September 3
LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved. Ps 15:1-5 (KJV)
Beloved, are these your credentials? Can the Holy Spirit bear this witness for you? Let us examine ourselves. Do you merit any blessing from above? Are you standing in the place where the Lord will not pass you by? Can you be remembered by God as He promised considering all that you have done and fail to do? If not, make an atonement of your sin and the Lord will forgive you.
When Jesus was handling over leadership to Peter before His departure, He repeatedly asked him, “do you love me”? In our text of yesterday’s devotion , Jesus said “if ye keep my commandment.ye shall abide in my love”. These than means in our walk with God, we must cherish His love not as the world loveth but that sincere love of God that based on the trust you have built over time in your dealings with Him then will you be able to say “thou whom my soul loveth”. Also make every effort not to allow unbelief to dwell in your heart:
“Thou whom my soul loveth.” Song 1:7
It is well to be able, without any “if” or “but,” to say of the Lord Jesus—”Thou whom my soul loveth.” Many can only say of Jesus that they hope they love Him; they trust they love Him; but only a poor and shallow experience will be content to stay here. No one ought to give any rest to his spirit till he feels quite sure about a matter of such vital importance. We ought not to be satisfied with a superficial hope that Jesus loves us, and with a bare trust that we love Him.
The old saints did not generally speak with “buts,” and “ifs,” and “hopes,” and “trusts,” but they spoke positively and plainly. “I know whom I have believed,” saith Paul. “I know that my Redeemer liveth,” saith Job. Get positive knowledge of your love of Jesus, and be not satisfied till you can speak of your interest in Him as a reality, which you have made sure by having received the witness of the Holy Spirit, and His seal upon your soul by faith.
True love to Christ is in every case the Holy Spirit’s work, and must be wrought in the heart by Him. He is the efficient cause of it; but the logical reason why we love Jesus lies in Himself. Why do we love Jesus? Because He first loved us. Why do we love Jesus? Because He “gave Himself for us.” We have life through His death; we have peace through His blood. Though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor.
Why do we love Jesus? Because of the excellency of His person. We are filled with a sense of His beauty! an admiration of His charms! a consciousness of His infinite perfection! His greatness, goodness, and loveliness, in one resplendent ray, combine to enchant the soul till it is so ravished that it exclaims, “Yea, He is altogether lovely.”
Blessed love this—a love which binds the heart with chains more soft than silk, and yet more firm than adamant! What an awesome experience. The duration of this experience will base so much on how well you guide your heart. Come and read what that means:
“How long will it be ere they believe me?” Numbers 14:11
Strive with all diligence to keep out that monster unbelief. It so dishonours Christ, that He will withdraw His visible presence if we insult Him by indulging it. It is true it is a weed, the seeds of which we an never entirely extract from the soil, but we must aim at its root with zeal and perseverance. Among hateful things it is the most to be abhorred. Its injurious nature is so venomous that he that exerciseth it and he upon whom it is exercised are both hurt thereby.
In thy case, O believer! it is most wicked, for the mercies of thy Lord in the past, increase thy guilt in doubting Him now. When thou dost distrust the Lord Jesus, He may well cry out, “Behold I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.” This is crowning His head with thorns of the sharpest kind. It is very cruel for a well-beloved wife to mistrust a kind and faithful husband. The sin is needless, foolish, and unwarranted.
Jesus has never given the slightest ground for suspicion, and it is hard to be doubted by those to whom our conduct is uniformly affectionate and true. Jesus is the Son of the Highest, and has unbounded wealth; it is shameful to doubt Omnipotence and distrust all-sufficiency. The cattle on a thousand hills will suffice for our most hungry feeding, and the granaries of heaven are not likely to be emptied by our eating. If Christ were only a cistern, we might soon exhaust His fullness, but who can drain a fountain? Myriads of spirits have drawn their supplies from Him, and not one of them has murmured at the scantiness of His resources.
Away, then, with this lying traitor unbelief, for his only errand is to cut the bonds of communion and make us mourn an absent Saviour. Bunyan tells us that unbelief has “as many lives as a cat:” if so, let us kill one life now, and continue the work till the whole nine are gone.
Dearly beloved, say “down with thee, thou traitor, my heart abhors thee, for I know that His promises in my life will not fail to come to past and I also know that my God will remember me even as He had declare through His servant.
May the Spirit of God help you to trust Him more than ever before, Amen!
Remain blessed in the Lord.
Evang Ifeoma Ohondu
