Meditate on Jesus

Good morning. It is Wednesday, October 7, 2015. Two days to vacation!

Today’s word of the day, from Merriam-Webster, is reprise. This is a noun, meaning, “a recurrence, renewal, or resumption of an action,” “a musical repetition,” and, “a repeated performance : repetition.” And I feel the need to point out that is is pronounced, “\rih-PREEZ\.” A lot of people pronounce it incorrectly. Some people also say, “reprisal,” which is a completely different word, altogether. A reprisal is, “something that is done to hurt or punish someone who has hurt you or done something bad to you.” So when your musical theme comes around again, it is “reprise,” which rhymes with “please,” not “prize.”

Today is Bathtub Day. I don’t know. I don’t make these up.

I finally made it to Huddle on my night to lead! And I think it went pretty well. They wanted me to pick up where we left off, next week, but I reminded them that I will not be there. There were jokes about meeting me in Mexico for Huddle next Tuesday.

We are making preparations for the trip. Tonight being a night that we are both at home, we will put together our list of everything we need to make sure happens before we leave on Saturday. Our friend, worship leader, and Huddle leader, Rob, has insisted on taking us to the airport, Saturday morning, so we are taking him up on that offer. Either he or one of the other guys will pick us up on Wednesday afternoon.

I’ve got the camera battery charged, so I can take lots of pictures, especially on our Chichen Itza trip, Monday. I’m sure I will post some on Facebook, and either here or on my other blog.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL

(From Heart Aflame)

The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness shuts its mouth.
Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.
Psalm 107:42-43

“We are now informed that men begin to be wise when they turn their whole attention to the contemplation of the works of God, and that all others besides are fools. . . . And, therefore, that it may be engraven upon our hearts, we must make these works the theme of our attentive and constant meditation.” (p 281)

(From Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God)

As we conclude chapter 10, we are reminded that Psalm 1 tells us that the godly person meditates on the law of the LORD. We can take this to mean the entirety of Scripture, but, in truth, how is it possible to meditate on God’s law and be delighted by it? Even if we read Jesus’s thoughts on the ten commandments, in his Sermon on the Mount, we are struck by the impossibility of following God’s law. I mean, never mind killing someone, if we even find ourselves being resentful of our neighbors, we have sinned! “How can anyone truly think intensely about the law of the Lord and not fall into despair?”

The answer is that we focus on Him who is the central figure of all of Scripture, “the one the gospel of John calls ‘the Word made flesh’ (John 1:14)–Jesus Christ, the ultimate expression and communication of God.”

Jesus delighted in God’s Word; he delighted in doing God’s will. He regularly withdrew to lonely places to pray and meditate. When he prayed, heaven opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him and a voice said, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” He was able to combat Satan with Scripture, and even quoted Psalms as he willingly gave up his life: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Psalm 22:1)

But Jesus is more than just a good example to us. “If that were all he was to us, his life would crush us with guilt, since no one could meditate on the Scripture as he does.” Jesus is “the one to whom all the Scripture points.”

“The written Word and its law can be a delight because the incarnate Word came and died for us, securing pardon for our sins and shortcomings before God’s law. You can’t delight in the law of the Lord without understanding Jesus’ whole mission.” We meditate on Jesus because Jesus “is the meditation of God.” He is the truth made alive, made real. Because of him, we will be able to stand on Judgment Day.

“Meditate on Jesus, who is the ultimate meditation of God. Look at him loving you. Look at him dying for you. Look at him rejoicing in you. Look at him singing over you.”

The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

Father, help me to meditate on Jesus, more often, more consistently. May I delight in your word, both the written word and the Incarnate Word. May I see Jesus as the ultimate meditation as I live my life each day.

I pray for this day, that our travel to work and home will be safe. Lift us up to you, during this work day. May our countenance remain hopeful and joyful as we work through the circumstances that will come on this day. May your grace and mercy be real to everyone in our family, in whatever they find themselves doing today.

Come, Lord Jesus

Meditate on Jesus.

Grace and peace, friends.