Perfect Punishment

Have you ever felt distant from God? Undoubtedly due to your sin, you realize you don't feel like you know God. Yes, you remember who He is, what He's done, and everything you ever learned. But personal devotions have been shallow to non-existent. Fellowship has faded into hang-out time. Discipleship has dissipated. You long for what you had so recently. As soon as you realize it, and your heart screams and your eyes begin to water. "God where did you go?! What have I done? Please, please, come back!"

Now, rewind a couple thousand years. (Though, to God, then is the same as now.) Jesus hangs, humiliated. His face is hidden by his blood. His beaten body --or what's left of it-- is bear to the masses and the harsh afternoon of the middle east. People mock the very incarnate of God while some lay clenched in the mud formed by their tears. Yet all of this is superficial, minor details to Him.

This man spent 30+ years in a perfect, intimate, father-son relationship with the Perfect God of everything. Since birth this man knew the most powerful, most loving, and wisest Being like one knows his family. When God turned His back on Jesus that day, it was not the little experience that we had. Multiply it by the stars. It was a cataclysmic shift from perfect loving intimacy to wrathful devastating abandon. God not only disowned His most loved Child, but He unleashed on Him all the guilt, condemnation, and abhorrence of the whole world and of all time. God lead His willing Son by hand to execution, turned his back, and walked away.

This is what we have done to our Lord. It wasn't the cross, but what happened there. And think: He not only forgets it, but turns to us and says, "Look, I have taken the punishment that would have obliterated you, and see I will escort you into the presence of the Holy One that you may know Us."

That. Is. Irresistible.

Simple Yet Huge Prayer

"Only by the strength through your Spirit, Father, will I overcome my sin. Now, I will find joy in the redeeming work of Christ. When victory comes, I will praise you more."

Why this title?

This blog is going to be about the conclusions and meanderings of my meditation. Because the meditations do not come from my knowledge or wisdom (they are from and by the Spirit), I feel it would do good to transcribe and share them. This will provide a record for me and hopefully inspiration for others.

"for I rejoice in the Lord"

John Piper, a grateful fan of C.S. Lewis, speaks often of the joy to be found in God. Reading his work and listening to him teach, it is evident that he believes, in his core, the only thing worth time is the rejoicing to be done in the Lord. After all, isn't that what heaven is? This is the widely accepted (however debatably) ultimate destination after Earth, and somehow we often live like we aren't even interested in its essence. It is a place of overflowing joy. Now, that is another phrase with worn out impact. Think about it. Rejoice. Re-joyce. Look up the etymology and you can find that this is true. Our word "rejoice" came from Old French and meant "experiencing and expressing intense joy." Now we sometimes ascribe the meaning of "Oh yeah, I'm supposed to be happy." What?! No, rejoice in the Lord! Express intense satisfaction in your Lord!

This is how we can hope that our meditation is pleasing to Him.

"May my meditation be pleasing to Him"

What good is meditation on something you find no joy in? Does anyone ever meditate on a disliked subject in school unless a test is coming soon? No. If I am excited about a show or competition in which I am involved, do I wait until show time to plan out how I will perform? No. I develop strategies while driving. I practice lines in the shower. I lie awake the previous night just thinking about it! My meditation is a natural response to an excitement brought on by the subject itself. If anything requires thought and excellence, it also requires interest.

I do pray that my meditation is pleasing to Him and that the Spirit will bless this endeavor.

Test Run...

This is a test run.....

Yay! I've got this thing working!

now how to delete posts ............