Be Vocal in the Everlasting Covenant with God

He is. Yes, God is vocal and confident in His covenant with me.

“²⁶I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. ²⁷My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ²⁸Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” — Ezekiel 37:26-28 (ESV)

Notice there in verses 27 and 28 that God lets it known that He belongs to the people and the people belong to Him. And then He makes no bones about the fact that this is “forevermore”. I have to remember this as I go into my days and do the work of God. I am His and He is with me forever, regardless of what I happen to be doing. I belong to Him and He will care for me always.

Also, He belongs to me. God is there for me. He cares for me and ensures that I have what is needed. I have a servant in God that gives of Himself each day for me. I am grateful for Him and all that He provides and let Him know each day in my conversations (prayers) with Him.

There has to be more. I have to take this relationship public and be vocal about it. I have to let others know that He is mine and I am His. I have to wear Him on the outside of my coat so that others will see and not just keep Him to myself.

And how? Well I have to simply live it and then speak it. Where there is the opportunity, I have to not be guarded about my relationship. When there are others with needs, I have to serve that need in His name and let them know that I am doing in the name of God. I have to not just say I will, but I must take action. Like praying for someone in the moment and not just telling them that I am praying for them, more of that I have prayed for them. I have to give of at the time and not that I am contemplating giving. When I have the means, I give at that moment. I have to remember that saying it does not make it true, it is the actions that people see and understand and not just the words.

I have to be vocal in my everlasting relationship with God. I have to be sure that everyone knows. God did His part and was vocal in it and now it is my turn to do the same.

What does your relationship with God look like and say about you? Are you guarded in that relationship? What if you were vocal and let everyone know of that relationship and took action to show it?

God Never Left

This morning as I continue my reading into the word “everlasting”, I am reminded that God never left me nor anyone else for that matter.

“⁶My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold. ⁷All who found them have devoured them, and their enemies have said, ‘We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the LORD, their habitation of righteousness, the LORD, the hope of their fathers.’” — Jeremiah 50:6-7 (ESV)

Notice in verse 6 above that the people were led astray, God did not turn away from them, they turned away from Him. Isn’t that true with me and those in the world today. God is there, His church is there, yet the people continue to be led away from Him by others. God recognizes that the people need to enter into the everlasting covenant with Him and says so in the passage just above those verses.

“⁴In those days and in that time, declares the LORD, the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, weeping as they come, and they shall seek the LORD their God. ⁵They shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’” — Jeremiah 50:4-5 (ESV)

This is the critical part that I believe is missed, or at least I missed before. I have to join in the everlasting covenant with LORD. I have to know that He was and is and always will be there for me and my brothers and sisters in Christ. Since He was/is/will be there, it is my responsibility to come to Him and join Him in the everlasting covenant. This will provide for me the continuous feeling and knowing of the love of the father that He has for me. I have to join Him and enter into the covenant by accepting that which He offers freely to all. I have to turn back to Him as He never moved from His position in my life.

God is there and always has been. I may have turned away from Him, yet He has remained. The LORD is constant. He does not change. He is with my always, regardless of my position and no matter if I am with Him. And all I have to do is turn back to Him and He will be right there and accept me with open arms.

What is your relationship with God? Do you feel as though the LORD has left you? What if you just turned back around to the LORD and realized that He never left and has always honored the covenant made with you?

Everlasting Fear of God

As I read this morning in study of the word “everlasting” I was brought to the book of Jeremiah where God identifies His people and that He will be their God. As I get to the verse I was led to, I see that God makes an everlasting covenant with the people and makes it so they will not turn away from Him.

“⁴⁰I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.” — Jeremiah 32:40 (ESV)

I asked myself, What is the “Fear of God”? Well depending on where you look for the answer, you may get many different definitions, but one thing is clear, it is a full reverence of God.

In the Psalms we see that fearing the Lord means to stand in awe of the living God (Ps. 33:8), to glorify him (Ps. 22:3), and to trust him wholeheartedly (Ps. 40:3). Those who fear the Lord receive his steadfast love (Ps. 103:17) and experience friendship with God (Ps 25:14)! In the book of Proverbs the fear of the Lord is a continual submission to God in humility and faith (Prov. 23:17) and consists of a hatred of evil and the desire to turn away from it (Prov. 8:13; 16:6). — from: “What is ‘Fear of the Lord’?”, https://eccelmira.org/articles/what-is-the-fear-of-the-lord/

As I apply this to the passage from Jeremiah, I see that God was placing Himself in a position of reverence and trust in the hearts of the people. But it also has to be looked at as noted in the Proverbs 8 and 16 “a hatred of evil and the desire to turn away from it”. This everlasting covenant is in place that I might turn to God and away from the evil one. I am so in awe of the LORD that I am only able to look to Him. I am drawn to Him and the love and care and comfort and guidance He has for me. I am looking away from the evil one and all that he brings into this world and focusing my attention on the LORD.

I am thinking of the fear of the Lord and how that applies to my everyday life and into eternity. I am to be with God always. I am to love Him as He loves me, always and forever and without any conditions. He has already done all for me in sacrificial death on my behalf. I am only to give myself to Him fully. As I have full and complete reverence for Him and all that He is, I will turn away from the evil one. I will have complete focus on God and all that He is and gives and accept Him forever.

What does it mean to you to fully give yourself to God? Are you only glancing at Him from time to time? What if you fully accepted the fear of Him in your heart and turned away from the evil one and fully to Him?

Come to Him and Experience His Everlasting

The everlasting covenant of God with us is not just for everyone. That may seem a bit of a strong statement and one may be asking, then what is it about God that He is not here for everyone, isn’t He all about love for everyone. Well, yes He loves everyone and He is here for everyone, but, there is a catch, He has to be accepted by you. He loves you. Although for you to experience that love, you have to accept Him and the love He has for you.

“³Incline your ear, and come to me;

hear, that your soul may live;

and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,

my steadfast, sure love for David.”

— Isaiah 55:3 (ESV)

I see here that the God gives of himself to me constantly. He is always there providing for my needs. I only need to accept Him in order to receive. I have to reach out and take possession of what He is giving in order to benefit from it. I am not simply given everything I could want. I have to take some action to actually receive. That action is minimal (accepting), but it is action I need to take none the less.

I think of all the times I was in need and think back to my actions to receive assistance with those needs, did I come to receive help? I may have come to speak of the need and to exclaim that there was a need, but I am not sure that I came with a mindset of actually receiving assistance. I may have wanted others to know of my need and blame them for not providing for the need, but may not have been of the heart to actually receive the help with the need.

Too often I believe that we are of the same mindset when it comes to our relationship with God. We want everyone to hear of our “relationship” and yet we are reluctant to actually putting anything into the relationship. We exclaim that we are in need, yet are not really of the mindset to accept the help that is offered, mainly because it does not fit into what we expect to be the offer of help and it does not fully reverse the situation.

Come to God and He will always provide. It may not be exactly what I envisioned or thought I should be receiving, but He will provide. And when He does, I have to accept the help from Him and know that it comes from the love He has for me and His desire to see me in glory with Him. When I come to God and accept what He has for me, I will receive the everlasting commitment from Him to care for me, to love me, to provide for me at every instance in my life. I may not receive that which I believe to be the answer to the need, but I will receive the answer to my need from His hand and with love, forever.

What is your expectation as to that which comes from God? Are you accepting that which He provides? What if you come to God with open arms to receive the everlasting (eternal) commitment from Him to you?

He is Everlasting to Everlasting and Named Everlasting

This morning I was reminded and really thought about that Jesus came from eternity and will be here through eternity and is named for eternity as well.

“⁶For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

⁷Of the increase of his government and of peace

there will be no end,

on the throne of David and over his kingdom,

to establish it and to uphold it

with justice and with righteousness

from this time forth and forevermore.

The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.”

— Isaiah 9:6-7 (ESV)

Above is the announcement of the names of Jesus even before He was born. The one name that stuck out to me this morning was that of “Everlasting Father” since I am currently studying the word “everlasting”. I was reminded that not only was the Trinity here before all and will be here after all, but His name is demonstrating that to all.

I have the confidence in the Lord based on His love for me and the guidance and comfort He supplies for me. But I also can have confidence in knowing that He is here for me and was here for me and will be here for me, not only in the sense of providing, but also in the sense of name and recognition.

With God being here prior to me, you may have known Him before me. I came to Him as soon as I could and will be with Him always, even if I happen to fall away from time to time. He will always be with me, and was with me even before I knew Him and He will be with all even after I have joined Him in glory. I will say that all of this was known even before I or you were. Notice again the names of Jesus even before he was born: “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”. Pay particular attention to the third name in the string, “Everlasting Father”. That name means eternity and that is before and after and during our existence here in this world.

What name do you know God by? Are you in concert with all of the names of God? What if you dug into the name “Everlasting Father” to know that He was, is, and always will be?

I Can Always Come To Christ

There are times when I will fall away from Christ. I am a human and a sinner always. In those times, I will try to do things on my own and will experience some momentary success in accomplishing things. But, the success will not last. At least it will not last beyond the moment or this life here in this world. I will need to come back to the Lord. And He will be there waiting on me.

“⁴⁸Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting!

And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’

Praise the LORD!”

— Psalm 106:48 (ESV)

God will be with me when I drift away and pursue things on my own, and He will be with me when I come back to Him. The truth is that He never leaves me. He was there in the eternity before me and the eternity after me and during my time here.

God always remembers me and the covenant He made with me. He will be there by my side always. Regardless of my attention to Him, He will have attention on me. He will protect me and comfort me and all I have to do is accept. No matter how I fell away, or how many times, I will always be able to come to Christ and He will be there with arms wide open to accept me and all that I am with the love that only He can give.

When you have fell away from Christ, what were your thoughts of coming back? Were you reluctant to do so as you felt He may not accept you? What if you approached it knowing that He was there before and during your departure and will be there as well with your return?

Everlasting to Everlasting

When I think of God and His impact on me, I immediately think of my eternity and that I will spend it with Him in glory. I know that I have forever with Christ and for that I can take comfort. But, I also have to take comfort in knowing that He came from eternity.

“¹Lord, you have been our dwelling place

in all generations.

²Before the mountains were brought forth,

or ever you had formed the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

— Psalm 90:1-2 (ESV)

The Lord has been from forever. He was here before any and all. As seen in verse two above, “Before…you had formed the earth and the world…you are God”. I have to remember that God was before all and created all and all that was not created was not created by God.

“³All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” — John 1:3

God was here before everything and everything was because of God. He made and created all things and did not create that which was not created. It seems a bit strange to say that last part, but it is true. If it was not worth creating, then God did not create it. I will even argue that those things created by man were ultimately created by God as without the creation of man, those things would not have been created. Therefor God created all things.

God will be forever and I will be with Him in glory. But I also have to remember that God was forever even before there was a forever to be counted as He created all things. There will be no tomorrow without yesterday and God was there yesterday and will be there tomorrow. God is “from everlasting to everlasting”.

What is your view of Christ? Are you only thinking of that which is to come? What about that from which everything came, from eternity before there was even now?