“The Risen Son and the Rising Sun”

     The risen Son ensures the rising of the sun upon whatever tomorrow brings to born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

     “He is risen, as He said” (Matthew 28:6).

     Having overcome our worst enemy by trampling death under His nail-scarred feet, the Lord Jesus Christ promises to lead, enable, and keep us in whatever life brings our way. 

     In blessing, He will enhance our joy by leading us along the path of thanksgiving to the throne of grace.  “By Himtherefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name” (Hebrews 13:15). 
     In trouble, He assures our hearts of God’s purpose and preservation: “In the world, ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). 

    In the everyday and mundane, He will abide with us in all: “To live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21). His risen and overcoming life enhances every blessing, transcends every difficulty, and infuses every earthly moment with the presence of heavenly reality.       Our experience of such glory may wax and wane. Nothing, however, changes the fact of our Lord’s vibrant life as our grace-given portion in every moment.  The risen Christ dwells with us.  He dwells within us.  Moreover, “in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts17:28).  This is truth, regardless of the ebb and flow of our awareness, remembrance, application, and apprehension.  Thus, the Apostle Paul commands that we “awake to righteousness” (I Corinthians 15:34). Indeed, let us remember the empty tomb and the occupied throne above. The Son is risen, and in such glorious light, the sun will rise on our everytomorrow regardless of what it may bring.

“The true light now shineth.”(I John 2:8)

 

“Faithful and True”

      I once heard a believer say he wanted to be remembered as “faithful to the end.”

     Certainly, all born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ aspire to this Biblical and noble aspiration.  However, another Christian confessed what I believe to be a far greater and more Biblical hope when asked how he desired to be remembered.  “I want to be known as one who had a merciful, gracious and faithful Lord.”

     You see the difference.  While well meaning, the former aspiration directs attention to the Christian rather than to his Christ.  The latter recalls the beautiful image portrayed by the Apostle John in the Book of Revelation:

    “I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True” (Revelation 19:11).

     Our own faithfulness begins and continues with the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus.  We respond to His working in us, of course, applying ourselves to the power of His indwelling presence.  Never, however, does the God-aware and self-aware believer conclude that his own trustworthiness originates in himself.  “He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” exulted the Apostle Paul, who also confessed, “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. (I Corinthians 10:31; 15:10). 

Faithful and True

There is a Heart, so faithful and true.

It bears a scar, for me and for you.

And we can know for a lifetime through,

it’s faithful and true, faithful and true,

faithful and true, faithful and true.

There is a grace that makes all things new,

born in that valley our Lord passed through.

Where He was smitten for me and for you,

so faithful and true, faithful and true,

faithful and true, faithful and true.

Forever draws nigh, we’ll see His face soon,

Shining in glory, so lovely the view.

And the glad anthem of our hearts will ensue,

so faithful and true, faithful and true,

faithful and true, faithful and true.

(©2010OrangeMoonCafe)

“Great is Thy faithfulness.”

(Lamentations 3:23)

“Below the Surface”

  “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John7:24).

     Because our vision and understanding extend only to the surface of things, God calls us to the “righteous judgment” that recognizes both our limitation, and His infinite understanding.

     “Trust in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

      Certainly, we use our understanding with great determination and application.  We do not, however, lean upon it as if our grasp of facts provides the be all and end all of truth and reality.   Born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ possess the gracious advantage of another and greater Mind that sees above, on, and below the surface of everything in our lives.  “His understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:5).  Through prayer, the Scriptures, our fellow believers, and trusting in the Lord with “all thy heart,” we avail ourselves of the only One who possesses truly righteous judgment. 

     The crystal surface of a still pond might cause us to think we have encountered merely a mirror that beautifully reflects the light of sun, moon, and stars.  In truth, however, a teeming world of life exists under the mirror’s surface.   The pond speaks to everything in our lives, as we actually see very little of things as they truly and completely are.  Let us be thankful that we know the One to whose eyes all things are “naked and opened” (Hebrews 4:13).  He will gladly direct our paths as we affirm His perfect vision and admit our limited perspective.  Or, as the Psalmist exulted of a life lived in the light of God…

“The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”

(Proverbs 4:18)