2026-02-13
Good morning, Dear Ones,
Getting the most out of the Scriptures is what this long series of messages, “The Spirit Speaks,” is designed to do. People like Paul, who allowed his life to be put in danger so many times and in so many ways [2 COR 11: 22-33] for the sake of conveying the true teaching of Jesus Christ, carry out their God-given tasks consistently. King David was a complicated man, who learned through his own misdeeds the blessings of true faith, made huge contributions to his community. He left a fabulous legacy of faith for us [PS 63, for example]. He was a “man after God’s own heart” [1 SAM 13: 14; AC 13: 22]. Anyone who is familiar with figures like Joseph, Moses, and others knows that each of these individuals were not only leaders but also fully submitted to God.
There were other commonalities they shared. We might ask what happened to Joseph that led him to eventually led him to become trusted by the pharaoh of Egypt? What did Moses do that helped the Jews wander safely through the desert until they learned to obey God and were led into the Promised Land? What lessons did David learn to set an example for us all? How did Paul endure all the suffering he did to emerge as the greatest apostle of all for the early church? Books have been written about each of these stories. But each example here (and many more) learned the necessity of patience, piety, and humility in his own way at the hand of the Master, Jesus Christ. Jesus was never mentioned by name in the OT but we can be sure His hand was in all that is depicted in it. How do we know this? COL 1: 15, “The Son is the visible image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of all creation.”
What COL 1: 15 says to us is that God sent Christ, His second personality, with the task doing the work of creation and that at His appointed time, Christ took on the image of a human being. That human image was so we could relate to and with Him. Christ was the first being on earth. Yes, His hand was, is, and always will be in everything going on in both the OT and NT.
Paul was known to be a rather homely man, bald, short and without a compelling speaking voice. And yet, God imbued him with such powerful faith and intellect that he knew how to convey the Gospel with accuracy and effectiveness. Paul didn’t see himself as the perfect choice for the task he had. Instead, he saw himself as the worst of sinners. On the other hand, our loving God offered Paul and us forgiveness for our sins! COL 3: 13, “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Amazing! If we are honest with ourselves, none of us is perfect, except Jesus Himself. Paul expresses this reality in RO 3: 22b-33, “There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”
One of the great figures learning the need to be humble before God was King David. His belief that God was with him as a teenager facing Goliath gave him the courage to kill this physical giant of a Philistine man when no one else would [1 SAM 17: 48-50]. Later in David’s life after he had consolidated Israel becoming her king, David committed the sins of murdering Uriah and adultery with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, afterward. God was displeased to be sure and sent the prophet, Nathan, to the king. Nathan was given a way to bring David to recognize his wrongdoing and bring the king to contrition [2 SAM 11: 1-27 and 12: 1-25]. When one reads PS 1-72 (written by King David), he gets a birdseye view of David’s contrition [PS 51] and growing humility/obedience before God. David, whose life was almost always in danger, matured into faith that overcomes fear.
PRAYER: O most holy Lord, we come before Your throne as “works in progress.” You want nothing more than for as many of us as possible to come to faith and have eternal life with You. 1 TIM 2: 3-4, “God desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” 2 PET 3: 9, “God is patient, not wanting anyone to perish but all to come to repentance.” Your love for us is unmatched by that of any human. You bless us and teach us, so that we can have the hope of the resurrection and a blissful eternal life. Yet you deny those things to those who serially reject You, as only You should. We offer You our thanksgiving, praise, loyalty, honor, and reverence, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: There was no way I could deal with this subject of learning piety, patience, humility, and forgiveness in one message. So, I am commanded by the Holy Spirit to continue writing about these things next week. If we hope for eternal life, we must come to understand our relationship with the Lord Jesus and why He matters to us so much. 1 JN 5: 11-13, “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His son; those who have the Son have life.” Praise and thanksgiving be to Him!
Grace be with you always,
Lynn JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2026. All Rights Reserved.
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