Compelling Love

Psalm 100 reminds God’s people to give thanks to him and praise his name, for He is good and his love endures forever. We are called to walk with Him with an enduring faith, hope and love, as exemplified by the author and finisher of our faith, Yeshua (Jesus), our Savior and Lord. He is our refuge and strength at all times.

Psalm 100 (NIV)
⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 46 declares, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”  Even though the world is going through a period of great travail at this time, God is helping His people in every nation.  He says to believers, “Be still, and know that I am God”.  He will never cease to be the refuge and the strength of those who trust in Him:

Psalm 46 (NKJV)
¹ God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
³ Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah
⁴ There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,
The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.
⁵ God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;
God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.

¹⁰ Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
¹¹ The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

Isaiah 53, written about 700 BC, describes how a loving Messiah would suffer an atoning death, taking the judgment of God’s people upon himself. Starting in verse 10, there is a strong suggestion that the Messiah would afterwards be raised from the dead. Indeed, 700 years later Yeshua (Jesus) took the judgment for our sins upon Himself, rose from the dead and is alive forever more! “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” (Heb. 7:25) Even nonbelievers in Yeshua acknowledge that Isaiah 53 reads as though it was taken straight out of the New Testament.

Isaiah 53 (NKJV)
⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
⁷ He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
⁸ He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
⁹ And they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
¹⁰ Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
¹¹ He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.

Jesus knew that after enduring the suffering and death that was set before him, he would be raised from the dead and have the joy of “bringing many sons and daughters to glory.” (Heb. 2:10) In John 10, he describes his mission and predicts his resurrection.

John 10 (NKJV)
¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” … ¹⁷ “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”

We find rest for our souls by coming to Jesus (Yeshua), giving our lives to him, and taking his burdens in place of our own:

Matthew 11 (NKJV)
²⁸ Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Those who receive Jesus as Lord and Savior and follow him “have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us” (Heb. 6:18b), based on the sure promises of God. The passage continues: “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” Hebrews 12 renews the call to keep our faith, hope and love alive and strong by continually “looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross”. He did it all for us.

Hebrews 12 (NKJV)
¹ Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

David Krause, dhkrause@neteze.com, http://compellinglove.net  1/3/2016