From an email to my girls this evening~
Today, my scheduled Bible reading landed in Jeremiah 7 through 11. In this portion, Israel, the chosen and
beloved people of God, has repeatedly forsaken him for evil pleasures,
including idol worship, adultery, and child sacrifice (not so very
different from our own country, hmmm?). Jeremiah is sent by God to tell
the people that they have literally left God with no choice but to
severely punish them and purge their sin from among them by allowing
them to be brutally conquered and slaughtered by their enemies. They
respond with half-hearted repentance, but their attitude is more like a
shrugging-of-the-shoulders, implying that God is a meany and would
punish them no mater what they do. Not true. Their persistent rebellion
brought their own condemnation upon them. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that he will also reap
(Gal. 6:7).
This is a matter of serious consideration for us. Sin's
consequences are grievous, for all sin is a terrible offense against a
perfect, just, and holy God. We cannot fully comprehend what holiness
is, for we are without it. Any righteousness, any goodness, any
holiness, is imparted through Christ, and found only in the sanctifying
work of the Holy Spirit after repentance and belief in Jesus' atoning
death, burial, and resurrection as the substitutionary sacrifice in our
guilty place--the place of dishonor, unholiness, and worthy of
punishment for our sins. "The wages of sin is death." "Your sin will
find you out." The Bible is very clear about the result of rebellion
against God. Sin begets death, pain, misery, strife, fear, anger,
jealousy, hatred, self-love, distrust, pride, lust, greed, and on and on
the list goes. It is an ever-descending spiral to hell, literally. Such
is our fate apart from Christ.
But, today is not called "Good Friday" for no reason. It is a
good day--a most excellent, wondrous, glorious day for all mankind.
Today we remember with special remembrance that God stepped into the gap
between our unworthy, defiled, unlovable selves and his holy, majestic
completeness--and he became like us, in a body like ours, to love us,
heal us, and die for us to pay the debt we ought to have paid, a debt
that deserved no less than the eternal outpouring of the wrath of God.
He bridged that abyss, he loved us when we were unlovable, he called us
when we hated him, and he healed us when we were beyond human healing.
He saved us, literally. Do not forget this grace, this favor, this
unmerited affection and kindness, this benevolence that came to us, who
were so undeserving and wretched. It is his grace that saves. Repentance
and belief is the appropriate response from any human who has ears to
hear and eyes to see and understand the truth of such love. For those
who would deny that wickedness that dwells in their own hearts, those who would stop up their ears and turn away their eyes from the light,
they, like the Israelites of Jeremiah's day, have damned themselves by rejecting the grace they need so desperately.
Remember what it is you have been saved from, and
always think, "But for the grace of God, there go I." Beware of pride.
Remember who we are apart from Christ--despised, guilty, and worthy of all condemnation. Remember who
you are in Christ Jesus--a new creation, and the beloved bride of Jesus
himself. An adopted child of the Most High God, grafted into his Church
by grace, sweet grace. And rejoice in such a remembrance, no matter
what your present circumstances may be.
That is all, dear ones. Good night, on this Good Friday.
Love, B
Friday, March 29, 2013
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
But It Sounded So Good
From my email to the girls this morning . . .
Good morning, girls!
In addition to your daily email from your sisters, I recommend signing up for either (or both) of these two devotional emails, called "Tough Questions with RC Sproul" and "Essential Truths of the Christian Faith." You can sign up for these emails here: http://www.biblegateway.com/
This morning I read from 1 Samuel chapters 6 through 10. It is an interesting account of the ark of God causing all sorts of problems for the Philistines who had captured it (the ark brought divine judgments of tumors and rodents to plague the Philistines), and how they at last sent it away, back to the Israelites to rid themselves of its curse. It's interesting; while reading this story through today's culture's mindset, it sounds like a magical fairy tale. Tumors? Mice? Curses? It sounds silly, but it was not silly at all. It was the means by which God chose to interact with the peoples of that era, in that time and place, to make manifest his power. Even the Philistines, a pagan God-hating nation, acknowledged the greatness of his power and their utter helplessness before him.
Also in these chapters is the account of the people of Israel's complaint against God, demanding a king like other nations. Last week I mentioned how God told the prophet Samuel to acknowledge the people's request, because their hearts had turned not against Samuel, but against God. Today, I read how God chose a young man from a lowly tribe and a lowly clan, a young man who was just out looking for some lost donkeys; God selected him to become the king of Israel. This whole account has a sorrowful undertone to it. What could have been joyous occasion, the rising of a leader chosen by God, is tainted because it arises from circumstances of hardened hearts and rebellion against God as their all-sufficient Ruler.
The Bible specifically mentions that Saul was young and extraordinarily handsome in appearance, and all the people in the land only came to his shoulders in height. He was a tall, imposing figure, one who was winsome and would easily garner followers. In these early stages of forming a kingship, Saul seems to be open to the word of the Lord, accepting direction from Samuel and willing to obey the Lord's command. In fact, the Holy Spirit rushed upon him, overpowered him, and he prophesied with the prophets, thereby giving a shocking proof to stunned onlookers that the God of the Israelites had indeed chosen him and set him apart. The Bible explicitly says that Saul received a "new heart" at this time.
From the surface, it looks so promising. But in my heart, I read this account, and it's almost as if I hear a mournful violin solo in the background, sad, crying for the loss of the people's love for their God. Saul begins so well, but in a few short years, he too will forsake the God who raised him up. Soon, Israel will be swallowed up in rebellion, sin, oppression, contention . . . and the beautiful picture of a nation led by faith in their living God will be lost.
Ch 10, v. 24: And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
And so their hearts turned away from the only One who could lead them in the paths of life. It is sad. It is painful to read about. But it is placed in Scripture, an inspired account, for our instruction. It is a warning: there is no human leader incapable of falling away. There is no man who can redeem a people. There is no president, no government, no patriotic social movement, no elected or appointed official who can lift the curse that reigns in darkened hearts. There is only one Man, the Son of Man, by whose name we can be saved, the Man Jesus Christ, who is both Lord and Savior of all who believe in him by faith. "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me."
Dwell on these thoughts, dear girls, let them penetrate into your heart and lodge there, making you mindful of your own heart's attitude toward the One who rules supreme above all earthly powers, the One who raises nations up and tears nations down, the One who directs the hearts of kings like rivers of water in His hands.
Love,
~Brenna
. . . Coram Deo . . .
"Living before the face of God"
Good morning, girls!
In addition to your daily email from your sisters, I recommend signing up for either (or both) of these two devotional emails, called "Tough Questions with RC Sproul" and "Essential Truths of the Christian Faith." You can sign up for these emails here: http://www.biblegateway.com/
This morning I read from 1 Samuel chapters 6 through 10. It is an interesting account of the ark of God causing all sorts of problems for the Philistines who had captured it (the ark brought divine judgments of tumors and rodents to plague the Philistines), and how they at last sent it away, back to the Israelites to rid themselves of its curse. It's interesting; while reading this story through today's culture's mindset, it sounds like a magical fairy tale. Tumors? Mice? Curses? It sounds silly, but it was not silly at all. It was the means by which God chose to interact with the peoples of that era, in that time and place, to make manifest his power. Even the Philistines, a pagan God-hating nation, acknowledged the greatness of his power and their utter helplessness before him.
Also in these chapters is the account of the people of Israel's complaint against God, demanding a king like other nations. Last week I mentioned how God told the prophet Samuel to acknowledge the people's request, because their hearts had turned not against Samuel, but against God. Today, I read how God chose a young man from a lowly tribe and a lowly clan, a young man who was just out looking for some lost donkeys; God selected him to become the king of Israel. This whole account has a sorrowful undertone to it. What could have been joyous occasion, the rising of a leader chosen by God, is tainted because it arises from circumstances of hardened hearts and rebellion against God as their all-sufficient Ruler.
The Bible specifically mentions that Saul was young and extraordinarily handsome in appearance, and all the people in the land only came to his shoulders in height. He was a tall, imposing figure, one who was winsome and would easily garner followers. In these early stages of forming a kingship, Saul seems to be open to the word of the Lord, accepting direction from Samuel and willing to obey the Lord's command. In fact, the Holy Spirit rushed upon him, overpowered him, and he prophesied with the prophets, thereby giving a shocking proof to stunned onlookers that the God of the Israelites had indeed chosen him and set him apart. The Bible explicitly says that Saul received a "new heart" at this time.
From the surface, it looks so promising. But in my heart, I read this account, and it's almost as if I hear a mournful violin solo in the background, sad, crying for the loss of the people's love for their God. Saul begins so well, but in a few short years, he too will forsake the God who raised him up. Soon, Israel will be swallowed up in rebellion, sin, oppression, contention . . . and the beautiful picture of a nation led by faith in their living God will be lost.
Ch 10, v. 24: And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
And so their hearts turned away from the only One who could lead them in the paths of life. It is sad. It is painful to read about. But it is placed in Scripture, an inspired account, for our instruction. It is a warning: there is no human leader incapable of falling away. There is no man who can redeem a people. There is no president, no government, no patriotic social movement, no elected or appointed official who can lift the curse that reigns in darkened hearts. There is only one Man, the Son of Man, by whose name we can be saved, the Man Jesus Christ, who is both Lord and Savior of all who believe in him by faith. "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me."
Dwell on these thoughts, dear girls, let them penetrate into your heart and lodge there, making you mindful of your own heart's attitude toward the One who rules supreme above all earthly powers, the One who raises nations up and tears nations down, the One who directs the hearts of kings like rivers of water in His hands.
Love,
~Brenna
. . . Coram Deo . . .
"Living before the face of God"
Saturday, March 9, 2013
This, This is Why
More thoughts for my girls, from my Bible reading this evening.
Tonight, I'm reading from Matthew 26 through Mark 2.
The end of Matthew chronicles the unjust trial, condemnation, persecution, crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. It's a powerful story, even more so this time of year, with Easter only a couple of weeks away. There is so much I could say; I don't know where to focus for just one thoughts for this email.
I suppose I want to draw your attention to the night Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, and his disciples (who were supposed to be praying and watching at the gate) repeatedly fell asleep and left him alone, unsupported, in his darkest hour. (See Matthew 26:36-46)
I have to confess; for a long time (and maybe even still), I really didn't understand Jesus' grief and despair at this time. I guess I thought, "Yes, definitely it would be somber to await one's executioners, even more so when you hadn't done anything wrong. How scary to be unjustly condemned, and how awful to await the dawn, knowing it would bring nothing but terror and, ultimately, a murderer's death by agonizing crucifixion." I didn't really get it. Jesus didn't sweat drops of blood and weep because he was afraid to die an agonizing death. (Which would be reason enough for me to sweat blood and cry, by the way. I'm terribly afraid of pain). He spent the night in total anguish because he knew that his death meant not merely excruciating physical pain, and total humiliation, but . . . he, the Holy, the Sovereign, the Son of the Father who knew God, loved God, and who was God, would become the recipient of the righteous, terrible wrath of a just and holy God. We cannot even begin to comprehend what kind of terror and anguish this is. The only Man who had ever lived in perfect obedience, total innocence, without one single sin against him, would become a blood-saturated substitute for all who were truly guilty. His holiness, cleanness, and perfect purity would bear the punishment deserved by all who were filthy, rotten, foul, debased, and evil to the core of their very beings. The punishment you and I deserve.
That is why he wept. Not for physical pain, but for spiritual anguish. The wrath of God is a crippling, terrible, frightening, killing kind of fear that cuts to the quick of all who understand its measure. It is this gasping, paralyzing, anguishing fear that drives foul sinners to repentance, that drives them to their knees, begging forgiveness from a Holy God before whom they have no reason to stand except for His grace. But, He cannot simply be gracious to wicked people and still be just; all sins have a just recompense, a wage that has been earned and must be paid. That wage is death. An agonizing, spiritual, separated-from-God death. A death you and I, by all rights, have earned for ourselves by our foul hearts.
And Jesus Christ, that loving, gentle, holy, perfect, beautiful Son of Man and Son of God, saw down the corridors of time and saw your face, your tear-filled eyes, your guilty sentence, your hopeless plight, your foul record of sins, and he stepped up to executioner's block, not only for a physical death, but for the full onslaught of the out-poured wrath of God. For you. For me. And it cost him, oh so dearly. Such anguish. Such grief. How he prayed in that garden that there might be some other way! "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will, Father."
Oh, how great is our God. How merciful. How slow to anger, abounding in mercy. What is man, that You are mindful of him? We are so small, so weak, so flawed, yet he loves us still. I cannot understand such love. And in its wake, as a recipient of such immeasurable graciousness, how can I possibly settle for a religion that is shallow, weak, apathetic, fleshly in its lusts, and requires me to give less than absolutely everything? Look at what He did for me! Would I insult him so, and disregard such love? What hypocrisy is such a pseudo-faith! Far be it from me, oh Lord. I am weak, but You are strong. Help me, Father, to live with urgency and a right perspective of my place: from whence I've come, by Your amazing grace.
"Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began." (2 Tim 1:9)
All my love, sweet girls,
~Brenna
. . . Coram Deo . . .
"Living before the face of God"
Tonight, I'm reading from Matthew 26 through Mark 2.
The end of Matthew chronicles the unjust trial, condemnation, persecution, crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. It's a powerful story, even more so this time of year, with Easter only a couple of weeks away. There is so much I could say; I don't know where to focus for just one thoughts for this email.
I suppose I want to draw your attention to the night Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, and his disciples (who were supposed to be praying and watching at the gate) repeatedly fell asleep and left him alone, unsupported, in his darkest hour. (See Matthew 26:36-46)
I have to confess; for a long time (and maybe even still), I really didn't understand Jesus' grief and despair at this time. I guess I thought, "Yes, definitely it would be somber to await one's executioners, even more so when you hadn't done anything wrong. How scary to be unjustly condemned, and how awful to await the dawn, knowing it would bring nothing but terror and, ultimately, a murderer's death by agonizing crucifixion." I didn't really get it. Jesus didn't sweat drops of blood and weep because he was afraid to die an agonizing death. (Which would be reason enough for me to sweat blood and cry, by the way. I'm terribly afraid of pain). He spent the night in total anguish because he knew that his death meant not merely excruciating physical pain, and total humiliation, but . . . he, the Holy, the Sovereign, the Son of the Father who knew God, loved God, and who was God, would become the recipient of the righteous, terrible wrath of a just and holy God. We cannot even begin to comprehend what kind of terror and anguish this is. The only Man who had ever lived in perfect obedience, total innocence, without one single sin against him, would become a blood-saturated substitute for all who were truly guilty. His holiness, cleanness, and perfect purity would bear the punishment deserved by all who were filthy, rotten, foul, debased, and evil to the core of their very beings. The punishment you and I deserve.
That is why he wept. Not for physical pain, but for spiritual anguish. The wrath of God is a crippling, terrible, frightening, killing kind of fear that cuts to the quick of all who understand its measure. It is this gasping, paralyzing, anguishing fear that drives foul sinners to repentance, that drives them to their knees, begging forgiveness from a Holy God before whom they have no reason to stand except for His grace. But, He cannot simply be gracious to wicked people and still be just; all sins have a just recompense, a wage that has been earned and must be paid. That wage is death. An agonizing, spiritual, separated-from-God death. A death you and I, by all rights, have earned for ourselves by our foul hearts.
And Jesus Christ, that loving, gentle, holy, perfect, beautiful Son of Man and Son of God, saw down the corridors of time and saw your face, your tear-filled eyes, your guilty sentence, your hopeless plight, your foul record of sins, and he stepped up to executioner's block, not only for a physical death, but for the full onslaught of the out-poured wrath of God. For you. For me. And it cost him, oh so dearly. Such anguish. Such grief. How he prayed in that garden that there might be some other way! "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will, Father."
Oh, how great is our God. How merciful. How slow to anger, abounding in mercy. What is man, that You are mindful of him? We are so small, so weak, so flawed, yet he loves us still. I cannot understand such love. And in its wake, as a recipient of such immeasurable graciousness, how can I possibly settle for a religion that is shallow, weak, apathetic, fleshly in its lusts, and requires me to give less than absolutely everything? Look at what He did for me! Would I insult him so, and disregard such love? What hypocrisy is such a pseudo-faith! Far be it from me, oh Lord. I am weak, but You are strong. Help me, Father, to live with urgency and a right perspective of my place: from whence I've come, by Your amazing grace.
"Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began." (2 Tim 1:9)
All my love, sweet girls,
~Brenna
. . . Coram Deo . . .
"Living before the face of God"
Thursday, March 7, 2013
The Sixtieth Day
Today is the 60th day that I've emailed my sweet girls, the 60th day
only by the grace of God, for I never would have hung in there this long
without His aid. So many days, when I've come home from a long day of
clinicals or class and drop onto the couch, practically asleep--He has
helped me pull out my laptop, open His word, and listen to His voice.
And He's given me something to tell the girls every day for sixty days.
Tonight, a passage from 1 Samuel chapter 7 is on my heart. Here is what the prophet Samuel says to the children of Israel:
“If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the Lord only.
It sounds so wonderful, as if the Israelites were quick to repent and remain ever faithful to their God, but we know the rest of the story--not only how Israel rebelled time and time again in future years, but also how in this same stretch of Scripture it is recorded that these same people who "served the LORD only," just a few verses later they change their minds and demand a king so they can look like their pagan neighbors. When Samuel is grieved and consults God, what does the LORD say to him? "It is not you they have rejected, but Me."
It is not you they have rejected, but Me. Doesn't that make your heart grieve too?
Oh, but we are so quick to judge: Those Israelites, what wicked people. How foolish! How could they be so dumb as to stray from God again?! They must have been pretty dense. I would never have done that . . . said the one with a plank in her own eye.
Understand this, sweet loves: but for the grace of God, there go I--and you. We are all rebels at heart, lusting after worldliness just like those Israelites who lived so long ago. Of course, you and I don't want an earthly king (absurd), and we don't have Baals or Ashtaroths or other household idols decorating our homes (eeek!). But we have secret gods. Hidden idolatrous desires. Attitudes. Affections. Ambitions. And, these are just as offensive, just as sick, just as evil and depraved and grievous to God as the atrocities of ancient idolatry. Do not be deceived. The age of grace is not a license to sin. It has not made God more lenient, it hasn't changed his pure and righteous and timeless judgments. He is unchanged and his holy standard remains the same.
The Israelites locked themselves in a vicious cycle of apostasy, oppression, repentance, and deliverance . . . over and over and over. Learn from them, and renew your reverence, gratitude, and utter delight in following the paths of our God. His ways are peace and life and joy to all who follow them. This salvation, this sanctification, is not earned by us but worked out in fear and trembling and complete, dependent trust in Him to do all he has promised. Keep your heart quiet and pure before him; it is already transparent to his all-seeing eye. Ask. Seek. Knock. To the one who asks, it will be given. The one who seeks shall find. And to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Good night; sweet dreams and blessed rest to all~
B
Tonight, a passage from 1 Samuel chapter 7 is on my heart. Here is what the prophet Samuel says to the children of Israel:
“If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the Lord only.
It sounds so wonderful, as if the Israelites were quick to repent and remain ever faithful to their God, but we know the rest of the story--not only how Israel rebelled time and time again in future years, but also how in this same stretch of Scripture it is recorded that these same people who "served the LORD only," just a few verses later they change their minds and demand a king so they can look like their pagan neighbors. When Samuel is grieved and consults God, what does the LORD say to him? "It is not you they have rejected, but Me."
It is not you they have rejected, but Me. Doesn't that make your heart grieve too?
Oh, but we are so quick to judge: Those Israelites, what wicked people. How foolish! How could they be so dumb as to stray from God again?! They must have been pretty dense. I would never have done that . . . said the one with a plank in her own eye.
Understand this, sweet loves: but for the grace of God, there go I--and you. We are all rebels at heart, lusting after worldliness just like those Israelites who lived so long ago. Of course, you and I don't want an earthly king (absurd), and we don't have Baals or Ashtaroths or other household idols decorating our homes (eeek!). But we have secret gods. Hidden idolatrous desires. Attitudes. Affections. Ambitions. And, these are just as offensive, just as sick, just as evil and depraved and grievous to God as the atrocities of ancient idolatry. Do not be deceived. The age of grace is not a license to sin. It has not made God more lenient, it hasn't changed his pure and righteous and timeless judgments. He is unchanged and his holy standard remains the same.
The Israelites locked themselves in a vicious cycle of apostasy, oppression, repentance, and deliverance . . . over and over and over. Learn from them, and renew your reverence, gratitude, and utter delight in following the paths of our God. His ways are peace and life and joy to all who follow them. This salvation, this sanctification, is not earned by us but worked out in fear and trembling and complete, dependent trust in Him to do all he has promised. Keep your heart quiet and pure before him; it is already transparent to his all-seeing eye. Ask. Seek. Knock. To the one who asks, it will be given. The one who seeks shall find. And to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Good night; sweet dreams and blessed rest to all~
B
Monday, March 4, 2013
A Smiling Soul
~Grace through Faith~
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in
which you once walked, following the course of this world, following
the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in
the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in
the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the
mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:1-10)Gloria! Read that again.
Now open this link, turn up your speakers, and read the passage again--this time out loud: http://www.vatican.va/various/
Is your soul smiling?
This is what really, truly matters. Nothing else that you can dream up compares to this truth. I know it's hard to keep this attitude of grateful awe fresh in our hearts. Sometimes, I get pretty bogged down in humdrum daily things that just siphon away my hours. School assignments. Chores. Reading. Writing. Going. Doing. Running late. Running on time. And so the days wing away. They're going to be gone, soon. We feel young and ageless now, like our whole lives are still stretched out before us, but this is not reality. It is a mirage; we cannot know the number of our days. It is an illusion to believe that you have decades of time left to do the "really important" things, and now is simply a good time to have fun. Not so. There is a contemporary band, called OneDirection, who have a wildly popular song called, "Live While We're Young" (or something to that effect--I can't remember and I only heard it once). Here's their gist: live it up now and give in to every fleshly passion that you possibly can, because there is no point to life other than to revel in folly and sinful debauchery. Appealing to the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. Carnality enthroned. And, I might add, it's sneakily attractive to the old nature in each of us. But, remember? That old nature was--what? Crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.
Redeemed; how I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb!
Redeemed through his infinite mercy;
His child and forever I am!
Redeemed and so happy in Jesus,
No language my rapture can tell;
I know that the light of His presence
With me doth continually dwell.
I think of my blessed Redeemer,
I think of Him all the day long;
I sing, for I cannot be silent;
His love is the theme of my song.
I know I shall see in His beauty
The King in whose way I delight;
Who lovingly guardeth my footsteps,
And giveth me songs in the night.
(I don't own this lovely picture, & I don't know who does. It reminds me of my Redeemer and his tender, glorious love for me.)
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