Nehemiah 1.5 I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments.
Our God is Great and Terrible. The old KJV word terrible is not to be understood as a negative description, but one that evokes godly fear and respect. Please note who God is faithful to: “them that love Him and keep His commandments.” We know that this is not speaking of sinless perfection, but sincere and honest pursuit of God’s will and ways. God is looking at our hearts, not our observance of dead and lifeless religious rituals. “O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts.” Dearly beloved, are we walking before The Lord (meaning a continual awareness of being in His presence), with all of our hearts?
Oh God, may you grant to both writer and reader alike the desire and the power to walk before You with all of our hearts today! It must be known that one way or another, we reap what we sow. God cannot and will not be fooled by insincerity or flat out rebellion. Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.
We end our time together with this thought. It is through Jesus Christ that we are brought into this relationship with God. It is through Jesus Christ that we abide in this relationship with God. May the love and mercy of Our Covenant-keeping God be the driving power in your life today. May His love and mercy that was so clearly demonstrated on Calvary fill your heart and soul and inspire all that you say and do today. His love is stronger than death and has conquered death! May it conquer the dead works and motives in our lives.
