Godliness Forever

"What was for a time under the Law has become permanent under grace, and it is not altered by political parties, by national conflict, nor by anything else."

THERE IS ONLY one side to any issue –His. The problem is, anyone on any side always assumes theirs IS His. But right and wrong is not decided by mental acumen nor worldly knowledge. The path forward is not carved by men but by His Spirit. What Jesus says goes. Period. That said, He doesn’t speak in anger nor arrogance nor vengeance. God’s will for the enemy (who is the devil and NOT people) has been already decreed and set in place. Jesus’ death and Resurrection defeated every enemy and all of the enemy. There is no enemy left in any measure that is not defeated. De-feeted, for his authority was taken by Jesus Christ and his ability has been overcome by the Spirit of the Resurrection, the Holy Spirit. We have been given both His authority and His ability. We lack nothing.

In the Civil War, both the North and the South said their side was God’s will. The truth was, God’s will was unity. War and division came from the devil, who sought to create strife. To steal, kill, and destroy. He sought to divide us again through civil rights. But in Christ, there is neither black nor white nor any other culture. Not to deny our ancestry nor what’s obvious about us, but that it is not at the forefront and what decides our choices. We don’t decide because we are British or American. We decide because what we choose is what God has told us to do. It is what’s in His heart. And if we realize we’re offended by people, by what others do or have done, then we roll that care over on Him and let Him mold us and make us into His image. Because He is not offended. He is never offended. He is holy.

That does not mean above emotion. I have seen His emotions over people, over their talents, their lovingkindness, their humor, in my secret place. I have seen it also over what breaks His heart. But let me stress this, whatever would anger us does not anger Him. He knows who He is. We see Him as a fallible human. He is infallible. This means “not failing” and “exempt from liability to error, as persons, their judgment, or pronouncements.” (Dictionary) He has no error in judgment or choice. He sees all things with perfect justice, and this needs to be what we seek. We seek Him and let His Spirit reveal the truth of justice to us, instead of deciding how we feel about it and then painting Him as agreement.

“A just weight and balance are the LORD'S: all the weights of the bag are his work.” (Proverbs 16:11)

What He wants in these United States is godliness. He wants us to value life because in the beginning, He gave life to everything that exists (John 1:1-4). He wants us to defend the fatherless and the widows. But even more, to see everyone through His compassion. His mercy should be our lens and the way we view people. Jesus saw those who fought with Him, not as an obstacle He must get through or move out of His way, but as those who He’d come to save. Not defeat. He heard their questions and spiteful words, He knew when they were trying to trick Him and why, but He saw instead their lack of the wisdom and truth of God. They heard His words but didn’t hear the Spirit speaking to them. A story about seeds was just a story about seeds and not the power of God to heal the mind and the heart. He saw them through compassion, and that is why He could submit to the Father’s will and lay down His life as the sacrifice for sin. He saw what He’d have to do but focused on the joy of our salvation and the joy of being Resurrected (Hebrews 12:2).

He worried not about the three days between death and Resurrection. There are many theories of what happened during those three days, but a study of the Scriptures and time spent with the Spirit will open the eyes to victory and not struggle, or devilish exaltation (Psalm 25:1-2 BSB). There was no exaltation by the enemy. That is not God the Father at all. And He will not go back to how things were under the Old Covenant now that the blood of His Son lives on the altar of heaven. He will not return to a defense of His name upon the earth. He has proven Himself for all time, and what is left to Him in response to us is mercy. In penning and assembling the Old Testament, He wanted us to see how He had transformed time and the future into what it would not have been without Jesus. As in the flood, what man had done to the earth because of death and violence was ended and altered because of righteousness. So from new humanity would come redemption, God forever intervening on our behalf.

Not as sides of an issue. Nor as combatants in a war. Not to pick one man’s life over another because this one was Hebrew and that one wasn’t. Not Him choosing between kings either. But that always, what He would set in place was godly, and that one, that group of people, displayed His character. What was for a time under the Law has become permanent under grace, and it is not altered by political parties, by national conflict, nor by anything else. He has a covenant with the Jews, with Israel, that is eternal. We must honor it and pray for their peace and success. He has a covenant with these United States set in print in our Constitution. It is not wavering nor temporary in principle because of men’s misunderstanding of His Word either then or now. What He has promised us, He will fulfill, despite whatever those following demonic ideals may say. For them we pray, that their eyes will be opened to Him, and for those in the church who support viewpoints outside of His character, methods, and principles, we show love and compassion, not as shaking heads, “Poor you,” but just think of who they will be in heavenly places when God fills them.

Think of what He will make of us here and how our lives affect those around us. Not in our criticisms of each other, not in conflict and debate, not in unforgiveness. We must recognize argument for what it is, self-defense. But there is no cure inside of man, no way to survive on our own without Jesus. Personally or nationally.

“I will say even more: The fanciest delicacies, the richest treasures, the highest honors this world has to offer—they are all nothing but garbage compared to the greatest gift of all that comes from knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I give up everything this world has to offer so that I might be with Christ and be recreated in Christlike character—not from my own efforts or attempts to cure myself, not by observing some code, but by true re-creation of mind, heart and character that God accomplishes when we trust him. And this trust is established by the evidence of God’s supreme trustworthiness provided by Christ.” (Philippians 3:8-9, Remedy)

Photo from Wikimedia Commons


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com