The God Who Keeps His Promises - Andrew Murray

Men know the advantages of making covenants.

A covenant has often been of unspeakable value as an end to hatred or uncertainty, as an agreement of services rendered, as an assurance of good quality and honesty, and as a basis for confidence and friendship.

In His infinite descent to our human weakness and need, God's pledge of faithfulness goes beyond the ways of men.

He gives us perfect confidence in Him and the full assurance of all that He, in His infinite riches and power, has promised to do.

He has consented to bind Himself by Covenant, as if He could not be trusted.

Blessed is the man who truly knows God and his covenant God and knows what the Covenant promises him. What unwavering confidence of expectation it secures!

All its terms will be fulfilled. What a claim and hold it gives him on the covenant-keeping God Himself.

To the many who have not thought much about the Covenant, it would mean the transformation of their whole lives to have a true, living faith.

The full knowledge of what God wants to do, the assurance that it will be done, and the being drawn to God Himself in personal surrender makes the Covenant the very gate of heaven.

May the Holy Spirit give us some vision of its glory.

---From Covenants and Blessings, by Andrew Murray

For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not

abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath. 

 (Deuteronomy 4:31).

Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God,  keeping covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments.

(Deuteronomy 7:9)

Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised,

he confirmed it with an oath.

God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered us may be greatly encouraged. 

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.

 (Hebrews 6:17-19).

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess,

for he who promised is faithful.

(Hebrews 10:23)

He is the ever-faithful One!

"Though the  mountains be shaken, and the

hills be removed,

Yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken

Nor my covenant of peace be removed,"

says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

(Isaiah 54:10)

His covenant guarantees that he will never depart from us - his kindness will never cease - he will secure us in his love forever.

Though we are faithless --

HE IS ALWAYS FAITHFUL!

My Ebenezer Stone - 2

Forsaking God and His commandments, Israel experienced a time of trouble and defeat at the hands of her enemies.

When the new priest and judge, Samuel, appeared and declared God's love and faithfulness, the people repented and re-committed their hearts to their LORD.

          If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts,
             then rid yourselves of the foreign gods...and commit
             yourselves to the LORD and serve Him only, and He
             will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.....

             Then Samuel said, "Assemble all Israel at Mizpah and
             I will intercede with the LORD for you."
                                 
             On that day they fasted and there they confessed, "We
             have sinned against the LORD."

The Israelites then defeated the Philistines.

             Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between
             Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer [which means
             stone of help], saying "Thus far has the LORD helped
             us."

             So the Philistines were subdued and did not invade
             Israel territory again.
                         -- 1 Samuel, chapter 7.



1. Samuel placed the stone at the time the restoration began. They repented and he memorialized it then.  "He cried out to the LORD on Israel's behalf, and the LORD answered him" (1 Samuel 7:9).

2. The stone was a visible reminder of what the people had done. As they returned to their lives and
daily work, it stood there reminding them of their
commitment to follow the LORD.

3. The stone represented a new beginning, a new page, a clean slate. What we all yearn for!


Is it time for us to erect our own Ebenezer Stones?

It could be a physical stone, a special bracelet, a prominent sticky note somewhere, or a note in our Bible or prayer Journal, or any visible sign to remind us that we are new people. We belong to the God of the Universe!

This is the day I changed course  - I am returning to the God I love!


My friends in AA tell me how long they have been sober. They do not go back to the earlier days and relate their experiences with alcoholism - only of the last drink they took - and then forward - and they move further up the road of sobriety. They do not mention the number of days they spent drinking - they count the days they have been walking in the new direction.

You and I must do the same - don't rehearse the past days of sinful actions, or mistakes and bad judgments -

because the Ebenezer Stone is also a reminder of forgiveness.




We should write 1J19 on our stone - 1 John 1:9 -




     If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us  
   our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.




Forgive and purify....All unrighteousness...not some of it....

My sin, not in part, but the whole

Is nailed to the Cross and I bear it more!

Praise the Lord - Praise the Lord - O my soul!

  -- from It Is Well with My Soul,

by Horatio Spafford

Trust God. He has forgiven us and removed our sins "as far as the east is from the west" (Psalm 103:12).

My Ebenezer Stone reminds me that I serve a living, loving and faithful God, whose covenant with His people is everlasting.

He welcomes me back with open arms.

The old pioneer song, "I will arise and go to Jesus, He will embrace me in His arms" says it all......


      
            

The Ebenezer Stone - 1

Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek.

The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield.
           -- 1 Samuel 4:1-2

The Israelites were soundly defeated.

As the narrative continues, the elders of Israel asked
each other, "Why did the LORD bring defeat upon us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the LORD's covenant from Shiloh, so that it may go well with us and save us from the hand of our enemies."

So men went to Shiloh and brought back with them the sacred ark.

When the ark of the LORD'S covenant came into camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook.

Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, "What's all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?"

When they learned that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp, the Philistines were afraid.   

"A god has come into camp," they said. "Nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues....Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!" 
        -- 1 Samuel 4:5-9

The Philistines fought hard, and the Israelites were defeated again. They fled back to their tents and "the slaughter was very great" -- Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers.

Not only that -- their sacred ark of God was captured
and taken by the Philistines from Ebenezer to Ashdad and placed in the temple of their pagan god, Dagon, and set beside the idol.

The Philistines were in for a surprise, because the next morning Dagon has fallen prostrate on the ground before the ark of the LORD.


They stood the idol back in its place, but the next morning when they came into the temple, there was Dagon fallen again on its face before the blessed ark, with its head and hands broken off.

The ark of the LORD caused destruction and panic in the land of the Philistines and they begged Israel to
retrieve it and stop God's judgment on them.

So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark of the LORD. They took it to Abinadab's house on the hill and consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the LORD.
          -- 1 Samuel 7:1

So the ark remained at Kiriath Jearim and the Philistines continued to plague Israel.


Finally, "The people mourned and sought after the LORD," we read in 1 Samuel 7:2.

The prophet Samuel told them:

If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods...and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.  So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths and served the LORD only.

Then Samuel assembled all Israel at Mizpah and they prayed to God, fasted and confessed their sin.

The Philistines heard the Israelites were gathered at Mizpah, and advanced.

The Israelites were frightened, telling Samuel, "Do not stop crying out to the LORD our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines."

The Philistines drew near to engage in battle.

But that day the LORD thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. The men  of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued them along the way to a point below Beth Car.

So the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israelite territory again.

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen.
He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us."

(Read all of this important saga in the Old Testament, 1 Samuel, chapters 4-7.)

Ebenezer means "stone of help."

Samuel was marking the occasion and site of God's help in defeating the enemies of Israel.


It wasn't the ark that saved them: they had the ark with them when the Philistines defeated them
in battle.

What saved Israel was their repentance and re-commitment to serve their God.

Samuel placed the large commemorative stone at the place where their restoration began.

And that stone stood there, visible for all to see, to remind them, not just of God's judgment, but also of His mercy and grace "to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).

An "Ebenezer Stone" represents a fresh beginning, a reversal of our course. It also reminds us that His mercies are everlasting and His covenant is forever.

As I look back on my life I see some "Ebenezer stones" I have placed at critical times in my journey with Christ.

They point to a time when I changed course - when I reconsidered my life and decisions - when I reversed my direction and came back to God's purpose for me.

But even more, these "Ebenezer stones" remind me that I am forgiven, that I chose a new direction, and that God has a permanent covenant with all who put their faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Samuel was a wise Servant of God. He understood the importance of "markers" and he understood that we are all forgetful and need reminders of God's calling.

Israelites could stand beside that Ebenezer Stone and remind themselves that they served a living, loving and faithful God, whose mercies are everlasting.

                                                *******

Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to in heaven.
             --Philippians 3:13-14, written by the Apostle Paul to  
                            the Christians at Philippi, in the New Testament


Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever.
            --Psalm 136:1, recorded in the Old Testament.

A well is not a stream.....

The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."

"Sir," the woman said, "You have nothing to draw and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?"

Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
                                            ----John 4:9-14


Jesus offered the woman "living water."

What did that mean? In Jewish speech the phrase "living water" meant water that was flowing, not water that was stagnant, as in a cistern or a well.

Fresh, flowing water would always be preferred over
well water.

So the woman He was speaking to naturally thought of a stream.

She seems skeptical. Here was a man who thought he could produce better, finer water than did her ancestor Jacob.

After all, had Jacob known of a stream he certainly would not have taken the trouble to dig a well, probably a hundred feet deep.

He goes on to talk about living water that cures thirst forever. Not only that, it becomes a spring inside us that wells up continually.

No one as ever seen a well of water spring up. Only the water in a spring springs up.

The water in a well just lies there.

So Jesus is not talking about a well at all.

The woman had come to a well. Jesus has invited her to a spring.

Now He adds that if she allows Him to place this spring in her, the spring will never cease but will continue to bubble and bubble on forever.

Perhaps you want to build a house on a piece of property on which there is a well. But you don't want the well -- you will have city water.

You will just ask the bulldozers to push some dirt into the well and the well will be gone forever.

This won't work with a spring on your property. (Of course, you probably wouldn't want to stop up a lovely spring of fresh water, but if you did you would find it a much more difficult task.)

You could push a large pile of dirt over the spring and it might appear to have stopped the flow. But by morning, the stream will be there again, simply by pushing its way through the ground.

A well can be covered. A spring seeps through anything you may place over it.

That's what Jesus is talking about. He is promising to place a spring within the life of anyone who will come to Him.

His spring will be eternal, free, joyous, and self-dependent.

But He is also warning us that we will never be able to stop it - we can't bulldoze anything over it to stop its flow!

We might try -- I know I have.

Sometimes His Presence in my life has seemed inconvenient and maybe intrusive - certainly He seemed to interfere with my plans.

So I tried to "put a plug on it" and go my own way.

But, like the stream the builder tried to cover up with dirt, my life became muddy water.

Obviously, muddy water did not come from the stream itself -- the stream water was clean and pure -- it was because I pushed dirt into the water source that it produced filthy, not fresh and clean, water!

So I came back to the Source of the Living Water, to Jesus, and asked Him to clean me up again - to remove the dirt and grime and let His lovely sparkling water flow freely again!

It took some work, but He did it!

And if I mess up again, He'll certainly clean me up again. I'm confident of that.

Being confident of this, that He who began

a good work in you will carry it on to completion

until the day of Christ Jesus.  

Philippians 1:6

Did YOU forget to ask? John 4 -

What Jesus Reminds Us....(Recorded in John 4)

Remember the woman at Sychar? 

She was a Samaritan woman and I purposed to meet her at the ancient Jacob's well.

I asked her for a drink of water. She was surprised
at the request. But she didn't ask Me for anything.

Right there, in front of her, the Creator and Sovereign Lord of the Universe, the One able to bestow any gift to any humble creature.

But she didn't ask. I had to call it to her attention -
Look, I said to her, If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Me and I would have given you living water.

She still didn't understand. She didn't "know the gift" and she didn't know who I was.

I explained it to her, just as I have patiently explained it to you.

Now you do know.  You know the gift I bring and you know who I am.

It delights Me to give my Children gifts.

So why don't you ask for more?

You have not because you ask not.

James 4:2

The Path We Are On Now - Looking Back

Lord, I feel myself getting tired and growing discouraged.

I am weary of  trying to work things out. I am tired of toilet paper jokes. I am tired of wearing a mask. I am tired of distance markers in my usual stores.  I am tired of wondering if I can approach and greet my friends.

I miss church.

But I remember You never grow weary or impatient.
You never give up.

Your love is never-ending  and without limit.

It always covers me, no matter where I am or what I am doing or what I am feeling. And it fills me with joy.

I praise You because I can count on that and I know that this path we are on has a purpose.

It is taking us somewhere. Somewhere You want us to be.
And this path is exactly where You want us to be right now.

And so I am content.  Just work Your will in us.

Our Father, You and pleasing You are all that matter to us!!!

What I love about Psalm 1

Blessed is the man who does not walk

in the counsel of the wicked,

Or stand in the way of sinners,

Or sit in the seat of mockers.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

and on His law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season,

And whose leaf does not wither.

Whatever he does prospers.

Not so the wicked! They are like chaff

that the wind blows away.

Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment,

Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous,

For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous

But the way of the wicked will perish.

I wonder -- who arranged the Psalms? Who decided this one should be first? Originally the Psalms were individual songs, or hymns, that were eventually collected into 5 books. All five of these Hebrew books make up our Book of Psalms today.

Most of the 150 psalms have titles from the Hebrew -- all but 34. Psalm 1 is one of these "orphan psalms."

Which Psalm came first? Probably Psalm 90, written by Moses.

But who arranged the collected Psalms in the order we read them today? Who numbered them?

I don't know. Maybe we will find out someday.

Anyway, it appears to me that Psalm 1 is the perfect way to begin to reading of the Book of Psalms. It is like a forward or a preface, or an introductory paragraph that leads right into the rest of the Book.

What I like about Psalm 1:

1. It is short and easy to memorize.

2. It is practical, reminding us that that should be our own mind-set as we read the rest of the Book so that God will achieve His purpose for our reading and studying His Word.

3. It reminds us that we have choices to make in this life. There are paths we should choose to follow God's plan. In this way it reminds me of Christ's Sermon on the Mount. At the closing He talked about contrasting ways to live: two gates and two roads, two trees and their two types of fruit, two houses and their foundations. All of these are about choices. A good thing to remember each day! Whose side are we on anyway?

4. About blessed... It means supremely happy or fulfilled. This is what James Montgomery Boice says:

In Hebrew the word is actually a plural, which denotes either a multiplicity of blessings or an intensification of them. The verse might correctly be translated, O the blessednesses of the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked.

5. I love the way the contrast between God's people and Satan's is pointed out right at the beginning of the first verse -- exactly where we start out on our Christian journey. We know right at the beginning that there are two roads to choose from, and they lead to distinctly different destinations. The signs are clearly marked. There are no detours. There are no shortcuts.

6. I like the way the words are chosen -- I know the main characteristic of Hebrew poetry is its parallelism and the repetition of thoughts in various ways --and these verses illustrate it perfectly -- but I also think that the words are chosen deliberately -- (1) walk, stand, sit, (2) counsel, way, seat, (3) wicked, sinners, mockers.

If I am walking with someone I am likely talking about casual things, or in a casual way. If I am talking earnestly I am probably sitting. There is a progression here that helps me understand how I get off track so often! It is a downhill progression -- from walking and having conversation with ungodly people to actually sitting down, or settling down, with those who reject God.

7. Another thing I like is this: the ungodly people hang out with their ungodly friends and associates....and what do the godly people hang out with? God's Word! We don't just hang out with God and His Word -- we delight in it! We meditate on it and we prosper. God's Word tells us about God -- what pleases Him and how He provides for us and directs our paths -- how He loves us and calls us to join His family! God's Word makes us supremely happy -- blessed!

8. And I love the phrase He is like a tree planted by streams of water. The tree has been planted -- it did not just spring up. It was planted in a certain place so its roots could reach deeply into the soil and find moisture and nourishment -- so that it could thrive and yield its good fruit.

The Hebrews knew of many dry areas, many deserts, where plants could not thrive. Only some brush and certain seasonal plants could survive.

But this tree is not planted there -- it is planted by streams!

9. And the chaff! Chaff was useless and chaff was burned! This pictures the life of the ungodly -- it is futile and empty and unrewarding. And then there is the judgment!

And the wicked will not be able to stand -- they will fall down before God.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it
leads to death.
-- Proverbs 14:12

The Right Time is Now!

 
                                                           

                                                                 Now is the Time!

God tells us to seek Him....Now!

"Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near" (Isaiah 55:6)

What are we to do?

Seek Him! When? Now! Why now? Because He is near!

Then in Jeremiah we read: 'You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart..seek Me...I will be found by you' (Jeremiah 29:13). What a promise!

Then Jesus says in Matthew 7: "seek and you will find."

Pretty obviously an urgent theme here!

And pretty obviously our amazing God WANTS TO BE FOUND!!!

He is not a God who hides Himself - Adam and Eve hid -- God did not.

He came to them so He would be found by them.

And our God never changes.

He wants to be found by us!

Are you speechless?

I am, and that doesn't happen often!