Posted in General, God Thoughts, Work of Jesus, tagged God Thoughts, gospel project, work of christ on November 25, 2012| 1 Comment »
God’s Word and Christian Community
Posted in General, God Thoughts, tagged God Thoughts, gospel project on November 10, 2012| Leave a Comment »
In lines 1-4 I have mapped out my understanding of what he says in this quote. Line one is the simple outline. Lines 2-4 are the negative results of leaving out one of the disciplines: theology, then mission, then worship. Line 5 is my attempt at putting all of these ideas back into the original outline (line 1). The arrows in line 5 should read “provide ________ to”.
Posted in General, God Thoughts, tagged God Thoughts, salvation history on October 10, 2012| Leave a Comment »
II Corinthians 5:1-8
We are neither annihlated nor absorbed into the universal conscientiousness. Instead our spirit is clothed in an immortal body at death. At death we are separated from our body to be united with that imperishable body and with our Lord, worshiping in His presence.
Isaiah 59:2
Being dead in spirit toward God in our unsaved condition does not mean our spirit does not exist but that it is separate from God and cannot respond to Him. Because of His holiness He will not respond to us.
Death is separation from body or God, not an end to existence. Eternal death is forever being separated from God and His benefits in the lake of fire. Eternal life is forever thriving in His presence with all the glorious benefits His excellencies bring. The diagram of the Christian’s progress is one of increasing life on into eternity. I look so forward to life after death, eternal bliss after momentary separation from one body into an immortal one.
Posted in General, God Thoughts, tagged God Thoughts, work of christ on August 19, 2012| 2 Comments »
They meet at the cross where Jesus became sin so that we might be the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). God’s grace is the only way to change from the fatal nose dive to an eternity in heaven. The diagram is meant to be a logical progression rather than a strictly chronological one since elements of God’s salvation happened in eternity past and in past, present, or future space-time. A friend pointed out to me that the first three items on the upper curve are attributed to the Father, the next 5 items to the Son, and the last 4 items to the Spirit. Of course all three persons of the Godhead were involved in all parts but there is the lead person.
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Strength, Sustaining, Why?!, tagged god answers prayer, God Thoughts, Strength, Sustaining, Why?! on June 29, 2012| Leave a Comment »
“It is not amazing that God answers prayer; it is amazing we pray so little.”
‘How can you say it’s not amazing that God answers prayer?’ Don’t misunderstand the statement because I do believe it is amazing how He answers prayer. For in pulling off an answer to prayer God must at least redirect the course of God ordained natural forces or the intentions of wills predisposed to wrong. At most He must suspend the rules He has laid down for nature so that they begin running immediately in a new course or give tangible manifestation to spiritual reality. In any circumstance you can name where prayer is answered the supernatural impinges on the natural to bring about God’s purpose with full consideration and at least partial affirmation and completion of the request. All together how prayer is answered demonstrates God’s great power and unending knowledge. How that happens is amazing and wonderful. But that He would answer prayer is not. Answered prayer matches well His character of kindness, mercy, grace, personal involvement in His creation, and goodness.
But why do we pray so little? Our skeptical, mocking society has largely silenced our praise to God for answered prayer. For one thing they nay say any testimony that challenges their naturalistic presuppositions. ‘That can’t happen; you can’t prove the supernatural.’ Of course you can’t if the only evidence you allow is natural or has a natural explanation. So we Christians back off from saying the truth under the pressure of skeptical mockery. Merely natural explanations, however, fall short on too many accounts at explaining all that we observe. But our praise to God for answered prayer is silenced for a far more serious reason. Despite the abundant Scriptural evidence to God’s willingness, ability, and examples of answered prayer; the abundant historical evidence (George Mueller very notably); God’s good sustaining grace in our own lives, we pray far too little. We must not believe He will answer. He has many times for me in witnessing opportunities, financial needs, serious health issues, relational difficulties, bewilderment and discouragement, weather, direction, help for missionaries and witnessing friends. Why do I pray so little? “You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask with wrong motives so that you may spend it on your pleasures…” (James 4:2-3) Perhaps a better question is… What is preventing me now? A big and glorious God answers big and God-glorifying prayers! Lord, work in my life so that I pray more and more intensely!
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Poem, tagged God Thoughts, Poems on June 10, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Psalm 1 compares the righteous one to a tree firmly planted, well watered, fruitful, in no danger of withering. I see it as one whose branches reach upward in praise and roots downward into truth. Click on Tree Firmly Planted to see how I visualized it.
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Poem, Remembering, Strength, Sustaining, tagged God Thoughts, Poems, Remembering, Strength, Sustaining on May 28, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Random thoughts, tagged God Thoughts, Random thoughts on March 5, 2012| Leave a Comment »
As a Bible reader and a high school science teacher I cherish good analogies because they clarify otherwise obscure concepts. I thought of two short analogies in the past few days as I mused upon ideas concerning marriage and motivation.
Concerning marriage, I believe Satan would like nothing better than to destroy the picture of Christ and His Bride, the Church. As I thought of this attempt to hide this picture designed by God I thought of light pollution:
Even as the glare of city lights obscures the beauty of stars and moon, so the glitzy show of sexual perversion and marital unfaithfulness attempts to block the God glorifying purity of a man and a wife faithfully and lovingly representing Christ and His Church by their marriage.
As my pastor taught in Romans 1 last evening he marveled over the obligation of Paul in verse 14 becoming the eagerness to share the gospel in verse 15. He showed how we too should be eager in our obligations, not counting them as burdens. He went on to say, “Duty by itself without delight will not sustain us.” Then what is the use of duty, I thought, and what is its relationship to delight? Following is my conclusion by way of analogy:
The flywheel of duty will not continue to spin for long unless powered by the engine of delight. However, when the engine of delight misses the flywheel of duty keeps the engine of delight spinning for several revolutions until it is restarted, its spark and fuel being sought from its source, the empowering work of the Holy Spirit.
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Poem, Remembering, tagged God Thoughts, historicity, Poems, Remembering, salvation history, second coming of christ, work of christ on January 14, 2012| Leave a Comment »
There are so many good hymns. As with most things we have a tendency to rush over them as if to extract the sweetness without savoring the deeper substance. So as time allows on occasion I try to assimilate a little more of the spiritual nutrients from these poems that we sing. In poetry I like completeness of thought with conciseness of language. Of course that is a challenge. The hymn “One Day” seems to be just such a hymn, surveying the incarnation, crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and second coming of Christ. Emphasizing this idea of these events happening on a certain ‘one day’ each produces a unity of the verses and points to the historicity of the works of Christ. In each of the verses Christ and His work are exalted and personalized to the person singing the song. These are all wonderful elements, but I’m rarely quite satisfied, so I thought that it covers from Christ’s incarnation at Bethlehem to the beginning of eternity, shouldn’t it include eternity past forward to Bethlehem? I sat down and wrote two more verse to “complete” the thought of salvation history conveyed in the song. I was unable to bring in the element of personalizing the work of Christ to the singer and I’m confident that my poetry is not so good as the author, J. Wilbur Chapman, but I enjoyed the effort and contemplation anyway, and so may you.
One day the Godhead took counsel in heaven One day the Christ was appointed to die Jesus submitted in full to His Father While He still sat on His throne up on high One day Christ Jesus created first Adam One day He walked in the garden with him Then Adam sinned and all mankind was fallen As second Adam He would rescue themOne day when Heaven was filled with His praises,
One day when sin was as black as could be,
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin,
Dwelt among men, my example is He!
Refrain
Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me;
Buried, He carried my sins far away;
Rising, He justified freely forever;
One day He’s coming—O glorious day!
One day they led Him up Calvary’s mountain,
One day they nailed Him to die on the tree;
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected:
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He!
Refrain
One day they left Him alone in the garden,
One day He rested, from suffering free;
Angels came down o’er His tomb to keep vigil;
Hope of the hopeless, my Savior is He!
Refrain
One day the grave could conceal Him no longer,
One day the stone rolled away from the door;
Then He arose, over death He had conquered;
Now is ascended, my Lord evermore!
Refrain
One day the trumpet will sound for His coming,
One day the skies with His glories will shine;
Wonderful day, my belovèd ones bringing;
Glorious Savior, this Jesus is mine!
Refrain
I noticed something after I wrote the first two verses. The refrain repeats and reviews the five themes of incarnation, crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and the second coming of Christ presented one at a time in each of the five verses. I guess the hymn was wonderfully complete and filled out after all. Oh well, I reviewed all the more God’s wonderful grace in the process.
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Poem, Random thoughts, Strength, Sustaining, tagged God Thoughts, Poems, Random thoughts, Strength, Sustaining on December 28, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Posted in General, God Thoughts, tagged God Thoughts on December 18, 2011| Leave a Comment »
One of my favorite Christmas songs is “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus”. Charles Wesley preaches the gospel clearly in this short song about the first advent of Christ:
Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.
Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a king,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.
I spent some time contemplating the next to last phrase: “By Thine all sufficient merit”.
We speak of Christ’s all sufficient grace though never frequently enough. It occurred to me that we would never have that grace if it were not for His all sufficient merit. In what respect is it all sufficient? His nature was divine from eternity past, the essence of perfection. His was most certainly an immaculate conception because he did not receive our father Adam’s sin nature but rather possessed His coequal nature with His Heavenly Father. As a man he fulfilled all the law, actually blameless though accused, tempted, and rejected. And you can’t improve on perfection, right? The Scripture teaches that He did, not in essence but in quantity: “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.” (Hebrews 2:10) and “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,…” (Hebrews 5:8-9). He added to all of His other perfections this merit also that He obeyed and suffered, purchasing us heaven. His merit is sufficient to raise sinners who trust Him to His glorious throne where He sits at the right hand of the Majesty on High. I am there positionally now and bodily one day to worship and thank Him for His all sufficient merit that bought His all sufficient grace for me.
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Poem, Sustaining, tagged God Thoughts, Poems, Sustaining on December 10, 2011| Leave a Comment »
It is probably a mistake to try to explain a poem but having read the second verse of this one I think my perspective while writing it might help to show why these thoughts follow from one another. The sister on one side of me prayed for our awareness of His glorious grace which Jesus shone upon us. The brother on the other side of me had just read a verse about our need to diligently pursue righteousness. The immediate thought in my heart was that I could do neither without the guidance and empowering of His Spirit and the need to “be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.” (Hebrews 4:11) Faith rest is simply saying and clinging to God because ‘on You I depend’.
Father of Light on You I depend Show me Your way my life to defend When I am restless and given to fear Give me Your peace and by me be near On me Your Son shone glorious grace Eternally comforting embrace Pursue righteousness fervently You’ve said Careful to enter Your rest, be led Given at times to much confusion Resisting the world’s fond delusion You give me truth and direction instead That I might know You, be Spirit-ledPosted in Cultural commentary, General, God Thoughts, Random thoughts, tagged Cultural commentary, God Thoughts, Random thoughts on November 4, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Does this sentence seem strange and yet all too common to anyone else besides me?
“Tip: Be the master of your own domain – make this blog creatorworship.me for just $24 per year.”
Thus goes the ad at the top of my Dashboard on this blog. I want to say, “No, please read the subtitle of the blog and comprehend that though I struggle with self-absorption like the rest of the planet, I am fighting the tendency by way of the influence of the Spirit within.”
Posted in General, God Thoughts, God's Word, Song, Sustaining, tagged God Thoughts, God's Word, Songs, Sustaining on August 6, 2011| Leave a Comment »
…or “Heavenly Thoughts” (or at least I desire so) or “Random Musings on the Life and the Afterlife” (which is more likely).
A number of different positive and negative details have brought me to thinking more than a few thoughts about heaven lately. Beauty in nature, sermon comments, Scriptures I’ve read, and various quotes I’ve come across have been among the positive inputs, while governments’ foolishness, review of my purposefulness, and personal back pain have been pointed reminders that this is not my home.
One of my least liked sayings is quite common to high school and college students: “These are the best years of your life.” When I hear some evidently less than content adult say this to a young person I want to explain to them how their words are an invitation to suicide for some segment of the young people they are saying it to. If it doesn’t get any better than this with the yelling parents, the sneering peers, the self-accusing mindset, and the “you can never be good enough” and “indulge yourself” advertising, why continue living? In some ways the saying is of course legitimate and Solomon agrees: “Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things. So, remove grief and anger from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting. Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, ‘I have no delight in them….The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.'” (Ecclesisastes 11:9-12:1,13-14) So he is advising that you put away vexation while you are young and healthy and enjoy life. But how do you do that with all of the accusing elements I mentioned before these verses? You acknowledge your Creator by enjoying life and following impulses according to what pleases Him and in consideration of the fact that you will be brought to account hearafter concerning all that you do.
If all there is, as the Naturalist and Post-modernist say, is this life then the quote my 3rd son found the other day is indeed apropos for all time: “The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; the pessimist fears this is true.” (Branch Cabell in “The Silver Stallion”). It is a bit humorous until you think about it a second time. If “it doesn’t get any better than this” and “If the dead are not raised [no heaven], let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” (I Corinthians 15:32) So the optimist and pessimist and Naturalist and Post-modernist are claiming there is no heaven but they don’t really believe it. Under stress they call out for God and wish for heaven. And if they were correct it would render false this claim, “He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) And I affirm the truth of the Word of God and say “let God be found true, though every man be found a liar…” (Romans 3:4). But if man cannot find the work of God in the beginning, creation, or the end, heaven or hell, why even discuss these things? Modern man agrees with this statement and refuses to discuss anything that is not either from empirical evidence or personal feeling. But this is the very point of the statement that man can not discover God’s works from around him or within him but from God’s revelation only: “‘Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.’ For to us God revealed them through the Spirit…But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised…For ‘who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” (I Corinthians 2: 9-10, 14,16) These things not having entered the heart of man include the glories of heaven. The Spirit of God and the mind of Christ are one and the same, the discernment to understand and affirm the Word of God, the Bible. So by God’s revealed Word we understand that, as the song says, “Heaven is a wonderful place; filled with glory and grace; I want to see my Savior’s face; for heaven is a wonderful place.” That is indeed what makes heaven such a draw to His saints, not gold streets or reunions with loved ones or even lack of pain, but seeing His face. As Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”. (Matthew 5:8)
Someone might say at this point, “All this talk of heaven when there is so much to do on earth” or “Some people are so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good.” But to be truly heavenly minded, that is aligned with the thoughts of God, will most certainly propel one to be of the most earthly good. “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (I John 3:2-3) Seeing God is our motivation for being pure in heart. The pure in heart will be at peace with God and at peace within themselves both of which cannot help but make them inclined toward pursuing peace in all their interactions with others. We cannot be pure of our own accord but “He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.” (I John 3:5-6) So we pursue holiness to please Him and to confirm and affirm our relationship with Him in anticipation of our sight of Him; this brings good to us and the world around us as we minister God’s goodness to the world. So denying the motivation and need for considering heaven not only lessens the holiness of the believer it lessens the value to all mankind. And Francis Bacon takes this up in another way, “They that deny a God destroy man’s nobility; for certainly man is of kin to the beasts in his body, and, if he be not kin to God by his spirit, he is a base and ignoble creature.” (“Essays”) Not only the help to man is denied him by not focusing on God (and by extension seeing His face one day), but also the very value of man as made in God’s image and one for whom Christ died to save, so that he becomes nothing more than “a base and ignoble creature.”
We are in fact commanded to focus upward. “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Whien Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1-4) The whole rest of chapter 3 and on to 4:6 Paul promotes consequences of this focus being holy living within oneself, toward others and toward God. When He is revealed; we also will be revealed with Him. As the hymn says,”When by the gift of His infinite grace, I am accorded in heaven a place, just to be there and to look on His face will through the ages be glory for me. O that will be glory for me, glory for me, glory for me. When by His grace I shall look on His face, that will be glory, be glory for me.”
In the description of heaven in Revelation 21 and 22 I again select verses especially focussed on His beauty and desirability to us. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.’ And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’…I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life…There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 21: 3-5,22-27; 22:3-5) Why is there no pain and crying? He makes all things new. Why is there no night and no need of lighting? He lights them. What will we do there? We will enjoy Him and serve Him. Whose your Daddy then? “They shall be His people.”
But we are not home, yet, and so we look forward as it says in the Jeremy Camp song,
“I know the journey seems so long
You feel you’re walking on your own
But there has never been a step
Where you’ve walked out all alone
Troubled soul don’t lose your heart
Cause joy and peace he brings
And the beauty that’s in store
Outweighs the hurt of life’s sting
But I hold on to this hope and the promise that He brings
That there will be a place with no more suffering
There will be a day with no more tears
No more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place
Will be no more, we’ll see Jesus face to face
But until that day, we’ll hold on to you always”
We can say in the most desperate of times with Job, “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God; whom I myself shall behold, and whom my eyes will see and not another.” (Job 19:25-27)
How should we live until we leave? “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14) “Let love of the brethern continue.” (Hebrews 13:1) “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.” (Revelation 22:17) “Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (I Thessalonians 4:17-18) ” I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (II Timothy4:7-8)
The God of heaven and His presence are worth dwelling on and living by in the light of His Word.
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Poem, Sustaining, tagged God Thoughts, Poems, Sustaining on June 9, 2011| 1 Comment »
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Outdoors, Photo, Sustaining, tagged God Thoughts, Outdoors, Photos, Sustaining on April 16, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Have you heard the buzz? A bald eagle pair and three freshly hatched eaglets 80 feet above the ground in Decorah, Iowa are being videoed for the whole world to see 24/7 by webcam, color by day and IR by night. It’s cute and a bit gross (raptor feeding habits are a bit coarse). But most of all it’s wonderful to see God’s creatures in a way we really never did before. Check it out at http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles Like all of God’s creatures bald eagles give glory to Him. God illustrates this in various ways in His Word. His wisdom and power in creating and sustaining His creatures is a common theme: “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars, stretching his wings toward the south? Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high? On the cliff he dwells and lodges, upon the rocky crag, an inaccessible place.” (Job 39:26-28) Even with our increased understanding of these creatures over what Job had we can neither make the eagle nor sustain him. But another theme common to Scripture is that of God’s care for His people in all times as similar to and above that of His care for His lesser creatures: “Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that hovers over its young, He spread His wings and caught them, He carried them on His pinions. The LORD alone guided him…” (Deuteronomy 32:11-12a).
Though not on so grand a scale, my students bought and installed a bluebird nesting box with camera and cord in conduit so that we can watch what is going on inside the nesting box. It is beginning to get interesting. We have all learned much about nesting, territorial, and brooding habits of the Eastern Bluebird. As a result of God’s power and wisdom in creating and sustaining the world and its creatures it all belongs to Him and depends on Him: “I know every bird of the mountains, and everything that moves in the field is Mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and all it contains.” (Psalm 50:11-12)
“The bird also has found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God. How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising you.” Psalm 84:3-4 The birds find and reside where they are supposed to be and so should we- in God’s presence, praising Him who is worthy by reason of His greatness and goodness as Creator, Sustainer, Lord, King, Savior, and all that is superlative and lifted up.
(The middle of this video is a bit tedious but as the popular saying now goes, “wait for it, wait for it.”)
Posted in General, God Thoughts, Poem, tagged God Thoughts, Poems on March 19, 2011| 4 Comments »
Jesus came to save the whole man so it should seem obvious that we should present Jesus as the Savior of the whole man and appeal to the whole man, body, mind, and spirit. The inside is blackened by the sin nature and sin; the person was created in the image of God. May His Spirit reach more people through us and we pursue the whole man.
Them to Jesus
Love them to Jesus Smile and be kind Pray for them often Peace they may find Point them to Jesus Speak to their mind Challenge them to think Wisdom to find Call them to Jesus Problems unwind Teach them the Scripture Answers to find Take them to Jesus From lonely grind Love from the Savior Relationship findPosted in God Thoughts, Poem, Sustaining, tagged God Thoughts, Poems, Sustaining on February 3, 2011| 4 Comments »
“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” (James 1:2-3)
Reckon, consider, count! It is so, therefore, calculate assuming it is so. It will cause a conversion in your heart through testing and an endurance in your walk before God.
When the unexpected jolts your day Every interaction your nerves fray Responsibility overwhelms Look up and prayWhen fears of failure on you descend Every impulse is yourself defend Anxiety all thoughts penetrate On God depend
When short cuts and schemes call out and say Everyone does it come on and play Temptation so relentlessly flirts Christ is the way
When hard to hear for accusers’ din Every skeptic’s word makes your head spin Satan with ferocity attacks The Lord will win
When joy breaks out in conflict and mess Every problem brings peace nonetheless Difficulty turns to means of good Jesus did bless
Posted in God Thoughts, Poem, Sustaining, tagged God Thoughts, Poems, Sustaining on January 25, 2011| 2 Comments »
I just had the following encouraging thoughts a few moments ago when reading and commenting on a friend’s quotation of a poem (http://pennedpebbles.wordpress.com/ “Admire Whom?” (poem: CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED translated by Joseph Morris ))
I had a day of victory after a day of defeat yesterday, and why? Because of nothing other than focus and clinging. And that is what this poem is about- the way of life, the way of witness, the way of victory, the way of death, and the way of eternity- focus on Him and clinging to His enabling power.
When I cannot see Him plainArt, health, civilizations, photography, nature, books, recipes, etc.
"But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart…" Matthew 15:18
Pointing to the One who made, saved, and sustains
CreatorWorship 
America Getting
Posted in Cultural commentary, General, God Thoughts, Work of Jesus, tagged Cultural commentary, God Thoughts, work of christ on December 8, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Americans are getting both what they want and what they deserve. Unless there is a widespread and deep repentance whereby we acknowledge God and obey His commands the United States will continue to slide toward immorality, infamy, impotence, and instability. The immorality is obvious in all that we vote to support and ignore and participate in that is clearly contrary to the Word of God. Infamy comes in the form of hatred from more and more countries of the world, self-hatred over increased oppression of rights and helpless people, and a growing history of blasphemy toward God. We think we are surely not impotent since we still have a strong military, but small troops of bandits are frustrating our every move worldwide, we can’t solve economic problems, natural catastrophe problems are on the increase threatening our personal security and economic viability, and the world will soon ditch our currency since we are so far in debt we can most likely never pay it off. Our instability shows in the aforementioned problems but really manifests itself in our increased suicide rates and divorce rates, debt, disregard of human life inside and outside the womb, educational lethargy, and lawlessness. It occurs to me that slide may not be the correct term for what is happening. Sliding assumes some small degree of frictional force opposing the direction of motion. We seem instead to be free-falling toward a morally corrupt, hating, powerless, unsustainable existence and loving the trip. There are brakes that can be applied but they are not in “how to”, Herculean efforts or renewed resolve. The only opposing force that could overcome this fall and the sudden stop at the bottom is found in God’s grace gained by agreeing with God we are rebelling against Him and receiving the payment Jesus made for those sins when He died on the cross.
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