Tuesday – April 19, 2016
Let us all prepare to open wide for God’s Word once again this Tuesday. As we prepare to do that let us take a moment to pray for the governments of these United States. Today I have chosen to honor the State of Idaho. Idaho was the 43rd State admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890 during the presidency of our 23rd president, President Benjamin Harrison. Idaho’s state motto is: Esto Perpetua (Latin for “Let it be forever”). In the Gallop poll (47%) and the Pew Research Poll (51%) about half of the people considered religion to be very important to them personally. As a nation and as individual states we are a Covenant nation in covenant with the only living God. By way of another demonstration let us look at the preamble or introduction to the Constitution of the State of Idaho.
CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF IDAHO
APPROVED JULY 3, 1890
PREAMBLE
We, the people of the State of Idaho, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings and promote our common welfare do establish this Constitution.
(Pictured is the map placing Idaho within the United States from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
I will now return to our study from the Book of Colossians.
Colossians 2:6-7 (KJV)
6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
We have been talking at some length about how we received Christ Jesus the Lord by the exercise of faith. To go through the motions of getting saved without the exercise of faith is sin. For example if you allow someone to lead you down the “Roman Road” and you repeat a prayer so as not to offend the person or get them off your back without the exercise of faith you are not saved. There are no accidental salvations.
Unsaid in all of this is the necessity that our faith be powered by Bible love, the Greek word agape. Bible love (agape) is selflessness, implementation of the Blood Covenant, and obedience to the Word of God. We receive Jesus as Lord and Savior by faith and we walk in Him by faith (powered by love). We must be stabilized in the Word of God meaning it is an unshakeable part of us. This is below ground so to speak and then we must be built up in Him, above ground, that is to look and act like Him. All of this is established by faith which comes by hearing the Word of God. Then the Apostle Paul drops the reality on us that we can and must abound in our salvation, our walk, and our faith by and with thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is more or less a capstone or cornerstone to all of this. We do not give sincere thanks for something we either do not have or are not sure we will ever get. Sincere thanksgiving (God knows our heart) is an expression of faith motivated or powered by love.
By Pastor David R. Wood
