our own way, and to think that our business, time, and desires are more important that whatever God is calling us to do.  

This invitation also applies to many issues of the heart, so we will focus on one key area, fear of the Lord.  In Psalm 34, the Lord invites us to come and to let Him teach us this crucial character trait which leads to enjoying good, fullness of life, and multiple blessings.  "Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.  Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good?"

The Holy Spirit continues in this Psalm to instruct us "Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.  Depart from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it."   Likewise, Proverbs 8:13 declares "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate."  The Lord desires to give us the same heart and attitude toward sin that He has.  

While our flesh responds negatively to being told what to do, the truth is that all God's commands are for our own good.  Notice Deuteronomy 4:40, "You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time."  God delights in His children willingly choosing to follow His ways because they are the way of life and peace.  

This is especially true with knowing and doing what is good and right with God.  God literally promises us many delicacies at this "fear of the Lord" banquet: (verse 7) angel of the Lord encamps around and delivers you, (verse 9) have no want, (Psalm 25:12-15) God teaches him in the way He chooses, and he shall dwell in prosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth, (Psalm 15:14) God reveals His secrets and shows His covenant.  God deliberately fills His Word with many more awesome promises of blessing for having "fear of the Lord," and invites us to choose to come to this special place with Him.  

The point is that we cannot be one of those that make excuses, but rather be one of those who chooses to let Him teach us how to depart from evil and do good in all we do.  Jesus says, "Be holy as I am holy."  No more excuses, Come. 

You are God's Favorite!

"Let the favor of the Lord be upon us." God declares in Psalm 90:12.   We are called upon to let, or to allow, His favor to be upon us.  Reminds me of one of the faith statements that Smith Wigglesworth often quoted, "God is more eager to answer than we are to ask."  God desires His favor to rest on us.  

As in all things, it is God who both initiates and completes this work.  In Psalm 5:12, He declares, "For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield."  What a great deal!  He gives us His righteousness (Remember 2 Corinthians 5:21, He became sin that we might become the righteousness of God.) and then because we have His righteousness, we can also then enjoy His favor which surrounds us like a shield.  A shield protects us from all the attacks of the enemy, as the shield of faith in the armor of God promises. 

There is a difference between doing a favor for someone and having favor.  Doing a favor is a one-time act, but having favor is a continuing attitude toward you that desires to bless and give to you all the time.  In our family, whenever one of the kids gets something at Christmas or at other times, they tease each other saying that this is because they are "Mom's favorite."  Well, that is not far from the truth of how God feels about you.  The verse in Psalm 21:6 states we, (or I) have been made kings and are the "most blessed forever."  In short, the truth is that because you have His favor, you can know you are God's favorite.  Only God is such a magnanimous person that He can treat each of us as "His favorite."

We can grow in realizing that we have His favor.  Jesus, in Luke 2:52, is reported that He grew "in favor with God and men."  Let this Word of truth daily settle in your thoughts and heart, because of His fresh mercy, you can be assured that He is pleased with you and that His favor rests upon you.

Rejoice and be gald, you favorite of God!