TWO IMPORTANT PRIVILEGES OF THE RIGHTEOUS - PART 2

TUESDAY 30 AUGUST 2022

On one hand, to bring us up to the level of God's perspective as new creatures in Christ, deep in our spirit, we need a firm grasp of who we truly are as the righteous, and a hearty participation in the description noted in our referenced Scripture below. On the other hand, the fact that our spirit can be saturated with this truth to the point of being unshaken and remembered forever makes us quite sure that we do not vainly serve God. No we don't! Never!

Reference: Psalm 112:6 New International Version (NIV) "Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever."

Surely a righteous man will never be shaken, if indeed, he is conscious of who he is, and thereby personifies, personalizes and functions by this truth. More importantly, the righteous will be in an everlasting remembrance. Someone might ask, "Who remembers them?" God! Another question: What does it mean for the righteous to be remembered forever? Firstly, to be remembered forever here signifies two things:

1. They are always in the mind of God. 2. They will exist beyond the time realm.

To prove that the righteous are always in God's mind, the Bible says, "The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry" ~ Psalm 34:15 (MEV). God's eyes cannot be on the righteous, if He has forgotten them because one can only keep an eye on whom they have in mind. Also the prayers of the righteous are most deeply accepted and understood by God because He pays attention to them. Moreover, this everlasting remembrance is also proven in Isaiah 49:15-16, where God says, "Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands..." (NLT), meaning that you're always in God's mind, and under His careful observation.

Another truth that assures that God always has His own people [The righteous] in mind is found in Malachi 3:16. It reads, "Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name" (ESV). This truth empowers us to know beyond doubt that we not strangers in God's book of remembrance. God pays attention to us when we commune with fellow saints and interchange divine thoughts. Even as we do so, glorious things about us are written before Him and this book stores and keeps our information. Beloved, with this knowledge and with profound intensity, our hearts are replenished with greater joy than all the universe is capable of containing.

The second point about being remembered forever by God actually means that the righteous will exist beyond the time realm. According to the final judgment in the book of Revelation, John the apostle wrote, "Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:11-15 NIV). Admittedly, those whose names are found in the book of life are known as the righteous, meaning that they will exist and be remembered forever. Our names being found in the book of life is part of the lexicon and activities in the heavenly throne room where God reigns. Certainly, the sense here is that of "final state of Christian perfection," which is considered as the "righteous" being faithful to the end, and the expression is equivalent to spending eternity with God. Got it?

Beloved, as the new creation, we are in inextricable union with Jesus Christ Himself. He lives in us, which is beyond God remembering us. In other words, we have passed from the stage of being remembered forever by God to the stage of being one with Christ, such that nothing can separate us from Him forever. No wonder Paul asked this question, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?..." (Romans 8:35 KJV). His love binds us together in God and this binding can never be broken. In addition, 1 John 4:16 (NIV) says, "So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him." In a nutshell, all we need is more of the knowledge of this love, in order to grow in it, be filled with it and then, be at home with the truth that we are beyond just being in the mind of God, since we have become one with Christ. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - Genesis 30:22; Psalm 105:8; 1 Corinthians 6:20; 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18.

Guided Prayer: Heavenly Father, I'm grateful that you greatly love and remember me for good forever. I'm eminently overwhelmed by your everlasting remembrance that will bring me to heaven in the fullness of time realm. You always establish the answers to my supplication and petitions rising up to you like a pleasant scent. Indeed, you are so precious to my soul and by your grace, you've made me fit and deemed me worthy of the inheritance of the saints in the light. Thank you Father for your inexhaustible help already granted me in Christ, in Jesus' Name, Amen!