"It is Finished!"

 I've been reading Oswald Chamber's devotion My Utmost for His Highest. It's been awesome, and I thought I'd share one of my favorites from yesterday.

J

 

Nov. 21, 2013

I have finished the work which You have given Me to do —John 17:4

The death of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment in history of the very mind and intent of God. There is no place for seeing Jesus Christ as a martyr. His death was not something that happened to Him— something that might have been prevented. His death was the very reason He came.

Never build your case for forgiveness on the idea that God is our Father and He will forgive us because He loves us. That contradicts the revealed truth of God in Jesus Christ. It makes the Cross unnecessary, and the redemption “much ado about nothing.” God forgives sin only because of the death of Christ. God could forgive people in no other way than by the death of His Son, and Jesus is exalted as Savior because of His death. “We see Jesus . . . for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor . . .” (Hebrews 2:9). The greatest note of triumph ever sounded in the ears of a startled universe was that sounded on the Cross of Christ— “It is finished!” (John 19:30). That is the final word in the redemption of humankind.

Anything that lessens or completely obliterates the holiness of God, through a false view of His love, contradicts the truth of God as revealed by Jesus Christ. Never allow yourself to believe that Jesus Christ stands with us, and against God, out of pity and compassion, or that He became a curse for us out of sympathy for us. Jesus Christ became a curse for us by divine decree. Our part in realizing the tremendous meaning of His curse is the conviction of sin. Conviction is given to us as a gift of shame and repentance; it is the great mercy of God. Jesus Christ hates the sin in people, and Calvary is the measure of His hatred.

Time well wasted

I was warned...

Warned about diapers. Two weeks ago I changed 3 diapers in 10 minutes. Some days it would make sense to just leave him on the changing table.

Warned about free time, or the lack thereof. I've had to say no to golf. Projects got shoved to the back-burner.  I crawl into bed at night and wonder what happened with my day. Date nights, a clean garage, and time to think have all but disappeared.

Warned about the sleep. Jones slept 3 nights in a row for 8 hours and got his parents all pumped up. The real average has been a long nap of 3-5 hrs and the rest of the time waking up every 2.5 hours. I usually get to put him to bed but earlier this week I let Maria do it...I was so tired it felt like I was going to drop him.


What I wasn't warned about was that my new favorite past-time would become letting Jones fall asleep on my chest. Maybe it's the warm body. Maybe it's the smell of that baby hair. I don't know but somehow I can sit down, he'll put his head on my chest and we'll just chill out for an hour...or maybe two. Sometimes we fall asleep, or just zone out. Either way, I never imagined I could spend so much time doing nothing but staring at our little man. I'm living in the moment, because I know I'm gonna miss this some day...

J