The Course of History

 

What is the course of history but the aggregate of every choice ever made?

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever." (Psalm 136:1)

When you want to convey something of great importance, whether in a workplace environment, or teaching your children, having that person repeat your instructions back to you helps to ensure the accuracy of your message. Psalm 136 uses the same method to teach us a foundational truth about God. 

Steadfast. Love. These are strong, solid words that communicate their meaning. For instance, steadfast: faithful, always present, never alone, will not leave, always listening, always paying attention, working on our behalf, forever. 

And love: what comes to your mind when you hear this word? For some of us our past can radically color the meaning of this word but the accepted definition is, "an intense feeling of deep affection." Other descriptions of the word include, passion, tenderness, warmth, intimacy, delight, taking pride in, safety, always present, selfless, always seeking the best, and so many other descriptions. 

But the fact remains that Creator God is telling us that He loves us, repeatedly, (26 times just in this Psalm) as He seeks to plant this truth deep into our soul.

How Do We Meet Sin?

"In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." (Romans 6:11)

Imagine the effort required to open up a barricaded door, to then enter a room that you were never intended to see, and finally, to fight a foe that is already dead. How foolish would it be to expend all that effort simply to struggle with a vanquished enemy? And to repeat this exercise over and over . . . 

That small exercise in imagination is my feeble attempt to describe what the Bible says is our proclivity to battle something which God has already conquered. Listen to what this devotion in "None But The Hungry Heart" has to say about this subject: "The moment that you begin to fight with it (sin) —no matter how resolutely you may struggle against it—that moment is when you begin to experience sin as your master. For it is then that we forsake our true position, which is one of freedom from sin as a master."

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1)

Merry Christmas!