December 26, 2015

I was born December 26th and on this night 32 calendar years since I have been born, I feel joy and peace. It doesn't come from circumstances. In the past few weeks I have struggled with weakness and pain, and with missing my mom. Yet on this the night that I usually stay indoors and not talk to anybody, where God help anyone who tries to correct me. Tonight contentment and peace is within because my longing tonight are not for a desire for marriage and children but for God and that makes all the difference.
My prayer tonight is Psalm 27 and a large chunk of Psalm 63
One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.
O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You. So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.
When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches, For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.

Tonight God graciously gave me preaching about prayer and beholding the glory of God. I am in anticipation of seeing Christ face to face and I wonder who am I that I would see Him.

A real Christmas

The reality of celebrating the life of Christ is in having the Word of God hidden within and having it flow it in praise and adoration.

As I sit awaiting the beginning of a Christmas eve service I am thinking of Scripture.

Isaiah 9
"The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them."

In this time when the world exults in their sin. Where there is a love of sin, and evil men boast in their evil. Where we take in iniquity and it in turn poisons our tongues causing it to become a venomous weapon, spewing out the dark contents of our blackened hearts.... Yet to those living in that darkness Christ has shone. Showing the reality of our state without the work of Christ. We in and of ourselves cannot make ourselves righteous before God. We need the work of another on our behalf.

Isaiah 9 again
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.

He came with the purpose to save us from the just penalty of our sin.

Isaiah 53
But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.

In His suffering on our behalf, for our sin, and His perfect life given to us, we the guilty can be declared innocent upon God's work of salvation. Once we repent and believe, this begins a lifetime of growing in sanctification.

Ephesians 2
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, 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 ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as 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 so that we would walk in them.

Illness

2 Corinthians 12:9 NASB
And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

I am relying upon God because these past few days I have seen my weaknesses. I have been in pain unable to sleep so stuck on myself that seeing God has been hard.

Yet God has shown me my need of Him in all things. He helps me, He is who I have to rely on. I can't lay down. My stomach pains me. May God use this time to conform me to His image.

To Stay Christ Centered

This time of year its easy to set your mind on the latest gadgets, fashions, and knick knacks. To make of wish lists and send it to whoever may even slightly want to curry your favor by giving you what you want. To give something temporal when the soul longs for the eternal.

One verse that I come to again and again is this.

"And this is eternal life that they know you the one true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."
John 17:3

There are others like.

2 Corinthians 3:18 NASB
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

Philippians 4:8-9 NASB
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

We are in need of Christ, of seeing him, that in seeing we would become more like him.
I struggle during this time of year.