“Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.” Deuteronomy 7:9 (NKJV)
I have just returned from spending a weekend with my daughter and attending her last dance concert at Belhaven University. She graduates in three and half short weeks. The time has gone far more quickly than I ever could have imagined. During the flight to Jackson, MS I came across a song that Hannah had loaded on to my I-Pod quite some time ago which I had never listened to. It is a contemporary version of an old favorite, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” I was overwhelmed as I listened to this song, remembering how much God has upheld our family during these past four years. I know our family is not alone. Many have come through similar financial circumstances, loss of family members, and other catastrophic events. And God’s faithfulness, mercy, and love never failed us–not once. I hope that you too will take time to do what I did this past weekend:
Take time to remember all the many ways in which God has kept you with His faithfulness, mercy, and love.
Take time to remember the great sacrifice that was offered for you on the cross at Calvary.
Take time to remember that it is the blood of Jesus Christ that makes you whole again.
Take time to remember that we have been called to be His. We have been bought with a price. We are not our own.
He is worthy of our praise.
He is worthy of our worship.
He is altogether worthy. . .
“Great is Thy faithfulness,” O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
“Great is Thy faithfulness!”
“Great is Thy faithfulness!”
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
“Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!
Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
Original Content: Copyright © 2012 by Susan E. Johnson
All rights reserved
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Thanks, Paul!
There is no greater foundational issue in our spiritual lives than the complete and total faithfulness of our Lord Jesus toward us. We can count on Him 100 times out a 100. His heart is pure and full, we are always on His mind, we are always the objects of His affection, and He will never leave us, or betray us, or condemn us, or treat us with indifference. His is as true as true can be.
Though we may suffer in this present world in accordance with His will, in that persecution goes with the territory of the real Christian, He is with us throughout. His faithfulness is truly great and is a reflection of His character. His covenant with each of His children is absolute on His part and He will never deviate from it.
If there is one we can count on through anything and everything, both good and bad, He is that One. There is no other. The more stock we put in Him, the greater the return.
This is why the greatest attack of the enemy is always against our trust in God. Due to this, our greatest attack against the enemy should be in defense of and support of our Lord regardless of circumstances. The more we stand up for the Lord the more He will stand up for us.
I couldn’t agree with you more, R.J. So often we treat our part of the covenant in such a cavalier manner–but He never does. He paid for that covenant with His blood. In our culture we don’t have any real understanding of what a blood covenant means.
I agree. But much more than our culture, most forms of Christianity have no idea what a blood covenant means. The highest form of any covenant is a blood covenant. I remember watching a western a long time ago when two men took out their respective hunting knives, made a significant cut in their palms, and then shook hands, mingling their blood together as a pledge to one another. They made a compact that went beyond the bond of a handshake. Kids call it becoming blood brothers.
A real and holy marriage is a blood covenant. The one who lays his or her own life down for a friend or friends is engaging in a blood covenant.
The Lord is so awesome in that He went first. He signed off on the covenant in His own blood while we were still sinners! Therefore, any “Christian” who refuses to give his or her all to properly complete the compact deserves nothing. And this is why the Lord can truly say to such people, “I never knew you.”