Tuesday, July 01,
2014, 8:00 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put this song in mind:
Crown Him with
Many Crowns
Matthew Bridges
/ Godfrey Thring / George J. Elvey
Crown him with
many crowns,
the Lamb upon
his throne,
Hark! how the
heavenly anthem drowns
all music but
its own.
Awake, my soul,
and sing
of him who died
for thee,
and hail him as
thy matchless King
through all
eternity.
Crown him the
Lord of life,
who triumphed
o'er the grave,
and rose
victorious in the strife
for those he
came to save.
His glories now
we sing,
who died, and
rose on high,
who died,
eternal life to bring,
and lives that
death may die.
Crown him the
Lord of love;
behold his
hands and side,
those wounds,
yet visible above,
in beauty
glorified.
All hail,
Redeemer, hail!
For thou hast
died for me;
thy praise and
glory shall not fail
throughout
eternity.
Speak,
Lord, your words to my heart. I read Isaiah
11:1-5 (NIV).
He Will Delight
A shoot will
come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of
the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the
Lord—
and he will
delight in the fear of the Lord.
Jesus
Christ, our Lord and Redeemer, is prophesied here by Isaiah. He was and is the
promised seed of Abraham; the promised Messiah to the people of God of that
day, who was yet to come upon the earth. He is our God, the second person of
our triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is our creator, sustainer,
Savior, Lord, and King. Although he was God, he left his throne in heaven, came
to earth, took on human flesh, and was tempted in like manner as we are
tempted, yet without sin. He was completely God and yet completely man; our God
incarnate. He came to earth to die for our sins, so that we could be delivered
from slavery to sin, and so we could walk in his holiness and righteousness.
Jesus
Christ operated in the fear (awe; respect; honor; and reverence) of the Lord,
his Father God. Although he was God himself, yet he was always in obedient submission
to the Father, and he did all that the Father said to do. In fact, he delighted
in obedience and submission to the Father, in complete reverence, and with all
due respect (esteem, value and regard) for God. The Spirit of God was upon him,
not just because of Jesus’ baptism, where the Spirit descended upon him in the
form of a dove, but because he was God and because he was the Son of God, and
thus the Spirit of the Lord was upon him always. Jesus Christ was, thus, full
of the godly wisdom, counsel, understanding and knowledge of the Spirit of God.
And, he operated in the power and strength of the Spirit, too.
Our Example
Jesus
Christ, in his relationship to the Father and to the Spirit, sets the example
for us in how we are to walk in his ways, too. As followers of Jesus Christ, we
are to operate our lives in the fear (respect, honor, and reverence) of God. Do
we truly? Sometimes I wonder. I find so much joking, poking fun, and lack of
respect in relation to God and to his word these days. I find that few leaders
within our churches truly teach the fear of the Lord anymore. Do we even
comprehend what that really means? God was in Jesus’ thoughts all day long,
i.e. he was ever aware of his abiding presence with him, and he considered him
in all that he did and said. He didn’t separate his human life from his
spiritual life. They were one and the same. And, his goal was to please the Father
in all that he did and said. Is this our goal?
He
also submitted to and obeyed the Father. These are words that are scarcely used
anymore. “Obedience” has become a “dirty word” in most evangelical circles, and
is often been associated with “works-based” salvation. Yet, it isn’t. Jesus
learned obedience through the things that he suffered, even though he was God.
He taught us that the way we demonstrate our love for him is by obeying him.
The disciple John taught the same thing, as did Paul, Peter and James, etc.
Obedience is not following a set of rules to earn our salvation. Obedience is a
heart response toward God in receiving his salvation into our lives, which says
that we willingly die with Christ to our old ways of living for sin and self,
and we submit to the working of God’s grace in our lives in transforming us
away from sin and to walking in his righteousness and holiness – all in the
power and working of the Spirit within.
With
Righteousness
He will not
judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
but with
righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the
poor of the earth.
He will strike
the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay
the wicked.
Righteousness
will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
We
make judgments with our eyes sometimes that are not right judgments. The
scriptures warn us against making superficial judgments based upon appearance.
Looks can be deceiving either direction. In other words, we might see someone
who seems bubbly and happy all the time and so we assume that person must
really love Jesus and walk with him. That may or may not be true, though. Or we
might see someone who looks more serious or solemn much of the time, and we
might think just the opposite about that person, which may also be true or not
true. We may also look at what someone is wearing, or the kind of car a person
drives, or whatever else we might “see” with our eyes, and we may come to quick
and rash judgments about people which may be completely far from the truth.
As
well, we may hear things about people which may color our opinions of them, but
what we hear may not be the truth, as they might come from the mouths of those
who dislike the person for whatever reason, or through those who are operating
on faulty information themselves, or through those who are prejudiced for or against
the person (or people like them) in some way. Or we may even hear something the
person himself or herself says and we may reach wrong conclusions because we
heard through faulty or prejudicial ears, through our own life experiences,
and/or through the teachings and attitudes of others, some of which may be what
we have picked up from childhood on through adulthood. We are influenced in so
many ways – through history, schooling, church, home, relationships, culture,
society, and the values of life which have been passed down to us from
generation to generation. And, oftentimes those things influence our hearing
and our judgments.
Jesus
Christ, nonetheless, does not judge merely by what he sees and hears, but he
judges (evaluates, draws conclusions, makes decisions and pronounces rulings)
with righteousness (purity, truth and virtue) and with justice (fairness,
impartiality, honesty and integrity). His judgments are not based upon human
standards and reasoning, the culture and society in which he once lived,
history, personal prejudice, and/or physical sight or hearing. He does have the
advantage to see inside people’s hearts. We do not. Yet, the word of God
teaches us that we should test everything, hold on to the good, and throw out
the bad – not based upon human standards and reasoning, though, but based upon
the word of Truth. The word of God is our only measuring stick for evaluating
and deciding what is of God and what is not of God, and it is to be our only
true guide for judging rightly and justly.
When
God judges humankind, thus, he does not make these judgments lightly or
arbitrarily, nor does he look on the surface only. The Bible says that humans
look on the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. Only God truly
knows what is in any of our hearts. And, he will judge accordingly. He judges
through his word all the time. Hebrews 4:12 says:
For the word of
God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates
even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and
attitudes of the heart.
I
know that the word of God teaches me his truths in practical ways all the time,
and it convicts my heart of wrong attitudes, words and actions, and it
encourages and strengthens me in my walk with the Lord. By the word are the
Lord’s servants warned, and in keeping the word there is great reward (Ps.
19:11). I love the word of God, even when it points out my sins. I am glad that
I serve a God who judges rightly and justly, and that he speaks to my heart
every day through his word, even when the word is like a sword to my heart
sometimes, judging the thoughts and attitudes of my heart. And, I am also
thankful for the Lord’s discipline, too, because through his discipline I am
being trained, nurtured and matured in him. I delight in the awesomeness of my
Lord Jesus Christ, his faithfulness in all he is and does, his righteousness,
and in his word. And, I choose to submit my way to him and to follow him in
obedience for the rest of my days. How about you?
Praise Be Told! /
An Original Work / December 28, 2013
Based off Various Scriptures
He was pierced for our
transgressions.
He was crushed for all
our sin.
Our chastisement was
upon Him.
By His stripes, we now
are healed.
He has witnessed all
our trials,
And the sins we choose
to wear.
Yet, while we were
dead in our sin,
Jesus died, our sins
to bear.
He himself bore all of
our sins
In His body on a
cross,
So that we might die
to our sin,
And live for His
righteousness.
By faith in the pow’r
of Jesus
And His blood shed for
our sins,
We can be forgiven our
sin,
And have life with God
in heav’n.
He will lead us and
He’ll guide us
In the way that we
should go.
He will comfort and
protect us,
Because Jesus, we do
know.
Though He disciplines
for our good,
He will heal us –
Praise be told!
Do not fear, your Lord
is with you.
Just have faith in
Christ your Lord.
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