You spoke and made the sunrise, to light up the very first day
You breathed across the water, and started the very first wave
It was You
You intoduced Your glory, to every living creature on earth
And they started singing, the first song to ever be heard
They sang for You
You make all things new
You make all things new
You redeem and You transform
You renew and restore
This is a new year...well it has been for a few weeks now, but I'm just now getting around to writing about it. As every new year dawns, I can't help but think about the renewal that God affords to us every new morning. He gives us the unfathomable gift of life...displayed every moment of every day...realized every single time we beg for God's gift of grace whenever we lose sight of His face for even a split second...bestowed upon us every time we do something that deserves the punishment of death...because that is what we deserve. If we fought for our rights, we'd be in hell tonight. Yes, it is a song lyric, but it is so very true. And every time I think of that truth, I become so much more indebted and grateful to my Almighty LORD and Savior!
Laugh if you like, but I was thinking of this when everyone was coming back from break. It seems like everyone received a new coat or pair of shoes or phone or jeans for Christmas. And when they come back to school, those things become a part of their lives...so much so that if you ask them 6 months later, they will probably say that they can't remember not having that pair of jeans and they can't imagine not having them. (Simple example, I know). To a much greater extent, when we receive Christ into our hearts and the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us, if we were to be asked even a week later, we would all say that we can't imagine not having the Advocate.
God makes all things new. He takes the broken and wretched sinner who comes to know that they are in desperate need of the Savior and He completely transforms their life until they are blameless in His sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith (Romans 1:17)...and it is manifested in the justification and sanctification that emerges in the life of the believer and completely changes them. It is miraculous to hear peoples' testimonies and be able to visually see where God has brought them from and how He has changed their lives completely. He never ceases to do that...all it takes is a willing heart.
And when He makes something new, He always attaches a promise right along with it...He says "You are mine now. The enemy can't touch you. You have been redeemed. You are new. That person you were before is gone. I will never leave your side." I have known this for a long, long time...but in the past few weeks, I have been thinking more and understanding more about promises. When a Godly man prayerfully gives a Godly woman a ring to symbolize his promise to her that they will soon be a Godly husband and wife, he is echoing what Christ has done with the church...just as he is commanded to in Ephesians 5:25. As the earthly husband promises to be there for better or for worse, he is mirroring what God our Husband (Hosea 2:16) has been doing for us ever since He created us: promising to never leave or forsake us! When a marriage is based upon that understanding, I am convinced that it can only ever be pleasing and glorifying to God!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Despite Any Circumstances.
The apostle Paul is most assuredly one of the most joyful people displayed in the Bible. It is apparent that following his conversion (as described in Acts 9), Paul submitted himself fully to furthering the Kingdom of God and proclaiming Christ to every place that God allowed him to go. He was so committed to the Gospel (and so unashamed...Romans 1:16) that he could stay strong and remain faithful despite any circumstances. There are so many passages that come to mind, but I'll mention just a few.
"And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God's message without fear." --Philippians 1:12-14.
Can any of us honestly say that if we were in prison for speaking boldly of the truth of Christ, we would share this same truth to the very people that are holding us as prisoner?! We should be able to say just that! We have the faith that never fails...the faith without fault...the faith that is timeless...the faith that is the answer to everything in this life...because our faith is in the one and only LORD and Savior Jesus Christ! So why in the world wouldn't we proclaim this Gospel even from a prison cell as Paul did?!
"We live in such a way that on one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. We have been beaten, put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. We faithfully preach the truth. God's power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense. We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, yet we have everything." --2 Corinthians 6:3-10.
How often do we complain when one little thing throws off our plans for the day? Would we be willing to live lives like those described by Paul in this passage for the cause of Christ? That means that we have to care more about that cause of Christ than the cause of ourselves. Did you get that? It means that we have to be selfless. As John 3:30 says: He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.
Paul is going hard about this all through Philippians and his other letters...but rather than me typing out all of the instances, how about I point you toward a few:
Philippians 1:20-24.
Philippians 2:14-17.
Philippians 3:7-11.
Philippians 4:10-13.
1 Thessalonians 2:4-6.
1 Timothy 6:12, 17-19.
"And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God's message without fear." --Philippians 1:12-14.
Can any of us honestly say that if we were in prison for speaking boldly of the truth of Christ, we would share this same truth to the very people that are holding us as prisoner?! We should be able to say just that! We have the faith that never fails...the faith without fault...the faith that is timeless...the faith that is the answer to everything in this life...because our faith is in the one and only LORD and Savior Jesus Christ! So why in the world wouldn't we proclaim this Gospel even from a prison cell as Paul did?!
"We live in such a way that on one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. We have been beaten, put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. We faithfully preach the truth. God's power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense. We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, yet we have everything." --2 Corinthians 6:3-10.
How often do we complain when one little thing throws off our plans for the day? Would we be willing to live lives like those described by Paul in this passage for the cause of Christ? That means that we have to care more about that cause of Christ than the cause of ourselves. Did you get that? It means that we have to be selfless. As John 3:30 says: He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.
Paul is going hard about this all through Philippians and his other letters...but rather than me typing out all of the instances, how about I point you toward a few:
Philippians 1:20-24.
Philippians 2:14-17.
Philippians 3:7-11.
Philippians 4:10-13.
1 Thessalonians 2:4-6.
1 Timothy 6:12, 17-19.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Identity.
This is a story that is in Streams in the Desert for today...I just really like it.
A story is told of a king who went to his garden one morning, only to find everything withered and dying. He asked the oak tree that stood near the gate what the trouble was. The oak said it was tired of life and determine to die because it was not tall and beautiful like the pine tree. The pine was troubled because it could not bear grapes like the grapevine. The grapevine was determined to throw its life away because it could not stand erect and produce fruit as large as peaches. The geranium was fretting because it was not tall and fragrant like the lilac.
And so it went throughout the garden. Yet coming to a violet, the king found its face as bright and happy as ever and said "Well, violet, I'm glad to find one brave little flower in the midst of this discouragement. You don't seem to be the least disheartened." The violet responded, "No, I'm not. I know I'm small, yet I thought if you wanted an oak or a pine or a peach tree or even a lilac, you would have planted one. Since I knew you wanted a violet, I'm determined to be the best little violet I can be."
A story is told of a king who went to his garden one morning, only to find everything withered and dying. He asked the oak tree that stood near the gate what the trouble was. The oak said it was tired of life and determine to die because it was not tall and beautiful like the pine tree. The pine was troubled because it could not bear grapes like the grapevine. The grapevine was determined to throw its life away because it could not stand erect and produce fruit as large as peaches. The geranium was fretting because it was not tall and fragrant like the lilac.
And so it went throughout the garden. Yet coming to a violet, the king found its face as bright and happy as ever and said "Well, violet, I'm glad to find one brave little flower in the midst of this discouragement. You don't seem to be the least disheartened." The violet responded, "No, I'm not. I know I'm small, yet I thought if you wanted an oak or a pine or a peach tree or even a lilac, you would have planted one. Since I knew you wanted a violet, I'm determined to be the best little violet I can be."
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