January 11, 2019 -- Isaiah 55:8-9 -- Reaching to the heights of the LORD

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV

You do not read God in light of your experiences in this life; you read your experiences in life in the light of who God is.

J. Ligon Duncan III.

Many an athlete has this motto: "No pain, no gain". We understand that it takes resistance and weights, persistence and hard work, to conquer fat and build muscles. Yet, in our spiritual life we expect ease. As it takes great discipline in hard, persistent work to build physical health, so it takes great discipline in hard, persistent work to build spiritual strength.

God of Heaven You are immeasurably beyond our comprehension and knowledge. Thank You for revealing Your thoughts and Your ways in the Bible. Forgive us for the times we have neglected Your Word. Forgive us for the times we have tried to pull You down to our low expectations. Thank You for Jesus Christ, the best and greatest revelation of Who You Are. Thank You for the Spirit Who interprets Jesus through the testimony of the Bible so that we have a growing sense of Your magnificence, Your love, Your splendour, Your mercy and Your glory. Increase our hunger to know You better, deepen our thirst for the things of God so that we are driven to examine Your Word and believe ever more fully on Jesus Christ and in Him find our hunger sated and our thirst quenched. Amen.

January 10, 2019 -- Psalm 1:6 -- The LORD knows

...for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

Psalm 1:6 ESV

The LORD knows. What a glorious Name. If we are totally honest we must admit we hide so much of ourselves from others. The fact is, if anyone really knew us, heard our secret thoughts and saw the things we do when we think no one is watching--well, our friends would be shocked, and our family disown us.

The LORD knows. He knows all of our sins. He knows and heard all our secret thoughts. He knows our failures--every. single. one. The sins of every sinner were placed on Jesus Christ. He became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God. It is not that the righteous are doing good in and of themselves. That is impossible. We are righteousness in Jesus Christ. Our sins are vanquished. Our guilt and shame are taken away. And Jesus gives us a new life, one stamped with His full measure of righteousness.

The LORD knows. When Satan whispers and reminds us of our darkest secrets and sins we can respond--"You are right Satan. And there is more besides. You missed many of my sins. But the LORD knows!" The LORD Who knows has given Jesus Who is able to save to the uttermost reaches of our sinfulness.

The LORD knows. We are fluctuating. We are hot and cold. We are afraid God's mercy might run out. So the LORD has given to the righteous, those who believe in Him, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God seals the blessings of God in each us so that we can never be snatched from the hand of God. I am so relieved: the LORD knows.

LORD of blessing and love, I can hardly look at You. I am so aware of the filth of sin that clings to me. How vast are Your mercies and how tender is Your compassion. I am grappling with the fact that You know me, You know Your people: sinful, wretched though we are. Awed that You have provided us the way of salvation in Jesus Christ. You have sealed this wondrous salvation to our souls by Your Spirit. Who, O LORD, Who is a God like You! Blessed be Your Name. Save me, O LORD Who knows, save me to the uttermost reaches. Amen.

January 7, 2019 -- Psalm 94:19 -- Jesus our Consolation

When the cares of my heart are many,

Your consolations cheer my soul.

Psalm 94:19 ESV

The consolations of the LORD cheer the soul. In the context of Psalm 94 the days are evil and trying, but the LORD blesses His people. These blessings, or consolations are: His discipline by which He keeps us in the right path, His teaching from His law; rest from the days of trouble and the knowledge that He will not forsake His people.

In Hebrews 6:8 Jesus is our Strong Consolation. In Jesus Christ we have this treasure: being rescued from the dominion of sin and adopted as daughters and sons. Even as some adopted children will rebel against their new parent, the conflict being this: to love the new parent feels like a betrayal against the very parent who abandoned them. So we too, as adopted children of God will sometimes act out and rebel, out of false loyalty to the world and our remembrance of our bondage to sin. Thanks be to God that the Spirit within us knows our struggles and our needs. He is the consolation of God placed within our hearts. The Spirit is the Consolation of God giving us the freedom and the blessing of learning to delight in our Father.

O LORD, if You have not been my help, my soul would soon have been lost in the land of silence and death. Jesus, You rise up for me against the wicked! Spirit of God, gift of the Father and Son, You are the great comfort of God, implanted in the deepest part of every believer. Thank You for bringing to mind the truth of God and bringing His consolation to cheer my soul. Amen.

January 2, 2019 -- Psalm 69:8 -- Jesus the Alien

I have become a stranger to my brothers,

an alien to my mother's sons.

Psalm 69:8 ESV

Jesus the alien. This word has taken on connotations of space men and so on. However, the word really means: stranger or someone from a different country. Jesus was an alien to his brothers and sisters because of His virgin birth. He was born of Mary and God is His Father.

Can you imagine the merciless mocking and cruel treatment He must have received from His siblings as He grew up? He did it to fulfill all righteousness.

In Christ not only are sins forgiveness, but God imputes to us His righteousness. We are under the rule of Christ--sin no longer has dominion over us. This makes us aliens, strangers to the people in the world around us. They are used to reveling in sin and do not understand why we keep back from joining in on deeds of darkness. In Christ we are aliens and strangers to the world and have a new family--the family of believers.

King Jesus, blessed be Your Name for all You have endured. Let all who love You live as aliens and strangers in this world even as we are beloved sons and daughters of our Father in heaven. Spirit of God, lead us by the Word into fullness of life. Amen.

January 1, 2019 -- I Corinthians 1:9 -- God is Faithful

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

I Corinthians 1:9 ESV

What a beautiful truth for the start of 2019--God is faithful.

God the Faithful gives us day and night, and all four seasons.

God the Faithful rescues us from the tyranny of sin so that believers are now under the reign and rule of Jesus.

God is Faithful and this truth shines from every page of Scripture, as the Spirit of God reveals this light to us.

God the Faithful pours out the gifts of the Spirit into our lives so that we have everything we need in order to respond to Him in faithfulness.

God is Faithful--so that in Christ Jesus not only do we experience the forgiveness of our sins, but every act of Jesus' righteousness, and all His obedience offered while He was on earth is credited to those who believe in Him. My frail and flawed obedience is not the basis on which I am delivered, it is the goodness of Christ that our Faithful Father credits to our account.

God the Faithful will bring all of history to its rightful conclusion.

O God, Faithful and True, there is none like You! May our joy and our song all through 2019 be: God is Faithful!. Spirit of God, in every day of 2019 as we read the Bible and reflect on Jesus, may the Faithfulness of our Father in heaven jump out at us, grabbing hold of our hearts and imaginations so that our faith is deepened and our trust in Him made ever more sure. Amen.

December 31, 2018 -- Matthew 11:19 -- Jesus Friend of Sinner

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”

Matthew 11:19 ESV

Jesus Friend of Sinners. What a precious name this is for those of us who know the depths of our sinfulness and the ever greater height, width, depth, and breadth of His grace. Those who meet Jesus and are His friends die to their sins and with Jesus rise to newness of life.

"The friend in my adversity I shall always cherish most. I can better trust those who helped to relieve the gloom of my dark hours than those who are so ready to enjoy with me the sunshine of my prosperity." Ulysses S. Grant

Jesus, thank You for befriending me, lost sinner though I was.

Jesus, thank You for sticking closer than a brother through trials.

Jesus, thank You for giving me Your Spirit so that I am instructed in the Word of life.

Jesus, thank You for the promise that all who believe in You are children of the Father in heaven.

Amen.

December 29, 2018 -- Psalm 2:6 -- Jesus the King

"As for me, I have set my King

on Zion, my holy hill."

Psalm 2:6 ESV

This is a Psalm applied to Jesus. He is the King Whom God the Father placed in Zion. There are two possible responses to Him: to serve the King or to join with the nations who so furiously rage plotting in vain together against Him. There is no middle ground. Christ is your King or He is the One you spend your life plotting and fighting against.

It is critical to understand that all flesh begins at the point of rebellion against the King, the anointed one of God. Unless the Spirit of God shows us our rebellion and by the Word convinces us who the True King is, we will be blind to our wicked allegiances and continue in our rebellion. As is His right the King will at the at Great Judgment cast the rebellious into hell and His servants will be given a place in the New Heavens and New Earth. What a day of rejoicing that will be.

Christians have no grounds for boasting. We did not discover the Kingship of Jesus. We did not choose Him--but He extended His scepter of power and gave us the Spirit Who conquered our hearts and convinced our intellect. Therefore all our boasting is in Him, the King of Glory Who shows Himself great and gracious.

King Jesus, it is not safe to follow You. As the Conquering King You lead us in this world by Your Word and Spirit so that people around us hate us because we love and serve You. No matter what happens to us, with the hymn-writer Chrisholm, we proclaim: "I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne, my life I give henceforth to live, O Christ for Thee alone." Amen.

December 27, 2018 -- Ephesians 6:14-16 -- Jesus Himself is our Peace

For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

Ephesians 2:14-16 ESV

Jesus Himself is our shalom--He Himself is our peace.

Jesus Himself is our peace--which means that Old Testament animal sacrifices have stopped. The blood of sheep and goats and bulls all pointed to the hideousness of our sin. Sin requires death. The animal sacrifices pointed beyond themselves and their blood testified to the coming One: Jesus our Shalom. Jesus' full and perfect sacrifice means the end of animal sacrifices because heaven has been opened up to believers. Those who believe in Jesus have their sins forgiven.

Jesus Himself is our peace--believers understand the sacrifice of Jesus does not appease an angry God, no! The God of Holiness and Justice sent His Son into the world to rescue people from slavery to sin and the curse of death. Jesus Himself is our peace with God.

Jesus Himself is our shalom, our peace so that all who believe in Jesus form the new humanity, people freed from sin and brought into the new family of God. Those who believe in Jesus are sinners, law-breakers, and the wicked--all of whom no longer identify themselves by their sins, but identify themselves as members of the family of God. He Himself is our Shalom, our Peace, because sin no longer reigns in our mortal bodies.

Father in heaven what extravagant love You have shown us in Jesus Christ--Jesus Himself is our Peace. Jesus, increase our faith so that we will more dearly love You and experience the peace which can only be found in You. Spirit of God increase our understanding so that by the Word we will know more and more of the Shalom of Jesus. Let our lives reflect Your glory Jesus, our Shalom. Amen.

December 26, 2018 -- Isaiah 9:6-7 -- Jesus the Prince of Peace

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and of peace

there will be no end,

on the throne of David and over his kingdom,

to establish it and to uphold it

with justice and with righteousness

from this time forth and forevermore.

The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Isaiah 9:6 & 7 ESV

Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. What a great title. Another Christmas is done. So many people had particular dreams and plans for how it should go, what they might receive and how they'd feel. With monotonous regularity such hopes are dashed. But not for those who look to Jesus.

Jesus is our Peace. He is the greatest gift God has ever given.

Jesus is our Peace. He is our sure hope for life that is full and joy-filled beginning right now and lasting into and through eternity.

Jesus is our Peace. Joy does not depend on circumstances, ease or suffering, plenty or want, rather joy is anchored in Christ Who has taken away the shame and reproach of sin.

Jesus is our Peace. He is bringing history to its rightful conclusion so that one day every eye will see Him and every knee will bow and every tongue confess Him Lord over all.

Jesus is our Peace. People cannot change the climate, end all war-fare, create utopia, cleanse the evil that resides in every heart. Only Christ can bring His healing peace to every wound in creation, peace among nations, peace arising from the expectation of the New Jerusalem, and peace that begins with a heart whose rebellion against God has been ended with forgiveness and renewal.

Jesus, You are the Prince of Peace. You are the Desired One of all nations. Blessed be Your Name. Through Your sacrifice we who believe are called sons and daughters of the Most High. Thank You, Spirit of God, for making this know to all who believe. Increase our peace. Increase our faith. Increase among us the awareness of the glory of God. Amen.

December 24, 2018 -- Psalm 27:4 -- The Beauty of Jesus

One thing I ask from the Lord,

this only do I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze on the beauty of the Lord

and to seek him in his temple.

Psalm 27:4 NIV

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,

nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by mankind,

a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.

Isaiah 53:2b-3c NIV

So, is the LORD beautiful or not? He is not beautiful as the world defines beauty. His beauty is not physical and is not used to sell products as our world exploits beauty today.

Jesus is beautiful in all His perfections: love, mercy, holiness.

Jesus is beautiful in all His teachings. He reveals the Father.

Jesus is beautiful in His sacrifice. He was punished for our sins.

Jesus is beautiful in the Word. Shows us the way of life.

Jesus is beautiful in Majesty.

Jesus is beautiful in His suffering. All through His life, then at the cross and in His death He endured it all with the joy set before Him of His Father's glory and the knowledge that salvation is thereby opened to all who believe.

Beautiful Saviour, I am blinded to all Your beauty. Open my eyes through the words of Scripture. Beautiful Saviour cause Your Spirit to percolate through every part of my being so that I am transfixed by Your beauty and will be lost in wonder, love and praise all this to the glory of the Father. Amen.

December 22, 2018 -- Matthew 1:21 -- His Name is Jesus

"And she shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS,

for He will save His people from their sins."

Matthew 1:21 NKJV

It is an explosive text.

First of all the text reveals the reality of sin. If you think you are without sin or faults, take a moment right now. Ask your spouse, or your most honest friend: Can you think of anything I have done that is wrong, or dishonest. You have a "get out of jail free card" to be utterly and totally honest with me for five minutes.

Second, the wages of sin is death. God the Father, Who is eternally perfect and holy, is right and just to punish sinners eternally and fully.

Finally, though He was not obligated to show loving-mercy, God does show His great loving-mercy in Jesus Christ. Those sinners who realize "Yes, I am a sinner" can call out to Jesus. Jesus' name means: "He saves".

In the movies when a man is rescued from sure and certain death, he will often look to his rescuer and say: "I can never repay you! I owe you my life." This is taken straight out of the pages of Scripture. We were dead men walking straight to hell and an eternity of pain and punishment that our every sinful action earned. Jesus brought us from death to life. Jesus: He saved us from hell for an eternity in the fullness of life where we can enjoy God forever! In response we offer our hands and our hearts, our thoughts and our words to Him in an offering of thanks and praise.

Who is like You, O God? The answer is: "No one!" You rescue ruined sinners. You delight to show mercy. Blessed be Your Name. Blessed be Your Name Jesus! Blessed be the Spirit Who takes the Truth of Scripture and by it lights up the sin-darkened corners of our heart so that we know our need for Jesus. Gloria in excelsis deo! Amen.

December 21, 2018 -- Proverbs 18:10 -- Jesus the Strong Tower

The name of the Lord is a strong tower;

the righteous man runs into it and is safe.

Proverbs 18:10 ESV

And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

Luke 17:6 ESV

Faith does not depend on me. Faith is merely my open mouth, hungering to be filled. Instead faith depends on its object. I can be a very weak man facing a huge army, but the strong tower will do its work and protect me. The fact is: the tower is strong. Whether or not I believe the tower is strong and can withstand any attack. Faith is what compels me to run to it and be safe.

Jesus is like that strong tower. Whether or not I believe in Him does not change the fact He is mighty and He is our protection. Faith, strong or weak, looks to Jesus and runs to Him and in Him finds safety. Faith does not depend on me, it depends on Jesus, the One in Whom I have faith.

Faith sees beyond the manger, beyond the talk of Jesus as a good man or a great teacher--faith sees Jesus on the throne of heaven. Him Who was crucified, now risen and seated in glory. He is the object of our faith. He is the strong tower. He is worthy of our whole heart, soul, mind and strength given in service to Him.Faith does not depend on me, it is focused on the One in Whom I believe: Jesus.

Spirit of God I believe. Help me overcome my unbelief. Help me to anchor my faith, weak as it is, in Jesus Christ, Who is Strength itself. He is the Christmas gift of love given us by our Father in heaven. Amen.

December 18, 2018 -- Matthew 1:23 -- Jesus, Immanuel

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel--which means, "God with us."

Matthew 1:23 NIV

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Matthew 28:20b

No doubt some are already humming the well-loved Christmas Carol: O Come, O Come, Immanuel. While there is great comfort in the name Immanuel, this name for Jesus is also a great warning.

Jesus is Immanuel--God with us for those who realize they are sinners and God is utterly holy. So Jesus calls for us to repent from our sins, turn away from them and trust in Him (Mt4:17)

Jesus is Immanuel--God with us for those who suffer because they believe in Him (Mt.5:10-12)

Jesus is Immanuel--God with us for those who find Him more precious than thousands of pieces of silver and gold (Ps119:72)

Jesus is Immanuel--God with us as one who is hungry, thirsty, naked and in prison. If we ignore His nearness in the needs of those He has placed in our path, then when He returns in His glory with all His holy angels, He will throw such people into the place of eternal punishment (Mt25:45)

Father in Heaven, already in the Old Testament You promised You would care for Your sheep, Your bewildered, lost, and wandering sheep. You have fulfilled Your promise most perfectly in Jesus Christ--our Immanuel. Jesus, You remain with us, giving to every believer the powerful Spirit Who leads us into all Truth. Spirit of God, give us eyes to see those in need, ears to hear their cries for help and hearts so dedicated to Immanuel that we serve others knowing it is Jesus Himself we serve. Amen.

December 17, 2018 -- I Peter 5:10-11 -- The God of All Grace

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong and firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

I Peter 5:10-11 NIV

Grace doesn't seem like grace until a sinner recognizes his need of it. Grace is just a concept or a doctrine or a hymn until a person so trapped by sin and bereft of hope meets up with the God of all grace and finds herself freed from the burden of guilt, shame and sin.

The hymn "Amazing Grace" is at its sweetest and most powerful when we have been confronted with our own sinful hearts and vile thoughts and realized, I am that wretch saved by the grace of our Father given to us in Jesus Christ.

The context of this Name for God--the God of all grace--is one where the saint has endured suffering. Suffering is the fiery furnace where our hearts and minds are purified from the deep impurities of sin. Such trials show we are as valuable as gold to God. His own Son endured trials and suffering and through these He is the only way of salvation and He shows us the way of salvation.

God of all Grace--blessed be Your Name. Thank You for the salvation You show us, guilty-sinners, that salvation which is found in Christ alone. Spirit of God when the depths of the vileness of our sins have been revealed to us may the high and wide and long and deep loved-filled grace of God lead us to the healing which is found in only in Jesus. This Christmas season as many who do not normally go to church find time to attend may they be captivated by amazing grace and fall on their knees in worship of Christ--born a child and yet a king. Amen.

December 15, 2018 -- Psalm 94:2 -- The Judge of the Earth

Rise up, O Judge of the earth;

Render punishment to the proud.

Psalm 94:2 NKJV

The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom,

And before honour is humility.

Proverbs 15:33 NKJV

A few days ago I was listening to a very acerbic Christian radio commentator. He was musing out loud that whenever one sees a person wearing the rainbow flag of the sexually immoral one should say something like:

"Thanks so much for reminding me of the judgment of the LORD.

Yes, He judged the world with the Noahic flood.

Next time He will judge the world with fire."

The title for God here in Psalm 94 is startling. He is the Judge of the earth.Too often we are prepared to judge others. We assume we are fine because we do not compare ourselves to the excellencies of Christ, but we find someone whom we guess to be wallowing in the cesspool of immorality and therefore compared to this person we are "safe".

Not so. Consider this: the Judge of the Earth sees into the heart. The Judge of the earth hears the secret thoughts of every person. So no one is "safe". All of us are exposed to and under the just judgment of God. Therefore the fear of the LORD instructs us. Therefore we confess our sins and repent of them. Humility before God and clinging to Jesus Christ, this is the way of life.

Judge of the earth--You know the thoughts of all people, and yes, the thoughts of my own heart. I confess how often I rebel against You, I confess I am prone to wander. Spirit of God anchor me to Christ--the Savior of the World and her rightful Judge. Instruct me in the way of Jesus. Teach my heart the way of obedience to Jesus Christ so that I will walk in the Light of Life. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You and helpful to others in the way of life. Amen.

December 11, 2018 -- Psalm 94:1 -- The God of Vengeance

O Lord, God of vengeance;

God of vengeance, shine forth!

(Ps. 94:1 NAS)

The righteousness of the upright will deliver them,

But the unfaithful will be caught by their lust.

Proverbs 11:6 NKJV

What a stark title for God: the God of Vengeance. His very Name and His presence is a warning. The unfaithful will be caught by their lust. The God of Vengeance will not show mercy to the wicked, who are defined as those who follow their own lusts.

It is one thing to appear to be righteous, so that the people around you think you walk with integrity. It is entirely another thing to be faithful, in word and deed, in one's heart and secret thoughts.

Christ is our Righteousness. Proverbs 11 continues: "But through knowledge the righteous will be delivered". It is knowledge of Christ, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world, which brings deliverance. Only when God looks on us and sees Christ and Christ's righteousness can we ever be delivered.

God of Vengeance, thank You that You have provided the way of deliverance. By Your Spirit bring Your penetrating light and truth to the deepest places of our lives so that seeing the revealed ugliness of the sin deep within us, we will urgently confess our need for Jesus Christ. Let us then be those who bear fruits of righteousness and win souls for Christ. Amen.

December 8, 2018 -- Psalm 119:68 -- Not understatement to say: "God is good"

Do good to your servant

according to Your word, O LORD.

You are good, and what You do is good;

teach me Your decrees.

Psalm 119:65, 68 NIV

The LORD is Good. That is His Name.

The LORD is Good and that can be seen in all He does (119:68)

The LORD is Good in giving us His law (119:68)

The LORD is Good teaching us even in times of trial and suffering (Psalm 119:71)

The LORD is Good and His law is good, to be valued above all the treasures of the earth (Psalm 119:72)

The LORD is Good and the source of all good (James 1:17)

The LORD Jesus is Good, in Him we have our shield and

defense against sin and all its effects (Mark 10:18)

The LORD the Spirit is Good, sent by Jesus to guide believers in

all truth (John 16:13)

You, O LORD, are Good. I confess that too often I am satisfied with good enough, or try to justify myself by saying something is "not bad". How far I fall from the mark of Your goodness. Jesus You are the example and the way of all Good. Spirit of God, lead me in all that is good:

through study of the Bible

by learning about and living according to the commandments

while enduring hardships and troubles that You have designed to refine me so that I will be more and more like Christ.

In response to all of this, Spirit of God, let my words and my actions, my thoughts and my life be an echo of God's goodness and lived with constant gratitude to God, the Father, the source of every good. Amen.

December 7, 2018 -- John 8:12 -- Jesus the Light of the World

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 8:12 NIV

Homes are decorated with lights of all different, bright colours. Christmas trees shine with white brightness, or eye-catching blues that dance and twinkle off the tinsel. Light in the gathering darkness of late fall and early winter is such a blessing.

Jesus is the Light of World.

He reveals the darkness of our sins.

He shows temptations for their tawdry worthlessness.

He is the glory of the Father made plain.

He and the Father, give the Spirit who shines in our hearts.

He lights the pathway of obedience.

He dispels the gloom with the bright vision of our future.

He shows the foolishness of rebellion against His reign.

We have seen His Light which leads us from death, sin and darkness into the light of life. From the fullness of all the blessings of the treasury of Jesus we have all received grace. Those who believe in Him have their sins forgiven. Those who follow Him walk in the Light of Life. Those who obey Him know that all the suffering, all the grief and every pain of this life is utterly meaningful, for it is producing in us a weight of glory in the light of eternity.

Jesus, True Light that gives light to every man, every woman, every child, blessed be Your Name. In obedience and with full love for the Father, You gave up Your throne in heaven and took on flesh. Who is like You? Spirit of God, help us to understand our Savior, Jesus Christ as the Light of the World. Humble us so that we confess our sins, hating them more and more each day. Direct our hearts and our thoughts in joy-filled obedience as we follow Jesus, the Light of the World. Amen.

December 6, 2018 -- Psalm 62:6-7 -- God my Victory! God my Glory!

He only is my rock and my salvation;

He is my defense;

I shall not be moved.

In God is my salvation and my glory;

The rock of my strength,

And my refuge, is in God.

Psalm 62:6-7 NKJV

The New Living Translation has verse 7 read:

"My victory and my honor come from God alone".

God is our glory, He is our victory. There is a blessing and a warning in this.

The blessing is the promise that no matter the assault, troubles, or enemies that surround us, God is our glory, He is our Victory. We may survive it and He is our victory. We may be wounded in the battle, but He is our glory and our victory so that we endure knowing we have been counted worthy to share in Christ's sufferings. We may lose our lives in the spiritual warfare, thanks be to God that He Who made us, in Christ gives us life everlasting that no one can ever take away.

The warning is this: when we achieve a victory or see the glory of God in our lives, we must remain on our guard. Too often after a big battle a Christian will fall because of the victory parade he imagines he deserves after that victory. A Christian may think he won the victory and does not credit God--he will be humbled!

God is our Victory, He is our glory. When a skirmish has been won, praise His Name. God is our Victory, He is our glory, when we are weary and worn, do not lose hope, but cling to Christ, the Rock of Your salvation so that in the height of the raging battle, and especially in the deceptive quiet afterwards, you do not lose the Victory that is yours in Christ.

LORD Jesus Christ, You have promised the crown of life to all who overcome temptations of the world, of the flesh and of the devil. Thank You for the Victory You have already won at the cross and then at the grave--victory over sin and death. Spirit of the Living God, guard us as believers in God our Victory and our Glory. Keep us humble. At every step of the warfare may our joy and our song be: Christ is our Victory! Christ is our Glory! Amen.

December 4, 2018 -- Psalm 18:1 -- God my Strength

I will love You, O LORD, my strength.

Psalm 18:1 NKJV

The LORD is our strength:

~when we face enemies (18:3)

~when we face death (18:4-6)

~when we face disasters (18:7)

~when we face His wrath (18:15)

~when we face surging seas of troubles and enemies (18:16-19)

~when we work to serve Him (18:20ff)

~when we are presented before Him (18:23)

~when we are surrounded by the devious (18:26-27)

~when we face darkness and confusion (18:28)

~when we need a word of Truth (18:30)

~when we feel broken He is gentle (18:35)

~when we are given the victory (18:37ff)

~when we have scheming political leaders (18:43ff)

The LORD is our strength because of Jesus Christ. We give thanks to Him because God the Father has lifted us from death in our sins and made us alive in Christ by Whose Spirit we are made strong. As often as we confess our sins, as often as we confess our need for Jesus He is our Strength, Rock, Fortress and Deliverer.

With the Psalmist, and with all believers, I will given thanks to You, O God my Strength. As the day is just starting I do not know how You have already protected me through the watches of the night, nor how Your strength will surround me this day--blessed be Your Name. Thank You for Jesus, my Strength. Thank You for the Spirit Who keeps me at the spout where the blessings of God flow out and the Kingdom of Christ is being brought about. Amen.