Tag: Love

Corrosive Hypocrisy

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  1. The hypocritical giver receives glory from men rather than open rewards from God (Matthew 6.1-4).
  2. THypocrite-300x150he hypocritical person who prays are recognized as spiritual by men and are rewarded with man’s recognition rather than open rewards from God (Matthew 6.5-6).
  3. The hypocritical person who fasts disfigures his face and gives the appearance of suffering and is rewarded with man’s recognition rather than open rewards from God (Matthew 6.16-18).
  4. The hypocritical judge picks away at the lives of others while ignoring glaring problems in his own life (Matthew 7.1-5; Luke 6.39-42).
  5. The hypocritical legalist uses man-made tradition to circumvent God-given responsibilities (Matthew 15.1-7; Luke 13.15-16).
  6. The hypocritical person is blind when it comes to pending doom and the arrival of the kingdom of God (Matthew 16.1-4).
  7. The hypocritical person is constantly seeking to undermine authority (Matthew 22.15-22).
  8. The hypocritical person obscures the kingdom of God instead of making the way plain (Matthew 23.13; Luke 12.56).
  9. They hypocritical person devours the resources of the defenseless under the guise of spirituality (Matthew 23.14).
  10. The hypocritical person secures adherents that take hypocrisy to a new level (Matthew 23.15).
  11. The hypocritical person is more concerned about tithing than justice, mercy, and faith (Matthew 23.23-24).
  12. The hypocritical person is more concerned with what people see than what God sees (Matthew 23.25-28).
  13. The hypocritical person is overconfident about his spirituality and discernment (Matthew 23.29-30).
  14. The hypocritical servant forget his master will hold him accountable one day (Matthew 24.45-51).
  15. The hypocritical person is honors the Lord Jesus with His lips but his heart is far from Him (Mark 7.6-7).
  16. The hypocritical person is a death trap to the unaware (Luke 11.44; 12.1-3).

Love must be without hypocrisy (Romans 12.9).  Wisdom from above is without hypocrisy (James 3.17).

Heart Obedience

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“For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.  For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.  For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living” (Romans 14.7-9). 

self-centeredOne common thread ties together Christians who differ over the way they conduct themselves before God.  While both the weak and the strong believe they are accepted by God, both have a desire to please God.  We ought to bear with one another in areas of Christian liberty.  The temptation is for the weak to judge the strong with a critical spirit and the strong to despise the weak for their rigid lifestyle.

The Word of God is unwavering about purity, sin, and the holiness of God.  It is equally unwavering about our approach to God as our Father.  A heart for God precedes obedience.  We know Him, believe in Him, and consider ourselves dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6.11).  We no longer listen to the seductive nature of sin so that obey it in its lusts.  Instead we present ourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and our members as instruments of righteousness to God (Romans 16.13).  We were slaves of sin, yet we obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which we were delivered (Romans 6.17).

Obedience from the heart includes two very important elements:

  1. We put to death self.  The world is about self.  Self-gratification, self-esteem, self-centeredness, self-indulgence, and self-happiness.  Self fuels idolatry in a world energized by the devil.  It is hoped that a Christian is able to see this as idolatry and die to self.  We do not need encouragement to love ourselves.  It is assumed that we do in Scripture.  Therefore the second great command admonishes to love others as we already love ourselves.
  2. We are alive in Christ.  We live and die to the Lord.  What is His will?  What esteems Him?  What gratifies Him?  We are His.  He created and redeemed us.  Therefore we seek to honor Him.  We love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.  We strain to please Christ instead of self.

Whatever we do, we do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10.31).  Our earnest expectation and hope is that we shall be ashamed in nothing that we think or do, but with all boldness, as always, Christ will be magnified in the body, whether by life or by death (Philippians 1.20).  None of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.  For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord (Romans 14.7-8).

Obedience from the heart also has a very important foundation:



God created us; therefore, we must obey Him.  He redeemed us; therefore, we are His.  Christ died and rose and lived again.  His death for our sin and His resurrection for our justification (cp. Romans 4.25) are foundational.

We are not saved in our sins but saved from them.  Our sin debt is not simply cleared away, but we have power to overcome sin in our daily lives.  Christ “died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5.15).   Jesus Christ “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2.14).

Jesus “bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness” (1 Peter 2.24).  For our sakes Christ sanctified Himself, that we also might be sanctified by the truth (John 17.19).  “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2.9-11).

Our obedience from the heart stems from the person and work of Jesus Christ.  Love and our identity as His children brings us to the place of unreserved, heart-obedience.  Our bodies are now the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in us.  We have Him from God.  We are not our own …there is no self.  We are bought at a price; therefore we shall glorify God in our body and spirit because they are His unique possession.  He possesses us (1 Corinthians 6.19-20).  The love of Christ compels our obedience (2 Corinthians 5.14).

When you think about it, there are very few believers who understand the Christian experience.  If living for self became the benchmark for Christianity, then we would have no shortage of these types of Christians.  But whole-hearted, unreserved obedience is the benchmark.  We find few on this narrow path.  “All seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2.21).  But all should seek the things which are of Christ Jesus first and foremost.  Judge yourself today by whether or not you are seeking the things which are of Christ Jesus.  Christianity demands that we come all the way to Christ not half-way or part of the way.  Anything less is hypocrisy.  May God give us the full measure of His Spirit and renew us in our inner man!

“Present your bodes a living sacrifice, holy, acceptably to God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12.1).  Rise up from the ashes of self and live for Christ.  He intercedes for us.  He prepares a place for us.  What are we doing for Him?  Whatever it is that we do for Him is only reasonable.  We respond to His great sacrifice with heart-felt obedience.  Nothing is too great to give Him.  Nothing is to much to sacrifice for Him.  It is only reasonable.  Let all of us “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15.58).

The Need for Righteousness: Obedience of Faith

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Why is Romans first among the letters written in the New Testament?  It doesn’t seem that chronology is the reason.  Galatians and the Corinthian letters were more than likely  written at an earlier date.  However, its placement in the New Testament makes perfect sense.  I have just finished preaching through the last half of Acts surveying the life of Paul.  Acts ends with Paul in Rome.  He was transferred as a prisoner from Jerusalem to Rome.  Jerusalem and Rome are central to the dissemination of the Gospel throughout the first century Jewish and Gentile peoples respectively.  Jews and Gentiles constitute all people.  There is no other category of people.  Either one is a Gentile or a Jew.

Romans reveals God’s nature and eternal purpose for all mankind (Romans 8.38-39), of the Jew first and also of the Greek (cp. Acts 28.17-29).  Nothing shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!  Romans teaches that the incomprehensible power of God to salvation is for everyone who believes (Romans 1.16).

Paul wrote to Christian brothers and sisters in Rome.  Some were Gentiles and some were Jews.  Some of them had been saved and filled with Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  Acts tells us that people from Rome were present at Pentecost (cf. Acts 2.10).  Indwelt and empowered by the Holy Spirit, they went back to Rome with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Paul said that the faith of Roman Christians was spoken of throughout the whole world (cf. Romans 1.8).

Romans is written to provide a theological understanding of the fullness of God’s plan of salvation for all mankind, Jew and Gentile alike.  Romans demonstrates that the plan of salvation is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Romans is filled with close, connected reasoning.  It is so tightly packed, that much is overlooked when simply surveying the book during Bible reading time.  The other danger is becoming too myopic when studying the book. It is a letter that should be read straight through. Individual paragraphs should be read within their context.

Significantly, Paul quoted from the Septuagint (Greek version of the Old Testament) when citing the many passages of the Old Testament Scriptures in Romans.  He did so because his audience was primarily a Gentile or Greek-speaking audience.

As already mentioned, Galatians and both letters to the Corinthians were written before Paul wrote Romans.  But the confrontations with the churches of Galatia and Corinth governed the content of those letters.  Romans is a cool, calm statement of the salvation of God for everyone who believes.  It is a universal book for a universal audience.

I am hesitant to say that one must master Romans, because it is impossible to master any book of the Bible.  I would say especially this book.  However, I do think it is important that you know its basic content, memorize portions of it, and know it very well.  For instance, until a Christian studies in detail Romans 5 – 9, I believe that they will struggle immensely with the Christian life.  I do think it is important for you to read Romans many times and meditate on it contents.  Romans, more than any other book of the Bible in my opinion, clarifies one’s understanding of the righteousness of God and the salvation of mankind.  My former pastor and seminary professor would say that instead of you mastering Romans, Romans should master you.

Very important questions will be addressed throughout the book.  Paul may state the questions explicitly, or the questions are implicit derived from factual data in the book.

  • If one is justified freely by faith alone, how can God be just?
  • How does the Gospel relate to the Old Testament Law?
  • How should a Christian view the Law of Moses?
  • What is the Christian’s relationship to the Law?  Does grace give us the right to ignore the Law?  If not, does one need to keep the Law in order to be saved?  Do we need to keep the Law to please God and advance in the Christian life?
  • Since God’s grace abounds even more than our sin, what will keep the moral fabric of our lives in tact?  What incentive does Romans offer to NOT sin?
  • What about Israel?  Has God cast Israel off forever?  Does the Church replace Israel?  Are the promises of God made to Israel fulfilled in Christ?  Will they be fulfilled at a yet future time?

These questions are all answered by Paul in Romans.  Paul calls himself the least of all saints and the chief of sinners.  He is a Pharisee of the Pharisees and yet an apostle to the Gentiles.  God led Paul deliberately through the Old Testament Scriptures.  The Lord Jesus Christ Himself taught Paul.  Paul paid the price for identifying with our Lord’s teaching and suffering.  Still, his overarching desire was to know Christ and be found in Him.

God breathed out this letter to Paul.  This is called the process of inspiration.  But inspiration is mysterious in so many ways.  God communicated through Paul’s experience, suffering, vocabulary, background, and education.  There are both divine and human aspects to the inspiration of this letter and of all Scripture.  The result is a masterpiece, a foundational document for the whole of Christianity.  How do we approach such a letter?

There are three major sections in the letter according to one of my favorite writers, J. Sidlow Baxter.  Baxter sees a doctrinal section (Chapters 1 – 8), a national section (Chapters 9-11), and a practical section (Chapters 12 – 16).  Some commentators divide the book into five sections dealing with the topics of sin (Chapters 1 – 3), salvation (Chapter 4), sanctification (Chapters 5 – 8), sovereignty (Chapters 9 – 11), and service (Chapters 12 – 16).  This division provides a good, memorable and alliterated outline.  Verses 16 – 17 provide the central thrust and theme of the book.  Paul reasons:  “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith'” (Romans 1.16-17).

What is revealed in salvation according to Romans 1.17?  The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.  That is, we are growing in our understanding of God’s righteousness as we read and study Romans.  Our faith grows.  We live out of a vibrant and growing faith in the righteousness of God.  This is an eternal quality of life that enables our acts of righteousness through the power of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God.  So the core doctrine in Romans is the righteousness of God.  The outline of the book I am using reflects this.  It is an outline modified from my reading of Romans and several other outlines of the book.

Romans 1.1-15 provide an introduction to the letter.  Verses 16-17 state the theme of the letter.  Then the body of the Letter is divided three major sections:

1.    The Revelation of the Righteousness of God (Romans 1 – 8)

2.    The Vindication of the Righteousness of God (Romans 9 – 11)

3.    The Application of the Righteousness of God (Romans 12 – 16)

Here are the three major sections along with a break-down of their sub-sections:

The Revelation of the Righteousness of God (Romans 1 – 8)

1.    The Need of the Righteousness of God (Romans 1 – 2)

2.    The Gift of the Righteousness of God (Romans 3 – 4)

3.    The Benefits of the Righteousness of God (Romans 5.1 – 11)

4.    The Contrast to the Righteousness of God (Romans 5.12 – 21)

5.    The Demonstration of the Righteousness of God (Romans 6 – 8)

The Vindication of the Righteousness of God (Romans 9 – 11)

1.    Election:  The Righteousness of God Vindicated in Israel’s Past (Romans 9)

2.    Rejection:  The Righteousness of God Vindicated in Israel’s Present (Romans 10)

3.    Restoration:  The Righteousness of God Vindicated in Israel’s Future (Romans 11)

The Application of the Righteousness of God (Romans 12 – 16)

1.    Righteousness Reflected in Our Duties (Romans 12 – 13)

2.    Righteousness Reflected in Our Support (Romans 14)

3.    Righteousness Reflected in Our Obedience (Romans 15)

4.    Righteousness Reflected in Our Fellowship (Romans 16)

While righteousness is the theme of Romans, this theme poses quite a problem for all mankind.  The reason this is true is because we are ungodly and unrighteous people.  Romans 1.18 states that “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”  Our problem is that we must be godly and righteous, but we are ungodly and unrighteous.  God has revealed His wrath from Heaven against all mankind for this reason.  Our default position is “condemned already.”

Therefore, Romans is a study on evangelism.  It explains how the ungodly and unrighteous become godly and righteous.  “The just shall live by faith” (Romans 1.17).  The Gospel or Good News is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes (Romans 1.16).  It is only by faith that the ungodly and unrighteous become godly and righteous.

Thus, we begin with The Revelation of the Righteousness of God in Romans 1 – 8.  Our first series of messages will key in on our need for righteousness as it is communicated in the first two chapters of the book.  This first study, examines the first seven verses of Romans 1.

Romans 1:1–7 (NKJV) — 1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. 5 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; 7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

These seven opening verses identify who Paul is, what the gospel of God is, and what obedience to the faith is all about.

The Identification of Paul (Romans 1.1)

“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God…” (Romans 1.1)

He is a bondservant of Jesus Christ.

Paul identifies himself as a bondservant or slave of Jesus Christ.  It is a privilege to be a slave of Christ.  While it was a great honor for a man or a woman to be a slave in the household of the Caesar or some other great dignitary at the time, how much more so to be a slave of the One for whom all things were created!  But, as a slave…

He is called to be an apostle.

Apostle literally means sent one.  However, it is used in an official sense in our text.  Paul is called to be an apostle.  Paul was called in the sense that he was invited to be God’s messenger of the gospel.  The understanding of called includes an invitation.

It certainly would have never occurred to Paul to reject this invitation or calling after his experience upon the Damascus Road.  As an apostle, he would witness firsthand the resurrected Christ.  All apostles must do so.  This is one reason why there are no apostles in the Church active today.

Paul brought forth teaching from the Lord Jesus in order to establish the Church.  Again, this apostolic doctrine or teaching was received by Paul firsthand.  It was then ‘enscripturated’.  As a bondservant, Paul lived out his function as an apostle for the sovereign will and purpose of God.  Paul was a bondservant, an apostle, and…

He is separated to the gospel of God.

What is the gospel of God?  It is the good news of God’s salvation for everyone who believes (1.16).  It is the righteousness of God which comes through faith (1.17).  Paul was set apart for communicating the gospel of God.  Paul is a bondservant, an apostle, and he set apart for the gospel of God.

Once you choose to believe on Christ alone for eternal life, you are choosing to become His bondservant or slave.  Once you belong to Him, you are not permitted to choose for yourself in life.  You cannot pick and choose what you will obey in the Scriptures.  The true attitude of a Christian is one of complete devotion (Romans 12.1-2).

The Identification of the Gospel of God (1.2-4)

“…which [this relative pronoun refers to the gospel of God] He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1.2-4).

Verse 2 indicates that the gospel of God was promised beforehand through the Old Testament prophets in the Holy Scriptures. The gospel of God also concerns His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.  Again a connection is made with the Old Testament.  We are told that Jesus Christ was born of the seed of David as the incarnate Son of God (v. 3).  The Holy Spirit powerfully declares Jesus Christ as the Son of God or God the Son through His resurrection from the dead (v. 4).  The gospel’s two necessary components are the death and resurrection of Christ.  

These verses remind us that the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ is complex.  He is beyond our ability to explain.  He is fully man as the words “according to the flesh” indicate, but He is also the “Son of God with power.”  He is fully God the Son.  We cannot understand how it is true, but we believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man.  He is the son of David and the Son of God.  Born a baby in a manger, Jesus came in the weakness of human flesh.  Raised from the tomb, He broke the power of sin and death.  He died for our sin and was raised for our justification (4.25).

The Scriptures are God’s gift to us, and they all speak of the power of the resurrected Christ.  If we are to benefit from that power we must search the Scriptures.  All Scripture testifies of Jesus Christ.  All Scripture is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

Jesus said that religious people search the Scriptures because in them they think they have eternal life.  However, they fail to understand that the Scriptures testify of Christ.  They are not willing to come to Christ that they may have life.

John 5.40 does not teach that Son of God is unwilling to give people like this life; therefore, they do not come to Him.  No, Jesus teaches they were not willing to come to Him believing so that they may have life.  God is willing; man is unwilling.  We must search the Scriptures for the resurrected Christ!  See John 5.39-40.

Remember too that the Scriptures teach that Jesus Christ is our Lord as v. 3 plainly states.  If Jesus is Lord, we must obey Him.  You are not your own, but you’ve been bought with a price.  You are God’s unique possession.  As such, you must glorify Him in your soul and body, which are His.  This is the Gospel of God according to Romans.  Finally, we seek…

The Identification of Obedience of Faith (Romans 1.5-7)

There are five aspects to our understanding of the phrase “obedience to the faith” in these verses:

Obedience is an expression of God’s grace (1.5).

“Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name…” (Romans 1.5)

Through the resurrected God-Man, Paul and others received both grace and apostleship (v. 5).  Remember that Paul is a bondservant and an apostle set apart for the Gospel of God.  He may only fulfill his work as an apostle by the grace of God.  This grace he received from God.  The apostleship of Paul is an expression of the grace of God.  Paul could not be an apostle apart from the grace of God.  Yet, notice that…

Obedience is an expression of our faith (1.5).

Paul’s grace-enabled apostleship was for obedience to the faith among all nations.  Literally, the phrase in Greek translates “obedience of faith” [see NASB].  Faith is the substance of things men hope for, the evidence of things men cannot see (cp. Hebrews 11.1).  Faith is your personal trust in someone or something.

Obedience is sometimes tied to faith in the Scriptures.  This is because faith submits to its object.  Faith in Christ is giving up the notion that there is another way.  No, He alone is THE Way!  Faith is the realization that God alone gives us righteous and godly lives.  Faith in Romans is submission to the righteousness of God available through His resurrected Son.  Our faith obeys.

Faith is available to all.

Obedience of faith is among all nations.  This fact is not surprising to 21st century Christianity, but it would have been very surprising in the 1st century.  The Gentiles or the nations were considered dogs by the Jews.  But the gospel of God has changed all that.  Paul’s gospel includes the Jews but also every other nation.  He refers to the nations as Gentiles.  He uses the words nations and Gentiles interchangeably.  Thus faith is available to us.  But…

Faith is for His name.

Obedience of faith is among nations for His name.  The name of Jesus Christ must be defined by His perfect character and work.  The name of Jesus Christ is what Paul and all believers live for.  We long to know Christ and the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His sufferings, and conformation to His death (cp. Philippians 3.10).  Thus, we look forward to our own resurrection from the dead.
 Obedience is a response to God’s call (1.6)

“…among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;” (Romans 1.6)

Paul speaks to all believers in this letter …not just apostles.  We also are the called of Jesus Christ.  We are called in the sense that we too have been invited, and we have come.  We too are obedient just as Paul was.  We too have believed just as Paul did.  Not everyone called will hear, understand, or believe.  But we have.  Many are being called, but few are chosen because few believe.  Many are saying, “Lord, Lord!” but few truly know Him.  The many are not chosen or obedient because they will not believe.

It is important that we obey and believe.  As believers we are urged to cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10.5).  Faith requires obedience.

Obedience is characterized by love and holiness (1.7a).

“To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 1.7).

Verse 7 now brings the letter’s salutation:  To all who are in Rome.  Obviously, Paul speaks of believers.  These believers are characterized as the objects of God’s love and especially set apart for His work.  They are beloved and they are saints.  Love and holiness walk hand in hand when it comes to Christian character.  If we are growing in love, we are growing in holiness.  If there is growth in holiness, there will be growth in love.

Obedience is demonstrated by grace and peace (1.7b).

“To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 1.7)

This verse speaks of two provisions for believers who are loved and set apart.  These provisions come from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Again, Christ and and the Father are One in this verse.  They are co-equal, co-eternal, and co-eval (of the same duration – both have always been; there has never been a time when One existed apart from the Other).  The Father is eternal; the Son is eternal; the Spirit is eternal.  Three Persons; one God.

Grace is God’s gift coming to us in many forms.  First, grace is God’s favorable disposition toward the believer and unbeliever alike.  Grace includes all we need in the work He has for us to accomplish.  It is a gift because it is unearned.  God bestows it without partiality to those who believe.  For believers, the grace is God for us; grace is also God in us.  Second, God provides peace.  Peace simply means that all hostility between God and the believer has ceased.  As the hymn writer put it, “It is well with my soul!”

Peace as an objective reality is now a part of our lives.  But the believer may often be unaware of the peace he has.  His condition does not reflect his position.  Nothing can take away the peace of God.  We sin, are chastened, and face great opposition and sickness throughout life.  Peace guards and protects our hearts and minds at all times.  However, we often fail to experience the subjective aspects of this cessation of hostility with God.  But whether or not we experience peace, we have it!

The reason subjective peace is so elusive for us is that we don’t understand that hostility with God has indeed ended.  Peace in its subjective sense is for everyone who works what it good (Romans 2.10).  While we have peace with God, we often find it elusive because of our disobedience, rebellion, and pride.

Unsaved people do not know the way of peace (Romans 3.17).  Peace is a result of being made right with God (Romans 5.1).  But subjectively, believers are often carnally minded.  The Bible calls the carnal mind death.  However, we can be spiritually minded and find life and peace, but only as children of God (Romans 8.6).  The kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14.17).

Paul prays that the God of hope will fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15.13).  At the end of Romans Paul states that ultimately the God of peace will crush Satan under our feet in a relatively short amount of time (Romans 16.20).

So, obedience stems from the grace of God.  Man responds to God in obedience by relying upon that grace through faith.  Therefore, we are called of Jesus Christ because we have responded to God’s grace through faith.

The obedience we offer by faith is characterized by love and holiness.  We know our obedience stems from grace through faith when it manifests the grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ in our present lives.

Prayer:  Father, teach us that we are your bondservants purchased with the blood of Your Son.  Convince us that Jesus Christ is both fully man and fully God.  Reveal to us the power of His resurrection in our present lives and in eternity to come.  Give us grace for obedience to the faith.  May we be willing to be set apart so that we might reflect your grace and peace to a world that is lost in darkness and at enmity with you.

Lost in Wonder and in Praise

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Why is relational evangelism so effective and cold evangelism very difficult? Why do some wives exuberantly express gratitude for their husbands while others are clearly disrespectful and soured over their relationships with their husbands? Why is it easier to love some of our children while others pose quite a challenge for us? Why do some people seem so zealous and effusive when it comes to their relationships with God while others are listless and apathetic?

Psalm 57.7 records the praise of David which reached the heart of God: “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise …I will awaken the dawn …For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens” (Psalm 57.7-10). Why is David effusively praising God when he is being hunted by Saul and must find refuge in a cave? The positive nature of this psalm is reinforced by the refrain found in both vv. 5 and 11: “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Your glory be above all the earth” (Psalm 57.5, 11).

The Mercy and Truth of God

We learn to pray for God to be merciful to us on the basis of our dependence upon Him (Psalm 57.1). David does not depend upon his worthy hiding place in a cave. His refuge is in the shadow of God’s wings until calamities pass him by. David counts on the mercy of God wed with the truth of God (Psalm 57.3). Mercy without truth is leniency. Leniency is wed to deceit. Genuine praise is the only appropriate response to mercy which reaches into the heavens along with truth unto the clouds (Psalm 57.10).

David found a literal refuge at a temporal moment of crisis in his life. He praised God for it when he could have complained about the fact that he had to hide in the first place. David looked beyond his temporal need to see the glory of God in the mercy of God. The truth was that David deserved judgment as all sinful men do. Instead, God demonstrated mercy toward David and all mankind by sending His Son to die for us. Mercy is only possible when one understands the truth of God’s commitment to His justice. “Grace (positive blessing that we do not deserve or earn) and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1.17).

David trusted in the fact that God is both truthful and merciful. That led to the effusive praise we see here. It’s something that doesn’t just belong in our private prayer time. It’s a statement about our God that everyone needs to hear and see in our lives – both in word and deed! It binds us together as believers. It awakens our desire for God so that we may delight in God.

The Exaltation and Glory of God

There is only so much that one life can do to exalt and glorify God. David recognized this. So, he turned to God to exalt Himself above the heavens …to glorify Himself above all the earth. This is the spirit of Psalm 45 when the Psalmist calls upon God to ride prosperously. “Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One, with Your glory and Your majesty. And in Your majesty ride prosperously because of truth, humility, and righteousness; and Your right hand shall teach You awesome things” (Psalm 45.3-4).

Psalm 148 carries the same theme. The Psalmist calls all creation to praise the LORD. Angels, sun, moon, stars, the heaven of heavens, and waters above the heavens must praise Him. Sea creatures, fire, hail, snow, clouds, stormy winds, mountains, hills, fruitful trees, cedars, beasts, cattle, insects, birds, kings, people, princes, judges, young men and women, and older men and children – “Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven” (Psalm 148.13).

Our prayer time must be a praise time as well. We must not only see the glory of God in life; it ought to be our driving desire to pray for recognition and realization when it comes to the glory of God in our specific lives.

If we are to glorify God, we must reflect His character to the world at large. Many times people speak of God’s goodness in a general sense; let us be specific. How was God good in your life today? Think of what you have in Christ even though you have sinned against Him numerous times. Think of how merciful He is. Think of the fact that He has drained the cup of God’s indignation toward sin and the sinner.

He has blessed you with His presence when you deserve alienation from Him. He answers your prayers daily. He provides mercy, grace, peace, access, hope, and love. He does so even when you choose to turn your back on Him. “Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy.”

We must understand the mercy of God firsthand. It’s not enough to see it in the lives of others. When we see God’s mercy and truth and how they are met together in Christ, we become truly lost in wonder and in praise. We are grateful; we adore Him! We express that gratitude and adoration differently, but it is expressed. We cannot help but express it! If we love someone, we want the whole world to know it. How much more so when it comes to our relationship with God! This is what Paul means when he writes, “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5.10). “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits” (Psalm 103.1-2)!

The exaltation of God is not our duty but our privilege! But it is something so overwhelming that we look to God to be effective in expressing it. “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Your glory be above all the earth” (Psalm 57.11).

Relational evangelism is much more effective because people see God’s truth along with God’s mercy as we compassionately unfold the Person and work of Jesus Christ. Wives respond favorably to husbands because they know beyond a shadow of a doubt that their husbands love them. A child becomes the apple of a parent’s eye because of the reflection of Christlikeness found in the child. Christians serve God with zeal that boils over because they are overwhelmed by the mercy of God.

You might argue, “Well, we should evangelize even when we don’t feel like it. We should endure our relationship with our wives even when they are disrespectful. We should love our children even when they are unlovely. We ought to serve God even in the midst of confusion about His providence.” But I would say that that’s the wrong approach. It doesn’t need to be that way. There does not have to be a day that goes by where we are not filled with the Spirit and lost in wonder and in praise!

Why Go to Church?

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Most of us understand that the question is not, “How do I want people to remember me?” Instead, we wonder if anyone will remember us at all! I admire my wife because she has a keen interest in her ancestry. If someone offers me something about my family’s heritage, I like to hear it. But my wife will seek the information out. So, what do we want our great grandchildren to know about us? What is the one thing that they should remember about us?

David wrote, “One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple …When you said, ‘Seek My face,’ my heart said to You, ‘Your face, LORD, I will seek.” (Psalm 27.4, 8)

Foundational Character

Three NT verses remind us that Abraham’s foundational character trait was belief. “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (Romans 4.3; Galatians 3.6; James 2.23). Therefore, Abraham found strength in his dependence upon God.

James 5.11 reveals, “Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and see the end intended by the Lord – that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.” Job waited patiently for the Lord to vindicate him. Job found strength in his perseverance in the Lord.

Numbers 12.3 says that Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth. Moses found his strength in complete dependence upon the Lord to fight for him.

James 5.17 states that Elijah prayed earnestly that it would not rain; it didn’t for 3 ½ years. He prayed again and the heaven gave rain. Elijah was bold and courageous because of his witness I the dark day in which he lived. So, Elijah found strength in the courage God gave him.

But what of David? Since David wrote many of the Psalms, we know that he had a heart for God. Acts 13.22 says that God found “David, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.” 1 Kings 14.8 says that David followed the Lord with all His heart. The hearts of future kings were often compared to David’s own heart. Many of them had hearts that were “not loyal to the LORD [their] God, as was the heart of [their] father David” (see 1 Kings 15.3). It was in the heart of David to build God a temple (2 Chronicles 6.7). David’s foundational character trait was his devotion to God. So, when we read the Psalms, we read them primarily to cultivate a heart of devotion to God. It’s not enough to find comfort in them; we must find a devotion for God in them. “One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek ….to behold the beauty of the LORD …Your face, LORD, I will seek” (Psalm 27.4, 8).

One Desire

David’s one desire was to behold the beauty of the LORD, to draw close to the heart of God. “I have loved …where your glory dwells” (Psalm 26.8). David found the glory of God in the temple. Our bodies as believers are temples of the Living God. We are never exiled from God’s presence. We are never carried away from God in captivity. We have the privilege of beholding the LORD’s beauty and seeking the LORD’s face wherever we are. It is sweet to do so with other believers in church, but we have the privilege of doing so at all times and in all places.

Psalm 42 speaks of a psalmist in exile. He is not David but of the sons of Korah. His soul panted for God as a deer pants for water. He thirsted for God, the living God. He asked, “When shall I come and appear before God?” David driven into the wilderness caves longed for the presence of God in the temple once again. David desired to worship the beauty of God’s holiness. God honored this desire with great delight.

What is your one desire in life?

Jesus Christ has taught us the Great Commands: Love God supremely, tap into His love poured out in your hearts, and then love others even as you love yourself! We don’t offer blood sacrifices today. We see Jesus! He is the substance of the Old Testament shadows. His sacrifice is the keystone doctrine of all others in the church.

Believers today see the justice of God against the backdrop of Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. This is something that Old Testament believers would have had difficulty grasping. Evidence for this is abundant. One need look no further than Jesus predicting His cross-work and resurrection on three different occasions in the Gospel of Mark. Yet it took His disciples by surprise.

We know the suffering of Jesus Christ as it is revealed in the Garden of Gethsemane. He drained the cup of God’s indignation for us each of us. The wrath of God poured upon Jesus so that the love of God should be poured out in each of our hearts. Amazing love! All of this not because we deserve it, but because He chooses to love us.

Our one desire is found in God’s love for us through the Person and work of Jesus Christ. Think of the mercy involved in the thought that the Father gave His only Son that we might not perish alone forever! “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:9–10)

So my desire is to attend church, be baptized, and partake of the Lord’s Supper. My desire is to open the Scriptures whenever believers gather. I might behold the beauty of God on a walk in the countryside. I am able to see His beauty when I listen to a sermon online. I see His beauty in my morning devotional time. But I miss no small measure of His beauty and holiness when I forsake the assembly of believers on Sunday or Wednesday.

One Delight

David’s desire became rewarding delight. It was in the tabernacle where David inquired of the Lord. Animals were sacrificed continually in order to remind him of the destructive nature of sin. David understood that God was the God of justice and that death was the price of sin.

Yet David witnessed God’s acceptance of the sacrifices. This acceptance gave David understanding when it came to the mercy and grace of God. He surely didn’t understand mercy and grace the way we do. We see God’s mercy and grace supremely through the Person and cross-work of Jesus Christ. However, David did see God as holy and loving. He responded to the revelation God gave him. It is in this sense that David is a believer, a saint.

A proper understanding of the evil of sin and the mercy of God offers hope and courage as David worships the LORD in the beauty of holiness. David is a realist. He is not living in a fantasy world. He doesn’t have an overly optimistic view of himself.

David had a private desire for God; he also privately delighted in God. But David desired to publically identify with God and other believers in the tabernacle. That public worship was sweet to David and offered him delight that could not be found privately. David understood that the worship of God was necessarily taking place in the assembly of the saints. This was approaching God on His own terms, not on David’s terms.

This also became the great equalizer for king, wealthy landowner, and poor carpenter. That is, the king must go to the priest just like the baker. All must look to the beauty of God’s holiness and find delight while they wait upon Him.

What is your one delight in life?

All of us would agree that nothing is worth missing even a glimpse of the beauty of the Lord when we gather at church on any given Sunday. I am troubled when I am even providentially hindered from missing fellowship with believers on Sunday. When I spent weeks in the hospital and in recovery from my cancer, I was all out of sorts. That time taught me the value of church attendance. It is something we take for granted. I never ask, “How many times should we go to church in a given week?” It seems absurd for me to think of it that way. We must have more opportunities to open our mouths wide so that the Lord may fill them (Psalm 81.10).

Church prepares us for Heaven. Church lifts us up from our down-below world. Church gives us eternal perspective in an earthly, temporal context. Church isn’t about the order of service, the pastor’s view on politics or controversial theology. Church is a foretaste of Heaven. It enable the glory and pursuit of holiness in our lives. It is the place where we sing and express our gratitude coupled with joy. Church assures us of the hope of Heaven, unites us with saints of the past, and teaches us to pursue the things of the Spirit. Church will once again invite us to look up to God and pray, “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You” (Psalm 73.25).  So, if my great grandchildren are to remember me, I’d like them to remember me as someone who was all about the church of the Lord Jesus Christ during his earthly life.

“One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.”

Psalm 27.4

Worldliness – Chapter 3

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51qp2VlKXFL._SL175_We are subjected to music in every public setting imaginable.  This music has consequences.  God created us to be musical beings.  It should be involved in our times of worship here in this world (Eph 5.19).  It will be a part of our eternal worship (Revelation).

The author maintains God likes all kinds of music.  No single genre of music is better than all the rest in reflecting the glory of God.  Music is more dangerous than we realize.  Listening to music without discernment is dangerous.

Melody, harmony, and rhythm are the three major components of music.  Music by itself is unable to communicate specific doctrine.  But music does greatly affect our emotions.  Listening to a playing music alters how are brains and bodies function.  Whether or not people choose to acknowledge it, music moves us in both negative and positive directions.

Music tends to move us more if our minds are focused on it.  Many times music in the background goes unnoticed by us.  However, music is a carrier.  It gets its meaning from that which surrounds it.  Music carries content, context, and culture.

Music conveys content (lyrics).  Philippians 4.8 should dictate content in the music we write and listen to.  Christians must know what songs mean and what the words are saying.  Tuning out words and simply enjoying the music will lead to a more worldly form of worship on Sunday.  Music with ungodly lyrics will bring us to love things God hates.  We are foolish to repeatedly expose ourselves to lyrics which are seductive and filled with sin.  Profanity, sensuality, rebellion , and other worldly attitudes must not even be named once among believers.

Music conveys context.  The past shapes the way we view music.  A traditional hymn may evoke memories of church during childhood for some and rigid formalism for others.  Some find it difficult to separate the music they hear from their particular background.  Music is so influential that it can carry us into a worldly context.

Music is different in many cultures.  Cultural associations and meanings may change.  While we can relate to our culture without being worldly, we must realize that every culture is worldly.  Many of the songs at the top of the charts are filled with ungodliness and worldliness.  Music and its associations do not create sin in our hearts.  These simply reveal what is already in our hearts.  The sensual man listens to sensual music.  The man filled with self-pity listens to melancholy music.

Jesus gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, (Galatians 1:4)  This present evil age has its musicians.  What might be fine for some will be sin for others.  Two significant questions:  1) Does the music you listen to lead you to love the Savior more or cause your affections for Christ to diminish?  2) Does the music you listen to lead you to value an eternal perspective or adopt a mindset of this present evil age?

The effect of ignorance is compromise.  God gave us music to make us happy and holy.  We must have discernment and examine the music we listen to or we will be influenced by a godless culture.  Does your music tempt others to sin?  How are you demonstrating love for others by the music you listen to?  He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed. (Proverbs 13:20)

Don’t worship at the altar of innovation and creativity rather than the foot of the cross.  Listening to music whenever you want is a form of bondage rather than liberty.  Obsession over cutting-edge music keeps us from Bible study, prayer, personal reflection, and serving others.  What does the time you invest say about the hold music has over you?  Music is more than a hobby, it has become an idol for many.  Passion for music increases while passion for Christ wanes.

For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame— who set their mind on earthly things. (Philippians 3:18–19)  Why would we associate ourselves with music loved by enemies of the cross

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9)

  1. Evaluate your current intake of music.
  2. Evaluate the quality and quantity of music intake.
  3. Ask spiritual authorities to help you discern if this is a problem.
  4. Delete or throw away music you’ll listen to only if you backslide.
  5. Listen to music with others …your family.  Share it.
  6. Make music rather than listen to it.  Obey God’s command to sing.
  7. Go on a music fast.  It may show you the hold music has over you.
  8. What about the financial resources you commit to music?

Music that stands the test of time is worth giving our attention to.  The author believes we should experiment with different genres of music.  This betrays the fact that he believes that there is something redeeming about these genres.

Music is a precious gift but it makes a terrible god.  Jesus died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. (2 Corinthians 5:15)

The Discipline of Self-Loathing

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Broken and Contrite Christianity

“The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)

David begins Psalm 34 by testifying to LORD’s work in his life:  The LORD saved David from fear and foe alike (4-6).  He surrounded David with His presence (7).  Then David takes what he has learned and teaches other believers that the LORD can do the same for them.  The LORD can meet your needs (8-10) and grant you a long and prosperous life (11-15).  He can keep you safe and secure from your enemies (17, 20-22).  But the unrighteous must realize that God is against them; His anger and condemnation hover over them (16, 21).

I think verse 18 is the key to this Psalm.  Broken and contrite Christianity always wins the favor of God.  Arrogance and an aggressive overbearing spirit meets only with the fury of God.

Basic to this Psalm (and many others) are two groups of people mentioned in it:  the righteous and the wicked.  The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous.  Our afflictions are numerous, but those who cause them and hate us will be held guilty by God (21).

We struggle because we are so aware of how weak we truly are.  Most of us are well aware of the fact that we have problems.  So much so that we really cannot grasp the benefits and promises God has provided for us here.  And yet we shouldn’t think that God does not allows us to be broken and contrite in order to receive these daily benefits.  So, we need to first understand what it means to have a broken and contrite heart or spirit.  

Contrition

Generally speaking, we should be cheerful and joy-filled when it comes to life.  “A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken” (Pv 15.13).  I surely don’t want a broken and dejected spirit like the one described in this Proverb!

Perhaps the word contrite clarifies things for us.  This broken and contrite spirit is aware of his or her sin.  He or she is coming face-to-face with the fact that they deserve the fury of God and wonder how they could ever have the favor of God.

David will say in Psalm 34.8:  “For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.”  Again, in Psalm 40.12 David says, “My iniquites have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up.”  The sense here is the self-loathing we feel because we remember our iniquities, even our abominations before God (Ezek 36.31).  We will never forget what God has forgiven us even though His fury has been absorbed by the Lord Jesus Christ.  That seems to be contrition to me …it certainly isn’t presumption.

You don’t have to commit great abomination before God in order to know deep brokenness and contrition.  But those forgiven by God for great iniquity will certainly have an increased hatred for it.  And yet none of us can really stand before God with our heads unbowed and souls unbloodied.  We look at our lives and see how far from God we were …how utterly selfish we were, and we can’t help but recoil in the face of God’s great deliverance.

I’m reading through Job right now.  I don’t think I know anyone who approaches Job’s integrity.  Not many people would ever think to refer to us as perfect and upright.  Yet that’s how he is described.  But how did Job describe himself:  “Behold, I am vile …I abhor myself!”  (cf. Job 40.4; 42.6)  You don’t hear that in our self-esteem saturated society.

If we would know God’s near presence and daily deliverance, we must abhor ourselves for our sins.  It is quite humbling to remember just how often we are disobedient and rebellious toward God.  We acknowledge that God is absolutely right when His justice demanded such a sacrifice as the death of His Son for my sin …your sin.

Arrogant sinners don’t believe in a God of Justice.  Their god is never displeased and always gives them what they want.  He won’t send them to an eternal Hell.  Such a thing could never exist if God is truly loving and merciful.  David acknowledges after a year of torment over his murder and adultery cover-up:  “Against You, You only have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight – that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge” (Psalm 51.4).

Arrogance kills the Gospel message; contrition prepares the heart for its entrance.  Contrite people say, “What must I do to be saved?”  Arrogant people say, “What need have I to be saved?”  If you wonder at the people who without batting an eye reject your witness, then just remember arrogance is the main reason why they are steely hard.

The Benefit of Brokenness

“The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart” (34.18a).  God resists the proud and arrogant, but He gives grace to the broken and contrite …He is near them.  This is objective fact whether one feels it is true or not.  Sometimes we should pray, “Lord I believe this; help my unbelief.”

“And saves such as have a contrite spirit” (34.18b).  The LORD delivers those who say, “I have sinned, and perverted what was right, and it did not profit me” (Job 33.27).  His life shall see the light (Job 33.28).  God’s deliverance is everlasting …there will be no more shame or disgrace.

Our contrition is a sign that God’s love is upon us.  The LORD is near us.  God has taken away the arrogance and pride and given us humility in its truest form.  I think because people are taught in many evangelical churches that God basically winks at sin, when they do have a heavy dose of contrition, they question their salvation; they cannot rest.  But without contrition, we would never ask God the right questions in prayer.

“The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)

Resolve to Adore Christ This Year

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Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is as strong as death, jealousy as cruel as the grave; its flames are flames of fire, a most vehement flame.  Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it.  If a man would give for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly despised.  -Song of Solomon 8.6-7

Many believe that the LORD is not mentioned by name in the Song of Solomon.  But if you read the verses above in a NKJV, you will find a marginal notation.  Mine explains that the phrase, “A most vehement flame” in v. 6 is literally A flame of Yah, or a poetic form of YHWH, the LORD.  

The primary application of the Song of Solomon is physical intimacy in marriage.  However, many of the older commentators applied the book to the church’s relationship with Christ.  Charles Spurgeon’s commentary on the Song of Solomon is replete with these parallels.

It is true that we are reading the church back into the Song of Solomon because it was written some 900 years before the church was established.  But I believe there is warrant for us to do so when we consider Ephesians 5.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

-Ephesians 5.26-27

So I am applying these verses in a secondary way as we consider the new year.  Not as a wife to a husband but as a church to Christ.  I would ask that you look to your Savior at the beginning of 2013 and make one resolution and one affirmation.

Resolve to be the object of Christ’s affections and continual care (8.6).  Affirm that you cannot bear the thought of having less than a supreme unalterable love for Christ (8.6-7).

Our New Year’s Resolution

“Set me as a seal upon Your heart, as a seal upon Your arm.”  This is a two-fold seal.  A medallion over the heart is akin to a locket with the picture of someone you love.  It is worn on a necklace close to your heart.  The seal on the arm is visible.  It is something that tells the world that I belong to Him.  The wedding band is useful for this purpose in our culture.

We cry out to our Lord that we are resolved to be close to His heart and we desire that He keep us visibly before Him and the Heavenly Host.  What better way than to make manifest the scars from His death on the cross.  They will be visible for all to see when He returns in the revelation of His glory.  All the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him (Rev 1.7).

Is Christ close to your heart?  Is He the object of your adoration?  His love is as strong as death for you.  Seems odd to say this, but when we pause to think about how death is irreversible, it makes sense.  We can do nothing to call a love one back from the grave.  And the pain and sorrow that causes is terrible.  But the love Christ has for His bride, the Church, is irreversible as well.  Nothing can take us from Him.

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.  I and My Father are one.

-John 10.27-30

Our prayer should include adoration such as calling to God to set us as a seal upon heart and arm.  We should express our delight in His unchanging and unwavering love for us.  While a wife yearns for the love and devotion of her husband, it is infinitely more important that we yearn for the love and devotion of our Savior – even though we have it.

“See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands…” (Isaiah 49:16)  Open your mouth wide this year, and God will fill it.  Ask what you will, and it shall be done for you.  Resolve to be the object of Christ’s affections and continual care!

Our New Year’s Affirmation

The text goes on to tell us that jealousy is as cruel as the grave for us as the bride of Christ.  There is no escape.  It is like a devouring fire.  Our God is a consuming fire!  We remain unsatisfied with where we are and who we are.  We yearn for the day when we are with Him.  It is a flame which cannot be quenched or satisfied until we see Him!

Many waters cannot quench our love for Him.  The floods cannot put out the flame He has ignited in our hearts.  If an exchange were made for wealth, such love would be despised.  But our God’s love is unchanging!

Let me challenge you to set your hearts and your adoration upon Christ this year.  Count all things loss for the knowledge of Him.  Don’t allow the floods of persecution, trial, sickness, or sorrow drown it.  Love the LORD Jesus Christ!

All your security and happiness depend upon the unchanging love that God has for you.  God is love!