“THE” LORD
.
John 17:3 KJV
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Jeremiah 9:23,24 ESV
Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD."
Jeremiah is talking about THE LORD. Not A god, but the one and only true Yahweh God who is the greatest of all gods. He’s the one who is life eternal and so is the only one able to grant life eternal. He IS love. He IS justice. He IS righteousness. That’s a really BIG god! That is ‘I AM.’
But isn’t that the kind of God we need just to live day to day in this world? I don’t know about you, but I struggle every day with life in this world. I am so fortunate to work in an environment where my co-workers are deeply grounded in their faith and that faith drives their work. That is extremely rare out there in the world! And I sometimes wonder if God placed me in that job so that I would be reminded and reassured that it is possible to live the kind of life Jeremiah heard about from his LORD.
I am blessed to be surrounded by so many individuals who are farther along the path of their faith journey than am I! They challenge me by their actions and their words. They never judge or try to push me -- or pull me. They accept me where I am and encourage me to keep growing, just by their presence and their living out their calling in obedience and joy. They know God, so they are able to spread His word to those they counsel, to each other and to me!
We must seek out people who are willing and able to provide us encouragement and hope. We need to see others living out their faith, so that we can be accountable for our actions. We want to be surrounded by the faithful so that we can be fortified against the assaults of the faithless in this world. There is strength in numbers, after all. And when we number ourselves among the faithful, we are able to offer hope and encouragement to others.
My prayer today is that you thank the I AM, Yahweh, LORD God for those he sends to uplift you and support you. And that you draw upon their strength through Him to do the same for others.
Mary
