Meditation 26 Perfect Perfection

“God hath all life, goodness, blessedness, in and of himself…He is the alone fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and to whom are all things…He is most holy in all his counsels, in all His works, and in all His commands.” Those words blow my mind! I’ve read them over and over throughout the years, but they have never stopped commanding my attention. These high words describing God come from the Westminster Confession of Faith. Though they were penned 500 years ago, the God they speak of has not changed and so neither has their truth or gravity. 

Belief in the perfect perfection of God is awe-inspiring. God has never made a mistake or commanded something out of a bad motive. He has never fallen asleep at the wheel nor has He ever whined or rolled His eyes for having to deal with us.

We could not be further from perfect perfection. No one will ever say of me that all my advice is sound and all of my actions are flawless. I am filled with feelings of arrogance and weakness. I disappoint myself and the people around me. 

All of our dark self-hating and neighbor-envying only serves to remind us that in God and only in Him, lies all life, goodness and blessedness, light and wisdom, hope and truth. And we are actually driven to the goodness and perfection of God by our sin. Do we not find that the knowledge of our sinful selves actually makes the radiance of His perfection shine brighter? The dark backdrop of our impurities causes the diamond of His goodness to be seen for how it really is - the fountain of all goodness. 

Dear reader, let your sin, shame and brokenness be catalyst to treasure the perfection and goodness of God. Let the contrast between Him and you bring you to the foot of His cross in total awe that He is yours. 

Father, in You is found the perfection of happiness and the fountain of life. In Your goodness, cause even the blackness of my sin to magnify the flawlessness of your beauty.

Meditation 25 Hard Sayings of the Bible

There are many “hard sayings” in the Bible. Some of the hard sayings are hard because they are difficult to understand what they mean. What is the deal about head covering or  the way Jesus talked to the Phoenician? Those are hard to understand. But there are other hard sayings in the Bible which are hard because of the demands they place upon us. 

One such hard saying comes from Jesus himself. He did not mince words when He said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). Note that Jesus here does not call us to go out of our way looking for crosses to carry. He does not set poverty up over wealth or hardship over comfort. But He does call us to pick up the cross He has laid in our path. 

Self-denial and taking up your cross is not that same as asceticism. What Jesus is saying here is that we must end self’s rule over our own lives. I am convinced that the last great enemy of the soul is self itself.

The positive side of self-denial is living for Christ and His interests. Whenever the interests of God; the fame and promotion of His name, the everlasting life He offers and the glories of Christ are not what our thoughts, actions and motives are promoting, we are not taking up our cross and following Jesus. Self sits on the throne. 

Thats why the Bible says, whatever you do, even the simplest of tasks like eating and drinking, do it all for the Glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). This is what it mean to deny yourself, take up your cross and following Jesus. 

Father, help me not to carry any load or cross that you have not given me. But wherever my self interests conflict with yours, may I deny myself and follow you. 

Meditation 24 No lists, Just a Door

Have you ever found yourself speaking of the Gospel in a way that makes it sound like Jesus is there as a kind of spiritual social welfare package?  We say things like, Come to Jesus and He will bring real meaning in your life. Are you lonely? Come to Jesus and He will be your best friend. Do you lack direction? Come to Jesus and He will give you purpose. I’m sure all these things are true; Jesus really does comfort us and give us meaning. But are they the reasons we come to Him? Do we come to Jesus for the “benefits package” He offers? 

There are people who will do anything to gain the blessings God has. They will faithfully attend church, give their money, go on long pilgrims to special conferences, even abuse their own bodies to gain the pleasure of God and receive His favor. I have met people who have given up music, watching TV, closed down their Facebook account, and in their stead performed long fasts and prayed on their knees just to get the Almighty to smile upon them. 

Jesus, however, offers us no preconditions. He did not institute seven things to stop doing before you can have Him as you own. He did not list four attitudes or a list of qualities you need to have if you want Him to pay attention to you. 

Jesus simply said that He was the Door, the only door to life, abundant life. Jesus said, “All who enter through me will be saved and the will find green pastures” (John 10:9). It is through the Door Jesus, not our goodness, worthiness, fasts or morality. Nor do we try to climbing over the wall to find purpose or direction in our lives. We must come to the Door Jesus and enter through Him. 

Taking a selfie in front of the door doesn't count. Nor does admiring how lovely it is. We must enter through Jesus if we are to find green pastures. 

Father, I have spent enough of my time seeking what you offer without seeking you. I come to you through the way you have provided, with nothing to offer, clinging to the promise that you open the door to all who come through Jesus. 

Meditation 23 A Time for Weeping

The destruction of Jerusalem in 587BC by Babylon was swift and total. The once great City of God; Mount Zion, the city psalms were written about, lay in waste. Her young ladies were abused, her walls turn down. The gates of the city were destroyed, and the roads torn-up. The people that once joyfully filled the streets of Jerusalem were scattered like sheep without a shepherd, and the City of the Kings was now like a widow. 

And the Prophet wept bitterly. 

There is an entire book in the Bible given over to the subject of mourning called “Lamentations”; The Book of Weeping, The passionate expression of sorrow and loss. This book of grieving was to be read publicly by the people of God. 

During times of loss; the death of a loved one, the public shame of divorce, a child making wrong choices, the loss of property, an accident that leaves us impaired, sexual abuse, etc, I worry that we are given cheep slogans, and little jingles when what we really need is for someone to give us a pen and paper and say, “Lament! grieve out your loss-heavy tears to the Lord!” 

Have you been able to properly grieve the loss in your life? I would encourage you dear reader, in the freedom of Christ, if you have un-dealt with loss, bring your lamentations before the Lord. Jeremiah wept over Jerusalem, Jesus was called a man of sorrows, and wept over the rejection of His people, if you are weeping today, remember you are in the company of the great men of God. 

In the midst of Jeremiah’s grieving, he hinged his lamentation with these words, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end. The Lord is my portion, therefore I will hope in him.” 

Father, in my darkest hour I will pour out my sorrows before to you; I will grieve out my lamentations to you. Thank you for listening to my heartache and grief. When I rise from this valley of tears, be my portion and give me hope.