"To Love"

     "I will love Thee, o Lord my strength" (Psalm 18:1).

     King David recognized that fulfilling the first and great command of Scripture involved not only the determination of "I will", but also the recognition of God's determination to provide "strength".  Only the presence of the God who "is love" can lead and enable human hearts to "walk in love" (I John 4:8; Ephesians 5:2).

    The Apostle Paul affirms and enhances this truth in the New Testament.  "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us" (Romans 5:5).  Salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ births newness of life in all who believe, and most importantly, newness of love.  Our Savior's presence within us energizes our faculties with the Divine strength that makes Divine character and action possible.  "To live is Christ" wrote Paul to the Phillipians (Philippians 1:21).  To love is Christ constitutes the most important aspect of such grace, namely, to love God with all our "heart and soul and mind and strength" (Mark 12:30).  Thus, David's "I will love Thee, o Lord my strength" means far more to the Christ-inhabited believer than the king could ever have understood or imagined (Old Testament saints did not possess the permanently indwelling Holy Spirit because Christ had not yet made atonement for sin - John 7:39; 14:17).

    We must have great confidence in our capacity to love God and others, confidence not in ourselves, but in ourselves as enabled by the Holy Spirit.  Through Christ, we can love as God defines love (Philippians 4:13).  In response to His devotion to us, we affirm and confess the freely determined "I will love Thee", or as the Apostle John wrote, "We love Him because He first loved us" (I John 4:19).  We do so, however, in complete acknowledgement that every step of our journey must be empowered by the Spirit of the Christ who declared, "Without Me, ye can do nothing" (John 15:5).  Long ago, King David realized the shadows of such glory and grace.  Today, born again believers can walk in the bright sunlight of greater glory and grace as we make our free will determination to love God, and our free will determination to trust the Spirit of Christ as the power to fulfill - "I will love Thee, o Lord my strength!"

"I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it, that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

(John 17:26)

Weekly Memory Verse

    All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.

(John 1:3)

    

"Wow!

     "Wow, Superman socks!"

      During our walk this morning, Frances and I stopped by a drugstore to pick up an item.  While walking the aisles, I came upon a rack of socks.  Not just ordinary socks, mind you.  No, these were superhero socks, and most importantly, included Superman socks.  To appreciate the story that follows, you have to know that I have been a Superman fan since my childhood in the early 1960s.  I loved the comic books.  I loved the old reruns of the 1950s TV show.  I loved donning a bathroom towel as a cape and pretending to fly like the Man of Steel (don't worry, I don't do this anymore.  It's literally been months since I took flight wearing one of our towels).  Most of all, I loved the character Superman, no less for his virtue than for his amazing powers.  I suppose, as the principle for which Superman lived affirms, I loved his stand for "Truth, Justice, and the American way!"

    Of course, I had to buy socks.  Not only were they Superman socks, but they perfectly match the shorts I wear when we walk in the summertime (yes, they are that color of blue).  So I left the store with my new foot apparel in possession, and sat down on the curb to put them on.  Perfect fit, of course, and if I do say so myself, I think they make a pretty good fashion accessory for my bony ankles and shins! (see accompanying photo).

    Now, back to "Wow, Superman socks!"  I didn't say that (although as soon as I saw them on the rack in the store, I thought it).  No, a little boy uttered those words when we had to make another stop at a grocery store on the way home.  The boy said this to his father upon looking down and seeing my footware.  This led to my enthusiastic response, of course, and to my informing the lad and his dad that the drugstore sells all kinds of superhero hosiery (Batman, the Flash, the Green Hornet, and yes, for you Marvel comic book fans, they sell some of those inferior models also.  Did I ever mention to you, by the way, that Superman could squash Spiderman like, well, like a bug?).  The boys eyes grew bigger and bigger as I spoke, and I could tell by his father's smile that a visit to that drugstore would soon occur.

   I loved the wonder in that little boy's face and voice.  Indeed, I'm gladder to have bought the socks for his response than for any other reason (although, did I mention how good they look on my… oh yes, I did suggest that, didn't I?).  The truth is, I love wonder.  We were made for it, we were created to behold glories unimaginable, and to be thrilled, filled, and fulfilled by beholding the God whose "greatness is unsearchable" (Psalm 145:3).  Consider the following superlatives declared by Scripture regarding our wondrous Lord:

   "His understanding is infinite" (Psalm 147:5).

   "Who is like unto Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?!" (Exodus 15:11).

   "The love of Christ, which passeth knowledge" (Ephesians 3:19).

   "The unsearchable riches of Christ" (Ephesians 3:8).

   "O the depths both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!" (Romans 11:33).

    Born again believers in the Lord Jesus will experience an eternity of wonder.  The glory begins now for all who believe that our God is already presently and actively involved in our lives to the degree that we are in Christ and Christ is in us (Colossians 1:27; I Corinthians 1:30).  Many "Wow!" moments present themselves to our hearts and minds as we live in confident expectation.  We don't attempt to manufacture or produce them.  Our Heavenly Father is more than capable of doing that.  We simply acknowledge the Bible's declaration of the Wondrous God, who does wonders.  Most will present themselves in quiet and small matters that we may miss if we fail to live in anticipation.  Some may be huge, and nearly impossible to overlook.  Whatever the mode or the measure, we do well to expect the "Wow!" of life lived in the glory of God.  A pair of socks and a little boy united to remind me of such blessed Truth today, and to provide another wonder of our Lord's involvement to experience and to share with you.  "Wow!"

"Thou art the God that doest wonders."

(Psalm 77:14)

Weekly Memory Verse

    All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.

(John 1:3)

    

“In the Day of Adversity”

       The Lord is my strength" (Psalm 118:14).

      "If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small" (Proverbs 24:10).

      David and his son Solomon unite to teach us that failure to deal well with adversity indicates our need for growth in our relationship with God.  Indeed, if He is our strength, and if trouble overwhelms us rather our seeing it as opportunity to overcome, the problem must lie in our knowledge of the Lord and our understanding of His truth.  We all need growth in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus.  However,  if the God-determined or allowed difficulties of our lives consistently seem more than we can handle, we do well to acknowledge that our weakness involves more than merely the natural process of spiritual maturing.  There may be rather be truths about God's presence and working of which we may be unaware, or that we do not know well enough.  We may even be wrong in some aspects of understanding our Lord's truth.  

     One of the reasons we so desperately need to apply ourselves to a strong relationship with the Lord is that trouble is coming.  Trouble is always coming, whether in minor irritations, major calamities, or the everyday challenges faced by all.  "Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward" (Job 5:7).  If we don't take the opportunities God gives to prepare ourselves spiritually, we will find ourselves far less likely to avail ourselves of the strength, wisdom, and presence He provides to enable the overcoming of difficulty.  As we frequently reference, our Lord is "a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1).   Failure to know this truth, or to know it well enough, means that far more strength than necessary will be present and accessible for every challenge.  But we will fail to avail ourselves of it.  

    "It is a good land which the Lord our God doth give us.  Notwithstanding, ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God… The Lord your God, which goeth before you, He shall fight for you… Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 1:25-26; 3032; ).

    Israel unnecessarily languished for forty years in the wilderness because they did not know the Lord well enough to adequately experience His presence and power.  Tragically, the same can be true of born again believers in the Lord Jesus, with even greater culpability and consequence.  The Spirit of God literally dwells within us to enable our triumphant facing of every challenge.  "Now thanks be unto God, which always caught us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of His knowledge by us in every place" (II Corinthians 2:14).  To the degree we know Him will be the degree to which we trust and submit ourselves to Him in times of trouble.  Thereby we reveal the power that magnifies our Lord, helps us, and enables others to see the glory of the Lord Jesus in open display of His goodness and greatness…

"Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.  Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world with end.  Amen."

(Ephesians 3:20-21)

"Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might."

(Ephesians 6:10)

Weekly Memory Verse

    All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.

(John 1:3)