Jesus: Rock, Salvation, Defense, Strength, Glory, Refuge

We who are Christians have this sure rock solid foundation : the Lord Jesus Christ.

His kingdom is unshakable so if we are indeed rooted in Him, we will be standing firm in our faith.

He has given us everything we need for life and godliness. (2 Peter 1:3) and there are so many reminders that as long as we're truly following Him, we have no need to fear because He is with us.

Yes the world around us is bound to panic as they have no security in relationship with Jesus. We who belong to Him, who have chosen Him to rule in their lives are convinced that no matter what happens on this earth, we will spend eternity in His presence, giving Him all the glory for His great goodness and faithfulness.

What a blessed privilege to know that the Lord alone is our rock, our salvation, our defense, our glory, the rock of our strength, and our refuge. 

"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” 

Matthew 7:24-27.

Is your life founded on the Rock? 

Or are you on shaky ground? 

K...

Obviously we all know we can't physically, literally kiss the Son. There may be lots of other interpretations of this, but I heard years ago that it's a term meaning to worship. Do we who are blessed because we trust in Jesus live our lives in a constant attitude of worship? Or do we so often "forget" or become busy doing too many other things He never intended us to do and relegate worship to Sunday mornings?
In case you need the reminder, here it is.
We have been given the awesome privilege of being His children, and He has richly blessed us in countless ways. He saved us from our sins which would have led us to destruction. He gave us the glorious hope of eternal life with Him, which will be far more wonderful than you or I can imagine. For all this and so much more, He alone is worthy of all praise, glory, honour, and our lives should be completely dedicated to Him for His good pleasure.

(I'm definitely preaching to myself here, I think typing it out helps me process it better.)

Challenges and Privileges

Today I was challenged by the account of Balaam in Numbers 24. He is called "the man whose eyes are opened, who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, and who has knowledge of the Most High."
Balaam was one of the "baddies". How much more should we, as Christians, be those whose eyes are opened, hearing God's words, seeing the vision of the Almighty and having knowledge of the Most High?

I was also challenged from 1 Peter 2. Personalizing the verse makes it "hit home harder". "Christ suffered for me, leaving me an example that I should follow His steps." and "He Himself bore my sins in His own body on the tree, that I, having died to sins, might LIVE FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS- by whose stripes I was healed."
Linking that with 1 Corinthians 1:30,  "But of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption:" (World English Bible) we see that Christ is our righteousness, and therefore, we "might live for Jesus." What a privilege!!