The Joy of Glory

Psalm 15 (click here)
O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent?
Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
He who walks blamelessly and does what is right
and speaks truth in his heart;
who does not slander with his tongue
and does no evil to his neighbor,
nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
but who honors those who fear the LORD…
(Psalm 15:1-4a)

Reflection
How would you define what it means to be blameless before the Lord?

Does such a question immediately cause you to think about the way you love and care for other people… especially other believers? I think for many, myself included, we often think of our relationship to the Lord detached from our relationship to people… but, Scripture is constantly connecting the two.

In Psalm 15, we are basically given a list of evidences that show up in the life of one who is in a proper relationship with the Lord. They don’t slander others out loud or in their heart. They do no evil to their neighbor, nor become the accuser of friends. This doesn’t mean that they do not have a proper sense of justice, for the vile-evil person they want to see caught and corrected. And concerning those who fear the Lord… they especially show them honor. In other words, their attitude towards people matches the attitude of God himself…

…there is love and care for all, justice towards evil, and a special covenantal relationship with his own people.

Does this describe the way you relate to people in your own life? If you have been filled with the very love of God, then it makes sense that love would flow out of you in the same way it flows out of God himself.

Romans 5:5b, “… God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit…” so we are to love one another as he loved us (John 15:17).

This is the evidence by which people will know that we belong to Jesus… by our sacrificial love for each other that mirrors his sacrificial love in the cross (John 13:35, 1 John 4:11 and 20-21). The world  will know that we are truly the people of God when we are a cruciform community.

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

Wondrous-Cruciform Community
Romans 12:1-2 (click here)
On Sundays during Lent, there will not be an email devotional because I actually preach on the passage for that day. If you would like to listen to today’s sermon, you can find it on iTunes by searching for “Shades Valley Community Church” or simply click here.

Esther 3-4 (click here)
Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:13-16)

Reflection
A murderous plot because of wounded pride.

This is what we encounter in the book of Esther. Because one lone Jewish man, Mordecai, wouldn’t bow the Haman, the enraged leader decided that all Jews must die. Through masterful manipulation and bribery, he received the permission he needed from the king, and it looked as though this story would come to a quick, bloody close.

But… God was at work.

Unlike any other book of the Bile, the name of God is never mentioned in Esther. Yet, God is so very present… providentially at work to save his people. Long before this evil plot was ever being planned, God placed Esther in the palace as queen. She was in a position to be a mediator on behalf of her people and take her plea to the king.

But… this was not allowed.

No one could see the king unless the he summoned them. To come into his presence uninvited would likely mean the death penalty. What would Ether do? God had clearly put her in this place at this time, but the laws of man seemingly tied her hands. Who would she trust? Who would she fear?

Esther called upon all the community to fast and pray… then, even if it meant her life, she would sacrifice herself for the sake of her people.

In Esther’s story we can hear echoes of the Gospel… echoes of Christ’s sacrifice on behalf of his people. Can we hear those same echoes in our own lives? When God calls you and I to sacrifice for the sake of serving and loving others… but man threatens us if we should follow… who do we trust? Who do we fear?

When we cannot see God at all, like his name is nowhere to be found, do we trust that he is still providentially at work. Does our voice unite with Esther’s to declare that we will follow God no matter what and if we perish, we perish!

God has called us to lay down our lives for the sake of our brothers and sisters… and so the world may know him. He has called us to be a cruciform community. Your life has been providentially planned to bring you to where you are today for such a time as this.
 

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.