Men and women who hear the Gospel regularly, I often fear much for you. I fear lest you become so familiar with the sounds of its doctrines, that insensibly you become dead to its power. I fear lest your religion should sink down into a little vague talk about your own weakness and corruption, and a few sentimental expressions about Christ, while real practical fighting on Christ’s side is altogether neglected. Oh, beware of this state of mind! Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only. No victory—no crown! Fight and overcome!
~ J.C. Ryle
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Friday, November 4, 2011
IndoctriNation Trailer
I just wanted to preface why I shared this trailer:
These days are perilous days. I think we can all agree with the words of Judges 21:25, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” We are now living in a Christ-hating, God-denying, self-centered world where even the idea of “intelligent design” is being viciously attacked. Something must be done. Christians everywhere must take a stand for what honours Jesus Christ in everything. Christ must have preeminence!
Our family watched this documentary, “IndoctriNation” last night. We were deeply moved and urged to examine, with wisdom and humility, the history of the modern public educational system along with its affect upon society and its ultimate agenda for our children, the next generation. This is not an attack on any parent, child, student, or teacher. Pride attacks people; humility attacks problems. We must all take a hard, humble, and honest look at what is going on around us. We must seek to honour Christ, even if it means taking radical action. We must not judge or criticise others, but with gentleness and love test all things that Jesus Christ, our Savior who was crushed for our sins, may receive the glory, power, honor, dominion, and authority that He deserves in EVERY area of our lives!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
God's Presence in Our Suffering...
"The God on whom we rely knows what suffering is all about-
Not merely in the way that God knows everything, but by experience."
D.A. Carson
"Years ago, I was with a pastor who told me of a man in his church who one day was cleaning his gun with his son. The unthinkable happened - the gun went off, and the little boy was accidentally killed.
This pastor prayed in desperation as he sat with the distraught father, for he was at a loss to know any comfort he could bring. Then he sensed the Lord saying this to him:
'Tell him I understand. Tell him I killed My Son - except it wasn't an accident.'
Our heavenly Father always understands our suffering, for at Calvary, He knew suffering that infinitely exceeds anything we'll ever encounter...Our suffering does not truly compare to His.
Occasionally people speak of their 'Gethsemane experience.' But you and I will never go through anything like what Jesus did at Gethsemane, and we're respectful and wise never to refer to our experiences in those terms. You and I will never be given this cup to drink.
Moreover, you and I have never been, and will never be, abandoned by God. I know sometimes it feels that He's abandoned us; I've felt that way. But those are deceptive feelings, because the One who drank this cup says to you and me, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' We may occasionally feel alone, but we never truly are alone."
- C.J. Mahaney, "Living the Cross-Centered Life"
"We little know what we owe to our Saviour's prayers. When we reach the hilltops of heaven, and look back upon all the way whereby the Lord our God hath led us, how we shall praise Him who, before the eternal throne, undid the mischief which Satan was doing upon earth. How we shall thank Him because He never held His peace, but day and night pointed to the wounds upon His hands, and carried our names upon His breastplate!"
- C.H. Spurgeon
"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:21
Not merely in the way that God knows everything, but by experience."
D.A. Carson
"Years ago, I was with a pastor who told me of a man in his church who one day was cleaning his gun with his son. The unthinkable happened - the gun went off, and the little boy was accidentally killed.
This pastor prayed in desperation as he sat with the distraught father, for he was at a loss to know any comfort he could bring. Then he sensed the Lord saying this to him:
'Tell him I understand. Tell him I killed My Son - except it wasn't an accident.'
Our heavenly Father always understands our suffering, for at Calvary, He knew suffering that infinitely exceeds anything we'll ever encounter...Our suffering does not truly compare to His.
Occasionally people speak of their 'Gethsemane experience.' But you and I will never go through anything like what Jesus did at Gethsemane, and we're respectful and wise never to refer to our experiences in those terms. You and I will never be given this cup to drink.
Moreover, you and I have never been, and will never be, abandoned by God. I know sometimes it feels that He's abandoned us; I've felt that way. But those are deceptive feelings, because the One who drank this cup says to you and me, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' We may occasionally feel alone, but we never truly are alone."
- C.J. Mahaney, "Living the Cross-Centered Life"
"We little know what we owe to our Saviour's prayers. When we reach the hilltops of heaven, and look back upon all the way whereby the Lord our God hath led us, how we shall praise Him who, before the eternal throne, undid the mischief which Satan was doing upon earth. How we shall thank Him because He never held His peace, but day and night pointed to the wounds upon His hands, and carried our names upon His breastplate!"
- C.H. Spurgeon
"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:21
Monday, September 12, 2011
My Heart's Cry...
I need to read this every morning. Every day, throughout the day, I need to be constantly reminded of my desperate need of God's grace and mercy. I am unworthy, but He is worthy!
"O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, "Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away." Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long." A. W. Tozer
"But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy , by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy statement." Titus 3:4-8a
"O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, "Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away." Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long." A. W. Tozer
"But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy , by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy statement." Titus 3:4-8a
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Titus 3:3-8a
"For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
This is a trustworthy statement..."
What more can I say? He didn't spare His own Son but gave Him up willingly for us! Don't you just want to know Him more and more? Don't you just want to give up the petty, futile, and fading trinkets of this world for the Eternal Joy and Treasure whose name is Jesus Christ? Is any sin worth holding on to rather than relinquishing it to be embraced by the nail-scarred hands that fashioned your very being? Ask the Lord to show you what you are loving more than Him, and ask Him for the grace and strength to let it go.
"...let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
Hebrews 12:1-2
.
This is a trustworthy statement..."
What more can I say? He didn't spare His own Son but gave Him up willingly for us! Don't you just want to know Him more and more? Don't you just want to give up the petty, futile, and fading trinkets of this world for the Eternal Joy and Treasure whose name is Jesus Christ? Is any sin worth holding on to rather than relinquishing it to be embraced by the nail-scarred hands that fashioned your very being? Ask the Lord to show you what you are loving more than Him, and ask Him for the grace and strength to let it go.
"...let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
Hebrews 12:1-2
.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Fear God and Live
"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell."
Matthew 10:28
"This passage is terrifying to one with a tender conscience.
He thinks to himself, “I do fear man. . . I do fear what they would do to me and often avoid proclaiming the gospel. I must not fear God enough. Perhaps I do not belong to God.”
Dear friend, if you fear God because of your guilt, turn from gazing at your sin and look to your Savior. Praise God that you know you are guilty! Only when your guilt is realized will Jesus taste sweet to you.
Turn and receive mercy from Jesus who paid for all your sins on the cross. Cast all your sin upon him, including your denial of Christ. Jesus died for sins such as those, just as he did Peter’s. Look at how many times Peter denied Christ! And yet, because of the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, he eventually went to his death proclaiming the grace of God. It is God who works in you to will and to do for his good pleasure — He created those works in advance for you to walk in them. Trust him — let his righteousness be yours by faith.
When you receive this grace by faith, you will gladly lose your life. . . and then find it in abundance. The Holy Spirit will embolden you as you grow in grace and it won’t be fake."
Mark Priestap, Fighter Verses Blog
Matthew 10:28
"This passage is terrifying to one with a tender conscience.
He thinks to himself, “I do fear man. . . I do fear what they would do to me and often avoid proclaiming the gospel. I must not fear God enough. Perhaps I do not belong to God.”
Dear friend, if you fear God because of your guilt, turn from gazing at your sin and look to your Savior. Praise God that you know you are guilty! Only when your guilt is realized will Jesus taste sweet to you.
Turn and receive mercy from Jesus who paid for all your sins on the cross. Cast all your sin upon him, including your denial of Christ. Jesus died for sins such as those, just as he did Peter’s. Look at how many times Peter denied Christ! And yet, because of the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, he eventually went to his death proclaiming the grace of God. It is God who works in you to will and to do for his good pleasure — He created those works in advance for you to walk in them. Trust him — let his righteousness be yours by faith.
When you receive this grace by faith, you will gladly lose your life. . . and then find it in abundance. The Holy Spirit will embolden you as you grow in grace and it won’t be fake."
Mark Priestap, Fighter Verses Blog
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Resolved 2011 Quotes
Some great things I've learned so far:
"Appreciation does not equal application. Liking does not equal living. Jesus must not be a part of our lives but the Point of our lives." - Rick Holland
"We must have confidence in and submission to what the Word of God teaches." - John MacArthur
"O Christian, God has a hold of you! He is not going to let you go! He is quite able!" -C.J. Mahaney (Jude 24-25)
"It is God's will that you trust and obey the Scripture. The Word is the hammer that shatters the rock. We must live in it and obey it. We must delight in it. Whatever the Scripture says to do we must do it. Whatever it says not to do, we must not do it." - Al Mohler
"Appreciation does not equal application. Liking does not equal living. Jesus must not be a part of our lives but the Point of our lives." - Rick Holland
"We must have confidence in and submission to what the Word of God teaches." - John MacArthur
"O Christian, God has a hold of you! He is not going to let you go! He is quite able!" -C.J. Mahaney (Jude 24-25)
"It is God's will that you trust and obey the Scripture. The Word is the hammer that shatters the rock. We must live in it and obey it. We must delight in it. Whatever the Scripture says to do we must do it. Whatever it says not to do, we must not do it." - Al Mohler
Monday, May 30, 2011
To Live is Christ!
It is "my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."
- Philippians 1:20-21
"O Lord, You have searched me and known me." - Psalm 139:1
"O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, "Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away." Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long." A. W. Tozer
This prayer by A.W. Tozer has been the cry of my heart for the past two years. I have tasted the goodness of God and have been satisfied, and yet God knew that there was a deep root of pride clinging in my heart that must be removed. I wanted it removed (and still do), but I didn't realize how painful the road would be.
It is usually after times of great spiritual triumph that we are directed by our Guide into a wilderness. Our Lord Jesus was. After His magnificent baptism in which "the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, (saying) 'You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased,'" (Luke 3:21-22) Jesus was then "led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil." (Luke 4:1-2)
A great spiritual triumph for me reached a climax at the time of my high school graduation. I was really feeling spiritually strong at the time, yet the Lord knew that pride, jealousy, and anger had a strong foothold in my heart. Sometime after the summer of my grad, I entered a wilderness of wrestling with what I truly believed; a wilderness that would last for over a year and a half. God had some pruning to do!
In the summer of 2009 I began this blog. I was very strong and deliberate in my posts that Christians must give their all for Christ. They must be willing to die for Him. They must be unashamed of the Gospel. All this is true, but most of it was not true of me. I was not practicing what I was preaching, and God was going to get my attention.
Although I don't remember the exact details, I do know that I began waking up every morning with the immediate thoughts "God does not exist. God is not real." I could not fathom where these thoughts were coming from, and I couldn't get rid of them. I began to pray, "Lord, help me to see you! Help me to feel Your presence; know You're there. Lord, 'restore to me the joy of Your salvation.'" Yet, there was nothing.
Or so I thought. God was still there, and He had a very important lesson for me.
"Jesus, can you hear me? Please hear me!" I used to cry silently at night. "Sarah, you must obey Me," He would gently whisper back to my soul. "You must relinquish your fear and pride. You must tell others of what I have done for you." "But Lord, I don't feel like I am close to You. I don't feel like You are near or real," I would say. "Make Yourself real to me, again."
- Psalm 40:1-3
"We don't live by what we feel; we live by what is real!" - C.J. Mahaney
Well, I wasn't always as patient as I should have been, but O was Jesus Christ patient with me! As I struggled with "feelings", God brought me strength through these things:
"I've got something to say
It's been one of those days
When I'm finding it hard to believe in You
I've got something to say
I've forgotten how to pray
And I'm finding it hard to believe the truth
I've got something to say
Right now it feels like You are slipping away
Like I am drowning in a crisis of faith
Like I'm alone
I've got something to say
What was black and white is grey
And I'm finding it hard to believe in You
And faith might mean there won't be answers
And hope might mean enduring through the night
But help me not forget in darkness
The things that I believed in light" (Starfield)
God used this song to really pierce my heart. I began to realize that though I may feel like God is not real or not really there, I must have faith. I must have hope. I must obey. Even in the dark times, I must remember "the things that I believed in light."
"Since I am afflicted and needy, let the Lord be mindful of me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God."
- Psalm 40:17
God did not delay. With His everlasting arms He lifted me up, and He did this through Psalm 42.
"As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all day long,
'Where is your God?'
These things I remember and I pour out my soul within me...
"Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence.
O my God, my soul is in despair within me; therefore I remember You...
"Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;
All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.
The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime;
And His song will be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life.
I will say to God my rock, 'Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?'
As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me, while they say to me all day long,
'Where is your God?'
"Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God."
Though my heart was in despair and it seemed that "all (His) breakers and (His) waves" were rolling over me, and when it seemed that God had forgotten about me, and my enemies continued to taunt me saying, "Where is your God?", Christ allowed me to hope. As He gave me the strength to obey Him, He restored to me the joy of my salvation!
"Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad."
-Psalm 105:3
Two things I have learned from this experience and hope you will take to heart:
1. "We don't live by what we feel; we live by what is real!" &
2. We must obey Christ, no matter the circumstances or how we feel.
Though I still am proud, still fear man, still have doubts, still am tempted to live by what I feel and not by what is real, and still sin, I now know that I must stop listening to myself! I must talk to myself, telling myself to "hope in God!" I must remain steadfast upon the Lord.
"It is a trustworthy statement:
For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;
If we endure, we will also reign with Him;
If we deny Him, He also will deny us;
If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself."
- 2 Timothy 2:11-13
So, dear friend, take courage! Our God is a strong fortress around us. He is here, and He is not silent.
- Philippians 1:20-21
"O Lord, You have searched me and known me." - Psalm 139:1
"O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, "Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away." Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long." A. W. Tozer
This prayer by A.W. Tozer has been the cry of my heart for the past two years. I have tasted the goodness of God and have been satisfied, and yet God knew that there was a deep root of pride clinging in my heart that must be removed. I wanted it removed (and still do), but I didn't realize how painful the road would be.
It is usually after times of great spiritual triumph that we are directed by our Guide into a wilderness. Our Lord Jesus was. After His magnificent baptism in which "the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, (saying) 'You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased,'" (Luke 3:21-22) Jesus was then "led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil." (Luke 4:1-2)
A great spiritual triumph for me reached a climax at the time of my high school graduation. I was really feeling spiritually strong at the time, yet the Lord knew that pride, jealousy, and anger had a strong foothold in my heart. Sometime after the summer of my grad, I entered a wilderness of wrestling with what I truly believed; a wilderness that would last for over a year and a half. God had some pruning to do!
In the summer of 2009 I began this blog. I was very strong and deliberate in my posts that Christians must give their all for Christ. They must be willing to die for Him. They must be unashamed of the Gospel. All this is true, but most of it was not true of me. I was not practicing what I was preaching, and God was going to get my attention.
Although I don't remember the exact details, I do know that I began waking up every morning with the immediate thoughts "God does not exist. God is not real." I could not fathom where these thoughts were coming from, and I couldn't get rid of them. I began to pray, "Lord, help me to see you! Help me to feel Your presence; know You're there. Lord, 'restore to me the joy of Your salvation.'" Yet, there was nothing.
Or so I thought. God was still there, and He had a very important lesson for me.
"Jesus, can you hear me? Please hear me!" I used to cry silently at night. "Sarah, you must obey Me," He would gently whisper back to my soul. "You must relinquish your fear and pride. You must tell others of what I have done for you." "But Lord, I don't feel like I am close to You. I don't feel like You are near or real," I would say. "Make Yourself real to me, again."
"I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord."
- Psalm 40:1-3
"We don't live by what we feel; we live by what is real!" - C.J. Mahaney
Well, I wasn't always as patient as I should have been, but O was Jesus Christ patient with me! As I struggled with "feelings", God brought me strength through these things:
"I've got something to say
It's been one of those days
When I'm finding it hard to believe in You
I've got something to say
I've forgotten how to pray
And I'm finding it hard to believe the truth
I've got something to say
Right now it feels like You are slipping away
Like I am drowning in a crisis of faith
Like I'm alone
I've got something to say
What was black and white is grey
And I'm finding it hard to believe in You
And faith might mean there won't be answers
And hope might mean enduring through the night
But help me not forget in darkness
The things that I believed in light" (Starfield)
God used this song to really pierce my heart. I began to realize that though I may feel like God is not real or not really there, I must have faith. I must have hope. I must obey. Even in the dark times, I must remember "the things that I believed in light."
"Since I am afflicted and needy, let the Lord be mindful of me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God."
- Psalm 40:17
God did not delay. With His everlasting arms He lifted me up, and He did this through Psalm 42.
"As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all day long,
'Where is your God?'
These things I remember and I pour out my soul within me...
"Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence.
O my God, my soul is in despair within me; therefore I remember You...
"Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;
All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.
The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime;
And His song will be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life.
I will say to God my rock, 'Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?'
As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me, while they say to me all day long,
'Where is your God?'
"Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God."
Though my heart was in despair and it seemed that "all (His) breakers and (His) waves" were rolling over me, and when it seemed that God had forgotten about me, and my enemies continued to taunt me saying, "Where is your God?", Christ allowed me to hope. As He gave me the strength to obey Him, He restored to me the joy of my salvation!
"Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad."
-Psalm 105:3
Two things I have learned from this experience and hope you will take to heart:
1. "We don't live by what we feel; we live by what is real!" &
2. We must obey Christ, no matter the circumstances or how we feel.
Though I still am proud, still fear man, still have doubts, still am tempted to live by what I feel and not by what is real, and still sin, I now know that I must stop listening to myself! I must talk to myself, telling myself to "hope in God!" I must remain steadfast upon the Lord.
"It is a trustworthy statement:
For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;
If we endure, we will also reign with Him;
If we deny Him, He also will deny us;
If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself."
- 2 Timothy 2:11-13
So, dear friend, take courage! Our God is a strong fortress around us. He is here, and He is not silent.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Desperate for God...
"O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, "Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away." Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long." A. W. Tozer
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Need of Jesus from The Valley of Vision
Lord Jesus,
I am blind, be thou my light,
ignorant, be thou my wisdom ,
self-willed, be thou my mind.
Open my ear to grasp quickly thy Spirit's voice,
and delightfully run after his beckoning hand;
Melt my conscience that no hardness remain,
make it alive to evil's slightest touch;
When Satan approaches may I flee to thy wounds,
and there cease to tremble at all alarms.
Be my good shepard to lead me into the green pastures of thy Word, and cause me to lie down beside the rivers of its comforts.
Fill me with peace, that no disquieting worldly gales
may ruffle the calm surfaces of my soul.
Thy cross was upraised to be my refuge,
Thy blood streamed forth to wash me clean,
Thy death occurred to give me a surety,
Thy name is my property to save me,
By thee all heaven is poured into my heart,
but it is too narrow to comprehend thy love.
I was a stranger, an outcast, a slave, a rebel,
but they cross has brought me near,
has softened my heart,
has made me thy Fathers' child,
has admitted me to thy family,
has made me joint-heir with thyself.
O that I may love thee as thou lovest me,
that I may walk worthy of thee, my Lord,
that I may reflect the image of heaven's first-born.
May I always see thy beauty with the clear eye of faith, and feel the power of thy Spirit in my heart,
for unless he move mightily in me
no inward fire will be kindled
I am blind, be thou my light,
ignorant, be thou my wisdom ,
self-willed, be thou my mind.
Open my ear to grasp quickly thy Spirit's voice,
and delightfully run after his beckoning hand;
Melt my conscience that no hardness remain,
make it alive to evil's slightest touch;
When Satan approaches may I flee to thy wounds,
and there cease to tremble at all alarms.
Be my good shepard to lead me into the green pastures of thy Word, and cause me to lie down beside the rivers of its comforts.
Fill me with peace, that no disquieting worldly gales
may ruffle the calm surfaces of my soul.
Thy cross was upraised to be my refuge,
Thy blood streamed forth to wash me clean,
Thy death occurred to give me a surety,
Thy name is my property to save me,
By thee all heaven is poured into my heart,
but it is too narrow to comprehend thy love.
I was a stranger, an outcast, a slave, a rebel,
but they cross has brought me near,
has softened my heart,
has made me thy Fathers' child,
has admitted me to thy family,
has made me joint-heir with thyself.
O that I may love thee as thou lovest me,
that I may walk worthy of thee, my Lord,
that I may reflect the image of heaven's first-born.
May I always see thy beauty with the clear eye of faith, and feel the power of thy Spirit in my heart,
for unless he move mightily in me
no inward fire will be kindled
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Forgiving because Forgiven
"O what hope beams on Calvary for a sinful world! Mountains of sin vanish before His intercession." - F.W. Krummacher, The Suffering Savior
"The cross of Christ not only provides pardon for our offenses against a holy God, but it also calls us to extend forgiveness to those who have sinned against us. To be crucified with Christ requires that we let our offenders go, that we pray for their pardon. For no one can say as we fix our eyes on Jesus . . . At times when this is so incredibly hard to forgive, no one can say, “I have been more greatly wronged than Christ was; therefore, I can hang on to this unforgiveness.” We can let it go, and not only can we, but we must let it go because He prayed for our pardon.
I just want to remind us that there is no one—no one—no one outside the reach of His love and grace and mercy. Not you, regardless of what sins you may have committed, and not anyone who has wronged you, regardless of how great their sins against you may be. No one—no one—has sinned so greatly that He does not want them to be forgiven. And thank God, thank Jesus—it’s His cross that makes that pardon possible. Amen? Amen." - Nancy Leigh DeMoss
"The cross of Christ not only provides pardon for our offenses against a holy God, but it also calls us to extend forgiveness to those who have sinned against us. To be crucified with Christ requires that we let our offenders go, that we pray for their pardon. For no one can say as we fix our eyes on Jesus . . . At times when this is so incredibly hard to forgive, no one can say, “I have been more greatly wronged than Christ was; therefore, I can hang on to this unforgiveness.” We can let it go, and not only can we, but we must let it go because He prayed for our pardon.
I just want to remind us that there is no one—no one—no one outside the reach of His love and grace and mercy. Not you, regardless of what sins you may have committed, and not anyone who has wronged you, regardless of how great their sins against you may be. No one—no one—has sinned so greatly that He does not want them to be forgiven. And thank God, thank Jesus—it’s His cross that makes that pardon possible. Amen? Amen." - Nancy Leigh DeMoss
Monday, April 11, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Kimyal Tribe Receives the Bible in Their Own Tongue
O precious, precious Jesus! May Thy Word remain ever precious to our hearts!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
The Heart God Revives by Nancy Leigh DeMoss
Proud people focus on the failures of others.
Broken people are overwhelmed with a sense of their own spiritual need.
Proud people have a critical, fault-finding spirit; they look at everyone else’s faults with a microscope but their own with a telescope.
Broken people are compassionate; they can forgive much because they know how much they have been forgiven.
Proud people are self-righteous; they look down on others.
Broken people esteem all others better than themselves.
Proud people have an independent, self-sufficient spirit.
Broken people have a dependent spirit; they recognize their need for others.
Proud people have to prove that they are right.
Broken people are willing to yield the right to be right.
Proud people claim rights; they have a demanding spirit.
Broken people yield their rights; they have a meek spirit.
Proud people are self-protective of their time, their rights, and their reputation.
Broken people are self-denying.
Proud people desire to be served.
Broken people are motivated to serve others.
Proud people desire to be a success.
Broken people are motivated to be faithful and to make others a success.
Proud people desire self-advancement.
Broken people desire to promote others.
Proud people have a drive to be recognized and appreciated.
Broken people have a sense of their own unworthiness; they are thrilled that God would use them at all.
Proud people are wounded when others are promoted and they are overlooked.
Broken people are eager for others to get the credit; they rejoice when others are lifted up.
Proud people have a subconscious feeling, “This ministry/church is privileged to have me and my gifts”; they think of what they can do for God.
Broken people’s heart attitude is, “I don’t deserve to have a part in any ministry”; they know that they have nothing to offer God except the life of Jesus flowing through their broken lives.
Proud people feel confident in how much they know.
Broken people are humbled by how very much they have to learn.
Proud people are self-conscious.
Broken people are not concerned with self at all.
Proud people keep others at arms’ length.
Broken people are willing to risk getting close to others and to take risks of loving intimately.
Proud people are quick to blame others.
Broken people accept personal responsibility and can see where they are wrong in a situation.
Proud people are unapproachable or defensive when criticized.
Broken people receive criticism with a humble, open spirit.
Proud people are concerned with being respectable, with what others think; they work to protect their own image and reputation.
Broken people are concerned with being real; what matters to them is not what others think but what God knows; they are willing to die to their own reputation.
Proud people find it difficult to share their spiritual need with others.
Broken people are willing to be open and transparent with others as God directs.
Proud people want to be sure that no one finds out when they have sinned; their instinct is to cover up.
Broken people, once broken, don’t care who knows or who finds out; they are willing to be exposed because they have nothing to lose.
Proud people have a hard time saying, “I was wrong; will you please forgive me?”
Broken people are quick to admit failure and to seek forgiveness when necessary.
Proud people tend to deal in generalities when confessing sin.
Broken people are able to acknowledge specifics when confessing their sin.
Proud people are concerned about the consequences of their sin.
Broken people are grieved over the cause, the root of their sin.
Proud people are remorseful over their sin, sorry that they got found out or caught.
Broken people are truly, genuinely repentant over their sin, evidenced in the fact that they forsake that sin.
Proud people wait for the other to come and ask forgiveness when there is a misunderstanding or conflict in a relationship.
Broken people take the initiative to be reconciled when there is misunderstanding or conflict in relationships; they race to the cross; they see if they can get there first, no matter how wrong the other may have been.
Proud people compare themselves with others and feel worthy of honor.
Broken people compare themselves to the holiness of God and feel a desperate need for His mercy.
Proud people are blind to their true heart condition.
Broken people walk in the light.
Proud people don’t think they have anything to repent of.
Broken people realize they have need of a continual heart attitude of repentance.
Proud people don’t think they need revival, but they are sure that everyone else does.
Broken people continually sense their need for a fresh encounter with God and for a fresh filling of His Holy Spirit.
© Revive Our Hearts. Used with permission. www.TrueWoman.com
Broken people are overwhelmed with a sense of their own spiritual need.
Proud people have a critical, fault-finding spirit; they look at everyone else’s faults with a microscope but their own with a telescope.
Broken people are compassionate; they can forgive much because they know how much they have been forgiven.
Proud people are self-righteous; they look down on others.
Broken people esteem all others better than themselves.
Proud people have an independent, self-sufficient spirit.
Broken people have a dependent spirit; they recognize their need for others.
Proud people have to prove that they are right.
Broken people are willing to yield the right to be right.
Proud people claim rights; they have a demanding spirit.
Broken people yield their rights; they have a meek spirit.
Proud people are self-protective of their time, their rights, and their reputation.
Broken people are self-denying.
Proud people desire to be served.
Broken people are motivated to serve others.
Proud people desire to be a success.
Broken people are motivated to be faithful and to make others a success.
Proud people desire self-advancement.
Broken people desire to promote others.
Proud people have a drive to be recognized and appreciated.
Broken people have a sense of their own unworthiness; they are thrilled that God would use them at all.
Proud people are wounded when others are promoted and they are overlooked.
Broken people are eager for others to get the credit; they rejoice when others are lifted up.
Proud people have a subconscious feeling, “This ministry/church is privileged to have me and my gifts”; they think of what they can do for God.
Broken people’s heart attitude is, “I don’t deserve to have a part in any ministry”; they know that they have nothing to offer God except the life of Jesus flowing through their broken lives.
Proud people feel confident in how much they know.
Broken people are humbled by how very much they have to learn.
Proud people are self-conscious.
Broken people are not concerned with self at all.
Proud people keep others at arms’ length.
Broken people are willing to risk getting close to others and to take risks of loving intimately.
Proud people are quick to blame others.
Broken people accept personal responsibility and can see where they are wrong in a situation.
Proud people are unapproachable or defensive when criticized.
Broken people receive criticism with a humble, open spirit.
Proud people are concerned with being respectable, with what others think; they work to protect their own image and reputation.
Broken people are concerned with being real; what matters to them is not what others think but what God knows; they are willing to die to their own reputation.
Proud people find it difficult to share their spiritual need with others.
Broken people are willing to be open and transparent with others as God directs.
Proud people want to be sure that no one finds out when they have sinned; their instinct is to cover up.
Broken people, once broken, don’t care who knows or who finds out; they are willing to be exposed because they have nothing to lose.
Proud people have a hard time saying, “I was wrong; will you please forgive me?”
Broken people are quick to admit failure and to seek forgiveness when necessary.
Proud people tend to deal in generalities when confessing sin.
Broken people are able to acknowledge specifics when confessing their sin.
Proud people are concerned about the consequences of their sin.
Broken people are grieved over the cause, the root of their sin.
Proud people are remorseful over their sin, sorry that they got found out or caught.
Broken people are truly, genuinely repentant over their sin, evidenced in the fact that they forsake that sin.
Proud people wait for the other to come and ask forgiveness when there is a misunderstanding or conflict in a relationship.
Broken people take the initiative to be reconciled when there is misunderstanding or conflict in relationships; they race to the cross; they see if they can get there first, no matter how wrong the other may have been.
Proud people compare themselves with others and feel worthy of honor.
Broken people compare themselves to the holiness of God and feel a desperate need for His mercy.
Proud people are blind to their true heart condition.
Broken people walk in the light.
Proud people don’t think they have anything to repent of.
Broken people realize they have need of a continual heart attitude of repentance.
Proud people don’t think they need revival, but they are sure that everyone else does.
Broken people continually sense their need for a fresh encounter with God and for a fresh filling of His Holy Spirit.
© Revive Our Hearts. Used with permission. www.TrueWoman.com
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Increasing in the Knowledge of God...
"The Child (Jesus) continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him...And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." Luke 2:40 & 52
As we reflect upon the humility of Christ becoming man, a sinless man, and humbling Himself, I discover encouragement for my own walk with God. Colossians 1:10 says we are to "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God..." Just as Jesus "increased in wisdom" though He was God Himself, we, too, must increase in our knowledge of God. But we are not alone in this. We have the promise of Colossians 1:11-14. We are "strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."
Be encouraged! We are "strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might", being redeemed by His precious blood!
As we reflect upon the humility of Christ becoming man, a sinless man, and humbling Himself, I discover encouragement for my own walk with God. Colossians 1:10 says we are to "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God..." Just as Jesus "increased in wisdom" though He was God Himself, we, too, must increase in our knowledge of God. But we are not alone in this. We have the promise of Colossians 1:11-14. We are "strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."
Be encouraged! We are "strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might", being redeemed by His precious blood!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Jesus Died for Me
My God when I approach Your throne
And all Your glory see
This is my stay and this alone
That Jesus died for me
How can a soul condemned to die
Escape your just decree?
A vile unworthy wretch am I
But Jesus died for me
What glorious love, redeeming love
That bore my shame on Calvary
I will forever sing His praise
Because I owe Him everything
Weighed down with sin’s oppressive chain
Oh how can I get free?
No peace can all my efforts gain
But Jesus died for me
One day I’ll look upon Your face
And this will be my plea
“Save me by Your almighty grace
For Jesus died for me”
Original lyrics by William Hiley Bathburst
Additional lyrics by Steve and Vikki Cook
Copyright 2006 Before the Throne Music.
And all Your glory see
This is my stay and this alone
That Jesus died for me
How can a soul condemned to die
Escape your just decree?
A vile unworthy wretch am I
But Jesus died for me
What glorious love, redeeming love
That bore my shame on Calvary
I will forever sing His praise
Because I owe Him everything
Weighed down with sin’s oppressive chain
Oh how can I get free?
No peace can all my efforts gain
But Jesus died for me
One day I’ll look upon Your face
And this will be my plea
“Save me by Your almighty grace
For Jesus died for me”
Original lyrics by William Hiley Bathburst
Additional lyrics by Steve and Vikki Cook
Copyright 2006 Before the Throne Music.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Beware...
“False religion is the most heinous of all sins because it is a violation of the great commandment to love the Lord your God, the true One, with all your heart soul mind and strength. False religion that borrows His name, that creates a false god, but borrows the name of Christ, but creates a false Christ is the worst kind of blasphemy...I think preachers like this who preach this stuff hate the true God! I really believe that. I believe they hate the true God, and they are afraid to death that somebody might find out who He really is. That He is the God of absolute sovereignty, that He is the God of absolute knowledge, He is the God of perfect wisdom, He is the God of perfect holiness, He is in perfect control of everything, absolutely sovereign over everything. That kind of God terrifies these kinds of people. And He is a God who is concerned about fulfilling things on a spiritual level whether you ever receive anything on a temporal level. I think they have hatred for the true God. They hide the true God from the eyes of their followers, and they put in His place an idol of their own making with the same God.” – John MacArthur
"And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." - 2 Corinthians 4:3-4
"And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." - 2 Corinthians 4:3-4
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Jesus!
"Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood - and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father - to Him be glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
"Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
" 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, ' says the Lord God, 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.'"
~ Revelation 1:4-8
"Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
" 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, ' says the Lord God, 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.'"
~ Revelation 1:4-8
Fellowship of the Unashamed
“I am a part of the fellowship of the unashamed, the die has been cast, I have
stepped over the line, the decision has been made. I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ. I
won't look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still. My past is redeemed,
my present makes sense, my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low
living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed
visions, worldly talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotion, plaudits, or
popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or
rewarded, I now live by presence, lean by faith, love by patience, live by prayer
and labor by power.
My face is set, my gate is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is
rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot
be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed.
I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity,
negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in
the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, shut up, let go, or slow up until I have
preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Jesus
Christ.
I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go until He comes; give till I drop; preach till
everyone knows; and work till he stops me. And when he comes for His own, he
will have no problem recognizing me, because my banner will have been clear.”
- Rwandan Man's Confession
O God, help me to live this way. Help me to understand that without You, I am nothing and with You I am everything. You are what makes me whole. You are my identity, my reason to live, my exceeding joy! When I sin and disobey You, I feel distant from You. Thank You for promising me that You never leave me and for provinding me redemption through repentance. Thank You for Your living Words in John 15:10-11 which say, "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love...these things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."
I ask that you burn onto the fabric of my soul the image of the Cross and of your resurrected Son, that I might run through this world with a torch and a flame that burns for you. Let me be hated, lied about, spat upon, critizied, deserted, mocked, cheated, slandered about, without fame, without money, without reason to boast so that Your name would be high, Your glory revered, Your love unescapable, and Your name exalted and known throughout all the world. Would You make me bold, unashamed, and unmoved. Would You kindle the fire of my heart so it may blaze for You.
Thank You for the Cross. Thank You for bearing the weight of my sin upon Your self that I might see your face. Thank Your for pursuing me with a relentless love. Give me Your love to pursue others with the Gospel that they might be saved and that You might be glorified.
O God, You are coming quickly! You will judge this earth in righteousness because You are just and sure.
O God, revive our hearts! Bring persecution to our nations that will separate the sheep from the goats within the body of professing believers in churches throughout our countries. Give Your people hearts that ask, seek, and knock, NOT for material things but for Your righteousness! Stop us from pursuing the things that gratify our flesh and make us seek Your face! Give Your Church a vision for Your coming Kingdom!
O God, make us faithful; make me faithful. Make me humble.
Make me like Jesus.
stepped over the line, the decision has been made. I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ. I
won't look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still. My past is redeemed,
my present makes sense, my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low
living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed
visions, worldly talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotion, plaudits, or
popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or
rewarded, I now live by presence, lean by faith, love by patience, live by prayer
and labor by power.
My face is set, my gate is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is
rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot
be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed.
I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity,
negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in
the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, shut up, let go, or slow up until I have
preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Jesus
Christ.
I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go until He comes; give till I drop; preach till
everyone knows; and work till he stops me. And when he comes for His own, he
will have no problem recognizing me, because my banner will have been clear.”
- Rwandan Man's Confession
O God, help me to live this way. Help me to understand that without You, I am nothing and with You I am everything. You are what makes me whole. You are my identity, my reason to live, my exceeding joy! When I sin and disobey You, I feel distant from You. Thank You for promising me that You never leave me and for provinding me redemption through repentance. Thank You for Your living Words in John 15:10-11 which say, "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love...these things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."
I ask that you burn onto the fabric of my soul the image of the Cross and of your resurrected Son, that I might run through this world with a torch and a flame that burns for you. Let me be hated, lied about, spat upon, critizied, deserted, mocked, cheated, slandered about, without fame, without money, without reason to boast so that Your name would be high, Your glory revered, Your love unescapable, and Your name exalted and known throughout all the world. Would You make me bold, unashamed, and unmoved. Would You kindle the fire of my heart so it may blaze for You.
Thank You for the Cross. Thank You for bearing the weight of my sin upon Your self that I might see your face. Thank Your for pursuing me with a relentless love. Give me Your love to pursue others with the Gospel that they might be saved and that You might be glorified.
O God, You are coming quickly! You will judge this earth in righteousness because You are just and sure.
O God, revive our hearts! Bring persecution to our nations that will separate the sheep from the goats within the body of professing believers in churches throughout our countries. Give Your people hearts that ask, seek, and knock, NOT for material things but for Your righteousness! Stop us from pursuing the things that gratify our flesh and make us seek Your face! Give Your Church a vision for Your coming Kingdom!
O God, make us faithful; make me faithful. Make me humble.
Make me like Jesus.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
The Lamb Who Would Be King - Resolved 2010: Al Mohler
"Jesus will reign! Jesus is King! And all the royal imagery of Revelation 19 is a reminder to us that God will vindicate His Name and holiness and will satisfy His righteousness. He will pour out His wrath upon scoffers, rejecters, deniers, unbelievers of the Cross, persecutors of the faithful, those who murdered the martyrs, the subverters of His truth, those who attacked and rejected His church, those who perverted His Gospel, and seduced His people, the devil, Satan, demons, the beast! All these will be destroyed! The arch enemies of God, but not only they, also the small as well as the great! The victory of God in Christ over sin and death and the curse will be fully revealed, and all will be defeated. There will be war! This is the one who rides a horse, who comes to judge and to make war!
And all of this is a reminder to us that history is not headed toward some indefinite end, but under the sovereignty of God is headed toward this. As you think of Jesus the King, and as the kingship of Jesus comes in this horrifying picture, the picture we are given by the grace and mercy of God so that we will know it and we will fear it." - Al Mohler, "The Lamb Who Would Be King" - Resolved 2010 : Jesus
And all of this is a reminder to us that history is not headed toward some indefinite end, but under the sovereignty of God is headed toward this. As you think of Jesus the King, and as the kingship of Jesus comes in this horrifying picture, the picture we are given by the grace and mercy of God so that we will know it and we will fear it." - Al Mohler, "The Lamb Who Would Be King" - Resolved 2010 : Jesus
Monday, January 3, 2011
By David Campbell in "Heart Cries to Heaven"
Our great and Gracious God,
As we come to the close of another year, we would indeed make it the prayer of our hearts that you would abide with us.
We thank you that you have been with us through the days of this past year.
Perhaps many a day we have not felt you near,
Perhaps at times we have even felt that you have
forsaken us and forgotten us but we thank you
that it has never been so.
We thank you that you are constantly with your people, and that you have enabled us to persevere in grace,
You have comforted our hearts,
You have heard our prayers,
You have come so often to our aid.
We pray that you will go with us into this new year.
There is none of us who knows what the new year will hold, but we thank you that every moment of that year is in your hands, and you will be with your people.
We thank you that with that promise girding us, we can go forward with confidence and in your peace. We pray that you will help us to walk with you in this new year better than we have ever done before. Forgive us, Lord, for our sins and our backslidings of this past year.
Grant to us, as the days of the new year unfold, an ever closer walk with you.
Help us to put sin to death,
Help us gladly yield our lives unreservedly to Jesus Christ, our Savior, and God that we may regard ourselves entirely at his disposal to be, to go, to do, as he would wish
We pray that it may be our privilege to serve him,
to bring glory to him, to help others to know him better, and to help some, indeed, to come to know him for the first time.
Have mercy, we pray, upon those connected with us who come to the end of this year and their hearts are still closed against you, still hardening their hearts against you.
Spare them, O God, we pray; spare them! Grant that this new year would mark the beginning of new life in Jesus Christ. We are so thankful for the almighty Holy Sprit, for his limitless power
to bring conviction of sin,
to give new birth,
and to draw those who are away from you
to faith and to repentance.
We pray, Lord, that you would do that in the hearts and lives of all who are upon our hearts.
For Jesus’ sake,
Amen.
.
As we come to the close of another year, we would indeed make it the prayer of our hearts that you would abide with us.
We thank you that you have been with us through the days of this past year.
Perhaps many a day we have not felt you near,
Perhaps at times we have even felt that you have
forsaken us and forgotten us but we thank you
that it has never been so.
We thank you that you are constantly with your people, and that you have enabled us to persevere in grace,
You have comforted our hearts,
You have heard our prayers,
You have come so often to our aid.
We pray that you will go with us into this new year.
There is none of us who knows what the new year will hold, but we thank you that every moment of that year is in your hands, and you will be with your people.
We thank you that with that promise girding us, we can go forward with confidence and in your peace. We pray that you will help us to walk with you in this new year better than we have ever done before. Forgive us, Lord, for our sins and our backslidings of this past year.
Grant to us, as the days of the new year unfold, an ever closer walk with you.
Help us to put sin to death,
Help us gladly yield our lives unreservedly to Jesus Christ, our Savior, and God that we may regard ourselves entirely at his disposal to be, to go, to do, as he would wish
We pray that it may be our privilege to serve him,
to bring glory to him, to help others to know him better, and to help some, indeed, to come to know him for the first time.
Have mercy, we pray, upon those connected with us who come to the end of this year and their hearts are still closed against you, still hardening their hearts against you.
Spare them, O God, we pray; spare them! Grant that this new year would mark the beginning of new life in Jesus Christ. We are so thankful for the almighty Holy Sprit, for his limitless power
to bring conviction of sin,
to give new birth,
and to draw those who are away from you
to faith and to repentance.
We pray, Lord, that you would do that in the hearts and lives of all who are upon our hearts.
For Jesus’ sake,
Amen.
.
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