The Joy of Glory

2 Kings 17:6-18 (click here)
And the people of Israel did secretly against the LORD their God things that were not right…

…They went after false idols and became false… (2 Kings 17:9a and 15b)

Reflection
You are what you eat.

I heard that somewhere growing up, and I’m not even 100% certain what it’s supposed to mean. I guess it means something along the lines of “If you eat healthy, you’ll be healthy” and vice versa… and that makes sense as a general principle.

In other words, a more accurate version of the phrase would be “You’ll be like what you eat,” but that’s not as catchy. Still, we all get the point… what you put into your body will have a literal shaping effect on what your body becomes. How much more so with your soul?! For…

You are what you worship!

Now I don’t mean that if you worship a false god you become a false god any more than if you worship the one, true God you turn into God! That’s the equivalent of thinking if you eat apples you’ll turn into an apple. No. “You are what you worship” means something similar to “you are what you eat,” namely, that “You’ll be like what you worship.” What your soul consumes shapes you!

Worship has a shaping effect on the soul. If you worship wealth, it will shape all your wants, hopes and dreams. If you worship sex, it will control your pursuits, desires, and goals. If you worship ______________ (fill in the blank) it will shape your soul… the heart of who you are!

You are what you worship.

2 Kings 17 describes the horrible downfall of the nation of Israel, and it was all rooted in their worship. Verse 9 declares, “…They went after false idols and became false…”

They became what they went after. They valued what these false gods valued. They based life on what these false gods claimed life was all about. They consumed everything false… and they became false. Psalm 135:15-18, “The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see; they have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them.” (see also Psalm 115:4-8 and Isaiah 44:9)

You are what you worship.

BUT… this doesn’t have to be bad news! For, we can pursue the one true God, through his Son Jesus Christ, by the power of his Holy Spirit. Through the Gospel, the triune God has made worshiping him possible as the only, ultimate satisfaction of our souls! It is the only thing that will shape our souls according to reality… that will shape us truly into what we were made to be, therefore bringing satisfaction in him!

2 Corinthians 3:18, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

So, let us worship the only one who is real, true, and beautiful! Let us worship the only one who is great, good, and glorious! Let us worship the only God, beside whom there is no other! Let us worship the God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… for…

You are what you worship!

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

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.