May He be your hope and stay. Your rock. Your confidence. Your anchor. Your refuge. Your strength. Your strong tower. Your all. Your God. Not a genie. Not a coping mechanism. Not a Sunday thing. He is all you will have when all around your soul gives way.
The Resurrection
—Maundy Thursday Communion Meditation, Benediction, and Hymn (04-05-07)
There will never be a greater life lived or a greater death died than the life and death of Jesus.
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. —Jesus
—
Martin Luther.
I can hear Luther’s sense of desperation for God. He needs Him. Why? Because as a foolish sinner, Luther will wreck it all—his own life and the ministry God called him to. Luther knows that on his own, relying on himself and his abilities, he’ll do nothing but cause wreckage. Wreck. Not just a little damage. But wreck.
In a culture that encourages everyone to “follow your heart!”, the Christian must remember the wise words in Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Luther knew his own wicked and deceitful heart. He knew how prone he was to sin and evil. Do we? Do we know how foolish we are? I don’t think so. Even when we Christians come to faith in Christ, we think we’re good. We think we’re wise. We think we have it all together. We live life independently apart from God.
I love the part in the hymn, “Come Thou Fount”, where it says, “Let Thy goodness like a fetter (a chain) bind my wandering heart to Thee! Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it! Prone to leave the God I love! Take my heart, Lord, take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.” We’re prone, bent, inclined to wander. To wander from God would be foolish so we need to pray, “God, bind me to You, chain me to You because my foolish heart is prone to wander!”
God did not mean for you to seek Him once but daily! He’s the One who abounds in infinite wisdom and knowledge, not you. He’s the One who knows the future and holds it within his hands, not you. He knows what’s best for you, you don’t.
Oh, Christian! On your own, you’ll wreck it! Seek His guidance! Seek His direction! Seek His wisdom! Seek His strength! Why would we want to live life on our own when we can live life with God? I pray that we see our desperate need for God the way Luther did.
Thanks, man! Keep after the Lord!
Revel in this glorious reality.
But everyone is enslaved to something to someone, whether we know it or not.
The Bible gives us only two options: either you’re a slave to the world or a slave to the God who created it.
What directs your decisions, affections, and behavior? What do you believe will give you the meaning, joy, and satisfaction you lack? What do you possess right now that you would would lie, cheat, or steal in order to preserve?
If God is not the center of your life, if he does not hold your ultimate allegiance, then you have been enslaved by something or someone less satisfying and loving than God.
John Starke, Everyone Enslaved
