Let's Defy Our Adversary By Being Bold In Our Thoughts!

O Lover To The Uttermost,

May I read the meltings of thy heart to me

in the manger of thy birth

in the garden of thy agony,

in the cross of thy suffering,

in the tomb of thy resurrection,

in the heaven of thy intercession.

Bold in this thought I defy my adversary,

tread down his temptations,

resist his schemings,

renounce the world,

am valiant for truth.

Deepen in me a sense of my holy relationship

to thee,

as spiritual Bridegroom,

as Jehovah's Fellow,

as sinner's Friend.

I think of thy glory and my vileness,

thy majesty and my meanness,

thy beauty and my deformity,

thy purity and my filth,

thy righteousness and my iniquity.

Thou has loved me everlastingly, unchangeably,

may I love thee as I am loved;

Thou has given thyself for me,

may I give myself to thee;

Thou has died for me,

may I live to thee,

in every moment of my time,

in every movement of my mind,

in every pulse of my heart.

May I never dally with the world

and its allurements,

but walk by thy side,

listen to thy voice,

be clothed with thy graces,

and adorned with thy righteousness.

CHRIST IS ALL  The Valley of Vision; Puritan Prayers and Devotions

The very first sin tapped into the identity of Adam and Eve as the children of God.  They had been naked and unashamed before Him and acceptable in His sight.  

Once desire was conceived and gave birth to sin,  He had to give them new garments to cover their nakedness.  

God took the skins of animals to cover Adam and Eve and in so doing the first sacrifice for sin was made.  Death became the new paradigm of a previously perfect world that God created, where death was not a reality.

The image above depicts the gruesome price that was paid for sin as God's 'very good' creation had to endure the pain, suffering, and tragedy of death in order to cover the shame of the pinnacle of His creation.

This would not be the last time that the people of God had to kill something in order to cover their sin and shame but this first sacrifice was a foreshadowing of the perfect sacrifice that was to come to God's people.

Jesus came in the flesh for flesh.  His life, like the skin of those innocent animals that was used in the first sacrifice, was stripped from him and as a result we are clothed in His righteousness forever!

Romans 5:17

For if by the transgression of the one, 

death reigned through the one, 

much more those who receive the abundance of grace 

and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life 

through the One, Jesus Christ. 

Isaiah 61:10

I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, 

My soul will exult in my God;  

For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, 

He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, 

As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, 

And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.  

Christ didn't just cover our shame but He clothes us with the garment of salvation and makes believers beautiful in His sight.

These scriptures should also clothe our minds in the truth of His love and acceptance over our lives!  What a glorious thought!  

However, we must guard our hearts and minds against the attacks of the world, the flesh and the devil from succumbing to the lies that would try to strip us naked and shame us into believing that we are not justified by Christ.

Romans 5:1-2

Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.  Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God's glory.  

We are clothed in His grace and adorned with His righteousness so that we can stand before Him in perfect innocence through His work and live a lives of fulness and joy in Him and for Him!

We must be bold in thought of the righteousness that we have in Christ, defying our enemy as the puritan puts it;

treading down his temptations,

resisting his schemes

renouncing the world,

 and standing valiantly for truth.

It's His grace that paid our way here to this holy ground 

of confident familiarity and affectionate friendship with Jesus. 

 We won't let that grace be in vain, but we'll soak it up and stomp our feet 

and enjoy the conversation, amen?                                        

                                                                                                  Dance-Stand-Run by Jess Connolly