Thursday: Resting on the Promises
There is a story told about the famous Cardinal Bellarmine, the great Catholic apologist who all his life fought the message of justification by an imputed righteousness alone. As he lay dying, he was brought the crucifixes and the merits of the saints to help give him assurance before death. But Bellarmine said, “Take it away. I think it’s safer to trust in the merits of Christ.”
Image © Dave OConnell at Goodsalt.com
For many people as they near the end of their lives, they look back and see how vain, how futile, how useless their deeds and their works are for earning salvation with a holy God, and thus how much they need the righteousness of Christ.
Yet the good news is that we don’t have to wait for the approach of death to have security in the Lord now. The whole covenant is based on the secure promises of God now, promises for us now, promises that can make our life better now.
Look up the following verses and answer the question asked with each one in the context of developing, keeping, and strengthening your covenant relationship with God:
Psalm 34:8 (How can you taste God’s goodness?)
Matthew 11:30 (What is it about what Christ has done for us that makes this yoke easy?)
Romans 5:1 (What does justification have to do with peace?)
Philippians 2:7-8 (What have you gained from Christ’s experience?)
| Prayerfully examine your life and ask yourself, what things am I doing that are strengthening my relationship with God, and what things are hurting it? What changes do I need to make? |
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When you get old you do start to reflect on what you have done with your life. I look back on both good and bad experiences, successes and failures, praiseworthy and embarrassing. Having taught at both high school and tertiary education for over 40 years, I have had the opportunity of teaching and reteaching a few students, and have also taught the children and grandchildren of some of them. Furthermore, at class reunions and homecomings, I often meet past students who almost invariably start the conversation with, "Do you remember the time that ...". Sometimes their memory is better than mine.
It is surprising how much of our persona is made up of memories. And it is not surprising that diseases such as dementia take away so much from a person.
When I look at Biblical characters like Abraham and David, I wonder what they thought as they looked back on their lives. Abraham probably thought of the time he tried to pass off Sarah as his sister (twice if I remember correctly - he must have been a slow learner). Or perhaps his lack of trust when he and Sarah hatched up the plan to help God with providing descendants. David could reflect on his insidious plan to have a bit of pleasure with Bathsheba ending with the murder of Uriah. He probably thought of all the family problems that developed and asked himself what he could or should have done to have prevented them.
I am glad that the Bible tells the "warts and all" stories about these men. They had much to learn, even in their old age. And it reminds me that God still works on his relationship with us, even when we are wayward, ignorant, or stupid.
Luke tells the story of a prostitute who came to Jesus and anointed his feet with expensive perfume, much to the horror of the religious people of the day. They questioned Jesus authenticity. "Doesn't he know what sort of woman this person is?" Listen to what Jesus said:
Jesus would have said the same to Abraham and David, who like the prostitute, had their faults but whose hearts were in the right place.
And when I look back over my life memories, I am glad that God is willing to forgive so much. I rest on the promises too!
If I may push what Maurice is saying even further - God is beyond willing to forgive. He is (com)passionately eager to forgive!
How do I know this?
Because of Hebrews 4:15 in conjunction with Luke 23:34.
The good news is whether you are starting, in the middle, slowing down, or at the end of life's journey, you can seek God, find God, and taste of God's goodness now. Now is the time.
And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
Romans 13:11
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Romans 8:1
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Romans 15:13
Forgeting the past,except how He has lead us, let us now seek and walk after the Spirit, finding joy and peace, believing in God, therefore we taste God's Goodness now.
John- when you say 'forgetting the past' what do you mean or what does it meant to you?
To me it is impossible to forget the past especially when you have a physical healed wound to prove the past which was willfully inflicted by someone to purposely hurt another. As mentioned by Bro Maurice about dementia, but people with dementia has their short term memories erased but have their long term memories in tact. Those people forget what they ate today/yesterday, or where they placed the vehicle keys, or if they locked the door etc, but they can tell us about all that happened 50 yrs ago and even longer. Normal forgetfulness is not dementia. Dementia is a cognitive disorder that causes a progressive decline in one's ability to think and process information.
I believe what the bible wants to say is- despite we have been badly hurt by someone whether physical/social/financial/mental or otherwise, when we forgive them, that HURTING will gradually be erased from us, and the way we then see things by the grace of our Lord, we will be healed. After a while we ourselves will have compassion on that/those persons.
Lyn, I took off from from 'looking back', and diverged to looking back on our past sins. Thus we need to forget the past mistakes and remember how He has lead in the past. We are not to dwell on past mistakes rather lay the guilt at the foot of the Cross of Christ and leave them there. If we dwell on past mistakes our faith that He promised to restore our soul, and our trust that He leads into paths of righteousness dwindles.
I do believe Christ does not want us to dwell on our mistakes of the past. Satan wants us to dwell on our past mistakes, taking our minds away from Jesus. Jesus sees our guilt of the past and blots it out with pardon. We do Him a disservice by dwelling on past mistakes, losing trust in his love.
I do believe that when Satan puts in our minds that we made mistakes, therefore there is no hope for us, we need to forget this portion of the past, rather comfort our souls with the promises of God. Thus we fill our minds with the the light heaven. The cloud of the past has lifted and we rejoice in the bright prospects of the future.
Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them. Psm 119:165
Resting on the Promises
Psalm 34:8 (How can you taste God’s goodness?)
Moving from place to place and country to country I can tell others about the goodness of Jesus and what he did and cont to do for family and myself, those ever living testimonies. In the present people will ask me where do I get all this strength from, or how do I know all of what I know, or they would say, you are talented? I let them know it is nothing about me but Jesus. He gives me just when I need them because he promised me.
'God invites us to prove for ourselves the reality of His word, the truth of His promises. He bids us 'taste and see that the Lord is good'(Psm 34:8). Instead of depending upon the word of another, we are to taste for ourselves'.
Matthew 11:30 (What is it about what Christ has done for us that makes this yoke easy?)
For me, I look at his life while he lived on earth. I am also thankful for his death of the cross. I focus on how he interacted with his enemies. It is easy to interact with friends, but how did he got alone with our enemies and lived in peace and was not hateful and spiteful? What I found myself doing is to listen to others who do not have the same views (political, social, religious, financial, etc) like myself to hear what they have to say. I cont to pray for others, I willfully include my enemies for the good in my prayers. I visit other SDA congregations of members/brethren who do not look like myself. (despite some might be moving away to other congregations).
Romans 5:1 (What does justification have to do with peace?)
Justification is a gift from Jesus giving to his undeserving children. Knowing we have this gift, we have peace and we also live in peace and have a life of peace. Many who claimed to know Jesus are anxious about tomorrow. What to eat and drink, wear and be clothed.
'Philippians 2:7-8 (What have you gained from Christ’s experience?).'
A lot. The greatest is love. He loved me in my sinful, messed up state. I ask him daily to give me his spirit so I can love each of his children even in their messed up state.
Promises of the LORD:
I asked myself if I was given the choice to share only 7 of the thousands of promises in the Bible which ones would I share? Here are my choices, which 7 would you choose?
Rom 10:9-10 - confess, believe, be saved
Rom 8:37-39 - nothing can separates me from love of God
Matt 11:28-29 - rest for my soul
2Peter 1:3-8 - partake of the divine nature
1John 1:9 - forgiven, cleansed from unrighteousness
Isa 54:10 - covenant of peace not shaken or removed
Rev 21:1-8 - no more sorrow, all wicked removed forever
Regarding the statement of Cardinal Bellarmine “take it way; I think it’s safer to trust in the merits of Christ”, I want to add the words 'by faith'.
And that is the crux of the matter of Faith – through/in no ‘thing/work’ can we replicate the power of the experience of the *Faith which trusts in the Merits of Christ*! It is by this lived, experienced Faith only that we approach the Throne of God.
Our righteousness is the ‘Righteousness of the Lord’, imparted to us when we believe that we can and want to have faith in HIS Righteousness - Rom.3:20-23KJV.
God’s promises do make our lives better. It is not just that they ‘can’, they do! The ‘can’ is their condition *before* we believe, the ‘do’ happens in the *presence of Faith*. Active, lived Faith changes the potential ‘can’ to the reality of the experienced ‘does’!
My relationship with my heavenly Father focuses on helping me with my ‘unbelieve’. When doubts or insecurities creep into my relationship with Him, I ask Him to remove them and replace them with His re-assurance of His loving, never-ending watch care over me.
Greatfully, I call on His promise to guide me into all Truth necessary for my life lived according to His Light.
Mark9:23-24KJV
…”If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. (24)…… Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
Lyn, I took off from from 'looking back', and diverged to looking back on our past sins. Thus we need to forget the past mistakes and remember how He has lead in the past. We are not to dwell on past mistakes rather lay the guilt at the foot of the Cross of Christ and leave them there. If we dwell on past mistake, our faith that He promised to restore our soul, and our trust that He leads into paths of righteousness dwindles.
I do believe Christ does not want us to dwell on our mistakes of the past. Satan wants us to dwell on our past mistakes, taking our minds away from Jesus. Jesus sees our guilt of the past and blots it out with pardon. We do Him a disservice by dwelling on past mistakes, losing trust in his love.
I do believe that when Satan puts in our minds that we made mistakes, therefore there is no hope for us, we need to forget this portion of the past, rather comfort our souls with the promises of God. Thus we fill our minds with the the of light heaven. The cloud of the past has lifted and we rejoice in the bright prospects of the future.