The Lord's Covenant of Peace

 

Ezekiel 34:25-31

 

January 24, 2024

 

The Lord's Covenant of Peace

“I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.  And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing.  And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them.  They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid.  And I will provide for them renowned plantations so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the reproach of the nations.  And they shall know that I am the Lord their God with them and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord God.  And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God.”

Have you entered into a covenant of peace as a follower of Christ?  The answer can be found in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”  Do you understand the world system gives you stuff, it rusts and gets old, it brings temporary happiness, but not lasting peace, and it comes often with a great price tag?

It matters not where you are in your relationship with Jesus, if you have by faith that God has given you, ask Jesus to forgive your sin, and you have confessed that to others, you have entered into Him, and God calls you family.  Family comes with this promise found in 1 Peter 2:9-10, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.  That is your true identity in Christ, it matters not how you feel.  Colossians 3:12, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”  

Many of us who are His followers need to do a lot of taking off, the clothes of this world, the control of fear, the desire to control, and the desire for stuff, and put on the clothes of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  It will require you to die to all the lies and deception the world tells you need, and then and only then will you proclaim as you go, the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice