Our journey with Jesus

"The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;

And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place." (Deut. 1:30,31).

Isn't that a precious thought? "Thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place."

After Jesus delivered us from the bitterness and self-indulgence that comes with serving Satan, He has been responsible for bringing us all the way until we came to this place in our venture with God.

It's had its ups and downs. But all in all, we have learned a lot. No, we haven't finished our sealing and entered our land flowing with milk and honey. Yes, our path has been very circuitous, like the children of Israel for forty years.

But, here we are, by God's grace alone (!), still in the fight of faith. The tribes of Israel hadn't yet gone in to obtain the Canaan land, at the time of this context. And neither have we. Yet, Jesus still showers us with His approbation.

"The Lord your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude. 

(The Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as He hath promised you!). (Vs. 10,11).

The Lord make you a thousand times more filled with His presence! Isn't that the stuff of the blessing that Aaron poured upon the whole nation?

"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:

The Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." (Num. 6:22-26).

After all that they had done wrong, and would do wrong! It's like Peter. I don't remember him being perfect. But perfection was his goal because he came to love Jesus as his perfect friend, "Lord; thou knowest that I love [phileo] Thee." (John 21:15). Phileo means to love a close friend.

How could Peter stay in the good graces of God? By simply loving His Son with unfeigned love.

"Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently." (1Pet. 1:22). Peter's soul was being purified through the Spirit. And what is the Spirit? 

It's the union and communion with a reconciled God through His Son. "He that is joined unto the Lord is one Spirit." (1Cir. 6:17). When we saddle up next to Jesus, we join in the eternal union of Father and Son. God blesses us and keeps us. 

"He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.... If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him." (John 14:21,23).

And God will "bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into" "that good land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance." (Deut. 4:21).