I do not know how to go out or come in.
...So give Your servant a hearing heart [.]
From Solomon's prayer, 1 Kings 3
NASB: "an understanding heart"; original literal wording "a hearing heart"
...I am but a little child;
I do not know how to go out or come in. ...So give Your servant a hearing heart [.] From Solomon's prayer, 1 Kings 3 NASB: "an understanding heart"; original literal wording "a hearing heart"
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A thought came to me recently. I doubt this is an original thought, but here goes: In the Passover story, the Lord asked His people to apply the blood of a slain lamb to the two doorposts of the house and to the lintel; when He saw the blood, He would pass over them and not destroy them as He executed His judgement against Egypt. The blood-covered lintel and doorposts clearly point to the cross, and even to its shape. But here's another picture: the Lord Jesus, dying on the cross, is also a door. We are not saved just by acknowledging that He died, or that it was a good thing He did there. We are saved only by walking through the Door: surrender to Him.
This song is my prayer. A magnificent, deeply intimate hymn written by Charles Wesley (1707-1788); the tune is "Aberystwyth," composed by Joseph Parry (1841-1903). It's sung here by the British folk group Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band. (Sincere apologies if there's an ad before the video.)
"Jesus, Lover of My Soul" In case that story left you discouraged yesterday (I hope not!), here is the remedy. (Not the song, the surrender. :) )
I posted this a couple of years ago, but it's time to hear it again: Brandin Reed's version of "I Surrender All" (Remember to turn off "Autoplay," which is now YouTube's default setting.)
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. Jesus to Nicodemus, John 3:14-15 YouTube video "The Old Rugged Cross"
words and music composed by George Bennard (1873-1958) performed by Alan Jackson I own and treasure a small black leather hymnal, passed down from my maternal great-grandmother, who was born in 1856 and lived much of her life in Prince Edward County, Ontario. The word is that she was "very religious" or had "a very deep faith." Since my mother's family were mostly church-goers (but that was the extent of it for most of them), I interpret this to mean that she was born again. If she doesn't already know that her great-granddaughter is also her sister, I hope it will bring her great joy when she finds this out one day.
This morning in my time with the Lord, I found a hymn I had never seen before. The words -- written by Charles Wesley (1707-1788) -- jumped off the page to me like a lover's frenzied shout: "How could You possibly have loved me this much?" I searched online for the accompanying tune and found two or three, including the one listed in the hymnal, but none of them grabbed me on the same emotional level as the words themselves had. Then I found this page, from a company in Texas called Old Fashioned Christian Radio Store, where "O Love divine" (presumably the same one) is part of an instrumental collection by Mathew Burtner called "Hear My Prayer"; the page includes a short preview of each tune on the CD. I've searched unsuccessfully to identify the composer of the music, but I'll try to track this down so that I can share it with you. In the meantime... this tune is a perfect match for the exquisite love song Charles Wesley wrote to his Saviour over two hundred years ago. Here is a clip of the tune, as performed by Mathew Burtner: "O Love divine" (The full tune ends at about 1 minute 3 seconds, in case you want to repeat it to listen along with each stanza.) Here are Charles Wesley's lyrics, as they appear in my little Methodist hymnal.* (The last two lines of each stanza are repeated.) O Love Divine! what hast Thou done? The incarnate God hath died for me! The Father's co-eternal Son Bore all my sins upon the tree: The incarnate God for me hath died; My Lord, my Love, is crucified. Behold Him, all ye that pass by, The bleeding Prince of Life and Peace! Come, sinners, see your Saviour die, And say, was ever grief like His! Come, feel with me His blood applied; My Lord, my Love, is crucified. Is crucified for me and you, To bring us rebels back to God; Believe, believe the record true: Ye all are bought with Jesus' blood; Pardon for all flows from His side; My Lord, my Love, is crucified. Then let us sit beneath His cross, And gladly catch the healing stream; All things for Him account but loss, And give up all our hearts to Him; Of nothing think or speak beside -- "My Lord, my Love, is crucified." _____________ * William Briggs, Methodist Hymn Book (Toronto: Methodist Book and Publishing House, 1917).
I love this bittersweet verse from Psalm 51:
Make me to hear joy and gladness, Let the bones which You have broken rejoice. Psalm 51:8 How transparent and how true! Just now on Bible Hub, I discovered a wonderful translation of this verse from a bible I had never heard of, the Aramaic Bible in Plain English*: Satisfy me in Your sweetness and Your joy and my humble bones will rejoice. Whatever He b r e a k s in a submitted life is meant to make us ready to soak Jesus in deeply. Only humbled, broken bones can absorb His true sweetness and joy. Keep sur- ren- der- ing. *(Initial caps added on Your)
This is a short video message by John Risbridger, head pastor ("team leader") of an independent evangelical church in Southampton, England. He has also spoken at the Keswick Convention for the past two years. I'd be hard pressed to imagine a clearer or more deeply relevant retelling of the gospel message.
YouTube video "What am I worth?" (Please remember to uncheck "Autoplay," which is now the YouTube default setting.)
"The one marvellous secret of a holy life lies not in imitating Jesus, but in letting the perfections of Jesus manifest themselves in my mortal flesh. Sanctification is 'Christ in you.' It is His wonderful life that is imparted to me in sanctification, and imparted by faith as a sovereign gift of God’s grace. Am I willing for God to make sanctification as real in me as it is in His word? ...Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation. Imitation is on a different line. In Jesus Christ is the perfection of everything, and the mystery of sanctification is that all the perfections of Jesus are at my disposal, and slowly and surely I begin to live a life of ineffable order and sanity and holiness: 'Kept by the power of God.'"
Oswald Chambers from "Sanctification," My Utmost for His Highest, July 23 I quoted this without explanation in a post called "Wings," from August 2013. It bears repeating.
Self-explanatory :)
Vimeo video "Ten Thousand Reasons (Bless the Lord)" Written and performed by Matt Redman
...So, it appears the chief priests were making a statement: Jesus is of no more value than a slave. He isn't worth "whatever is demanded," the penalty for the life of a free man, He's worth the amount a slave would be worth dead. Not long afterwards, Jesus died on a cross, not because He was betrayed for thirty shekels, but because He had chosen to die for us, and this betrayal was how it had to play out. The irony is this: Jesus was the only one in the story who was not a slave. And by His death, each of these priests, and even His betrayer, was being offered the chance to be set free from slavery. Set free, by the One who voluntarily gave whatever was required of Him for the redemption of all our lives. "The resurrected body of Jesus Christ has wounds. That was a revelation to me. Why did God not allow His resurrected body to have no wounds? Because there is resurrection life beyond the wounding, but the wounds, the scars are still part of who He is in His resurrection life, as they are with me and as they are with you. I have wounds in my life I would love them to be completely done away with. I would love them to disappear but it’s through the wounds that God ministers to people."
Hilary Price, "The Galilee Retreat," part 4, "Moving Beyond Failure"
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All thy sins were laid upon Him, Jesus bore them on the tree;
God, who knew them, laid them on Him, and, believing, thou art free. Joseph Denham Smith (c. 1817-1889) Praise reflection archives
May 2020
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...take root downward and bear fruit upward.
2 Kings 19:30 |