The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Perfection and Imperfection"
Perfect and imperfection relate to one another in the believer's relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
"As for God, His way is perfect… If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (II Samuel 22:31; I John 1:8).
God fulfills His role to the letter. He never wavers or deviates from His working in us to conform us to the spiritual and moral image of the Lord Jesus. "He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). Of course, His activity in our lives must coincide with how well or poorly we respond to Him. How He coordinates His perfection and our imperfection we do not know. That He does so is certain, and must be embraced within our hearts as a primary conviction of faith. "His work is perfect" declared Moses. We must declare it with Him (Deuteronomy 32:4).
Regarding our role in this present life, we must seek greater consistency and ongoing growth in our walk with God. We should expect this, based on His promised working in us (Philippians 2:13). The knowledge of His perfection bears great impact on our response. Indeed, the better we know in heart and mind who the Lord Jesus is, and what He has done (and is doing) for us, the more confidence we will gain as we realize how faithfully He fulfills His purpose. In our weakest moment, the remembrance of Christ's perfect consistency for us will go far in lifting us up in His strength and promised working in us. "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" raises us up to a more faithful walk with God, based on our Savior's perfect faithfulness to His Father and us (Hebrews 12:2).
Our Heavenly Father views us through the lens of Christ. "Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus" (I Corinthians 1:30). In standing and relationship to Him, we are accounted as perfectly righteous through the imputing of Christ's righteousness to us. Our walk does not always reflect this blessed gift of grace. However, His work on our behalf never wavers as "He ever liveth to make intercession for us" (Hebrews 7:25). As we seek the overcoming of our imperfections, greater discovery and confidence in Christ's perfection will profoundly affect our consistency and growth in His grace.
"Consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds."
(Hebrews 12:3)
"But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
(II Peter 3:18)
Weekly Memory Verse
What hast thou that thou didst not receive?
(I Corinthians 4:7)
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