Word for Wednesday: One Year!!!
Today marks one year of participating in the Word for Wednesday meme, hosted by akaGaGa at Yeah Right… Actually, it was September 2, 2009, that I did my first Word for Wednesday, but this year, September 2 is a Thursday, so I am doing this post a day early. Hopefully, tomorrow I will have a special one-year-anniversary post up!
This post, designed to celebrate, is a summary of the past year’s Word for Wednesdays. Get ready; it’s a SUMMARY. Thanks to my faithful few followers, and all those people who have happened across my blog. I hope and pray that you have been blessed.
What would drive a man up a hill?
Could it be unexplainable emotion? Undeterred devotion to a cause?
But what would drive a man up this hill?
Fear of his pursuers? Thrill of adventure for what lies beyond?
But what would drive this Man up this hill, namely Calvary, down the way of suffering, with a burden of sorrows?
What would drive Him with a crown of thorns and a crowd of scorners?
Yet He opened not His mouth.
What would drive Him?
Could it be love? Even humble submission to the will of His Father?
Such a Man who was blameless in the eyes of God! It is true!
Because of our iniquities, He was climbing that hill.
As He was lifted up, He was made intercession for us, the guilty ones.
It is true that He died for our sins
But let us also remember that for us He suffered Hell!
He truly led captivity captive, and over death gained victory!
He’s alive now! Truly His Father raised Him up.
Now salvation comes through this, the Son of Man, the Son of God.
He reigns and He prepares a place for us, the redeemed!
What would drive this man up these hills by the dozens?
Why does he risk his life to tell a story of a Lamb, the Son of God, slain for sinners,
Of a Lamb who conquered death and gave eternal live to those who trust in Him,
To tell of living in peace with God, our Creator and Father.
Why? Ask him; he will tell you,
“For the One who died for me I will live.”
I remember when I first realized what Jesus did for me; it was when I wrote this down in my notebook. Then when I let Him change me, I could say with every ounce of my being, “My chains are gone!” See, I intellectually understood the gospel days before I asked God to forgive me and teach me to forgive. Here is the wonder of that gospel:
Jesus, the altogether Holy One, did and spoke only as His Father directed, and doing so gained Him nothing but a few faithful followers, who so often doubted. He had nowhere to lay His head, zeal for His Father’s house consumed Him, and although He brought the message of truth, peace, and life, the people just wanted the “stuff.” Others were afraid to admit they were His followers. HE still followed His Father. He had one great purpose: to do His Father’s will, to be a ransom for sin, to redeem people to God. He knew perfectly well what sufferings He had to endure; that all would abandon Him, that He would die and enter Hell for the people– for me, for everyone I see, for the tribes hidden on the earth, for the royalties of Europe. “He opened not His mouth.” He did not stand up for Himself! He went as a lamb to the slaughter; but He chose, He knew. He endured the abandonment, the mockery, the humiliation, the pain, the scourging, the thorns, the hill, the cross, even Hell. He cried out, “My God, why have you forsaken Me?” Think of it: God’s only Son, in whom He was well-pleased!What a wonder, how when no man would seek the face of the blessed Lord from whom all good things flow, He came softly, quietly to earth to find us! What a wonder it is that the Lord God Almighty condescended from His heavenly throne to be in the form of a man, lowly, with no place to lay His head. When I understand this, there is no way I can, with a clear conscience, speak as if heaven is owed me by God; it is clear that I deserve hell.
Yet He loved me; He did not love His throne in heaven too much to humble Himself to become a man, despised and rejected, just to make it possible for me to live forever! Can it be? The Holy Son of God–died, crucified–for me, a sinner? “When I think that God, His Son not sparing, Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in.” (from the hymn, How Great Thou Art) When I think that those nails that pierced His hands were meant for me; that the heartbreak through which the angel of God kept Him alive, belonged to me; that the mocking and beating, the lower parts of the earth– I was the one who deserved it. How could the Son of God die for me? Why? It doesn’t make sense. What could He have gained? Could it be love? If so, all I ever thought was love is shattered. I think sometimes we define love by our own standards instead of those of God, whose very nature is love. Love is not exalting another above what he really is, but making a way for him to face the truth and make it right.
And in our case, we could not make it right, so Jesus came, yet still we looked down on Him, disregarded Him. Nonetheless, His love ENDURES!!! On the cross, He cried out, “It is finished.” He had completed His purpose on earth. That was LOVE, though the people He was loving rejected it. Lord, teach me this love; me who so treasures honor, loyalty, devotion, purpose, strength. Teach me this love, this sacrifice! This love, that appears morbid, but leads to resurrection, redemption, hope, life! And teach me to say, “I love You, Jesus!” Make me a lamb, oh, make me a servant, a flame! A soldier at Your right hand. “Everything I once held dear– I count it all as loss!” Lord, I want to give 100% of me to You, for Your glory, that Your name may be highly exalted among the nations. Because of Your Son, I now can call on You as “Father!”
How great a salvation, that we might be called the children of God! That we, who were once separated from God by our sins, may be brought near by the blood of Christ, though God did not owe us a thing! Yet He made a way for us to live forever! To think– He who went to Hell for us was perfectly blameless before the Creator! We all have sinned– we have run after our own way, deliberately chasing after those things that God hates! Yet God ransomed us, made a way for us to be forgiven, though we did nothing to deserve it! Let’s remember that the very reason we are breathing, and the very reason we live in freedom: it’s all HIM! HE is our all-sufficiency; HE is our salvation; HE is our righteousness; HE is our provider; HE is the giver of all good things; HE is the Victor! HE is our ALL in ALL. He is everything that is good. He is LOVE. He is the WAY. He is the TRUTH. He is the LIFE.
The life of Christ has drastically affected the history of mankind; we even date history around His lifetime, with His name! Indeed, since the Lord Jesus Christ came near to us people on earth, everything has changed. And I know that since He has come near to me, everything has changed! He has had a larger impact on history than all of us combined could ever hope to. History is His story. But it’s not just around “Easter-time” we remember this marvel of history, that God became a man, and did what man is incapable of– LOVE! The story doesn’t end with His death, nor with His resurrection; it continues to Pentecost, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and continues to this day; people are still amazed at His grace; people are still telling His story, and people are still being saved. Some people are still waiting for this news. And Jesus will come back again! If we are truly free, people are going to see. When they inquire about the hope within us, we must be prepared with an answer! Love so amazing; let’s not just sing another song, cry again over the suffering Savior, but live in this precious freedom. He has turned our mourning into dancing (even those of us who can’t dance well at all!) let’s tell them about it! Let’s tell them how good our God is!
We who have been born of God, we abide in Him by keeping His commandments; we love Him because He first loved us! We are His, now. Let us follow in the steps of Jesus, returning in a small portion that Love which was so freely poured out for us! I am reminded of a beautiful song that just couldn’t say it better. Remember “Jesus is the reason for the season?” More so, He’s the reason we continually offer up the sacrifice of praise. Hallelujah! The Promised One, the Redeemer, God With Us, has come! By the way, that word “extol” means to promote, to lift or raise, hold, mount or heave up! “I will HEAVE You up, O Lord, for You have heaved me up!” I can say that and laugh, because I know exactly what it means! As the Scripture says, the saints “lift up holy hands” (1 Timothy 2) They are holy, sanctified, purified, consecrated, both for and because of JESUS!!
Some of us have experienced His love, pouring so freely over our hearts, washing us and making us new, and what sorrow we felt when we realized how long we had ignored Him! But thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! He came to make us clean, to sanctify us and rescue us from the grasp of the accuser. That word “sanctify” means to purify, to consecrate for a specific purpose. Is it not that we should be with Him where He is? If that is our goal, and we want to bring as many others along with us, let not our passions and strivings be merely temporal. Let us take a moment and leave the hecticity, the constant motion of the world, and be still before Him, in quiet peace and joy, remembering the price we were bought with. What a wonder His love; what freedom is bondage to His way! What a great love God has toward us, his children. We, who once were not the people of God, but are now His people! (1 Peter 2:10)
What great a salvation we have! Christianity is not a sub-culture like Islam or Judaism or any of the other religions. It is not on the outside; no, the essence is not the man and his works, but Christ consuming him from the inside out. How free, how different everything is now that Jesus saved me! What amazing grace, that I might be called the friend of God– I am totally undeserving of this gift. But what precious blood of the perfect Lamb of God was poured forth for me! How can we, with this understanding, live for ourselves? How can we fast to do our own thing? How can we live our comfortable lives for our pleasure? If we are truly thankful for this precious gift, we will show mercy to the oppressed, extend our soul to the hungry, help those in need.
You see, to be saved costs us nothing, in that we did not earn it, but to be a disciple costs us everything, in that we must carry our cross and follow Him. God demonstrated His love while we did not deserve it, and calls us to do the same, but we must trust that it is Him who does the saving! Just as we trust in Him for salvation, we trust in Him for our mission: to bring others to salvation. Jesus gave us two commands: Love one another, and go and preach My gospel. Care for the widow and the orphan, remember those in chains as if bound with them, be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks, look after the least of these My brethren. In all of this, TRUST IN ME. For I am with You always, even to the end of the age.
Don’t we want to tell the world about this great love bestowed upon us by the Father? Don’t we often thank the Lord for this great salvation, undeserved by us? Don’t we often sing of it? We tell each other about it, we might even try to show love toward one another. But to the world? We feel a slight shudder go down our backs when we think about what that might take, don’t we? It would mean getting out of the boat and stepping onto those waves. Father, so often we are afraid. Why do we doubt? Do we trust You? Is our love set upon You? Are we prepared to be a river, to go over rocks, down hills, to make waves? To always be moving forward, not resting until our purpose is complete, to make an ocean? That’s a lot of water! (It is so often that we grow weary as we flow through the rocky places and curves and bends, when we feel like resting. But it is in these places we need to push the hardest.) Father, what if the world builds a dam? How are we going to get through? It is here that we need to remember that we are not the source of that life, that love that reaches down and saves men; the Lord is. But the river must flow, and carry the water to its destination!
Hear people talking about the need for revival? Hear them talking of the need for unity? Let us take care that that unity is in Christ, for only then will His Spirit come in like a rushing wind. Only then will we see revival, for the power is not of us, but of Him. Let us seek Him first, above all, that He might work mighty works in us. HE equips us for the work of ministry. When we are unified in the love of Christ, nothing can stand against us; we are more than conquerors.
Father, teach us to love, that we may be a river! As we thank You for this glorious gift of love by which we are accepted unto You, we also thank You for giving us the strength and power to shine Your love to the world, to press on when we feel the most like quitting. Jesus, we remember that the excellence of the power is of You, not of us. We pray that the world would see You, that those who have never been told shall hear. Lord, give us beautiful feet!
What an awesome God we serve! Some complain that God is an angry tyrant telling us how to think and how to live, but let me tell you now: His commandments are not burdensome; science proves that God’s principles are life to our flesh if we set our minds on them! He gives us the undeserved favor of eternal life, and a good life here in this temporary body! How worthy of our praise and thanksgiving is the Lord!
I have posted a lot on the subject of the five martyrs in Ecuador, and apparently it has had a colossal effect on my readers. It had a colossal effect on me, too. Why would they go? Even more pressing, why did they die? WHY?
Why did Jesus go to the cross? Why did He come down to earth in the first place?
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8)
Is it, then, too much for Jesus to ask us to die to ourselves? Pass from this earth and live forever in the beauty of the presence of God? Is it too much for us to give to Him who descended to the lower parts of the earth to purchase our freedom from sin?
Before they went to the Curraraye River to make contact with the Waodani, they discussed whether or not they would defend themselves if the Indians attacked them, which was more than likely. They decided that they absolutely would not take the lives of any Indians. They said, “They’re not ready for heaven; we are.”
I think the story really challenges us who would die for our country; would we die for something invisible? Would we lay down our lives for the naked savages because if they die, they will spend an eternity in HELL?
“For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus, that if One died for all, then all died. And He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” (2 Corinthians 5:14)
Indeed, we how often every day do we rejoice that we are saved by grace through faith, not of works? That we are called and chosen unto so great a salvation? How often do we rejoice that we have been called and chosen for the furtherance of this salvation? We see as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, now dimly, but we shall soon see face to face! We often think of what a day it will be to finally be home, with our Heavenly Father and with those who have passed, the ones who brought us to Christ and trained us in Him. But what a day it will be to see the countless faces of those who are there because of our witness!
A common conception is that God calls some chosen few to be preachers, missionaries, and evangelists. No, the Scripture tells us that “YOU”-that’s you and me-have been called to proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light! Not all will accept; we will face rejection, as the five martyrs and countless others did. Jesus said, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14) But we are called and chosen! Let us be faithful! “…He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.” (Revelation 17:14)
How can we keep silent? What are we afraid of? We HAVE overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony! The Lamb is the King of kings, Lord of lords, He HAS won. What have we to lose? Our homes? Our belongings? Our lives? (poo!) Is it ambition, or simply the comfort we presently enjoy?
There was once a young man whose ambitions were entirely set on the ministry. The only gain he strove for was the gain of Christ. He was president of a club of students interested in missions. He taught Sunday School and was not the least bit ashamed to share his faith. He was a champion wrestler; he didn’t date; he ate healthy; he co-hosted a sermon radio program; he made money as a handyman. They called him a fool, telling him “You’re so heavenly minded, you’re no earthly good!” He became among the most famous of missionaries, of Christians–after his death. This is what he wrote in his journal while in college:
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
What is there for us to lose?
“For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.” (1 Timothy 6:7)
I remember that I do not live every day in fear anymore. So yes, I am so often busy with things that might not seem like “kingdom work,” but it is the work God has given me to do at this moment for some reason. I want to do my best for Him who saved me; I want to do my best and grow in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and men. That’s what Jesus did for the majority of His lifetime. Isn’t it so amazing? God’s Word made flesh, doing ordinary stuff, coming in the form of the very least, delighting to do the will of God. Yet He lived to die for me! Amazing!
How I pray for you who do not know Him, that you would come before the God who formed you and gave you life and every good thing, that you would realize how you have grieved Him by rebelling against His commands, and that you would also see what a great love He has for you, that He, being the God of justice, paid your fine through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ, and that you would let go of all that would hold you back from surrendering to His forgiveness and grace. His love is real, His love is freedom, His love is alive.
You do not give up on reason by believing in God; God is the answer, the destination of reason. He says, “Come and let us reason together!” He gave you a mind that you might know Him, though you might not fully comprehend him. How ever could the building comprehend the builder? But He made it so that His building could know the Builder. He gave you not only your mind, but your heart, your conscience, your soul, and your spirit, to balance each other. How I pray that you would step beyond realizing Him in your mind, fearing Him in your conscience, and feeling Him in your heart, to trusting Him with your soul and following Him with your spirit. His name is Wonderful; He is Truth, He is Love. He offers one way: Jesus Christ. Come to Him and learn from Him, for He is gentle and lowly in heart; come to Him, and you will find rest!
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