November 15, 2019
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Isaiah 64:6
“There is none good, no not one” (Romans 3:12). If you asked every single human being on planet earth to deposit in a cup all of his or her goodness, there would not be enough goodness in that cup to save even one person!
If all our righteousness is “as filthy rags,” the cross of Jesus Christ is our only hope. Jesus took our sin upon the cross. Jesus took our shame upon the cross. Jesus took our suffering upon the cross. And by His death, He paid the sin debt. All of it. And now we have His righteousness.
In 1906, Jessie Brown Pounds wrote these words: “I must go home by the way of the cross, there's no other way but this; I shall ne'er get sight of the gates of light, if the way of the cross I miss.”
Get this clear with yourself: Whose righteousness are you depending on? Your own? Your accumulated lifetime of “good works”? Or the righteousness of the sinless Lamb of God, Who became your substitute on the Cross and paid your sin debt in full?
I try to unplug each morning with Jesus with just my rocking chair, my Bible, and a pen.
Having a secret place is very important because I know that Jesus is always there waiting for me. I know where I can find Him! His presence is everywhere, but there are places where it is so thick you can cut it with a knife. You may not even have a front porch, but there is a secret place for you as well. God’s invitations are for anyone who will respond. There is no more important request than the one found in Psalm 27:8: “My heart has heard You say, ‘Come and talk with Me.’ And my heart responds, ‘Lord, I am coming.’”