Tag: salvation in Christ

Bountiful Compensation

On By francesrogersIn CONTENTMENT, GOD'S GLORY, GOD'S GRACE, GOD'S WORD, PRAYER, Uncategorized2 Comments

How many times I have quoted David’s words, “The Lord hath dealt bountifully with me” are without number. Today I was brought to a new understanding of how bountiful the Lord is toward His people. It seems that His dealing bountifully with us is experienced more in the difficult times. It is as if by all the heavenly blessings He gives, He is compensating for the troubles that we go through; as our first parents robbed us of our original legacy, leaving us in a state of sin and misery. He gives mercy when we deserve His wrath; grace and more grace beyond what we are worth; love, joy and peace that we can never know apart from the power of His Spirit within us.

“Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.” Psalm 13:3-6

The compensation is much greater than anything we have lost. The heavenly blessings are ours in Christ, His Son, who is our life, and as He promised, it is life, abundantly. We can give up everything here, even through persecution, and He blesses beyond all that we can ask or imagine.

In Psalm 142:5-6 David seems to be speaking from the experience of the Lord’s care. He was trusting Him to again deal bountifully with him when he was in the cave; Saul in pursuit.

“I cried unto thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.
Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.”

Psalm 116:7  is another reference to the Psalmist’s experience of the Lord dealing bountifully with him.

Psalm 119:17 is David’s prayer that the Lord would again deal bountifully with him.

The apostle Paul speaks of this in how we live and use what we have been given.  If we sow bountifully, giving sacrificially, the compensation will be bountiful in what we reap.

“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”
2 Corinthians 9:6

As we trust and receive all the heavenly blessings that compensate for the lack in this life, we live joyfully in the care of our heavenly Father, who loves us and gave His Son for us, a bountiful compensation for our need of a Savior and Lord, now and for eternity.

Dear Father, we cannot thank you enough for first knowing our need for salvation, a salvation that is more than sufficient for all who believe. You do not leave us to fend for ourselves, but know that you supply abundantly all that we need ~ from your riches in glory. We praise you for dealing bountifully with us; that we can experience the abundant life that Jesus came to give. We praise you, that though this life takes us through what sometimes seems impossible, you never fail to be with us, prevailing through us and blessing us beyond comprehension with eternal things. These are worth the loss of all temporal things. Thank you for loving us and caring for us as your beloved children. Enable us to share the bountiful life that is ours in Christ, your Son. In Jesus’ name we thank you and praise you. Amen.

Image: Google

Contentment in Jesus Christ

On By francesrogersIn CONTENTMENT, GOD'S GLORY, GOD'S GRACE, GOD'S WORD9 Comments

Posting at 6:24;
awake since 3:34 with thoughts of all the things that are on my two plates for the week,
in addition to the ordinary work that we have to do:
*doctors’ appointments,
*last minute details for publishing our next book, GOD Is Our Goal ~ GOD’S Plan for His People
*writing this post
*writing a letter for our two-year-old great-granddaughter on the occasion of her dedication next Lord’s Day
*keeping a watch on and dressing the diabetic ulcer on Jerry’s foot, etc.
First and last of all these things is my duty as Jerry’s caregiver.
Yet, God has provided His grace for the other things He has planned for us, all to His glory.

How do we do all that He has planned without bouncing off the walls or ending in a tailspin? Where do we start and end with our list?

God, our Father was content before the foundation of the world with His Son, Jesus Christ.
They were content, together, to plan for Jesus to come to us, to live a perfect life for us, to give His life for us for our salvation.
They are content now with what they have done and what they are doing continually for us and in us.
The Course and the Source

This morning as I look at my two full plates, I see Jesus as the main course for this week and every week. Everything is arranged around Him. He is the physician. He is the reason for writing a letter to my great-granddaughter. He is the source of contentment in the middle of what could be confusion and frustration.

When things seem hectic, the Father says, “Listen to my Son.”
Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden.”

He is the Shepherd, keeping and leading His sheep in the way we are to go. imagesIn time we learn that when we get ahead of Him, He lets us go until our impatient steam runs out. Then, we wait for Him to renew, refresh and restore us in Christ, to continue with joy and contentment in Him. At other times He holds us back, and keeps us close until He leads us out in the right path that He has chosen for the moment and for the day.

Some of God’s children live under the oppressive spirit of this world. It doesn’t have to be this way. The Father has given us His Son. The Son has given us Himself for a life of contentment now and forever.

Much more can be said about the contentment that is ours in Christ; perhaps Part 2, later this week.

Please comment on why our contentment is first and foremost in Christ; to add to Part 2.

Gracious Father in heaven, we thank you for granting us all things that pertain to life and godliness through Jesus Christ, your Son. Draw us today to Him; in and through Him keep us close to you, leading us to fulfill all that you have planned for us. Let our contentment be in Him and Him alone. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
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