Our Legacy (3 of 3)

Our Text :

2 Corinthians 5:16-21 NKJV
Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.
[17] Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
[18] Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
[19] that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
[20] Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.
[21] For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

When our child looks up at us and says "I love you,"  we feel this indescribable pull in our hearts and know that without a doubt we'd die for that child.  When I was about 13 or 14 years old, my mom came into my room and told me that she needed to go back to school to complete her master's program which she had abandoned when I was a little under 3. I asked why she was telling me and she said she needed to know I was fine with her going back to school! 

I still didn't see why I needed to be involved in that decision and so she told me that when I was a little girl,  she'd go to school on Sunday night and return home on Friday. Well, on this particular Sunday, as she said her goodbyes, I muttered to myself and said "what kind of a mother is this, always leaving her children..."  She said it broke her heart to hear it, and she didn't go that Sunday and hadn't gone since then,  so she really would like my assurance that I'd be fine with her resuming the program at this time.  I was a teenage girl, the only one of six children at home (all the others, including my twin brother were away at boarding school). I needed her to go some where and get out of my hair so I assured her that I was just fine with it.

My point in sharing that is this: parents sacrifice for their children, some more than others but all do.  And most will die in place of their children if it came to it,  well, our heavenly Father did just that!  God the Son,  our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ died in our place to pay the debt justice demanded of us, to redeem us from the one who now owned us through the transaction made with him by Adam and Eve,  and to reconcile us to God the Father. He died for us,  He suffered ignominy, pain, and a cursed death on the cross at Calvary for us!

This, my dear brothers and sisters,  is our legacy.  This is the ministry we inherited,  and the torch we are to carry. Now He made it easy for most of us by giving us biological children.  Which one of us He asked, if his child asked for bread would give a stone or for fish would give a snake? This is one of those rhetorical questions the answer to which it is assumed the audience knows and so requires none to speak.  I do not even speak of spiritual children which if we're truly serving the Lord we all should birth.  Afterall, we are to produce after our kind and our Father in Heaven birthed only spiritual children. The Apostle Paul spoke of his travail in labor to birth these children and his continued labor to form Christ in them. But I'm not going that far. These ones that we physically carried in our wombs for 40 odd weeks and travailed in labor for however many hours to deliver, these ones that we see as extensions of ourselves, are we reconciling them to God? Are we fulfilling the legacy of our heavenly Father in these lives, are we teaching them the same? Are we?

Do we know the terms of this great legacy, are we familiar with the contents or requirements of our covenant with God who bought us back for Himself with his precious, precious blood?  How do we give what we don't have?  The Lord lamented that His people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.  What do we know of the One to whom we have been so dearly reconciled? What do we know of His terms and conditions of this reconciliation, of this covenant relationship? What do we know? If we can't reconcile our biological children, for whom we claim we will die, if we can't reconcile them to God, how can we go into the community to reconcile any other person to God?

Have we indeed for ourselves received Christ's redemptive sacrifice and been reconciled to God? Are we certain that we have?  Can we say with Apostle Paul that we know in whom we have believed? Can we?

Please let us examine ourselves whether we are in the faith. And may the Holy Spirit help us as we do this in Jesus ' name, Amen.

#momomily2014

Remember When...

Our Text: Jeremiah 31:21 NKJV
"Set up signposts, Make landmarks; Set your heart toward the highway, The way in which you went. Turn back, O virgin of Israel, Turn back to these your cities."

A sister called me the other day in somewhat of a distress,  you see, she had misplaced something and couldn't find it. I listened to her carry on about how she'd searched everywhere but it was nowhere to be found!

"Remember when the sons of the Prophets went to fell some trees and the axe head had fallen off the handle of one of the scribes. It had fallen into the water and the scribe cried out saying 'alas Master, for it was borrowed!'" That's what I said to her. See 2 Kings 6:5 NKJV
But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, "Alas, master! For it was borrowed."

I then gave her several examples from my personal experiences of how the Lord had floated up to the surface items I'd misplaced. For example there was the time I left my purse on the ground beside my car and went into my apartment for the night!  The following morning I got ready for work and couldn’t find my purse. It was sitting right there on the ground beside my car, in the open parking area of an apartment complex.

These were my landmarks and I'd bring them to mind whenever I found myself in an untenable situation. I'd remind myself of these events so my faith in God doesn't wane. He cannot change, He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. His love for me hasn't diminished, His power has not depleted, He is God!

In the legal system,  we have statute law and case law.  Now what's the difference? Statute law is the written code of law that is used to enforce order and punish rebels who will torpedo said order.  But then in arguing a case, one may have to reference a ruling given on similar matters in the past and so sway the decision in one's favor.  This is case law.  That ruling is an action taken by the court redefining or clarifying the statute or code of law.  This brings to mind the saying that "Action speaks louder than words." So we are saying here that we need to argue against all doubt and fear with the actions God has taken on our behalf and on the behalf of others in the past.  These actions are our landmarks. 

The Lord in our text admonishes us to establish the landmarks as we go along. We will need them when it looks like things aren't working out. They help us find our way back to that place with the Lord. You see whenever we are distressed or even simply disturbed,  we tend to lose faith in God and/or His ability to see us through.  These landmarks help us find our way back, build our faith back up.

Whenever we fall apart over a situation, we simply exhibit a lack of faith in God, regardless of what name we call it. And anything done in fear or doubt is sin.  See Romans 14:23 KJV
And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

So if we have not begun, let us start building those landmarks,  and let us practice remembering them when we run into situations that require the intervention of Almighty God.  Whenever our axe head falls into the water,  remember that God once floated it up to the surface and He can do it again.

Set up the signposts, make the landmarks. The song says "count your blessings, name them one by one." In our valley moments,  let us turn back using the landmarks as our compass.

#momomily2013