Revelation 10:1-2

Rainbow in the sky
Covenant of life
The promise of God’s
Eternal love.
How could we have strayed
When You boldly
Light the way.
The rainbow
As glory touches earth.

Heavenly Father
Shine within my life
May my heart be refined
By Your love.

Rainbow in my life
Opened up my eyes
To see the mercy
Of His undying love.
He directs my every step
No more quarrels
With my past.
The covenant
Of glory touched my heart.

Heavenly Father
Shine within my life
May my heart be refined
By Your love.

"I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud. And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said this is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth." Genesis 9:13-16

Glory to God’s children of inheritance who comprehend the depth, the height, the length and breadth of His great love. His Word has been their encouragement and strength to stand. In His Word they have found deliverance from the enemy of their soul. As they have received mercy from the Lord, they have extended mercy. As they have been forgiven, they forgive. Love for the Father is the adornment of great beauty worn by His children who have received the inheritance of eternal life.

"I do set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth." God proclaimed that the rainbow in the cloud was to be a token of covenant between Himself and Noah. When the rainbow appeared in the clouds to light up the sky it was to be a reminder of the promise God had made to Noah and his descendants.

God had sent a flood to destroy all living creatures on the earth. Except for the faith of one righteous man, Noah, God would have destroyed all life. All mankind was corrupt except for Noah. Noah walked with God. Because of Noah’s faith, God spared Noah and his family from the flood that God sent to destroy life. After the flood receded, God would make a promise with Noah and his seed to never again send a flood to destroy all life upon the earth.

The covenant given by God to Noah is called a Noahic covenant. It is an unconditional covenant. There is nothing that mankind can do to cause God to change the promise He has given. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease. Because Noah had built an altar unto the Lord and had offered up burnt offerings of every clean beast and fowl upon the altar, God had mercy toward mankind. He declared the aroma from the altar was a sweet savor and He would never again curse the ground for man’s sake. God then made the promise to Noah and to future generations that He would never again send a flood to destroy all flesh.

The Noahic covenant would be the first unconditional covenant that God would establish with mankind. God would use this covenant to introduce laws to curb the sins of mankind. A government was begun. Rules were defined. God would define what His children could eat. Laws were established. Laws regarding the blood of animals would be introduced. Laws dealing with murder would also be decreed. This covenant was confirmed between Noah and with his seed after him. God said that when He looked upon the bow in the cloud He would always remember the everlasting covenant He made with every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

The Noahic covenant would be one of several covenants God would establish with mankind. Covenants express promises of God. Covenants awaken mankind’s understanding of their relationship with God. And though each covenant was of importance, truth and of help, none of the covenants expressed the fullness of God’s purpose for mankind. Not until the mediator, Jesus Christ, completed His perfect work, would the children of the earth understand the full significance of God’s covenants. Not until the deliverer came and set men free from the bondage of law, sin and death would mankind begin to appreciate what God had been establishing upon the earth through His covenants.

"And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Every covenant that God established was in preparation for the world to be reconciled back to God through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. God declares that He was in Jesus reconciling the world unto Himself. And as the Father is in the Son, the Son has been with the Father. Jesus is the Word of God, who was with God in the beginning. All things were made by Him. In Him is life; and the life is the light of men. When God spoke the first covenant into existence, Jesus was with the Father. When the rainbow appeared within a cloud, Jesus was there. When God created the earth and the sea, Jesus was with God. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending. When life began, Jesus was with God, and when all things end, Jesus will be by God’s side.

Jesus Christ is the covenant of far better promises. Covenants established truth, defined behavior, and proclaimed the promises of the Lord. Promises given by God prepared the world for the arrival of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. When the fullness of time had come, when the day prepared by the Lord had arrived, God sent into the world His Son, made of a woman, made under the law. Jesus was sent to the world to redeem the world, to reconcile them into right relationship with God.

To be reconciled into right relationship with God is to move into the new covenant of relationship with Jesus Christ. Those who move into relationship with Jesus are set free from the law. Through faith in Jesus they are entitled to their inheritance as children of God, as sons and daughters of God. And because they are sons and daughters, God sends to them the Spirit of His Son into their hearts. Who the Son sets free is free indeed. The Son breaks the yoke of bondage of captivity to the world and its lusts. The Son brings God’s children into the relationship God had purposed for mankind from the beginning.

Jesus is the mediator of a new testament. The old laws, the old covenants, the old testament created by God was a pattern of better things to come. The Holy Ghost signified through the instruction of worldly covenants that the way to the holiest of all had not yet been made manifest. God used ordinances, sacrifices, and truths that spoke to the conscience of mankind, but could not make them perfect. Not until the death of the testator, could the testament, be bequeathed to those of inheritance. Not until the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, could children receive their inheritance of eternal life, the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit of God within mankind that is perfect. God alone is holy. It is God dwelling within mankind that proclaims man is holy.

"And for this cause He is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth." Hebrews 9:15-17

Covenants of old, unconditional and conditional, were the will and testament given by God to mankind. The will and testament of God is of great importance to the author. The testament described to His children His purposes for them. Gave sound instructions on how to live their lives. To obey was to avoid much suffering. To not obey His instructions would lead them away from the Creator of the will and testament. To turn away from the covenants, rules, rituals and obligations, their hearts and minds would seek after the world, forgetting the great inheritance the Lord had promised. To turn away from God, who is the way and the truth, would cause them great harm, physically and emotionally.

Jesus is the testator, and upon His death, the will and testament became effective. The new covenant represents freedom in Christ. The old covenants represent bondage to the world. The old covenants are records of promises made. The new covenant is a relationship where promises have been fulfilled. The new covenant is now a relationship with God, through the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Covenants of old used rituals and regulations to keep children walking the path of righteousness. The new covenant is now the voice of God that speaks to their hearts the truth. God speaks into their hearts the truth of His great love for them. His love begins to transform their lives. They will discover that they desire to turn away from the darkness that has caused them so much misery. His love reminds them of His goodness. His love will be their strength to continue fighting the good fight of faith. His love was sent to them to take away their sins.

Living in submission to the voice of God. When love has taken up residence within a person’s life, they will be given a new heart. Because the will and testament has been activated, the new covenant is now in force. Laws such as circumcision of the flesh are now of no importance. People cannot hide behind outward physical laws, regulations and rituals. God looks beyond obedience to the law, to the heart of man. Do they love Him? Do they seek Him? He knows who belong to Him as He looks upon their hearts. Those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior have had their hearts circumcised by the Holy Spirit within their life. There are no outward regulations and rules that could be used to disguise any darkness of unbelief that may exist within a person’s life. God sees all. He knows all.

A heart circumcised by the Word of God will desire to be conformed into the image of Jesus. To walk in the darkness will begin to cause them grief. When the light of truth, the Holy Spirit moves within their lives, they will desire to be in the light as He is in the light. The commandment to love God has now become who they are. His love fills their mind so it is natural to love Him. Because they are loved they are able to love others. It becomes part of their personality. They will begin to realize that freedom from suffering is theirs as they walk in agreement to the voice of God.

Children who have received their inheritance no longer need to follow rules and regulations. Rules and regulations belong to those of the old covenant and Christ would then be of no effect in their lives. Those who have received the inheritance of eternal life now stand justified before God through faith in Jesus Christ. They are part of the family of God through faith in Jesus. His commandments have been written on their heart and to Him they give their allegiance.

To those who have received their inheritance, Jesus has become their peace. He has become their rest. He has established His throne upon their heart and they now realize the futility of looking to the world for hope, security, peace, love, or purpose. They rest from looking to anything outside of God’s kingdom of truth and righteousness. They rest in the knowledge that they are loved, and that the lover of their soul will be faithful to lead them day-by-day. To return to the beggarly elements of observances, rules and regulations would lead them away from resting in Jesus. And they realize that to bind one law upon their heart would require they would be obligated to all laws. Jesus came to set the captives free, free from law, sin and death.

"Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him, neither knows Him: but you know Him; for He dwells with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world sees me no more; but you see me: because I live, you shall live also. At that day you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you." John 14:17-20

The Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit is like the wind and cannot be seen, but it can be experienced within our lives. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son and moves in power within our lives, conforming us into the image of Christ. Jesus promised He would not leave us alone, and He has kept His promise. He comes to us as the Holy Spirit, bringing comfort, truth and purpose. The world that walks in darkness says they cannot see Him, but those whose eyes have been opened to the love of God, see Him. He lives within them, they live within Him. Those of faith see and understand that Jesus is the inheritance of great worth, of great wealth that cannot be measured.

Though the world that walks in darkness say they cannot see Jesus, they can see Jesus in you. As the sun shines in great power warming the earth with its heat, those found in Christ can also shine forth the light of God’s truth. The light of truth can be a light of great warmth that will melt a cold heart of unbelief. The light of truth can shine with such force that those who walk in darkness will be drawn to the light. Those in darkness will desire to know how they too can find rest and hope. The Son has risen within the hearts of the children of inheritance helping to lead others who stand in gross darkness into the light of freedom.

"And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: and he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth." Revelation 10:1-2

All of creation reflects the glory of the Lord. The Lord is the creator of the earth and seas, the rainbow and the clouds, the sun and the fire. And it is of great revelation in our lives when we understand that all of creation was formed by God and is in submission to the will of God. But it is of even greater importance to our lives when we understand that when we see the Father, we see the Son. When the eyes of our understanding are opened to realize that all of creation reflects the glory of the Son.

When the eyes of our heart are opened to appreciate that Jesus stands before us not only ruling and reigning over the earth but ruling and reigning within our lives, then freedom from the darkness is ours. Jesus is the Son that shines in great brightness; He is the Lord who rules over not only the earth and seas of the world, but over the flesh created of the earth that wars against the Word of God. He is able to rule and reign over the seas of our emotions that effect the way we behave and react. Though our emotions may have been like "the raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame," Jesus is able to still the storms.

Jesus is seen clothed with the cloud. What Jesus is clothed in, is now available to all who come to Him, who hear His voice and follow. Where He is, those who love Him are welcomed. He invites us to partake of His heavenly nature. His feet that are as pillars of fire burn in righteousness. The fire of purification, the fire that removes all that hinders our walk with Him, is meant for good. It is used to lead us onto paths of truth and holiness.

If you should see with the eyes of understanding Jesus stretching out His hand toward you, do not turn away. Do not be afraid to accept what He has to offer. Though a truth, understanding or an assignment may seem difficult, He has a purpose for calling out to you to partake. All things are working together for His good. Through every season God is faithfully guiding and leading you into the fuller truths of who you are in Jesus. Submit to His voice of purpose and discover a life that the world cannot understand. Experience being found in Jesus.

"And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled. In the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in His sight." Colossians 1:20