The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; Psalms 24:1 NIV
Context:
Today, we consider again the words of the songwriter David, a man God himself testified to as being after his heart. David was not just a writer of songs, but a worship leader, a dancer, and of course, a prophet. There are direct references to the Messiah in the songs he wrote, and as a shepherd of sheep and then men, he knew firsthand what it was like to have God on your side, protecting, keeping, guiding and helping you. Have I met this God that David knew and loved so much? Much more important is this: does this God know me as his own?
Message and Response:
One of the many principles by which God is governed by is the fact that he keeps that which he owns and holds. I cannot claim independence from God and still want to live off his resources. No matter what the devil says, he does not own anything on the earth. When God was speaking his Word and the creative power of the Word was working wonders, the devil had no say in what God did. If he owned anything, why did he have to fight dirty to get man to lose sight of the life of God in him? The devil knew that he could not touch man or what he has unless that man gives him access, and that is what sin did. What am I holding on to today: the truth of God's Word or the falsehood of the devil?
The one who speaks the earth and all its features into existence is the one in charge. The testimony of the one who made it all, as he looked at then all, was that it was very good. A very popular legal maxim says:' Possession is nine-tenths of the law,' which means that ownership is easier to maintain if one has possession of something, or difficult to enforce if one does not. If God owns a thing, who is that person or power that is able to snatch that thing out of his hands? And if he owns it, he determines what happens to it. God does not delight in the troubles that his own face, but he permits them, in the right proportion, to come to his own, so they can grow in their love, knowledge and experience of God. I must not run away from those experiences; they are proof that I belong to God, I am in his hands and nothing comes to me without his permission. What could be better than that?
And I note that this hold of God covers everything: living and non-living. How do I ever think that God will create anything that he could not control or direct as he wills? Accidents may happen, but it will never be outside the knowledge of the one is the Lord. Why the use of the word 'Lord'? It means a person having power and authority over others (and I can add as well as things.) There is nothing else left outside his control.
This is where it gets interesting. I can choose to accept the Lordship if Jesus over me, or I can choose to reject him. Whatever my decision is, let it be known that it does not in any way diminish the efficacy, power, influence and reach of the Lord. Men can reject his authority; it does not mean he does not have it. Men can spend all their lives denying him; it does not affect the truth of who he is and what he has. And the final note: if indeed he owns it all, one day, all that he has made has to answer to him. An account will be demanded of all who he has made. Whether I accepted his authority or not, I answer to him. Contrary to what the world will have me think, this life I have been given isn't mine to do with as I please, but to live to please the one who owns and holds it in his hands. I belong, answer and hold allegiance to him. While I still have freewill to choose, I must choose wisely and surrender all to him. A time is coming when I will get the reward of right ownership or the consequences of rejecting the right ownership. May the Lord help me to choose wisely. His time of favour is here.
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