Category Archives: Praise

Psalm 14

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1 Only fools say in their hearts,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and their actions are evil;
not one of them does good!

2 The LORD looks down from heaven
on the entire human race;
he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,
if anyone seeks God.

3 But no, all have turned away;
all have become corrupt.a
No one does good,
not a single one!

4 Will those who do evil never learn?
They eat up my people like bread
and wouldn’t think of praying to the LORD.

5 Terror will grip them,
for God is with those who obey him.

6 The wicked frustrate the plans of the oppressed,
but the LORD will protect his people.

7 Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel?
When the LORD restores his people,
Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice.
(New Living Translation)

By His Grace

Suffering Complaints

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Are you suffering under a burden that threatens to drive you to the dust?  Has your heart become calloused, so that you will not call out to God for the sake of the things that oppress you?  Have you allowed yourself to blame the One who made you?  Have you come to believe that you are righteous in blaming God for your trouble?

Jesus did no such thing!  Faultless, blameless, and full of love for his Father, the Lord was beaten beyond recognition.  Yet he did not blaspheme the will of God.

He endured his Holy Father’s will, because he knew his God can do no wrong.  And he considered even the greatest of torment as if it should not be compared to the Glory that awaited him.  How is it that we cannot even sustain the sufferings of the common cold without complaint?

The Holy Bible uses a very curious word to describe the testing of the Holy Lord Jesus, “crushed”.  Have you been so treated?  And that for no apparent cause?  Are you without sin?  Don’t we deserve to be crushed?

10 “But the LORD was pleased
            To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
            If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
            He will see His offspring,
            He will prolong His days,
            And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.” (Isaiah 53)

For our sake, and his love for God, he was sustained through it all.  For the sake of his Father’s love for man, he endured the most vicious possible death.  For your sake Christ was purified of all possible pride.  Stripped of his Glory and Majesty, humbled to the likeness of an animal, Jesus became the sacrifice for our sins.

He did not complain.  He did not beg for mercy.  He did not resist the ungodly hands.  He did not strive to evade the whip.  He offered the tender portion of his hands to the nails.  He forgave sins as he hung toward death!  And all of this with the most resolute heart!

And then horror came to visit him; his Loving Father turned his face, as his son became a curse for hanging on a tree.  As it is written in the law of the Most High God, “for he that is hanged is accursed of God”.

Still he did not all allow sin to encompass him.  He endured the will of his Holy Father.  Shall we do any less? 

Consider the tiny burden we bear.  Even if we suffered as Christ Jesus, we deserve the beating. 

As we consider these things, so we become more like him.  As we consider these things, we reach to the victorious one for the strength which sustains. 

Do you want strength to overcome your intolerable need to complain?  You will find that strength in Jesus the Christ of God.

Amen!

By His Grace

Amazement Thus Beckoning

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I will speak of myself, for it is impossible for me to know the heart of anyone who might read this.  I do not want to give confidence where it is not warranted.  But I find desire within me to encourage those things that warrant encouragement.  And I desire to share a mutual amazement.

When I ponder the Glory of Christ within me, I am astounded.  That I should contain the Gospel of the Glorious and Eternal God!  That I should not be tossed about by all the rumors regarding him.  But that I should know the Holy and Living God in Christ Jesus his Righteous and Holy Son.

When I think of the billions who have died without this knowledge, I am amazed that this man should understand.  I say “knowledge”, knowing that it is only in small portion.  And the same is true of the word “understand”.  But that there is a seed in me is undeniably true.  And the joy of this knowledge goes far beyond words to express.

There are many who hold what they say is the Gospel, yet are thoroughly hard-pressed to give account of themselves.  This too, adds to my amazement.  Not that they are at all amiss, but that I should know the truth.  In this great joy there is no room for judgment or comparison!  Oh that I could live this way all my days!

For the glory of Christ!  Again, for the Glory of Christ!  These words are placed prominently for the Glory of my Lord. 

Let all the world hear.  Let all the world be told.  I will not shrink back into the sea of men.  I cannot, for he sustains me in “The Way”.  No enticement shall bind me!  No tears of beckoning shall sway me.  Such things have no hope of any Life.  They are like the useless tapping of bird’s feet on my roof.

Can you agree with these things?  Do you find proof in your soul that the Living God has come to you with all his Glorious Promises?  Then say “Amen” full of thanks, for the willingness to obey which lives in you with endless strength.

I do not need to perceive your agreement.  Who am I that I should demand any such thing from any man?  But render your agreement and thanks to the Living God in his Holy Son.  And let what is unseen receive what is rightfully his.

Let us all go to the Holiest Holy of Holies.  Let us spread our soul before the Light and Life of all creation!  There, in that place, let us render to God what is God’s.  There, in that place, we shall be as one.  There, in that place, we shall be at peace and unity.

He has spoken, there are far fewer of his people than those who are destined to destruction.  But do not think I say such a thing with malice, or boasting.  For I have not received this joy because I am a righteous man.  It is God’s mercy to teach us these things, and to cause us to become his children.  And anyone who desires this place I have described, is welcome to come share in the things of joy.

Are you a filthy person?  That need not remain your case.  All you need to do is believe that God’s Holy Son is Glorified in the very presence of the Most High God. 

But in the beginning of your transformation, do not believe the weakness of lies; those words which tell you that belief is the end of your responsibility.  There are many who have gone out of Christianity.  They spout such a weak expectation.  And sadly they have destroyed millions.

If you are to receive this joy, it will require you to agree with the Holy Lord in all that he commands you to do.  You cannot be his, and remain bound by the things for which you are now ashamed.  He will grant you release but you must receive it.  If you are to attain this joy you must become his disciple.

But indeed come, all who will!  Come and share with us in this scourging from men!  See how they hate you, they do not love you!  They only love the things they can take from you.  They only love you in that they may debase you and use you for no good purpose.  Why would you willingly submit to such things?

See how boldly his children proclaim their love for him.  See how fearless they are.  Yet you can see how full of fear your soul remains.  Why would you not desire freedom?

By His Grace

Diffused Triumphs

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Diffused jet trail

How magnificently obvious and roaring is the Majestic power of God.

A plane had flown from east to west, leaving a trail of disturbance.  A disturbance that was never intended to be, in the beginning.

But God, in his Magnificent and Glorious Strength, diffused the wake of man’s tiny triumph into a painting beyond the imagination.

So it is this morning, as I begin my day.  So is his glorious promise, when the Day of God dawns.  The tiny triumphs of man will be diffused.  They will not be found among the Glorious Beauty which is Jesus the Christ of God!

By His Grace

Purposefully Single!

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The choir sings, while one sings alone.

The preacher preaches to hundreds,  while one bows in the dust alone.

So many are witness to each others worshiping soul.

While the single one grapples with truth before the master of it all.

“16 At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen”  (2nd Timothy 4)

By His Grace

Secured Weapon

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How horrible to wake one day and see what I have done!

How beautiful to see new life, so firm in me begun!

How many souls had withered away while I was having “fun”.

How precious is the knowledge that again they won’t be done;

Those empty acts of selfish pride, shot out as if a gun.

Holstered now because of He who is the Holy One.

By His Grace