Wednesday, December 17, 2008, in the morning – The Lord began with this song: He Giveth More Grace / Annie J. Flint
He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added affliction He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.
His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His power has no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
And, then this: God Will Take Care of You / Civilla D. Martin / W. Stillman Martin
Be not dismayed whate'er betide,
God will take care of you;
Beneath his wings of love abide,
God will take care of you.
No matter what may be the test,
God will take care of you;
Lean, weary one, upon his breast,
God will take care of you.
God will take care of you,
Through every day, o'er all the way;
He will take care of you,
God will take care of you.
I woke from a dream, then I fell back asleep, and approximately two hours later I woke out of the same exact dream. As I lay in bed contemplating this dream, it began to fade. I do know it involved someone talking to a woman.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I heard “Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy to all people…” Then, I looked it up in Luke 2:8-20 NIV:
The Shepherds and the Angels
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
This morning, as I walked past the small sofa where my husband sits to have his quiet times with the Lord, I noticed three scripture references he had written on a note pad. The Lord encouraged me to look those up, so I did:
Matthew 19:16-22 [See also Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19]: The Rich Young Man
Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." "Which ones?" the man inquired.
Jesus replied, " 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'" "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?"
Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
NIV Study Bible Commentary: “There is only One who is good. The good is not something to be done as meritorious in itself. God alone is good, and all other goodness derives from him – even the keeping of the commandments, which Jesus proceeded to enumerate. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments. ‘To enter life’ is the same as ‘to get eternal life’. The requirement to ‘obey the commandments’ is not to establish one’s merit before God but is to be an expression of true faith. The Bible always teaches that salvation is a gift of God’s grace received through faith (see Eph. 2:8).”
In the Mark and Luke passages, the rich young man addressed Jesus as “Good teacher,” and then he asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied, "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone.”
NIV Study Bible Commentary: “Why do you call me good? Jesus was not denying his own goodness but was forcing the man to recognize that his only hope was in total reliance on God, who alone can give eternal life. He may also have been encouraging the young man to consider the full identity and nature of the One he was addressing.”
Then, the Lord led me to this passage of scripture next from Romans 3:
No One is Righteous
9What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10As it is written:
"There is no one righteous, not even one;
11there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
12All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one."
13"Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit."
"The poison of vipers is on their lips."
14"Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."
15"Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16ruin and misery mark their ways,
17and the way of peace they do not know."
18"There is no fear of God before their eyes."
19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
Righteousness Through Faith
21But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. 28For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. 29Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
Conclusion: God is the only One who is good. Jesus is God, our Messiah, our Savior, our Lord and our Coming King. No one is righteous. We don’t earn our salvation by obeying the law, but we obey the law as an act of our faith. That is how we demonstrate that we have faith. And, even then it is God’s grace and goodness working in and through us that give us the ability to obey the law. Jesus wants us to see him for who He is – his true identity and nature as the One and Only true God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – our triune God; three in one. And, he wants our total dependency to be upon Him and Him alone. We will never be “good enough” in our own merit – all goodness derives from God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added affliction He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.
His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His power has no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
And, then this: God Will Take Care of You / Civilla D. Martin / W. Stillman Martin
Be not dismayed whate'er betide,
God will take care of you;
Beneath his wings of love abide,
God will take care of you.
No matter what may be the test,
God will take care of you;
Lean, weary one, upon his breast,
God will take care of you.
God will take care of you,
Through every day, o'er all the way;
He will take care of you,
God will take care of you.
I woke from a dream, then I fell back asleep, and approximately two hours later I woke out of the same exact dream. As I lay in bed contemplating this dream, it began to fade. I do know it involved someone talking to a woman.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I heard “Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy to all people…” Then, I looked it up in Luke 2:8-20 NIV:
The Shepherds and the Angels
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
This morning, as I walked past the small sofa where my husband sits to have his quiet times with the Lord, I noticed three scripture references he had written on a note pad. The Lord encouraged me to look those up, so I did:
Matthew 19:16-22 [See also Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19]: The Rich Young Man
Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." "Which ones?" the man inquired.
Jesus replied, " 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'" "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?"
Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
NIV Study Bible Commentary: “There is only One who is good. The good is not something to be done as meritorious in itself. God alone is good, and all other goodness derives from him – even the keeping of the commandments, which Jesus proceeded to enumerate. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments. ‘To enter life’ is the same as ‘to get eternal life’. The requirement to ‘obey the commandments’ is not to establish one’s merit before God but is to be an expression of true faith. The Bible always teaches that salvation is a gift of God’s grace received through faith (see Eph. 2:8).”
In the Mark and Luke passages, the rich young man addressed Jesus as “Good teacher,” and then he asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied, "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone.”
NIV Study Bible Commentary: “Why do you call me good? Jesus was not denying his own goodness but was forcing the man to recognize that his only hope was in total reliance on God, who alone can give eternal life. He may also have been encouraging the young man to consider the full identity and nature of the One he was addressing.”
Then, the Lord led me to this passage of scripture next from Romans 3:
No One is Righteous
9What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10As it is written:
"There is no one righteous, not even one;
11there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
12All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one."
13"Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit."
"The poison of vipers is on their lips."
14"Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."
15"Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16ruin and misery mark their ways,
17and the way of peace they do not know."
18"There is no fear of God before their eyes."
19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
Righteousness Through Faith
21But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. 28For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. 29Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
Conclusion: God is the only One who is good. Jesus is God, our Messiah, our Savior, our Lord and our Coming King. No one is righteous. We don’t earn our salvation by obeying the law, but we obey the law as an act of our faith. That is how we demonstrate that we have faith. And, even then it is God’s grace and goodness working in and through us that give us the ability to obey the law. Jesus wants us to see him for who He is – his true identity and nature as the One and Only true God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – our triune God; three in one. And, he wants our total dependency to be upon Him and Him alone. We will never be “good enough” in our own merit – all goodness derives from God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
