Tag Archives: Service

The Rocks Will Cry Out

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I wake to consider the things of the Living God’s Holy Son.  No matter where I look among the things of God’s Holy wisdom, I find no fault.  Yet why should this amaze me?

To the things of man I look, and I find no righteous faithfulness.  And isn’t this the cause of my amazement?

Consistency abides in the Living God, toward life and all things good.  Consistency abides in the camp of Man’s horror, toward rebellion and all things wicked.

What has God done but we should despise him so?  What has Man accomplished that we should revere him in fear? 

How is it that the people who call themselves Christians suppress the beauty of the One who offers them life; those who give God praise in secret yet seal their mouth when they walk among the dead.

“I have riches”, they say.  The faithfulness of God in his promise is that sure, yes.  But don’t the rocks along the Way of Glory also have the blessing of God to lay unmolested?  There they are lay, prepared to do his will. And surely if the people had not given praise to the Living God’s Holy Son, the rocks themselves would have cried out the words.  Are we no better than rocks strewn along the path of life?  Are we like rocks which adorn a valley of death, fruitless and simply a nuisance ( dressings which mark the barren land).

“If God will touch us, we will serve him.  If God will drive back the wicked we will speak and walk among them.  If he will drive them back beyond a stone’s throw, we will proclaim the words of life.  As long as there is no threat we will be brave.  Yet if he will not cause the wicked to recede, we will continue to praise him in secret.  I will leave the fearsome work to those who desire to die.”  Is this what we say by our actions?  Will not God protect those the march ahead in faith?

But clean yourself.  Primp and prune your feathers.  Lining every hair in its proper place.  let every thread of clothing be presentable and immaculate.  Let your life be dressed with all the things that cause Man to nod in appreciation.  If you hide the Light of Christ,  you are no different than the rocks along the Way. 

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Is it too much to ask? 

Is it unjust to require us to join Jesus in his suffering?

Is the shame of righteousness too much to bear? 

Is the Cross of Christ too heavy to share? 

Then what can possibly be our lot? 

When we appear before He by whose Blood we are bought?

The Intent of Preaching

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If I stand on the street corner and proclaim that all men should go to Christ, I cannot possibly expect any to remain with me. 

No one arrives at a street sign and makes his bed beneath it.  The street sign is only a directional source of information.  Neither does the street sign expect anyone to remain with him.  No, everyone who comes to the street sign is in route to someplace else.

It is only proper then that everyone who comes to me, simply gets the true and eternal directions to salvation. 

The one who looks for a job, does not stay seated in the employment office.  In that chair he will never earn a wage.  Rather, he goes where he is directed.  And it may well be, he will never see that chair again.

Christ Jesus is all in all.  It is to him we point.  By all means then, go to him!

By His Grace

THE DAWN

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A shaft of salmon colored light,

Makes the difference between the day and night.

Bracketed on the left by the end of a certain cloud.

The Shining slice of Crescent moon

Moves gently between the layers.

The path of faithful traverse,

Is drawn in the mind of a man.

And with the dawn,

Dawns understanding.

The faithful promise of the Faithful One,

Provides another day.

And I am witness to this explosion of opportunity.

What was, is registered in the mind of the Holy One.

What is yet to be of this day, is given into his hands.

The hour of prayer has come and gone.

But the life I live is yet to dawn.

You bring faithfulness and continuance,

O’ holy Lamb of God.

Come and have your way with me.

Teach me great humility.

For you alone are God.

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By His Grace

The Dent

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There’s a dent in my hand,

In the palm near the side. 

I did not know it was there. 
But to my surprise,

A glorious great joy

Has appeared!

An object was taken by prayer. 

It does not impede my usefulness. 

To the contrary,

Now I can work.

But I marvel at the dent,

As it is;

That mark that had gone unnoticed. 

It has distinct markings

Of a well worn rope. 

Well formed calluses tell the tale.

I would never have known

The dent was there,

But that He took from me

A great heavy care. 

How pleased now

Is my soul to see!

To take note that He

Has sprung me

LOOSE,

To serve him faithfully!

What would you have

My dear friend,

Oh so loving,

Dear friend?

Oh I’m willing! 

Employ me.

Restrained as I was,

The profit was half. 

But now when I lift my arms,

They extend to equal length. 

Now each

Embrace of Mercy is full.

Glory to God in the highest! 
All praise to his Holy Son!

He has set millions free for his service!

And now I perceive I am one!

By His Grace

Sheep for the Slaughter

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Does a sheep wake in the morning and decide to provoke his wool to grow?  Does he consider man his friend and even a beloved one?  Does he say, “I love the people.  Come wool grow”?  Isn’t it true that the sheep’s, wool which provides for man, grows without the consent of the sheep?

Even the muscles on his bones, which provide meals, grows without the consent of the sheep.  Never once does the sheep consider the boiling water.  He is content to live and to eat.

In Christ we are as sheep for the slaughter.  How many Christians remember this?  Isn’t it true that we love the promise of eternal life, yet despise the nature of who we are called to be?  Haven’t we developed our own religion, labeling it Christianity?  And in this, haven’t we set our own expectations from God?

How quickly and easily the following Scripture is despatched from our memory.  But let us try to remember.

36 “Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.”  (Hebrews 11)  All of this because they obeyed the will of the Most High God.

There is such a thing as faulse persecution.  The place where we perceive others are against us, while no one pursues us for the things of God.  By our pride and greedy ownership, they come to take away what we have. 

But have we appropriated what is good from Jesus?  Have we gained so much from his willing hand that we are worthy to endure such great opposition from sinful men?  Or have we simply remembered the good promises, and like ghostly religions we have melded into society?

Now is our day to be as those for whom the world is unworthy.  Who is willing to step forward and claim such a place?  Who is willing to live that they may die?

They will not kill you because you are religious.  They will kill you because you are of God.  It is the truth of God men hate so much.  Sincerely, they couldn’t care less about a religious man.  Such a man may be an irritation,  but the truth of God is abhorred.

Jesus compared us to sheep.  But we should not be like wild sheep, free to roam anywhere they please.  We belong to a certain flock.  And of that flock man it is currently permitted to harvest.

By His Grace

Worthy Servants

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We present what we are given, and in a manner we have received.  As a man combs his hair, because that is how his hair roots were formed, so we are bent to deliver what we have received.

Should a servant go out and attack his master’s enemies?  How should that servant know the subtle knowledge of his master?   A servant is confined to his service.  He is not privy to the upbringing of his master.  He is sent from the room when conversation of importance are held.  How should he know the full wisdom of his master’s business among men?

Wouldn’t it be better if such a servant were to ask his master, “My lord, is there something I might do to help you against your enemies?  Forgive me, but I perceive that they attack your estate with malicious intent.  I owe you my life, for the sake of what you provide for me.  You have my lowly place at your disposal.”

Such a servant will be respected for the sake of his love and dedication.  That servant may never use a sword against the enemies of his master.  But he will certainly be remembered as one who is prepared to render “good” service.

In the same way, should we give counsel to the Most High God?  Shall we determine to attack and devour His unholy enemies?  Such servants of God will find themselves being counseled by Holy Words.  They presume to know what they cannot possibly know.

Each man of God should speak according to the faith he has received.  But let him take counsel as to his position.  Let him draw a distinction between his lowly and restrained state of affairs, and the Eternity that is the counsel of God’s Holy Wisdom to act among men.

Can I make this clearer?  I must ask, and have asked, myself: “What has the Christ of God allowed you to do for His Holy Kingdom?”  I find that this place of testimony is the pinnacle of my service to the world.  But I must also recognize the value of a life lived as a servant to all men.  Even as the Holy Lord Himself is a servant to all creation.

This is the message given to me personally this morning.  “Remember the place you retain.  Take a good look at where you have been summoned to perform.  Be wary of presumption.  Remember what brought you to the place you inhabit in My Grace.”

I share this with you because I am no different from any man.  The temptation to move beyond the Lord’s blessing comes to every one of His servants, sooner or later.  It is good to avoid the tears of regret that will surely come to the servant who presumes to know his Master’s business.  It is best to revel with great joy that we have done the tiny things He has allowed us to do.