Mix the Word with Faith and Trust God <> Part 2 - Unexpected Intelligence Agent

Mix the Word with Faith and Trust God <> Part 2 of 3 

Unexpected Intelligence Agent

In the book of Hebrews, Chapter 11 is often dubbed the “roll call of faith.” It describes several people, in the Bible, who are commended for their faith. If you haven’t read it for a while, I highly recommend you do and be encouraged.

One of my favorite people honored for her faith is a woman named Rahab. She was an Ammonite who lived in the city of Jericho. Rahab began to trust God just on hearing about Him.

She had heard about the God of Israel and the mighty things He was doing for His people. We’re introduced to Rahab in the second chapter of Joshua. 

For the Israelites, the forty years of wandering was finished. Moses was gone, and Joshua was leading the Israelites into the Promised Land of Canaan. The very first city to conquer was Jericho. So, Joshua sent two spies into the city to scope things out.

The spies went to the home of Rahab for lodging. She was a prostitute. Our first thought would likely be, “How unseemly! —that they would go to such a place.”

But…think about it. Men would come and go from her place consistently. And over-riding that fact, God knew the heart of Rahab and He had already handpicked her to enter into His plan. 

She had heard about Yahweh, the God of Israel, believed in Him and trusted Him. So, Rahab agreed to hide them in her home.

She said, “for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house and give me a true token, and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death” (Joshua 2:11c-13 KJV).

“So the men answered her, ‘Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be when the LORD has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you’” (Joshua 2:14 NKJV).

When the authorities came, looking for the Israelites, she hid them and told the pursuers, “They went that-a-way. Hurry, go catch them!” So, they left.

The spies promised to spare Rahab and her family. Then when the walls of Jericho came tumblin down, she and her household were rescued from destruction. 

Like Rahab, because we have put our trust in the God of Israel and His Son, Jesus, we have been rescued from destruction. 

It excites me to know the story of Rahab does not end here. In her ensuing story, we see a beautiful picture of God’s redeeming power. 

Was it not enough that the lives of Rahab and her family were spared? No—not where God was concerned. God is so good and His grace so amazing! Rahab went on to marry an Israelite named Salmon and her name turns up in the genealogy of Jesus, our Savior.

Salmon and Rahab were the parents of Boaz, the kinsman redeemer, who married Ruth. Their son was Obed, who was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David, the most famous and beloved king of Israel.

As we continue through the descendants of David, we come to Jesus Himself. So, Rahab, the former prostitute, is in the family tree of our Lord. 

Here we see redemption. Rahab put her trust in God and was saved. The people we read about in Scripture didn’t have a Bible like we do today. 

They had the Word of God as it was given to Moses and as they witnessed God do mighty works. Rahab heard the Word of the Lord second hand and believed. She mixed the Word with faith and made a decision to put her trust in God. 

We must remember, God knows more than we do. He knows every minute detail of every thing and every one. He knows what the outcome should be. And He’s trustworthy.

Bottom Line:

“For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them: but the word that they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it” (Hebrews 4:2 NKJV).

In other words—They heard the Word preached, but it did not benefit them because they didn’t mix it with faith. So, when we mix God’s Word with our faith we have what we need to trust God. 

In the comment section below, please tell of a situation in which you needed to trust God this week.  Thanks so much.

©Copyright 2018 Connie Wohlford

Reclaimed by God <> 1 Peter 1:17-19

Reclaimed by God                               

    —1 Peter 1:17-19

Reclaim means to retrieve or recover something previously lost, given away or purchased; to obtain the return of or to regain something.* Another meaning is, “to restore to a previous natural state.”**

These days we hear about the reclaiming of things such old wood. Craftsmen and do-it-yourselfers take old wood items or structures and use the reclaimed wood to make beautiful furniture and home decoration items. Old wood pallets are currently very popular for this purpose.

But have you considered the idea that followers of Jesus are people who have been reclaimed by God. Let’s search this out in Peter’s letter.

My recent blog posts have covered 1 Peter 1:1-16. I hope you’ll go back and read those if you’ve not already done so. 

Now let’s move on and look at 1 Peter 1:17-19 (NKJV):

“And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

Beginning in verse 13 Peter talks about our conduct. Our behavior needs to reflect Christ. Our goal is to be holy as God is holy (v.15). Jesus is our example, our motivation, and our inspiration.

Our Heavenly Father is asking a lot and expecting a lot from us. This is why it’s so important for us to stay tight with Jesus. Our daily time alone with Him is crucial. Our time in prayer, Bible reading, Bible study, meditating on Him (with praise and worship) and His Word are essential if we are serious followers of Christ.

Peter wants us to know that Father God is going to judge our conduct and we can be sure that He is impartial. Only God can be a righteous judge. No matter how hard we may try, people cannot perfectly judge one another—or even ourselves—without partiality. We all have opinions, motives, and influencers. 

Think about it—do we really want another person to be our judge? God alone is fair and impartial in every aspect of evaluating a person. Only He is perfect and knows every detail about us—not just what is seen and heard on the outside—but also our thoughts, motives, and the intentions of our hearts.

Peter is right when he says, “conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear.” God, the righteous judge, is One to be honored, respected, awed, worshiped, esteemed, and, yes, feared. This is a good kind of holy fear that recognizes who I am next to who God is.  

I find Peter’s words interesting when he says, “throughout the time of your stay here.” It’s as though we’re here for a visit and will be moving on soon. Well, yes, that’s exactly what we’re doing here on this planet. 

We’re just a passin’ through, as the old song says. We are truly sojourners, traveling through life. A sojourner is a person who resides in a place temporarily and will be moving on before too long. 

I’m reminded of the 1980s Petra song, “Not of This World,” which says, “We are strangers. We are aliens. We are not of this world.” You might enjoy finding it on U-tube and hearing the lyrics. I believe you’ll identify with its message.

Peter then transitions in the next verses: “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19).

Peter strongly reminds us from whence our redemption comes. Therefore we need to act like it. He is reinforcing his encouragement that we behave like born-again individuals. After all we were not redeemed by material riches nor by man-made traditions, passed down by our forefathers. Our redemption—our salvation—was purchased with the priceless and precious blood of Christ Jesus.

Peter goes on to point out that the sacrifice of Jesus was as a lamb without blemish or spot. His Jewish audience knew the meaning and significance of the lamb.

The Passover lamb was the first sacrifice commanded by God to the Jewish people. It was a part of the meal, along with unleavened bread, prior to the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt (Isaiah 12:3-8). It represented death passing over God’s people and its remembrance was later established as a yearly festival commemorating deliverance, new life, and marking the beginning of a new year.

This feast of hope for a new life and hope-filled future represents the deliverance and new beginning we receive when we are born-again into God’s Kingdom. Jesus was the ultimate Passover Lamb. His shed blood was the once for all sacrifice required to redeem Mankind back to full relationship with God. 

I’d like to share the explanation of redemption found in the Spirit Filled Life Bible commentary, “Bought Back By the Blood, THE BLOOD. ‘Redeemed’ means ‘bought back.’ The redeemer pays a worthy price to reclaim something previously owned. Mankind was once God’s, by creation, but became lost through sin. The blood of Christ is the price paid for our purchase, or redemption. God offers Christ’s blood to us as our substitutionary sacrifice and accepts it when we offer it back to Him. Our transaction with God is therefore not a gold-and-silver economy; it is a life-and-death economy. Christ gave His life’s blood to buy us out of sin and death. His blood was a worthy price and provides an imperishable bond between God and man.” (Eph. 2:13/John 6:53, 54)***

We who have trusted in and received Christ Jesus as our Savior and Lord are therefore reclaimed. Our Heavenly Father—Creator God—has reclaimed us as His own and brought us back into His Eternal Kingdom. 

Rejoice with me. AMEN.

Your comments are welcome.

©Copyright 2017 Connie Wohlford

*Google dictionary   **merriam-webster.com

***Spirit Filled Life Bible, Thomas Nelson Pub., Nashville, TN, 1991, “Kingdom Dynamics,” page 1908.

God’s Far-Reaching Redemption

God’s Far-Reaching Redemption

Have you recognized God’s redemptive power working in a specific situation in your life—other than your salvation? We could coin a new term and call it situational redemption.

I’ve seen it in others and experienced it in my own life. If you are born-again, you’re probably personally familiar with it as well.

There are many examples recorded in the Bible. One which comes to mind is God’s redemption after the sin of David and Bathsheba. They each experienced shame and drastic consequences as a result their sin of adultery. But through it all, they repented and allowed God to work things out for their good and the good of the nation of Israel.

We see evidence of God’s grace toward them when King David announced that Solomon would inherit his throne. Solomon’s mother was Bathsheba and he was not the heir apparent nor the heir presumptive. He was but one of many sons from David’s several wives.

Replica of Michelangelo's David
Photo by Connie Wohlford

This account is recorded in the first chapter of 1 Kings. In verse 28, David instructed, “Call Bathsheba to me.” She approached her husband, the king, and he proceeded to tell her of his decision to pass the throne to their son, Solomon. David’s decision was ordained of God and Solomon was soon crowned and went on to build a new Temple to Yahweh, the Lord God. 

Generations back, in the family tree, God had graciously shown redemption and favor. David’s great, great grandmother was a former harlot. She was Rahab, wife to Salmon and mother of Boaz, who married Ruth. Among these four people we find a couple more of my favorite redemption stories. The interweaving of God’s redeeming love and power is truly fascinating and a thing of great beauty.

By the grace of God, the very bloodline of Jesus Himself runs through this branch of the family tree.

God does not hold grudges. When we join His family by receiving Jesus, our Heavenly Father eradicates our sin. All consequences may not be erased though. As I mentioned, David and Bathsheba agonized through severe consequences.

 

In my own somewhat similar experience, the consequences of sin for my soon to be husband and me, were not removed. I was still pregnant and had to face the shame and embarrassment—not to mention subjecting my dear parents to that as well. To this day, I’m still embarrassed by my sin which could not be hidden for long.  I’d like to mention that I’m grateful, beyond words, that I did not get an abortion, as was suggested by a friend at the time. I honestly didn’t consider it, but the thought makes me shudder.

 

By the amazing grace of God, my husband and I have experienced God’s redeeming love and unmerited favor. I gave birth to our first son some months later. This son of ours is living proof of God’s redemption. He excelled in good character, academics, and sports in school. He graduated from the US Naval Academy, served our country for twenty years as an aviator in the Navy and Air Force, is currently a high school science teacher, and with his wife, has given us four amazing grandchildren, whom they are raising in a Christian home.

Our God loves to redeem—because He loves.

A definition of redeem is to compensate for the faults or bad aspects of something.* Another definition is to reclaim and restore to the original state or even better than the original state. I have experienced this many times in my journey with God. I know other people can tell their own stories as well—many of which are much weightier than mine.

 

How about you? I’d love to hear about your own experiences in a comment below. If you prefer not to write it, at least talk to our Redeemer about it and express your gratitude to Him—again.

Special note: In the 45 years since our first son was born, this is just the second time I’ve publicly mentioned this sin of my past. Because of shame and guilt I have chosen not to talk about it but I believe the Lord wants me to open up and be more vulnerable. Perhaps, in doing so, someone will be encouraged or helped in some way.

Thanks for reading my post and may God richly bless you as you and I continue in His amazing grace.  

©Connie Wohlford 2016

*https://www.google.com/#q=define+redeem