“For He Himself knows our frame; . . . ”
- How do we know God has saved us?
- How does this whole Christianity thing really work?
- Did anything deep inside us occur when we were saved?
- When we repented of our sins and turned toward God, did God really change us?
Yesterday was the day after carnival, the day after Mardi Gras, and the day we know as Ash Wednesday. This was the day we are reminded: We are mere dust, no more, no less.
- This is the truth, for the Bible says it so.
- This is truth, for God’s Word records it so, and GOD DOES NOT LIE!
“Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground,
(Genesis 2: 7 NASB)
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;
and man became a living being.”
There it is, the truth, recorded in black and white. The LORD God made each one of us. We were born of God, and we know that all living things—die.
- Flowers die each fall.
- Grass becomes brown, dying.
- Trees drop their leaves and become dormant.
- Animals cycle through their lives, accomplishing what they were fashioned to do.
Why would we expect anything less when considering mankind. Some say, “We are born to die,” and yes, in a way, that is true. However, God fashioned us and breathed His breath into us for so much more. Thankfully, He chooses to have compassion on us, saving us and not holding our past sinful nature against us.
- This is truth, for God’s Word records it so, and truly, GOD SPEAKS ONLY TRUTH!
“The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
(The Psalms 103: 8-14 NASB)
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
For He Himself knows our frame;
He is mindful that we are but dust.”
Yesterday, I read an article about a man and a woman (creatures of dust) who said they were “once Christians,” but who now say they were wrong to believe. These individuals now say they just don’t know what they believe, and so they are now professing to NOT be Christians.
- Can one fall out of Christianity?
- Can one believe in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross and in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave, and then just walk away from that belief?
Can a person, a product of the dust, a creation of God, merely proclaim he has received God’s Amazing Grace and then proclaim: “Oh, forgive me, but I made a mistake. I was not saved because there is not a place called hell. Therefore, I am no longer a Christian.”
- Can a speck of dust fashioned by God change himself from the inside—out, undoing the saving God accomplished when this individual gave his life to Jesus?
- No, a man cannot do that!
The dust of the ground cannot declare himself “good enough” to gain heaven and escape hell.
- Mankind can never perform enough good in this world to earn passage into God’s paradise.
- No where in the Bible does it say a male or female can save his (or her) soul.
THAT IS GOD’S WORK!
- This is the truth, for the Bible says it so, & GOD DOES NOT LIE!
“Now I say this, brethren,
(The 1st Letter of Paul to the Corinthians 15: 50 NASB)
[brethren indicates Paul spoke to fellow brothers & sisters-in-Christ.]
that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God;
nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.”
- Because we have sinned, we will die.
- Because we are mere dust, we will die and return to the ground.
- Our dusty, sinful nature produces only sins of the flesh.
We need a Savior!
GOD’S AMAZING NEWS—THE GOSPEL, THE GOOD NEWS!
A song, “Promise Keeper” by Hope Darst speaks the truth through melody. Pause to listen.
“Behold, I tell you a mystery;
(The 1st Letter of Paul to the Corinthians 15: 51-52 NASB)
we will not all sleep,
but we will all be changed,
in a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trumpet;
for the trumpet will sound,
and the dead will be raised imperishable,
and we will be changed.”
The Reverend Billy Graham wrote: I have been all over the world, and I have never met anyone who regretted giving his or her life to Christ. And neither will you.”
Truly, God knows us, for He created us.
- He knows our frame, mindful that He made us from the dust of the ground.
- God knows we need JESUS, the SAVIOR!
Therefore, in closing, the truth of the Bible says so because God’s Word speaks only TRUTH
“For the mind set on the flesh is death,
(The Letter of Paul to the Romans 8: 6-11 NASB)
but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God;
for it does not subject itself to the law of God,
for it is not even able to do so,
and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit,
[the apostle Paul wrote to fellow brothers & sisters-in-Christ
explaining how they can KNOW,
that they KNOW,
that they KNOW—they are God’s children]
if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.
But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,
he does not belong to Him.
[but Praise Holy God—]
If Christ is in you,
though the body is dead because of sin,
yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
through His Spirit who dwells in you.“
Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, a day reminding us of our ‘dustiness,’ but Praise the LORD, we are now marching forward in the Season of Lent, walking in celebration toward Easter Sunday—RESURRECTION SUNDAY!