ICS Daily Devotions
God Has Provided Something Better for Us
Hebrews 11:40 (NKJV) God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.
God reveals His truth progressively (i.e. progressive revelation) throughout the Bible. We read about all the events in the Old Testament and how God honored the Abrahamic covenant when Jesus came as the Messiah to fulfill the promise. Then we read about the establishment of the new covenant through the blood of Jesus Christ, which speaks to us of the perfect love of God when Jesus died for us while we were yet sinners. It is an unconditional love and that we are no longer slaves of sin but children of the living God. As children of the living God, we should be confident that the Lord is with us no matter what we go through in this life and that He will never leave, abandon or forsake us. It also gives us faith that whatever the Lord has promised us will come to pass in His time.
We may think that poor family backgrounds, lack of academic, professional or athletic achievements, possessions or even looks, are the reasons for our insecurities. But the real root of rejection is spiritual which happened when Adam and Eve were chased out of the Garden because of their sins. Therefore, nothing in this world will be able to resolve the rejection or insecurity issues in our lives because the final acceptance has to be by God Himself.
During the good times in our lives, we might not sense the need for God’s acceptance or to have our identity in Jesus Christ. However, it will surface when we are at the lowest point in our lives and especially, at our deathbed. The real test of whether we have our identities secured in Christ is when we are all alone, abandoned, forgotten, betrayed and ignored by loved ones and friends. The other test comes when we face the fear of death, will we be able to lift up our heads to face God’s judgment with confidence?
Ephesians 1:6-7 (NKJV) to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.
We can only be justified by faith in Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross of Calvary. We can only be confident that we can face God on the Day of Judgment not because of our good works but because of the blood of Jesus Christ, which has cleansed us from all our sins! Jesus is the lifter of our heads and will grant us the confidence to face God at the judgment seat of Christ. Christians will not be at the great white throne judgment as we are seated with the Holy Spirit and declared accepted in the Beloved because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ that bought forgiveness for our sins. Once we know this truth, then we will come to a position of rest because we have obtained the ultimate acceptance and it is by God the Maker Himself. If God is for us, then who can be against us and what can men do to us?
Our identity in Christ and the security that we have found in Him are the best things that God has provided for us and this is the best position for us.
Sermon Series: You Are in the Hall of Faith! (Part 2)
