Upper Loft Meditation - Romans 12

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” - Romans 12:12

There is a children’s story of a little girl who would look out the window every morning. If it was rainy or overcast she would be sad, but if the sun was shining she would overflow with joy.

What determines if you are to be filled with joy today? The weather? No known problems that must be tackled? Aches and pains and a general feeling it will be a downer day?

Jesus, for the hope set before him, endured the cross. Such a great hope overrules all feelings and circumstances.

Our hope is found in Jesus. This is a hope for which we have a guarantee, the promises of God.

Notice that this exhortation to be joyful is coupled with two others, “patient in affliction” - to persevere or keep on going when it gets tough and “faithful in prayer” - to pray always.

If our joy is based on God’s faithfulness and His unfailing love for us, then we have confidence that our prayers are heard and that He will lead us through the valley of shadows. The joy in the midst of the storm is based on truths far greater than the storm.

Think of the great hope you have in Christ Jesus. I can picture your smile and hear your singing!

Upper Loft Meditation - Ephesians 1

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” - Ephesians 1:18-19

Did you know that you have eyes in your heart?  The Apostle Paul prays that his fellow believers would see with their hearts.  In his day, this meant seeing with one’s whole being, heart, soul, and mind.  The idea here is that the Holy Spirit would turn on the light for you to see more clearly.  When you are in the dark you may see dimly, but when the light is turned on everything clear.

“The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” - 1 Corinthians 2:14

Apart from the work of the Holy Spirit the eyes of the heart are blind.

“The constant desire of our lives should be that we might ‘grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord’.  The trouble with so many of us is that we have never awakened to this realization.  We seem to think that we have ‘arrived’, that we ‘know’.” [M. Lloyd-Jones]

How often do you have the attitude that there is nothing new for you to learn?  There are three key principles here;

1. There will always be more for us to know and understand
2. Seeing is progressive and what we understand builds on what we have understood.  Spiritual apperception is critical to growth, and
3. It is only when we enter heaven that we will fully understand.

Lord, turn on the lights, so i may see you more clearly.

Upper Loft Meditation - Romans 15

“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” - Romans 15:4

Hope is like a muscle, it must receive nourishment and be exercised, or it begins to wither away. It is not like a fire extinguisher mounted on a wall and available for emergencies.

How should we feed our hope? From the Scriptures, we receive the nutrients, the very basis for our hope. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

Just as we must eat to live, so we must feed our hope through regular reading of the Scriptures. No one would think of eating only a Sunday morning brunch each week. With this type of habit it is no wonder people struggle clinging to their hope.

How should we exercise our hope? One ongoing exercise is the Trust Factor. How does this work? Consider how you will walk in hope today. How is your walk affected by three central truths:

1. God’s mercy is new everyday.
2. God’s grace is sufficient for all your needs.
3. God’s love for you is unfailing.

The words used in this passage convey the idea that the recipients of this letter are going through hard times. This is when hope is so important. Wrapped in the arms of Jesus you have confidence that God is faithful.