"...to live is Christ..."

“To live is Christ…”

Where is life found? The fallen world will tell us that life is found in money, sex, popularity, etc… But these are all lies! The whole book of Ecclesiastes is about how no created thing gives us life, or true satisfaction. Ecclesiastes is written by King Solomon. King Solomon was richer than any of us will ever be, he had 700 wives, and 400 concubines, and he was wiser than any of us could dream of being. But this is what he said, “So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind.”

The world lies to us. It promises that created things will give us life, that they will satisfy us. But what we find out, as Solomon did, is that these things will never fulfill us. We could get all the money in this world, and it wouldn’t be enough. We can never get enough earthly pleasure.

If we were left here, we should be extremely depressed. But God has provided the solution, Christ.

Christ has set us free from the bondage of sin by His atoning work on the cross, and His resurrection. Our minds are no longer chained to the lies of the world; we are free to see that Christ is the only one who will give us life. He has died for sin once for all, for the reason of bringing us to God. God is the only one who can give our hearts true lasting satisfaction and joy. Psalm 16:11 says, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Through Christ and Christ alone are we brought to God where we find true satisfaction, and life. Truly to live is Christ. Let us glorify the triune God who gives our hearts life.

For the glory of God

Seth

Help!

Ok, so most of you who know me know that I have a problem getting out of bed when I say I am going to. It seems like every night, getting a glimpse of my spiritual health, I plan on getting up at __ the next morning so that I will have time to spend with the Lord. The next morning will roll around and a few snooze buttons later I will have run out of time before I have to get to work or school.

This is a problem. It is a sin issue, and a character issue. I am being lazy. I am essentially loving sleep more than I am loving the one who died for me. I am pathetically wicked.

So I need some help. Please pray for me, everyday if possible. Please try to keep me accountable, ask me how I am doing with it.

I have realized that because I am not making time to spend with the Lord in the morning, it is becoming incredibly difficult to make time at all. My spiritual life is suffering. I am not getting into the word consistently, I do not have a healthy prayer life, and I am becoming more and more seduced by the world.

It is such a relief that even when I am unfaithful, He is faithful. But I need that communion with God.

So please, if you can, help me as I strive to make war on this sin through the power of the Spirit.

For the glory of God

Seth

Prodigal

Here are the lyrics to the song "Prodigal" off of Sovereign Grace's "Sons and Daughters" disk. It is a great reminder of the incredible grace of God to reconcile us to Himself. I hope these lyrics will inspire further meditation on the marvelous grace and love of our wonderful Father.

You held out Your arms, I walked away
Insolent I spurned Your face
Squandering the gifts You gave to me
Holding close forbidden things
Destitute a rebel still, a fool in all my pride
The world I once enjoyed is death to me
No joy, no hope, no life

Where now are the friends, that I had bought
Gone with every penny lost
What hope could there be for such as I
Sold out to a world of lies
Oh, to see Your face again, it seems so distant now
Could it be that You would take me back
A servant in Your house

You held out Your arms, I see them still
You never left, You never will
Running to embrace me, now I know
Your cords of love will always hold
Mercy’s robe, a ring of grace
Such favor undeserved
You sing over me and celebrate
The rebel now Your child
© 2009 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP).

For the glory of God

Seth

Psalm 27:4

Psalm 27:4

“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire (or meditate) in his temple.”

One thing David asks? Only one? He has a relationship with the almighty God and he only asks one thing of Him? This one thing has to be incredibly important. When I go to God I seem to have a whole list of things that I want to ask the Lord for, but David has only one. That he may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life, so that he may gaze at the beauty of the Lord and inquire, or meditate in His temple.

This is not the only time David uses this kind of language. In Psalm 26:8 he tells the Lord that he loves the habitation of His house, and the place where His glory dwells. In Psalm 65:4 he says, “Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple.” The sons of Korah say, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing to the living God.”

What would make David and the sons of Korah use this kind of language?

There was obviously something wonderful about being in the house of the Lord. Something that made the Sons of Korah yearn for it, something that made David ask only that one thing of God.

What was so special about the house of the Lord wasn’t the House itself. It was the Lord! The house or temple was the place where David got to meet with God. It was the place where he got to worship Him corporately; it was the place where he got to gaze upon the many facets of Gods beauty, it was where he got to meditate on God and his precepts, it is the place where Gods glory dwells. In a word, it was where David got to commune with God.

Do I desire to commune with God like this? Do I understand the deep satisfaction that is found in communion with God? Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

When Jesus took my sins on Himself and justified me, He gave me peace with God. Enemies don’t commune with one another. My sins separated me from God, the only being in the entire universe that could fill this longing for satisfaction in my heart. But Jesus willingly and joyfully laid down His life and took the punishment for the sins I had done. The sin-wall that had been between God and me was broken never to be seen again! Because of the atoning work of Jesus, I now have a relationship with God. Because of Jesus I can now commune with God.

Jesus also destroyed the temple. God now dwells in the hearts of men through the Holy Spirit. I can now commune with God whenever because of the blood of Jesus Christ. What a priceless gift!

David longed for communion with God. That is what satisfied Him. Communion with God is what satisfies you, its what satisfies me, and it can only happen through Jesus Christ. He is our only hope.

For the glory of God

Seth