Faith

Psalm 27:5-6

/ RedeemedInGrace / Leave a comment

“For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at His tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.” -Psalm 27:5-6

God is the God of deliverance, in the grand picture and in the everyday. King David boasts in what the Lord will do for him because the shepherd king belongs to the Shepherd King. He is hidden in the Lord, safe for all eternity and nothing can separate God from His beloved children. God is too powerful, too loving and fatherly to not protect and provide. He has protected every elect sinner from eternal Hell, by providing a way of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. The beasts of Hell will not prevail, seen and unseen, God’s enemies cannot win. Their doom is sure because it is promised in Scripture (Romans 16:20).

The Lord has won every believing soul for His glory and our eternal good. None will be lost who belong to Him. The God of grace and mercy has delivered Christians from certain, endless death, into the freedom of forgiveness and fellowship with Him forever. There isn’t anything greater than that last sentence. The kingdom of darkness will make gains here on earth, but it cannot have you, dear Christian, who belong to something better and true. You are part of a royal priesthood, a holy nation in which God has promised to be your Refuge now, until we go Home.

God is actively at work delivering His people until that time, sanctifying each one for when we go to the Land of the Living. He has delivered our souls from death, continuing to keep our feet from slipping so that we do not destroy the faith He has given us, as Satan would have it. The trials we are allowed to endure are opportunities to humble and grow the Christian in faith. The Lord rescues us at just the right time, but not a minute before. He is never late, never off duty, never asleep or apathetic toward His own. And why? God Almighty is zealous for His Name, His Glory. He must be exalted because Yahweh is the Creator of everything. The Lord is not vain, vindictive or a wimp, and He will not be mocked.

Deliverance for His chosen people will come because God has ordained it so, just as He has ordained all of your days on earth. Every soul that is His will be kept by the Lord of the living. Trouble, enemies, even sin cannot thwart God’s plan. His providence rules as He orchestrates man’s will alongside it. This mystery is the believer’s confidence that we serve a sovereign, sinless God who is also our defense, deliverer and Father. King David declares future promises of God in the middle of present danger. The believer can also look ahead out of the current circumstances and fix their eyes on King Jesus. Keeping an eternal perspective while enjoying temporal blessings or enduring the storms of life is the key to navigating the pilgrim way. God will be glorified and we will praise Him for it.

Grace upon grace,

April

Growing deeper: 2 Corinthians 4:7-18; Ephesians 6:10-18;

God of the Promise

/ RedeemedInGrace / 4 Comments

He made a promise,

a holy vow

to stay with me always,

His faithfulness past, future and now.

There is no one like God

to trust so fully,

His covenant of grace

over me securely.

Even when I stray

in unbelief and weariness,

Jehovah’s strong arm guides me

back to Him with tenderness.

I am nothing

without this King, Father and Friend;

my Savior until eternity’s

End.

Remind me this day

of Your present goodness

past faithfulness and

future graces.

God of the Promise

over Time

and Space,

govern my earthly life

until I see

Your precious Face.

Surely the people are grass

/ RedeemedInGrace / 3 Comments

In the spring we grow

because the rain falls

heavily on us.

By summer we flourish

in the fields

bearing fruit.

In autumn we reap

what has been sown

for the harvest feast.

By winter we rest

from a life well lived

in faith, toil and blessing.

And this is God’s

good design

To show us our purpose

and mortality.

Strength and weakness

mingled together to co-labor

with our Faithful Creator.

What an outrageous plan!

And yet this is His inscrutable

Way.

Man is a flash in the pan

used for God’s divine

plan.

We are here today

and gone tomorrow

because the Curse

is strong but not impenetrable.

His Servant crushed

the Serpent of lies

with a promise to end

all sin and sadness.

It has come true and

will be truer in time.

God’s mercy and grace receives

a faithless people.

Redemption is sure,

peace made for the dust eaters

to live again.

It is His will

that no mortal can overcome.

Power and compassion.

Willing and able

to make the dead rise.

Winter has come

but there is an eternal spring

for the redeemed of the Lord.

Surely the people are like grass.

The Lord Jesus is my Shepherd

/ RedeemedInGrace / 2 Comments

The Lord Jesus is my Shepherd

He takes me to rest

in the pastures of His Promise,

leading my weary soul

to Living Water.

I am revived, restored, redeemed.

He has made it so

because of His righteousness.

Christ my Guide

on the mountaintops

and in the valleys.

I am not shaken

because my Savior and Friend

walks with me always.

He vindicates His beloved

before my enemies with

justice,

honoring His precious sheep

with a feast

of grace and mercy

over and over.

Each day God’s goodness

is displayed on earthen soil

to all who have eyes to see.

And when my Father takes me

Home,

the place I was made to be,

His love will continue to

delight over me.

Consider His lovingkindness

/ RedeemedInGrace / Leave a comment

Consider the lovingkindness of the Lord today.

What has God’s strong arm accomplished for you? Eternal salvation. Praise Him!

Who is at God’s right hand interceding on your behalf? Jesus Christ. Praise Him!

How is God at work in your life this moment? Daily sanctification. Praise Him!

When will you behold the face of God, faith becoming sight? In earthly death. Praise Him!

Where is the Holy Spirit? In my heart forevermore. Praise Him!

Not by our merit, but of His great mercy.

Even if God were to strip away every temporal blessing He has given you and me, like Job, we would still have the Lord. The Lord is my Shepherd, He is all I’ll ever need.

The Lord “watches over the way of His saints.” -Proverbs 2:8

Grace upon grace,

April

The Tapestry Poem

/ RedeemedInGrace / Leave a comment

I’ve heard this poem before and recently read it in the Epilogue to ‘The Hiding Place’ by Corrie ten Boom. The poem is called, “My Life Is Like a Weaving” by Grant Colfax Tullar. I hope it blesses you too.

My life is like a weaving

between my God and me.

I do not choose the colors

He works steadily.

Sometimes He weaves sorrow

and I in foolish pride

forget He sees the upper,

and I the underside.

Not till the loom is silent

and the shuttles cease to fly

will God unroll the canvas

and explain the reason why

the dark threads are as needful

in the skillful weaver’s hand

as the threads of gold and silver

in the pattern He has planned.

Our understanding is finite, His is infinite. We were never in control, God is Sovereign over all. He is perfect in love, we love imperfectly. Given the comparison in character traits, we are better off trusting the Lord with His plans for us rather responding in fear, anger or bitterness.

When WWII began in Corrie ten Boom’s city of Haarlem, the dogfighting in the sky kept her and her sister Betsie awake. They decided to go downstairs in the middle of the night for a cup of tea to calm their nerves until it was over. Finally, Corrie made her way back upstairs to her bedroom where she felt in the dark something sharp on her pillow. It was a 10 inch piece of shrapnel from the night bombings. She ran back to her sister and showed her in terror, what had been laying on her pillow. “What if I had still been in bed?!” Corrie exclaims. Betsie assured her there are no “what ifs” in God’s plan. Whatever He purposes for us, good or bad, we are safest when we are in the center of His will.

As the war progressed the ten Booms would later be arrested for hiding Jews in their home. The horrors of their experience in concentration camps are told in Corrie’s book ‘The Hiding Place’. From these events, she learns to forgive the humanly speaking, unforgivable acts of the Nazis. She even learns to love her enemies, setting up several homes after the war, as a rehabilitation center for those not ready to face the world yet. Corrie went on to travel the world telling others the love of God through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

She likely would not have chosen the tapestry of sorrow and loss weaved into her life, but God sees the overall picture. He took what was meant for evil and used it for good. Everything the Lord does, throughout all of history, has always been for His glory. Elisabeth Elliot once noted, “It is not what the Lord is doing TO you, but rather, what the Lord is doing FOR you.” Whatever He purposes for us in this life serves as an opportunity to refine our character into Christlikeness, and untether us from this temporary world. Author Sam Wellman who wrote the Epilogue to ‘The Hiding Place’ says, “Love triumphs over all afflictions. Our earthly sufferings only serve to make that which awaits us an even greater glory.”

Grace upon grace,

April

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

/ RedeemedInGrace / 2 Comments

I love Christmas hymns. They speak of what God has done for us through Jesus’ birth and perfect atonement. It was all part of God’s plan from the beginning. This means that chaotic world events, personal sorrows, and sin has not caught God off guard. He is still at work. A friend shared with me her favorite Christmas hymn a few years ago and it was one I wasn’t familiar with. ‘I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day’ is now one of my favorites too. Part of it goes, “And in despair I bowed my head, ‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said, ‘For hate is strong, and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men.’ Then rang the bells more loud and deep, ‘God is not dead, nor does He sleep, the wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, good will to men.'”

These words are true because every Christian worships a Living Hope. This is our greatest joy because Jesus Christ is our greatest Gift. There is forgiveness, access to the Father and comfort for every believer. This is a beautiful hymn, full of longing but certain hope. Jesus came in grace. He is coming again. Now we see through a glass darkly, as if we are only half-awake, but one day God’s children will enjoy His Presence and Peace forever when we see Christ face to face. God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. Sin and death will be no more. Praise God!

Grace upon grace,

April

All the Way my Savior Leads Me

/ RedeemedInGrace / 3 Comments

“I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek Your servant, for I have not forgotten Your commands.” -Psalm 119:176

The psalmist is honest before the Lord. It is deeply personal. There is no hiding from Him who sees and knows all things. When we rightly understand the tender mercies of our Heavenly Father, there is no need to run and hide like our first parents, Adam and Eve, in the Garden. Even when we sin, we have a great Mediator to go before us. Our Great Shepherd will always leave the ninety-nine sheep in the safe pasture to go look for the one that wandered away.

David (likely the psalmist), prays to be sought by Jehovah Yahweh, the Keeper of his soul. He knows God’s commands are not only life giving but life saving, which is why he is determined to remember them and live accordingly with God’s help. Our lives in God’s hands are very much like a sonnet. There are boundaries constructed around the perimeter. We must be diligent to acknowledge the set structure He has given us and submit to His authority. Yet the colorful freedom within the sonnet is our liberty. To live, create, work, play and enjoy His many blessings is our joy and His delight! This is the beauty of man’s will working inside God’s will. To stray outside the cadence would be to our peril. The Lord knows this, loving His sheep too much to let us wander off the path, bleating aimlessly. Our Lord Jesus suffered in the place of each redeemed sinner so that you and I never experience one day apart from Him, the Savior and King.

As this psalm closes, it is good to pray like the psalmist does- “Seek Your servant”. Every Christian has a position before the Lord, as a justified, sanctified believer. Those hidden in Christ are adopted into God’s family, given a heavenly inheritance without end. This is because of Jesus. Faith in Jesus Christ transforms depraved sinners into redeemed ones. The grace of God has reached down and taken hold of every born again image bearer. He will not let His beloved go but intends for His mercy and love to follow you all the days of your life. This is the Christian’s greatest blessing because the goodness of God does not end when we die. It is only the beginning of our blessed eternity with the One who has always loved us first and best of all. God is faithful to pursue His children, and lead them all the way into His Kingdom, our Forever Home.

Grace upon grace,

April

Growing deeper: Psalm 23; Isaiah 53; Luke 15:1-7; Hebrews 7:24-28; 1 Peter 2:24-25

 

Life Abundant

/ RedeemedInGrace / 1 Comment

“Let me live that I may praise You, and may Your laws sustain me.” -Psalm 119:175

 It isn’t just physical life the psalmist seeks after, but to drink deeper from the Wellspring of Life. God is the sustenance for every believer, strengthening us according to His good Word. He provides common grace to all people, supplying each breath, allowing good things even for the wicked to enjoy, albeit temporal. But the psalmist has spiritual eyes, a divine hunger to experience fellowship with the Holy God that is fresh and richly satisfying. Give me life is his cry.

More of God flows into more love of Him, more gratitude over our blessings, an awareness of His ocean of mercy, delighting in His beauty all around. The goodness of God is not found merely in what He gives us, but also in how He keeps us. He holds our salvation securely, with every believer’s name permanently written in the Book of Life. God restrains sin in the world and in us. The world is chaotic but consider how much worse it could be. The Lord in lovingkindness has given His laws to protect us from harm, so we do not destroy ourselves in sin. The surest way to ruin our lives and witness is to not live within the secure boundaries God provides. King David certainly understood this principle, as his sins toward Bathsheba and Uriah carried grave consequences which lasted the rest of his life. 

Just like King David, Israel, and all sinners, we learn the hard way the cycle of sin, conviction, repentance, and restoration. There is forgiveness when we turn from God’s ways, momentarily not finding them enough. But what sweet blessing for the one who stays firmly planted in God’s garden, drawing sustenance from His vineyard. This is what life abundant in Jesus Christ looks like. He who abides in God’s laws is the one who truly lives and will indeed inherit everlasting life. Christ’s righteousness covers the redeemed sinner and the Spirit enables this new life to walk in holiness, freedom from the enslavement of sin. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Praise God for His wondrous love, measureless grace and boundless mercy!

Grace upon grace,

April

Growing deeper: John 10:1-18; 15:1-14

 

Jesus is coming soon

/ RedeemedInGrace / Leave a comment

“I long for Your salvation, O LORD, and Your law is my delight.” -Psalm 119:174

The psalmist longs for the completion of his salvation. When he wrote this psalm (likely King David), he saw only a shadow of the promise, a foretaste of the Great Messiah who was to come. He knew the promises but longed for God to fulfill them soon. But what is “soon” to the One outside of Time? To the Keeper of Time? We know on this side of the cross that Jesus Christ is the Messiah who has come and will come again. Only He fulfilled the Law, keeping it perfectly. Yet we follow God’s laws (commands) today as we wait for Jesus to come again once and for all. This is the Age of Grace as we learn the holy ways of our Lord. Like a child learning to ride a bike, first with training wheels, this is our training ground.

Charles Spurgeon says believers develop a “holy hunger” for God the more we are satisfied in Him. The Christian’s appetite is whetted for what is good, beautiful and true. Redeemed sinners have received their salvation in part, meaning in Christ we are forgiven and no longer condemned. But one day, our faith will be made sight as the whole of our salvation is consummated in Glory at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7-9). Jesus is throwing a big party and you who are adopted into His family are invited. While we wait in the interim of the already and not yet, the Christian’s purpose today is to love the Lord above all else, love our neighbor and glorify God by keeping His commandments. We are called to walk worthy. Do you love God’s Word which contain His law? Do you delight in them? Walk in His ways even when your faith is small or weary. The Lord is faithful to transform our disciplined duty into delight for those He has called to Himself.

Grace upon grace,

April

Growing deeper: Matthew 5:17-19; 2 Peter 3:8-18; Revelation 22