Jesus, Our Treasure
Lately I've been reading Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening Daily Meditations. It's been really good to get encouraged and edified by the "Prince of Preachers". I think it is also amazing how somebody who loved God so much and had such a great desire to benefit God's people can have such an impact on the church today. I find that to be a great encouragement to the people of God to do "the good works which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them".
I'm really thankful that God created us with the strongest need for Him, that He helps us realize that need and then He also meets it. I'm thankful that He teaches us that reality about ourselves, through trial and error, through our best moments in His presence where there is fullness of joy, and our worst moments of rebellion and turning our backs on Him. The other day, Spurgeon was meditating on Col 2:6a "So, as you have received Christ". Here is part of what he says :
"While we are without faith, Jesus is a mere name to us—a person who lived a long while ago, so long ago that his life is only a history to us now! By an act of faith Jesus becomes a real person in the consciousness of our heart. But receiving also means grasping or getting possession of. The thing which I receive becomes my own: I appropriate to myself that which is given. When I receive Jesus, he becomes my Saviour, so mine that neither life nor death shall be able to rob me of him. All this is to receive Christ—to take him as God’s free gift; to realize him in my heart, and to appropriate him as mine.
Salvation may be described as the blind receiving sight, the deaf receiving hearing, the dead receiving life; but we have not only received these blessings, we have received Christ Jesus himself. It is true that he gave us life from the dead. He gave us pardon of sin; he gave us imputed righteousness. These are all precious things, but we are not content with them; we have received Christ himself. The Son of God has been poured into us, and we have received him, and appropriated him. What a heartful Jesus must be, for heaven itself cannot contain him!"
That's pretty crazy. To know that at any(and every!) point during my day or night, I have Christ, He is there with me, always, a friend, a treasure, a high priest who can sympathize with anything I'm going through! A refuge, the perfectly patient, kind, loving friend who sacrificed his life for me. The perfect Lamb who was slain so that He might receive glory, honor and praise from His church, perfected and glorified, forever! The perfectly pure, perfectly holy, Almighty King of the Universe is mine, He is the water that my soul thirsts for, His Word is the only light that can guide my steps. How would I ever need anything else? How would I ever desire something that grieves His heart? How would I ever choose to drink stinky and polluted water after tasting the purest, most fresh and satisfying water that He offers? How would I get angry at people when He will make perfect justice? How would I not tell the world about this wonderful counselor, Mighty God, Lord of Lords and King of Kings, who created the universe by His Word? How would I not pray with my whole heart, that He would come back again, to destroy anything that doesn't give Him the glory He is worthy of?
I think it is because I don't keep my eyes fixed on Him. I don't think about the fact that He is mine. I don't trust Him to be true (which is crazy! "Every word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him" !).. So I'm thankful that my Heavenly Father knows that I am but dust. And that He graciously gives me His Word everyday and He continues to feed me and grow me and help me. I am thankful that He exulted His Name and His Word above all things.
Here are some verses that God used today to confront me and help me see how He sees my sin
Prov 11:6: The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the treacherous are taken captive by their lusts.
v9: With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered
v12: Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent
v19: Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live, but he who pursues evil will die. (this made me think about Rom 8:13 and Rom 1:17, I love this version: "The one who by faith is righteous shall live")
I'm really thankful that God created us with the strongest need for Him, that He helps us realize that need and then He also meets it. I'm thankful that He teaches us that reality about ourselves, through trial and error, through our best moments in His presence where there is fullness of joy, and our worst moments of rebellion and turning our backs on Him. The other day, Spurgeon was meditating on Col 2:6a "So, as you have received Christ". Here is part of what he says :
"While we are without faith, Jesus is a mere name to us—a person who lived a long while ago, so long ago that his life is only a history to us now! By an act of faith Jesus becomes a real person in the consciousness of our heart. But receiving also means grasping or getting possession of. The thing which I receive becomes my own: I appropriate to myself that which is given. When I receive Jesus, he becomes my Saviour, so mine that neither life nor death shall be able to rob me of him. All this is to receive Christ—to take him as God’s free gift; to realize him in my heart, and to appropriate him as mine.
Salvation may be described as the blind receiving sight, the deaf receiving hearing, the dead receiving life; but we have not only received these blessings, we have received Christ Jesus himself. It is true that he gave us life from the dead. He gave us pardon of sin; he gave us imputed righteousness. These are all precious things, but we are not content with them; we have received Christ himself. The Son of God has been poured into us, and we have received him, and appropriated him. What a heartful Jesus must be, for heaven itself cannot contain him!"
That's pretty crazy. To know that at any(and every!) point during my day or night, I have Christ, He is there with me, always, a friend, a treasure, a high priest who can sympathize with anything I'm going through! A refuge, the perfectly patient, kind, loving friend who sacrificed his life for me. The perfect Lamb who was slain so that He might receive glory, honor and praise from His church, perfected and glorified, forever! The perfectly pure, perfectly holy, Almighty King of the Universe is mine, He is the water that my soul thirsts for, His Word is the only light that can guide my steps. How would I ever need anything else? How would I ever desire something that grieves His heart? How would I ever choose to drink stinky and polluted water after tasting the purest, most fresh and satisfying water that He offers? How would I get angry at people when He will make perfect justice? How would I not tell the world about this wonderful counselor, Mighty God, Lord of Lords and King of Kings, who created the universe by His Word? How would I not pray with my whole heart, that He would come back again, to destroy anything that doesn't give Him the glory He is worthy of?
I think it is because I don't keep my eyes fixed on Him. I don't think about the fact that He is mine. I don't trust Him to be true (which is crazy! "Every word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him" !).. So I'm thankful that my Heavenly Father knows that I am but dust. And that He graciously gives me His Word everyday and He continues to feed me and grow me and help me. I am thankful that He exulted His Name and His Word above all things.
Here are some verses that God used today to confront me and help me see how He sees my sin
Prov 11:6: The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the treacherous are taken captive by their lusts.
v9: With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered
v12: Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent
v19: Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live, but he who pursues evil will die. (this made me think about Rom 8:13 and Rom 1:17, I love this version: "The one who by faith is righteous shall live")
posted by Monica | 1:01 PM
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