March 2025
Happy Springtime! My prayer is for people to realize God's plan and purpose for Israel. He blessed the children of Israel, promised them the land and provided righteousness through faith in His blood covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob [Genesis, chapters 12, 15 and 17; renamed "Israel," meaning "he will rule as God," 32:28]. The covenant was fulfilled by their Seed, Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, chapter 49:8-12; Matthew 1:1-17. The apostle Paul writes:
"Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, 'And to seeds,' as of many, but as of one. 'And to your Seed,' who is Christ" (Galatians 3:16, NKJV).
God Loves Israel . . .
The Lord brought the children of Israel out of bondage from Egypt [the flesh] through faith in the blood of the lamb [Exodus, chapter 12].
The sacrificial blood of the lamb demonstrates God's love for His children; fulfilled by the New Covenant when the blood of the Lamb [Jesus], purchased our freedom from the bondage of sin. He ". . . has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree'), that the blessings of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:13-14, NKJV). Jesus provided forgiveness, salvation, righteousness and a guaranteed inheritance. "For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17, KJV).
However, an Old Covenant was given to Moses in Exodus 20. The Ten Commandments were necessary, not to make us righteous, but ". . . to keep people from having excuses and to show the entire world is guilty before God . . . For everyone has sinned, we all fall short of God's glorious standard" (Romans 3:19, 23, NLT). Because of the Fall of Adam and Eve, even Abraham sinned, and the Covenant promises were made before the Law was given [Galatians 3:17-18]. He lost faith in his old age, along with his wife Sarah, who convinced him to sleep with their maid Hagar. As a result, Hagar gave birth to Ishmael, and he bore twelve (12) sons, who became enemies, denying Israel's existence to this day [Genesis, chapters 16, 21 and 25:12-16].
After the Law was recorded a second time in Deuteronomy, the writer cautioned the children of Israel about their enemies, saying: "When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are about to enter and occupy, he will clear away many nations [listed] . . . These seven nations are greater and more numerous than you. When the LORD your God hands these nations over to you and you conquer them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaties with them and show them no mercy . . . For you are a holy people, who belong to the LORD your God. Of all the people on earth, the LORD your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure. The LORD did not set his heart on you because you were more numerous then other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! Rather, it was simply that the LORD loves you, and he was keeping the oath he had sworn to your ancestors. That is why the LORD rescued you with such a strong hand from your slavery and from the oppressive hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Understand, therefore, that the LORD your God, He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands. But he does not hesitate to punish and destroy those who reject him. Therefore, you must obey all these commands, decrees, and regulations I am giving you today" (Deuteronomy 7:1-2, 6-11, NLT).
God's Special Treasure . . .
Sadly, it is evident today that Israel's enemies are still a thorn in their side. Plus, Israel continues to reject their Messiah, Jesus Christ, because of rebellion, unbelief and a hardened heart [Hebrews 3:16 - 4:11], when Jesus is the only One who could have fulfilled all the prophesies. You can read Isaiah's prophecies concerning Judah's rebellion, beginning in Isaiah, chapter 1, and from other prophets during their captivity in Babylon. Jeremiah prophesied about " . . . the time of Jacob's trouble" (30:7), which represents the Great Tribulation spoken of in the book of The Revelation of Jesus Christ, when all who believe and confess Jesus as Lord will be saved. Because "Long ago the LORD said to Israel; I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love, with unfailing love I have drawn you to myself" (Jeremiah 31:3, NLT).
When God found fault with the people, he promised: "The day is coming,' says the LORD, 'when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,' says the LORD. 'But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,' says the LORD. 'I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, 'You should know the LORD.' For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,' says the LORD. 'And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins'" (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:8-12, NLT).
Today, God doesn't remember our sins. He sees us through the blood of the Lamb, His Son, Jesus Christ. The writer of Hebrews, chapters 8 through 10, tells the Jews that the New Covenant as prophesied by Jeremiah was fulfilled in Christ once and for all time. He writes: "So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With his own blood -- he entered the Most Holy Place once for all times and secured our redemption forever" (Hebrews 9: 11-12, NLT) Again, "Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifice again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest [Jesus Christ] offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then sat down in the place of honor at God's right hand. Here he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. For by one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy. And the Holy Spirit testifies that this is so . . . 'I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds'" (Hebrews 10:11-15, 17, NLT).
You Are Special Also . . .
Listen! We are to find our sole identity in Christ, which the apostle Paul explains to both Jews and Gentiles in his letter to the Romans, writing:
"For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes -- the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, 'The righteous will live by faith'" (1:16-17, NLT).
". . . God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty of our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus" (3:24-26, NLT).
". . . God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God's condemnation" (Romans 5:8-9, NLT).
"So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus . . . The same Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you" (Romans 8:1, 11, NLT).
"For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God's glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his sufferings" (8:16-17, NLT).
". . . despite all these things [trials], overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow -- not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below -- indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord" (8:37-39, NLT).
Israel's Unbelief: "What does all this mean? Even though the Gentiles were not trying to follow God's standards, they were made right with God. And it was by faith that this took place. But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded. Why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law [by works] instead of by trusting in him. They stumbled over the great rock [righteousness by faith] in their path. God warned them of this in the Scriptures when he said, 'I am placing a stone in Jerusalem that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall. But anyone who trusts in him [Jesus] will never be disgraced" (9:30-33, NLT).
Owe Nothing But Love . . .
The Abounding Love podcast #277 episode shares how we are to perfect the love of God in our lives, but we must remember that we love because He first loved us. As believers, we are born of the Spirit of love. We have God's love within us, and we owe [have an obligation] to share His love with others. We must allow His love to flow from our lives. The Greek word for God's love is "agape," the unconditional and sacrificial love of God, which put His Son on the cross in our place for our sins. There are other words used for love in the Scriptures, such as "phileo" [brotherly love] and "storge" [affectionate love], but only "agape" is used for God's love. The word "eros" for physical love is not used in the Scriptures. [See "God's Divine Flow, Four Kinds Of Love" article & brochure].
We're not to keep God's love stored inside us for safekeeping, but we are to give it to others. The apostle Paul wrote: "Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'You shall not covet,' and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law" (Romans 13:8-10, NKJV). If we are to fulfill the law, then we'll be "loving our neighbor as we love ourselves." We are not to do any harm to our brothers and sisters in the Lord, but don't we?
At times, we speak evil of others, but we are called to perfect the love of God in our lives and in out thoughts. This way we can be effective representatives of God on earth as the light of the world. By perfecting God's love in our lives, we not only meet the requirements of the Law of God, but also the criminal and civil laws. Romans, chapter 13 continues: "And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lust" (Romans 13:11-14, NKJV). Join me as we look into the importance of the love of God and how to manifest it. Selah. [Click here for the Abounding Love podcast #277 "Owe Nothing But Love", dated 02/21/'25].
A Prayer For Israel . . .
Heavenly Father, the longing of my heart and my prayer is for the people of Israel to be saved. I know what enthusiasm some have for You, but it is misdirected zeal. For most don't understand Your way of making people right with You. Refusing to accept Your way, they cling to their own way of getting right with You by trying to keep the law. For Your Son, Jesus, has already accomplished the purpose the law was given. As a result, all who believe in Him are made right with You . . . And that message is the very message we preach. I pray that the children of Israel will openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in their heart that You, Heavenly Father, raised Jesus from the dead, and be saved. For it is by believing in our heart that we are made right with You, and it it by openly declaring our faith that we are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, "Anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced." Jews and Gentiles are the same in his respect. They have the same Lord who gives generously to all who call on Him. For 'Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.' In Jesus' name! [compare Romans 10:1-4; 8b-13, NLT].