Monday, March 22, 2010

Planted in the House of the Lord, they shall Flourish!

Psalm 92:12-15

12The [uncompromisingly] righteous

shall flourish

like the palm tree [be long-lived, stately, upright, useful, and fruitful];

they shall grow

like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic, stable, durable, and incorruptible].

13Planted in the house of the Lord,

they shall flourish in the courts of our God.

14[Growing in grace] they shall still bring forth fruit in old age;

they shall be full of sap [of spiritual vitality]

and [rich in the] verdure [of trust, love, and contentment].

15[They are living memorials] to show

that the Lord is upright

and faithful to His promises;

He is my Rock,

and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Saint Patrick's Faith

Saint Patrick's statement of faith from about 450 AD

For there is no other God, nor ever was before, nor shall be hereafter, but God the Father, unbegotten and without beginning, in whom all things began, whose are all things, as we have been taught; and his son Jesus Christ, who manifestly always existed with the Father, before the beginning of time in the spirit with the Father, indescribably begotten before all things, and all things visible and invisible were made by him. He was made man, conquered death and was received into Heaven, to the Father who gave him all power over every name in Heaven and on Earth and in Hell, so that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, in whom we believe. And we look to his imminent coming again, the judge of the living and the dead, who will render to each according to his deeds. And he poured out his Holy Spirit on us in abundance, the gift and pledge of immortality, which makes the believers and the obedient into sons of God and co-heirs of Christ who is revealed, and we worship one God in the Trinity of holy name.


Monday, March 15, 2010

In Christ Alone


In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

Written by the Newsboys

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Our Divine Romance

Divine Romance
Song Written by Phil Wickham

The fullness of Your grace is here with me
The richness of Your beauty’s all I see
The brightness of Your glory has arrived
In Your presence God, I’m completely satisfied

For You I sing I dance
Rejoice in this divine romance
Lift my heart and my hands
To show my love, to show my love

A deep deep flood, an Ocean flows from You
Of deep deep love, yeah it’s filling up the room
Your innocent blood, has washed my guilty life
In Your presence God I’m completely satisfied

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Enter His Presence

Enter His Presence
by Anne Graham Lotz
In olden days, entering into the presence of God would have been an unattainable privilege for a Gentile woman like myself. If I had stood on a desert sand dune that overlooked the Israelite camp in the wilderness following the exodus from Egypt, I would have seen a sea of tents that stretched out to the horizon of my vision. In the midst of the encampment, I would have noticed a much larger tent surrounded by a dazzling "wall" of linen that shimmered white in the scorching desert sun. If I had left my vantage point on the sand dune and slipped closer, I might have found a bystander who would have been willing to answer my questions.
"What is that big tent?"
"Don't you know? We are God's children, and that tent is the Tabernacle where God is said to dwell in our midst. "
"Can I go in?" I would have naively asked.
"Go in? Go inside the Tabernacle? You must be out of your mind! It's obvious you are not an Israelite and you're a woman. You could never go inside."
"Surely there must be some way I could enter. I would like to draw near to God, too. I long to be in His presence."
"Well, let me tell you something, lady. The only way you could ever enter into the presence of God is if you were totally born again!"
"What's inside those linen walls?"
"On the other side of the walls are the altar, the laver, and the Tabernacle itself."
"And what is in the Tabernacle?"
"The Tabernacle is divided into two rooms that are separated by a heavy curtain, or veil. I'm told that in the first room there is a lamp, a table with a loaf of bread on it, and an altar of incense. Beyond the veil in the second room is the Most Holy Place of God's presence where the Ark of the covenant rests."
"If only I had been born a man, if only I had been born an Israelite, then I would go into the Most Holy Place of God's presence five times a day!"
"Lady, you still don't get it, Israelite men cannot go inside the Tabernacle, either--only the priests are allowed inside. And even the priests can't go inside the Most Holy Place of God's presence. Only the high priest can go beyond the veil."
"Oh, how I wish I was an Israelite man who was also a high priest. Then I would go into God's presence every day. In fact, I would just stay there--I would live in God's presence!"
Perhaps with sympathetic softening to his eyes, this bystander would reply gently but with finality, "But the high priest himself can only enter within the veil once a year."
And I would be turned away, with no hope of ever entering into the Most Holy Place of God's presence.
Until Jesus came! Through His death the veil separating us from the presence of God was torn in two from top to bottom! God Himself opened up the way for us to enter into His holy presence---through prayer.
"Since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith."
Through prayer, we are invited to come into His presence as children come to their father.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

A Prayer for my Heart

O LORD, I thank You that you care so much about my wayward heart. Thank you for Your grace and mercy towards me.

I pray that I remember all of the amazing things You have done for me; that more and more, I will learn to trust in You with all my heart and not lean on my own understanding.

Help me to love You with all of my heart, my soul, my strength, and my mind.

Teach me in Your way, O LORD, and I will walk in Your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name.

Help me, LORD, to guard my heart and understand that it is the wellspring of life.

Please give me a singleness of heart and action, so that I will always fear You for my own good and the good of my children after me.

I need You LORD. Thank You for being my very precious treasure and making a way for my heart to dwell with You.

Proverbs 3:15, Psalm 119:10, Psalm 86:11, Proverbs, 4:23, Jeremiah 32:39, Matthew 6:21