My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name.
On Christ the solid rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.

Recently, my wife and I went out to a beautiful place here in Washington called Edis Hook. It’s a narrow strip of sand and rock that extends miles out into the ocean. Out there the sky is huge and beautiful. Sunsets are spectacular. The drift wood is amazing. In order to get to the actual water, you must traverse a wall of huge jagged boulders. Most are wet and slippery; some are not as immovable as they seem. Some, on the other hand, are solid and perfect for the journey to the other side.

Christ is like one those perfect, solid rocks – always there, always secure – guaranteed to keep your foot from slipping. When I meditate on what Christ has done for me, His steadfastness is often the trait that amazes me the most. He lived His entire life in complete faithfulness to His Father, without faltering. It’s the one trait I wish I could muster to the extent that He did.

I can totally relate to the Apostle Paul when he said in Romans 7:23-25:

…but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

It’s often a depressing struggle as I try to be “good”, knowing that will I never achieve that goal, doing dumb stuff even when I don’t want to. Sometimes when I think of my life, I wonder how God can actually still love me as much as He says He does. Amazing!

Thank God all I have to do is rely on the completed work of the Rock, Jesus Christ! By trusting that His death and resurrection have sufficed to pay in full the wrath due me, I gain power to rely on Him. I may not ever be as good as I hope for in this life, but at least the Father sees me dressed in the righteousness of my Savior. Whew!

If you pray sometimes, send one up for me; that I can increasingly grow more faithful and run a good race all the way to the end. Truly, I want to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Welcome into the joy of your Master.”

Now that would be Good News Only.

A revelation recently came to me, one that I suppose I should known for a long while. It was simply this: our prayers are truly precious to God. I know… duh! I just had never thought of my prayers as a precious commodity.

What makes the act of praying an amazing thing is that no man would ever even consider speaking to God unless he had some foreknowledge of God and who He is, and according to Christ that doesn’t happen merely by chance.

Luke 10:22 Christ is speaking and says,

“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

Hmmm… interesting, no?

Anyway, I have been listening to sermons, and reading/studying about the “end times”. In Revelation the prayers of the saints are likened to a fragrant aroma to God. In Revelation 5, John is describing his revelation of heaven and the throne room. Verse 8 says,

“When He (Jesus, the Lion, the Root of David) had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”

I’m sure I had read that many times, but for some reason it struck me deeply this time. I know Christians pray to give thanks to God and make petitions of Him, but I never considered those prayers as precious or valuable to God.

Later in Chapter 7 the Lambs breaks of 7th seal, which sealed the book He had received from Him who sits on the throne. Verses 2 through 5 say,

“And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar, and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake.”

I’m no theologian , but if the prayers of the saints are suitable for weaponry for God, it must mean they carry much power and are truly holy. Amazing. I searched and read further found a great dissertation written by J. R. Miller, written in 1988. It was entitled The Sweet Fragrance of Prayer.

There he explains the true value and power of prayer, and how precious it is to God. Here’s the link; it’s definitely worth a read: Sweet Fragrance of Prayer.

Long story short – I have a new perspective and appreciation for prayer. To God they are precious. He saves and treasures each one; rightly prayed from a contrite heart, they are a fragrant aroma. It’s given me new power to pray. Knowing that God treasures my prayers has given me new boldness to pray, to ask for forgiveness and help from the Spirit. I feel a bit closer to Him. That’s good, for according to the holy scriptures the closer I get to God, the farther Satan will flee from me.

Now that is Good News Only.

I recently returned from a week-long visit to see my brother who lives in Carson City, Nevada. He needed help with some major house-hold chores and projects. One of our tasks took us to the local land fill off of Highway 50, where we deposited over 450 lbs. of yard waste, metal, plastic, rotten wood, and an old car seat.

While there I could not help but notice the sky, which is always beautiful in Carson City. However, above the mountains of waste and refuse it’s beauty was even more striking. There it was, heaven looming above the garbage piles below. The metaphor became strikingly evident: the pile of garbage was our sin, the land-fill was Christ Jesus, the sky was heaven where we will one day go, free from sin. As I looked at the piles of garbage I was loathed to realize that whenever I sin more gets added to the piles of waste. Ugh! We all owe a debt to Jesus who took on all of our sin. Every evil deed and thought was laid on him, and by His stripes we were all healed.

I resolved anew to live by the power and grace of the Lord, Jesus. I was reminded of Psalm 19:13 that says, “Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous (willful, on-purpose) sins; Let them not have dominion over me: Then shall I be upright, And I shall be clear from great transgression.”

This really struck home to me, for my brother is suffering mightily because of some very wrong choices he made in the past. I pray he will come out cleansed and renewed through his ordeal. We vowed to not pile more of our own garbage onto Christ and to keep our hearts and eyes fixed on the blue sky of heaven above, where Christ has gone to prepare a place for us.

What a glorious day when there will be no more piles of refuse. Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!