rise
child of God
as the sun rises
meet your Maker with meditation
quiet your mind
child as you meet Him
that the first steps
into your day
are blessed
sacred moments
bereft of discord
burnished bright
with praises
to birth
a joyous dawn
Tonight, I was listening to Pandora background music as I began my post. I was about to write about another hymn when “How Great Thou Art” began to play. That led me to remember that George Beverly Shea passed away recently at the age of 104. For years his beautiful bass-baritone voice highlighted the Billy Graham crusades. As magnificent as his voice was, the words of the hymns he sang were always the star, because the message they conveyed helped lead others to Christ. He was able to remain humble because he understood what a gift and responsibility it is to represent the gospel to the world. No matter how large or small you may believe your sphere of influence to be, someone is affected by the message you represent. Being a child of God is a gift, privilege, and responsibility. As we begin a new week, let’s all pray a little longer and reach a little higher. God does have a plan for you, short term and for the rest of your life.
How Great Thou Art
O Lord my God
When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds
Thy hands have made
I see the stars
I hear the rollin’ thunder
Thy power throughout
The universe displayed.
Then sings my soul
My Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art
How great Thou art
Then sings my soul
My Savior God, to Thee
How great Thou art
How great Thou art!
When Christ shall come
With shouts of acclamation
And take me home
What joy shall fill my heart
Then I shall bow
In humble adoration
And there proclaim,
“My God, how great Thou art!”
Then sings my soul
My Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art
How great Thou art
Then sings my soul
My Savior God, to Thee
How great Thou art
How great Thou art!
How great Thou art
How great Thou art!…
John the Baptist preaching
in the wilderness of Judea,
saying,
“Repent for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand.”
He prepared the way for Jesus
the kingdom is at hand
baptizing in the Jordan river
the kingdom is at hand
then Jesus came from Galilee
but John said, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do you come to me?”
in the Jordan river
the Holy Spirit came down
in the river
as a dove
with the heavenly sound
of the Lord
saying,
“This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
I would be on my knees!
In the Jordan
Jesus and John
in the Jordan
Pharisees and Sadducees
the beginning of the end for these.
in the Jordan
As we all consider the evil that has once again put itself on display, this time in Boston, at the sight of the yearly marathon, I believe it’s important to remember that God is just. We may think occasionally that the people who perpetrate these kinds of horror go without punishment, but this is not true. While it is our responsibility to deal appropriately with those responsible, ultimately nothing escapes Gods judgement.
You have a strong arm; Your hand is mighty, Your right hand is exalted. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Loving-kindness and truth go before You. Psalm 89:13-14
Finally, the words of my wife’s mother, Marlene, who passed away in 1976. She wrote this song to express the freedom she had in the Lord. I would like to dedicate it tonight in her memory to the victims and their families in Boston. It is entitled “I Am Free.”
I am Free. In Him do I
abide. Molded, yielding,
a promised bride.
He set my spirit free; on
wings I can ascend, to
light and uncharted places,
to commune with my Friend.
Indwelling Joy floods my soul,
lifting, filling, in His control.
I am free. Jesus set me free,
on wings on high, to melt
in Jesus’ holiness. To praise
Him, extol Him and Glorify.
M.C.
After some consideration, and for the following reasons, to name a few, I have determined to abandon the use of the phrase, “Devil’s Advocate.” : First, he has done nothing worthy of my fealty. Second, he clearly has no need for additional team members. Third, I am a devoted follower of his opposition.
“If you decide that it’s a bad thing to worship God, then choose a god you’d rather serve, and do it today. Choose one of the gods your ancestors worshiped from the country beyond The River, or one of the gods of the Amorites, on whose land you’re now living. As for me and my family, we’ll worship God.”
Joshua 24:15 The Message
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12 NIV
Blow the dust off of your Bible
Unclose your mind
turn back the night
If you’re weary of this dreary world
see Jesus in a new light.
He cast out demons
healed the lame
turned water into wine
He healed the centurion’s son
and even healed the blind.
He fed 5,000
without reservations.
Yeah, he raised Jairius’ daughter to life.
But look out dude cause He withered the fig tree
and said, “all things you ask in prayer, believing,
you will receive.”
See Jesus in a new light
Watch out for lightning
Jesus in a new light
Don’t you be frightened
Jesus in a new light
He’s bad!
Jesus in a new light
Oh c’mon, I didn’t mean it that way.
Jesus in a new light
Chillax!
Jesus in a new light
We’re out.
There was a time in my life when the first place I would visit in any bookstore was the “Self Help” section. Later, when I worked in bookstores, I would joke with customers and tell them that I could show them where self help was, but after that they were on their own. Sorry ma’am, it’s self help, your first step towards wellness is finding the books by yourself. Of course, I’m kidding, but I think that if I ever said that, it would have been to someone who knew me and my sense of humor very well. Knowing what kind of relationship you have with people is important. You can let your hair down with friends and family and know you’ll be understood. But while it’s essential to have close healthy relationships with the people in our lives who matter most, the one we should be closest to often gets the leftovers. “God, when I have time I’ll sit down and it will be just you and me; I promise.” But our actions speak louder than anything we ever say.
So what kind of relationship are you cultivating with God? The bible says the church is the Bride of Christ.
Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
Revelation 19:7-9
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
Ephesians 5:25-27
If we want that close and open relationship with Jesus, and want to know everything about Him, where do we start? The Word is the best place to go.
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.
Isaiah 40:8
We can trust that He wants the best for us and has great plans for our lives if we will submit and trust Him.
“For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11
So how would you characterize your relationship with the Lord? Do you spend quality time getting to know each other or do you just occasionally throw Him a “like” on Facebook? Don’t get me wrong, I’m writing this for myself as much as for you. I do think it’s a good question to ask ourselves, though. Good relationships take effort.
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity
of us all to fall on Him. Isaiah 53:6
Sheep have been unfairly “branded” with the stupid label. The primary reason for this lies in their flocking behavior which causes sheep to group together and play follow the leader, at times to tragic results. Since nature hasn’t equipped them with great individual defensive abilities, their best bet is to join together in a group. We also tend to value the individual over the group, but a sheep on its own is vulnerable to being preyed upon.
The verse refers to the passion of the Servant, our savior Jesus Christ, who suffered vicariously for our sins. His punishment obtained well being for us.
While we are all vulnerable on our own to temptation and being misled, this does not absolve us of our responsibility for becoming informed through scripture and prayer so that we might better defend ourselves against the onslaught of the enemy. At the same time, the body of Christ must join together to pool resources and search the word for edification and reproof.
Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!
But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
the sins of us all.
He was oppressed and treated harshly,
yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
Unjustly condemned,
he was led away.
No one cared that he died without descendants,
that his life was cut short in midstream.
But he was struck down
for the rebellion of my people.
He had done no wrong
and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
he was put in a rich man’s grave.
Isaiah 53:4-9
For the moment all had scattered
the kingdom at an end
thoughts of grandeur,
of a place at the table
with their king,
vanquished.
This was to be the king
who set things right
the one worth fighting
beside
they would follow him through
hell-fire
wouldn’t they?
but…
now?
It was over,
wasn’t it?
Silence
and a distant storm
rumbles
The veil,
torn
the world,
no longer the same
Sustain
verb (used with object)
1. to support, hold, or bear up from below; bear the weight of, as a structure.
2. to bear (a burden, charge, etc.).
3. to undergo, experience, or suffer (injury, loss, etc.); endure without giving way or yielding.
4. to keep (a person, the mind, the spirits, etc.) from giving way, as under trial or affliction.
5. to keep up or keep going, as an action or process: to sustain a conversation.
Through the trials we experience in life, we know that God sustains us. It isn’t a matter of if, it’s simply a matter of when. As the Psalmist says in 119:50, This is my comfort in my affliction, That Your word has revived me. Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. Psalm 55:22
Revival indeed.
Heavenly Father, thank you for sustaining me.
In quiet times of peaceful comfort, I rejoice.
In times of emotional and physical trouble, I have faith:
faith that even though your purpose is not always clear to me, your vision of my future goes far beyond
anything I could ever imagine.
Beautiful Savior, forgive us our doubts which we hold close and worry, like a dog
worries a bone.
Acting as though watching and waiting will keep trouble away.
Surprises do not exist for you.
You knew me before I was born.
What we believe is too much,
you have given the resources for.
What our needs are
You’ve already sworn.
We made a profession of carving concern
Now let us study your promises for your own
and by the light of your passion learn.
Write here, Joel. 