The Joy of Glory

Psalm 37:5-9 
Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.

Reflection
We live in a world full of injustice.

A world in which it seems like evil not only goes unpunished, but is seemingly rewarded. Those who cheat, lie, and oppress often seem to be the most successful at climbing the corporate ladder, while honest workers are demoted and laid off. Amazing couples are unable to conceive, while people who don’t make good parents and never wanted children seem to keep having them. The abusers and users of the world seem to get away with everything while victims are just left in their wake and forgotten.

We live in a world full of injustice.

This stirs up righteous anger in us. It kindles wrath. When we are wronged, we want to seek vengeance… we want to set things right and even the score… or at least we want to hold onto our anger in a never-ending grudge.

Yet… as the people of God we are called to forgive as we have been forgiven. Psalm 37 calls us to refrain from anger and forsake wrath! We are to be a cruciform community that reflects the very words of Jesus extended from the cross to his enemies, “Father forgive them!”

How? How is any of that possible?

The Psalmist sings the forth the answer… “Commit your way to the LORD;
TRUST in him, and HE WILL ACT.”

I don’t have to balance the scales, for God himself has promised to do so. I don’t have to take vengeance because vengeance is his! I don’t have to hold a grudge, but can forgive because I know that he will set all wrongs to right in the end!

I have the eternal perspective and promise that though it may look like evil is currently winning… in the end, “…the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.”

The day will come when evil will be done. The day will come when God vindicates his people and his righteousness reigns.

Do we believe that promise as the people of promise? Through faith, trust in the promises of God, we are empowered to be the cruciform community he has called us to be. We can lay down our own “rights” because we know that, through Christ, God will make all things right.

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

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.