Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen. 2 Peter 3:17-18
Oh, how sweet a sound to be called the beloved of Jesus Christ! That we might as His beloved ever keep our focus upon Him, His Grace and to forever seek to know Him more. It is so easy to lose sight of Him as we journey through this world. We see the evil forces surrounding us. People filled with pride, hate and disdain for the precious name of our Savior. There are the radical forces in this world whose desire is to destroy all who would profess the name of Jesus. There are those who in the name of “love” hate any who love the commandments of God. Others so filled with love and worry about their own selfish “feelings” that they hate truth.
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. John 3:19-21
Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV)
As we look around us at all the sorrows, the trials, and the pains in this world; we find it hard not to ever fear. Is that because we don’t really believe that God is Sovereign? When I consider the majesty of the stars at night, the intricate beauty of His creation, and every miraculous wonder that He has performed in my own life; I find it impossible to believe anything less than “He is Able to Perform all that He desires.” Knowing that He is able; then, where is it that my faith falters? Then, does my doubt come concerning His desire? Did He not say?
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11-13
Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;…… That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God Ephesians 3:8,16-19
This was the request of Moses as he talked with God; pleading for the salvation of his nation, despite their rebellion. It had not been that long since the Glory of God had descended upon the mountain; and the people of Israel saw it as a devouring fire.
And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. Exodus 24:16-17
God had presented to Moses the law by which the children of Israel could follow after Him. While Moses was high upon the mount with the Glory of God at a distance high upon the mountain appearing as a devouring fire; they, the people grew impatient and fearful. They decided to build a golden calf to worship. Somehow, they forgot all that God had done in rescuing them from slavery. Had they begun to believe the whispering lie that perhaps God had abandoned them, that He really didn’t want for their best? Or was it pride that made them think they could figure out a better way for themselves? Was it lust and desire that caused them to want to worship a tangible Golden Calf instead of God? What about you and I? Do we run and hide from God rather than to seek to see His Glory?
For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better HOPE did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. Hebrews 7:19
How do we find hope when our world comes crashing in around us? Yet, hope is what we need to be able to stand against the barrage of circumstances that would pull us under. Without hope, I could never have overcome the grief of being a young widow, the scars of abuse, the ravages of cancer, the decades of illness, and the fears of failure. Face it! This journey of life is tough sometimes. It does not always go as we plan. We all too often get caught up in striving to achieve. We want to press ahead. Think Positive! Find achievement on our own. Even we who know Christ as Savior, somehow want to prove that we can “work a little harder” and by such gain a better favor with God. Then we find that we fail. We find ourselves caught up in the same sin we vowed would never happen again. All that “positive thought training” comes tumbling down like the house of cards that it is. Did we have our hope in the wrong thing? All too often that is the case. Hope must be based upon something and someone who is our firm foundation. We find our hope can only be found in God Himself. Our only hope of salvation cannot be in our own ability to build a staircase to God through our own labor; rather, it is that He built that staircase through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ upon the cross. Without Him, there is no real hope.
