House of Hope Online

November 26, 2023

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The use of tracking cookies by internet websites is one of the things about technology that I dislike.  Some are helpful for performance of the site and ease of navigating around the site to accomplish your purpose.  But some are marketing cookies that track your activity and provide your tendencies to other organizations, who then send solicitations to your email address.  You can elect to disallow the marketing cookies or, when you receive the unwanted emails, you can unsubscribe from the list, but these things take additional time and clicks.

Not all tracking is bad.  There is a certain type of tracking that has been going on from the foundation of the world, and we should not be alarmed or annoyed by it.  That is the tracking of us that is done by our Lord and Savior Jesus.  He has had great interest in us even before we were formed in the womb, and He continues today to encamp around us with His hand of protection and His heart of lovingkindness.  He promises that no devil nor anyone working through him will snatch us from His Good Shepherding.

It is reassuring to know that the Lover of our souls cares so much that He is tracking us and making sure the devil does not grab us.  If you are worried about your salvation or afraid of missing the Rapture, rest assured that the Lord loves you and will do all He can to make sure you are included in the flock that has a room in His Father’s house.

Today I want to look at the scriptures that promise this eternal protection.

Jeremiah 1:

 4 ¶ Now the word of the LORD came to me saying,

 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

The Lord assured the prophet Jeremiah that he was being tracked even before he was formed in the womb, and that applies to us as well.  The word “consecrated” in verse 5 means prepared, purified morally, appointed, dedicated, and kept holy.  God does all the heavy lifting before and after we were formed in the womb.  It is no accident or coincidence that we are saved.  It is a purposeful work of the Lord.

In Ephesians 2, Paul gives us the principle that our salvation is a gift of grace from God, and we were created in Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand.

Ephesians 2:

 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God;

 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast.

 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Verse 9 is critical – that no one should boast.  Some want to boast of their “come to Jesus” moment, but really Jesus came to us.  He has always loved us from the beginning, and the Holy Spirit drew us to a place of humble repentance, where we accepted His love.  We see this in 1^st John 4:

1^st John 4:

 17 ¶ By this, love is perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.

 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.

 19 We love, because He first loved us.

Verses 17-19 should remove any fears regarding salvation or the Rapture.  His love is perfected in us, meaning we can have confidence in our salvation.  His love casts out fear because fear involves punishment.  But again, the love in us for Him is because He first loved us and tracked us.

In the Old Testament, the angel of the Lord represents Jesus, and we see in Exodus 14 that He came as a pillar of cloud to separate God’s people from the unbelieving Egyptians, preserving salvation.

Exodus 14:

 19 And the angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them.

 20 So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud along with the darkness, yet it gave light at night. Thus the one did not come near the other all night.

We see this same principle in Psalms 34.

Psalms 34:

 7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them.

 8 O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

The angel of the Lord, representing Jesus, encamps around us and rescues us from darkness, that no one should brag.  All we need to do is taste and see that He is good and take refuge in Him!

Jesus Himself taught us His willingness to watch over our salvation when He gave us the analogy of the Good Shepherd in John 10:

John 10:

 10 “The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have [it] abundantly.

 11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

 12 “He who is a hireling, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, beholds the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees, and the wolf snatches them, and scatters [them.]

 13 [“He flees] because he is a hireling, and is not concerned about the sheep.

 14 “I am the good shepherd; and I know My own, and My own know Me,

 15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.

Get the imagery of the Shepherd and His sheep.  The Shepherd is all about His sheep.  Nothing is more important to Him or more pressing in His daily schedule.  He looks at us as His own, and He will not leave us alone to battle the devil.  Some of us are politely refusing His help and trying to fight the devil’s temptations in our own strength.  When we do that, we are operating in the flesh and refusing grace.  That is why Paul writes that we must walk in the spirit to crucify the flesh. 

Later in John 10, Jesus makes clear He considers us a precious gift from the Father, a gift that will not be snatched away by the devil.

John 10:

 27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;

 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.

 29 “My Father, who has given [them] to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch [them] out of the Father’s hand.

 30 “I and the Father are one.”

In Psalms 139, King David describes the “tracking cookie” nature of God:

Psalms 139:

 2 Thou dost know when I sit down and when I rise up; Thou dost understand my thought from afar.

 3 Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down, And art intimately acquainted with all my ways.

 4 Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, Thou dost know it all.

In Romans 8, Paul writes that because God called us, He is tracking us, and we should know with confidence that He will cause all things to work together for our good.  If you feel forsaken during difficult trials, just re-read Romans 8.

Romans 8:

 28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to [His] purpose.

 29 ¶ For whom He foreknew, He also predestined [to become] conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren;

 30 and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

 31 ¶ What then shall we say to these things? If God [is] for us, who [is] against us?

Get that into your spirit – you were foreknown by Him, conformed to His image, called according to His purpose, justified, and glorified!  You are glorified because you participate in His glory, that is, His past, present, and future glory – Hallelujah!

In Psalms 121, the psalmist expresses confidence that the One who tracks us will keep us and will not sleep on the job.

Psalms 121:

 1 ¶ (A Song of Ascents.) I Will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From whence shall my help come?

 2 My help [comes] from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.

 3 He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.

 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep.

 5 The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade on your right hand.

 6 The sun will not smite you by day, Nor the moon by night.

 7 The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul.

 8 The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever.

(NASB)

What amazing promises there!  Protection from all evil is provided by the Keeper of our souls!  He guards us coming and going forever!

For these reasons, Jesus tells us in John 14 not to allow our hearts to be troubled.

John 14:

 1 ¶ “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.

 2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.

 3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, [there] you may be also.

His promise is to prepare a room for us in His Father’s house, and to come back for us, to receive us into that place!  Praise His mighty name!

With the Christmas season approaching, allow your heart to be filled with gratefulness toward Jesus, who cares enough to track us for all the right reasons.  He who created us for good works will follow us and bring it to pass.

Let us pray.

Father God, thank You for caring so much about us that You called us, conformed us to Jesus, and justified us.  Thank You for forming us in the womb and for consecrating us to do good works in Christ Jesus.  Thank You for first loving us and for perfecting that love in us to cast out all fear.    Thank You for the angel of the Lord who separates us from unbelief and then encamps around us to protect us and provide refuge.  And most of all, thank You for the Good Shepherd, who cares for His sheep, knows His sheep, and protects them from all evil.  In His name we come with praise on our lips and thanksgiving in our hearts.  Amen.