Genesis 17:7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
This covenant was made with Abraham and by extension with the people of Israel. However, it brought to my mind some of the promises God made to believers in the New Testament.
Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light - (KJV because that is the version I memorized this in.)
It is amazing to me how bent over we walk because we do not believe nor appropriate the truth here. What God asks of us is not all that heavy because he is willing and able to do the hard lifting here. All we have to do is believe and trust the truth here - the promise that in him we shall find rest. Instead we wander around listening to all those who would sympathize with our miseries instead of being quiet enough to listen and allow him to give us rest. How powerful are these words: Learn of me and you shall find rest for your souls. The more we know about our Saviour, the more we believe what we know, the more our perspective changes, and we realize we are not alone in this challenge. And if God is in this yoke with us, then who is doing the hard part?
John 14: 26-27 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghose whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. ( Again, KJV because of that early memory work)
First, I love the book of John, it is the first book in which I did significant study and memory work.
Jesus gave these words to the disciples, but I believe they are ours for today. If we put ourselves where there are things to learn about him ( in the Word and the company of those who love the Word), the Holy Spirit will give us understanding. I don't believe he zaps these things into our memory - we must make ourselves learners, but he is the teacher - giving us understanding that makes it easier to learn and remember and apply the truths of the Word.
I love the promise here that he will remind us of what we have learned - that he will bring it back to our minds when we need it. I find such comfort and hope in this: when I am hurting or in need of encouragement, he will bring it back to my mind - that which he has helped me store of his Word.
And he gives me an unconditional peace, a future hope and home, a rest in his arms, something the world could never give us...His love is unconditional - everything from the world is conditional.
And as I review this, I am reminded again of how important it is to make time to be still, to listen for his voice as the Holy Spirit rehearses the truths the Spirit and I have stored up. And also how important it is to continue in the Word, to be vigilant about reading and studying it, so that the Spirit has something to work with as he comforts and teaches me.
Too often, I hear professing believers make excuses for the way they busy God out of their lives, and then in the same conversation bemoan their mood and capacity for trial, as if it was God's fault. He loves us; his desire for us is to live in joy and peace and rest, if we just follow his leading.
Smith's question today was "what solemn covenants have I made that I will honor at all cost, even if there might be an easy way out?"
ReplyDeleteI had to chew on that one a little while because I think the only "covenant" I have made is my marriage vows to Allen. I'm not sure that I would consider anything else that I have agreed to as a covenant. I am reading The One Year Bible in the NIV as part of my quiet time this year and it splits up the Bible into OT/NT and some Psalms and Proverbs. Providentially the NT reading today was in Matthew 5 which talks about keeping oaths - I won't quote it all, but v 37 says "Simply let your Yes be Yes and your No, No; anything beyond this comes from the evil one."
A lot of times I will make "New Years Resolutions" or at the beginning of each semester I will set certain goals in relation to the girls I will minister to. I think it's good to set goals, but to recognize it is God who is enabling anything that I do so that in all I do God receives the glory.