One Small Seed Newsletter – Edition #280, August 2024
With gladness of heart I send greetings,
James 5:8 “Be ye also longsuffering, establish your heart, because the presence of the Lord has drawn nigh”.
Remember the Lordship of Christ. I wonder sometimes if we as Christians really appreciate what Christ did for us, and is still doing for us in His present exalted position as the Word, in the Glory of His Father. God expressed His will, and Jesus became the Word incarnate. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”. In this position, Jesus became our mediator, a stand between the cry of justice, which said a life for a life, and the penalty of death that we ask for and actually deserved. By all of His work He was reconciling us with the Father.
He became our resurrection by lifting us up from the Adamic death into a new position in the face of God. He was our propitiation who appeased the cry of justice and we regained the good will of the Father through Him. He was the vicarious sacrifice for the Race of man, which deserved death. But he became the substitute on our behalf when He, in the flesh, had accomplished these things; and because of these things, and the new position that we inherited, He became our advocate, pleading our cause forever.
We have gained so many things because of His love and sacrifice for us. In Him there are healings, there is love, joy, and peace and there is wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. In Him there is reconciliation, forgiveness, knowledge and understanding. In Him there is faithfulness, immutability, grace and truth. He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the door to salvation, liberty and the power over the oppressor. In Him we live and move and have our being.
Since God was able to help us confront our fears, our anxiety, our loneliness, because we feel left out, or melancholy, because we have taken the negative side of life to lead us and the emptiness, because there is no inspiration or anointing, we are without excuse. He gave us Jesus, the part of Him that we can duplicate, have fellowship with and appreciate. The greatest thing about God’s gift is the fact that He isn’t an ornament sitting on a shelf or a trinket to wear around the neck, but He is the essence of God that we have in our heart and mind. He is the spirit of truth inside the glory of God the Father and the compulsion of life expressed so graciously through God’s all empowering word.
The writer of Hebrews 4:15 said, “For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (16) Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need”. We must submit ourselves to God. That is, to know who is Lord of our life and stay humbled before Him in faith. We must prioritize to establish order and peace in our spirit, soul, and mind. We must remember, we can’t win the battle on our own strength, but we can lean upon Him who has promised to never leave us or forsake us. If we follow in His footsteps we will know where we are and where He is at all times. By this we can whisper our desires and needs into His ear without making a long distance call to someone who is in outer space. Remember, God is as close to us as the air we breathe. He is the oxygen that we breathe in that flows through our blood stream to every part of our body. He is our life and without him we are nothing but dust.
In light of all these things, God has also granted to us the power to resist the devil (the deceiver, the liar, the prince of the air, and the enemy of our soul). James said in 4:7 “Resist the devil, and he will flee from us, Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to us”. To me this means to hold my ground, don’t give up and don’t give in. Hold fast to the immutable hand of God. Cling to the truth and know the Word. Hold fast to our faith and doubt not. Be on constant alert and let God’s Spirit have right away and bear his fruit. What is His fruit? Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against such there is no law”.
Besides all of this, pray for wisdom. Wisdom that is from God that compels us to turn to God in our times of need. Not only turn to God, but turn to His Word, His body the church, and the impulses of His Holy Spirit. Wisdom also compels us to refrain from judgments by feelings, opinions, whatever that is “politically correct”, whatever is traditional, what non-believers think, the opinions of novices and youth and even the rationale of our own mind.
Lastly, “study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). The word “study” means: to be diligent, zealous, and compelled by the Spirit to learn and understand. The sense of actions is toward urgency, not only for our needs, but for the needs of someone else that is nigh us. “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man”, Ecclesiastes 12:13.
The Christian life calls for humility, submission, and trust in God’s omnipresence and power. By recognizing Christ’s Lordship, studying His Word, and leaning on His Spirit, believers can walk confidently in faith, resist the enemy, and fulfill their God-given purpose. The duty of man is to fear God, keep His commandments, and live in alignment with His truth.
Your friend in Christ,
Rodney Roberts