"If you abide in My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free...So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed!" (John 8:31-32,36)

Archives for October 2017

Fresh as the Sunrise

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“I will sing aloud of Thy mercy in the morning; for You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble” (Psalm 59:16).
“Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for in You do I trust; cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You” (Psalm 143:8).

The poet J. E. Raneim wrote:

Are you weary, are you heavy hearted?
Are you grieving over joys departed?
Do the tears flow down your cheeks unbidden?
Have you sins that to men’s eyes are hidden?
Do you fear the gathering clouds of sorrow?
Are you anxious what shall be tomorrow?
Are you troubled at the thought of dying?
For Christ’s coming Kingdom are you sighing?
Tell it to Jesus,
Tell it to Jesus,
He is a friend that’s well known.
You’ve no other such a friend or brother,
Tell it to Jesus alone.

We would do well, when we rise in the morning and look into the mirror, to ask ourselves, “In whom is my trust this morning?”

If we look within, we’ll be distressed. If we look back, we’ll be defeated. If we look around, we’ll be distracted. We would do well to have a higher view of life. To be dismayed, we should look before. To be delivered, we should look to Christ. To be delighted, we should look up… up to the Face of our Lord Jesus Christ for:

  1. Salvation from our sins: “Look unto Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God and there is none else (Isaiah 45:22).
  2. Forgiveness for our many offenses: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9).
  3. Knowledge of God’s working in us: “For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).
  4. Assurance of God’s presence with us: “For He Himself said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
  5. The supply of everything we need: “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
  6. Protection until Christ returns: “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Thessalonians 5:23).
  7. Receiving us to Himself and our home in Heaven: “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3).

Let each of us, every morning, say with our whole heart;
 
When the sun rises over the hills, I will look to You (Matthew 28:20).
When my spirit seems void Your presence, I will speak to You (John 16:24).
When my prayers seem unheard, I will know You are listening (Jeremiah 33:3).
When temptations try to lure me, I will seek Your aid to resist (James 4:7-8).
When bad memories persist, I will know You can cleanse my memory (Heb. 9:14).
When my faith seems weaker, I will ask You for stronger faith (Luke 17:5).
When my weakness plagues my efforts, I will ask for Your grace (2 Cor. 12:9).
When I feel alone, I will know You are with me (John 14:18).
When I seem defeated, You will give me victory (Philippians 4:13).

The old German hymn, if we let it, will cause us to praise like this:

When morning guilds the skies, my heart awaking cries,
May Jesus Christ be praised.
Alike at work and prayer… to Jesus I repair …
May Jesus Christ be praised.
When sleep her balm denies, my silent spirit sighs,
May Jesus Christ be praised.
When evil thoughts molest…with this I shield my breast,
May Jesus Christ be praised.
Does sadness fill my mind, a solace here I find,
May Jesus Christ be praised.
Or fades my earthly bliss, my comfort still is this,
May Jesus Christ be praised.
In heaven’s eternal bliss, the loveliest strain is this,
May Jesus Christ be praised.
The powers of darkness fear, when this sweet chant they hear,
May Jesus Christ be praised.
Be this, while life is mine, my canticle divine,
May Jesus Christ be praised.
Be this the eternal song, through all the ages on,
May Jesus Christ be praised.

Will we ever learn to rise in the morning and look beyond our mirror to see the living Christ of the Universe waiting for us to come to Him in prayer? Will we lift our spirits to the presence of the Father where Christ is waiting as our intercessor—our attorney—to plead our cause and give to us the mercy and grace to bountifully supply for us our deepest needs?

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews. 4:15-16).

To Ponder:

  1. Are you struggling to find God’s help with trials that seem to surround you?
  2. Do you lack the spiritual strength to rise above and beyond your trials?
  3. Are you searching in God’s Word to gain the strength you need from Him?
  4. Are you memorizing and trusting His promises to you?
  5. Will you commit to being totally yielded to His will for every hour of your life?

To Pray:

Father in Heaven, every morning please convict me, give me the grace to repent and turn from my many weaknesses and sins; please cleanse me, fill me, and by Your Spirit’s grace and power use me today to reach others with Your wonderful Gospel of salvation. I ask this for Your glory in Jesus’ Name.

To Remember:

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, for Thy sake we are being put to death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:35-37).

East-West Separation

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“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will He keep His anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:8-14)

If you take a few moments to Google the idea of the universe expanding, this is what you will find:

The American astronomer Edwin Hubble made the observations in 1925 and was the first to prove that the universe is expanding. He proved that there is a direct relationship between the speeds of distant galaxies and their distances from Earth. This is now known as Hubble’s Law.

The galaxies outside of our own are moving away from us, and the ones that are farthest away are moving the fastest. This means that no matter what galaxy you happen to be in, all the other galaxies are moving away from you. However, the galaxies are not moving through space, they are moving in space, because space is also moving. In other words, the universe has no center; everything is moving away from everything else.

There is no separation in a person’s life like the separation from the companionship of a loved one. Different causes produce the anguish from such a separation: military service, emotional estrangement, divorce, incarceration, and death. These and others can cause a sadness and almost unbearable, crushing depression.

If we were only animals, separation would most likely not produce severe sadness. Some animal species are deeply affected by separation. The study of the African Elephant, as an example, indicates that the memories of these huge beasts are deeply affected by the death of one of their herd. But we are quite different from any of the animals God created.

We humans were created for a unique fellowship and communion with our Creator. The fact of sin—disobedience to God’s law by our first parents, produced a progeny of lawbreakers who through history have illustrated alienation from God. We have been alienated from that common-union for which we were created—the union of God’s Spirit in our spirit. That’s what originally made Eden perfect.

It is the Christian religion that teaches reconciliation of man with his Creator by means of a mediator. The Scripture says,

“God wills that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth; for there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (I Timothy 2:4-5).

You know, I think that David the King knew this long before Edwin Hubble made his discovery. After his sins of adultery and murder, the Psalmist was granted to learn the spiritual principle that God’s forgiveness of our sins is easily depicted as being removed from us by His grace further and further from those acts whereby we sinned against God and our fellow friends. The records of our sins and failures might be kept in the memory of friends—especially those against whom we sinned heniously. They may be kept in the records held by civil authorities. With todays computer technology they can pull up every speeding ticket, every act of tax evasion, and display it right in front of us or others. Look how the investigating agencies are digging into the political machinations of our political parties. Emails….telephone conversations, you name it. You are on record.

But that’s not so with your moral transgressions against the God of the Universe, if you have repented and asked forgiveness from Him. Look what King David says:

  1. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
  2. The Lord does not always scold us; He doesn’t keep His anger forever.
  3. He doesn’t always deal with us in accordance with our sins.
  4. He doesn’t always give us the penalty we really deserve.
  5. If we truly fear Him and repent of our sins He will show us mercy.
  6. God treats us like a loving human father would treat us.
  7. God knows everything about us—He knows every secret we keep.
  8. God knows every weakness, every character flaw, and every evil motive.
  9. And in spite of all that we have done to deserve His displeasure…
  10. God is willing to forgive us and separate our sins from us “As far as the east is from the west.”

Think of it! Meditate on the fact. If the universe as we know it is expanding, then the distance between our past sins and failures are drifting further and further away from us. We may be tempted to hold onto our past failures; but God has removed and is continually removing our confessed and forsaken sins away from us. He does this in order that we might serve Him every day with a clear conscience and a desire to allow Him in His power and grace to live through us toward others for His glory and the benefit they might receive by our positive witness to His grace in forgiveness. Now that is the mercy of God! Learn it. Grasp it. Cling to it, and rejoice that you are His forgiven child.