Friday, August 4, 2017, 1:27 p.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “In Faithfulness He Leads Me.” Speak,
Lord, your words to my heart. I read Psalm
96 (NASB).
Good Tidings
(vv. 1-6)
Sing to the Lord a new song;
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to
day.
Tell of His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
But the Lord made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
What are the good tidings of
his salvation? They are that God the Father sent his only begotten Son Jesus
Christ to the earth to take on human form and to be crucified on a cross for
our sins. He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the
righteousness of God. When he died, our sins died with him and were buried with
him. When he was resurrected from the dead, he rose victorious over sin, hell,
Satan and death on our behalf. Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness, and that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who
gave his life up for us.
When we believe in Jesus
Christ to be Lord (owner-master) and Savior of our lives, we are crucified with
Christ in death to sin so that we might live with Christ in newness of life,
created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. “Our old self was
crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so
that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.”
“When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness… but now
having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit,
resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life” (See: Eph. 4:17-24;
Ro. 6:1-23; Gal. 2:20).
Since we been turned from
darkness (sin) to light (righteousness), and from the power of Satan to God, we
have received forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by
faith in Jesus Christ. Sin and Satan are no longer to be our masters so that we
obey them, but now Jesus Christ is to be our only Lord. We are to now walk in
the fear of the Lord, not in the sense of being afraid of God, but in the sense
of showing him absolute honor, respect, value, esteem, submission and obedience
to his commands.
A Love Offering
(vv. 7-11)
Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name;
Bring an offering and come into His courts.
Worship the Lord in holy attire;
Tremble before Him, all the earth.
Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns;
Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not
be moved;
He will judge the peoples with equity.”
When Jesus Christ died on
that cross for our sins, he “gave Himself for us to redeem us from every
lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own
possession, zealous for good deeds” (Tit. 2:14). Therefore, we are urged “by
the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy
sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual
service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you
may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable
and perfect” (Ro. 12:1-2).
In other words, Jesus didn’t
die on that cross just so we could escape hell or just so we could go to heaven
when we die, but he died to change us. He died to transform us away from living
for sin and self to walking in his righteousness and holiness. By righteousness
we mean what is deemed right in the eyes of God, i.e. what meets with his
divine approval. So, if we are walking in his righteousness, we are living
lives of integrity, holiness, honesty, and uprightness, and lives which are
moral and decent. Also, to be holy means to be set apart (unlike, different)
from the world of sin because we are being made into the image of Christ.
So, what should this all look
like? Well, it means that Jesus is the Lord of our lives, i.e. that he is our
owner-master and we belong to him, and that we are no longer our own, for we
were bought back for God with the price of his blood shed for us on a cross. It
means we desire him above all else, and he is the one who gets our full
allegiance. We now walk (in lifestyle), not according to our sinful flesh, but
according to the Spirit of God. We are no longer conformed (adapted) to the
ways of this sinful world, but we walk in the ways of the Lord to please him in
all that we do and are and say.
In Righteousness (vv. 11-13)
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
Let the sea roar, and all it contains;
Let the field exult, and all that is in it.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy
Before the Lord, for He is coming,
For He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
And the peoples in His faithfulness.
These words bring to recall
the words of Isaiah 55. There the people were encouraged to thirst and hunger
after God instead of to spend their money on what would never satisfy the
hunger of their souls. They were urged to eat (partake of) what is good
(righteous, holy), and for the wicked to forsake his way, and the unrighteous
his evil thoughts. And, they were counseled to return to the Lord, and he would
have compassion on them, and he would pardon (forgive) their sins. God said
that his will would be accomplished, and that his word would not return empty.
And, then he said that they would go out with joy and that the mountains would
break forth into shouts of joy.
This was a promise of people
turning to or returning to the Lord. All throughout the Bible, most every time
God judged his people, it was to bring about revival in their hearts so that
they would return to the Lord with pure devotion. And, I believe scripture
teaches that, in these last days, before Christ’s return, he will judge the
people of the earth in justice, righteousness and in faithfulness, but not just
to punish, but to bring people to himself or back to himself. He is calling out
to his rebellious and wayward children, and he is calling them to repentance
and renewed faith in him, and he will use divine discipline (chastisement) in
order to revive their hearts.
Yet, a day is coming, too,
when Jesus Christ will come back to take us, his followers, to be with him, and
then the doors to heaven will be closed, and there will be no more opportunity
to be saved from your sins or to have the promise of heaven as your eternal
home. And, so that is why we are being encouraged here to proclaim his
salvation and his glory among the nations, so that many will be saved. It is
also why he is urging people here to worship the Lord in true holiness and to
offer their lives to him as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. For,
not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” will be received into his heaven, but only
those who do his will (Matt. 7:21).
In Faithfulness He Leads Me
An Original Work / March 20, 2013 / Based off Various
Scriptures
(Ps. 26:3; 86:11; 91:4-5; 111:7-8; 119:73-76; Is.
25:1,4&9; 42:6-7; Hos. 2:16-20)
Teach me Your ways, Lord, and
I’ll walk in them.
Give me a pure heart. I’ll
fear Your name.
Your love is always, ever
before me.
Continually I’ll walk in Your
truth.
You will cover me with
feathers.
Under Your wings I’ll find
refuge.
My Lord’s faithfulness will
be my
Comfort and my shield.
The works of His hands are
faithful and just.
Trustworthy are all of His
precepts.
Your hands have made me, and
they have formed me.
Give understanding of Your
commands.
I have put my hope, O Lord,
in Your word.
Your teachings, O Lord, are
righteousness.
Lord, in faithfulness You
have
Afflicted me so I may learn
of
Your unfailing love and
comfort
And Your truthfulness.
You are my husband; You have
betrothed me
In love, compassion and
faithfulness.
O Lord, You are my God, I’ll
exalt You.
In faithfulness You’ve done
wondrous things.
You’ve been a refuge for
those who’re needy;
A shelter in storms; shade
from the heat.
This is the Lord, we trusted
in Him,
Let us be glad and rejoice
In His salvation which He
Provided through the Lamb.
Open the blind eyes; free all
the captives.
Tell them of Jesus: “Be born
again!”
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