God

Psalm 27:9-10

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“Do not hide Your face from me, do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my Helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior. Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.” – Psalm 27:9-10

Does it ever feel like God is hiding from you? As if God is absent? The Bible says He is always actively at work for His children (Philippians 1:6). He also promises in Scripture to never leave you, but always be with you (Hebrews 13:5). The believer’s help comes from the Lord. He says we belong to Him, sinful though we are. Sanctifying faith wrestles with our feelings on a daily basis! The temptation to despair and throw in the towel is a spiritual fight straight from Hell. The Lord will not let you go if you belong to Him. He has received you. This is the greatest news a soul can hear. You, dearly beloved Christian, are accepted by God, loved by Him and sustained in your faith by Jesus. He prays for you, interceding on your behalf to the Father’s ear because the Perfect Sacrifice is also your Great High Priest.

Even if all others turn away from you because your pursuit of God in practical holiness seems too zealous, too self-righteous for some, trust that God knows your sincerity. Sincerity is vulnerability of worship and this God will not despise. When we come to our Father in humble transparency, He will honor this posture of worship. We bring nothing to the Father but our sin and need. As the old hymn says, “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling.” The Lord receives the contrite heart (Psalm 51:16-17). Even if all others reject you or disappoint, God will not. He has been our faithful helper and will continue to be as we serve Him. God gives enough grace for this small day to put our hand to the plow. Perhaps the work you do isn’t considered “spiritual”? It all matters to God. All work done for His glory is worship and “spiritual”. Whether you change another diaper, write code for computer software, wait on tables, plant a garden, or drive a loved one to another doctor appointment- the attitude we have determines whether it is pleasing to God or not.

The Lord will never turn His face away from His own, but how are we living faithfully in return? If God is not ashamed to call helpless rebels His adopted children, do we shame His Name by our grumbling and thanklessness? Let us not grieve the Spirit with callous hearts. This is the day that the Lord has made. He commands us to rejoice in it, to enjoy Him and His blessings (Psalm 118:24). Even when life is bleak and gray so that putting one foot in front of another is a challenge know this: the Sovereign Lord who sent His Son to die for you will never cast you off even when it feels that way (John 6:35-40). God always proves Himself faithful as a constant friend and helper, even if all others fall away. Remember what Christ endured for you so that these truths could become your reality.

Jesus bore the Father’s wrath and rejection so you never have to. “The LORD will receive me” is a precious promise for the Christian pilgrim to carry. You are His, but do not grieve Him with shallow faith and an anxious heart. Grow deeper, by His grace, and drink deeply from the cup which never runs dry. His mercies are new everyday. Truth and grace are freely given to the one who asks. His storehouse is abundant, His vow to you unbroken and constant.

Faith over feelings will sharpen your spiritual vision, helping you patiently endure God’s will for your life. One day when you look back on it all, the loneliness and hardship of following Christ will be worth it (Romans 8:28-29). Becoming more like Jesus is costly, but it is a priceless treasure which will never run out or wear out when we are Home.

Grace upon grace,

April

O MY LORD AND SAVIOUR,

Thou hast also appointed a cross for me to take up and carry,

a cross before Thou givest me a crown.

Thou hast appointed it to be my portion,

but self-love hates it,

carnal reason is unreconciled to it;

without the grace of patience I cannot bear it,

walk with it, profit by it.

O blessed cross, what mercies dost Thou bring

with Thee!

Thou art only esteemed hateful by my rebel will,

heavy because I shirk Thy load.

Teach me, gracious Lord and Saviour,

that with my cross Thou sendest promised grace

so that I may bear it patiently,

that my cross is Thy yoke which is easy,

and Thy burden which is light.

‘The Grace of the Cross’ -Valley of Vision

Psalm 27:7-8

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“Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of You, “Seek His face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek.” -Psalm 27:7-8

Does the Lord hear us when we pray? Is He ever too busy to listen? Are some of our cries not important enough? We may doubt whether God hears our prayers sometimes, and that is why it is crucial to answer our questions Biblically. God in Heaven will always bend an ear to hear His people’s cries and act according to His wisdom. This is God’s nature. The Creator ministers to the created without reservation. When David pleads for God to be merciful to him and answer his prayers, he is asking the Lord to be Himself. God is already merciful. This may mean at times that God does not act as we expect, but He is never wrong in His decisions. It is we who must adjust our expectations, trusting in His Sovereignty.

King David asks for the Lord to see his plight and act on his behalf. He doesn’t yet know the outcome of his prayer request, but David still responds to the Lord with worship. This is an example every Christian can pattern. No matter how God chooses to answer our pleas, the consistent character of worship should be the makeup of our hearts. We seek His face regardless of circumstances because Yahweh is the best refuge for any situation. Even when we don’t like how He answers a prayer- perhaps ‘wait’ or ‘no’ was given? How does the believer respond? What does that do to your faith? Shaken but not shattered.

When our faith is sifted through trials, we can have confidence that Jesus intercedes for us. He prays for our faith to stand firm, just like He did for Peter (Luke 22:31-32). When the dust settles and the shock wears off, the Christian can choose to grow bitter and jaded, or take their broken hearts back to the throne room of grace, crying for more mercy. More trust in His providence, more love to rest secure, more of God to find strength for another day. Perseverance of the saints is grace and mercy at work. The Spirit will bless the believing heart with this lion lamblike quality of humility, trust and boldness after the living God.

Bending to the will of God produces spiritual maturity. God is after a harvest in our hearts, using whatever means necessary for abundant growth. Pray and pursue. Trust and obey. These commands are woven throughout the entire Bible because it is for our good and God’s glory. Believer, you have the privilege of living before the face of the One who made you and saved you. He hears our heart cries. The Lord is most merciful.

Grace upon grace,

April

Growing deeper: Romans 8:18-34; Psalm 34:15-18

Psalm 27:5-6

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“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

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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.

On That Day

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It is such a short time

that we live on

this blessed earth,

when we move and breathe.

God ordains down to the year

and day we enter

Chaos

and when we leave it.

It is all in His Hands,

the wonder and heartache,

beauty and ashes.

What will you and I

leave behind?

What have we built

our lives upon?

Christ the Redeemer

turned everything

upside down,

showing us

the Kingdom Way.

A legacy of faith

by God’s grace,

is the crown jewel

which will one day

overtake the saints

with everlasting joy

and gladness.

On that day

sorrow and sighing

will flee away

banished into eternal

darkness.

Dear Christian,

persevere with joy

in the reality

of your eternal future.

The not yet

will soon

be declared,

“fulfilled.”

Surely the people are grass

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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

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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

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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

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

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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

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“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