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NOTES FROM MOM |
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New Beginnings
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Praise God for new beginnings. His word tells us His mercies are new every morning; and His faithfulness is great!! (Lamentations: 3:22-23)
As I was seeking the Lord for a word from Him to share with you this month, I heard someone on the radio talking about Mephibosheth. So I turned to II Samuel 9 and read about him.
The story of Mephibosheth begins in II Samuel 4:4. Mephibosheth was Jonathan’s son. After Saul and Jonathan were slain in battle, Mephibosheth’s nurse was afraid he would be killed too, so she picked him up and tried to flee before the armies of the enemy could find him. In her haste, she dropped him and broke both of his feet. He was 5 years old at the time; and in those days, they apparently didn’t know how to repair broken bones, so he was lame the rest of his life.
When David and Jonathan were younger, they became like brothers and cut a covenant together. In those days a covenant was very binding. It bound you to the person for life to protect and love as if they were you. (I Samuel 18: 1-4) So, when Jonathan was killed, David was under obligation to protect all that was Jonathan’s.
We pick up the story from there in II Samuel 9: 1-13. David asked if there was anyone left of the house of King Saul so that he could keep the covenant with Jonathan. He was told that Jonathan still had a living son by the name of Mephibosheth. His name means “son of shame”. He lived in Lo-debar, which means: barren, no pasture, dry place, disappointment, lonely, no hope and wounded.
So, David sent for Mephibosheth, the son of his friend Jonathan. When Mephibosheth came into David’s presence, he was afraid that David was going to kill him too. But David had other plans for Mephibosheth. He greeted him with love for his father’s sake. He restored all the land that had been King Saul’s, and wanted him to dine at his table for the rest of his life.
Mephibosheth still saw himself as a “dead dog”. He still saw himself as a son of shame with no hope…lonely, outcast and wounded. But, David saw him as the son of a prince and the grandson of a king. He commanded the best for him.
Not only did he command that all of King Saul’s land be restored to Mephibosheth, but he called Ziba, King Saul’s servant to care for him, to cultivate his land for him, to bring in the crops for food for him. Ziba had 15 sons and 20 servants that were to carry out these commands.
Then King David commanded Mephibosheth to eat at his table on a regular basis and treated him as one of his own sons.
This story is a picture of what God has done for us. We have all been sons and daughters of shame in our past. In fact, some who read this still are. We have all lived in barren, dry places with disappointment, loneliness, no hope and wounded. Some still live there today.
However, there is a David who cut covenant with us at the cross. His name is Jesus. In cutting the final covenant of all time, He took our shame, disappointment, loneliness and wounds upon Himself and gave us the chance to come to His table and dine with Him forever on Earth as well as in Heaven. We have now been adopted into the family of God. Our King is the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
Our King wants nothing but the best for us. He has restored all that was lost in the fall of Adam and Eve. He is our provider. He provides us everything we need to live on this earth. He accepts us as His very own son or daughter. He has offered us forgiveness and wholeness.
All He asks of us is to accept what He died to give us. As we give our lives to Him, He promises to give all He has to us. We can dine with Him every day by reading His word and talking with Him about the things in our lives we need help with.
“If we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us”. (James 4:8) “We can humble ourselves in His presence and He will then exalt us”. (James 4:10) We can walk with Him and talk with Him anytime day or night. “He never leaves us or forsakes us”. (Hebrews 13:5) “He is an ever-present help in time of trouble”. (Psalms 46:1)
Once we accept Jesus as our Savior, we become the children of God. God becomes our Father who loves us and wants only the best for us. “We will be led forth with gladness and rejoicing. We will enter into the King’s palace”. (Psalm 45:15)
As we begin a new year, we all need to leave last year behind us. We need to ask our Father to help us grow in love and grace in this new year. We need to realize that we are no longer sons and daughters of shame. We don’t have to live in Lo-debar the place of bareness, loneliness, shame, hurt, wounded and hopeless. We are sons and daughters of the King. We can live above the things around us that try to pull us down.
Consider this: Those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior now have the One who created everything that exists as our very own Father!! He will honor His covenant that He made with us on the cross. He will provide for us, protect us and love us as His very own. As adopted children, He cannot and will not disown us. To many of us, He is the father we never had. He will restore our bodies, minds and spirits. He is faithful to us and to the covenant He made through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Let’s all repeat this prayer out loud whether we have accepted Him or not:
“Father, thank you for sending Jesus to die for my sins. I thank you for New Beginnings…for this New Year. I repent for the things of the past and ask you to forgive me. I accept Jesus as my Savior and the Lord of my life. I ask you to come into my heart and life and to help me to grow in your love and grace. Thank you for saving me. I appreciate all you have done for me…and I dedicate my life to you.
HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYBODY!!! © Copyright jlmministries.com