Alētheia: Truth

Tag: the cross

  • Foundations – Baker’s Dozen


    Psalm 103:1-5 (ESV)

    “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit,
    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

    These verses from Psalm 103 are not only good for your arsenal of memorized scriptures, but also for your daily morning devotion. To start out your day praising the name of the Lord with all your strength, joy and gladness is not only appropriate, but essential in the life of a Christian. And after some time in worship, we then move on to remember all that God is for us, and has done for us in Christ Jesus.

    Each morning we should remember, yes even list all the benefits that God has blessed us with. I am reminded that David did the same thing going up against Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:37 – “And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine…”

    David had remember what God had already done for him – powerful things – and having those memory’s fresh on his mind and heart, David was victorious over what seemed liked insurmountable odds in human terms, but not so in God’s terms. And so it is with the “giants” in our life.

    Remembering what God has already done for us and pondering these things at the beginning of each day, will strengthen our faith as we move through the day serving the Lord. Our daily battles are glorifying to God when we stand on His benefits, empowered by the victory of the Cross, filled with the Holy Spirit and charge head long in life knowing that we are delivered, healed and crowned with steadfast love and mercy.

     

     

  • Foundations – Bakers Dozen


    1 John 1:9 (ESV)

    “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

    This is one of my all time favorite verses in the Bible. Our journey as born again believers in Jesus Christ is a life long experience in our growth to be more and more like Jesus. However, we are not perfect. We sin and it’s in this verse that I find great peace and comfort in God’s grace for our lives.

    Of course it begins with our confession. Not that God doesn’t already know our sin, He does. God is all-knowing. 1 John 1:9 starts with us acknowledging in our own life that we have sinned which leads to God’s faithfulness – that is – the absolute fact that God will always do what He says. Then, we see that He is just. That means God is the supreme authority when it comes to the forgiveness of sins. A debt paid by Jesus when he died on the cross for us. And in this justification, God extends His great power to cleanse us from our unrighteousness, which then (and sometimes is hard to comprehend) makes us righteous.

    God’s infinite grace to the faithful believer in Jesus Christ.