11/17/2024
God never forsakes us. This is our contemplation this morning. Men will turn their backs on kings, and one another, but God never forsakes us, His People. We are asked to love Him with all our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength, because this is how He loves us, but do we understand and believe this to be absolutely true? Do we love our neighbors as we love ourselves? We are His people, and His inheritance, and as such we are priceless in His eyes.
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
Mark 12:30 ESV
“For the Lord will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance.”
Psalms 94:14 KJV
If we are someone important in our workplace, then read on, but if not then humor me, and let’s imagine that we are… So now you think you're something! You walk into your office or onto your job site and, with voices filled with cheer and affection, everyone says "Good Morning boss!"... But is it really? Are those around you treating you as their friend or simply responding to your position as their supervisor... Are they reacting to WHAT you are instead of WHO you are? Take a moment to think about this before you quickly answer that "they are my friends, and are responding to who I am."
“On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.”
John 12:12-13 KJV
Jesus rode into Jerusalem to a cheering crowd that placed palm branches in his path, but once he was arrested many of those same people were shouting for Pilate to release Barabbas, and to crucify Him. Were they truly His friends the day before? Who were these people? Were they friends, acquaintances, or just followers enamored with His position as the Christ?
“Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?
To make this point even more poignant, Pilate not only asked the crowd who he should release, but he also asked them what he should do with Jesus... and the crowd chanted "Crucify Him!"
Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.”
Matthew 27:17, 22 KJV
So the crowds that had cheered Him have been convinced by their elders and priests that this man isn't who they believed Him to be. In a few short hours they had forsaken their adoration and claimed contempt. They hadn't loved Jesus, but rather the idea of His being the Messiah.
“But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.”
Matthew 27:20 KJV
Now let's go back to my previous question... "Are the people in your office or on your job site reacting to WHAT you are instead of WHO you are?" When Jesus entered Jerusalem He was the Christ, but once captured He had become, in their eyes, a man like any of them. He was nothing more than another Jew being held by those who oppressed them. Now he could be turned on without consequence. How long would it take those around you in your life to forsake you?
The point I am making here is that men might betray or forsake us, but God will not. You are more than a symbol, a number, or an object to God... you are His child and He loves you without question. So it was that Jesus went from being the Messiah to an ordinary man, and a blasphemer, in the eyes of many men and women, but in God’s eyes he was always loved, always His Son, and forever the Messiah. Isn’t this the way that He loves us, and has always loved us, even when we were yet sinners?
““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:16-27 ESV
“There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”
Joshua 1:5 KJV
And with God unfailingly at our side, who should we fear? If we should be rejected by the very people we trusted at work, or in other areas of our lives, who or what should we fear? The answer is nothing and no one.
“Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”
Deuteronomy 31:6 KJV
Our Lord does not love and hate us on a whim, He loves us always, but on the other hand we are men, and there is always the possibility of our weakness, and that we might be the ones who forsake Him for things we perceive as valuable or comforting to us. Isn't this amazing... not that we might abandon God (because we are inherently weak and fallen) but that God loves us in spite of this, and forgives us. Jesus knew this truth when He asked God that we be forgiven… even as He hung on the cross dying.
“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.”
Luke 23:34 KJV
Holy Father, place your hand upon us as we kneel in prayer, and let our spirit feel you within us always.
Prayer:
Thank you Father for loving us so completely, and for forgiving us when we were yet sinners, and neglected to love you as we should. Father, we thank you for the steadfast nature of your mercy, grace, and love, and for your promise that that you will never forsake us. Further Lord, we ask that you strengthen us in our faith to the point that we can resist denying you. Give us a love for you that can withstand all adversity and challenge, and never let your Holy Spirit diminish as he reveals your Word to us. Lord, guide us, even as evil assaults us and we are tempted by the agents of darkness, or, heaven forbid, when wrong-thinking elders and chief priests attempt to misguide, or malign, us. Holy Father, place your hand upon us as we kneel before you in prayer, and let our spirits feel you within us always because scripture tells us that if we confess that Jesus is your Son, and we love one another, that you will abide in us. Forgive us Father if we succumb to sin, or are misled into wrong thinking, then lead us back into righteous thought and living. Give us strength when we are attacked, and a heart to forgive our enemies, even as you have told us to. We pray this day for all those around us Abba; our friends, neighbors, workmates, strangers, and yes, our enemies. We pray for their souls; not simply because you have told us to do so, but out of love for them… the selfsame love you have for them, because if they come to believe then they will become your people, and as your people they will be your heritage. Merciful and full of grace are you our God who thus abides in us, and desires us to be with you for eternity. We pray all of these things in the name of Jesus Christ your Son, our redeemer, and your perfect Dove of Peace.
Hallelujah, and all your children say… Amen!
“No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”
1 John 4:12 ESV
“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.”
1 John 4:15 ESV
“even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,”
Ephesians 1:4-5 ESV
“if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time.”
2 Chronicles 7:14-16 ESV
Rich Forbes