Month: January 2009
The God who comes near
And the Lord said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the land of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. Exodus 3:7-8
I have seen
I have heard
I know
I have come
One of the most captivating truths of Christianity is that we do not serve some far off, uninvolved God who is indifferent to us. Consider this gospel truth – “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Eph 2:13
He created the entire universe and died on the cross for my sins.
He rules the whole world each moment and hears every word that I pray.
He is enthroned in heaven and yet He is with me daily.
The voice of the Lord thunders from heaven and whispers to my heart.
In 10,000 different ways He displays His love to those who are His.
He sees
He hears
He knows
He has come
Oh, how I love Him.
His Bigger Plan
Little one don’t be afraid
For no temptation comes
But what has passed through My hand first
Sifted through My love
I seek not to destroy you
Nor to make you strong
But to teach you how to lean on Me
Is why this trial’s prolonged
If I had rescued you at once
When your first cries began
You may have been happier
But Mine’s a bigger plan
It’s required that you be broken
For My glory to shine through
And isn’t this what you’ve cried out
For Me to do for you?
Rest in My hand, my little one
Trust me to do this task
Conforming you into my image
Just like you have asked
And the little one responds:
Who am I to struggle
Against my Lord and King?
I’ve trusted my soul to You
I trust You in this thing
And though I beg You stay Your hand
Hear not my feeble cries
For I’ll never know the glory
Until I first have died
So let the flesh then gasp and wail
And take its final breath
As glorious resurrection follows
Hard upon this death
The land of affliction
And the name of the second he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.” Genesis 41:52
Joseph was a man who knew a great deal about affliction. Betrayed by brothers, accused falsely, forgotten. These are the things in life that can leave us scarred. But they don’t have to. God, who holds our times in His hand, can turn our affliction into something fruitful and glorifying to Him. This is what God did in the life of Joseph.
It is interesting to notice how Jesus responded to times of grief. When He learned of the death of John the Baptist, He retreated for a few moments alone. But He didn’t stay there.
It is one of those wonderful ways of God that He often chooses to make the land of affliction a fruit-bearing land. Our human tendency can be to isolate ourselves and nurse our wounds. Or rehearse our wounds, thus opening them again and again. It is often from these broken places that God will bring life. But we must be willing to move past the pain, the desire for vindication, the trap of self-pity, and begin to see the potential that exists in each affliction for God to be glorified.
Affliction is the common lot of all men. We may choose to be self absorbed and waste it. Or we may choose to cast ourselves, in the midst of the pain, at the feet of a loving God, to be a vessel that demonstrates His glory.
Here I am, Lord.
Rejoice
“And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them saying “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshipped Him.” Matthew 28:9
What an amazing moment this must have been. These women, who moments ago were expecting to see the body of a dead Jesus, are now confronted with the living Christ. Surely there must have been an explosion of emotions that surged within them as their eyes beheld the One they loved. One they thought they would not see again. In a moment, all their sorrow turned to joy. I hardly think Jesus’ encouragement to rejoice was necessary. What else could they have done?
But in this word, I see Jesus inviting them to join Him in rejoicing in an event that they could not even fully comprehend at the time. All they knew was that the One they loved was alive from the dead. In this they rejoiced. But Jesus knew that He had just defeated death, hell and the grave. The power of sin had been broken and the enemy of our souls had been conquered. Mercy and grace had prevailed.
Rejoice!
This is no mere exhortation to joy. This is the triumphant cry of a victor.
So let us rejoice in His victory. Today and everyday.
Going to the Father
As the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry approached, He began to prepare His disciples for what was about to happen; that He would no longer be with them. He spoke to them using words such as these:
“I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.” John 16:28
The only one who ever walked this earth that truly had a comprehension of the glories of heaven was Jesus. These are things beyond our ability to comprehend. We have never seen anything so beautiful as what awaits us there. Yet when He speaks of leaving this earth He doesn’t refer to Himself as going to heaven, but as going to the Father. For Jesus, who knew the reality of heaven, even greater than the splendor of the place He was returning to was the magnificence of the One He was returning to. It was never about a place; it was about a Person.
And Jesus says to us in John 14:3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am there you may be also.”
Streets of gold, gates of pearl…..beautiful stuff. But I await something far more magnificent – to see the face of the One who has loved me with a love beyond anything I’ve ever known. One so perfect and holy that my mind cannot comprehend it. But one day my eyes will see Him. What a glorious day that will be.
This is the day
“This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24
I will say again, that I love the sovereignty of God. I believe it when the Scriptures say that my steps are ordered by the Lord and that He has prepared good works for me to walk in. Each day is fashioned and prepared for me.
“Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.” Psalm 139:16
Here’s a potential difficulty…..do I believe as strongly that He made the bad days as well as the good days? I don’t think there is any way we can get around it. The Lord has specially planned difficulties for us; and that is still the day that the Lord has made. But can we rejoice in it? Can we see beyond the inconvenience or sorrow it may bring into our life and let it “work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory”?
Life is so short. Just a vapor. Just a few moments to love Jesus on this earth and share Him with others. Can we give these earthly days back to Him that He may conform us to the image of Christ? Can we not sacrifice a few days here in light of the glorious eternity that awaits us?
Oh Lord, I don’t want to be a fair weather disciple, only serving You when the path is smooth. For each day is a gift from Your hand, whether it brings gladness or difficulty.
Although I may not always be able to rejoice over the day, I can rejoice in it. I am learning that Jesus Christ is sufficient to make the heart glad at all times.
The work of pain
Life involves pain. No matter how much faith you have, or how deep your love for and trust in God, you will experience pain. Some pain is minor and easily forgotten. But there is other pain that is so deep that you carry the ache of it with you in your heart. During the busy events of the day it isn’t always at the forefront of your mind, but as soon as there is a moment of quiet, the ache returns. Seasons of deep pain bring us to a crossroads in this life of faith. Will we turn from Christ and seek solace elsewhere, or will we throw ourselves upon Him in greater dependency, knowing that our only hope is in Him?
I am in one of those seasons of pain. Life has taken an unexpectedly difficult turn and may yet become more difficult before it gets better. I carry the pain of it with me and tears are a frequent occurrence. I am anxious for a change in circumstances that will alleviate this pain.
But in the midst of this pain, does God have a work He desires to do in me? Absolutely. And God has mercifully allowed me to see some of the beautiful fruit of it. I would choose fruit without pain. But God knows that the sweetest and most enduring fruit is that which is born through tribulation. His wisdom is beyond my understanding.
But as for me, I have made my choice.
“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.” Psalm 121:1-8
Christianity – a profitable enterprise
I recently was given a book that explained how many ways I could profit by partnering with a certain ministry. Many, many ways. Things like this bother me, when I see people who are using the gospel to line their pockets or build their own kingdom. Everybody’s looking for profit.
So am I. Godly profit.
“For they indeed (our earthly fathers) for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He (our heavenly Father) for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.” Hebrews 12:10
This is a profit that not many are anxious to acquire. It involves suffering and patiently enduring the correcting rod of God. It is easy to profit by manipulating people into giving you money. It is much more difficult to obtain this profit that comes through the chastening of God.
How often our pride rises up when He corrects us. This is natural for fallen man, but as believers we are to learn to submit ourselves ever more entirely to the will of our Father, even when His will is to bring hardship or suffering of some type into our lives. His goal for us through these things is that we would become partakers of His holiness. If we really love God, the promise of partaking of His holiness will help us to endure the chastening. In fact, we will even find ourselves praying for correction in areas that displease Him because we have such a longing to partake in His holiness.
To be sure, our heavenly Father is good. Even when administering correction, He is good.
Godly profit – it doesn’t spend here on earth. But this isn’t home anyway.
But who do you say that I am?
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Matthew 16:15
He is my Delight 