One morning Denalyn was with me in the car. “I’m about to remind you why you married me,” I told her as we drew near to the intersection. “See that long line of cars? See that humdrum of humanity? It’s not for me…hang on!” I swerved from the six-lane onto the one-lane and shared with my sweetheart my secret expressway to freedom.
“What do you think?” I asked, awaiting her worship. “I think you broke the law,” she responded. “What?” I asked incredulously. “You just went the wrong way on a one-way street!” she answered. I did. She was right. I had missed the “do not enter” sign. Before coming to Christ, we all had our share of shortcuts. What we consider shortcuts God sees as disasters. He doesn’t give laws for our pleasure. He gives them for our protection. He knows what we need! ROMANS 4:8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin. You are blessed today because all your sins are forgiven in Christ. God does not count your sins against you. Instead, He counts you righteous in Christ. That is why you are the blessed man to whom the Lord does not and will not impute sin! What happens to such a man? Let’s look at the story of Jacob to find out. The Bible records how Jacob had deceived his father and cheated his elder brother Esau of his firstborn blessing. (Genesis 27:1–41) Yet, in spite of his sin of deception, God chose to speak to Jacob. And no, God did not say to this cheat, “You terrible sinner! How can you deceive your own father? You are cursed!” No, to deceitful Jacob, God said, “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants…Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” (Genesis 28:13–15) Here was a man to whom God did not impute sin! God did not rebuke Jacob at all. Instead, we hear Him telling Jacob, “I will give to you…I am with you…I will keep you…I will bring you back…I will not leave you…” Jacob certainly did not deserve these blessings. This is one man who walked in the truth of Romans 4:8—“Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin”! Now, I am not encouraging you to sin, but I want you to see the love and grace of God toward us. If Jacob was so blessed, how much more you and I today, who are under the new covenant of grace established by the blood of Jesus. How much more is our blessedness because Jesus has removed all our sins at the cross! Beloved, because of Jesus’ finished work, God does not impute sin to you. What He does impute to you is righteousness apart from works. (Romans 4:6) And because you are righteous, get ready for His blessings! (Proverbs 10:6) "O sun, stand still ... " Joshua 10:12
I'm always struck by this passage. Joshua gives a command to the heavenly bodies, and God rearranges the laws of physics so that they obey him. It's one of the greatest miracles in all of scripture. In its scientific magnitude, it is an even greater miracle than the parting of the Red Sea. But that isn't the main reason I'm so taken by what happened here. I'm struck by the context. Joshua just blew it. The Gibeonites, posing as distant travelers, deceived Joshua and the other leaders into making a prohibited treaty with them. Joshua was clearly negligent for failing to inquire of the Lord before ratifying the treaty. Now, here in chapter 10, he's dealing with the aftermath of his mistake. The Gibeonites are in trouble; Joshua and all Israel are called upon to save them. God could have washed His hands of the entire affair. He could have said, "You got yourself into this mess; you get yourself out of it. Don't look to Me to help you defend these wicked Gibeonites." But He doesn't do anything of the sort. God is a God of people who make mistakes, people who blow it, people who mess up. I don't like making mistakes, but when I do, God gently reminds me that the work of God isn't about me and how perfect I am; rather, it is about the God who shows up despite our failings. Dwight Clough Een van die mees interessante dinge oor God is, dat Hy bestaan buite tyd. Hy is nie gebonde aan die liniêre vordering van een oomblik na 'n ander nie. Hy hoef ook nie te wag dat vandag voltooi voordat Hy môre kan sien nie.
As jy tyd as 'n reguit lyn in die middel van 'n straat voorstel, ervaar ons dit soos 'n persoon wat een tree op 'n slag neem, sonder om te weet wat om die volgende hoek lê en wag. Net so kan ons God voorstel as “iemand in 'n helicopter”, ver bo die persoon, van waar Hy 'n paar stadsblokke met 'n vinnige blik kan sien. Indien Hy in kontak sou wees met die persoon sou Hy die voetgangers direk kon waarsku teen die koms van hindernisse langs die pad. In dieselfde wyse is God bewus van jou lewe in een “oogwink”. Jesus se woorde is opgeteken in Markus 11:24, "... Alles wat jy in die gebed vra, glo dat jy dit alreeds ontvang het, en jy sal." God werk buite die raamwerk van tyd soos wat ons dit ken. Hy weet wat gebeur in jou toekoms en kan gebeure in enige volgorde na Sy goeddunke reël. Beleef jy ook tye waar jy vurig bid oor iets en God blyk om stil te bly oor die onderwerp? God se skynbare stilte is gebaseer op die feit dat hy nie bekommerd is oor die uitslag van die gebeurtenis nie. Hy het reeds daarvoor voorsien. Die beste wat jy kan doen in 'n tyd soos hierdie, is om op te hou kwel en te begin vertrou in Sy plan en doel. Die antwoord is reeds daar. Al wat jy hoef te doen, is om in te haal! |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
All
Archives
June 2015
|