This is a meditation I wrote down a few years ago, and how timely it still is! I pray you find it encouraging, as well as challenging!
With today being the end of the year [or in our case, the start of the new year!], I thought I would take a moment and reflect on some of the things I’ve learnt this year, and below are 10 of the things that came to mind most. I’m just as guilty as any about these points, so I do not claim otherwise, but I felt it might encourage you as it did me.
What Have I Learnt?
– Jesus is Lord; One with the Father and the Spirit, wrapped in flesh to atone for sin, and is seated at the right hand of the Father till all His enemies are humbled under His feet, and He reveals His eternal kingdom to all the earth. HalleluYah! (Phil. 2:5-11, Col. 3:1-4)
All things are in His hands, and we might not understand why certain things happen the way they do, but we do know that ‘from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.’ (Rom. 11:36, ESV)
– It is a human fault, to always find fault in everything; Ungratefulness is a chain we find hard to rid of. When things are going well, we either find it too good to be true, or think it is perhaps due to our own excellence. When things are not going well, we grumble and complain like it is perhaps some form of moral injustice that we would be subjected to such.
When things are neither exceptional nor bad, we are tempted to groan at the uneventful moments, rather than being thankful for a season of calm reflection. (Ecc. 7:14, 1 Thess. 5:18)
– Lust is a BEAST; Oh how many a times have I put myself at the mercy of the depraved beast that not only seeks to drag me down into the abyss, but transforms and grows more depraved every time I succumb to its calling, making it even harder to fight off.
In Hebrews chapter 11 God draws our attention to some of the Saints of Old, and then encourages us not to grow weary but to ‘strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.’ (Heb. 12:1)
And how do we do this? I shall share the secret:
Heb. 12:2 – ‘We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.’
Col. 3:2-3 – ‘Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.’
– Pride, the silent but deadly sin; There is so much to be said about the sin of pride. The cause of a third of heaven to be cast down along with that great adversary of mankind, Satan (Isa. 14:12-16, Eze. 28:11-17). If such angelic beings, better than you and I, were subjected to such, we are surely not exempt.
Pride is the sin that produces other sin. Pride in our self-worth hinders our subjection to God and our accountability for our actions, leading to idolatry. It encourages self-centered behavior and therefore rejects the command to love our neighbours. It promotes self-satisfaction and so disregards the principle of honoring the opposite sex, in the quest to indulge in sexual immorality. The list goes on and on.
Perhaps the most dangerous aspect of this sin is how silent it can be, how easily it can go under the radar, how harmless it can seem. God warns us not to take pride in ourselves, and to boast only in the LORD (Jer. 9:23-24, 1 Cor. 1:31, Prov. 3:34, Prov. 11:2, Prov. 18:12).
– We MUST perfect holiness; In our culture of compromise and relativity, it comes as no surprise that the continuous war against in-dwelling sin is quickly forgotten, and sanctification is paid no real thought. Christianity has been contextualized to the point of being irrelevant. A thirst for holiness is seen as too religious, and a practice of righteousness is labelled overkill, even by those in the Church.
How tightly have we let our enemy veil the truth from our eyes? If we gave just a moment to search the Scriptures, we would quickly find how adamant and passionate God is about holiness! He judged the world once because of it (Gen. 6:5-6, 7:4), and He will once again (Eph. 5:5-8).
If the result of sin is death and eternal separation from God (Rom. 6:23, Rev. 20:11-15), and if the extent of the depravity of sin is so deep and costly that God humbled Himself in the form of man so He might die and shed His blood for our atonement (2 Cor. 5:21, Heb. 9:22-28), why do we persist in taking it lightly, especially after learning the truth of this?
God demands, ‘You must be holy because I am holy.’ (1 Pet. 1:15), and the apostle exhorts, ‘let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.’ (2 Cor. 7:1)
– Truth is NOT relative; By nature, truth must remain constant and cannot change based on an individual’s perspective. The promotion of relativity of truth is claimed to be for the purpose of peace and tolerance, but in actuality it encourages the compromise of beliefs. As Christians we are to be considerate of others, but we must not deny our faith for the sake of ‘peace and tolerance’! We deny that Jesus is the ONLY way when we accept that truth is relative. (John 14:6)
We must remember that ‘this is a trustworthy saying: If we die with Him, we will also live with Him. If we endure hardship, we will reign with Him. If we deny Him, He will deny us.’ (2 Tim. 2:11-12).
God has revealed Himself to us, and His revelation is trustworthy: ‘This God—His way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him.’ (Ps. 18:30, ESV).
This might cause debate until the end of the world, but we must remember not to get caught up in pointless arguments. Ultimately, ‘truthful words stand the test of time, but lies are soon exposed’ (Prov. 12:19), and exposed they will be, be it by God’s mercy in the illumination that is salvation, or by Christ Jesus’ glorious return!
– Hello Compassion, Goodbye Apathy; It might seem strange to some, but it is surprisingly easy to be apathetic (even after coming to Christ). The only difference in this being to what degree it happens.
Sure, we can frown at some things and be happy about some things, but tell me; what would deeply impact us, and yet we wouldn’t see cause to make petition before God regarding it? Whose sorrow would deeply grieve our being that we wouldn’t rend our broken hearts to God, pleading for His comfort and healing? What good news would raise our spirits so, that we wouldn’t offer a prayer of praise and adoration, thanking God for such mercies?
We might understand some people’s plights, but we rarely truly open our hearts. If we had compassion like we ought, I believe the Church would be so much more effective and relevant!
Paul exhorts the Body to ‘rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.’ (Rom. 12:15, ESV).
We must learn to open our hearts to feel, our hands to give, our feet to evangelize, our shoulders to bear burdens, our time to encourage, our minds to counsel, our mouths to advise, and our spirits to prayer.
– Be anxious about nothing, pray about everything; Prayer is a key part of a believer’s life. We are exhorted to never stop praying (1 Thess. 5:17, Col. 4:2). In the normal course of life, we find many reasons to stress and worry and fret. This is true for all, believer or not.
C.S. Lewis writes this message in his book ‘Mere Christianity’:
“All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in.
What we have been told is how we men can be drawn into Christ—can become part of that wonderful present which the young Prince of the universe wants to offer to His Father—that present which is Himself and therefore us in Him. It is the only thing we were made for. And there are strange, exciting hints in the Bible that when we are drawn in, a great many other things in Nature will begin to come right. The bad dream will be over: it will be morning.”
We must not neglect spending time with our Lord each morning. Let’s follow David’s example: ‘Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I pray to no one but You. Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to You and wait expectantly.’ (Ps. 5:2-3)
The Church in Philippi were encouraged: ‘Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:6-7)
– Seeking wisdom is the wisest thing you can do; If the fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom and true knowledge (Prov. 1:7, 9:10), then it stands to reason that if you fear the LORD, you would ‘tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.’ (Prov. 2:2-4)
Solomon says, ‘Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment.’ (Prov. 4:7)
Gone is the time of ignorance when we might have been excused (with some rebuke and loving discipline) for our lack of sense, but as we grow up we are required to put aside our folly in quest for wisdom, which the LORD grants freely to all who ask (Prov. 2:6, James 1:5-8, 1 Kings 3:5-12).
Only with wisdom do we gain discernment and receive understanding about the issues of life. For ‘the wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception.’ (Prov. 14:8, NIV)
And what way does God grant us wisdom? Through His Word (Ps. 19:7b, Ps. 119:105), and the counsel of the wise (Prov. 13:20, Col. 3:16), to name but a few.
– Escape the snare of unproductive comparison; It is understandable to look to people you admire or who operate in a similar fashion as you, but beware! This is an easy invitation for envy to come in and lay hold of your heart. It’s not long before encouragement and motivation become resentment and depression, and you soon forget that your worth is not in how well you do something better than someone else.
As a believer, your identity is NOT in your achievements or adeptness at something, but rather, your identity is in Christ (Col. 3:3, Gal. 2:20, Col. 3:10-11, Eph. 2:19-21).
Before we begin to question why we do not have what others have and make them idols, we must sober up to the warnings of the apostles:
‘Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.’ (1 John 5:21)
Be encouraged, and keep your sights on Christ as you follow Him into the new year, where He already awaits us!
———————
(This is an excerpt from my latest book, ‘May The Meditations of My Heart…’ which is out now and available for purchase in paperback or eBook from Amazon and the iBooks store)
