GOD’S WORD FOR JULY 3 ~ ~Matthew 10:28 ~ ~ “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Psalm 91:1&2~ ~ “He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.”

“The Pleasures of God” by John Piper

Now why does God delight in those who experience him in this way—in people who fear him and hope in his love?

Surely it is because our fear reflects the greatness of his power and our hope reflects the bounty of his grace. God delights in those responses which mirror his magnificence. This is just what we would have expected from a God who is all-sufficient in himself and has no need of us—-a God who will never give up the glory of being the fountain of all joy, who will never surrender the honor of being the source of all safety, who will never abdicate the throne of sovereign grace.

God has pleasure in those who hope in his love because that hope highlights the freedom of his grace.

When I cry out, “God is my only hope, my rock, my refuge!” I am turning from myself and calling all attention to the boundless resources of God.

We asked earlier, What kind of response can God demand from us so that the demand gives good news to us and glory to him? This is the answer:

THE DEMAND TO HOPE IN HIS LOVE WITH AN EARNEST, PROFOUND SENSE OF HIS AWESOME POWER.

As a sinner with no righteousness of my own, standing before a self-sufficient and holy God, what command would I rather hear than this: “Hope in my love!” If we only knew it, every one of us is stranded on an ice face in Greenland, and the wind is blowing fiercely. Our position is so precarious that even if we inhale too deeply our weight will shift and we will plunge to our destruction. God comes to us and says in that moment, “I will save you, and protect you in the storm. But there is a condition.”

Your heart sinks. You know you can’t meet conditions. Your face is flat against the ice. Your fingernails are dug in. You can feel yourself giving way. You know that if all you do is move your lips you’re going to fall. You know that there is nothing you can do for God!

Then he speaks the gospel command: “My requirement,” he says, “is that you hope in me.” Now I ask, is this not good news? What could be easier than to hope in God when all else is giving away? That is all he requires. THAT’S THE GOSPEL!

Psalm 38:22

Hurry to help me, Lord, my salvation!

2 Samuel 22:47

“The Lord lives, and blessed be my Rock; And exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation,”

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