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How Jesus Loves US

Published by S.M. Wibberley on September 1, 2015
Thinking on John 15:9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.”
 
What an astounding statement! Scripture tells us that the Father is Agape love, which flows without reference to the state of the object. So the Father loves Jesus primarily because the essence of the Father’s nature is to love with an ever-flowing love that is rich, deep, wholehearted, unreserved, powerful, intimate and pure.
 
In addition, God the Father loves the Son because Jesus is the perfect, obedient, willing One who is beautiful in holiness, lovely in grace, pleasing in perfection and delightful in all He does.
 
The Father loves the Son eternally, forever and ever, without reservation, without hesitation, with full hope, total trust, complete delight and continual rejoicing. He loves the Son perfectly, pristinely, positively, powerfully and persistently. His love can never be thwarted, lessened, diverted or ended.
 
And this is the way that Jesus loves us: an amazing, astounding, magnificent, gracious truth. In ourselves we are certainly not like Jesus, giving no substantive reason for Him to love us: naturally we are selfish, sinful, rebellious, and, well, repulsive. This old nature still dwells in us (if you think otherwise, take a look at your attitudes, words and actions over the last day!).
 
Yet, Jesus loves us as the Father loves Him. This is partly true because it is the nature of Jesus to love unconditionally with Agape love, without reference to our performance or essence. In addition, since we are in Christ, He has imputed to us His righteousness, His beauty, His purity, His obedience as we stand before Him redeemed, forgiven, cleansed, transformed and purified.
 
This all means that, with His whole being, Jesus loves us with a love that is rich, deep, wholehearted, unreserved, powerful, intimate and pure. In addition, in Him we are beautiful in holiness, lovely in grace, pleasing in perfection and delightful in His sight. He loves us eternally, forever and ever, without reservation, without hesitation, with great hope, total delight and continual rejoicing. He loves us perfectly, pristinely, positively, powerfully and persistently. His love for us can never be thwarted, lessened, diverted or ended.
 
That is more than we could ever hope for or imagine, yet it is true, a truth we should delight in, bask in, revel in, rejoice in and live in each moment, rejecting what we and the world tell us about ourselves. It is Jesus’ command that we, “… remain in my love.” His love never stops, it is always there, but we can choose to step out of its flow or we can abide in it, “If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love” “My command is this: love each other as I have loved you.” (John 15:10,12). Let’s choose to remain!
What a God we have! To Him be glory and honor forever!
 
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Psalm 4:3

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 30, 2015

Psalm 4:3 “Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;”

[This is a most wonderful, mysterious statement. You have set your children apart for yourself, and did it long before you made us godly in Christ—you knew what was to come, that we would respond to your call, that we would believe and be brought into your family–and you prepared all for it. “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom. 8:29a).

I praise you that you desired to have a relationship with us, that you delight in our being in your family, that you made us godly and continue to move us in that direction.

You are such a good God! You draw your enemies in to be your children. You are so kind and gracious, even when we grieve you with unbelief and disobedience. You are loving when anyone else would be impatient, insulted and angry. Praise you that you consistently move us towards being more godly; you chasten us, discipline us, rebuke us, shape us and guide us. You are forgiving, forbearing, forever faithful.  We belong to you, we are yours alone and rejoice in this fact.

“the LORD will hear when I call to him.”

Because I belong to you, you hear and watch over me, care for me, protect me. You are the mighty LORD, the great I AM, the King of Glory and yet you are attentive to even the least of your children, giving tender, compassionate, consistent attention. How wonderful! How unbelievable! How marvelous! I praise you, O Lord, for your great grace, your lavish love, your persistent patience, your powerful provision. To you be glory for all that you are doing in our lives. To you be glory for who you are!

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More on Psalm 4:2

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 29, 2015
Further thoughts on Psalm 4:2 “How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?”
Selah (meditate on that verse)
 
[Lord, to think on you, to lift up your name, to look on your glory, this is the purpose for which we were created. But in our twisted state, even as believers, we turn from you to the visible world for our gratification, strength and significance.
 
Forgive us for our rebellion against Truth, for our rejection of your reality, for our regression to idols, for our repetition of Israel’s sins, for our return to the repulsive ways of our natural selves. It is our nature to worship what makes us happy, not you, the source of all goodness, righteousness and truth.
Help us to deny self, to reject our natural tendencies and fall at your feet in obedience and worship. Help us to live in praise for your great faithfulness and love, whether we are in pleasure or pain, goodness or grief, happiness or heaviness.
You are the only One worthy of worship. Glorify yourself in our lives, Lord. We bow before you as your unworthy servants, as your beloved children, as your dearly loved family. May the meditations of my heart and the words of my mouth be pleasing in your sight today, O Lord my mighty Rock and my Savior.]
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Leaving the True God

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 28, 2015
Psalm 4:2 “How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame?
How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?”
 
[It is the nature of human beings to worship, and you, Lord God, are the only One worthy of such adoration, honor and obedience. Yet we so often leave your glory for the tinsel and lights of this world: shiny new cars, flashy new electronics, exciting sports events, absorbing work, stimulating relationships, focus on food, the slippery slope of sensuality, the electrifying latest entertainment.
 
The wrongness of this is that we seek our fulfillment, our excitement, our security, our significance in these things rather than in You. We worship them as our idols; we demand these things in order to be happy. I get so absorbed in a project that I will snap at anyone who interrupts me. I focus on the feeling of accomplishment, not on my fellow followers.
 
In seeking elsewhere for what only you can give, we turn our backs on you, the Creator of all, the Provider of the possibility of true meaning, worth, security and fulfillment. It is you alone who are Eternal, it is you alone who are Almighty, it is you alone who holds time in your hand, who sets up and takes down kings, who breathes out stars and fills the heavens.
 
You are the glorious One to be worshiped, adored, exalted and obeyed, yet we let the momentum of the moment divert us away from the monumental to the minute. Forgive us, Lord, lift our eyes to your greatness and free us from our idol worship that we may honor and glorify you today.]
 
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Our Beautiful God

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 27, 2015
Another beautiful August day, with fog rising off the pond, the sky a clear, pale blue with golden edges as the sun nears the horizon. It is quiet and peaceful, a cool 52 degrees at 6:15.
 
Praise be to you, Lord, for your goodness and graciousness displayed in the beauty around us. As I walked along the pond yesterday, the sun rose, sending shafts of light to sparkle on the water and bring a golden glow to the leaves on the trees. The little white and blue flowers of weeds growing at the road’s edge were decorated with drops of dew shining in the newly born light of morning.
 
You are such a lover of beauty, Lord, making even the mundane magically beautiful in the start of a new day. I praise you, Lord, for how this reflects your character: every single aspect is beautiful beyond anything in this world. You are magnificently magnanimous, gloriously good, wholly holy, unconditionally kind, powerfully patient and perfectly pure. And each of these aspects has various further forms of beauty, such as we see in water: gleaming rain drops hanging on a wire fence; the still surface of a pond, mirroring all around; the clear water of a babbling brook; the crispness of frost on winter grass; the intricate design of snowflakes as they land on my mitten; the hard, smooth and dark surface of ice on a lake; the sparkling shaft of an ice cycle in the rays of the rising sun.
 
So is your multifaceted faithfulness in which you are persistent, patient, powerful and positive. You have a plan and will bring it to pass. You are faithful to your promises, to your kindness, to your correction, to your punishment of sin and rewarding of obedience, to your judgment of the world in righteousness, truth and love so that evil will be eliminated and heaven will be pristinely pure.
 
You are majestically beautiful, mightily trustable and multifaceted in patience. I praise you for revealing your character to us in creation, in your Word, in your work in our lives, in your provision and protection.
 
As it says in Isaiah 40:10,11 “Look! The Lord GOD comes with strength, and his arm rules for him. Look! His reward is with him, and his payment accompanies him. Like a shepherd, he tends his flock. He gathers the lambs in his arms, carries them close….”
 
To you, Lord,  belongs all glory, praise and worship. May you be honored today as I seek to see all the beauty in the common, the normally unnoticed aspects of this day and remember to give thanks for the steady stream of your goodness into my life.
 
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Psalm 4:1b

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 26, 2015

Psalm 4:1b “…be merciful to me and hear my prayer.”

[Praise you, O Triune God–Loving Father, Powerful Jesus, Holy Spirit–that you are merciful. My being alive here on earth is evidence of your mercy: you have a right and obligation in your holiness to punish every sinner, and could do it at any moment. However, you chose to wait, to secure forgiveness in mercy, then to work in every heart to draw to yourself those who were willing to turn and have the veil removed.

You, Lord, are merciful, and you do hear prayer: “He fulfills the desires of those who fear him. He hears their cry and rescues them” (Ps 145:19). “In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me“ (Ps 86:7). You fill the universe, you are everywhere at once, so you see and listen to each person; you are capable of hearing the prayers of billions all at the same time; you have endless resources with which to answer: “Out of your glorious riches strengthen us with power through your Spirit in our inner being….” (Eph 3:16).

When I call to you, you are there, you hear and you answer. Praise you for the times we have to wait, knowing that you have actually answered before we called, and the manifestation of your answer will come at the right time in the right way, whether it be now, later or after we die. We can praise you for the answer before we see it, knowing that you are faithfulness itself: faithful to all your promises and loving towards all you have made (Ps 145:9). You are the God worthy of worship, of trust and praise in the midst of our difficulties, suffering, troubles and persecutions.

Lord God, help us to live in the light of your presence, to exalt in your faithfulness long before we can see the answers to our prayers. Help us to praise you, the faithful One who answers out of your righteousness, your love, your mercy, who answers for the sake of your glory, your name, your good desires.

I praise you now, for what you are going to do today, the events you will allow, the positives as well as the disappointments, the difficulties, the downers, for these valleys are death to self and bring growth to your children. I pray that in the power of your Spirit, my thoughts, motives, words and actions will bring joy to your heart today, my Lord and Savior!]

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Psalm 4:1

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 25, 2015

Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God.”

[Praise you, O Lord God, that you are sinless, pure, without fault, of good motives and faithful. You only do what is good, you never fail at it. You are a wonder, a marvel, the paragon of goodness, with a character of perfect love and goodness, and therefore you are absolutely trustable. I praise you that you answered my prayer and have made yourself my God–that is, you reached down and, in spite of what I am in my sin and rebellion, drew me to yourself to make me your child. You wanted me, you bought me; you delight in me and rejoice in your relationship with me. This is beyond human understanding, contrary to what justice calls for, showing the beauty of your grace-filled heart.]

“Give me relief from my distress;”

[You, Lord Jesus, in your power, your wisdom, your creativity, in being outside of time and the Master of all, are able to bring relief in the right way at the right time. You know how long to leave us in distress to bring growth and deepening, to equip and teach, to strengthen and train. You know how much pain and suffering I have at the moment and you give more grace than is needed. In fact, you gave grace even before the distress started, more than enough grace to be able to endure. You make it possible to pass through with power, to embrace and utilize what may superficially appear be only the attack of the enemy, but is actually a gift from your hand. I must embrace both this opportunity and your grace with praise, employ it with obedience, and emerge from it with glory for you, empowered as better and stronger. And with your power, relief and help this is possible!]
Just now
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Psalm 3:7-8

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 24, 2015
Psalm 3:7 “Arise, O LORD! Deliver me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.”
 
[David’s call was desperate, he needed help now. He knew what you, Lord, are capable of bringing down his enemies, and wanted you to act right away. And, as we know from the story in 2 Samuel 17 and 18, you did so.
 
Although David said “all my enemies,” he did not really want you to bring down of his son, and mourned his death greatly. You answered, but he did not like the answer: you arranged that Absalom would get his hair caught in the tree, that Abner would be the one told about this and kill him. Absalom had been pardoned before and had proved himself unworthy of trust; so it would have been again and you prevented that. You know what is best, so we must trust you with whatever answer you choose to give.]
Psalm 3:8 “From the LORD comes deliverance.”
 
[From you alone, Lord, by you alone, for your glory alone comes deliverance. “He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The LORD watches over all who love him….” (Ps.145, 19.20a) We must look to you, LORD, the great I AM, the King of glory, the Lord of all, for deliverance, not to people, our own efforts or some other source. Forgive me for looking first to others, to medicine, to friends, to influential people for help before coming to you. You may use these to help me, but I must first come to you. You are the Source of all good, the Creator of all existence, the Sustainer of all life. Praise be to you that you are the answer and the Answerer; you are the way, the truth and the life.]
 
“May your blessing be on your people.”
 
[You are the One true source of blessing—genuine happiness and joy come only from you—all other sources are temporary and many are addictive. With you, however, is the fullness of joy combined with the freedom to live in ever growing obedience to Truth. You are worthy of worship and I give you honor, praise and glory; I give you obedience, respect and joy. May you be glorified and honored in this day in me and before me. Bless me with reminders to check in with you at each juncture for your direction and wisdom.]
 
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Our Delightful God

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 23, 2015

“Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the Lord is gracious and compassionate and righteous.”

Psalm 112:4

 

Praise you, O Lord God, the Great Savior, the Good Shepherd, the Gracious Most High King. To you belong honor, glory, praise and thanksgiving at all times. In you alone my soul finds rest; at this time of uncertainty in my life, the powerful truths of Psalm 62 hold me, keep me from falling into the abyss of anxiety, a place where you are dishonored by unbelief and rebellion, by trusting in myself and by fear of man.

Your greatness, your goodness and your graciousness all surround me, keeping me safe from the attacks of the enemy. No matter how things may appear, your shield of faith, raised by praise, wards off every assault of the enemy and extinguishes every flaming arrow. Because of your mighty Love, my soul is at rest in you: quiet, calm, trusting, accepting.

In the words of Psalm 112:1-3, “Blessed is the man who fears the LORD….” You are the One to be feared: honored, respected, obeyed, loved, considered above all in every decision.

“Blessed is the man …who finds great delight in his commands.” Your commands are delightful: based on your character, full of Truth, designed to protect, complete in understanding, beautiful in intent, powerful in outcomes, lovely in expression. In meditating on your commands, we can see more and more of your wisdom as your Spirit transforms our thoughts, our wills, our emotions, our understanding. Your commands are delightful because you are delightful and you are to be delighted in: the Gracious, Wise, Loving, Powerful, Good God.

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Psalm 3:6

Published by S.M. Wibberley on August 22, 2015

Psalm 3:6 “I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.”

[For David this was a physical fact: Absalom came with a large army with all the advantage. But in this crisis David was responding in the unseen, thinking about you, Lord: the Majestic, Mighty, Powerful, Undefeated, Unconquerable, Eternal Lord of Hosts. You are strong beyond imagination, you command the armies of heaven, you can end everything in an instant, you work to weave all into your plan. Therefore David did not give in to fear.

Praise you that for us, too, in our battles that are more against spiritual forces than physical, you give care and grace, your presence and your protection. These we experience every day: in the timing of things, in provision of needs and in shielding us from many negative possibilities—all the perfect working of your hand in our lives.

So as we daily face the unseen but real forces of hell, who love evil, who have not one gram of goodness, who desire to destroy and are constantly at work to tear down all positives–we can rest in you. When we cry out to you, you are at work, for you have already defeated this enemy and are calling us to participate with you in the cleanup operation here on earth, keeping on your armor, fighting with praise, prayer and persistence in doing what we know to be right. At the same time, on the level of what can be seen, the world now faces a growing horde of Isl.amic terrorists, eager to conquer and rule over all the earth; in this, too, we need not fear. For you are moving history to a conclusion and taking us with you. You are our Rock, our King, our Lord, our Ruler and we trust in you.]

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