The Joy of Glory

Today’s devotional is authored by Brad Brown

Jude 24-25
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. 

Reflection
Charles Taylor in his book “Our secular age” helpfully gives words to realities that we experience in our culture but can’t always find the words to name. He notes that in our time it’s not so much that people are anti-religion (although we do see that). Rather, religion is just seen as a private affair that is reserved for some. A religion like Christianity is seen as just one product to purchase among others that can make your life meaningful.

I think we can all agree that in our modern society the church is not the center of the town square, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.  Christianity is not the default belief in our country. It is seen as simply one option among many others in the marketplace of ideas. 

Some go to church, some do yoga, some trust in science, or philosophy, some hold to a vague spirituality, some have been disillusioned by the church and for others…they just don’t know.

Taylor says with so many viable options “Faith is fraught, confession is haunted by an inescapable sense of contestability…We don’t believe; we believe while doubting. We’re all Thomas now…”

The first part of Jude’s doxology offers hope to a church that can often feel hopeless. It is a confident prayer that God will preserve the church from false teaching and bring them into the glorious future with him. 

Isn’t this just wishful thinking at the end of the letter? It is a naive optimism? Is it just unaware of the many options presented to the church? Does it not know that there are seemingly reasonable and attractive  competitors all after the churches affections? 

Throughout my years in youth ministry there will be times when I think, “It will take a miracle for this kid continue in the faith after he leaves home…” 

While I imagine you understand what I’m getting at…I do think I need to be reminded that it’s always a miracle that anybody remains a disciple of Jesus Christ and that this is good news…

The Reformer John Calvin wrote that “It pleases the Lord fully to restore whomsoever he adopts into the inheritance of life. And indeed, this restoration does not take place in one moment or one day or one year; but through continual and sometimes even slow advances God wipes out…the corruption of the flesh”

When Calvin read the Scriptures he saw that Salvation was so much more than just forgiveness of sins…It is certainly not less than forgiveness but it is so much more. Calvin said that to receive salvation is to receive the gift of Union with Christ. 

To receive the gift of Christ is to receive the gifts of Justification (declared righteous) and sanctification (being made holy). Calvin says that to receive one gift without the other would be to “Tear Christ in two”. His point: these gifts come together. You cannot receive one without the other. 

This is big deal…The Christian life is not simply a response to our salvation…It is part of our salvation…It is part of something that God is doing. It is something that God is doing to save us from ourselves and to save us from the evil of this world. If its ultimately something that God does then the Church can have hope that she will persevere despite the circumstances…despite how bad or hopeless things look…

Romans 8:28-30 beautifully articulates this, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

It’s hard to believe…The God who says your sins are forgiven is also the God that says that he is going to make you more like Jesus. He’ going to transform you. He’s going to preserve you…He’s going to bring you into his presence. All for his Glory.

To ponder “What salvation is this? What assurance is this? What hope is this?” will lead you to ask “What God is this?”

That’s where Jude ends. It ends with an acknowledgement of the greatness of God. It ends in worship.

Despite the options made available to us, when we reflect on the goodness and power of God in our salvation we are lead to the place of Praise. This is the place by the power of God we will be forever. 

One might be tempted to say…Its a miracle.

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

Today’s devotional is authored by Brad Brown

2 Peter 1:16-18
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.

Reflection
Is there really a God? Is the Christian faith true in what it claims? Was Jesus really who he said he was? Is it possible that we have gotten it all wrong?

If we are honest with ourselves, these are questions that we have all asked before. We’ve all had these moments where these doubts randomly pop into our mind and cast a dark shadow. We imagine a world where everything we have built our life on is wrong and its a troubling place to be (to say the least..).

In the midst of these questions C.S Lewis takes us to the heart of our faith: The person and work of Jesus Christ.

C.S Lewis claimed that Jesus cant just be a good moral teacher. He said that Jesus is one of three things: Liar, Lunatic, or Lord:

First, Liar. Jesus didn’t just claim to be a moral teacher he said that he and the father were one, He claimed to be God in flesh and demanded that we follow him above all things. So…it’s possible that Jesus could have been lying about who he was. 

Second, Lunatic….Meaning that Jesus really believed he was God. Therefore, he wasn’t lying but he was crazy. 

Third, Lord. The third option for Lewis is that Jesus was who he said he was and therefore he is God in the flesh. Fully God. Fully Human. God with us. The one who was really crucified and was really raised from the dead in history.

In the text for today Peter wants to make clear that the confession that Christ has died, Christ has risen and Christ will come again is not based on a myth. 

Peter witnessed the person and the work of Christ.  At the Transfiguration the apostles saw the carpenters son clothed in a visible glory…a visible glory that will be seen by all when he returns. 

They also heard, in a voice from heaven, the divine declaration of the true identity and authority of their teacher. So If the apostles’ witness to this is trustworthy, then their message about the Second coming is not a human fairytale to make us feel better, but is based on Gods action and declaration.

This Holy week we remember the historical events leading up to the death and resurrection Jesus. We remember that our faith is ultimately built, not on our feelings or individual experiences, but on the action of God in history in and through his Son.

This is reality. Everything else we tell ourselves is a dream…

In John 6, after a hard saying from Jesus many of his followers leave him. He turns to the twelve and asks “Do you want to go away as well?” 

Peter answers, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” 

In the midst of all our sufferings, and questions, and uncertainties…Where else can we go shades? What else could we run to that would satisfy our souls? By the testimony of those before us and the work of the spirit we have tasted and seen the beauty of Jesus Christ.

God has come to us and he is coming again. When he comes again there will be no more suffering and no more doubts about his identity. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess what we preach and sing every Sunday. For eternity we will recount the events of Holy week diving its depths with each word of praise. 

Thanks be to God.

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

1 Peter 1:3-9 (click here to read the entire passage)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials… (1 Peter 1:3-6) 

Reflection
My son Levi loves Legos. I mean… he LOVES Legos.

I played with Legos as a kid and had a blast doing so… but I never came close to the passion that my eldest son displays for those interlocking pieces of plastic. Levi is quite skilled at his craft and blows my mind quite often with his creative creations. There’s just one problem…

Levi has two younger brothers.

You know the logical result of such a situation. Like monsters ripping through a city in a doomsday film, those two little boys are can totally destroy hours of Levi’s work in a matter of seconds… and they do… often.

So recently, I built Levi a set of shelves… high up… out of the reach of the two mini-monsters live in our house. Now his creations are safe, kept, guarded… unable to be destroyed by the chaos lurking below.

In a much greater and grander way, God has done the same thing with our salvation, our eternal life in Christ! We live in a world that often feels like a doomsday film (especially as of late). The fragility of our way of life and of our very lives is being constantly held before us these days. The 24-hour news cycle constantly reports that our world is indeed full of monsters and chaos.

We are a people grieved by trials.

But our God has purchased an eternal life of joy in Jesus for us! He entered into our chaotic world, took on every monster it has to offer, and on the greatest day of doom he wrestled death itself into the grave. With his own blood, our God defeated sin, death, and the devil so that forgiveness, life, and Christ might be ours forever!

This is our inheritance and it is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading! It is unable to be touched by the “mini-monsters” of this world because it is being kept “high up” out of their reach… “kept in heaven for you.”

And it will be ours for we too are being kept!

1 Peter 1:5 (one of my favorite verses) declares that we are being guarded, kept by God’s power! We may live in the chaotic-doomsday-monster-filled-world, but from God’s perspective these trials last only a little while, for our eternal life of joy is kept and guarded on the “shelf of heaven,” securely ours forever.

Eternal joy in Jesus is ours! And this empowers us to rejoice even now, pointing our chaotic world to Christ!

“…[you], by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials…”
*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.