Tuesday, December 24, 2019

"To Journey Further"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…


"To Journey Further"


   "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (II Peter 3:18).

    Relationship and fellowship with an infinite, eternal God means that we will never reach a place of knowing all that can be known, or of complete response to the splendor of who He is.  His glory ever beckons us to venture further into "wonders without number" and love that "passeth knowledge" (Job 9:10; Ephesians 3:19).  Such truth blesses and challenges us as we realize that something - Someone - exists who can fill our hearts to the degree that we confess with the Psalmist, "My cup runneth over" (Psalm 23:5).

   Our response begins with the confidence that this blessed truth is, in fact, true.  Is God who He declares Himself to be as the transcendent Life of our lives and the fulfillment of our hearts?  Certainly in principle, believers affirm our Lord's assurance and our need to grow in His grace and knowledge.  However, a noisy and deceiving world presents continual distractions from the truth that "in Thy presence is fulness of joy" (Psalm 16:11).  It matters now how well or how long we have known our Lord, devilish, worldly, and fleshly influences seek to stunt our growth in Christ.  The status quo is no less our enemy than regressing, and is actually the state of heart and mind that results in our slipping backward in our faith and faithfulness to God.  We must therefore counter such temptation by the frequent remembrance that an infinite, eternal Lord forever invites us to journey further into Himself and "the unsearchable riches of Christ" (Ephesians 3:8).

   We also do well to remember God's mercy and longsuffering patience.  Whenever we ponder the truth presently considered, the thought may come to mind of how how much opportunity we have wasted in knowing the Lord, and how much further down the road of grace we should be.  It is proper to confess our squandering, but it must not be paralyzing.  We can only proceed from where we are.  Repentance and confession may be in order, and then we arise to go forth in renewed determination to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus.  Our Heavenly Father promises both mercy for missed opportunity, and grace to avail ourselves of His present and future offerings to discover the heart-filling glory that He alone provides.  Let us then go forth in this moment with the blessed assurance that there is no end to our voyage into the heart of a God more wonderful than even eternity will fully reveal.

"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!"
(Romans 11:33)
"Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable."
(Psalm 145:3)

Weekly Memory Verse

      But God commendeth His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
 (Romans 5:8).





  






















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