Habakkuk 2

Then the Lord replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

Saturday, March 4, 2023

The Dance in Our Steps

Psalms 63:1-4 ESV

 

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

    my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

    beholding your power and glory.

Because your steadfast love is better than life,

    my lips will praise you.

So I will bless you as long as I live;

    in your name I will lift up my hands.”

 

Our God, the only true God, the creator of the universe and every living thing upon the earth, is a triune God – Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit. Jesus, the Son of God, is also God, our creator God, who walked and lived among the people of the earth, but who came to the earth to die on a cross for our sins. For in Jesus’ death on that cross, he who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God, and that we might die with him to sin and live to his righteousness.

 

But on the third day God the Father raised Jesus from the dead, and after about 40 days of showing himself to the people, including to his disciples, he ascended back to heaven to be with the Father. And after another period of time he sent his Holy Spirit to the earth to indwell his followers and to be Jesus to them, basically. For the Holy Spirit is now the one who teaches us all things and who reminds us of the things Jesus taught his disciples. But we also have the written word of God where we are taught His truths.

 

Now, God revealed himself to all humankind via his created works (see Romans 1:18-32). But ungodly humans, by their unrighteousness, suppress the truth, and so they are without excuse. For it isn’t as though they don’t know about God, for he revealed himself to them, but the unrighteous humans choose not to honor God for who he is, and so they exchange the glory of God for the created, and they end up worshiping the created and not the creator. So, God gives them over to the lusts of their flesh to do what ought not to be done.

 

Nonetheless, Jesus Christ, in his death and resurrection, provided a way for us to be free from slavery to the lusts of the flesh, i.e. from sin, so that we would now be slaves of God and of his righteousness. So by God-given faith in Jesus Christ we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. The old is gone, the new has come. And now we are no longer to walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. And now we are to walk in obedience to our Lord in righteous living.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

Psalms 63:5-8 ESV

 

“My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,

    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

when I remember you upon my bed,

    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

for you have been my help,

    and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

My soul clings to you;

    your right hand upholds me.”

 

Something of this nature should also be our testimony of God’s love for us and of our love for him. For when we trust in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, this is not just about getting our sins forgiven so that we can go to heaven when we die. This is about a radical transformation of our hearts and minds and wills. This is about us dying with Christ to sin, not just once, but daily, and us walking in obedience to his commands (New Covenant) in righteousness and holiness, and in godly living, in practice.

 

So now Jesus Christ is our life. He is our Savior, and he is our Lord, and he is the sunshine in our souls and the dance in our steps and the song in our hearts and on our lips. He is the one who guides us in what is right and who warns us to not go certain directions. And he counsels us in the ways that we should go, and he strengthens and helps us to do what is right, and to obey his commands, and to do what he has called us to do, by his Spirit. And he should be in our thoughts even in the night on our beds.

 

Psalms 63:9-11 ESV

 

“But those who seek to destroy my life

    shall go down into the depths of the earth;

they shall be given over to the power of the sword;

    they shall be a portion for jackals.

But the king shall rejoice in God;

    all who swear by him shall exult,

    for the mouths of liars will be stopped.”

 

But when we are in such relationships with God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), and when we are following our Lord in obedience and in surrender to his will for our lives, we will have enemies who will come against us to attack us and to try to get us to desert our Lord and to return to following after our flesh. For they want us to stop trusting in the Lord and to return to trusting in our flesh, and they want us to no longer share the gospel of our salvation, but to be like the world in just speaking of worldly things.

 

Now our main enemy is Satan, but he will use other humans to come against us, some who do so knowingly and deliberately and others who may not be as aware of what they are doing and of the consequences of their actions, but who, perhaps, are just caught up in the world and they aren’t really aware that they are being used as tools of unrighteousness by Satan and for the purpose to destroy the lives of those who are following after the Lord wholeheartedly, and who are serving his purposes.

 

But those who are doing evil, and who are being used of Satan to come against the righteous, will have to answer to God for their actions. And God will judge them by their deeds, as he will all of us (Romans 2:6-8; Galatians 6:7-8). And those who live to please the flesh will die in their sins, regardless of whether or not they have made a profession of faith in Christ. But those who live to please God will inherit eternal life with God. So, please take this seriously (see noted Scriptures in first section above).

 

Full Release  

 

An Original Work / April 15, 2012

 

Walking daily with my Savior

brings me joy.

Loving Father; precious Jesus;

He’s my Savior and my Lord.

Gently leads me; follow Him.

I’ve invited Him within.

Now abiding in His presence,

oh, what peace.

From my self-life

He has brought me,

By His mercy, full release.

 

Hope and comfort,

peace and safety Jesus brings

When I daily bow before Him;

Obey freely; do His will.

Follow Him where’er He leads.

Listen to Him; His words heed.

Now obeying his words fully,

oh, what love

That He gives me

through salvation,

By His Spirit, from above.

 

Loving Father; precious Jesus,

He’s my friend.

With my Savior, by His Spirit,

I will endure to the end.

Share the gospel, tell what’s true.

Witness daily; His will do.

Tell the world of how their Savior

bled and died.

On a cruel cross He suffered

So that we might be alive.

 

https://vimeo.com/115169203

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