Psalms 8

I like Psalms 8.

1 O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.
2 From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise [b]
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.

3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,

4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?

5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings [c]
and crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:

7 all flocks and herds,
and the beasts of the field,

8 the birds of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.

9 O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

I like this psalm because it esteems God who is above all things. This is Echoed again in Hebrews 2 where the Author articulates that God is to be esteemed as Christ was made like one of us- humbled Himself, even though God Himself- and made Himself like one of us. Christ humbled Himself when seeing the Glory of God and His amazingness.

We may read this and say wow....God gave us all these things. And while that may be a good thing for us- we forget who it is that bestows this upon us. When we come face to face with our God- and we are forced to look at ourselves- it is no wonder that we would be humbled. Coming face to face with someone who is more beautiful and more lovely than us- then looking at ourselves- doing a little comparison- i am forced to wonder something more than simply God's beauty and Glory.

I am confronted with my own sinfulness- and am more amazed to and perplexed as to why God would want to be with me....or why He would even bestow upon me all the wonders of who He is.

I am undeserving- i really deserve punishment of some kind. Whether or not it is harsh or gentle punishment- it is still punishment. But instead- He demonstrates His love to us even while we were still sinners- even NOW as we are STILL sinners....

He crowns us- undeserving of it all- and seeing the HUmility of our King- i am transformed and bamboozled about this- that My King would humble Himself like so- and seek to CALL AND PURPOSE sinners to be His people- to set them on the same level and status as Christ- with all the rights of His Children- of royalty....i am feeling undeserving- feeling overwhelmed- feeling humbled- and feeling like giving it all back in praise to My God- to My Father. wow....that i would call Him my Father- where i have come from- with all my brokenness and sin- to be called to live with Him and to KNOW Him....and to be PART of HIM.

Decreasing and Increasing

Decreasing in ourselves and increasing in Christ involves our lives desiring to be something more than simply ourselves. Our lives if lived in the sole pursuit of our own pleasures will ultimately lead to a life of selfishness, and eventually a very lonely life. When Christ calls us to follow Him, it is not only in our sacrifice that we gain something better, but in our continued living and following Christ and His ways. Our lives continue to become more and more Christ-like as we follow Jesus more, even in obedience as He was to the cross. While we may make a decision for Christ, becoming more Christ-like is the purpose of every follower of Christ. While our journey may take many years, we are constantly being refined more and more by God’s Spirit in us.
Where we are decreasing is in our legalistic tendencies and the sacrificing of our old life. While it may be difficult at first, the end result of a life lived entirely in the embrace of Christ is that we are continually being refined. While it may be difficult to entirely turn and sacrifice all that is precious to us for Christ in the beginning, as we follow Christ, we are continually focused on a new life lived with Him. In that, perhaps our lives are changed slowly as we begin and continue to learn to trust in Him more and more. While we may not be perfect right away in all our behavior and character, God has paid for those sins with Jesus Christ on the cross. We are not the center of our own lives any longer, but continually setting our eyes on Jesus Christ. While He increases in our lives, our lives and our hearts begin to decrease as we are continually overcome by His forgiveness on the Cross that cost Him everything, while continually resting in His grace that we continue to draw upon.

Beginning and Continuing

Many moments in Matthew 5-7 and even beyond- extending into the old testament- it is easy to take a look at the laws and requirements of the Law of God. This laundry list of do's and don'ts we need to be careful about b/c the same thing happened to the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. We should take a look at them and not have a dispassionate look at these elder brothers, but look at them as needing the same kind of grace that is needed in the sinners and tax collectors- the younger brothers of each generation.

In alot of ways- it is easier for the poorer and the sinners of the gospel to receive Jesus b/c they had little or nothing to lose- and everything to gain. However, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had much to lose. I am reminded of Mark 10 when Jesus speaks to the rich young ruler and about how hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God. How difficult it is for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle.

The analogy is well articulated b/c it is impossible for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God- not b/c they are rich- but b/c of their sin. However- it is just as interesting to note that for the poor, it is equally difficult- maybe less difficult- maybe less impossible- say...."for a chicken to enter through the eye of a needle"

it is easy to compare and be judgmental toward the pharisees and teachers of the law- but Christ came for the sinners and the lost and the sick- and that includes also the Pharisees and teachers of the Law. While Jesus spent alot of time amongst sinners and the poor, He spent a substantial time with the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law talking about the Law.

So when looking at the law and all its requirements, it can be real easy to see it as a to do. If i did my devotions today- then i am good with God. If i prayed- i get 10 more points. If i helped an old lady across the street- then the next prayer i throw up- God is sure to answer. If this is our mentality regarding the Law of God- we are forgetting Romans 3:23 in which it is said- for ALL have sinned- and fall short of the Glory of God.

The question is- do you measure up to the Glory of God? That is what the Law is- it is the reflection of the perfect character and craziness of God. Can you measure up to that? Mainly- are you as righteous as God? How about as powerful?

in the end- nobody follows the Law exactly- for even at one point we fail at the Law- we fail at it all. We are imperfect. The Law is not meant to be a laundry list to JUSTIFY ourselves or to try to help us to become PERFECT. It helps to show us that we are NOT perfect- that it is as EASY as a camel passing through the eye of a needle- or a chicken doing the same....that drives us to only HE who is worthy. To Christ we run to and we look to- b/c only He can accomplish this perfection for us- and in us. If we still continue to rely on our own strength- seeking to solve our own problems- we will continually find that we cannot. And when we are frustrated beyond strength- perhaps then will we look to Christ- and ask Him to accomplish it in us.

For if He accomplished it on the cross- why would He not continue and complete the good work He began in us? Philippians 1