Week Four of Cultivate Delight, where we are actively planning our spiritual endeavors this coming week with the goal of a consistent time spent engaging our hearts with Christ in his word, in prayer, and in reflection. Below are some starting points for reflection, and I hope you find them helpful. The goal is to not rush through these and then get on with your day. Take your time and reflect throughout the week on these items. Come back often and let your heart be refreshed in the love of Christ for you.
“We wonder why we don’t have faith; the answer is, faith is confidence in the character of God and if we don’t know what kind of God God is, we can’t have faith.”
– Aiden Wilson Tozer
Bible Reading
Psalm 15-23
Old Testament
(Two-year plan)
Matthew 16-20
New Testament
(One-year plan)
Liturgy – Westminster Shorter Catechism
Question 4: What is God?
God is a Spirit, (John 4:24) infinite, (Job 11:7–9) eternal, (Ps. 90:2) and unchangeable, (James 1:17) in his being, (Exod. 3:14) wisdom, (Ps. 147:5) power, (Rev. 4:8) holiness, (Rev. 15:4) justice, goodness, and truth. (Exod. 34:6–7)
Exodus 34:6–7
The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” (ESV)
When we understand the character of God, when we grasp something of His holiness, then we begin to understand the radical character of our sin and hopelessness. Helpless sinners can survive only by grace. Our strength is futile in itself; we are spiritually impotent without the assistance of a merciful God. We may dislike giving our attention to God’s wrath and justice, but until we incline ourselves to these aspects of God’s nature, we will never appreciate what has been wrought for us by grace. Even Edwards’s sermon on sinners in God’s hands was not designed to stress the flames of hell. The resounding accent falls not on the fiery pit but on the hands of the God who holds us and rescues us from it. The hands of God are gracious hands. They alone have the power to rescue us from certain destruction.
R.C. Sproul, Holiness of God
Prayer
Holy God.
You alone are perfect and holy.
All power and majesty exist in you.
There is none beside you.
We are not holy.
Sin taints every breather we draw in this life.
Our every motivation and affection is impacted by the reach of sin.
It distorts our affections and deceives our understanding.
We desire to be like Jesus.
Change our hearts Lord.
Renew our minds.
Transform our lives.
Open the eyes of our heart Lord.
Let us see the immeasurable beauty of Jesus Christ.
Let us know the presence of your Spirit within us.
Let us be captivated by the wonderous glory of who you truly are.