Monday Meditations Archives

As the Waters Cover the Sea

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14

According to Wikipedia:
Saline water covers approximately 140,000,000 square miles.
The ocean covering approximately 71% of Earth’s surface and 90% of the Earth’s biosphere.
The ocean contains 97% of Earth’s water.
Oceanographers have stated that less than 5% of the World Ocean has been explored.
The total volume is approximately 320 million cubic miles.
The average depth is nearly 12,100 ft.

We visited the oceans, sailed them, studied them.
The more we learn about the ocean, the more we understand how little we actually know.

The glory of God is all around us.
It is life-giving.
It is boundless and limitless.
We barely know anything about it.

We have read about it, sought it, and even experienced it.
But the more we learn about the glory of GOD, the more we realize how little we know.

One day, that will change.
The earth WILL BE FILLED with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD.

He Knows Me

By Paula Leave a Comment

The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him. Nahum 1:7

To file my taxes, I had to verify my identity with my driver’s license number.
To check my bank balance, I go through a two-step authentication process.
To sign on to my website to post to this blog, I have to answer a math question to prove I’m not a bot.

To begin the process of adoption, the agency required me to submit my fingerprints.
To open a bank account I need two forms of ID and proof of address.
To apply for a passport I had to have my picture taken.

To pay my bills online, I have to correctly answer two security questions.
To use my computer, I enter the password.
To take advantage of discounts, I have to show a membership card.

But the LORD,
Who is good,
Who is my stronghold
Knows me.

I don’t have to prove my identity or my membership.
I don’t have to be verified, authenticated, or confirmed.

He knows me because I trust Him.

The Fringes of His Ways

By Paula Leave a Comment

“Behold, these are the fringes of His ways;” Job 26:14

I love this.

All we see.

All we know.

All we understand (or think we understand) about God . . .

These are just the fringes.

The outskirts.

The beginnings.

There is so much more.

He is so much more.

That I May Know Him

By Paula Leave a Comment

“[T]hat I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,” Philippians 3:10

Paul has just said he gave up everything he had gained in ordered to know Christ.
This is experiential knowledge, not academic.
Being saved was the beginning of that knowledge rather than the end.

What is the power of His resurrection?
Assuring me the payment for my sins was accepted.
Being justified, made right, in the eyes of God.
Securing my future hope.
Imputing me with His own righteousness.
Becoming more Christ-like each passing day.
Raising me from spiritual death to life and walk as a new creation.
Encouraging me to endure whatever comes my way.
Counting me an heir to the great riches of heaven.
Enjoying access to God.
Receiving the indwelling Holy Spirit.

But Paul doesn’t stop there.

He wants to know, to experience the fellowship of His sufferings.
It is when we suffer that we learn what a Savior we have.
He is our High Priest touched with our infirmities.
He is the one who will never leave us nor forsake us.
He was tempted in points like we are so He responds to us with grace and mercy.

Paul wanted to be conformed to Christ’s death.
In Christ’s death, He exhibited the highest, unquestioning obedience to and trust in God the Father.
He was utterly focused and surrendered to carrying out the task the Father had given Him.

Can we say with Paul, O that I may know Him…?

Telling FAQs

By Paula

And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. John 19:35

What do you tell?
What you have seen, experienced.

What do you include?
The truth.

How do you tell it?
Confidently, because you know it is true.

Why do you tell it?
So that someone else may believe.

So, do we hesitate to tell about Jesus
Because we HAVEN’T seen or experienced. or
Because we DON’T know it’s the truth, or
Because we DON’T want others to believe, or

Is it some other reason?

What Jesus Prayed

By Paula

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word.” John 17:20

We regularly ask people to pray for us.
It’s a main feature of our worship services.
It’s a natural reaction when times are hard, things are challenging.

Pray for me.

On Jesus’s last night,
Just a couple of hours before His arrest,
Not long before His excruciating death,

He prayed for you and me.

He didn’t pray that we’d be healthy,
Or that we’d have good jobs,
Or that we’d be safe and successful.

He prayed for our unity.

He prayed that we would be one with Him,
One with the Father with such an intensity that
Those around us would have to acknowledge that what we claimed about Christ is true.

We’re not there yet.

What if we prayed that same prayer for each other?

As the Waters Cover the Sea

He Knows Me

The Fringes of His Ways

That I May Know Him

Telling FAQs

What Jesus Prayed

Encounters Series

Covenant of Trust Series

Foundations Series