Dead all at once, and slowly dying —
Life in Christ means distancing
ourselves from worldly pursuits.
O eternal God in Heaven!
What affliction we feel, like Lot,
to see in our own divided hearts
the wicked ways of man.
Purify us for your presence!
Thank You, Lord!
While the ant scurries away, unworthy of the crumb it carries, I am aware of how I could bless (or overwhelm) its life with the entire cake I hold. Such is God’s grace to us. So, how should we respond? Probably like Paul did for the grace God showed the Christians in Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:4-9).
I. 2 Corinthians 8:3-7. A busy seaport city, Corinth was filled with immorality and idolatry, and despite the problems that Paul would address in his letters to them, he begins by giving thanks to God for the grace that He has shown them. He later urges them to show grace in giving like the churches in northern Greece have shown, letting them know that God has so much more from His abundance that He can give them (2 Corinthians 9:6-8). We, as they, might sing:
Thank You, Lord, for loving me And thank You, Lord, for blessing me. Thank You, Lord, for making me whole And saving my soul.
Let us all with one accord Sing praises to Christ the Lord. Let us all unite in song To praise Him all day long.
Please reveal Your will for me So I can serve You for eternity. Use my life in every way, Take hold of it today.
Thank You, Lord, for loving me. Thank You, Lord, for saving my soul.
II. 2 Peter 1:3-4. Paul was thankful to God that He continued to give to the Corinthians and would sustain them until the end. Since God has already given us His Son, all else is small in comparison (Romans 8:32). He gives all we need for life and godliness through His great and precious promises so we might participate in the divine nature with Him and escape this corrupt world. Our response should be a song of thankfulness from our hearts:
For all that You’ve done, I will thank You. For all that You’re going to do. For all that You’ve promised, and all that You are Is all that has carried me through, Jesus, I thank You!
And I thank You, thank You, Lord. And I thank You, thank You, Lord.
Thank You for loving and setting me free, (how I) Thank You for giving Your life just for me. How I thank You, Jesus, I thank You, gratefully thank You. Thank You.
III. Romans 7:21-25. Paul was also thankful that Jesus was able to present them guiltless (Jude 24) because God is faithful. And so, we can also trust in Jesus’ work in the gospel for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). Access to the Tree of Life that was denied mankind to live forever (Genesis 3:22) is now opened to those who obey the gospel (Revelation 22:14). Lamenting his struggle of the spiritual war waged within himself that we all share, Paul gave thanks to Jesus for his salvation:
How do you explain,
How do you describe,
A love that goes from east to west,
And runs and deep as it is wide?
You know all our hopes
Lord, you know all our fears
And words cannot express the love we feel
But we long for You to hear
How do you describe,
A love that goes from east to west,
And runs and deep as it is wide?
You know all our hopes
Lord, you know all our fears
And words cannot express the love we feel
But we long for You to hear
So listen to our hearts (oh, Lord, please listen)
Hear our spirits sing (and hear us sing)
A song of praise that flows (a simple song of praise)
From those You have redeemed (from those You have redeemed)
We will use the words we know
To tell You what an awesome God You are
But words are not enough
To tell You of our love
Hear our spirits sing (and hear us sing)
A song of praise that flows (a simple song of praise)
From those You have redeemed (from those You have redeemed)
We will use the words we know
To tell You what an awesome God You are
But words are not enough
To tell You of our love
So listen to our hearts
If words could fall like rain
From these lips of mine
And if I had a thousand years
I would still run out of time
From these lips of mine
And if I had a thousand years
I would still run out of time
So if You listen to my heart
Every beat would say,
“Thank You for the Life, thank You for the Truth,
Thank You for the Way.”
Every beat would say,
“Thank You for the Life, thank You for the Truth,
Thank You for the Way.”
Is thankfulness the song of your heart? Do you reflect on all the ways that Jesus helps you and what He has given you? May you overflow with thanks to God for His grace that He’s already given You and love He’ll continue to shower you with.
We do so many things wrong
Our Father who is in Heaven,
We know so little. Our hands are weak. Our eyes see only what is near. Come help us. Be present in our midst.
Thank you for another day to enjoy. We decide to live with your peace in our hearts. Help us to act today with kindness and contentment.
We decide to do your will. We want what you want. Help us to say only words that you approve. Give us strength to act like Jesus. Continue reading “We do so many things wrong”
That Day
Immersed, I felt pure and clean — prepared
for Jesus’ coming — joyful in your forgiveness —
secure and safe — possessor of all I’d heard;
That Day, O Lord, make me a happy witness!
No cheap imitation
Lord God of us all,
Let no cheap imitation of faith or zeal deceive us.
Warm our hearts in the fire of the Cross.
Be glorified in your people who love as you do.
Remind us of our need for your grace.
Forgive us daily of our many stumblings.
Inject us with the joy of eternal hope.
Increase our faith, for greater service in your kingdom.
Because Jesus is Lord. Amen.
For Our Transgression We Lament
This poem was inspired by this comment
For our transgression we lament,
O God, whose eyes see naught of sin;
With broken pride, our strength is spent,
Against the world we cannot win.
Your heavy hand upon us weighs,
How long to rest, O Lord, how long?
Why must we wait? Why such delays?
Why must we sing this tearful song?
Reveal your power, your upraised hand,
Come heal our sad and broken soul;
Break now your silence, give command —
To bring relief and make us whole.
Strong to deal with the devil
Father, forgive us our sins. We stand in constant need of your cleansing. We confess our inability to deal with our guilt. You alone can purify us.
Father, help us to be holy, as you are holy. Sanctify us in the truth. Jesus is our sacrifice. We plead for forgiveness based on his death.
Father, keep temptation away. Make us strong to deal with the devil. Help us to seek help from our family of faith. Make us strong helpers of the weak.
Father, thank you for accepting our prayer. We praise you for your goodness and for your sacrificial love. Your presence gives us life. Your word offers us hope. May you be blessed forevermore.
The dreariness of the rain
Our Father in Heaven,
Show us in the dreariness of the rain
how life is given to the earth.
And show us in the bleakness of this world
how joy is rooted in our hope of Christ.
Remind us in the storms and quakes of this earth
that the ground is not so solid beneath us.
Remind us in the tragedies and hurts we experience
that this world holds nothing for us.
Tell us in the prevalence of fake news
that we can trust little of what we hear.
Tell us in the multiplication of false doctrines
that man cannot know your mind and will.
Reveal to us in our frustrated attempts to forgive ourselves
how peace is beyond our reach.
Reveal to us in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ
that reconciliation is as close as his cleansing blood.
To Christ we go for forgiveness
Heavenly Father above, who is in all, and through all, and for all —
In Christ’s name we pray with thanks and praise. Keep us awake, to win over the weakness of the flesh.
To Christ we go for forgiveness. His blood cleanses us from the guilt of sin. Let us stay near his cross at every hour.
In Christ are all spiritual blessings. Bless us that we might be a blessing to others.
With Christ we walk. Give us your strength and wisdom to follow him faithfully and reach the goal of faith, the salvation of our souls.
For Christ we speak. Make all other topics pale, and may all subjects be made to lead to him.
For Christ we wait. We pray “Maranatha, Come, Lord Jesus.” Send our Master to receive us in the heavens.
Amen.
Made You Alive with Christ
In David LaChapelle’s painting, “Last Supper,” Jesus is surrounded by the sinners of today, yet Romans 5:6-8 tells us that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Thus in the cross we see God’s love shown through His benevolence.
I. Colossians 2:13-14. We were dead in our sin, but God made us alive with Christ. Through His work on the cross, we can see His benevolence through His forgiveness and justice. While it is easy to see love in not counting our sins against us, it is harder to see love in Jesus dying to pay for our sin.
II. Hebrews 4:14-16. Mercy is not getting what we do deserve, and grace is getting what we don’t deserve. Because of God’s benevolence in the form of His Son on the cross, we don’t have to be eternally punished for our sin and will spend eternity in heaven with Jesus instead (Romans 3:21-26).
III. Ephesians 2:1-5. We who have received God’s benevolence must, in turn, show benevolence to others. This is illustrated well in Jesus’ parable of Matthew 18:21-35 in the story of the debtor, forgiven of his debt, who wouldn’t forgive another of the debt owed to him.
God’s love, as shown through Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross, brings us to another table, one laid out for the wedding supper of the Lamb. We are spiritual beggars, knowing we are not worthy of a scrap from the King of King’s table, yet we find ourselves in robes washed clean and seated at the table, feasting for all eternity.