Some day the silver cord will break

Some day the silver cord will break,
And I no more as now shall sing;
But, O the joy when I shall wake
Within the presence of the King!

And I shall see Him face to face,
And tell the story, saved by grace:
And I shall see Him face to face,
And tell the story, saved by grace.

Some day my earthly house will fall,
I cannot tell how soon 'twill be,
But this I know—my All in all
Has now a place with Him for me.

Or some day when my Lord will come,
And called to meet Him I'll be blest,
He then will say to me, "Well done,"
And I shall enter into rest.

Some day, till then I'll watch and wait,
My lamp all trimmed and burning bright,
That when my Savior I will greet,
My faith will then be changed to sight.

---Fanny Jane Crosby (1820-1915)

Begin the day with God

Begin the day with God!
He is thy Sun and Day!
His is the radiance of thy dawn;
To Him address thy lay.

Sing a new song at morn!
Join the glad woods and hills;
Join the fresh winds and seas and plains,
Join the bright flowers and rills.

Sing thy first song to God!
Not to thy fellow men;
Not to the creatures of His hand,
But to the glorious One.

Take thy first walk with God!
Let Him go forth with thee;
By stream, or sea, or mountain path,
Seek still His company.

Thy first transaction be
With God Himself above;
So shall thy business prosper well
And all the day be love.

--Horatius Bonar

Jesus loves me

Jesus loves me! This I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong;
They are weak, but He is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! This I know,
As He loved so long ago,
Taking children on His knee,
Saying, “Let them come to Me.”

Jesus loves me when I'm good,
When I do the things I should,
Jesus loves me when I'm bad,
Though it makes Him very sad.

Jesus loves me still today,
Walking with me on my way,
Wanting as a friend to give
Light and love to all who live.

Jesus loves me! He who died
Heaven’s gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.

Jesus loves me! Loves me still
Tho' I'm very weak and ill;
That I might from sin be free
Bled and died upon the tree.

Jesus loves me! He will stay
Close beside me all the way;
Thou hast bled and died for me,
I will henceforth live for Thee.

---Anna Bartlett Warner

Not seeing is believing

Winston Zeddemore: Hey Ray. Do you believe in God?
Dr Ray Stantz: Never met him.

--Scene from "Ghostbusters" (1984)

Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”
“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.
Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

John 20:26-29

Imputed Righteousness

http://www.soulwinning.info/bd/imputation.htm

But I don't like being nice to everybody

Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do to others as you would like them to do to you.
“If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.
“Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.

Luke 6:30-35

Surely you jest, Sir!

“You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your hand—even your stronger hand—causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell."

Matthew 5:27-30

Drawing a line in the sand...where, exactly?

Have you heard about this story?:
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/teacher-fired-pregnant-wedlock/story?id=10878802&page=1

A teacher at a Christian school was fired because she admitted to conceiving her child 3 weeks before she got married. This brings up what I think are some very interesting questions regarding Christian conduct.

What should be a Christian's (or a Christian organization's) response to sin?

We have examples in the bible of the woman caught in adultery who was brought before Jesus. We also have the example of the man in a sexual relationship with his stepmother who was put out of fellowship.

Who gets to decide when a Christian must be punished for their sin?

Who gets to decide what sins are punishable? How can we know what someones sins are? Are we even aware of all of our own sins? Wasn't there a sacrifice made in the Old Testament for sins the people had committed in ignorance?

When is it right for us to forgive someone for their sin, and when is it right for us to punish someone, so they will hopefully be led to repentance?

I will concede that the fired teacher did commit sin. What about all the other teachers at this school? Is the assumption that they are living without sin?

Is there a distinction between sins? Are there "acceptable" and "unacceptable" sins?

One argument I frequently hear from Christians is about someone having a "lifestyle" of sin. They say a Christian does sin, but that it is not their typical "lifestyle" as it would be for a non-believer. OK, so is God willing to overlook sin, as long as it is occasional?

I'm not trying to make a case here for license to sin. I understand the school's attitude that it wants to project a certain image. I know the verses about "a little leaven leavening the whole lump." But if we are truly honest, I think it would be very difficult to find non-sinning teachers to work at a Christian school.

To me, this is the ugly truth that we, as Christians, do not like to face. None of us, not even one, no matter how many years we've been Christians, no matter how much time we spend in prayer, no matter how many good deeds we try to do, is without sin. I'm not talking about sin in your past, before you were born again. You and I are sinners today. We are all alike, because we are all guilty before a Holy God. As much as our hearts want to do good, we cannot escape our sinfulness. There is simply no hope for humanity without a Savior. Have you thanked God today for the gift of his Son? He is the only reason we can have hope and joy. It is not in us, friends, that we can have these things. It is only in Christ.

What does it take, for us to see ourselves? Answer: more than just a mirror.

Jesus said that if you want to be great in God's kingdom, be the servant of all. And when he said all, he meant all. He didn't say the servant of everyone but terrorists. Jesus also said to love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you. And that's what we started doing --- praying for our captors, who were despitefully using us.

We have a chance to show the love of Christ to the world. I think Martin managed to do this successfully in the jungle. I'm not sure I did very well myself. I hope nobody calls me a hero, because I know the facts about the bitterness that blazed in my heart that year. I still have lots of maturing to do.

When you stop and think about it, the Abu Sayyaf are not the only "bad guys," are they? We all have pockets of darkness inside ourselves. Recognizing how much I carry inside of me was one of the most difficult parts of my entire ordeal in the jungle. I already knew I was a sinner, of course. It's one of the first things I learned as a child in Sunday school. But I was also a missionary, a pastor's daughter, a lifelong "good girl." Weren't people like me supposed to be able to react to adversity with strength and grace and kindness and courage? Why wasn't I showing more of those traits?

I knew, for example, that I was supposed to forgive my captors, but the truth is that I often hated them. I despised them not only for snatching me away from my family and the simple comforts of a life I loved, but also for forcing me to see a side of myself I didn't like. There was a Gracia I barely knew existed: fearful Gracia, selfish Gracia, bitter Gracia, angry-at-God Gracia. That wasn't the only me, but it was a bigger part of me than I wanted to accept.

Every once in a while, Martin and I talked about the fruit of the Holy Spirit as listed in Galatians 5 and how much we wanted to see love, joy, and peace in our lives. "All I see is sadness and grief and sorrow," I'd say. "How can we produce the opposite?"

We learned that the fruit of the Spirit could not be drummed up by ourselves. We couldn't force joyfulness or loving action or a peaceful mind. The Holy Spirit had to grow those things within us.
I begged the Lord at times, "Please just give me some peace. I can't find it in my own heart. I can't find long-suffering. I feel anything but gentle right now. Please work some gentleness into my life. Give me some joy in the middle of this horrible situation."

And He did.

Now that I've come home to focus on my children for the next few years, I am determined to keep serving the Lord "with gladness" as Martin emphasized that last rainy afternoon we spent together. Some people in America want me to be offended and angry and bitter with the government for not doing this or that. Others want me to be depressed and morose -- the poor, whimpering widow.

I can't be either of those. What good would it do?
What happened to Martin and me was no one's fault except that of sinful human beings, the kind we came to the Philippines to help. This ordeal went with the territory. I refuse to let this dampen my joy or detract from the love that God means to flourish in my heart.

--Gracia Burnham, in her book "In the Presence of My Enemies", detailing the year she and her husband spent as captives in the jungle.

The Foolishness of Idols

Then the wood-carver measures a block of wood and draws a pattern on it. He works with chisel and plane and carves it into a human figure. He gives it human beauty and puts it in a little shrine. He cuts down cedars; he selects the cypress and the oak; he plants the pine in the forest to be nourished by the rain. Then he uses part of the wood to make a fire. With it he warms himself and bakes his bread. Then—yes, it’s true—he takes the rest of it and makes himself a god to worship! He makes an idol and bows down in front of it! He burns part of the tree to roast his meat and to keep himself warm. He says, “Ah, that fire feels good.” Then he takes what’s left and makes his god: a carved idol! He falls down in front of it, worshiping and praying to it. “Rescue me!” he says. “You are my god!”

Such stupidity and ignorance! Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see. Their minds are shut, and they cannot think. The person who made the idol never stops to reflect, “Why, it’s just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?” The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He trusts something that can’t help him at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask, “Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?”

Isaiah 44:13-20

Rabidfrog hops over to another blog....

http://followerofchrist.wordpress.com/2009/12/28/to-love-god/

Someday, it will.

"Well, Master Samwise, how do you feel?"

But Sam lay back, and stared with open mouth, and for a moment, between bewilderment and great joy, he could not answer. At last he gasped: "Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue? What's happened to the world?"

"A great shadow has departed," said Gandalf, and then he laughed, and the sound was like music, or like water in a parched land; and as he listened the thought came to Sam that he had not heard laughter, the pure sound of merriment, for days without count. It fell upon his ears like the echo of all the joys he had ever known. But he himself burst into tears. Then as a sweet rain will pass down a wind of spring and the sun will shine out the clearer, his tears ceased, and his laughter welled up, and laughing he sprang from bed... "How do I feel?" he cried." Well, I don't know how to say it. I feel, I feel" --he waved his arms in the air-- "I feel like spring after winter, and sun on the leaves; and like trumpets and harps and all the songs I have ever heard!"

-- J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973), The Return of the King


"He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” - Revelation 21:4

"He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears. He will remove forever all insults and mockery against his land and people. The Lord has spoken!" - Isaiah 25:8

"Those who have been ransomed by the Lord will return. They will enter Jerusalem singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Sorrow and mourning will disappear, and they will be filled with joy and gladness." - Isaiah 35:10

"For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” - Revelation 7:17

Time flies

“Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.”- Psalm 90:2,4

Precious Name

Take the Name of Jesus with you,
Child of sorrow and of woe,
It will joy and comfort give you;
Take it then, where’er you go.

Precious Name, O how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of Heav’n.
Precious Name, O how sweet!
Hope of earth and joy of Heav’n.

Take the Name of Jesus ever,
As a shield from every snare;
If temptations round you gather,
Breathe that holy Name in prayer.

O the precious Name of Jesus!
How it thrills our souls with joy,
When His loving arms receive us,
And His songs our tongues employ!

At the Name of Jesus bowing,
Falling prostrate at His feet,
King of kings in Heav’n we’ll crown Him,
When our journey is complete.

Ly­dia O. Bax­ter, 1870.

Sanctification and Christian dependency

"I suppose I know at least 25 different organizations and ministers who have become experts in telling you how to be an adequate Christian, how you can be a fulfilled Christian, and how you can be comfortable as a Christian. My friend, I hope you never get to the place where you do not feel your inadequacy and your dependency upon Jesus Christ as your Savior. I'm tired of these adequate Christians, and some of them that I meet, brother, if they're adequate, I don't want to be adequate, that's for sure. They are totally inadequate. Now I'm not talking about anyone, and don't say I'm being ugly and I don't understand somebody, I'm not talking about anybody. I'm talking about the fact that the word of God says that sanctification is by the Holy Spirit of God, and it's not by some method today. But it's only as the Spirit of God works in this fellow Vernon McGee who has an old nature, and he's a sinner, a sinner saved by grace. My, how important this is my beloved, sanctification of the Spirit!"

-Vernon McGee, in his "Through the Bible" program on 1 Peter

Good News

A debtor to mercy alone,
Of covenant mercy I sing,
Nor fear, with God's righteousness on,
My person and off'rings to bring.
The terrors of law and of God
With me can have nothing to do;
My Savior's obedience and blood
Hide all my transgressions from view.

The work which His goodness began,
The arm of His strength will complete;
His promise is Yea and Amen,
And never was forfeited yet.
Things future, nor things that are now,
Not all things below or above,
Can make Him His purpose forego,
Or sever my soul from His love.

My name from the palms of His hands
Eternity will not erase;
Impressed on His heart, it remains
In marks of indelible grace.
Yes! I to the end shall endure,
As sure as the earnest is giv'n;
More happy, but not more secure,
When all earthly ties have been riv'n.

Augustus Montague Toplady (1740-1778)