God's Blessings for the New Year

To Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope this message will be useful to you as I feel that as a Christian we ought to be mindful of who God is in our lives. When I mean by who, I meant it as the type of person God is.

Although God is just, He is also love personified. That's the reason why God sent His son to die for us. That's the reason for the season.

I do not know how you would have thought of God when you see me lie on the hospital bed (don't remember that I was that sickly, by God's grace). Some Christian friends would say, "Well having kidney stones is not a good thing but it is God's way to test His children, to strengthen them in some ways."

That was what I would say 7 years ago, but I have changed dramatically mainly because of my changed perception of God as a Heavenly Father. A father, through Christ whom we called Abba, Father, better than the best father a world could produce.

Now fathers would agree, you would not see harm to your children. When they are sick, you would go to them and try to alleviate their problems. When they are in need, you would see the need and try to provide. If not why sacrifice so much? Why bring them away for holidays? Why look after them when they are sick?

Now if the earthly responsible father can be so good to his own kids, what more the heavenly Father to those who trust in Him?

Now the word 'trust' denote the presence and promise of goodness in a person before you put that trust in that person. Would you trust a person who would do you harm?

So I trust God's promises. When we receive Jesus as a saviour, we trust in His faith to forgive us and give us righteousness. (1 John 1:9)

And so what would righteousness give us? What has Jesus Christ gives us when He redeemed us from the effects of sin?

A way to see the physical rewards for trusting the Lord through HIS obedience is to see Deut chapter 28.

Now some would say, "Deuteronomy 28 is for those who followed the law and thereby will get their just rewards." If that is the truth, then I will be blessed because I followed the law. So I get health only if I followed the Law.

Now this is what Apostle Paul said in his letter to the Romans

For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law, but through the righteousness produced by faith.
(Romans 4:13)

Is it true that we are made righteous because we follow the law or that we trust Christ? So if we are righteous in the eyes of the Lord, is it the same as following /obeying the Lord's law? Now we are made righteous first, then the blessings in Deut 28 will also follow because that's what the Lord promised since He said so himself

Obey the LORD your God and ALL these blessings (in the following verses) will be yours:
(Deuteronomy 28:2)

Based on this and also on the fact that the Angels proclaimed:

`Glory in the highest to God, and upon earth peace, among men--good will.'
(Luke 2:14)

The word 'peace' or 'eirene' (Greek) or 'Shalom' (Hebrew) is not just the word 'peace' as in opposed to 'war' but it has a deeper meaning:

Strong's Concordance 7965 - Hebrew Shalom ..... A word study in the New King James version for SHALOM says: Completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord. (http://www.therefinersfire.org/meaning_of_shalom.htm)

If you see it clearly, part meaning of the word for shalom is 'health' and 'wholeness'.

So as I lay on that bed in extreme pain, is it fair to say that it is God who gave me the pain when the angels proclaim that peace has come? If there is pain, then if God says what He says He will give to those who trust Him, then who is the one who gives pain? There could only be one: the Devil.

The devil is basically doing what he has been doing to Job as well. Job suffered so much that he complained that there is no one to judge/mediate between God and Job.

If there were between us an umpire, He doth place his hand on us both.
(Job 9:33)

The key difference now is this: That Jesus has become our mediator where Job has no such 'luxury' before.

for one is God, one also is mediator of God and of men, the man Christ Jesus,
(1 Timothy 2:5)

Conclusion:

God cannot be the one who gives us pain and suffering. And now Christ is at the right hand side of God, He is our mediator, He is our giver of blessings including health through His shalom peace.

the word that he sent to the sons of Israel, proclaiming good news--peace (eirene/shalom) through Jesus Christ (this one is Lord of all,)
(Acts 10:36)

So for the new year, receive the Shalom Peace through Christ given by the Father in Heaven. That health, wholeness, prosperity and blessings of every kind may be upon you and your family. As Jesus is in heaven, so are we on earth in Christ Jesus.

In His Name,

Wilson