LifeLink Devotions for Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Unfortunately, in our modern culture, there are far too many people who do not have the privilege of knowing their father, and if they do so many of them have a poor understanding of what a real father is like because of the model they had. But if we can look beyond the human limitations and failures of some earthly fathers and open our hearts to the incredible wonder of a perfect Father in heaven, we will be empowered to endure hardship because we know His heart and His purpose is always good.

Romans 8 tells us about the things that are at work in our lives to help us handle tough times, and one of the most significant for me is this one – I have been made a permanently loved child of God with all rights of sonship.

Romans 8:14-16 “…because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”

Just think about that for a while today and contemplate what that all involves. Here’s a small list to get you started. You will think of more, I’m sure.

1.      We have a life free from fear because of the power of the Father. When I was young I had a vivid and recurring dream. I was a toddler and was in a fenced area containing a large bull with huge horns that swept down in a curve in front of his head much like tusks on an elephant. The bull charged me and scooped me up with his horns and began tossing me in the air. With each toss I became more filled with terror as the bull would catch me and then confidently throw me higher. At the top of one toss, I noticed my father coming to my rescue. He jumped high into the air using the back of the bull as a springboard and snatched me away from danger, setting me down carefully as he landed on the ground. He turned and grabbed the bull by the horns and began spinning him around like an Olympic hammer-thrower. At just the right moment he released the bull and flung him into a far pasture. I awakened from the dream feeling at peace that I had a father who would protect me from harm. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of adoption as a son, and we may cry out to Him in any situation knowing that He will respond with intimate love and infinite power.

2.      We have been made an equal heir of all things with Jesus Christ. When God adopts us as His children he removes all distinctions, not only between us and other people, but also between Jesus Christ and us. Yes, Jesus is still God, and we are not, but God honors those who are in Christ with all the rights and rewards of being His children. The Apostle John states it this way: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:1-2)

3.      Finally, the sufferings of today are necessary for the total experience of glory later. We are much more appreciative of gain when we have experienced loss. Blessings are more valued after cursings. Light is more highly esteemed after a period of darkness. Glory will be more fully revealed after suffering. Do not fight the hardship – embrace it as a training ground of personal growth leading towards the revealing of God’s glory.

Hardship and hurt are able to be endured because fear has been removed by the power of the Father to control and conquer the difficulty; because the Father treats me with the same love and honor that He treats Jesus because I have been made an equal heir; and God is designing all of the tests in this life to improve me and prove to me His love so that I will experience the fullness of His glory. Be encouraged – you are a child of God.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Yesterday we talked about the word vitality, and that God has granted us that kind of life in Jesus Christ. The root word of vitality is vital, and it is used to describe certain organs in our bodies that are essential to existence. Our vital organs are primarily contained in our chest cavity, protected from the normal activities of life by our rib cage. But when we are involved in some form of dangerous activity, we wear extra protection. Police officers wear bulletproof vests; football quarterbacks wear flack jackets; and Christians wear a breastplate of righteousness.

Romans 8:10 “But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.” 

2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Ephesians 6:14 “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place…”

Being a Christian is a dangerous profession: the Enemy is out to destroy what makes our life vital. He is constantly shooting his flaming arrows at our hearts, trying to interrupt the flow of life-giving blood. He cannot undo the saving power of the blood of Jesus Christ, but he can stop it from having its intended result on our personal choices and lifestyles. He shoots his wicked darts at our lungs, attempting to quench the breath of the Holy Spirit so that we gasp for the air of the world to survive. He aims his attack at times at our stomachs, hoping to stop the feeding on God’s Word and the digesting of truth so that he can deceive us and mislead us into sin.

But God has provided us with an impenetrable defense system to protect all of our vitals. It is the breastplate of righteousness. But what makes this such an effective defense system? First, it is not of our own design, so it has none of the limitations of our humanity. Our own righteousness is as filthy rags and was surrendered as worthless at the cross when we were saved. Second, it is not simply a righteousness designed by God for us, as that would imply a choice we have to wear it or not. Finally, it is the actual righteousness of God Himself. Read 2 Corinthians 5:21 again: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus Christ became our sin, so that in Him we have become the righteousness of God. This is not an addition to our lives; it is the replacement of our lives. It is our very identity: we are righteous.

Because of this, when we fall into sin or become overwhelmed with trouble and trials, it is because we have ignored or forgotten our identity. The righteousness of God is still there, but as Paul says in Ephesians, we have not made sure it is in place. Make sure that your vitals are protected by a constant reflection on the righteous nature and character of God Himself that is our permanent possession, and you will be protected from the effects of the bad and evil in our world. God’s righteousness is at work in you to bring about His good.

The righteousness of God is not only a defense system, but it is also an offensive weapon against the hardships of life. Let the truths of 2 Corinthians 6:4-10 touch and encourage your heart.

“Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.”

That’s the vitality of the life of Jesus in you.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Monday, July 29, 2024

Bad circumstances have a way of sapping our energy. We get mentally drained trying to figure out solutions to the problem. We get emotionally drained by feeling all the possible responses we could have to the problem. We get physically drained by all the activity it takes to try and fix the problem. I’m tired just writing about it. But I have good news for us all – it is not the circumstance that causes the draining of our energy; it is our fleshly response to the circumstance that does that. The circumstance itself has no power – we empower it by how we respond to it. We empower it to control us and deplete us of strength when we respond to it with our own reasoning and activity. We become emotionally drained because we know the limits of such responses and our hope is diminished based on our known limitations.

There is a huge and obvious difference between what I just wrote and what Paul wrote in Romans.

Romans 8:6  “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.”

Romans 8:10-11 “But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.”

What I wrote is all about what I am able to accomplish in my human nature, and what Paul wrote is all about what God will do through His Spirit. What I wrote brings fear and failure. What Paul wrote is vitality and peace.

The Greek word for life is zoe, and as its base meaning it means “the state of one who is possessed with vitality.” I like that word vitality. It describes what I desire for my existence. It is certainly not what I experience when I respond to circumstances from my flesh and human nature. But because Christ is in me, and you, the death we have been living in response to our circumstances has been replaced with the resurrection power of Jesus Christ who has given life – vitality – to our mortal bodies.

My friends, we have the power of God residing in us, and circumstances cannot change that fact. Our response to those circumstances can change the experience of Christ’s life if we choose to respond from our flesh. I know how easy it is to blame others and blame events for causing our current mental, emotional, and physical stress: I do it too. But God is richly showing me that His Spirit provides vitality in all those times, and that the circumstances are powerless in and of themselves. My response to them is what needs adjustment. The sinful circumstances of this life will not be changed until Jesus returns. What can be changed is my response to them.

Jesus, thank you for bringing your resurrection power into my life and giving me vitality. Forgive me for responding from my flesh to the things that happen in my world and for placing myself on the mental, emotional, and physical throne of my life by thinking I have the solutions and ability to act in my own strength. Use these times to strengthen my faith and determination to trust you with the outcomes. Thank you for the peace that passes all understanding when I give all the control of the outcomes over to you. Amen. 

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Friday, July 26, 2024

The basis for the next few days of devotionals will be the very well-known verse in Romans 8:28 which says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”  On the surface it would seem that the “things” that are working together for good are the circumstances of life. But if that’s all we see, then life will become discouraging and we may begin to doubt the God behind the circumstances. I think there is a deeper understanding to this passage than to just think that all the circumstances of life are working out for our good. I believe that the “things” that are at work for our good are the “things” that define God – the things Paul mentions before verse 28.

When we simply define “things” as the circumstances of life, it becomes very difficult to find the faith to believe they are doing any good when they are so humanly bad. That is why we need to look at the “things” as the unchangeable nature and attributes of God that are constantly at work in our lives regardless of the circumstances. When we see the circumstances through the lens of who God is we can stand in faith during the tough times.

Circumstances can be binding and suppressive. We begin to focus on solutions rather than substance. We turn our attention from who we are becoming to what we should be getting. I am reminded of a scene from one of my favorite movies of all time, What About Bob, starring Bill Murray. Bob is an emotional and psychological wreck, living in the bondage of constant fear. At one point in his recovery process the daughter of his psychologist convinces Bob to go with them to the lake to go sailing. Bob is scared to death of water but wants to be free and says he will trust the daughter and the boat. The next thing you hear is Bob yelling, “I’m sailing! I’m sailing!” The camera zooms in on the boat and we see Bob lashed to the main mast of the boat with multiple ropes and covered with numerous life preservers strapped to every part of his body.

Now in Bob’s mind he was sailing because he was on the boat, but he was far from free. That describes far too many Christians today. They are on the boat, but they are not free from all the emotional and physical bondage of a previous lifestyle or experience. A current contemporary Christian music group called Casting Crowns has a song called “Voice of Truth,” and its lyrics speak to this subject.

Oh what I would do to have – The kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I’m in – Onto the crashing waves – To step out of my comfort zone – Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is – And He’s holding out His hand.

But the waves are calling out my name Aad they laugh at me – Reminding me of all the times I’ve tried before and failed – The waves they keep on telling me time and time again. “Boy, you’ll never win!” “You’ll never win!”

But the voice of truth tells me a different story. The voice of truth says, “Do not be afraid!” The voice of truth says, “This is for My glory”. Out of all the voices calling out to me, I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth.

We all have the same choice. We can listen to the voice of the circumstances and believe the worst, or we can listen to the voice of truth and be set free. God’s truth of freedom is constantly at work in us, regardless of the circumstances. Paul said in Romans 8:1 that we are no longer condemned. We are free from the penalty and the power of sin. Choose today to live according to the Spirit of God and not according to the circumstances of life.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Thursday, July 25, 2024

Today we come to the final letter in our acrostic of the word NAME. The E stands for exaltation and is a reminder to us that every thought we think, every word we speak, and every action we choose is to bring glory to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Our relationship with Christ is like the relationship we should have with our spouse, just more intimate. Every day for the rest of my life it is my desire to magnify my wife, and to exalt her ahead of and in front of others. Every thought I think, every word I speak, and every activity I choose must exist only in the realm of honoring her as my wife, my friend, and the love of my life.

That is how we are to live life in relationship to Jesus. Every desire of our hearts, every choice we make, every word we speak, and every activity in which we participate, should honor Jesus Christ and exalt His life in us.

I want to share with you today some passages of Scripture that emphasize this aspect of living life as a response to God’s love. Read them carefully and let the Holy Spirit apply the truth to your life.

The Apostle Paul begins in Romans 15: 17-18 by sharing his personal testimony of commitment to exalting Christ.  “Therefore, I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me.”

Paul again speaks to the church at Corinth about how each one of us is in process of being transformed into the glory of the Lord. “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

The author of Hebrews encourages us with the truth that God has equipped us to live lives totally pleasing and honoring to Him according to the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. “May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21)

Once again Paul writes to us through the church at Philippi that as we grow in love and knowledge the result is to be the glory and praise of God. “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:9-11)

The Apostle Peter confirms Paul’s teaching that everything we need for life and godliness comes from the power of God, and that we need not seek anything from the world to make our lives more valuable or prove our worth. In fact, when we live our lives for the glory of God, we escape the corruption of the world and all its evil desires. “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” (2 Peter 1:3-4)

Peter again shows us that everything we do is to be an expression of the work of God in our lives and is to be done for the glory of Jesus. “…be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray… so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:7-11)

Join me in this prayer. “Father, I resolve that whatever I do in word or deed will be done in the NAME of Jesus, according to His nature, His attributes, His mission, and His exaltation, so that my life is lived as a thanksgiving offering to you, who in your great and gracious love for me saved me from my sin by the blood of yours precious Son Jesus, who is my Lord. May my life bring glory to the Father by bearing much fruit for Him. AMEN.”

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Wednesday, July 24, 2024

I trust the time you spent yesterday considering the purpose of rest and recreation was beneficial to you. If so, we are ready to start the evaluation process of how the mission of Jesus impacts our daily lifestyle choices and decision-making. 

First, do you understand what the mission of Jesus is for your life? While each of us is unique, and uniquely equipped for various roles and responsibilities within the body of Christ, each one of us starts with the same marching orders. Our identical mission is this – “Go into all the world and make disciples.”

We could spend weeks upon weeks studying all the individual ways we are prepared, equipped, and gifted to do that, but unless we truly accept the primary mission itself then all the methods will be meaningless. There is to be nothing in our lifestyle choices more significant than glorifying Jesus, and He is most glorified when we abide in Him and accomplish His mission – the salvation of souls. There can be no higher priority than people.

Second, we must carefully prioritize all areas of our life under Christ’s mission. Some of our chosen activities can remain. Some might have to go. Let’s use some of our evaluation questions again today to examine our priorities considering God’s mission for our life. Ask these questions about every choice you make. 

• Does this word or activity support my understanding of the mission to which I have been called in Christ Jesus?
• Does this word or activity represent the Gospel message of the transforming power of Jesus Christ to change my life?
• Does this word or activity prepare me in some way to fulfill Christ’s mission for me?
• Does this word or activity present an opportunity to share the Good News of Jesus with another person?
• Does this word or activity present an opportunity to make a disciple?
• Does this word or activity present an opportunity to teach others to obey Jesus?
• Does this word or activity present an opportunity to encourage and build up a brother or sister in Christ?

If the answer to any of the questions above is “no”, then ask yourself, while remembering ground rule #2 about no shame, why that activity is permitted to remain in your life. Of what value is it in accomplishing the mission of God?

My friends, we are people of purpose. Everyone wants to know their purpose. We are blessed to be children of God, who get to experience the one true and fulfilling mission of all life – serving the Savior. Let’s unite together to serve Him according to His mission, not ours. 

Pastor John 

LifeLink Devotional for Tuesday, July 23, 2024

Luke 4:18-19  “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

As we move on from the attributes of Jesus we come to the letter M in our acrostic, which is the word MISSION. Everything we do in word or deed is to be done in connection to the mission of Jesus Christ to save souls. I wonder how our lives would change if we took some quality time to evaluate how much time is spent on the mission of Jesus compared to being spent on our own pursuits? I suspect they might change drastically.

First, a couple of ground rules for such evaluation.

1. No guilt and shame is allowed. You may not have thought about these things before, and Satan would love to wrap you up in a blanket of regret. But spiritual change is about forgetting the past and pressing on towards the future.  
2. It is valid that we all need relaxation and recreation, but our tendency is to compartmentalize mission and not see how “fun times” connect to it. Even Jesus got away from everyone and relaxed. However, when He relaxed, He did so with the sole purpose of being physically refreshed for the accomplishment of His Father’s mission. Even while He was relaxing, He prayed, prioritized, planned, and prepared for God’s purpose in His life.

For example, on any given weekend or day off from work, how much time do we intentionally spend thinking about how the activities we choose will refresh us and provide us with increased opportunities to share the Good News of Jesus with someone at work when we return? In case you’re wondering, I have spent many days off not thinking about that. But on the days I do, the next day is dramatically different.  I wake up with all three engines running at peak performance. My physical engine is strong. My emotional engine is secure. My spiritual engine is running at top speed in anticipation of being used by God to touch someone’s life with His love. All because while I relaxed, I thought about what God wanted to do with my life after I was refreshed. The mistake many of us make is to use relaxation and recreation as an escape from the past, rather than a preparation for the future.

Spend some time today seriously contemplating that last statement. When you go camping, or fishing, or golfing, biking, or thrift-saleing, or travelling, or on any day off activity you prefer, are you preparing for the future or are you trying to escape from the stress of the past? When we keep our hearts connected to the mission of Jesus, everything we do is a preparation to be used by the Holy Spirit to accomplish His mission.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Monday, July 22, 2024

Currently we are doing a series of devotionals based on the challenge we are given by the Apostle Paul in Colossians 3:17.

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

We have been specifically focused on what it means to do everything in the NAME of the Lord Jesus. To help us understand the concept of using someone’s name as the basis for our choices, I created an acrostic for the word NAME.

Nature

Attributes

Misson

Exaltation

We spent a couple of days on the Nature of Jesus. Now we are looking at His attributes. An attribute is defined as a quality, character, or characteristic ascribed to someone. It is an outflow of their nature. Jesus has numerous attributes, like holiness, righteousness, faithfulness, justice, mercy, grace, and the list goes on. Rather than look at each attribute, I would like to ask a series of questions that challenge us to consider the lifestyle and behavioral choices we make. Use these questions to evaluate your growth in doing everything in the NAME of Jesus.

• Does this word or activity support my belief in the attributes of Jesus because it displays great trust in Him?
• Does this word or activity measure up to the fullness of God’s love in me because it expresses His love to others?
• Does this word or activity reflect His holiness because it does not contradict His life in me?
• Does this word or activity reflect His righteousness because it is the right thing to do?
• Does this word or activity reflect the compassion of Jesus because it puts the needs of others ahead of my own?
• Does this word or activity reflect His truth because it is not compromised to please people or advance my own cause?
• Does this word or activity reflect His grace because it places no demands on others before showing them love?
• Does this word or activity reflect His mercy because grudges are released in the power of forgiveness?

There are many more attributes we could discover, but this is sufficient for now. As you can see, the attributes of Jesus make a serious impact on our lifestyle and decision-making. Continue to study the attributes of Jesus. Continue to seek to understand the things that define His heart and His life. He will transform you into His likeness.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotional for Friday, July 19, 2024

Colossians 3:17 gives us a lifelong challenge to live every moment to honor and glorify the Name of Jesus.  “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Today we move to the next word in our acrostic on the NAME of Jesus. It is Attributes. The big picture question is this: “Are we living in such a way that our life reflects the attributes of Jesus.”

When I was a young boy, my father was the pastor of a church in Michigan. It was customary in this church for the pastor and his family to be invited out to dinner at someone’s house on a regular basis. On those nights that we were headed to our host’s home, I remember clearly something my dad always did. As I and my two brothers would pile into the back seat of the car in our usual rowdy way, fighting over who had to sit in the middle, dad would already be in place in the driver’s seat. He would reach up and tilt the rearview mirror down so he could see us, and he would say, “Now boys, don’t embarrass me when we get there.”

I’ve thought about that statement a lot. It had its positive and its negative sides. From the negative perspective, it assumed that we were both capable of embarrassing him and likely to do so. Be realistic. Imagine three boys ages 5, 6, and 7 together in a home of adults with nothing to do but sit still and behave. Yeah – that’s possible. We were by nature rowdy little boys, with expectations of adult attributes thrust upon us. Dad knew it, or he wouldn’t have told us his expectations before we even left the driveway.

On the positive side, dad was trying to help us grow up. We all want our children to emulate the attributes that we believe are important for maturity. Any word or action that doesn’t reflect those attributes is an embarrassment, both to the parent, and hopefully to the child who really wants to be the best they can be. Every kid wants to measure up. If motivated by love, that’s a good thing. If motivated by a lack of love so that it becomes a performance to earn value, then that’s dysfunctional.

Measuring up is a biblical concept. The Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 3: 19, “…that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Then in the next chapter he says, “so that the body of Christ may … become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

Christ is the perfect model of maturity for our lives. When we are motivated by love for Him, we will strive to emulate His attributes. When we don’t, it will be an embarrassment to us.

It is not practical to attempt to consider all the attributes of our wonderful Lord and Savior in one short devotional today. So we will spread it out over a few days a look at how some of the attributes of God affect our choices in life.

For today, consider the words of the Apostle John, the one whom our Lord Jesus loved, as he wrote to Christians around the world. He said in 1 John, “See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.”

Wow! According to these verses, it is possible for us to be ashamed and embarrassed before our Lord because of the way we have lived our lives. So, according to those verses, what’s the key to not being embarrassed? Remain in Him and continue in Him. What does that mean? Very simply, it means to live according to His attributes.

Our lives are to be the constant reflection of the characteristics of Christ. He is our model. He has sent His Holy Spirit to bring the fullness of His life into ours. We do not live in obedience to a set of laws and standards. We live as an expression of the life of Christ in us. Anything less than that is an embarrassment.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Thursday, July 18, 2024

The next aspects of the nature of Jesus deal with His eternal existence. He is omnipresent (He is everywhere always), omniscient (He is all-knowing), and omnipotent (He is all-powerful). Look how Psalm 139 declares them all to us –

• He is omniscient – verses 1-4  “O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.”
• He is omnipresent – verses 7-10  “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”
• He is omnipotent – verses 13-14  “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

We cannot fool Him, for He knows us. We cannot hide from Him, for He is everywhere always. We cannot overcome Him, for He is the creator and sustainer of all things.

The final aspect of His nature is His immutability – He never changes. His nature is always the same. His word stands forever. His promises are secure. There is no compromise of His truth. What was true then is true now.

There is freedom in this. No longer do we need to look for new revelations of God, for in Jesus we have the complete revelation of God to man. Jesus does not change. His Word does not change. His commands do not change. Living life in the Name of Jesus is true liberty because we completely trust the Nature of Jesus.  

So, for today, let’s evaluate our thoughts, our words, our choices, and our actions, in the light of the nature of Jesus. Then ask this question – Does this thought, word, choice or activity support my belief that Jesus is, in His very nature, God, and that I trust Him?

Pastor John