“Preeminent. Pure. Perfect.”

   In the first weeks of my Christian life, God abundantly blessed me to be in the company of believers who either directly or implicitly encouraged me to embrace several vital truths.

   1.  The Lord Jesus Christ must have "the preeminence in all things" (Colossians 1:18).

   2.  The Bible is true from cover to cover, and can (and must) be trusted implicitly "Every word of God is pure" (Proverbs 30:5).

  3.  "As for God, His way is perfect" (II Samuel 22:31).

  A preeminent Christ.  A pure Word.  A perfect way.  For thirty eight years, these truths have remained in my heart and mind.  Far too often, I have not personally responded well to them.  In principle, however, they remain by God's keeping, and I can honestly confess that I believe them and hope to adhere to them now more than ever.

   We live in a world that more and more seems to exclude the Lord Jesus from consideration, discussion, and admiration.  Concurrently, we slide more and more toward cultural and societal oblivion.  I'd be less than honest if I didn't admit to concern that the church has often led the way down such a wayward path as we so often seem to deemphasize the person and work of Christ as the center and circumference of Christian reality.  We have nothing to say or to do that does not begin, continue, and end with Him - "the preeminence in all things" (emphasis added).  

   The world that excludes Christ excludes, by definition, that Bible that exists to proclaim Him.   A wonderful Bible teacher once wrote that we should accept the Bible as God's perfect Word, and then watch as our Heavenly Father confirms such truth over and over and over again.  I open my Bible always in such confidence, and I am never disappointed.  Nor will I ever be.

   We must also accept and affirm the perfection of God's way.  This becomes personal as we face life's challenges, and as we look on a world in which so many things happen that raise questions in our minds about our Lord's determinations and allowances.  We must remember that temptation began in the human race when Satan tempted Eve to question the loving fairness of God (Genesis 3:5).  We can be sure that our enemy is near any time we venture too far down the dark path of forgetting the Bible's blanket declaration of our Lord's perfect way.  We often do not understand the ways of God.  We must never, however, question their perfection, or the perfection of the Heart and Mind that enact them.

   A preeminent Christ.  A pure Word.  A perfect way.  Whether just beginning our Christian life, or seeking continue the journey, these blessed truths fortify our hearts for the challenge of living a faithful life in an unfaithful world.  I'm grateful to have been taught them early, and I hope to affirm and declare them by God's enabling to the end of this life, and forever beyond.

"This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

(Matthew 3:17)

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."

(II Timothy 3:16)

"The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works."

(Psalm 145:17)

Weekly Memory Verse

   He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.

(Proverbs 11:28)