A Permanent Covenant

A covenant is a relationship between two parties who make binding promises to each other and work together to reach their common goal.

We are currently living in “New Covenant” times. This covenant defines a new relationship between God and man mediated by Jesus Christ and based upon a sincere declaration that one believes in Jesus Christ as Lord, God, and Savior.

Today, we are meditating upon this covenant that believers have with the Lord.

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you. (Isa 54:10 NIV)

Neither God’s love—nor His covenant of peace—will be shaken or upset. Glory to God!

Pay attention to me, come to me; and listen, so that you may live; then I’ll make an everlasting covenant with you, as promised by my faithful, sure love for David. (Isa 55:3 ISV)

As our title today tells us, we have an everlasting covenant with the Lord. It will not end.

I will not break my agreement nor change what I have said. (Ps 89:34 NCV)

God is stating clearly that He will never break His Word or change His promises to us. We can rely upon His stability and His dependability. Thus, our faith may rest upon a flawless foundation. Hallelujah!

God’s Mighty Acts Should Provoke Praise from Us

Whenever we witness the great and mighty acts of God, it should activate us to praise and worship Him spontaneously! Am I exaggerating? Absolutely not!

In the Bible, Jesus instructed people who received wondrous miracles—after they had rejoiced and praised God—to go and spread the good news about Him to other people. But FIRST, every single person erupted in praise and thanksgiving.

And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him. (Lk 13:17 NKJV) This passage says that the multitude rejoiced! That means that a great crowd of people were happily praising and thanking God. And you’d better believe that they eventually told everyone all about it!

However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” (Mk 5:19 NKJV)
Here we see Jesus again telling the man who received the blessing to go and tell everyone he knew about God’s love, mercy and goodness to him. This is another form of praise and thanksgiving!

But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these [disciples, crowd of people] become silent, the stones will cry out!” (Lk 19:40 NASB)
Jesus is telling the Pharisees, who criticized the praise that He was receiving, that He not only accepted the worship from them, but that it was reasonable and justifiable for the people to act that way. (See Lk 19:37-38, 39)

For the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the timbers will answer it. (Hab 2:11 NKJV)
So often in the Bible, inanimate objects take the role of a witness to events. When we refer back to Jesus’ comment in Luke 19:40, we see that Jesus testifies to the fact that if the people remained silent, the very STONES would cry out in praise and worship of Him!

Wow! That’s pretty impressive.

Don’t let inanimate objects upstage you! When the Lord performs miracles for you or around you or for your friends and loved ones, burst forth into praise, rejoicing, and thanksgiving. Let your voice be heard in adoration and thanksgiving to the Living God. God bless you.

Clothe Ourselves with Virtue

How can we clothe ourselves with virtue? For that matter, how can we “put on love” as instructed in Colossians 3:14? And note that Romans 13:14 tells us that we have “put on Christ,” as does Galatians 3:27.

And what virtues are we encouraged by God’s Word to put on?

¹²Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (Col 3:12 NIV)

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. ¹⁵Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. (Col 3:14-15 NIV)

Your love must be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰Be devoted to each other with mutual affection. Excel at showing respect for each other. (Rom 12:9-10 ISV)

. . . with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love . . . (Eph 4:2 NKJV)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Gal 5:22-23 NASB)

Wow! This is an impressive list of virtues and good traits to pursue and to practice.

In the natural realm, when we want to be clothed, it is a conscious act of the will. Our clothes don’t fly through the air and attach themselves to us, right? We have to physically maneuver ourselves into the clothes, and then button or snap or zip them into place. And we have to choose exactly what items we want to wear each and every day.

As believers and followers of Jesus, we must be just as deliberate about what virtues we choose to use in every circumstance and situation in our lives. We must decide to be peacemakers, just as we must choose to be kind, humble, gentle, patient, peace-loving, joyful, faithful, and self-controlled.

As we make the decision each new day to follow Jesus, we must make the decision in every circumstance and life situation about how to react to our current challenges or trials.

In answer to our prayers to Him, the Lord will give us the grace and power that we need to weave these virtues into our lives. The Holy Spirit will guide us if we yield to Him in humility and obedience.

The Holy Spirit is the only One who can teach us and transform us into the image of Christ. And best of all, He can be trusted to guide us lovingly and faithfully. Hallelujah!

Mercy, Peace & Love be Multiplied

Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. (Jud 1:2 NKJV)

Take another look at that verse! The Holy Spirit chose to intensify the blessings of mercy, peace and grace by using the word multiplied.

To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Rom 1:7 NIV)

Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. (2 Pet 1:2 NIV)

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. (Gal 6:15-16 NKJV)

MERCY means: 1) compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm; 2) compassion, kindness or goodwill towards the miserable and afflicted. Mercy is when God decides not to punish us for our sins and wrongdoings.

PEACE means: 1) freedom from disturbance; tranquility; 2) to experience tranquility, harmony, and agreement. Psalm 7:11 (NKJV) says, God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day. But the Lord is not angry with believers. Jesus has purchased reconciliation and peace between believers and God. This is the peace that Jesus promised in John 14:27 (NKJV): Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. This is the peace that Jesus experienced in the core of His own pain and suffering that He shares with us.

LOVE: agape, Greek agapē, in the New Testament; the fatherly love of God for humans, as well as the human reciprocal love for God. In Scripture, the transcendent agape love is the highest form of love. This kind of love is not based on performance or precision; it flows from the pure heart of God. This is a miracle-working type of love that has been given to us through faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior. It’s the most selfless and generous form of love we can imagine.

Jude begins his letter by praying this triad of blessings on all believers: Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. (Jud 1:2 NKJV) And he prayed for these blessings to be multiplied to us. He desires these blessings to come upon each believer in waves of blessings. He wants these blessings to flourish, proliferate, and be magnified in our lives—that they exceedingly abound! The blessings of God are found in His mercy, His peace, and His love— which are all revealed through His Son and extravagantly imparted to us by the Spirit. Glory to God!

God’s Great Love for Us

Something that we, as followers of Jesus Christ, may not meditate upon enough is His great love for us. This article will help us focus on that today.

“For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, and My covenant of peace will not be shaken,” says the Lord who has compassion on you. (Isa 54:10 NASB) The Lord is saying that even when immovable objects (like hills and mountains) start shaking and even being removed, that His loving peace and kindness will NOT leave His children. The Lord says that He has compassion upon us. What a blessed promise!

For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. (Mt 18:20 NIV) When believers in Jesus come together and meet as Christians, the Lord reminds us that He is right there among us. His presence abides with us.

For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Heb 13:5 NKJV) This is the Lord’s promise that He will never leave us nor abandon us—under any circumstances. This is a promise that can be relied upon.

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? (1 Cor 6:19 NKJV) Here the Bible reminds us that all who have accepted Jesus as our Savior, have become the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives within the children of God. We are children of God.

Rejoice in the precious promises that God has given to all who love Him. Take some time to reflect upon God’s great, abiding love for you, and thank Him for it. God bless you.

Sheep without a Shepherd

Sheep who have no shepherd will die. The shepherd protects his sheep, keeps his flock intact and leads them to still waters and grassy fields where they can feed. He keeps watch over them and guards them from predators and thieves.

But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him. ³⁴And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things. (Mk 6:33-34) The multitudes ran to Jesus, because they heard so much about Him and they wanted to hear what He had to say. Jesus responded to them with compassion, knowing that they needed a spiritual and moral shepherd.

But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. (Mt 9:36) Jesus saw that the people were weary and that they were scattered in their beliefs and faith. He felt concern and yearned to show mercy toward them.

Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. ¹⁰The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing. (Ps 34:9-10) Those who seek the Lord do not lack ANY good thing! What a promise and what a blessing!

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Rom 8:31) No one can successfully oppose the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. (Lk 9:11) Jesus taught the multitudes about the kingdom of God and the love of the Father. He also healed all of those who needed any form of healing. Praise God!

We, as the sheep of His pasture (Ps 95:7; 100:3), have the blessings of God’s protection, provision, and leadership. Glory to God!

Check Out Your Clothes!

Do you realize that the Bible is concerned with how we clothe ourselves? Isn’t that an interesting and provoking idea?

For example:

We are invited to clothe ourselves with Christ in Romans 13:14.
We are instructed to dress modestly, with decency and propriety but also to clothe ourselves with good deeds in 1 Timothy 2:9-10.
Colossians 3:12-14 directs us to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. It also prompts us to put on love which is the personality trait which binds all the others together in unity.

Out of all of these instructions, the encouragement to perform good works is probably one of the most frequently mentioned.

. . . having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. (1 Pet 2:12 NKJV, emphasis added)

. . . who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. (Tit 2:14 NKJV, emphasis added)

This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men. (Tit 3:8 NKJV, emphasis added)

The only way to truly clothe ourselves with good works and holy virtues is through the empowering and enabling grace that we receive through our ongoing relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer. Walk in the “Clothing of Salvation”:

The love of God,
The grace from God,
Faith in God, which is a gift from Him (Eph 2:8-9)
The LIFE of God, which is the indwelling Holy Spirit (Pro 12:28; 1 Cor 6:19)

Cling to your relationship with Jesus even as a drowning man clings to a life preserver thrown to him by rescuers. Jesus provides new grace and strength for each new day, and He will never leave you nor fail you. Glory to His Holy Name!

Faith and Wholeness

Notice that faith and wholeness are connected! Even in the natural realm, if a person doesn’t have faith in their medical team or the medical facility’s reputation, their healing will be impaired or slowed. If a person doesn’t believe that they WILL get better and if that person doesn’t talk about getting better, then their body will begin to obey their thoughts and their words.

Notice what the Bible teaches us repeatedly about the power of faith.

And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way. (Mk 10:52 ESV)

But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour. (Mt 9:22 NKJV)

And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.” (Mk 5:34)

Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour. (Mt 5:28)

Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord. (Lk 1:45, emphasis added)

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— (Eph 2:8) Each believer has been given the gift of faith. Let us use this precious gift.

We must place our faith in Jesus Christ! We must exercise our faith in the power of the Word of God! We must trust in the powerful, unrelenting, unconditional love of God for us. He is our Healer; He has compassion [mercy] upon each one of us at all times. God cannot lie (Tit 1:2), so receive the promises of the Bible as guaranteed!

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy . . . (Ps 103:2-4)

He Remembers that We Are Dust

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. (Ps 103:13-14 NIV)

The Lord knows all about our frailties, and that our earthly bodies—formed from the earth—will one day decay and die. We are compared to the grass which rises from the earth, and eventually wastes away and returns to it.

As human beings, we grow and mature and become strong and healthy. We may be blessed with robust health, and even grow to be quite tall and attractive to others. If we blossom in health and beauty, and riches and honor; even then we are destined to live only a certain number of years and then pass away, certain to be buried in the earth.

However, in spite of all of that, because the Lord made us in His own image, He has created us to be eternally valuable. (Gen 1:27) He calls mankind His special treasure. (Ps 135:4)

But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, and did not stir up all His wrath; ³⁹for He remembered that they were but flesh, a breath that passes away and does not come again. (Ps 78:38-39)

Because God is full of compassion, He never turned His full anger upon mankind. Instead, He demonstrated His great love for us by sending Jesus, His Son, as our Savior and Redeemer. (Joh 3:16; Rom 5:8)

God has poured His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Rom 5:2-5) The Holy Spirit is our teacher and our guide. (Joh 14:26; 16:13)

God has even made us conquerors through Jesus Christ, and nothing will ever be able to separate us from His powerful, unending love. (Rom 8:37-39) You are special in God’s sight, and you’re the apple of His eye! (Zech 2:8)

The Lord calls you CHOSEN and PRECIOUS. (1 Pet 2:4) Glory to God!

Give What You Have

Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” (Ac 3:6)

We can only give out of what we have received (or experienced) ourselves!

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. (Eph 4:32)

Since God has forgiven us of ALL of our sins, shouldn’t we extend that same forgiveness to others?

Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you? (Mt 18:32)

This is where the master had forgiven his servant a huge debt. Then this SAME [released] servant had his fellow servant put in jail, because he owed the released man a small amount of money! Shouldn’t the released man have shown the same compassion that he himself had received?

Through these concepts, we can learn several things, among which are:

a) We must acknowledge the good things that we, ourselves, have received from our heavenly Father before we can minister those things to others. When we acknowledge that we have received compassion, we’re able to share compassion. When we agree that we have received forgiveness from God, we’re able to forgive those who have hurt us.
b) We’re told by the Lord in His Word that we should be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving to others, because we have received those same things from God through Jesus Christ.
c) We can only GIVE out of what we DO HAVE! Are you aware of all that you have in Jesus Christ?

Study what you DO HAVE in Jesus so that you may minister those wonderful blessings and gifts to the hurting and the needy. The world is waiting . . . yearning for the manifestation of the sons (children) of God. (Rom 8:19)

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Tag: compassion