Our Glorious Purpose

This passage is from the March 2010 Tabletalk (Ligonier Ministries) and is by Rev. Fred Klett in an article entitled "From Jerusalem, to All Nations, and Back Again":

"It is easy to get bogged down in mundane and parochial concerns. Dull details of the daily grind constantly scream for our attention. We must not lose sight of the glorious purpose for which we have been called: the restoration of all creation. Our witness, our prayer, our service to bind up the wounds of the suffering in the name of Jesus are all part of something spectacular and wonderful, something the prophets longed to look into (1 Peter 1:10). May God renew our zeal for His work in our own neighborhoods and for His worldwide missionary enterprise. May He revive us to pray and work in faith toward both Jews and Gentiles being restored to blessing. Messiah Jesus is still at work advancing the Father's kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit. The second volume of the book of Acts is still being written. Let us recommit ourselves to this gospel enterprise, from Jerusalem, to all nations -- and then back again."

We live in exciting times, working with Messiah Jesus to advance the Father's Kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are a part of the second volume of Acts!! Glory! Glory! and Amen.

True Love

Happy day of love and loving! While reading today in the Daily Study Bible (MacArthur) I was struck by the true love shown in the selected passages, which were not chosen because it is Feb. 14, but because that is where we are in these Scriptures, as we read each day.

From the Old Testament: Ex. 39 and 40 - the descriptions of the furnishings for the Tabernacle and the priests and we see the Beauty of His Love, as he wants us to see His Beauty every time we come together for worship. And when Moses finished the work and it was all done "The Glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle". (Ex. 40:34) Can anything be more beautiful than His Glory??

From Proverbs 8:23-31 - His love expressed through His Wisdom in the creation. We see His love every time we open our lives to all He has created for our enjoyment and edification. "Rejoicing in the world, His earth and having my delight in the sons of men". (vs. 31)

But then, --and I wonder - is this love??-- next in the reading, is Matthew 27: 1-26 which records the "trial" of Jesus Christ before Pilate, after the "trial" of Jesus Christ before the chief priests and the high priest; the presentation of the Christ before the people who yelled out for Barabas to be released; and then verse 26, "he delivered Him to be crucified". And I was so humbled by this extreme act of love, a love I can never know in full, a love that surpasses all love ever before expressed or ever after, a love that only a Loving God can give through the willing love, and death, of His Son for us. And I know -- This is love.

Oh My!! such nonsense is shown in red hearts, candy and flowers that soon fade and...
Oh My!! such love is shown in the Lord Jesus Christ.

"We love because He first loved us".1 John 4:19...Thank You, God, for True Love.

Involved??

Involved in the work of the Master? Doing His Will? Staying in contact with His Words?

If you are unable to "go to" and "join in" and "be a part of" because of whatever, there is a way to stay involved and purposely put yourself in His line of work -- pray.

What should I pray for? How should I pray? How do I know if God hears? What if my mind wanders (I'm personally acquainted with this question!)?

I'm very interested in the power and purpose of prayer, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, at the throne of Grace. Even though prayer has been part of my spiritual journey, I will never be too advanced or perfected or saintly to outgrow my need of learning to pray and then doing just that - PRAY.

A new opportunity has been given, in answer to prayer, to stretch once more in the direction of the Holy, looking upward to the Author and Finisher of our Faith, to grow in faith and with a different focus - http://www.pray4gcr.com/.

The time focus is for the Orlando gathering in late June of 2010 - but the eternal time focus is well,...., eternal. I like that. I don't need to know the immediate answers to this prayer request, just learn to be faithful in my prayer time...and not let my mind wander.

Praise God

The Lord brought to my mind these words this morning:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye host;
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

I was thanking Him for my three little pooches, my remote car starter (yes, I thank Him for that a lot!), safety in the rain on the road to the groomer and just because...

I couldn't remember the second line correctly so I checked it out when I got home and discovered that those words are the last stanza in a much longer hymn written by Puritan, Thomas Ken (1637-1711). In typical Puritan fashion it has 11 verses (when sung, I bet that all 11 were sung, not just 1, 3, 5...heh).

The Lord has a sense of humor. If I had known the first verse of the hymn, I might have been singing something else...heh

Awake, my soul, and with the sun
Thy daily stage of duty run;
Shake off dull sloth, and joyful rise,
To pay thy morning sacrifice.

You can check out the other verses here. The tune is unfamiliar to me, but it refreshes my mind since I am over-familiar with the tune with which I usually sing it.

Psalm 10:12-18

Psalm 10

12 Arise, O LORD!
O God, lift up Your hand!
Do not forget the humble.
{Isaiah 66:2b
2b "But to this one I will look,
To him who is humble and contrite of
spirit, and who trembles at My Word."}

13 Why do the wicked renounce God?
He has said in his heart,
"You [God] will not require an account."
{Psalm 2:1-2
1 Why are the nations in an uproar
And the peoples devising a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take council together
Against the LORD and against His
Anointed, saying,
"Let us tear their (the LORD and His anointed) fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!"}

14 But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief,
To repay it by Your hand.
The helpless commits himself to You;
You are the helper of the fatherless.
{James 1:27
27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God
and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their
distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.}

15 Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man;
Seek out his wickedness until You find none.
{Psalm 11:4-6
4 The LORD is in His holy temple;
the LORD's throne is in heaven;
His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
5 The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked,
And the one who loves violence His soul hates.
6 Upon the wicked he will rain snares;
Fire and brimstone and burning wind
Will be the portion of their cup.}

16 The LORD is king forever and ever;
The nations have perished out of His land.
{Isaiah 2:12
12 For the LORD of Hosts will have a day of reckoning
Against everyone who is proud and lofty
And against everyone who is lifted up,
That he may be abased.}

17 LORD, you have heard the desire of the humble;
You will prepare their heart;
You will cause Your ear to hear,
{Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit (i.e. humble, those with humility),
for theirs in the kingdom of heaven.}

18 To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
That the man of the earth may oppress no more.
{Isaiah 1:17
17 Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Reprove the ruthless,
Defend the orphan,
plead for the widow.}

Psalm 10:1-11

A Psalm of confidence in God's triumph over evil.

1 Why do you stand afar off, O LORD?
Why do You hide in times of trouble?
{Have we as Christians not asked that over and over the last several decades, as we have seen both the church and our country "going down the tubes"?}

2 The wicked in his pride, persecutes the poor;
{We see that daily.}
Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.
{I pray for their salvation first and being "caught in the plots which they have devised" second. Bernie Madoff is a good example of being caught in his own greedy plot.}

3 For the wicked boasts of his heart's desire;
He blesses the greedy and renouces the LORD.
{ Renouncing the LORD is the current national pastime.}

4 The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God;
God is in none of his thoughts.
{"The fool has said in his heart, there is no God." Psalm 14:1, Psalm 53:1}

5 His [the wicked] ways are always propering;
{At least for the time being.}
Your [God's] judgments are far above, out of his [the wicked's] sight;
As for all his enemies, he sneers at them.
{He certainly does!}

6 He [the wicked] has said in his heart, "I shall not be moved;
I shall never be in adversity."
{Talk about delusional!}

7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression;
Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity.
{All we ever hear today is filthy language, cheating and trying to get ahead of the other guy.}

8 He [the wicked] sits in the lurking places in the villages;
In the secret places he murders the innocent;
{Abortion.}
His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.
{TV/Internet scams of all kinds.}

9 He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den;
{New senator in the old lion's seat, PTL.}
He lies in wait to catch the poor;
He catches the poor when he draws him into his net.
{Fanny Mae, Freddy Mac.)

10 So he crouches, he lies low,
That the helpless may fall by his strength.
{"Bailouts" that make matters worse.}


11 He [the wicked] has said in his heart,
"God has forgotten;
He hides His face;
He will never see."
{Na na na na na na...}

Next ~~ Psalm 10:12-18

Haiti needs our prayers and gifts

I've added a new link under Missions, the International Partnership Ministries, Inc. The site is following a national missionary family and the challenges people are facing in the devastated area of Haiti.