Total Recall

A millennium may seem a long time for us — temporal beings — but not so for the eternal God, Who is familiar with the entirety of history while I struggle to remember what happened yesterday.

³ You return man to dust
    and say, “Return, O children of man!”
⁴ For a thousand years in your sight
    are but as yesterday when it is past,
    or as a watch in the night.
⁵ You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,
    like grass that is renewed in the morning:
⁶ in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
    in the evening it fades and withers.
⁷ For we are brought to an end by your anger;
    by your wrath we are dismayed.
⁸ You have set our iniquities before you,
    our secret sins in the light of your presence.
⁹ For all our days pass away under your wrath;
    we bring our years to an end like a sigh. (Psalm 90:3-9, ESV)

Our lives are only too brief and extinguish with a wheeze. Then we must give an account to our Maker, whose wrath we’ve incurred, but it isn’t as though we can’t also do good in life, or that God constantly observes us, waiting for us to trip up, like a disapproving father. It’s just that our good deeds cannot erase the bad and its consequence. We desperately need a righteousness outside of ourselves, one that Jesus lived and which becomes ours by faith.

Our Eternal God, We must one day, very soon, return to the dust from which You formed us. You remember with clarity all that has ever taken place, just as You know everything that will be. You are just and so you must punish even our deeds that miss the mark which no one else is aware of. Only by trusting in Your Son Jesus as our Lord and Saviour can we escape Your judgement. By Your Spirit, help us put away sin and walk in the good deeds You prepared in advance for us, as new creations in Christ (Ephesians 2:10).

From Everlasting to Everlasting

A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.

90 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
    in all generations.
² Before the mountains were brought forth,
    or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (Psalm 90:1-2, ESV)

At the outset of Psalm 90 Moses reflects on the fact that, as far back as Abraham, whatever else was going on and wherever they happened to be, God was always there for His people. They had somewhere, or rather Someone, to go to. God has never changed throughout all of eternity, nor throughout humanity’s short history (James 1:17). Oppression and slavery couldn’t change who God is, neither could the steady march of time.

Everlasting God, You never change. Thanks that, although You originally lavished Your love——via a promise——upon Abraham and his descendants, You always planned to multiply Your blessings by gathering people from all nations to dwell with You. Thanks for Jesus, through Whom we become Abraham’s descendants and, consequently, Your children.

Fit for a King

If only we could stand “righteous” before God, then we would also have full assurance that we are at peace with Him, as though the two——righteousness and peace——share the intimacy of a kiss.

¹⁰ Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
    righteousness and peace kiss each other.
¹¹ Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
    and righteousness looks down from the sky.
¹² Yes, the Lord will give what is good,
    and our land will yield its increase.
¹³ Righteousness will go before him
    and make his footsteps a way. (Psalm 85:10-13, ESV)

I tend to avoid wearing white since bad things always seem to happen with food or drink. It is hard to keep clean, whether that be white clothing or a spotless life. The trouble is, to appear before perfectly holy God in a “right” standing, we need to live completely spotless lives (an impossibility). Is there any hope for us, then, who fail to live a blemish-free existence?

Righteousness is a foundational part of who God is and why He is, consequently, worthy to be enthroned (Psalm 89:14). This is also the reason Jesus, as uniquely both God and man, was able to live a perfectly law-abiding life. If only there was a way for God to impart His righteousness to us, to clothe us with the righteousness of the One Who lived an entirely spotless life as one of us. Well, there is. Putting our faith in the Christ makes it possible for His righteousness to become ours (Philippians 3:9).

⁹ After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10, ESV)

The multitude of Revelation 7, clothed in pure white vestments (read righteousness), are those qualified to stand in the presence of the throne of God and the Lamb by virtue of having “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (verse 14).

Father God, To pave the way to You we need a righteousness we can never attain on our own. Thanks for the Lamb, Your Son Jesus, Who brokered peace——a cease to hostilities——by offering up His sacrifice of righteousness for anyone who would trust in Him. Help us trust in Him so His spotless righteousness becomes ours, for You sent Him to make salvation possible. Wash the deeds, with which we are clothed, in the blood of the Lamb, so that we would be clothed in white, fit to stand before Your throne, and in the presence of Jesus, eager to raise our voice as one in the praise You deserve.

Drought Resistant

Being entirely reliant on God not only readies us to withstand life’s terrible hardships but it also ensures we continue to produce fruit, even in the worst of circumstances.

⁷ “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
    whose trust is the LORD.
⁸ He is like a tree planted by water,
    that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
    for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
    for it does not cease to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7-8, ESV)

Our trust must go beyond merely believing that God exists which, although a good start, must be exceeded to the point of trusting that the Son He sent has done all that is necessary to save us and has also warranted God’s unrelenting benevolence toward us. Since it is exceptionally difficult to trust someone whom you hardly know, becoming drought tolerant will necessitate getting acquainted with God through His Word and trusting the promises He makes, and keeps, within, and all of God’s promises have their yes revealed in Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:19-20).

Trusting in God makes perfect sense because He always keeps His promises and proves faithful in our times of testing (1 Corinthians 10:13). The eyes of faith see that, even when God permits troubles that we would otherwise perceive as bad, He actually has designs for our ultimate good, in a bid to make us more closely resemble Christ (Romans 8:28-29). Knowing that this is always God’s aim leads us to a deep-seated and unassailable joy, as we rest in His continual favour.

Heavenly Father, Bless us by establishing within us a deeply rooted and well watered trust in You as we plumb the depths of Your Scriptures, in which You never fail to keep Your promises. Lead us beyond belief in You to where You are our salvation and the heartbeat of our lives, so we can join Paul in saying, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Then it will be our joy to never stop producing Kingdom fruit, courtesy of Your Spirit (Isaiah 32:15; Galatians 5:22), even in the toughest and most unpleasant of times. And, importantly, bring us out the other side of adversity resembling Jesus more closely than when we entered it, that we may live free of fear and anxiety during heat and drought. Do all this for the sake of Your Son, through whom we utter our Amen to You for His glory.

Lofty yet Obtainable Faith

Peter’s 2^nd letter addressing the Church begins:

Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ:

² May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. (2 Peter 1:1-2, ESV)

It is the sort of introduction we could easily gloss over. If we dwell on it for a moment though, it’s incredible, really. The faith of ordinary Christians, like us, is on an identical footing with the faith of the Twelve Apostles (Sent Ones). Now we may consider our faith to be weaker or stronger by comparison and yet our faith, if we trust in Jesus, isn’t the least bit inferior to that of the giants of our faith, whose shoulders we stand on. A precious thought. It can take a while to sink in.

The Apostles may have had a special role in the establishment of God’s church with the Gospel, but their faith was not unique. We can take possession of the same faith, as a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8). The reason being, our faith and theirs share the same grounding: the pure moral correctness and right standing before God of Jesus, our willing Sacrificial Lamb. Jesus’ perfect moral cleanliness becomes ours as we place our trust in His life, death, resurrection, and ascension to glory, all for our benefit so we can stand before God in innocence.

Our God and Saviour Jesus, we want to receive Your Father’s gift and so we place our trust in You. Thank You that our trust in You has the same status before Your Father as that of the first Sent Ones. Thank You that Your spotless cleanliness becomes ours by faith. We are grateful for this faith and are happy to be known as Your servants. May grace and peace be multiplied to us as we get to know You, our Brother, and God, as our Father. We look forward to Your coming kingdom, an eternity of getting to know You and Your Father more and more completely, where grace and peace will be ours in abundance.

Sins Forgiven

And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” —— Matthew 9:2 (ESV)

I can almost feel the bitter disappointment of the paralytic’s mates. They’ve heard of this Jesus character, who works miraculous healings. Jesus even recognises something special within them, an expectant hope: faith. Their buddy can’t walk, paralysed, and Jesus has the power to reverse his paralysis. Perfect solution. Or is it? Instead, Jesus begins by carrying on about… forgiveness?

Yet, Jesus has His finger on something much more significant than a mere physical ailment, He points out the paralysed man’s undiagnosed and far greater need. A problem that affects us all and can cause us to lose heart. The issue, having the potential to threaten our immortal souls if not dealt with appropriately.

The trouble is sin. Our persistent moral failing. Our inability to live in complete obedience to the commands of God. An offence before the Pure and Holy God, enough to keep us out of Heaven for all of eternity. With Jesus as the only One who can come to our aid, the only One who is capable of offering us forgiveness on God’s behalf, since He represents God as His only Son and He paid our penalty, dying a criminal’s death as a man. In the verses that follow Jesus heals the paralytic too, demonstrating His ability to make suffering a thing of the past.

Lord Jesus, though we come to You with hopes of healing, or to fix our other problems, we get more than we bargained for. We cast ourselves on You as the only One who can offer the forgiveness we so desperately need. Thanks for Your grace, for treating us far better than we deserve. Thanks also for the gift of expectant hope, of faith in You, as the only One who can wipe clean our slate. Not only do offer forgiveness, Your earthly ministry gave a foretaste of the kingdom You are ushering in where the healing of Your people will be full and complete, suffering will be no more (Revelation 21:4).

Faith of Equal Standing

Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:

² May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. — 2 Peter 1:1-2

Incredible. A precious thought. The faith of ordinary Christians, like us, is on an identical footing with the faith of the Twelve Apostles (Sent Ones). That takes a while to sink in. The Apostles may have had a special role in the the establishment of God’s church with the Gospel but their faith was not unique. We can take possession of the same faith, as a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8). Our faith and theirs share the same grounding: the pure moral correctness of our willing Saviour-God. Jesus’ perfect moral cleanliness becomes ours as we trust in His life, death, resurrection, and ascending to glory, all for our benefit.

Lord Jesus, thank You for granting us a trust in You that has the same status before Your Father as that of Your Sent Ones. Thanks that Your cleanliness becomes ours by the faith Your Father has granted to us. In gratitude for this faith we are happy to be known as Your servants. May grace and peace be our ours in abundance as we get to know You and, through you, know God as our Father. Everyone who places trust in You receives Your inheritance, a share in Your kingdom where we get to know You and Your Father more and more completely.