meditations for an everyday relationship with Jesus

True refuge

Psalm 9:8-10 He judges the world with righteousness; He executes judgment on the nations with fairness.

The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know Your name trust in You because You have not abandoned those who seek You, Yahweh.

Poets and prophets are those who inconveniently “remind” us of what is true and what is false. They remind us that God has a big plan and that it is good for us. Again, the writer of Psalms (most often associated with King David) reminds us that God is a refuge, a safe house, for those who believe in Him. If you are reading this collection of meditations, then you are most likely one of the believers. You know by now how a community of believers can be a sanctuary and a refuge in times of trouble.

We were told in Genesis that it was not good for people to be alone, and Jesus reinforces the benefits of gathering together by surrounding Himself with disciples and various followers.

God’s church is His safe house and we are His hands and feet.

Life preserver

Psalm 138:7-8 If I walk into the thick of danger, You will preserve my life from the anger of my enemies. You will extend Your hand; Your right hand will save me. The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me.

the voice God gave me meditations for an everyday relationship with Jesus

It seems that we are running a streak of Old Testament Scripture which reaffirms God’s unfailing goodness, strength, love and protection. This is, of course, tempered by the awareness that defying Him or disobeying Him have predictable consequences. All we have to do is reverse the Psalms and Wisdom books and it is pretty clear what the downside is of disbelieving, disobeying, and disconnecting from Yahweh.

What is very clear from all of God’s authors is that He has a purpose: a purpose to glorify Himself and in doing that He raises us up to Him and blesses us with a purpose. Spiritual gifts, use of talents that glorify, and a peculiar calling (anointing), are evidence of this “extension of His hand” as we navigate the dangers of this life.

Chosen

John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you. I appointed you that you should go out and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.

Many are called; few are chosen.

To be sin for us

Romans 5:8 But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!

2 Corinthians 5:21 He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

God hates sin because it alone is what distances us from Him. God’s holy discontent with sin has a long and disturbing history … my guess is that before time when God, the Son and the Holy Spirit were doing their strategic brainstorming this issue came up and lay square in the middle of their best laid plans like a huge blow fly buzzing in the cosmic ointment.

And yet God loved us so much that He planned to send Himself (at an appointed time) to us, and for us, so that He could pay our sin debt in person. We didn’t even know we had such a thing as a sinful nature but God knew. Paul in his letters to the Romans, and to the Corinthians, makes it clear that God never intended to lose us. Never!

Freewill is more than a choice for better or best; it is our God-given privilege to choose where we will spend eternity: with Him or without Him!