Meditations
”So Pilate said, ‘Do you not know that I have authority to crucify you?’ Jesus answered, ‘You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given to you from above.’ ” (John 19:10-11) “I am the Vine and you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he is the one who will bear much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses.” (Acts 1:8)
Why isn’t the moment we were saved all that’s necessary for us? Why isn’t God satisfied to just save us and then turn us loose until He returns to take us to be with Him? Is it really important that “… when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Eph 1:13)? “The answer is because of the utter gravity of my condition as a sinner. You see, justification deals with the guilt of sin and our being forgiven because of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice, but the presence and power of the sin that remains in us as long as we are residing in this broken world must be addressed everyday. ‘I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ.’ (Phil 1:6) Our struggle with sin is so deep that only God living inside us can give us the power to please Him with our daily living.” (Paul D. Tripp)
Is there any comfort for us in all this? Here it is: if you are a son or daughter of the King, you may rejoin Him in His garden today. You don’t have to hope and pray that He will be with you – the Holy Spirit is already inside you. “My soul, now that the cool of the day has come, hear Him calling to you. He is always ready to speak to you and join you. Indeed, He stands at the door and knocks. (Rev 3:20) Come, O my Father, who is the Gardener, and deal with me in your tenderness and wisdom! Come, O Holy Spirit and immerse my whole nature as though moistened with the dew of heaven. May I venture to hope that He will care for my soul as if it were His garden, bringing forth fruit fit for Him?” (Charles Spurgeon) When we are in step with Him, it’s impossible for the devil to trip us up – pray this morning for yourself and anyone you love to lean on Him, relying on His strong arm to hold us close wherever we are as we make our way back Home. (Prov 3:5-6 and Phil 2:1-3)
David
