"The first link between my soul and Christ is not my goodness but my
badness, not my merit but my misery, not my standing but my failing, not
my riches but my need."
Charles Spurgeon
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Thursday, June 20, 2019
Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
by Walter Chalmers Smith
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
thy justice like mountains high soaring above
thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all life thou givest, to both great and small;
in all life thou livest, the true life of all;
we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
and wither and perish --- but naught changeth thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
all praise we would render; O help us to see
'tis only the splendor of light hideth thee.
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
thy justice like mountains high soaring above
thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all life thou givest, to both great and small;
in all life thou livest, the true life of all;
we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
and wither and perish --- but naught changeth thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
all praise we would render; O help us to see
'tis only the splendor of light hideth thee.
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
Fleeing from You
by Ruth Bell Graham
Fleeing from You,
nothing he sees
of Your preceding
as he flees.
Choosing his own path
how could he know
Your hand directs
where he shall go.
Thinking he's free,
'free at last,'
unaware that Your hand
holds him fast.
Poor prodigal!
seeking a 'where' from
'whence,'
how does one escape
Omnipotence?
Waiting for darkness
to hide in night,
not knowing, with You
dark is as light.
(Based on Ps. 139:7-12 in light of Luke 15)
Fleeing from You,
nothing he sees
of Your preceding
as he flees.
Choosing his own path
how could he know
Your hand directs
where he shall go.
Thinking he's free,
'free at last,'
unaware that Your hand
holds him fast.
Poor prodigal!
seeking a 'where' from
'whence,'
how does one escape
Omnipotence?
Waiting for darkness
to hide in night,
not knowing, with You
dark is as light.
(Based on Ps. 139:7-12 in light of Luke 15)
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
In Evil Long I Took Delight
by John Newton
In evil long I took delight
Unawed by shame or fear,
Till a new object struck my sight,
And stopped my wild career.
I saw One hanging on a tree,
In agonies and blood,
Who fixed His languid eyes on me,
As near His cross I stood.
Sure never till my latest breath
Can I forget that look:
It seemed to charge me with His death,
Though not a word He spoke.
My conscience felt and owned the guilt,
It plunged me in despair,
I saw my sins His blood had spilt,
And helped to nail Him there.
Alas! I knew not what I did!
But now my tears are vain:
Where shall my trembling soul be hid?
For I the Lord have slain!
A second look He gave, which said,
'I freely all forgive;
This blood is for thy ransom paid:
I die, that thou might live.
Thus, while His death my sin displays
In all its blackest hue,
Such is the mystery of grace,
It seals my pardon too.
With pleasing grief, and mournful joy,
My spirit is now filled,
That I should such a life destroy,
Yet live by Him I killed.
In evil long I took delight
Unawed by shame or fear,
Till a new object struck my sight,
And stopped my wild career.
I saw One hanging on a tree,
In agonies and blood,
Who fixed His languid eyes on me,
As near His cross I stood.
Sure never till my latest breath
Can I forget that look:
It seemed to charge me with His death,
Though not a word He spoke.
My conscience felt and owned the guilt,
It plunged me in despair,
I saw my sins His blood had spilt,
And helped to nail Him there.
Alas! I knew not what I did!
But now my tears are vain:
Where shall my trembling soul be hid?
For I the Lord have slain!
A second look He gave, which said,
'I freely all forgive;
This blood is for thy ransom paid:
I die, that thou might live.
Thus, while His death my sin displays
In all its blackest hue,
Such is the mystery of grace,
It seals my pardon too.
With pleasing grief, and mournful joy,
My spirit is now filled,
That I should such a life destroy,
Yet live by Him I killed.
Sunday, June 16, 2019
Proverbs are not necessarily Promises
Excerpt from Carol Barnier's Engaging Today's Prodigal: clear thinking, new approaches, and reasons for hope:
"Proverbs are sayings that in general are true, but are not intended to be promises.
The beautiful verses in Proverbs are directions on how we should live our lives. They incorporate into their instruction truths about the nature of God and the nature of mankind. Proverbs are sayings that in general are accurate and full of wisdom, straight from God, but are not intended to be promises or formulas or an invitation to insert a coin into a vending-machine God who will pop out your selection.
I believe Scripture is inspired, which means God's stamp of approval is on all of the Canon, including the book of Proverbs. However, as we have seen, there is a difference in proverbs that describe and those that prescribe."
In other words, be careful how you apply Scripture. Make sure you know to whom it is written and for what purpose it is written before you appropriate it to be a life-base for you.
"Proverbs are sayings that in general are true, but are not intended to be promises.
The beautiful verses in Proverbs are directions on how we should live our lives. They incorporate into their instruction truths about the nature of God and the nature of mankind. Proverbs are sayings that in general are accurate and full of wisdom, straight from God, but are not intended to be promises or formulas or an invitation to insert a coin into a vending-machine God who will pop out your selection.
I believe Scripture is inspired, which means God's stamp of approval is on all of the Canon, including the book of Proverbs. However, as we have seen, there is a difference in proverbs that describe and those that prescribe."
In other words, be careful how you apply Scripture. Make sure you know to whom it is written and for what purpose it is written before you appropriate it to be a life-base for you.
Saturday, June 15, 2019
LISTEN, LORD
by Ruth Bell Graham
Listen, Lord,
a mother's praying
low and quiet:
listen, please.
Listen what her tears
are saying,
see her heart
upon its knees;
lift the load
from her bowed shoulders
till she sees
and understands,
You, Who hold
the worlds together,
hold her problems
in Your hands.
Listen, Lord,
a mother's praying
low and quiet:
listen, please.
Listen what her tears
are saying,
see her heart
upon its knees;
lift the load
from her bowed shoulders
till she sees
and understands,
You, Who hold
the worlds together,
hold her problems
in Your hands.
Sunday, June 2, 2019
Jesus: the perfect sacrifice
When I read the Jewish Scriptures, which we in Christendom refer to as the Old Testament, the home of the Old Covenant and the way people had to relate to God through the demands of the Law, I feel so grateful and blessed that God chose the New Covenant time following the writing of the Christian Scriptures, the New Testament, for me to be born into.
I am not under the unattainable demands of the Law, but under GRACE (Romans 6:14).
As I read through the Bible and land in Leviticus, I am so grateful I do not have to know and remember all those hoops to jump through in order to worship God aright. But, I do like to look for glimmers of Jesus in it all.
In reading Leviticus 3, the text said the sacrifice to be offered must be unblemished.
That got me to thinking about what we have to offer God on our own - only a blemished offering, sin-ridden and ugly at the core. So God fixed our problem for us so that we wouldn't have to be separate from Him and could live clean and close to Him, actually to be one with Him.
Christ, the Unblemished One, died in our place, taking all the wrath of God for our sins onto Himself.
When we accept Him, taking His perfectly satisfying sacrifice as our own, He rebirths us as a new creation (2Corinthians 5:17). The old nature enslaved to sin is gone (Romans 6:6). We are unblemished and perfect in His sight (Ephesians 1:4). He died to wash away our sin (John 1:29). He rose again to give us new resurrection life (Romans 6:4)!
With His death, He took away our every sin (past, present, future). He cancels every record of our debt at our salvation or coming to belief in Him (Colossians 2:13-14). He remembers our sin no more (Hebrews 8:12, 10:17).
I am not under the unattainable demands of the Law, but under GRACE (Romans 6:14).
Whew! and Wow! Thank You, God.
As I read through the Bible and land in Leviticus, I am so grateful I do not have to know and remember all those hoops to jump through in order to worship God aright. But, I do like to look for glimmers of Jesus in it all.
All that HIStory leads to Him.
In reading Leviticus 3, the text said the sacrifice to be offered must be unblemished.
That got me to thinking about what we have to offer God on our own - only a blemished offering, sin-ridden and ugly at the core. So God fixed our problem for us so that we wouldn't have to be separate from Him and could live clean and close to Him, actually to be one with Him.
"But demonstrates His own love for us in this:
while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
He provided the perfect sacrifice to take ALL the punishment for our sins.
Christ, the Unblemished One, died in our place, taking all the wrath of God for our sins onto Himself.
"For God has not destined us for wrath,
but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who died for us so that
whether we are awake or asleep
we might live with Him"
(1Thessalonians 5:9-10).
He accomplished what we never could or can on our own.
When we accept Him, taking His perfectly satisfying sacrifice as our own, He rebirths us as a new creation (2Corinthians 5:17). The old nature enslaved to sin is gone (Romans 6:6). We are unblemished and perfect in His sight (Ephesians 1:4). He died to wash away our sin (John 1:29). He rose again to give us new resurrection life (Romans 6:4)!
WE ARE NEW!!!
With His death, He took away our every sin (past, present, future). He cancels every record of our debt at our salvation or coming to belief in Him (Colossians 2:13-14). He remembers our sin no more (Hebrews 8:12, 10:17).
- He remakes us with a new heart set toward obedience to His will (Ezekiel 36:26, Hebrews 8:10, 10:16, Romans 6:17).
- He set us free from sin and the Law to walk by His Spirit which indwells every believer helping us navigate life in a new and living way (Romans 7:4-6).
- We are sealed with His Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14) and saved for eternity from the wrath of God which is reserved for the unrepentant sinner who rejects Jesus as Savior (Romans 1:18).
- We are saved to be His children who are zealous for good works which He prepared in advance for us to do (Titus 2:14, Ephesians 2:10).
- He is always at work in us, helping us to live out His purposes (Philippians 2:13) and making our behavior conform to Christ's character in us until our behavior matches up to the completeness of our identity in Him (Philippians 1:6; 1Thessalonians 5:23-24).
Jesus is the SOURCE, the Vine. Without Him, we can do nothing!
(John 15:5)
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