"Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord, or declare all His praise?...He saved them from the hand of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy....But they soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel....They despised the pleasant land, having no faith in His promise....Nevertheless, He looked upon their distress, when He heard their cry. For their sake He remembered His covenant...." (From Psalm 106, ESV)
Here we have the history of, well, everybody. Notice the pattern here, "praise," then, "He saved them," then, "But they soon forgot," then, "Nevertheless...He remembered His covenant." Jesus' Mercy triumphs over all.
This is all too frequently, however, the cycle of life for the Believer. The command of Jesus to, "Abide in Me," is not an idle command. It may be taken too lightly by so many, because the tendency of most is to treat something very familiar, something repeated over and over, as the Bible does every time we read it, with a sort of over familiarity. But Jesus' Words still stand, not only as a glorious invitation, but also an ominous warning, that if we do not take heed to the invitation/command, we will follow the pattern in today's text.
"If you abide in Me...and My Words abide in you..."-- The promised "outcome" of this is, "....ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." Now, forget that Cadillac you never got, or that healing which has evaded you, and today think of our greatest, "....ask...," viz., "....save[] us from the hand of the foe and redeem[] us from the power of the enemy." This is the glorious ongoing promise of Jesus Christ, "The Lord is my light and my salvation....The Lord is the strength of my life...." Defeat comes to those who are too sure of their spirituality, too confident in their status as a "righteous" person. Paraphrase: "'....Abide in...My Words..,' and I will c0ntinually, 'save[ you] from the foe and redeem[ you] from the power of the enemy.'"
Father, in Jesus' Name, I'm so thankful that you always, "remember[ Your] covenant." Amen.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
