Has your life suddenly become more organized, messes picked up, problems resolved? Mine certainly has. All the times before have all led up to this moment: all the praying, all the heart transformation, and even the problems. Use the time appropriately to do what the LORD God Almighty directs, for the climax is coming soon. The moment for which we have all been waiting will be here.
The spectacular way that God has given life to his people is that we do not ever have to be out of work to do for God. At the same time he gives the most splendid rest. We are permitted to rest in his presence and delight in him in the midst of our work! Do you have some things that God is prompting you to give away? Do it in secret, and let the salvation of God be your joy! Pray that your life is full of what he wants today. Run after what is good and flee from evil. The king is coming in his glory! Be on active duty!
Friday, April 29, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
The Love of God
The Love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell!
It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell!
The guilty pair bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win!
His erring child, HE RECONCILED, and pardoned from his sin!
The love of God...How rich and pure! How measureless and strong!
It shall forever more endure the saints' and angels' song!
When years and time shall pass away, and earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men on earth refuse to pray, on rocks and hills, and mountains call,
God's love so sure, shall still endure! All measureless and strong!
Redeeming grace to Adam's race, the saints' and angels' song!
The love of God...HOW RICH AND PURE! How measureless and strong!
It shall forever more endure the saints' and angels' song!
Could we with ink the ocean fill, or were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky!
THE LOVE OF GOD!
How rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forever more endure the saints' and angels' song!
"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!"
It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell!
The guilty pair bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win!
His erring child, HE RECONCILED, and pardoned from his sin!
The love of God...How rich and pure! How measureless and strong!
It shall forever more endure the saints' and angels' song!
When years and time shall pass away, and earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men on earth refuse to pray, on rocks and hills, and mountains call,
God's love so sure, shall still endure! All measureless and strong!
Redeeming grace to Adam's race, the saints' and angels' song!
The love of God...HOW RICH AND PURE! How measureless and strong!
It shall forever more endure the saints' and angels' song!
Could we with ink the ocean fill, or were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky!
THE LOVE OF GOD!
How rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forever more endure the saints' and angels' song!
"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!"
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Honor the King of kings
In church yesterday, we sang “Jesus Shall Reign.” While we were driving home, my mom made a really interesting comment. Americans have a rather distorted view of God as the King of kings...we’re used to a democracy. Back during the time of Jesus–or even as recent as Queen Victoria–the king (or queen) had supreme authority. No one dared cross the will of the ruler. Victoria was shocked when her husband, Prince Albert, dared to question the command of his wife, the queen! Questioning political authority was out of the question. But now, in a democracy, we change things to fit the will of the people. If enough people disagree with the law, we can change it. But God–as the King of kings–does not leave room for us to question His authority. What He says is the law. We can’t vote God out of the picture. What He says is truth, and there is no changing it. Yet man, in his fallen state, thinks that God’s law can be changed just like the law in a democracy. Look at the moral mess this has put us in! There is no absolute law anymore; it’s whatever is right in the majority’s eyes. This is so wrong! We need to view God as an absolute Sovereign, not as a political party that can be voted out in the next election. Jesus rules over everything! There is no questioning Him. Honor the King!
Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.
Behold the islands with their kings,
And Europe her best tribute brings;
From north to south the princes meet,
To pay their homage at His feet.
There Persia, glorious to behold,
There India shines in eastern gold;
And barb’rous nations at His word
Submit, and bow, and own their Lord.
To Him shall endless prayer be made,
And praises throng to crown His head;
His Name like sweet perfume shall rise
With every morning sacrifice.
People and realms of every tongue
Dwell on His love with sweetest song;
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on His Name.
Blessings abound wherever He reigns;
The prisoner leaps to lose his chains;
The weary find eternal rest,
And all the sons of want are blessed.
Where He displays His healing power,
Death and the curse are known no more:
In Him the tribes of Adam boast
More blessings than their father lost.
Let every creature rise and bring
Peculiar honors to our King;
Angels descend with songs again,
And earth repeat the loud amen!
Great God, whose universal sway
The known and unknown worlds obey,
Now give the kingdom to Thy Son,
Extend His power, exalt His throne.
The scepter well becomes His hands;
All Heav’n submits to His commands;
His justice shall avenge the poor,
And pride and rage prevail no more.
With power He vindicates the just,
And treads th’oppressor in the dust:
His worship and His fear shall last
Till hours, and years, and time be past.
As rain on meadows newly mown,
So shall He send his influence down:
His grace on fainting souls distills,
Like heav’nly dew on thirsty hills.
The heathen lands, that lie beneath
The shades of overspreading death,
Revive at His first dawning light;
And deserts blossom at the sight.
The saints shall flourish in His days,
Dressed in the robes of joy and praise;
Peace, like a river, from His throne
Shall flow to nations yet unknown.
Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.
Behold the islands with their kings,
And Europe her best tribute brings;
From north to south the princes meet,
To pay their homage at His feet.
There Persia, glorious to behold,
There India shines in eastern gold;
And barb’rous nations at His word
Submit, and bow, and own their Lord.
To Him shall endless prayer be made,
And praises throng to crown His head;
His Name like sweet perfume shall rise
With every morning sacrifice.
People and realms of every tongue
Dwell on His love with sweetest song;
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on His Name.
Blessings abound wherever He reigns;
The prisoner leaps to lose his chains;
The weary find eternal rest,
And all the sons of want are blessed.
Where He displays His healing power,
Death and the curse are known no more:
In Him the tribes of Adam boast
More blessings than their father lost.
Let every creature rise and bring
Peculiar honors to our King;
Angels descend with songs again,
And earth repeat the loud amen!
Great God, whose universal sway
The known and unknown worlds obey,
Now give the kingdom to Thy Son,
Extend His power, exalt His throne.
The scepter well becomes His hands;
All Heav’n submits to His commands;
His justice shall avenge the poor,
And pride and rage prevail no more.
With power He vindicates the just,
And treads th’oppressor in the dust:
His worship and His fear shall last
Till hours, and years, and time be past.
As rain on meadows newly mown,
So shall He send his influence down:
His grace on fainting souls distills,
Like heav’nly dew on thirsty hills.
The heathen lands, that lie beneath
The shades of overspreading death,
Revive at His first dawning light;
And deserts blossom at the sight.
The saints shall flourish in His days,
Dressed in the robes of joy and praise;
Peace, like a river, from His throne
Shall flow to nations yet unknown.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Victory!
Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory! (1 Corinthians 15:54)
Why does it matter that a Jewish carpenter who lived 2000 years ago lived to tell about when He was crucified by the Romans?
1 Corinthians 15:21-22– For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
Romans 6:3-11–Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Ephesians 2:8–For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.
1 Peter 1:3--Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
1 Corinthians 15:57–But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Because we believe that that Jewish carpenter still lives, we also can live. His death gave us hope, life, and the victory.
Have a wonderful day rejoicing at Christ’s resurrection from the dead and His redemptive work in us!
He is not here, for He is risen!! (Matthew 28:6)
The Day of Despair
Can you imagine the despair of this day?
Jesus is DEAD. As Ashley has reminded us, He really did die. Everyone knew it. He was gone. In a tomb.
The disciples are in hiding. We often act as if this was shameful or cowardly, but put yourself in their places! They had followed this man for three years; they had followed Him out in the open, so they were well-known. Now He was gone.
What were they to do with their lives? Would they even get a chance, or would they too be hunted down and killed?
They could not see how this day was necessary. Have you ever come to a point of utter hopelessness and helplessness? Have you every looked at your life and seen no point, no purpose?
That's where we are without Christ. We are hopeless, without God in the world. We are separated from our only hope because of our sin. We are in despair. In our sin, it doesn't matter if the sun is shining, because we are bound to a place of darkness and utter isolation.
Have you ever seen yourself as this kind of sinner? HOPELESS?
We all know that the story doesn't end here, but in order for the story of the resurrection to be as joyful and hopeful as it is, we must understand our condition without it.
"For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." Romans 5:8
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23
"For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23a
"And you were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit now at work among the sons of disobedience..." Ephesians 2:1-2
"Remember that at that time you were separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenant of promise, having no hope and without God in the world." Ephesians 2:12
"Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned." Romans 5:12
The disciples didn't know the rest of the story, as we do. Today, meditate on who you are without Christ. Though it is not a pleasant thought, maybe it will help us to be bolder in sharing our faith, because we KNOW THE REST OF THE STORY.
All those around us who do not know Christ live like this every day of their lives. They have no hope. They are separated from Christ. They live Black Saturday every day.
As the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 2, "REMEMBER..." Remembering our sin makes the Resurrection GLORIOUS! But if you don't know Christ as Savior, today is your life. Don't wait to turn to Christ and see how your darkness can be infused with His LIGHT!
If you have any questions about how to know Christ, comment on this post, or click the "contact me" button on the side of this page, and we would love to tell you about the REST OF THE STORY.
Jesus is DEAD. As Ashley has reminded us, He really did die. Everyone knew it. He was gone. In a tomb.
The disciples are in hiding. We often act as if this was shameful or cowardly, but put yourself in their places! They had followed this man for three years; they had followed Him out in the open, so they were well-known. Now He was gone.
What were they to do with their lives? Would they even get a chance, or would they too be hunted down and killed?
They could not see how this day was necessary. Have you ever come to a point of utter hopelessness and helplessness? Have you every looked at your life and seen no point, no purpose?
That's where we are without Christ. We are hopeless, without God in the world. We are separated from our only hope because of our sin. We are in despair. In our sin, it doesn't matter if the sun is shining, because we are bound to a place of darkness and utter isolation.
Have you ever seen yourself as this kind of sinner? HOPELESS?
We all know that the story doesn't end here, but in order for the story of the resurrection to be as joyful and hopeful as it is, we must understand our condition without it.
"For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." Romans 5:8
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23
"For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23a
"And you were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit now at work among the sons of disobedience..." Ephesians 2:1-2
"Remember that at that time you were separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenant of promise, having no hope and without God in the world." Ephesians 2:12
"Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned." Romans 5:12
The disciples didn't know the rest of the story, as we do. Today, meditate on who you are without Christ. Though it is not a pleasant thought, maybe it will help us to be bolder in sharing our faith, because we KNOW THE REST OF THE STORY.
All those around us who do not know Christ live like this every day of their lives. They have no hope. They are separated from Christ. They live Black Saturday every day.
As the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 2, "REMEMBER..." Remembering our sin makes the Resurrection GLORIOUS! But if you don't know Christ as Savior, today is your life. Don't wait to turn to Christ and see how your darkness can be infused with His LIGHT!
If you have any questions about how to know Christ, comment on this post, or click the "contact me" button on the side of this page, and we would love to tell you about the REST OF THE STORY.
Friday, April 22, 2011
He Died
He died. He really died. The nerves in his feet were torn. His body was unimaginably abused. Not only do we have silence, we have a reality. This man changes reality. He has CHANGED our reality. One gaze into his death changes an onlooker's countenance, a bystander's thoughts. This man can change the least loved and the most hurting that have never heard this before. His death never ceases to change people forever.
Isaiah 65:1-2 says, “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am
Wow. The words blow me away. My heart aches on top of that. This really puts me in the dust. Not only are those who have no knowledge of God sought ought by Him, but I too am guilty of not offering every moment to seeking Him. What of my imagination? I have pursued it and it has led me away from reality.
The only true home and place of belonging is where God is. It’s a moveable home with joy and purpose. It's a home with a hero who has experienced death before, who has already saved his children from a death they could have had. Our God can move people to action. Only Jesus has died a death that God reveals as the one death on the face of this earth to have the POWER to make one clean. A death can make a person CLEAN?! This is truly profound.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
The Power Of The Cross
This is a beautiful song by Keith and Kristyn Getty. This song is a great song for this season of the year as we celebrate Christ's death and resurrection. May power of cross become very real to you this Easter season as well as the rest of the year! God bless!
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