by David Brenneman
"For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Hebrews 4:12 NASB
"How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory
Behold the man upon a cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom"
- "How Deep the Father’s Love for Us" -- Stewart Townsend
"For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God." 1 Corinthians 2:11 NASB
"God knows the hearts of men. He knows what the Holy Spirit is thinking. The Holy Spirit prays for those who belong to Christ the way God wants Him to pray." Romans 8:27 NASB
"I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, To give to each person according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds." Jeremiah 17:10 NASB
Oh how incredible it is.
Oh how inconsiderate of us.
Oh how we don't think about such things.
Do you realize that the Lord Jesus, besides running a Universe, besides what it takes to fulfill every single word and intention of the Scriptures...considers every single thought and intention of your thoughts every single moment of every single day?
He knows what's on your heart and mind at any given instant.
He knows your why's long before you do.
He has such a deep love for us that indeed its beyond all measure. The depths of the pain of the cross that He endured we will never ever know. The pains and suffering that those in Hell are going through we will never see...all because of our saying yes to His free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. All because we agreed with God that we were sinners in need of a Savior which is Christ Jesus. We received His free gift, we received His Spirit within us.
Everything we do is personal to Him...have you ever considered that?
Ever really read in Jeremiah about how revealing the Lord Jesus is with the obstinate, disobedient people He was talking to through the prophet Jeremiah? To reveal to them that indeed He IS and DOES look at what they do, why they do what they do, their secret thoughts, their private moments, their real interests and intentions behind what others see.
We read in Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever."
If the Lord Jesus is how we see Him in knowing all there was to know about these people...why don't we take it to mean He knows us just as well?
We go about our lives quite often not considering what is truly known of us by God.
We get up, go to work or work around the house, go to this place or that, decide on this career or that, anything you do...and we don't consider that He knows every minutiae of detail going on.
We can and will deceive ourselves as to our motivation and our reasoning.
We need to rely on the Spirit of God to show us the truth of us from God's perspective.
He loves us with a love so deep that we cannot wrap our minds around it. We were created to worship God. We were created for a divine relationship with Jesus.
When you choose something selfish He knows.
When you choose to be stubborn He knows why...even if you don't say it.
He knows everything and chooses to love you.
Is the beat of your heart this?
"All I once held dear, built my life upon
All this world reveres, and wars to ownAll I once thought gain I have counted lossSpent and worthless now, compared to this
Knowing You, JesusKnowing YouThere is no greater thingYou're my all, You're the bestYou're my joy, my righteousnessAnd I love You, LordYeah-yeah
Now my heart's desire is to know You moreTo be found in You and known as YoursTo possess by faith what I could not earnAll-surpassing gift of righteousness
Knowing You, JesusKnowing YouThere is no greater thingYou're my all, You're the bestYou're my joy, my righteousnessAnd I love You, Lord
Oh, to know the power of Your risen lifeAnd to know You in Your sufferingsTo become like You in Your death, my LordSo with You to live and never die
Knowing You, JesusKnowing YouThere is no greater thingYou're my all, You're the bestYou're my joy, my righteousnessYou're my all, You're the bestYou're my joy, my righteousnessYou're my all, You're the bestYou're my joy, my righteousnessAnd I love You, Lord
You're my all, You're the bestYou're my joy, my righteousnessAnd I love You, Lord"
- "Knowing You Jesus" -- Graham Kendrick
We're in a world that wants nothing to do with a relationship with Jesus.
It's going to get harder and harder to stay true to our faith and relationship with Jesus when the world is getting more and more in your face about rejecting sin and sinful practices.
Take a realistic look at what you do and why you do it. Does it mirror what you read of Jesus being like? Are you making choices that bring you into a closer relationship with Jesus or farther away?
We read in the Gospels that Jesus said that when He returns it will be like the days of Noah. In Genesis we read of how people were. Evil continually. Their minds cared not for the God of the Universe. Their minds were on their way and not God's way. Their minds were full of selfish desires. They rejected God's word and will for them. So great was the rejection that the Lord Jesus regretted making mankind the exception being Noah. Probably 7 to 9 billion people and only 1 lived a life worth saving for living with God as they should.
We choose to go down the paths we do.
We choose to relearn lessons that we keep not getting that the Spirit tries to teach us.
We choose selfish things rather than Godly things. We really do.
We decide. The cross of Jesus Christ brought choice. It is up to us to obey. It is up to us to willingly obey.
Noah chose the Lord Jesus. Noah faced greater obstacles than we do in our world. He faced daily ridicule from family and friends, the whole world.
It was by grace that Noah's wife, sons and their wives were saved. Noah received grace for his obedience. God's unmerited favor.
God's grace is upon us as well.
God's grace wakes you up every day.
God's grace is why our sins are cast as far as the east is from the west.
Really look at your life choices. Would you still be doing what you intend to be doing, saying what you intend to say, knowing the depth of the truth of Jesus concerning you?
Would you choose this or that to be in your life, would you be how you are being towards others, knowing that God's grace and mercy covers you as well as others?
Take a look at your life and life choices.
Take a look at where your life is headed.
Take a look at your level of selfishness.
Take a look at what you do to occupy your mind and heart.
Oh how deep the Father's love for us.
How vast beyond all measure.
We aren't nearly as grateful as we ought to be. We aren't nearly as thankful as we ought to be. We aren't nearly loving Jesus as we ought to be. We aren't doing what He's wanting of us as we ought to be.
We make worldly ideas and things more important than what He wants of us to be important.
What an eye opener for a post.
No comments:
Post a Comment