He cannot deny Himself

He cannot deny Himself

If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. – 2 Timothy 2:13

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

 23 Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.

 24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.

Way too often folks fail to be on time or finish an assignment. When we are counting on others and this happens to us, how do we react? Often we become annoyed, irritated, or worse. People always have excuses to defend their behavior: hard luck stories, forgetfulness, car trouble, etc. It is sad that for some folks being irresponsible has become an irritating pattern. Being unreliable over time causes others to back away and ultimately trust is broken.

“If you are 5 minutes early, you are already 10 minutes late!” (Vince Lombardi). Being on time means being early. The Father is never late. He always follows through and does what He promises.

The Father is never in a hurry, but He is always on time.

It is as though the Father has a schedule to keep which was booked in eternity past. He arranges circumstances so that it happens. He works behind the scenes to have people to be in the right place at the right time for the appointments He made for them. Consider Philip and the Samaritan woman.

Acts 8:26-39

 26 As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.”

 27 So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia . . .. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship,

 28 and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.

 29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.”

 30 Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

 31 The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.

 35 So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.

 36 As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?”

 38 He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing.

John 4:4-29

 4 He had to go through Samaria on the way.

 5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

 6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime.

 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.”

 10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”

 13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again.”

 14 “But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

 19 “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet.

 25 The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming – the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

 26 Then Jesus told her, “I AM the Messiah!”

 28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone,

 29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?”

As children of the King, we are part of His Forever Family. The Father has made magnificent and precious promises to each of us. His promises are always fulfilled based upon His character and not our performance. He remains steady and sure regardless of how we perform.

Regrettably, our understanding and expectations are often skewed. When we fail, we often tend to expect Him to withdraw. We fear that punishment is just around the corner. People may react in exactly this fashion. But the Father does not.

2 Timothy 2:13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

What fabulous reassurance! The Father is faithful. Faithfulness is part of His essence and character. He is not whimsical, arbitrary, or capricious. He doesn’t play games.

He is also omnipotent. He is fully capable of doing what He promises. He has promised to finish what He started in each child of the King on time.

REFLECT & PRAY

“How does a human father ‘pity’ His children? He considers their weakness, immaturity, and ignorance, and so does not require of them more than they can handle. Our Father does the same with us” (Stanley).

Father thank You that you are faithful and have remained faithful to me. Encourage me to be faithful to You and not shrink back.

INSIGHT

Philippians 1:6 I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

He never gives up on us no matter what we do. He is faithful and determined to accomplish what He set out to do.

What is the good work that the Father has promised will complete? First and foremost it is the work of the gospel (Philippians 1:3-5).

The work of the gospel produces salvation. “In the New Testament, God has revealed that salvation is a process. It involves justification when a sinner trusts Jesus Christ as his or her Savior. It includes progressive sanctification that occurs from the time of justification to the Christian’s death or the Rapture. It culminates in glorification when the redeemed sinner finally sees Jesus Christ and experiences transformation into His image” (Constable).

Father alone has justified all children of the King. He alone will glorify us (1 Corinthians 15:50-57). Every child of the King participates in the process of sanctification. Our cooperation plays a part in our progress. However, we can and do resist, oppose, and limit the Father’s sanctifying work in us (1 Thessalonians 5:19, Ephesians 4:30).

Our Father is merciful and compassionate. That is what He is and that is what He does. He chooses to forgive and forget our sins, iniquities, and transgressions.

Psalms 103:10-14

10 He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.

 11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.

 12 He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.

 13 The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.

 14 For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust.

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© Dr. H 2022