The LORD is the true God. He is the living God, the eternal King. When He is angry, the earth trembles. The nations cannot endure His wrath… Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on them, and to our God, for He will freely pardon. (Jeremiah 10:10; Isaiah 55:7)
Cherishing Christ
Author Eugene Schuyler English (1899-1981) told of a Christian woman in the Congo (Central Africa) who suffered from leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease. Gloria was zealous to reach a mission station where she could receive medical care, Bible teaching, and encouragement from fellow believers. Although her disease had left her severely disabled, Gloria crawled for eight miles to reach the station! People asked her how she endured the pain and exhaustion. Gloria answered, “Jesus loved me enough to live, and die, and rise from the grave for me. Now I love Him back and want to be with His people and learn more about Him!” Gloria truly valued Christ. She prized Him so much that she considered her discomfort and inconvenience worth the journey.1 I want to be like her. Gloria reminds me of King David:
You, God, are my God. Earnestly I seek You. I thirst for You. My whole being longs for You, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will glorify You. (Psalm 63:1,3)
Gloria didn’t merely know about and believe Jesus in her head. She treasured Christ as a divine Person (the God-man) in her heart.
The person who does not know God demand infinite satisfaction from other human beings which they cannot give. That makes us tyrannical and cruel. The human heart must be satisfied, but there is only one Being who can satisfy us, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. (Oswald Chambers)
This builds on our previous posts Christ: Our Greatest Treasure (Part 1), Christ: Our Greatest Treasure (Part 2)
Savoring Jesus
Last time I mentioned Charles Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook. He urges us not to be mere Bible readers, but to cash in on the spiritual riches available to us. Scripture calls us to “meditate” on God’s word, to turn it over in our mind and heart prayerfully. The Hebrew word for meditation means to mutter Bible truth to ourselves. To speak it quietly and rehearse it. To ponder and reflect on it deeply.
John Calvin said, “Meditation is a kind of mastication, feeding our minds with God’s truths.” He encourages us to chew on a portion of Scripture until it nourishes our soul. Today, I copied out the opening verses of Psalm 1. I will carry it in my shirt pocket all day and look at it often. Meditation takes more work, but it’s well worth it!
Psalm 1
It begins: Blessed and happy is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked, or stand in the way that sinners take, or sit in the company of mockers. But we delight in the Lord’s Scriptures, and meditate on them day and night. We will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season. We will never wither, but will prosper in all we do. (Verses 1-3)
Psalm 1 literally speaks of “the law of the LORD,” and the Hebrew word is torah. It’s more than rules and regulations. It means God teaching and giving us direction, like a parent lovingly instructing their child. God is our Father; Christ is our Elder Brother; and the Holy Spirit is our Comforter and Counselor.
Don’t separate the living Lord from His written word. That’s foolish. When a loved one sends us a paper letter, do we forget about or ignore the dear person who wrote to us? That would be crazy! Our relationship to God makes His Bible precious to us.
Notice the progression in Psalm 1: God speaks; we listen to and delight in Him; we meditate on what He reveals; we live in ways that please our Savior; then we will live with Him forever! Isn’t that what you want, beloved?
Treasure Christ: He is Wise
Now to Him who is able to establish (strengthen) you in accordance with the gospel… to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen. (Romans 16:25-27)
God the Holy Trinity is all-wise, the Source and Standard of all truth. He always knows, chooses, and does what is best, according to His perfect knowledge, love, and purposes. He aims to make us strong in His grace.
- The Lord sees everything; nothing is hidden from Him.
- He understands the whole story of the universe when we grasp only a tiny bit.
- God makes no mistakes in His judgments and actions, even when we can’t understand Him.
How can we cash in (benefit) from Christ’s wisdom? We can trust and follow Him who knows infinitely more and better than we do. And we can ask Him to share His wisdom with us! James, Jesus’ little brother, says, “If you lack wisdom, ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”2 Why do we keep fumbling and stumbling through life on our own? We have a wise Lord and Savior who is eager to be our Instructor and Trainer. Jesus has already blazed the trail ahead of us, calls us to follow in His steps, and promises to bless us!
Another Suffering Christ-Follower
Hymnwriter Joseph M. Scriven (1819- 1886) was an Irish immigrant to Canada. His life was filled with many griefs and troubles, so he was always running to God for help. Poor health forced him to give up his planned career. His fiancée died on the day before their wedding. Ten years later, his new bride-to-be died after a short illness. These calamities shook Joseph badly. He was depressed and poor. Yet Scriven tried to live according to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, giving and sharing all he had and often doing menial tasks for poor and physically disabled people. Because Joseph suffered from depression, no one knew if his death by drowning was suicide or an accident.3 Yet, his famous hymn says:
What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!
Stability in Jesus
We can be wobbly and weak on our own, so Romans 16:25 asks the Holy Spirit to establish, strengthen, and comfort us as He works with the Scriptures in our lives. Jesus prayed, “Father, sanctify them by truth. Your word is truth.”4 We don’t just need more information about God. We need transformation, life change, and spiritual maturity that only God can give us. That’s what Gloria, the Congolese woman, and Joseph Scriven, the Irish depressive, wanted. That’s what I want and need, brothers and sisters. Let’s take the Scriptures to heart and integrate them into our lives. Because following Christ means more than admiring Him. It means doing what He says.
Vital Disciplines of Christian Living
In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls His believers:
- To humble ourselves before Him and admit our constant need for Him.
- To hunger and thirst for justice, not self-righteousness, and purity in our hearts, minds, and lives.
- To be merciful and forgiving to others, even our enemies.
- To be peacemakers, not divisive troublemakers, showing ourselves to be God’s children.
- To be willing to suffer for doing right, and leaving the outcome to Christ.
- To be generous with poor and needy people, never seeking recognition and applause.
- To pray persistently according to the priorities of The Lord’s Prayer.
- To quit worrying and prayerfully trust our Heavenly Father to provide for us.
- To avoid hypocrisy, dealing with our own sins and faults before correcting others.
- To treat others as we want to be treated, because this is a core teaching in the whole Bible.
There is lots more treasure in Matthew chapters 5-7, but why not start with some of these? Look them up yourself in the Scriptures, appreciate that they are lovingly given by our precious Savior, and seek to practice them more and more, day by day. Let’s glorify Christ with our lips and our lives and enjoy Him forever.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You for being our Wise and Wonderful Counselor. Thank You for Your endless love and guidance. We often can’t make sense of our circumstances. Our challenges and uncertainties seem overwhelming. Give us the Holy Spirit’s understanding and power to turn away from foolishness, to follow Christ, and to flourish in Him. Help us to trust in Your timing and to wait on You. Help us to make good choices and to persevere through difficult moments. You are our Treasure. Help us to prize You more when we feel poor. Fill us with appreciation for You and overflowing with thanksgiving and thanks-living. Amen.5
Notes (various Bible translations): 1 Adapted from Roy B. Zuck, The Speaker’s Quote Book (1997), p. 61. 2 James 1:5. 3 Adapted from Bert Polman, hymnary.org. 4 John 17:17. 5 Adapted from dawnmannsanders.com/7-prayers-for-wisdom-when-life-leaves-you-stumped.