May 26 – It's What Satisfies God

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” – 1 John 2:1-2  (ESV)

Yesterday our promise focused on the small word, ‘sin,’ how in truth we struggle with sin and our need for confession of sins. Today’s promise comes from a much bigger word and one which is not in our common vocabulary. It is ‘propitiation.’ It is appropriate for John to address his readers as “my little children” because when he wrote this, John was greatly advanced in years. He was the sole remaining survivor of the apostles who had enjoyed intimate, eyewitness association with Jesus throughout His earthly ministry. Yet not exiled to Patmos where He receives the Revelation of Jesus Christ, John was actively serving the church in Ephesus. He taught that Christian must continually acknowledge and confess sin (1 John 1:9), but we're not powerless against it. Fulfilling the duty of confession does not give license to sin. When we do sin, we have a promised defense attorney, Jesus Christ our Advocate. Why is this a promise for us? Because the death of Jesus on the cross satisfied the demands of God’s holiness for the punishment of sin. That’s what ‘propitiation’ means – “satisfaction” or “appeasement.” Jesus is the satisfaction of God for us each time we sin, we’re covered. 

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December 2 – Then is When

“I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”  -  John 17:26  (ESV)

Can we find a promise in these words from this prayer Jesus offered?  Their last meal together was over and Jesus offers this extended prayer. He knows, with complete satisfaction, that His mission on earth is about to be finished.  Can we experience such unlimited satisfaction in our world? Can we know what is most enjoyable with unbounded energy and passion forever?  Probably not.  For one, there is nothing in this created world with a personal worth great enough to meet the profound desires of our heart.  We do not yet have the strength we need to enjoy the the blessings from God to their maximum worth.  And, the temporal joys we have now will come to an end someday.  But we have the promise that we will in, the future, in heaven, have within ourselves the love that the Father had for the Son. Then is when our joy will be unbounded and unlimited.

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January 9 – By Experience we Know

“As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” Psalm 42:1-2 (ESV) 

Today's verse may be familiar for some and for others, this may be the first time they have read it. We realize that when a deer gets thirsty it looks for a nice cool stream of water because of its past experiences. The deer has learned from its early days how good it is to drink from a clear stream. It has been satisfied that way and it longs for that to be repeated over and over again.  When our souls have been satisfied by close contact with God we, too, will long for this experience to be repeated over and over again. Our promise is that it is when we appear before God, we will receive full satisfaction that our hearts and soul long for. It is only God who can give us that full satisfaction – and that is why we learn to seek it only from Him and not from the distractions in the world around us. Often tempted to look elsewhere, we learn by experience that God is the one who promises and fulfills the promises. Let's seek Him today.

September 13

“The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.”  Revelation 22:17 (NIV)

We find many invitations in the Bible. They tell of the many blessings which God offers to those who accept His invitation. This verse is an invitation that has been good since even before the day it was written. While still on the earth before his death and resurrection Jesus had offered "Let anyone who is thirsty, come to Me and drink." (John 7:37 (NIV))  There has always been the opportunity to satisfy the deepest longings of our souls. That has always been the great desire of our Lord – to satisfy the thirsty soul. And He offers this satisfaction as a free gift. If your heart is longing for spiritual satisfaction today, just in faith accept it from your Lord and it is yours.

September 6

“Make glad the soul of Your servant, For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.”  Psalm 86:4 (NASB©)

This psalm is a prayer by David and can be our prayer to God today. What does it really mean to lift up the soul to God? For one thing it reminds us that our praying and our worship should not be a matter of the words that we use. And it is certainly not a matter of our bodily actions. If our prayer and worship is to be worth anything, it must involve our inner being, our whole soul. It must not be physical but spiritual. If in our worship our souls make contact with God, then there is true joy and satisfaction. Then we can confidently pray as David did. 

Scripture quotation taken from the NASB©. (www.lockman.org)

April 2

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” Psalm 42”1-2a (NIV)

These verses have meant so much to me for many, many years. When a deer get thirsty why does it look for a stream of water? It’s because the deer has been at a stream before and has found its thirst satisfied. That’s why it is anxious to find a stream to get another good drink. That’s why our souls turn to God when we are thirsty for spiritual reality. We know that God will satisfy the desires of our hearts. We have learned where true spiritual satisfaction can be found – in trusting in God’s love and care.