I have had numerous reasons to bless God over these past weeks. Firstly, because He is unchanging and glorious and majestic in all of His ways. He deserves to be blessed and praised simply because He is God, and there is none other like Him. Secondly, not only have I been able to visit the beautiful Olivia already, but she just came down and visited North Carolina this weekend! She truly is wonderful and I am so thankful for her presence in my life. I also recently accepted a position with Passages, a Bible and ancient manuscript exhibit that will be in NC until February. Get paid cash money to talk about the Bible, its preservation throughout the ages, AND get the chance to work and share the gospel with fellow sinners? What on earth could be better!
In all of this, God definitely lived up to His description in Psalm 103:4-5 "Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's"
As if anticipating our modern tendency to think ourselves worthy of crowns and love and satisfaction, David goes into the next section of the psalm:
"Jehovah is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us".
Considering the fact that I have three other housemates, I have the house to myself quite often. In high school, I thought I was an extreme introvert, but I now realize that I could not have been more wrong. I am the kind of person who tends to do a lot of self-examination when I am alone for long periods and I have a tendency to, for some reason, only remember the wrong that I've done and the ways that I have rebelled against God and His authority. I then take great comfort in the words of Psalm 103, because God will not keep His anger forever. He has not and will not deal with me according to my sins, because my sins have already been dealt with in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
PLEASE NOTE, dear Reader, that you and I both deserve the anger and holy wrath of God for our sins and rebellion. No matter how good, kind, nice, polite, loving or caring you might think yourself, you and I fall woefully short of God's righteous standard and have committed cosmic treason. It doesn't matter how hard you've tried, how much you've done, or how many times you've gone to church; you and I are sinners and need God's forgiveness if we are to have any hope in the Day of Judgment. That forgiveness is found in Christ Jesus alone, by grace alone, through faith alone. Repent, believe the gospel of Jesus, and experience the joy of the Christian faith.
As Psalm 36:7-8 says, "How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures" Amen.
I know that at the start, I said there would be no theological musings on here, so consider this more of an application of God's word to life, for me and, I hope, for you. Plus it was raining today and I was feeling reflective.
Much love in Christ to you all
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