Behold The King In His Beauty

Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; They will see the land that is very far off. (Isaiah 33:17)

The more we know about Christ, the less will we be satisfied with superficial views of Him.

The more deeply we study His transactions in the eternal covenant, His engagements on our behalf as the eternal Surety, and the fullness of His grace which shines in all His offices, the more truly will we see the King in His beauty.

Let us long more and more to see Jesus. Let us behold our Redeemer through meditation and contemplation.

Let our conversation be more in heaven.

Let our mind be more taken up with the person, the work, the beauty of our incarnate Lord.

Let us behold the King in His beauty.

Take The First Step

And Laban said, "It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn." (Genesis 29:26)

We do not excuse Laban for his dishonesty.

But there are lessons we can learn from his custom.

There are some things in life which must be taken in order.

If we want to win the second, we must secure the first.

The second may be the more lovely, but the elder must be married first.

As Christians, we may desire the joy and peace in believing, but we must first repent of our sins and live a holy life.

The cross must be carried before the crown can be worn.

We must follow our Lord in His humiliation, or we shall never rest with Him in glory.

Like Jacob, our years of service will be short and sweet because of the love we have to Jesus.

And when the hour to be with Jesus has come, we will forget all our toils, our pain and labor.

God Does What God Does

Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? 

- Matthew 20:15 -

The vineyard workers in Jesus’ parable had forgotten God’s grace to them (Matthew 20:1-16).

They had forgotten God's grace had completely wiped out their past sins.

They had forgotten God's all-sustaining, perfect grace.

Their focus shifted to what was happening to and for other people.

They were jealous of God's grace and mercy to others.

They wanted to restrict God's grace and mercy to themselves.

They began to grumble and complain against God.

But God owes us nothing.

He freely gives us the salvation He promises when we accept Christ.

He then adds to His generosity by sending His Spirit to help us in this life as we prepare for the joy of eternity with Him.

The seeming unfairness of life demands that we keep our eyes on Him and His Word, and not on other people.

God is good.

Let us be found content with what God has given us.

We Are The Soil For The Seed

But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: 

some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 

- Matthew 13:8 -

The Lord Jesus Christ talked about the parable of the sower.

The seed is the Word of God.

The spirit of life is in the seed.

The seed is sown.

Its growth depends on the right kind of soil. 

We are the soil where the Word of God is sown.

Our environment and what we do after receiving the seed will determine our spiritual growth.

Our spiritual growth represents sanctification, the formation of God's image in us by living His way of life empowered by His Spirit. 

A seed of faith is not intended to lie dormant.

We have only this life to live.

Then will come the final Judgment and the end of the world.

We are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

And we are not to let our environments overpower us and control us.

We are to become the good ground and yield an abundant crop.

We are to live and serve God all our lives.

And we are to live for the glory of God.

 

A Perfect Time

All things work together for good to those . . . 

who are the called according to His purpose. 

- Romans 8:28 - 

God has specific purposes and plans for us.

And His timing is always perfect.

Let us trust in Him.

Let us not feel disappointed in the pace of God’s plans.

God has His reasons.

Let us continue to rely on Him.

He will open doors when the timing is perfect.