Compelling Love

Let us pray that we would all know and experience the love of God in Christ more fully than ever. By the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us, may we fulfill all that God has ordained for our lives even before we were born. Let us also pray that our nation will fulfill the calling God ordained for us at our beginning, that we would be a covenant people, walking faithfully with Him and proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world.

Psalm 33 calls those walking with the LORD to rejoice in Him, praising Him for all His wondrous works in creation and history. Verse 12 declares, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance.”

Psalm 33 (NKJV)
The Sovereignty of the Lord in Creation and History
¹ Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous!
For praise from the upright is beautiful.

² Praise the Lord with the harp;
Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
³ Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.

⁴ For the word of the LORD is right,
And all His work is done in truth.
⁵ He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.

⁶ By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
⁷ He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;
He lays up the deep in storehouses.

⁸ Let all the earth fear the LORD;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
⁹ For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.

¹⁰ The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.
¹¹ The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The plans of His heart to all generations.
¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.

Psalm 100 urges us to respond rightly to our Creator and Redeemer, being set apart for Him who gives us love, joy, freedom, courage and strength. 
As verse 3 joyfully declares, He made us, and we are His. 

Psalm 100 (NLT)
¹ Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
²     Worship the Lord with gladness.
    Come before him, singing with joy.
³ Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
    He made us, and we are his.
    We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
    go into his courts with praise.
    Give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good.
    His unfailing love continues forever,
    and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

Freedom, both personally and nationally, comes from being in right relationship with God, believing in the Savior He has sent. He came that we might have life, life abundant and everlasting.

John 3:16 (NKJV)
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 10:10 (NKJV)
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

The truth will make you free – free to be all that God created you to be.  Jesus declares in John 8:31-32, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  Jesus is speaking about being free from sin, free from all that contradicts God’s perfect will for our lives, personally and nationally.

John 8 (NKJV)
The Truth Shall Make You Free
³¹ Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. ³² And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

³³ They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵ And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. ³⁶ Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

Daniel 11:32 declares that “the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.”  The song, “10,000 Armies” by Jonathan Traylor applies this promise to who we are today:

No weapon against me will prosper or stand
‘Cause I’ve got a promise from the Son of Man
I throw off this armor and raise up my hands
I know my God and I know who I am
Oh I know my God and I know who I am.

David Krause, dhkrause2@gmail.com, https://compellinglove.net/