"And the glory which Thou gavest me I have given them."
(John 17:22)
Behold the superlative liberality of our Lord Jesus, for He has given us His ALL. Although one-hundredth of His possessions would have made a universe of angels rich beyond imagination, yet He was not satisfied until He had given us ALL that He had.
It would have been more than enough if He had allowed us to eat the crumbs of His bounty underneath the table of His mercy; but He had chosen to make us sit with Him and share the feast.
Had He given us some small pension from His royal coffers, we should have had cause to love Him eternally; but no, He had decided to make His bride as rich as Himself, and He will not have a glory or a grace in which she shall not share.
With Him we are joint-heirs, so that we might have equal possessions. He has emptied all His inheritance into the coffers of the Church, and has all things in common with His beloved.
There is no single room in His house into which His people do not have access. He gives them full liberty to take all that He has to be their own; He allows them freedom into His treasure, and permits them to enjoy as much as they possibly can.
The boundless fullness of His all-sufficiency is as free to the believer as the air he breathes. Christ has put the flagon of His love and grace to the believer's lips; the believer has eternal access to the river of His pleasures. They shall be forever satisfied with the bountifulness of His feast.
“How excellent is thy loving-kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.” (Psalm 36:7, 8).
WordAlive… this is Grace!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
CHRIST FOR US
“But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” (1 Cor. 1:30).
Jesus, the Christ, is altogether ours and ours forever. All the offices of Christ are held on our behalf. He is king for us, priest for us, and prophet for us. Whenever we read a new title of the Christ, let us appropriate Him as ours under that name as much as under any other.
The shepherd's staff, the father's rod, the captain's sword, the priest's miter, the prince's scepter, the prophet's mantle, all are ours. His dignity he employs for our exaltation; His prerogatives for our defense. The fullness of the Godhead is our inexhaustible treasure-house.
His manhood, also, is for our perfection. To us our gracious Lord communicates the spotless virtue of a stainless character; to us he gives the meritorious efficacy of a devoted life; on us he bestows the reward procured by obedient submission and incessant service.
He makes the untainted garment of his life our covering beauty; the glittering virtues of his character our ornaments and jewels; and the superhuman meekness of his death our boast and glory.
He gives us his manger, from which to learn how God came down to man; and his Cross to teach us how man may go up to God. All His thoughts, emotions, actions, utterances, miracles, and intercessions, were for us.
He traveled the road of sorrow on our behalf. All the labours of his life he bequeaths to us as his heavenly legacy. He is not ashamed to acknowledge himself "our Lord Jesus Christ," though he is the most Blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords.
Everywhere and every way, Christ is our Christ, forever and ever.
Halleluyah!
WordAlive…this is Grace!
(Inspiration drawn from Spurgeon's Devotional)
Jesus, the Christ, is altogether ours and ours forever. All the offices of Christ are held on our behalf. He is king for us, priest for us, and prophet for us. Whenever we read a new title of the Christ, let us appropriate Him as ours under that name as much as under any other.
The shepherd's staff, the father's rod, the captain's sword, the priest's miter, the prince's scepter, the prophet's mantle, all are ours. His dignity he employs for our exaltation; His prerogatives for our defense. The fullness of the Godhead is our inexhaustible treasure-house.
His manhood, also, is for our perfection. To us our gracious Lord communicates the spotless virtue of a stainless character; to us he gives the meritorious efficacy of a devoted life; on us he bestows the reward procured by obedient submission and incessant service.
He makes the untainted garment of his life our covering beauty; the glittering virtues of his character our ornaments and jewels; and the superhuman meekness of his death our boast and glory.
He gives us his manger, from which to learn how God came down to man; and his Cross to teach us how man may go up to God. All His thoughts, emotions, actions, utterances, miracles, and intercessions, were for us.
He traveled the road of sorrow on our behalf. All the labours of his life he bequeaths to us as his heavenly legacy. He is not ashamed to acknowledge himself "our Lord Jesus Christ," though he is the most Blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords.
Everywhere and every way, Christ is our Christ, forever and ever.
Halleluyah!
WordAlive…this is Grace!
(Inspiration drawn from Spurgeon's Devotional)
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
CHRIST IN YOU
Do you know that you’re highly connected? Do you know you have a friend in high places?
Rom. 8:34 lets us know that “… Christ… who is even at the right hand of God, … makes intercession for us.”
“Right hand of God” signifies the highest honour. Better still, you don’t just have a friend in high places; you reside in the secret place of the Most High. (Psa.91:1).
You are joint-heirs with Christ. (Rom.8:17). He doesn’t just intercede for us, He intercedes in us. Yes, Christ is in heaven. Yes, He rules the universe. Yes still, He lives in you.
So, don’t ever feel like a minnow in a whale’s world. Don’t think, talk and act as though you belong to the House of Commons. No! You belong to the highest class of aristocrats in the House of Lords.
“Well,” you may say, “there’s nothing special about me.” So it is with someone I know…
Check out on his credentials…
Dwelt in a peasant girl for 9 months; Midwifed by a carpenter; Lost but later found in a temple; Baptized by a weird-looking man; Hungry and tempted by the devil; Thirsty and underrated by a Samaritan woman; Taunted by the Pharisees; Disappointed by close associates/disciples; Whipped and scourged by Roman soldiers; Hung naked on a plain wood; Buried in a borrowed grave…
I bet you have similar credentials… nothing special!
“… yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Cor. 5:16, 17)
We see, therefore, frail humanity mingled with omnipotent divinity. Though you are well acquainted with Jesus of Nazareth, you also belong to the order of Jesus Christ – the One who defied death and lives forever by the power of an endless life (Heb.7:28).
Christ, your Christ, is the One running the show. A leaf just fell from a tree in Kenya. Christ knows about it. A newborn baby in India inhaled for the first time. Your Jesus measured the breath. The elderly person’s final breath in Indonesia - all can be traced back to the hands of Christ.
Consider these scientific facts:
- It is estimated that the number of stars in the universe equals the number of grains of sand on all the beaches of the world.
- The star “Eta Carinae” outshines our sun, in the same way Yankee Stadium outshines a candle light. Five million times brighter!
- The star Betelgeuse has a diameter of 100 million miles, which is larger than the earth’s orbit around the sun.
These mind-blowing immensity and vastness is directed by Christ. After all, “…by Him all things were created… and by Him all things consist.” (Col.1:16, 17).
So, relax! You have a friend in high places. Does the child of Arnold Schwarzenegger worry about tight jar lids? If the daughter of Bill Gates can’t turn on her computer, does she panic?
No! Neither should you. The Great I Am is your father. The universe’s Commander-in-Chief knows your name. He has walked your streets. The One who manages the planets is in charge of your life. He lives in you.
WordAlive...this is Grace!
(Inspiration drawn from Max Lucado's "NEXT DOOR SAVIOUR")
Rom. 8:34 lets us know that “… Christ… who is even at the right hand of God, … makes intercession for us.”
“Right hand of God” signifies the highest honour. Better still, you don’t just have a friend in high places; you reside in the secret place of the Most High. (Psa.91:1).
You are joint-heirs with Christ. (Rom.8:17). He doesn’t just intercede for us, He intercedes in us. Yes, Christ is in heaven. Yes, He rules the universe. Yes still, He lives in you.
So, don’t ever feel like a minnow in a whale’s world. Don’t think, talk and act as though you belong to the House of Commons. No! You belong to the highest class of aristocrats in the House of Lords.
“Well,” you may say, “there’s nothing special about me.” So it is with someone I know…
Check out on his credentials…
Dwelt in a peasant girl for 9 months; Midwifed by a carpenter; Lost but later found in a temple; Baptized by a weird-looking man; Hungry and tempted by the devil; Thirsty and underrated by a Samaritan woman; Taunted by the Pharisees; Disappointed by close associates/disciples; Whipped and scourged by Roman soldiers; Hung naked on a plain wood; Buried in a borrowed grave…
I bet you have similar credentials… nothing special!
“… yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Cor. 5:16, 17)
We see, therefore, frail humanity mingled with omnipotent divinity. Though you are well acquainted with Jesus of Nazareth, you also belong to the order of Jesus Christ – the One who defied death and lives forever by the power of an endless life (Heb.7:28).
Christ, your Christ, is the One running the show. A leaf just fell from a tree in Kenya. Christ knows about it. A newborn baby in India inhaled for the first time. Your Jesus measured the breath. The elderly person’s final breath in Indonesia - all can be traced back to the hands of Christ.
Consider these scientific facts:
- It is estimated that the number of stars in the universe equals the number of grains of sand on all the beaches of the world.
- The star “Eta Carinae” outshines our sun, in the same way Yankee Stadium outshines a candle light. Five million times brighter!
- The star Betelgeuse has a diameter of 100 million miles, which is larger than the earth’s orbit around the sun.
These mind-blowing immensity and vastness is directed by Christ. After all, “…by Him all things were created… and by Him all things consist.” (Col.1:16, 17).
So, relax! You have a friend in high places. Does the child of Arnold Schwarzenegger worry about tight jar lids? If the daughter of Bill Gates can’t turn on her computer, does she panic?
No! Neither should you. The Great I Am is your father. The universe’s Commander-in-Chief knows your name. He has walked your streets. The One who manages the planets is in charge of your life. He lives in you.
WordAlive...this is Grace!
(Inspiration drawn from Max Lucado's "NEXT DOOR SAVIOUR")
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
A SPRING CONCEALED, A FOUNTAIN SEALED
"A spring shut up, a fountain sealed."
(Song of Solomon 4:12)
In this metaphor, reference is made to the inner life of a believer.
It depicts very plainly the idea of SECRECY:
It is a spring shut up. Just as there were springs in the Eastern part of the world, over which structures are erected, so that no one could reach them except those who knew the secret entrance; so is the heart of a believer. When the heart is renewed by grace, there is a mysterious life within which no human skill can touch. It is a secret which no other man knows. The man who owns the heart even finds it difficult to explain its inner workings to his neighbour.
It is also a picture of SEPARATION:
It is not the common spring, which every passer-by may drink; it is one kept and preserved from all others. It is a fountain with a particular mark --- the King's royal seal. So it is with the spiritual life. The chosen ones of God were separated in the eternal decree; they were separated by God in the day of redemption. They are separated by the possession of a life which others do not have. This is the reason it is impossible for them to feel at home in the world, or to delight in its pleasures.
There is also the idea of SACREDNESS:
The spring shut up is preserved for the use of some special person: and such is the Christian's heart. It is a spring kept for Jesus. Every Christian should feel that he has God's seal upon him, and he should be able to say with Paul, "From henceforth let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus."
Another idea is prominent --- it is that of SECURITY:
Oh! how sure and safe is the inner life of the believer! No power of hell, no schemes of man, can ever pluck you from His hands. The Giver of this life pledged His own life for its preservation.
It is a life hidden with Christ in God. (Col.3:3). Hallelujah!
WordAlive… this is Grace!
(Song of Solomon 4:12)
In this metaphor, reference is made to the inner life of a believer.
It depicts very plainly the idea of SECRECY:
It is a spring shut up. Just as there were springs in the Eastern part of the world, over which structures are erected, so that no one could reach them except those who knew the secret entrance; so is the heart of a believer. When the heart is renewed by grace, there is a mysterious life within which no human skill can touch. It is a secret which no other man knows. The man who owns the heart even finds it difficult to explain its inner workings to his neighbour.
It is also a picture of SEPARATION:
It is not the common spring, which every passer-by may drink; it is one kept and preserved from all others. It is a fountain with a particular mark --- the King's royal seal. So it is with the spiritual life. The chosen ones of God were separated in the eternal decree; they were separated by God in the day of redemption. They are separated by the possession of a life which others do not have. This is the reason it is impossible for them to feel at home in the world, or to delight in its pleasures.
There is also the idea of SACREDNESS:
The spring shut up is preserved for the use of some special person: and such is the Christian's heart. It is a spring kept for Jesus. Every Christian should feel that he has God's seal upon him, and he should be able to say with Paul, "From henceforth let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus."
Another idea is prominent --- it is that of SECURITY:
Oh! how sure and safe is the inner life of the believer! No power of hell, no schemes of man, can ever pluck you from His hands. The Giver of this life pledged His own life for its preservation.
It is a life hidden with Christ in God. (Col.3:3). Hallelujah!
WordAlive… this is Grace!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
THE LOVELINESS OF HIS ELECT
“Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee."
Song of Solomon 4:7
The Lord's admiration of His Church is very wonderful, and His description of her beauty is very glowing. She is not merely fair, but "all fair." He views her in Himself, washed in His sin-atoning blood and clothed in His meritorious righteousness, and He considers her to be full of grace, comeliness and beauty.
It is His own perfect excellencies that He admires; the holiness, glory, and perfection of His Church are His own glorious garments. She is not simply pure, or well-proportioned; she is positively lovely and fair! She has actual merit! Her deformities of sin are removed; but more, she has through her Lord obtained a meritorious righteousness by which an actual beauty is conferred upon her.
Believers have a positive righteousness given to them when they become "accepted in the beloved" (Eph. 1:6). The Church is more than lovely; she is superlatively lovely. Her Lord calls her "fairest among women."
She has a real worth and excellence which cannot be rivaled by all the nobility and royalty of the world. If Jesus could exchange His elect bride for all the queens and empresses of earth, or even for the angels in heaven, He would not, for He puts her first and foremost--- "fairest among women."
Like the moon she far outshines the stars, and He wants all men everywhere to see the outshining of Zion - His beloved. He sets a "behold" before it, a special note of exclamation, inviting and arresting attention. "Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair" (Song of Sol. 4:1).
His opinion of His beloved Church He publishes abroad even now, and one day from the Throne of His glory He will declare this same truth before the assembled universe.
"Come, ye blessed of my Father" (Matt. 25:34), will be His solemn affirmation of the loveliness of His elect.
WordAlive... this is Grace!
Song of Solomon 4:7
The Lord's admiration of His Church is very wonderful, and His description of her beauty is very glowing. She is not merely fair, but "all fair." He views her in Himself, washed in His sin-atoning blood and clothed in His meritorious righteousness, and He considers her to be full of grace, comeliness and beauty.
It is His own perfect excellencies that He admires; the holiness, glory, and perfection of His Church are His own glorious garments. She is not simply pure, or well-proportioned; she is positively lovely and fair! She has actual merit! Her deformities of sin are removed; but more, she has through her Lord obtained a meritorious righteousness by which an actual beauty is conferred upon her.
Believers have a positive righteousness given to them when they become "accepted in the beloved" (Eph. 1:6). The Church is more than lovely; she is superlatively lovely. Her Lord calls her "fairest among women."
She has a real worth and excellence which cannot be rivaled by all the nobility and royalty of the world. If Jesus could exchange His elect bride for all the queens and empresses of earth, or even for the angels in heaven, He would not, for He puts her first and foremost--- "fairest among women."
Like the moon she far outshines the stars, and He wants all men everywhere to see the outshining of Zion - His beloved. He sets a "behold" before it, a special note of exclamation, inviting and arresting attention. "Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair" (Song of Sol. 4:1).
His opinion of His beloved Church He publishes abroad even now, and one day from the Throne of His glory He will declare this same truth before the assembled universe.
"Come, ye blessed of my Father" (Matt. 25:34), will be His solemn affirmation of the loveliness of His elect.
WordAlive... this is Grace!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
ALTOGETHER LOVELY
"Yea, He is altogether lovely."
Song of Solomon 5:16
The superlative beauty of Jesus is most attractive. It is not so much to be admired as to be loved. He is more than pleasant and fair, He is lovely. He is the object of the warmest love of God’s people. His loveliness is founded on the intrinsic excellence of His person, the complete perfection of His charms. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, He shines forth. (Psalm 50:2).
His lips are most sweet; His kisses most tender. His words are jolting; causing our hearts to burn within us He talks with us by the way. (Luke 24:32).
You worshippers of Emmanuel, look up to His head of most precious gold, and tell me, are not His thoughts precious unto you? Is not your adoration sweetened with affection as you humbly bow before that countenance which is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars?
Have you considered the charm of His features? His whole person oozes with the fragrance of the savour of His good ointments; therefore the virgins love Him. Is there one member of His glorious body which is not attractive?
Our love is not as a seal set upon His heart of love alone; it is fastened upon His arm of power also; nor is there a single part of Him upon which it does not fix itself. We anoint His whole person with the sweet spikenard of our fervent love. His whole life we would imitate; His whole character we would transcribe.
In all other beings we see some lack, in Him there is all perfection. The best even of His favoured saints have had blots upon their garments and wrinkles upon their brows but He is nothing but loveliness.
All earthly suns have their spots: the fair world itself hath its wilderness; we cannot love the whole of the loveliest thing; but Christ Jesus is gold without alloy. He is light without darkness. He is glory without cloud.
Yea, He is altogether lovely.
WordAlive…this is Grace!
Song of Solomon 5:16
The superlative beauty of Jesus is most attractive. It is not so much to be admired as to be loved. He is more than pleasant and fair, He is lovely. He is the object of the warmest love of God’s people. His loveliness is founded on the intrinsic excellence of His person, the complete perfection of His charms. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, He shines forth. (Psalm 50:2).
His lips are most sweet; His kisses most tender. His words are jolting; causing our hearts to burn within us He talks with us by the way. (Luke 24:32).
You worshippers of Emmanuel, look up to His head of most precious gold, and tell me, are not His thoughts precious unto you? Is not your adoration sweetened with affection as you humbly bow before that countenance which is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars?
Have you considered the charm of His features? His whole person oozes with the fragrance of the savour of His good ointments; therefore the virgins love Him. Is there one member of His glorious body which is not attractive?
Our love is not as a seal set upon His heart of love alone; it is fastened upon His arm of power also; nor is there a single part of Him upon which it does not fix itself. We anoint His whole person with the sweet spikenard of our fervent love. His whole life we would imitate; His whole character we would transcribe.
In all other beings we see some lack, in Him there is all perfection. The best even of His favoured saints have had blots upon their garments and wrinkles upon their brows but He is nothing but loveliness.
All earthly suns have their spots: the fair world itself hath its wilderness; we cannot love the whole of the loveliest thing; but Christ Jesus is gold without alloy. He is light without darkness. He is glory without cloud.
Yea, He is altogether lovely.
WordAlive…this is Grace!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS
"Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings... " Ephesians 1:3
"You aren’t wealthy until you have something money can’t buy" - Garth Brooks
All the goodness of the past, the present, and the future, Christ bestows upon His people.
In the mysterious ages of the past the Lord Jesus was His Father's first elect, and in His election He gave us an interest, for we were chosen in Him from before the foundation of the world.
He had from all eternity the prerogatives of Sonship, as His Father's only-begotten and well-beloved Son, and He has, in the riches of His grace, by adoption and regeneration, elevated us to sonship also, so that to us He has given "power to become the sons of God."
The eternal covenant, based upon suretyship and confirmed by oath, is ours, for our strong consolation and security. In the everlasting settlements of predestinating wisdom and omnipotent decree, the eye of the Lord Jesus was ever fixed on us; and we may rest assured that in the whole roll of destiny there is not a line which militates against the interests of His redeemed.
The great betrothal of the Prince of Glory is ours, for it is to us that He is betrothed, as the sacred nuptials shall before long declare to an assembled universe.
The marvelous incarnation of the God of heaven, with all the amazing condescension and humiliation which accrued to it, is ours. The bloody sweats, the scourge, the cross, are ours forever. Whatever blissful consequences flow from perfect obedience, finished atonement, resurrection, ascension, or intercession, all are ours by His own gift.
Upon His breastplate he is now bearing our names; and in His authoritative pleadings at the throne He remembers our persons and pleads our cause. His dominion over principalities and powers, and His absolute majesty in heaven, He employs for the benefit of them who trust in Him.
His high estate is as much at our service as was His condition of abasement. He, who gave Himself for us in the depths of woe and death, does not withdraw the grant now that He is enthroned in the highest heavens.
WORDALIVE… this is grace!
"You aren’t wealthy until you have something money can’t buy" - Garth Brooks
All the goodness of the past, the present, and the future, Christ bestows upon His people.
In the mysterious ages of the past the Lord Jesus was His Father's first elect, and in His election He gave us an interest, for we were chosen in Him from before the foundation of the world.
He had from all eternity the prerogatives of Sonship, as His Father's only-begotten and well-beloved Son, and He has, in the riches of His grace, by adoption and regeneration, elevated us to sonship also, so that to us He has given "power to become the sons of God."
The eternal covenant, based upon suretyship and confirmed by oath, is ours, for our strong consolation and security. In the everlasting settlements of predestinating wisdom and omnipotent decree, the eye of the Lord Jesus was ever fixed on us; and we may rest assured that in the whole roll of destiny there is not a line which militates against the interests of His redeemed.
The great betrothal of the Prince of Glory is ours, for it is to us that He is betrothed, as the sacred nuptials shall before long declare to an assembled universe.
The marvelous incarnation of the God of heaven, with all the amazing condescension and humiliation which accrued to it, is ours. The bloody sweats, the scourge, the cross, are ours forever. Whatever blissful consequences flow from perfect obedience, finished atonement, resurrection, ascension, or intercession, all are ours by His own gift.
Upon His breastplate he is now bearing our names; and in His authoritative pleadings at the throne He remembers our persons and pleads our cause. His dominion over principalities and powers, and His absolute majesty in heaven, He employs for the benefit of them who trust in Him.
His high estate is as much at our service as was His condition of abasement. He, who gave Himself for us in the depths of woe and death, does not withdraw the grant now that He is enthroned in the highest heavens.
WORDALIVE… this is grace!
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