- Details
- Written by: Don Goulding
“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:5) (NIV)
For the first time in the history of a city I dare not name, hundreds of Chinese Christians gathered in a secret location. House groups that had never met took turns leading prayers through the night.
With so many believers converging at one time, the risk of a police raid was high. Consequently, there were no lukewarm Christians present, only those who valued this unified worship more than freedom.
Well into the night, the Holy Spirit filled the large room. Some lay face down, some wept, nearly everybody raised their arms. As the only Westerner, I couldn’t understand the urgent prayers, but the words didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except Jesus. I was undone.
My wife knits. One time she used the angora yarn from one of her completed projects for something different. Row by row, she pulled the yellow threads out of a sweater that had taken weeks to create. In the underground gathering, I felt like that sweater. The presence of Jesus pulled my life apart, row by row. My past opened up. My place in society lost relevance.
More than a one-off encounter, I must learn to live undone. I will, of course, be undone at the judgment seat. But today I need my vanities and the popularity I seek to unravel so the Lord can make me into something new.
Prayer: King of Kings, help me to live undone before you.
- Details
- Written by: Don Goulding
He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds,
crushed because of our sins;
he endured punishment that made us well;
because of his wounds we have been healed. (Isaiah 53:5)
Jesus went homeless on earth to give me a residence in paradise. Refused hospitality in many towns, he ensured my permanent welcome into the New Jerusalem. And by relinquishing his rights of sonship, he legalized my adoption forever.
Splayed on the cross before every eye, Jesus silently accepted the demise that mankind deserved. He was whipped with shards, spit upon, and nailed. That is how the powers of darkness would have treated us for eternity had Jesus not taken our place.
After a lifetime of insolence and apathy, my sins filled many pages in the books of heaven. The list was to be read aloud and the images replayed before beings of all realms. But now when the books are opened, my every sin will be lined out with the red blood of Jesus. My public shame has been shifted to the Lamb of God, while his virtue flys to me.
Jesus lived a sinless life. When he was done, he took up my guilt and, though his nostrils burned at the stench, he pulled it over his head. He then laid the robe of his righteousness around my shoulders. He wore my filth, I wear his purity.
Prayer: My blessed Lord Jesus, thank you for trading places.
- Details
- Written by: Don Goulding
Your words are sweeter in my mouth than honey! (Psalms 119:103)
A cooking fire smoked up the inside of a dirt floored restaurant in Nigeria.
“What are those?” I pointed at the morsels remaining in the serving bowl.
The Africans consulted one another about how to convey the answer in English. “The goat’s … testicles.”
As a missionary, I’ve been served a variety of delicacies—caterpillars, chicken feet, fish eyes. Some of it went discreetly to a neighbor and some went into my mouth. Proof that when I get hungry enough, anything tastes good.
My hunger for God’s word is much the same. When ease fills my life, prayer and Scripture are often like cold oatmeal. It’s only in the grip of trials that I hungrily press my face into every word from God.
The remedy for flavorless consumption of God’s word is to first contemplate how famished my shortcomings leave me. Only when I’m conscious of my dire need am I ready for the daily sustenance offered by Jesus, the true bread of life.
Jesus is my daily nourishment, but he is much more. He is also the honey that brings joy to life. Thus, I need a daily fare that includes a big helping of redemption, at least a spoonful of correction, and a dessert of his amber goodness melting in my mouth.
Prayer: Sustaining Jesus, may I taste your words today.