"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
Saturday, February 26, 2011
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.
.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
He is Mighty to Save!
“Unbelief says, ‘Some other time, but not now; some other place, but not here; some other people, but not us.’ Faith says, ‘Anything He did anywhere else He will do here; anything He did any other time He is willing to do now; anything He ever did for other people He is willing to do for us!’” A.W. Tozer
“Mighty to Save” Isaiah 63:1
“Christ is not only ‘mighty to save’ those who repent, but He is able to make men repent. He will carry those to heaven who believe; but He is, moreover, mighty to give men new hearts and to work faith in them. He is mighty to make the man who hates holiness love it, and to constrain the despiser of His name to bend the knee before Him….Believer, here is encouragement. Art thou praying for some beloved one? Oh, give not up thy prayers, for Christ is ‘mighty to save.’ You are powerless to reclaim the rebel, but your Lord is Almighty. Lay hold on that mighty arm and rouse it to put forth its strength…Whether to begin with others, or to carry on the work in you, Jesus is ‘mighty to save;’ the best proof of which lies in the fact that He has saved you.” Charles Spurgeon
“Mighty to Save” Isaiah 63:1
“Christ is not only ‘mighty to save’ those who repent, but He is able to make men repent. He will carry those to heaven who believe; but He is, moreover, mighty to give men new hearts and to work faith in them. He is mighty to make the man who hates holiness love it, and to constrain the despiser of His name to bend the knee before Him….Believer, here is encouragement. Art thou praying for some beloved one? Oh, give not up thy prayers, for Christ is ‘mighty to save.’ You are powerless to reclaim the rebel, but your Lord is Almighty. Lay hold on that mighty arm and rouse it to put forth its strength…Whether to begin with others, or to carry on the work in you, Jesus is ‘mighty to save;’ the best proof of which lies in the fact that He has saved you.” Charles Spurgeon
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