Tag: steadfast love

Sovereign, Most High God

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One of the lifechanging names of God for me was El Elyon or The Most High God, Sovereign God. I did not really grasp the Sovereignty of God until I read the Old Testament. Woven in the stories of their trials, tribulations and rebellions against God, I saw how God watched over all and was always in control, Sovereign. How do we know that God is always in control? Scripture gives us many examples so that we can know it is a truth about God’s nature and character. It is a truth we cand depend upon.

To start us off, I want to use Psalm 91:1-2. Here the Psalmist points us to the Most High God who is our protector as He holds us within His sheltered wings! “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

The Kings of Judah were not all followers of the Most High God but here are the prayers of David, Solomon and Josephat which point us towards the Most High Sovereign God. King David’s prayer before the assembled Israelites at the dedication of Solomon as king. 1 Chronicles 29:10-13 “ Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. 13 And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.” David recognized the true power and majesty of God and how all belongs to Him.

Solomon prayed before after bringing the ark into the temple. 1 Kings 8:21-23 “Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, 23 and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart;” I love the acknowledgement of God’s sovereign control of all above and on and under the earth, and His steadfast love for those who follow Him.

Here King Jehoshaphat prayed before a battle and beseeched God to give them victory. 2 Chronicles 20:5-6 “And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, 6 and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.” He knew that if God was with them they could not be defeated! He knew that God was bigger than their enemies and was in control.

Isaiah 45:7 speaks of God revealing Himself and His sovereignty, “I form light and create darkness;
    I make well-being and create calamity;  I am the Lord, who does all these things.”

Jesus also reveals God’s sovereignty in regard to those who follow Him. John 10:27-29 “ My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” I love these verses and take great comfort in know that God has me and no one or nothing can take me away from Sovereign God.

Paul makes a plea to the Athenians in his speech to their ‘unknown’ God in Acts 17:24-27 “ The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,” They were not aware of Jesus and Paul was making him known to them in a very clever way so that they would see the truth of Sovereign God.

There are so many wonderful scriptures that describe the truth of our Sovereign God. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can call upon Sovereign God praising Him for his provision, protection and steadfast love towards me.

Linda

Second Sunday of Lent, Trust God for Answers

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We have seen such wonderful names of God this first full week of Lent. Rewarder, Forgiver, Promise Keeper, Light, Righteousness and Everlasting, each of these give us hope, thoughts to bring to God in prayer and repentance. Here is a continuation of the Psalm we started last Sunday, 103:11-19.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; How big is your God’s love?
12 as far as the east is from the west,
    so far does he remove our transgressions from us. Do you trust Him to thoroughly remove your sins?
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
    so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. Do you allow God to show you compassion?
14 For he knows our frame;
    he remembers that we are dust. Do you trust Him to number your days justly?

15 As for man, his days are like grass;
    he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, God knows were are fleeting.
    and its place knows it no more.
17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
    and his righteousness to children’s children, God covers us with his Love and righteousness.
18 to those who keep his covenant
    and remember to do his commandments.
19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, God wins and has an eternal home for us.
    and his kingdom rules over all.

Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can know all things are Yes in Jesus and I can trust Him with all my questions. May your prayers be rich today and lead you to a deeper relationship with Him.

Linda

Steadfast Love

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Today passage in the Pleasing God series comes from Micah 7:18 and speaks of God’s character. He has a character that we can depend upon each and every day.

“Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
    and passing over transgression
    for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
    because he delights in steadfast love.

God does not delight in sin at all and is grieved over the sin that is manifested in our lives and the sin that is present in this world. He is not passive about sin and scripture says sin angers God. Romans 1:18 speaks forcefully about God’s attitude towards sin. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” God shows his anger or wrath towards mankind when they delve into sinful ways and refuse to turn to Him. The children of Israel were taken into captivity in Babylon for their sinfulness even though they were repeatedly warned by the prophets to repent and change their ways. They refused to return to God and thus suffered the consequences.

However, just as God promised to rescue the Israelites after 70 years and return them to Israel, God’s anger does not remain forever because He delights in steadfast love. The Bible repeatedly tells us that God’s love is steadfast. We know that God is love. 1 John 4:8 “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” Steadfast means fixed in place and immoveable, not subject to change. His love is rooted in His character and is always immutable and unwavering. Here are some affirming scriptures on the immutability of God: 1 Samuel 15:29 “ He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind.” Psalm 33:11 “But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” James 1:17 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

It should be of great comfort to us that God delights to show us His love. The Micah passage continues and explains ways that God shows his delight and love towards us.
19 “He will again have compassion on us;
    he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
    into the depths of the sea.
20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob
    and steadfast love to Abraham,
as you have sworn to our fathers
    from the days of old.”

God reveals His love in His compassion, forgiveness, and faithfulness but most of all in how He deals with our sin. He promises to cast our sins into the deepest sea. Only God can remove our sins so it is not a part of us anymore. Our faith in Jesus allows this miracle to happen in our lives.

This blog focused on God’s delight of steadfast love instead of what we can do to bring delight to God. Knowing that God delights to show us His steadfast love, how can that change your thinking and attitudes towards God and others? Knowing God loves with steadfast endurance should help us to focus on what God sees in our actions and words as we interact with those around us. Jesus summed up where our loving focus should be in Matthew 22:37-40, “Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Make loving God and others your goal and it will lead you to pleasing God!

Linda