Wonderfully and Fearfully Made

"Quickening": the first moment a mother feels her baby's movement in the womb

It's a shame we don't use this word much anymore. Admittedly, baby's first movements feel more like gas moving around your insides (so sweet right?) than anything else. But the word calls attention to the moment a mama feels the truth and reality of what has been taking place in her womb for quite some time: the knitting together of a soul, a child that is an image-bearer of God. 

Pregnancy comes with many spiritual lessons. I have been genuinely humbled to realize anew that there is truly nothing good in me. When stripped of even the least bit of my health and comfort and emotional stability, what rears its ugly head is again the old man, the flesh which cherishes complaining, relishes in lashing out in frustration, and joyfully entertains idolatrous thoughts of self and the "justice" in being upset or lazy or self-centered. 

Personal sanctification aside, pregnancy has also taught me how badly our modern culture has twisted the focus of Psalm 139:14 "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well." First off, you don't usually even hear the second half of that verse as it's used in every teenage girl's devotional as a "you are beautiful, you are wonderful, you are fearful(?)" as if the focus is on how precious you are, and don't you forget it you special snowflake! Let me present a different focus. I have walked around for the past 6 months eating and sleeping and thinking nothing of the miraculous work that is taking place in my womb. I make absolutely zero physical or mental exertion (besides avoiding deli meat and raw food), toward the making of the baby inside me, and yet today Martyn has arms and legs and functioning organs and is practicing breathing and has his eyes open!! A wonderful and fearfully powerful act is going on in my body, and it is 110% the handiwork of the Sovereign God. 

On that note, it is not my "right" that creates life, a person and a soul, in my womb, it is God's divine prerogative. Anyone who has struggled with infertility is soberly aware of that fact. And it is not my "right" to take tools of destruction into my body and destroy the work that God has done, and vacuum it out like life was never present in my flesh. Like a soul was not there just a moment before, kicking and squirming and letting me know he doesn't like it when I lean on that side of my body because it squishes his space. The knitting together of a person is a wonderful work of God, my soul now knows it well. 

All to say, my understanding of God's sovereignty had not previously extended into the "secret place/depths" of my womb, but now I know and I praise God that it is His jurisdiction and that He rules and watches over everything in the universe. Lord, thank you for providing everything this baby needs to be formed into an image-bearer of you. May his soul bring much glory unto your name by the grace and mercy of your salvation. 

But When We See Thee As Thou Art We’ll Praise Thee As We Ought

By far, the best part of joining a new body of believers is getting to hear so many testimonies of how God has drawn His people to Himself. There are saints who grew up deaf to the sweet truth they were surrounded by and others who stumbled across it while listening to a radio program for financial advice that happened to share a station with Alistair Begg. There are brothers who were ensnared in the superstitious works of Catholicism and sisters who were staunch atheists. People who believed at age 4 and others who came to faith well past 40. If anything is clear, it is that God has worked an absolute spiritual miracle in each soul that he has caused to sit in a pew at RBC.

I found myself tonight looking at the congregation gathered for prayer meeting and was truly struck by what I was seeing, a room full of miracles. And in this day where we hear of the church being riddled with every kind of false gospel, faulty theology, slippery slope of post-modern thinking, and unbelievable account after account of moral failure and apostasy, it is a miracle that God has kept these people. It is a miracle that God has not removed the lampstand at this church, or any other church for that matter.

And though I consider it a miracle, it is not a mystery.
“Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.” (Rev 1:12-13)
“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” (Heb 6:19-20)
“Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” (Heb 7:25)
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.” (Luke 22:31-32a)

Praise be to Jehovah who sees our frailty, knows our frame, and pours out His steadfast loving kindness to sustain us and keep us forever. We can never be snatched out of God’s hand for we have the intercession of a divine High Priest. Therefore, may we take heed, repent for abandoning the love we had at first, and do the works He commands of us to the glory of His gracious name.

This The Power of the Cross

As someone who loves the doctrines of grace, I tend to place the focus on how undeserving I am to have been predestined, plucked out of my hell-bound way, and given saving faith through the power of the Holy Spirit. But in that focus, I've often forgotten to look to who and what our saving faith is placed in, the person and work of Jesus Christ, and more specifically the cross of Christ.

"But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." - Galatians 6:14

Our Pastor John Grevious delivered a wonderful reminder this Sunday that the believer's only boast should be in the cross of Christ. In doing so he led us to sing the modern hymn "The Power of the Cross" and reminded us that one form of boasting is also to glory in.

In singing that hymn, I found that my heart and soul were doing just that, glorying in the cross. I'm sad to say it's something that I don't do as often as I should, so I'd love to encourage you also, as we consider the verses of this hymn, to glory along with me - what happened at the cross?

• Christ, tried by sinful men: The Judge of the living and the dead allowed Himself to be tried by sinful men. He humbled Himself to the point of death, even the despicable death on the cross.
• Christ became sin for us: The only righteous man, the God-Man who is by nature thrice holy, became sin for us.
• He bore the awesome weight of sin: Jesus swallowed up, to the very dregs, the eternal hell deserved by sinful man. He bore and endured on our behalf the fullness of the wrath of the Almighty.
• Daylight fled, the ground quaked, as Christ died, nailed to a tree: The Creator of all creation, was nailed to a tree. The Giver of Life died, and the His created earth quaked and light fled in response.
• Curtain torn in two, "finished" the victory cry: The great chasm of separation between a holy God and His sinful people, set up that we may not die in His presence, was bridged by the life and death of the perfect God-Man. Hundreds of years of sacrifices which symbolized the deadly cost of sin, and pointed to the spotless sacrifice to come, were fulfilled, and salvation wrought for all who believe upon His name. Justification is finished, you cannot work for it.
• Dead are raised to life, death is crushed to death: At Christ's crucifixion, some dead were brought to life, to point to the reality that in the resurrection, Jesus Christ defeated death. In this, we see the power of the promise of eternal life in the presence of our King. 

Lord knows we could go on and on, but in this one hymn I've been so blessed to think on the magnificence of what we see on the cross. May our boast truly be in none other than the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.