A BEAUTIFUL BENEDICTION

Now may the God of peace who, through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen (Heb.13: 20-21).

What a great prayer to end a magnificent letter! This is not just wishful thinking. Our writer penned a prayer that matched what God has already done and what He has promised to do. Let’s take it apart and encourage our own hearts with the magnitude of God’s grace.

He is the God of peace. Our God delights in peace because that is who He is. What is the nature of this peace? This is not about the absence of anything that disturbs – like the calm on the surface of the water when the air is still. This is about the presence of perfection – wholeness where everything is in place and everything functions perfectly and in harmony.

When God had completed His work of shaping the earth and filling every part of it with creatures and provisions for them, including the first human pair, He declared, “It is very good.” “Good” here means “functional”. Everything fitted together and worked together in perfect harmony. Nothing in the universe at that point was dysfunctional – everything in God’s creation was at peace. Every creature and every system worked together in peace.

God is good. God is functional. Where He is in charge and everything submits to Him, wholeness – peace – prevails. When humans leave their foolish rebellion, return to Him and are forgiven and reconciled to Him through Jesus, they return to functionality within themselves and among themselves.

How did this come about? God made a covenant with mankind, sealed it with the blood of His Son, and then raised Him from the dead to prove that His covenant was both valid and eternal. Unlike the covenant He made with His people at Sinai which they failed to keep, this covenant is unbreakable because it is between Him and His Son, sealed with the blood of His Son, and we are the beneficiaries if we are “in Christ”.

Jesus is not only the atoning sacrifice for our sin; He is also the Shepherd God promised in the days of Ezekiel because the human shepherds who were supposed to care for God’s flock, abused and exploited them for their own ends.

The word of the Lord came to me: ‘Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel: prophesy and say to them: “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves. Should not shepherds take care of the flock?” . . . I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Lord. . . . I will shepherd the flock with justice.’ (Ezek. 34: 1-2; 15; 16b).

This is the God who also declared that He has already given us everything we need for godly living.

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness (2 Peter 1: 3).

Every resource we need to live godly lives in a sinful world has already been provided; all our physical and material needs met as we meet the needs of others (Matt 6: 33); sufficient grace in our weakness (2 Cor. 12: 9); strength to overcome temptation (1 Cor. 10:13); hope, joy and peace in the midst of the darkness (Rom. 15: 13) and the power of the Holy Spirit to be Jesus’ witnesses (Acts 1: 8).

And, best of all, He works in us to do what is pleasing to Him. As we yield to Him and obey His voice, He makes us holy, giving us a hatred for sin and a love for Him that motives everything we do in obedience to Him. Unlike His people who failed to obey, we live to honour and please Him.

What a recipe for success! He sets His requirements before us and then provides everything we need to carry them out. Just as He set the penalty for sin as death and then died for us, so He gives us His standards for holy living and then lives His life through us. What an amazing God we serve! All the glory belongs to Him.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (copyright 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

Available on www.amazon.com or www.kalahari.com in paperback, e-book or kindle format, or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Check out my blogsite at www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com