Longing

1 Peter 1:13

Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.

I am getting so much from Joe Thorn’s book “Note to Self”. Recently, I was reading and Thorn poses these thoughts; “What is your greatest hope? Your deepest longing? Is it for Christ to return? Be honest. That’s not always at the top of your list.”

Ouch! Thorn does state that setting our hope on the grace to be experienced at the coming of Christ does not have to deny desires for things like marriage, grandchildren, love; but that to say Jesus’ return is our deepest longing means that “his manifested glory and the end of sin is our greatest need”. Amen.

I also believe that as we mature in our Christian walk our longings and desires do transition from things to Christ. I find that in myself and find myself longing more and more for the embrace of Christ – for Christ to tell me it is all ok and will be forever. I am so touched by the song “Forever Reign” and especially the Chorus:

“Oh, I'm running to Your arms, I'm running to Your arms. The riches of Your love, will always be enough. Nothing compares to Your embrace. Light of the world, forever reign.”

The writers of the song cite Ephesians 3:14-19 as inspiration for this song.

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

May we all know the love of Christ and be filled with all the fullness of God.

“My heart will sing, No other name Jesus, Jesus.”

Grace and Peace!

Sing

Psalm 30:1-4

1 I will exalt you, LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. 2 LORD my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me. 3 You, LORD, brought me up from the realm of the dead; you spared me from going down to the pit. 4 Sing the praises of the LORD, you his faithful people; praise his holy name.

How much do you sing? No really, how much do you sing and specifically sing the praises of the LORD? This passage really strikes me this morning. Today I see clearly that I was lifted out of the depths, I did call for help and was healed. I should be singing the praises of the Lord. I should be praising His holy name. As I think about this, we should sing more; more than at our worship services.

I was not gifted with a great voice, but I must tell you some of my most joyful moments come as I sing. Joe Thorn wrote a great little book called “Note to Self”. It is a book that reminds each of us just how much we need the gospel spoken into our lives. In this book he talks about singing. Joe reminds us;

“You really should sing more. You should sing more than at gathered worship with the church. You should sing in the car, while working in the yard, and in your home…

And stop rolling your eyes! I’m not suggesting that you become the perpetually happy whistler who rolls through the aisles of the grocery store whistling others into an incurable state of annoyance…

People sing about the things that capture their hearts and things that give them joy… Does anyone have more reasons to sing than you? As a sinner who has been forgiven, a slave who has been freed, a blind man who has received sight, a spiritual cripple who has been healed – all by the gospel – you have real reasons to be known as a person of song!”

May we all sing more and more the Praises of our Lord!

Grace and Peace!

Living Hope

The older I get the more excited (dare I say emotional) I get about Easter. As I come to understand the depth of my brokenness and my desperate need for a savior, the more awe I have for the sacrifice of Christ and the power of His resurrection. As all this bundle of revelation, emotion and excitement come together, the more I realize what a time of thanksgiving Easter truly is.

1 Peter 1:3-4 brings this into focus for me:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you

Kistemaker says Peter wrote this letter to "testify to God’s true grace and to offer a message of hope and encouragement"; true hope, living hope. This is a hope that goes beyond the circumstances of life. If we look at this passage the first thing we see is praise, the proper position for us all as we come to understand and believe, we then see the relationship God and Father of our Lord which can only begin to point us to the great mercy that we are provided as believers.

This is a new mercy that leads us to a new birth; a spiritual rebirth into a new life. This is a life of living hope; a hope that is personal, living and active. It is a hope that is part of us and our lives. It is a hope that is always there. We may lose sight of it from time to time, but it is the hope that will always be there for us.

It is amazing to me that this hope stems from the power of the resurrection of Christ; hope that is realized and living because Christ overwhelmed the grave and conquered death. That is true and living hope and this hope show us as believers we have something to hope for; an inheritance…what? In fact an inheritance that; no matter what is going on in our lives, can never perish, spoil of fade; an inheritance that is kept in heaven, an inheritance that is eternal.

Praise be to God; for He has risen, He has risen indeed. May we all recognize the living hope through the resurrection of our Lord and Savior; Jesus Christ; the hope of an inheritance that is eternal, the living hope of a child of God! Amen…

Happy Easter – Grace and Peace!