Wednesday, March 21, 2012
He Knows us Well
Scripture, like that found in Luke 14, often reminds me of how well God knows us and hence how well He knows how to work in us. Prone to judge even the good deeds of others. Prone to pick out the "good seat" or seek the place of honor. Prone to do good unto those who might return the favor. Prone to make excuses for not being obedient to the ways of the Lord. Prone to not give Him preeminence in our lives. And prone to bristle at and then quicky forget those words, "So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions". Praise the Lord that by His doing we are new creatures in Christ. Praise the Lord for His ability to carry out the work of sanctification in the lives of His children. Praise the Lord for saving and effectual grace!
Friday, March 16, 2012
A Launderer From Heaven
My wife has long had a knack for getting difficult stains out of clothing. She does a great job but on occasion is unable to remove the most stubborn of them. My son works for a tire company that uses a professional laundry service to clean their uniform's. Due to the type of work they perform, and despite the professional service they utilize, no one has a uniform free of stains.
For as long as I can remember there have been products like "Clorox", "Spray 'n Wash", "Shout", "Zout", "OxiClean" and a host of others, all touting their stain removing qualities. In addition to those commercially produced stain removers, there has been an endless supply of "home remedies" for the same. Most will work with some degree of efficacy but none are able to remove all stains.
Many from my home church are reading through the New Testament and we recently finished reading the Gospel of Mark. While reading the 9th chapter of Mark, verses 2-3 had caught my attention in a way I had not previously considered. In these two verses Mark wrote, "Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them."
It seemed that in a moment the Lord was reminding me that in Christ, I had been washed clean as no launderer earth could do. The stain of sin had been washed clean. Like the stubborn stains that ruin some fabrics, my sin stain was seated deep into the very fibers of my being, begging the question posed and in that great hymn, "Nothing but the Blood", "what can wash away my sin?". "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus" the songwriter and scripture proclaims. And nothing means just that, nothing.
Men may attempt to deny the sin problem, look to the commercially produced stain fighting power of their many religions or develop their own individual remedies to battle the stain of sin. But it is only the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all sin. As we read in Jeremiah 2:22, "Although you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your iniquity is before Me," declares the Lord God." Man's attempts to cleanse the stain of his iniquity are futile. Praise the Lord that I have been washed, that I have been sanctified and that I have been justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Launderer from heaven!
For as long as I can remember there have been products like "Clorox", "Spray 'n Wash", "Shout", "Zout", "OxiClean" and a host of others, all touting their stain removing qualities. In addition to those commercially produced stain removers, there has been an endless supply of "home remedies" for the same. Most will work with some degree of efficacy but none are able to remove all stains.
Many from my home church are reading through the New Testament and we recently finished reading the Gospel of Mark. While reading the 9th chapter of Mark, verses 2-3 had caught my attention in a way I had not previously considered. In these two verses Mark wrote, "Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them."
It seemed that in a moment the Lord was reminding me that in Christ, I had been washed clean as no launderer earth could do. The stain of sin had been washed clean. Like the stubborn stains that ruin some fabrics, my sin stain was seated deep into the very fibers of my being, begging the question posed and in that great hymn, "Nothing but the Blood", "what can wash away my sin?". "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus" the songwriter and scripture proclaims. And nothing means just that, nothing.
Men may attempt to deny the sin problem, look to the commercially produced stain fighting power of their many religions or develop their own individual remedies to battle the stain of sin. But it is only the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all sin. As we read in Jeremiah 2:22, "Although you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your iniquity is before Me," declares the Lord God." Man's attempts to cleanse the stain of his iniquity are futile. Praise the Lord that I have been washed, that I have been sanctified and that I have been justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Launderer from heaven!
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