“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”
John 15:11
Praise be to you, Lord Jesus, for you are the Light of the world, the Illumination of my life, the Lamp of my soul and the Sonshine of each day. With you there is warmth, wonder and sparkle in a dark and dismal world. You are the bringer of joy in the midst of a reality that can be hard, cold, severe and painful.
“The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy” (Ps. 126:3). Because of these great things you have done we can at all times be “…joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light” (Col. 1:12).
And you, Lord God, have given us a privileged position in your forever family against all logic, against all justice, against all the evidence that we definitely deserved condemnation, punishment, rejection, banishment, suffering, pain and death. Your love is sure and steady, powerful, penetrating and positive.
“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness” This is an accomplished fact, a certainty that we are no longer the children of the devil, bound to sin, controlled by the prince of the power of the air, but have been freed by the blood of the Lamb!
“…and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:12-14). What a powerful statement: “…in whom we HAVE redemption,”…not “I hope so” but “I know so!”
What a wonder, what a privilege, what an astounding, unbelievable, too-good-to-be-true outcome you have given us, Heavenly Father—we are pardoned, adopted, brought into the Kingdom and made co-heirs with Jesus and with the saints.
We now live in the light, being dearly loved, delighted in, doted on and deeply cared for. We have a future with you as well as a daily walk with you now. You give total provision, complete protection, loving direction, wise counsel, consistent correction, unswerving goodness and unending grace.
To know the Great Shepherd of souls, the Wise Warrior of prayer, the Powerful Planner of good, the Diligent Director of details, the Lasting Lover of sinners, the Triumphant Transformer of rebels, the Final Forgiver of our sins, the Great Giver of grace—what more could we want?!!! This is far beyond what we could imagine or ask for. This is more than a human being could conceive. You, Lord God, are more than wonderful, more than just good, more than great.
Prayer: “May I live for you today, Heavenly Father; may you be pleased with my thoughts and words and actions. May you be glorified in my life today before men, before angels, before the hordes of Satan. May honor and praise flow from my life up to your throne moment by moment. Amen.”
–From EDIFIED!
