Compelling Love

John’s Gospel declares that the Son of God was with the Father as the Word of God before anything was created. All things were made through Him, and in the fullness of time, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” full of glory, grace and truth:

 John 1 (NKJV)
The Eternal Word
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

The Word Becomes Flesh
¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

To those who receive Him He gives the right to become children of God, born from above by the Spirit of God:

¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. ¹¹ He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. ¹² But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: ¹³ who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Believing in the living Word of God, and loving Him, is of utmost importance for our lives. Psalm 95 calls upon God’s people to worship the Lord joyously, acknowledging Him as our Maker, and the Shepherd of our souls. The final portion of the Psalm recounts that the Israelites who did not believe His promise to help them take the Land were not among those who entered the Land victoriously.

Psalm 95 (NKJV)
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
² Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
³ For the Lord is the great God,
And the great King above all gods.
⁴ In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
The heights of the hills are His also.
⁵ The sea is His, for He made it;
And His hands formed the dry land.

⁶ Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
⁷ For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand.

Today, if you will hear His voice:
⁸ “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion,
As in the day of trial in the wilderness,
⁹ When your fathers tested Me;
They tried Me, though they saw My work.
¹⁰ For forty years I was grieved with that generation,
And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts,
And they do not know My ways.’
¹¹ So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest.’”

Hebrews 4 quotes from Psalm 95, encouraging God’s people to learn from the mistakes of the Israelites who did not believe His promise and consequently did not enter the Land. The chapter also describes a promise of rest for the people of God. This is a rest in which His people will cease trying to earn the Lord’s approval by their deeds, but rather they will know that they are loved and will serve Him out of love.

Hebrews 4 (NKJV)
The Promise of Rest
¹Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. ² For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. ^3a For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said:

“So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest,’

⁷ Again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said:

“Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts.”

⁸ For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. ⁹ There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. ¹⁰ For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

The next portion of Hebrews 4 explains that God sees our lives completely, and we are judged by His Word which is “sharper than any two-edged sword”. All things are “open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” We receive eternal life not by our works but by faith in our King and Priest, Jesus the Son of God, who took upon himself the judgment for our sins. The chapter goes on to describe the atoning work of our compassionate High Priest, encouraging us to receive it by faith, and to “come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb. 4:16)

Author Isabelle Esling recounts this deep word she received from Yeshua (Jesus) about walking by faith in Him as the Lord of mercy and love:

“My dear child, even if you failed at everything in accomplishing your mission, and still had a loving heart for your Lord, I would carry you with tenderness and compassion. You have nothing to prove to me. I love you as you are. I am immersing you into the warmth of my love. I will strengthen you. Do not worry in advance about what I will ask you to do. Live your life with joy. I want to rejoice with you. I have beautiful projects for you. Let me love you and guide you. Trust me. The Lord of the Lords is marching with you and will never forsake you. … My dear child, I am your light. Just follow my path of love and compassion. Remember I am with you. I love you tremendously.”

(Esling, Isabelle (2015-06-19). An Encounter With Yeshua (Kindle Locations 2998-3009). Northern Books. Kindle Edition.)

David Krause, dhkrause@neteze.com, http://compellinglove.net
12/20/2015