The
omniscience of God: He knows my actions--"the eyes of the Lord are in
everyplace beholding the evil and the good." He knows my thoughts--my
motivations--how deeply I long to please Him. He knows my
conversation--even when I'm talking to myself. He knows my faults and my
gifts. He knows my fears, struggles, and my deepest prayers. He knows
my past and my present. He knows my heart, my anxious thoughts.
He knows my daily journey from when I rise in the morning until I fall
asleep at night. He is "intimately acquainted with all my ways." He
knows me infinitely better than I know myself. Nothing of who I am is
hidden from Him.
And He loves me. He has willingly adopted me
into His family that He might be my Father. He desires for me to know
Him as intimately as He knows me. He desires to show me to myself so
that by submitting to His Spirit I can be transformed more and more into
His likeness.His plan for my journey is to work all things for good.
He has hidden me in His Son. He has removed my condemnation.
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious
thoughts; and see if there be any way of pain in me, and lead me in the
everlasting way."
What comfort to be fully known and to be eternally loved by God, our Abba.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Monday, June 9, 2014
Light
"Even
there Thy hand will lead me, and Thy right hand will lay hold of me. If
I say, 'Surely the darkness will bruise me, and the light around me
will be night.' Even the darkness is not dark to Thee, and the night is
as bright as day. Darkness and light are alike to Thee."
In the darkness--in the days when the dark is so overwhelming, it bruises my soul, I am being led by the gentle hand of my loving God. He is my Light, He gives victory in the darkness. His word is "a lamp to my feet, a light to my path." In my desert wanderings He is my pillar of fire that leads me on toward the place of promised rest. He makes me a light to the dark world in which I live so that I might--even in my darkest hours--glorify Him. His bright presence with me in the valley turns death into a powerless shadow. His Spirit uses the magnitude of the light of His Word and exposes the lies and duplicity of the one that comes pretending to be an angel of light whose message would deceive me into thinking that the dark is light.
"The Light of the world is Jesus." The Light of my world is Jesus. "Shine, Jesus, shine!"
In the darkness--in the days when the dark is so overwhelming, it bruises my soul, I am being led by the gentle hand of my loving God. He is my Light, He gives victory in the darkness. His word is "a lamp to my feet, a light to my path." In my desert wanderings He is my pillar of fire that leads me on toward the place of promised rest. He makes me a light to the dark world in which I live so that I might--even in my darkest hours--glorify Him. His bright presence with me in the valley turns death into a powerless shadow. His Spirit uses the magnitude of the light of His Word and exposes the lies and duplicity of the one that comes pretending to be an angel of light whose message would deceive me into thinking that the dark is light.
"The Light of the world is Jesus." The Light of my world is Jesus. "Shine, Jesus, shine!"
Saturday, June 7, 2014
The Power of a Singing Heart
The Power of a singing heart:
Moses seeing the defeat of the Egyptian army burst into song.
David, a man after God's on heart, wrote song after song after song. God gave a song for his triumphs, a song for his sadness and depression, a song for his joy at observing God's creation, a song for his nights in the fields with the sheep, even a song of repentance when he was flat on his face as a failure.
Habakkuk at the end of his book after he has given one of the most dynamic testimonies in Scripture: "If I lose absolutely everything, I will still rejoice in the God of my salvation--the God of my deliverance," penned these words: "to the choir director on my stringed instruments."
Those who are filled with--under the control of the Spirit--are described as "speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with their hearts to the Lord."
And in Heaven, around the throne, at the crucial moment of eternity when "the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David"; "the Lamb standing, as if slain" reaches out and takes the scroll from the Father, the air filled with the incense "which are the prayers of the saints," all Heaven will respond: "And they sang a new song, saying, 'Worthy art Thou to take the scroll, and to break the seals; for Thou wast slain, and didst purchase for God with Thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth. . . Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. . . To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."
"Through Him, then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of our lips that confess thanks to His name."
"Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture."
No matter the circumstances--be an off key choir of one if you must--but a song in your heart is the key to triumphant living.
Moses seeing the defeat of the Egyptian army burst into song.
David, a man after God's on heart, wrote song after song after song. God gave a song for his triumphs, a song for his sadness and depression, a song for his joy at observing God's creation, a song for his nights in the fields with the sheep, even a song of repentance when he was flat on his face as a failure.
Habakkuk at the end of his book after he has given one of the most dynamic testimonies in Scripture: "If I lose absolutely everything, I will still rejoice in the God of my salvation--the God of my deliverance," penned these words: "to the choir director on my stringed instruments."
Those who are filled with--under the control of the Spirit--are described as "speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with their hearts to the Lord."
And in Heaven, around the throne, at the crucial moment of eternity when "the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David"; "the Lamb standing, as if slain" reaches out and takes the scroll from the Father, the air filled with the incense "which are the prayers of the saints," all Heaven will respond: "And they sang a new song, saying, 'Worthy art Thou to take the scroll, and to break the seals; for Thou wast slain, and didst purchase for God with Thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth. . . Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. . . To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."
"Through Him, then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of our lips that confess thanks to His name."
"Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture."
No matter the circumstances--be an off key choir of one if you must--but a song in your heart is the key to triumphant living.
Home
How often this week did you think about Home?
No, I don't mean home as in my house in Cardington, Ohio. I love the place, but it's just a stop on the journey. It comes with great joys and constant struggles: flooding in the library, falling trees, frozen pipes in the winter, damaged wells, weeds, ticks, mosquitoes--even a psycho cat. That's not the home I'm talking about.
For the Christian, right now, Home is spelled H-O-P-E. And meditating on it is a catalyst for a victorious Christian life. Think about it. Hope under girds endurance and perseverance. Hope makes us not ashamed because God's love is settled in our hearts. John says that anyone who has this Hope fixed in his or her mind daily purifies their lives. Abraham's great faith was based on his looking for the city whose builder and creator was his God. Without contemplating Home, without a real and living Hope, our lives lack the proper focus and motivation. "Christ in you, the hope of glory.":
What does Home mean for us? One of the most amazing truths: When we see Him, we shall be like Him. No more struggles with disappointment, strained relationships, sickness, loss. No more struggle with sin! Impossible truth to understand. Joyous truth to embrace.
In addition, Home means that we are His. He rejoices that He can call us part of His family. We are the "riches" of His glory. Incredible! If you asked Jesus what makes Him rich, He would proclaim that His wealth is getting to spend eternity with us. An amazing, humbling truth.
Meditate on Home today. Rest in Hope. "With a love that cannot cease, I am His, and He is mine."
No, I don't mean home as in my house in Cardington, Ohio. I love the place, but it's just a stop on the journey. It comes with great joys and constant struggles: flooding in the library, falling trees, frozen pipes in the winter, damaged wells, weeds, ticks, mosquitoes--even a psycho cat. That's not the home I'm talking about.
For the Christian, right now, Home is spelled H-O-P-E. And meditating on it is a catalyst for a victorious Christian life. Think about it. Hope under girds endurance and perseverance. Hope makes us not ashamed because God's love is settled in our hearts. John says that anyone who has this Hope fixed in his or her mind daily purifies their lives. Abraham's great faith was based on his looking for the city whose builder and creator was his God. Without contemplating Home, without a real and living Hope, our lives lack the proper focus and motivation. "Christ in you, the hope of glory.":
What does Home mean for us? One of the most amazing truths: When we see Him, we shall be like Him. No more struggles with disappointment, strained relationships, sickness, loss. No more struggle with sin! Impossible truth to understand. Joyous truth to embrace.
In addition, Home means that we are His. He rejoices that He can call us part of His family. We are the "riches" of His glory. Incredible! If you asked Jesus what makes Him rich, He would proclaim that His wealth is getting to spend eternity with us. An amazing, humbling truth.
Meditate on Home today. Rest in Hope. "With a love that cannot cease, I am His, and He is mine."
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Evangelism Handbook
The Apostle Paul's Evangelism Handbook:
The Message: Simplicity: "Nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified."
The Method: Humility: "In weakness and fear and trembling, not in persuasive words of wisdom
The Necessity: "Faith must not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God."
Only through the power of God's Spirit can a man or woman come to Christ.
The Message: Simplicity: "Nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified."
The Method: Humility: "In weakness and fear and trembling, not in persuasive words of wisdom
The Necessity: "Faith must not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God."
Only through the power of God's Spirit can a man or woman come to Christ.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Reflections on Faithfulness
It is
not a sin to accept the praise of men. The sin is making the praise of
men the motivation for using the gifts and talents God has graciously
given to you. That's idolatry.
The faithful disciple realizes that his walk is totally dependent on the faithfulness of God.
The deepest love is demonstrated in the simplest ways.
The earth is the Lord's and He has put His people in charge of taking care of it.
The faithful disciple saturates himself with the Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, the whole counsel of God. Consequently, the Spirit has the full arsenal of the Sword to perform the necessary pruning in his life. And that's a "full-time job!" A lifetime "job"--a continual work of love.
The faithful disciple realizes that his walk is totally dependent on the faithfulness of God.
The deepest love is demonstrated in the simplest ways.
The earth is the Lord's and He has put His people in charge of taking care of it.
The faithful disciple saturates himself with the Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, the whole counsel of God. Consequently, the Spirit has the full arsenal of the Sword to perform the necessary pruning in his life. And that's a "full-time job!" A lifetime "job"--a continual work of love.
Consumer
I was
reflecting today on that verse that says something about our not having
because we want it to consume it on our own lusts. I kept thinking:
what does that mean? And then, the Spirit reminded me of those times
when God has in His grace provided me with a "windfall." Then, a few
days later, I encounter an unexpected financial need--yep, just about
the same amount as the "windfall" of the week before. Do I thank Him for
providing for my need before it even arose? No, I gripe because the
"windfall" can't be used on something I want.
We have not because we would use it on our own lusts. Guilty.
Oh, Lord, give me a thankful heart of gratitude!
We have not because we would use it on our own lusts. Guilty.
Oh, Lord, give me a thankful heart of gratitude!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)