Grace and Glory

Such a great truth from Matthew Henry on God’s two greatest promises!

The Lord will give grace and glory. Grace signifies both the good-will of God towards us and the good work of God in us; glory signifies both the honour which he now puts upon us, in giving us the adoption of sons, and that which he has prepared for us in the inheritance of sons. God will give them grace in this world as a preparation for glory, and glory in the other world as the perfection of grace; both are God’s gift, his free gift. And as, on the one hand, wherever God gives grace he will give glory (for grace is glory begun, and is an earnest of it), so, on the other hand, he will give glory hereafter to none to whom he does not give grace now, or who receive his grace in vain. And if God will give grace and glory, which are the two great things that concur to make us happy in both worlds, we may be sure that no good thing will be withheld from those that walk uprightly. It is the character of all good people that they walk uprightly, that they worship God in spirit and in truth, and have their conversation in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity; and such may be sure that God will withhold no good thing from them, that is requisite to their comfortable passage through this world. Make sure grace and glory, and other things shall be added. This is a comprehensive promise, and is such an assurance of the present comfort of the saints that, whatever they desire, and think they need, they may be sure that either Infinite Wisdom sees it is not good for them or Infinite Goodness will give it to them in due time. Let it be our care to walk uprightly, and then let us trust God to give us every thing that is good for us.

If The Son Sets You Free You Will Be Free Indeed – john 8:36

Please take some time to read the following meditation on freedom by J.C. Ryle as we celebrate America’s freedom today

Liberty, most Englishmen know, is rightly esteemed one of the highest temporal blessings.  Freedom from foreign dominion, a free constitution, free trade, a free press, civil and religious liberty, – what a world of meaning lies beneath these phrases! How many would sacrifice life and fortune to maintain the things which they represent! Yet, after all our boasting there are many so-called freemen who are nothing better than slaves. There are many who are totally ignorant of the highest, purest form of liberty. The noblest liberty is that which is the property of the true Christian. Those only are perfectly free people who the Son of God “makes free.” All else will sooner or later be found slaves.

Wherein does the liberty of true Christians consist? Of what is their freedom made up? They are freed from the guilt and consequences of sin by the blood of Christ.  Justified, pardoned, forgiven, they can look forward boldly to the day of judgment and cry “Who shall lay anything to our charge? Who is he that condemns?”  They are freed from the power of sin by the grace of Christ’s Spirit. Sin has no longer dominion over them. Renewed, converted, sanctified, they mortify and tread down sin, and are no longer led captive by it. Liberty, like this, is the portion of all true Christians in the day that they flee to Christ by faith, and commit their souls to Him. That day they become free men. Liberty, like this, is their portion for evermore. Death cannot stop it. The grave cannot even hold their bodies for more then a little season. Those whom Christ makes free are free to all eternity.

Let us never rest till we have some personal experience of this freedom ourselves. Without it all other freedom is a worthless privilege. Free speech, free laws, political freedom, commercial freedom, national freedom, all those cannot smooth down a dying pillow, or disarm death of his sting, or fill our conscience with peace. Nothing can do that but the freedom which Christ alone bestows.

A Couple of Gems From Spurgeon

“All that God can demand of a believing sinner, Christ has already paid, and there is no voice in earth or heaven that can henceforth accuse a soul that believes in Jesus.” Read the rest at Because He Was Made A Curse For Us.

“Heaven is our portion, and the thoughts of its amazing bliss should cheer us on the road. Christ has given to us such large and wide domains of grace and glory, that it would be altogether unseemly that there should be a poverty of happiness where there is such an affluence of possession.” Read the rest at Why Shouldn’t We Praise The Lord

A Thanksgiving Poem

I could never exhaust the praise
that king Jesus rightly deserves.
Words fail to express the Thanksgiving
Which is in my heart for your death on my behalf.

All glory, honor and thanks is Jesus’
For by His blood He ransomed people for God.
You are holy, holy, holy, there is none like you.
All creation is yours and by your will we exist.

When you bring your redeemed to the new heaven and earth
We will spend all eternity giving thanks for who you are
And that you have called us to yourself
So that we can be complete and satisfied in you.

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. – Matthew 7:22

There are many people who based on outward appearances act like Christians. They can prophesy, know the Scriptures, do healing and call Jesus “Lord,” but none of those things guarantee that a person is a Christian. A profession of faith or a baptism does not make a person a Christian. Jesus is not considered about our resume of deeds. What makes us Christians is how we abide, how we live as sinners who are continually reliant on God’s grace. Jesus isn’t looking for people who can do great things for the Kingdom, He is looking for those that seek him and count Him as their highest good.

Abiding isn’t about what we can do for God and what He can gain from us being in His service. If our goal in abiding is to gain God a more comfortable life then we miss the point of coming near to Him. The purpose of our abiding is to commune with God and grow in our relationship with Him. He needs nothing from this relationship and there is nothing we can give to Him that He doesn’t already have. We do not abide with God to make Him into our genie in a bottle that will take all of our troubles away. We abide with God because we love Him and our soul longs to see Him more and more.

In abiding with God we are made more like Him. Our act of abiding prepares us for Heaven where we will always see Him and never be separated from Him. We truly are the beneficiaries in this abiding relationship because we gain salvation and the hope of eternity. Through abiding, although we are weak, He makes us strong. By abiding we are brought closer and closer to the glorious state that we will day be made into. No greater is joy found except through abiding in Christ.

Nearness with God

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 5:17

The kingdom of Heaven is near.  It is not here yet, but it is close, within hands reach.  In this state of grace, I experience the kingdom of Heaven by drawing near to God.  Nearness with God and all of the blessings that come with that are available for those that are in Christ and seek His face.  My seeking His face will always be flawed until I am glorified.  On that day when I made new the kingdom of Heaven will  be made present and nothing will stop me from pursuing it.  Until then I repent and turn from my flesh.  I turn from this world and all it has to offer so I can see my Savior more fully.

The Glory of Christ

I was reading Isaiah 60 this morning and was filled with so much hope, wonder, amazement, awe and joy at what Heaven will be like.  The chapter is 22 verses long and starts with a bang with a call to action.  After that call to action there is promise after promise about what God has done and will do.  Revelation 21 used to be my favorite chapter about Heaven, but I think this passage is now.

This passage is also a testimony to God’s faithfulness.  I was praying this morning that God would meet me and bring me to place of worship as I read.   As I read this passage my soul was definitely nourished and cared for.

I’ve actually been in a poem writing kick lately and will be posting some new stuff over the course of this week.  Here is a poem that I wrote this morning on this passage.

All the children of God, hope in Christ return.
We live in dark days where sin and wickedness abound,
But when Christ returns His glory will shine,
The everlasting light of His glory will outshine all satan has done
And every knee on earth, under the earth and above the earth
Will bow in awe and wonder at the King of Kings.

Arise all that have been adopted by God,
Look forward with eagerness to Chris return
When His glory will be our light
As we will be made majestic and beautiful
In the city whose gates is Praise and wall are called Salvation.

Oh what a wonderful day when we will get to see the glorified Christ.
His glory is great and greatly to be praised.
The everlasting light of His glory will outshine the moon and stars.
Light has no place for darkness, so He is filled with wrath to sin,
But He is full of mercy and has made undeserving sinners righteous through the cross.

One day those bought by the precious blood of Christ
Will see Him face to face and the joy He has for His children.
Like a father with his children, Christ heart is elated in us.
His heart is exulting and thrilled at those that He redeemed on the cross.
Let us live for this reality as we live for eternity
And pray for the hastening of Christ return.

The contradiction of Christianity

as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything. -2 Corinthians 6:10

The Christian life is in essence a contradiction. There is nothing about it that makes sense if we view it logically. We are not following after a leader who will lead us to earthly wealth and happiness. We are following after a leader who was hated and crucified by His own people. Jesus even gave us the guarantee that since those He came to save hated Him, we can be assured that we will be hated also (John 15:18-24). Our hope is not in this life, but in the life to come. We deny ourselves in this life, so that we can glorified in the next life. The things that the world glories in we count as loss (Philippians 3:7-8). All of our eggs are in one basket and that is Jesus Christ, if He hasn’t been raised from the dead, then all of this is in vain and we are to be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:12-19).

If Christ is raised from the dead, then in Him we have life to the full because He is the one who defeated the power of death. He is our peace with God because He has made a way for us to be right with God. He has given us immeasurable joy because no earthly trouble can compare to the Heavenly hope we have. Our joy is found in knowing that we are accepted and secure in the One who loved us enough to die for us when we were undeserving. He has given our lives meaning and purpose by taking us from the path of futility that we were on and giving us the privilege of being in union with Him and living lives that matter for eternity. Apart from Jesus nothing else matters and our lives have no point, it is all vanity. Once we are in Christ we are part of God’s mission and live for an honor and glory that is eternal.

As ambassadors of Christ, carrying forth God’s ministry of reconciliation we will face sorrow, but in that sorrow we can rejoice because we know we are only sojourners and our home is a place where there are no more tears and pain. Our hope is not in wealth and riches. Any earthly gain we have we will give it away for the sake of the Kingdom to come. Possessing little that this world considers of value, we have that which surpasses all in worth, redemption and eternal life. With this free gift of salvation we can make many rich by proclaiming the good news. There are people out there dieing, needy and hungry and we have the answer to what their souls desperately yearn for. Physically, we have nothing this world would want, but spiritually we possess everything because our sins are paid for. Oh Lord, open our eyes to see the hurt and pain of those that don’t know you. Give us boldness to preach this message which might be foolishness to the world, but to those you’ve called it is a feast for the starving beggar.

Glory and Suffering

17Forthis light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 2 Cor. 4: 17 & 18

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. – Romans 4:18

The word “transient” is defined as “one who stays for only a short time; ‘transient laborers.'”   We are never promised that suffering will not come to us in this world.  Instead, the promise that we have is that suffering is temporary.  As those are in Christ and have a hope of spending eternity with Him, we can have assurance that although suffering will come, it will not be forever.  That which is forever, is the love and goodness which has been displayed at the cross and will follow us for the rest of our days.  Suffering has a cut-off point.  That cut-off point could be six months, six years or even sixty years, but there will be a day when suffering is no more.  We have been promised a home where “death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away (Revelation 21:4).”

If our end purpose is a place where there is no suffering, then why should we suffer now?  Suffering prepares us for the glory that God has in store for us.  Suffering trains our eyes to look away from this world to the world that is to come.  No suffering at the time seems light, but when compared to the glory that God has in store, than the suffering we face is bearable.  All suffering must be faced in light of God’s glory, when the reality of His glory shines brightly, than suffering dims in comparison to what is in store for us.  The glory that God plans to reveal to us is an eternal glory, that will only increase as time goes on and on without end.

Lastly, the glory that is being prepared for us in Heaven outweighs the suffering that we face here on Earth.  What is the weight of glory?  I believe that in the most simplest terms, it is a scale that shows what awaits us as we travel through suffering.  On one end of the scale with the lesser weight is a the pains of this world and the things that we’ve lost.  Everything in this world, exists for the purpose of glorifying God.  Due to the entrance of sin into the world, our ability to see the true worth of creation is marred.  On the opposite end of the scale is what we’ve lost, but as God intends it, wrapped up in His glory and splendor with a beauty beyond comprehension.  The suffering that we experience in this life, will be finally realized in Heaven as a reward.  Our suffering is an investment in eternity, with a return we can’t grasp now, but will grow to maturity in God’s timing.  The reason why God takes blessings away is because He is preparing us for an even better one to come.  All we need are eyes to see that God is at work and He never stops doing His people good, so that we may enjoy His glory more and more.

My Reward

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”17:1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. (Matthew 16:24-17:3

In you Lord Jesus I have found my life
Daily I carry my cross and deny myself
So that I can forsake this world
By following you and setting my eyes on eternity.

You have given me a hope for glory
And that is where my gaze lies
As I eagerly await the day
When I am made like You.

It is foolishness to those here
When they see me die to self
And lay down my desires for your name,
But I know that my reward is above
And nothing in this world can compete.