The Fullness of Jesus

"When we look at ourselves- at the littleness of our love, the barrenness of our service, and the small progress we make toward perfection- how soul-refreshing it is to turn and gaze at Him; to plunge afresh in 'the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness'; to remember that we are 'accepted in the Beloved'...'who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption'. Oh the fullness of Christ: the fullness of Christ!"

- Hudson Taylor In Early Years, by Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor, page 183

 I don't really know what to say today except that this is just the perfect picture for today. I am so weary and to think upon the fullness of Jesus this morning has just been so refreshing to my soul. The fullness of Jesus.
His strength for my weakness.
His rest for my weariness.
His love for my grumpiness.
His peace for my worry.
His joy for my ungratefulness.
His patience for my frustration.
The fullness of Jesus.

He is altogether lovely, isn't He? When I look at myself and my own sinfulness, my heart despairs. But, when I gaze at His perfection my heart rejoices. For the great transfer of His sufficiency for my insufficiency is joy producing. Oh that my heart would love Him more for what He has done for me!

It reminds me of a beautiful hymn called "Do Not I Love Thee, O my Lord?". You can download the song for free here and hear how beautiful it is. (You have to scroll down to the 2005 downloads for this particular song. But all the songs are just lovely!) The lyrics are below.

Do not I Love Thee, O my Lord?

Do not I love Thee, O my Lord?
Behold my heart and see;
And turn each cursèd idol out,
That dares to rival Thee.

Do not I love Thee, O my Lord?
Then let me nothing love;
Dead be my heart to every joy,
When Jesus cannot move.

Is not Thy Name melodious still
To mine attentive ear?
Doth not each pulse with pleasure bound
My Savior’s voice to hear?

Hast Thou a lamb in all Thy flock
I would disdain to feed?
Hast Thou a foe, before whose face
I fear Thy cause to plead?

Would not mine ardent spirit vie
With angels round the throne,
To execute Thy sacred will,
And make Thy glory known?

Would not my heart pour forth its blood
In honor of Thy Name?
And challenge the cold hand of death
To damp th’immortal flame?

Thou know’st I love Thee, dearest Lord,
But O, I long to soar
Far from the sphere of mortal joys,
And learn to love Thee more!

Gratefulness

Do you see these lovely bookshelves? My husband made them!

God is so gracious to give me such an incredible husband. I am overwhelmed with gratefulness. My husband is always so thoughtful and kind- seeking what might help me the most. I truly am a very blessed woman! Over the years our marriage has gotten sweeter and sweeter. It makes me really look forward to the future as it will be even sweeter then (which is hard to imagine!). But, even more precious than this is the love of God in Christ for us as Spurgeon reminds:

"...But where there is true and genuine love, it is the sweetest and happiest mode of living. It is one of the blessings of paradise, which has been preserved to us after the fall. Without love, wedded life must be a very purgatory above ground. In the solemn contract, which has brought our souls this night to God, the marriage is sustained, cemented, strengthened, and made delightful by mutual love. Need I talk to you of the love of God? It is a theme we are scarcely competent to talk of. You need to sit down and weep about it for very joy, joy which fills the heart, and makes the eyes overflow, but well nigh chains the tongue, for it is a deep, profound, and inexpressible. "He loved me, and gave himself for me." "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed u p on us." "As the Father hath loved me, even so have I loved you. Oh, the love of God—it would surpass the powers of an angel to set it forth. Sure, sure, it shall be the blest employment of eternity's long ages for us to comprehend it; and, perhaps, when myriad's of ages have rolled over our happy souls, we shall still be as much struck with wonder with it as we were at first. The marvel doth not diminish on inspection: familiarity cannot make it common. The nearer we approach, the deeper our awe. It will be as great a surprise that God should love such cold, such faithless, such unworthy beings as ourselves, at the end of ten thousand years as it was at first, perhaps more so. The more thoroughly we shall know ourselves, the more fully we shall understand the good of the Lord; thus will our wonder grow and swell. Even in heaven, we shall be lost in surprise and admiration at the love of God to us. The rapture will augment the reverence we feel. Well, but, brethren beloved, I trust we also love him in return! Do you never feel one soft affection rising after another as you muse on the Christ of God? When you sometimes listen to a sermon in which the Savior's dear affection to you is set forth, do you not feel that the unbidden tear wets your cheek? Does not your heart swell sometimes, as if it were unable to hold your emotions? Is there not a "joy unspeakable and full of glory" that comes over you? Can you not say—



"Jesus, I love thy charming name,
'Tis music to mine ear;
Fain would I sound it out so loud
That earth and heaven should hear"?
I hope you do not need to sing to-night—
"'Tis a point I long to know."
but, I trust, that in the solemn silence of your souls you can say, "Thou knowest that I love thee;" grieved that the question should be asked, but still ready to answer, with Peter, "Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee." Now, it is impossible for you to love God without the strong conclusive evidence that God loves you. I once knew a good woman who was the subject of many doubts, and when I got to the bottom of her doubt, it was this: she knew she loved Christ, but she was afraid he did not love her. "Oh!" I said, "that is a doubt that will never trouble me; never, by any possibility, because I am sure of this, that the heart is so corrupt, naturally, that love to God never did get there without God's putting it there." You may rest quite certain, that if you love God, it is a fruit, and not a root. It is the fruit of God's love to you, and did not get there by the force of any goodness in you. You may conclude, with absolute certainty, that God loves you if you love God. There never was any difficulty on his part. It always was on your part, and now that the difficulty is gone from you, none whatever remains. O let our hearts rejoice and be filled with great delight, because the Savior has loved us and given himself for us. So let us realize the truth of the text, "I am married unto you."

Charles Spurgeon

Come Lord Jesus

We have a wonderful friend who loves God's Word with all of his heart and has spent years studying Bible prophecy and the end times. He also fighting a rare cancer which seems to make every word that comes out of his mouth even more precious. Lately, we were able to speak to him more and ask questions about the end times. It was so wonderful to be able to hear him speak so passionately about God's precious Word and the blessed hope of the return of our Lord. I was completely convicted of my own apathy towards His word and my own lack of knowledge as well. I found myself asking- "When was the last time I was brought to tears over a passage of Scripture because of its precious truth?" Oh, that my heart would be so full! Oh, that I would learn to delight in God's Word alone!

As my last post stated, I have become more aware of the need for teaching beauty and truth to my children. I have been thinking that there is no more beautiful truth that the hope we have in Jesus. It is this above all else that I need to be teaching my children- a reverence and love for God's Word. I want my children and myself to be "pure and blameless" when Christ comes.

Where are you today, dear reader? Are you, like me, apathetic towards the One who died to win you? Are your affections growing every day for Him and looking for His blessed return? Or, like me, have you become distracted? If so, perhaps you will join me at the foot of the cross in repentance and in the renewal found in His Word.

     "And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God." (Philippians 1:9-11 ESV)