The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

Recently I preached from Psalm 18:1-2. Think of what King David said. “I will love you, O LORD, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.”
Wow!
Think of how powerful this is. The king said, “I will.”
Think of how precious this is. The king said, “I will love.”
Think of how personal this is. The king said, “I will love You, O LORD.”

Be on guard today. The enemy of your soul does not want you to love the Lord. To the enemy, someone in love with the Lord would be the absolute worst thing in the world. He will try to keep you from this by whatever means will work.

For some it will be bitterness. Things have not gone the way you wish they would have turned out and now you are mad. A bitterness is beginning to grow, and it will truly keep you from loving the Lord.

For others it will be busyness. The more and more you have to do, the more and more things that grab your attention will cause you to think less and less of the Lord. Slowly but surely in the busyness of life, your love for the Lord grows less and less.

I want to be as firm as King David was when he said, “I will love You, O LORD, my strength.

For today: With the Lord’s help, that’s just what I intend to tell the Lord often today. How about you?

I’m sure that you have been in situations where only the Lord could ever have done this. That is just the case in which Lydia found herself.

Before I tell you about her, think of what the Lord Jesus told us. “For without me, ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).

“How do you do it day in and day out?” Harriet asked Lydia. “First of all, I don’t know how you drive that size bus. Second of all, I was talking to one of the other drivers, and he told me that you have the worst run possible. Some of the worst kids ride your bus. How do you do it day in and day out?” Harriet asked emphatically.

“Well, some days are a bit more challenging, I must confess,” Lydia said as she poured another cup of coffee for her friend. “But I have found that the more I pray before I leave, the better things have been going. I often pray, confessing to the Lord that I cannot do this without Him. Yesterday one of the biggest teens who is so disruptive in school actually lingered before he got off my bus. He told me, ‘Have a good day, Miss Lydia. See ya’ in six and a half hours.’ I told him that I would be praying for him today. Harriet, he stopped, and I think that he nearly cried. He said, ‘Ain’t nobody ever told me that, Miss Lydia,’ and with that he shot off the bus, and of all things turned around and waved at me! Only the Lord could have done this.” How about you? In what ways are you discovering the Lord doing things that only He can do?

For today: Be watching for “only He could do this” moments today.

Yesterday I spoke of the Father declaring His good pleasure in His Son. One of the times the Father spoke these words took place on the Mount of Transfiguration. Let’s come back for another thought or two from Matthew 17.

“Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here” (Matthew 17:4).
Peter, James, and John were about to see a glorious sight. Bringing them up into a high mountain, the Lord Jesus Christ was about to be transfigured before them. In a very real sense, He was going to pull the curtain back just a little and reveal a tiny bit of His pre-incarnate, Shekinah glory. No wonder Peter said, “It is good for us to be here.”
Someday we believers will see the Lord Jesus in His tremendous glory. Do you have a moment to look up John 17:24? There the Lord Jesus, on the night before He goes to the cross, prays and shares with the Father how much He is looking forward to those who are given to Him seeing His glory. The day is coming that you and I will no doubt say to the Lord, “Lord, it is good for us to be here.” This has a profound impact on how I am living in the world today (1 John 3:1-3).

For today: I am looking forward to the day that I meet the Lord and see His glory. I love Him today. But I know I will be overwhelmed with His love on that day.

Be sure of this, my friend. Be very sure that you can never think too highly of the Lord Jesus. In every sense of the word, He pleased His Heavenly Father.
“This is my beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).
“This is my beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 17:5).
Both instances record the words of the Father concerning His great delight and pleasure in His Son. Both of these cases took place before the death and resurrection of our Savior. The first instance was His baptism which began His public ministry. The second instance was at His transfiguration high up on the mountain with just a few of His disciples.
Another instance was at Christ’s resurrection which was the Father’s stamp of full approval and His being pleased with everything about Christ and His perfect sacrifice. Paul explained to the church at Rome “Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:3-4).
I want to deeper love the Lord Jesus.
I want to greater serve the Lord Jesus.
I want to better know the Lord Jesus.

For today: How about you, my friend? Aren’t you thrilled to belong to the Lord Jesus?

Yesterday we thought of King David’s statement of anticipation. By faith he looked ahead to the day when he would have a change of location and a complete change in his condition. “As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness” (Psalm 17:15).

Listen to what John said to us. “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:1-3).

A wonderful day is coming.
A day of great change is coming.
A day of seeing the Lord face to face is coming.
All of this is true only to those who know the Lord as their own Savior. John uses the word “beloved” which speaks of God’s own family, His own dearly loved ones. When a believer really grasps this, there will also be a change presently in our behavior. No, it’s not sinless perfection down here. It is, however, a deep desire to live for Him and to please Him.

For today: What a wonderful reminder from the Lord and His precious Word. Yes, friends, a great change is coming!