Now But Not Yet...

Since before time began, God has had a plan. He was and is working and will continue to work out His plan. He has revealed this in His Word. 

We as the Church often think of God's work being done or that we have arrived in paradise. At least, that's how we frequently live. Perhaps the Church in North America is too comfortable. 

As believers, we live in the tension of now/not yet; we hope for what's to come. We see this all over the Bible. In Romans 7-8 we see that we are redeemed, but are not yet glorified, dwelling in unredeemed flesh. We hope in what's in store. 1 & 2 Peter explain the eternal hope we have and how we should live in light of this. We are sojourners (2:11-12, Heb. 10-13). If Christ has been raised, life is significant (1 Cor. 15). The Church is pointing to the end, when Christ will come and reign after which God will make all things new (Rev. 21). May I encourage you to study in the word what role the Church has in God's plan now and in the future. How we live now is significant as it points to the end. May we walk worthy of His calling (Eph.). Let us anticipate our Lord Jesus Christ's coming again (Matt. 25). 

    He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

          21      The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. - Rev. 22:20-21

       

     New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Re 22:20–21). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

The Just Shall Live By Faith

          16      For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
          17      For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” - Romans 1:16-17

In the grand sweep of Romans, the Apostle Paul delineates God's character and great salvation. This is broken down into two sections: a. the mercies of God (1-11) and b. how we live by God's mercies (12-16). (See 12:1-2). In 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Paul goes over the Gospel in short:

    1      Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand,
          2      by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
          3      For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
          4      and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
          5      and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
          6      After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;
          7      then He appeared to aJames, then to all the apostles;
          8      and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.
          9      For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
          10      But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.
          11      Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

Let's have the word of Christ and His Gospel dwelling in us richly, being transformed by the renewing of our minds (Eph. 4:17-24, Rom. 12:1-2). May our lives flow out of this, "...by the mercies of God" (Rom. 12:1-2).

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Ro 1:16–17). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

"Small Scale" Sovereignty

Ps. 117:

               "Praise the LORD, all nations;

         Laud Him, all peoples!

               2      For His lovingkindness is great toward us,

         And the truth of the LORD is everlasting.

         Praise the LORD!"

In struggles and in joys, "...the truth of the LORD is everlasting. Praise the LORD!" I am so thankful for this short but comprehensive Psalm. God is always faithful! 

Those He has saved in Christ by His Gospel now live in the Spirit (Rom. 8) and bear the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5). Over the past few weeks, I have been able to witness the faithfulness of God in some seemingly small, but actually big ways! From simple phone calls that turn into prayer meetings, to emails that have the beginnings of great ministry opportunities, God is working in all His children and has good works planned for them (Eph. 2:10). Even when things may not make sense to us or seem inconvenient to our plans, trust the Lord's leading in all things and walk in the Spirit. He is faithful! 

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Ps 117:1–2). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

"Praising My Saviour All the Day Long"

"This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long."
- Blessed Assurance by Fanny Crosby

As we focus on Christ this week/weekend, may this song be ringing true in our hearts.

Below are the lyrics to a beautiful song picturing Christ from eternity past to eternity future. (Here the YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtaRELvBq-M).

"VERSE 1
Father, how sweet must be the pleasure
You find in Your eternal Son
For long before You made the heavens
Both You and He rejoiced as one
And long before You formed the angels
Before You made the day and night
Jesus exulted in Your presence
And He was all of Your delight

VERSE 2
Father, what love You’ve shown to rebels
That You would send Your Son so dear
Into this world of grief and trouble
To bring unworthy sinners near
We’ll never fathom how it pained You
When You supplied the offering
To rescue those who had disdained You
To watch Your dear Son suffering

VERSE 3
Jesus, it fills our hearts with wonder
That You would leave Your heavenly place
To take on flesh to thirst and hunger
To save the ones who spurned Your grace
You came to forfeit every mercy
To die that mercy we would find
And then You hung alone in darkness
So in our hearts Your grace would shine

VERSE 4
Jesus, in glory You’ve ascended
Never again to leave Your throne
Because of You we are befriended
Received and welcomed as God’s own
Father, how sweet now is Your pleasure
In us, Your daughters and Your sons
We will delight in You forever
In Jesus You have made us one."

Credits:
Music and words by Mark Altrogge
© 2012 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)

The Lord's Prayer

Matthew 6

7      “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.
          8      “So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
          9      “Pray, then, in this way:
         ‘Our Father who is in heaven,
         Hallowed be Your name.
               10      ‘Your kingdom come.
         Your will be done,
         On earth as it is in heaven.
               11      ‘Give us this day our daily bread.
               12      ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
               13      ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]’

This prayer is so beautiful and powerful! The background of this prayer is the Sermon on the Mount wherein Jesus deals with the heart of the Law (e.g. Matt. 5:17-20, 7:12). With this in mind, let's take a moment and pause to meditate on this prayer given by our Lord Jesus.

Verse 9:
"Our Father": Stop. Stand in awe. Worship God who has provided a way for us to be His children (see passages such as Rom. 8:12-17, Gal. 4 [see 3 for context], 1 Jn. 3:1-3 etc.). What an amazing God! What an amazing reality! From rebels to heirs!

"Hallowed be Your name.": Pause and reflect on God's holiness (Is. 6).

Verse 10:
"Your kingdom come.": The OT is full of the theology of the kingdom of God. From Creation to the future, God has planned to dwell with and reign over all the cosmos. This reality has always stood and has been manifested throughout the OT, is somewhat fulfilled in the NT, and is anticipated being not yet fully consummated. We must long and ask for this to come about.

"Your will be done,": Although God's will does ultimately happen, Jesus commands us to pray to that end; submitting all to His Lordship.

"Give us this day our daily bread."; Our Father is sufficient to meet our needs as we see later in this chapter. Our Lord commands us to pray for this, acknowledging Him as the source upon which we must rely.

"And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.": It is characteristic of believers to forgive as we have been forgiven so much by God (Matt. 18:21-35 & Eph. 4:32).

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.": God has conquered Satan. Salvation from sin and evil is from Him. We must depend on His sufficiency not only to save, but also to keep until glory (Ps. 23, Jn. 10, Hebrews, Jude 24-25 etc.). He allows trials and temptations in our lives (Jas. 1), but the attitude of the believer should always long for holiness.

"For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.": While some translations do not include this sentence, it's consecutive parts are still stated as truths throughout Scripture.

Praise the Lord!

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Mt 6:7–13). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.p\

Be Thankful

Psalm 100

      

A Psalm for Thanksgiving.

               1      Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.

               2      Serve the LORD with gladness;

         Come before Him with joyful singing.

               3      Know that the LORD Himself is God;

         It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

         We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

               4      Enter His gates with thanksgiving

         And His courts with praise.

         Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

               5      For the LORD is good;

         His lovingkindness is everlasting

         And His faithfulness to all generations.

Our Lord is most worthy of thanksgiving. In every circumstance we can can rejoice and be thankful because of who He is, what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will do (cf. Ps. 90)! Even when things are difficult and don't make sense God is working, and that's all that matters. Our hope is in Him (Ps. 18)! As you meditate on this Psalm, take it at face value and glorify God. 

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Ps 100:title–5). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

Never Failing

PSALM 46

God the Refuge of His People.

      For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, set to Alamoth. A Song.

               1      God is our refuge and strength,
         A very present help in trouble.
               2      Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
         And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
               3      Though its waters roar and foam,
         Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.
Selah.

               4      There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
         The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
               5      God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved;
         God will help her when morning dawns.
               6      The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered;
         He braised His voice, the earth melted.
               7      The LORD of hosts is with us;
         The God of Jacob is our stronghold.
Selah.

               8      Come, behold the works of the LORD,
         Who has wrought desolations in the earth.
               9      He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
         He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
         He burns the chariots with fire.
               10      “Cease striving and know that I am God;
         I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
               11      The LORD of hosts is with us;
         The God of Jacob is our stronghold.
Selah.

No matter what, our great God is in control of everything (see above, Ps. 33:11, 121). He is our Shepherd (Ps. 23). We can only put our hope in God (Ps. 18, 42, Romans). Salvation belongs to Him (Ps. 3, Eph. 2, Rev. 7). He is working in all things (Rom. 8, Eph. 1, Jas. 1 etc.). He will be glorified (Ps. 45:10). Despite all, He is sovereign and He reigns. Praise Him!

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Ps 46). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

Living Eternally Now

God uses trials to perfect us (Jas. 1, Rom. 5:1-5; chapters 7-8, Heb. 12). They foretaste what's to come. Jesus was perfected through suffering (Heb. 2, 5:8-9, 7:28). Though He was perfect, He became flesh and learned obedience through suffering. He is now a great and sympathetic High Priest Who aids us in our weaknesses. This is leading to sanctification and the glory of Christ and His redeemed one day. So as you continue on in this life, whether it's sin, sickness, or persecution, look to Christ and what's the come! (2 Cor. 4, Heb. 12, 1 Pet. etc).

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Jas 1:2–4). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

Confidence In Christ

I was praying the other evening and was amazed at the reality that we have "...boldness and confident access through faith in Him (Christ)." - Eph. 3:12

May we remember who God is and rejoice that we can come to Him, our heavenly Father, through the way which He has provided - through Christ! The book of Hebrews is an excellent book in which the ministry of Christ as our perfect priest and sacrifice is so clearly delineated. Take some time to read through it and rejoice in your glorious Christ!

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Eph 3:12). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

The Sufficiency of Christ

          16      For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

          17      For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” - Romans 1:16-17

When struggling with sin, either internally or externally, we must "live by faith." When lies arise like, "you're note righteous", and lusts draw us such as, "...this is better than what God offers", our saving God is there assuring us of His power worked in us through the gospel of His Son (Eph. 2, Rom. 5-8 etc.). We must not think we can overcome sin, but rely on our our great God, who alone has accomplished salvation through His Son. He has saved. He continues to save. He will ultimately, fully save.

Further reading: The book of Hebrews

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Ro 1:16–17). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

Extol Your God!

How great is our God! I read this Psalm last night and worshiped my LORD. He is revealed in His word and through His Son, the Word (Heb. 1:1-4). As you read this Psalm, think upon the glories of our God in eternity past to eternity future. By His grace, we are His (Eph. 2:1-10). Praise the LORD!

 Ps. 145

     A Psalm of Praise, of David.

               1      I will extol You, my God, O King,
         And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
               2      Every day I will bless You,
         And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
               3      Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised,
         And His greatness is unsearchable.
               4      One generation shall praise Your works to another,
         And shall declare Your mighty acts.
               5      On the glorious splendor of Your majesty
         And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.
               6      Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts,
         And I will tell of Your greatness.
               7      They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness
         And will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.

               8      The LORD is gracious and merciful;
         Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.
               9      The LORD is good to all,
         And His mercies are over all His works.
               10      All Your works shall give thanks to You, O LORD,
         And Your godly ones shall bless You.
               11      They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom
         And talk of Your power;
               12      To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts
         And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.
               13      Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
         And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

               14      The LORD sustains all who fall
         And raises up all who are bowed down.
               15      The eyes of all look to You,
         And You give them their food in due time.
               16      You open Your hand
         And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

               17      The LORD is righteous in all His ways
         And kind in all His deeds.
               18      The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,
         To all who call upon Him in truth.
               19      He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
         He will also hear their cry and will save them.
               20      The LORD keeps all who love Him,
         But all the wicked He will destroy.
               21      My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,
         And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.


New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Ps 145:title–21). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

The Sufficient Spirit In Trials

This past week our family has been hit hard with the seasonal cold. During the passing hours lying in bed, the Lord has taught me much! 

In difficult times when we don`t know what to do, we have a lovingly heavenly Father constantly caring for us! He is working all things (see Rom. 8). When weakened by trials, we are brought to a place of our inability to continue our walk with Him. We may try and reject our insufficiency, but it's always been God's plan for us to be insufficient, because He is sufficient. He welcomes us to run to Him; our rock and our salvation (Ps. 18)! He has given us His sufficient Spirit, who sanctifies and supplies (1 Pet. 1, Gal. 5). May you trust His purposes in all, rejoicing in the fruit He bears in trials (Jas. 1). May you rejoice in Him and the hope to come (2 Cor. 1-4, Phil. 4; 1 Pet. 1 and following). 

Here are some really good sermons on James by Paul Tripp that I've found really helpful: http://www.paultripp.com/sermons#!/swx/pp/media_archives/170495/channel/2704/series/7927