LIve with God, or Die Apart from Him

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Saturday, March 21, 2009
Devotions: Ps 87, 90, 136; Jer 13:1-11; Rom 6:12-23; Jn 8:47-59

It is a special honor to be born in Jerusalem, God’s city, from which song and dance arise. But God Himself is our Dwelling Place; before the world existed, God Is. A thousand of our years is a day to Him, and less! We are mortal, overwhelmed by the wrath of our holy Creator. Our days are a slight span of toil and trouble. So we beg You, eternal God, to return to us and abide with us. Make us glad as many days as we have been afflicted. Let Your work, Your power be manifest to us, Lord, and establish the work of our hands, I pray! Let us give thanks to YHWH, for He is good; His steadfast love endures for ever. He is God of gods, Lord of lords. He is Creator and Sustainer of all the universe. He is sovereign of human societies, and He has established His testimony through the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is lord of earth and heaven, and His steadfast love endures for ever.

God directed Jeremiah to purchase a linen waistcloth, and to wear it. Then, God sent Jeremiah to the Euphrates, and told him to hide the loincloth in a cleft among the rocks of the river bank. Many days later, God commanded Jeremiah to recover the buried cloth; of course, it was spoiled and good for nothing. And God said, ‘In just this way I will spoil the pride of Judah and Jerusalem; these evil, stubborn people who ignore and disobey Me serve other gods. I made these people to serve and to be close to Me—to provide them with a name, a praise and a glory—but they refused.’

Paul writes: Don’t let sin rule in your mortal bodies; rather, yield yourselves to God, as mortals who have been brought from death to life; let your members become instruments of righteousness under God’s authority. You are under grace, not law; so sin has no dominion over you! You serve either God or evil; sin leads to death, but godliness issues in abundant, eternal life. Be obedient from your hearts to the standard of teaching you have received; you are freed from sin and slaves of righteousness. Will this, and be sanctified, to the end of eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in the Messiah Jesus our Lord!

Jesus continues His dialog with skeptical Jews: ‘Those of God hear God’s words; you don’t hear them because you are not God’s people!’ They replied with a slur: ‘And you’re a demon-possessed Samaritan, right?’ Jesus answered, ‘I have no demon; I honor my Father, and you dishonor Me. I don’t seek My own glory—but there is a holy One Who seeks it, and He will be Judge of all. Most solemnly I tell you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death.’ The Jews replied, ‘Okay, now we know you have a demon! Abraham and all the prophets died—are you greater than our Father Abraham or the prophets of God?’ Jesus answered, ‘It is My Father Who glorifies Me—the One you call your God. But you don’t know Him—never have! I know Him, and I would lie if I said otherwise; I know Him and keep His word. Your ancestor Abraham rejoiced that he was to see My day; he saw it, and was glad.’ The Jews responded, ‘You’re less than fifty years old—and are you claiming that you have seen Abraham?’ Jesus answered: ‘Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham existed, I Am.’ At this, essentially a claim to deity from Jesus, the crowd took up stones to stone Him; but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple.