The Joy of Glory

1 Kings 11:1-13 (click here)
For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. (1 Kings 11:4)

Reflection
Complacent.

If we are honest, it is so easy to become complacent. I can fall into complacency so quickly as a husband and a father. I’ll think to myself that I do a good job pursuing my wife and playing with my kids… so it won’t matter if today I’m lazy after work and take this one day for just me.

And one day turns into two. Two becomes three. And before I know it… complacency has taken me so far from where I began.

This was the slippery slope that King Solomon slid down in his latter days. It was “when he was old” that his wives turned his heart away from the Lord. He had been so faithful throughout his life! I mean head built the temple, poured out wisdom from on high, and reigned over Israel in unprecedented peace.

And complacency set in as he let one foreign bride after another bring her gods into his home. Before long, he was occasionally going through her worship practices alongside her… you know… just to be a good husband.

By the time all was said and done, the man who had once built the temple of God was building worship sites for nearly any god he was told existed.

None of this was the fault of his wives! We don’t even have time to talk about Solomon’s folly for practicing polygamy, but the text places responsibility for Solomon’s sin squarely on his shoulders alone, and God holds him accountable!

He had become complacent… where it counted the most!

And this can be so easy for us as well! Especially if we have been walking with the Lord for a long time and are entering our “Old age” as a believer. We can so easily think, “What does it matter if I don’t pray for one day… or skip reading my Bible… or worshiping together with other believers?”

And one day turns into two. Two becomes three. And before I know it… complacency has taken me so far from where I began.

I’m not promoting some kind of legalism in which I aim to shame you for not reading your Bible or attending church enough! Not at all! I’m aiming at a love relationship where you passionately pursue the Lord through the means he has given you because you don’t want to become complacent… you want to be connected!

If we are honest, it is so easy to become complacent… especially where it counts the most… in our relationship with Christ.

Let’s all say death to complacency today! Death to complacency right now! In this moment, through this word… let’s all pursue closer connection with Christ!

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

2 Samuel 22:26-28 (click here)
With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; with the purified you deal purely, and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. You save a humble people, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down. (2 Samuel 22:26-28)

Reflection
Confession… I love true crime documentaries. Probably a little bit too much.

I’ve actually worried about myself before… wondering, “What horrible part of me does this kind of thing appeal to?” But, after much reflection I actually think I know what it is deep down in my soul that is attracted to this particular genre… and what is it?

A desire for justice.

I truly believe that deep down we all have a desire for justice to be done, even though that desire often gets so twisted can scarcely be considered decent judges of what justice actually looks like.

Still… we all want to see things made right… especially things that concern us! We want justice done for us! Well… I have good news! Our God is a God of perfect justice!

In 2 Samuel 22, David sings of the perfect justice of our God and how he always does what is right… what is fair… what is just! “With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; with the purified you deal purely, and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous. You save a humble people, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.”

Because of this good news, we never have to seek revenge, we never have to settle the score, and we don’t have to worry that people will get away with the evil they have done to us! This world is not a true crime documentary that ends with the villain still at large or with the innocent still suffering. No. This world ends with perfect justice!

What good news!

Except… concerning us! What happens when justice is done, not for us, but to us?! All of a sudden it is bad news that our God is a God of perfect justice.

I’m totally ok with him executing justice on everyone else… but not on me. Because, at the end of the day I know I have not always been merciful, I am by no means blameless, nor have I been perfectly pure and humble. But, I have been crooked and haughty. The just judgment of God that I wish upon the rest of the world should rightly fall on me.

And it will… unless someone takes my place. Who could take my place? Is there anyone who has no sin of their own so that they do not deserve the judgment of God? Is there anyone like that who can stand in the place of sinners?

God himself took on flesh that he might maintain his justice and pour out his righteous wrath upon my sin, but he took my sin on himself and served as my substitute so that I might be justified and go free! At the cross, through Jesus Christ, God was both just and the justifier (Romans 3:23-26)!

The cross makes the justice of God nothing but good news! Because, not only does his justice mean he will deal with all the evil in the world, but it also means that he has dealt with all the evil in me and now I am free!

My desire for justice doesn’t hold a candle to God’s! And that is Gospel good news!

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

1 Samuel 2:2-10 (click here)
There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. (1 Samuel 2:2)

Reflection
I was a diamond expert. At least for a few months of my life.

In 2003, I was on the hunt for the perfect diamond so that I might propose to Holly. I found myself in need of one of those little rocks that cost so stinking much… and why the high price?

To be certain, some of the expense can be credited to the economical law of supply and demand. Diamonds are rare and lots of people want them, thus they’re more expensive. But, I soon discovered there was more to it than that, for, not all diamonds are created equal. The price depends on various attributes:  carat, cut, color and clarity.

The greater, the more beautiful the attributes… the higher the value, because there is no other rock like that one.

Greater still, here is the foundational reality of the universe… “There is no rock like our God.”

Compared with God… all diamonds are but dust. He is in a category unto himself above all other created things. There is nothing like him and none beside him. He is above all, the supreme treasure of the universe! The Bible has a word for this as we clearly see in 1 Samuel 2:2… holy.

God is holy.

In economic terms… he is the rarest of gems… for there is only one of him. he is holy.

In existential terms… he is the highest of beings… all created things were made by him and derive their value from his value. There is none above or beside him… he is holy.

In aesthetic terms… he is the definition of perfection… if the greatness and beauty of his attributes cannot be measured because they go on forever… he is holy.

Rarer, greater, and more beautiful than any diamond is our God… there is no rock like him! I want to be an expert in his greatness, his goodness, his beauty… his glory! I want to know all of his attributes… see every facet… be awed by the one and only, holy God!

And I am in luck… for the glory of his holiness has been put on display everywhere for me to see! All of the creation displays the greatness of his power, the goodness of love, and the beauty of his creativity.

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory (Isaiah 6:3)!” May we see it today! In his world… and his Word… may we see and believe that there is no rock like our God.

He alone is holy.

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