Most of us know what it is to be overwhelmed in heart;
emptied as when a man wipeth a dish and turneth it upside down;
submerged and thrown on our beam ends like a vessel mastered by the storm.
Discoveries of inward corruption will do this, if the Lord permits the great deep of our depravity to become troubled and cast up mire and dirt.
Disappointments and heart-breaks will do this when billow after billow rolls over us, and we are like a broken shell hurled to and fro by the surf.
Blessed be God,
at such seasons we are not without an all-sufficient solace,
our God is the harbour of weather-beaten sails,
the hospice of forlorn pilgrims.
Higher
than we are
is he,
his mercy higher than our sins,
his love higher than our thoughts.
It is pitiful to see men putting their trust in something lower than themselves; but our confidence is fixed upon an exceeding high and glorious Lord.
A Rock
he is
since
he changes not,
and a high Rock,
because the tempests which overwhelm us roll far beneath at his feet;
he is not disturbed by them,
but rules them at his will.
If we get under the shelter of this lofty Rock we may defy the hurricane; all is calm under the lee of that towering cliff.
Alas! such is the confusion in which the troubled mind is often cast, that we need piloting to this divine shelter.
Hence the prayer of the text.
O Lord, our God,
by thy Holy Spirit,
teach us the way of faith,
lead us into thy rest.
The wind blows us out to sea, the helm answers not to our puny hand;
thou, thou alone
canst steer us over the bar between yon sunken rocks, safe into the fair haven.
How dependent we are upon thee—we need thee to bring us to thee.
To be wisely directed and steered into safety and peace is thy gift,
and thine alone.
This night be pleased to deal well with thy servants.
From the ends of the earth I call to You,
I call as my heart grows faint;
lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
Psalm 61:2
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
Infinite Value
True confession time.
I can be a music reality show junkie. If I can't catch an episode, I record it or find it in OnDemand. Quite honestly, I am drawn in weekly less by the talent of it all and more by the human interest of the experience.
There's one overarching characteristic linking the contestants of these shows together. They're all looking for acceptance. From the very early stages of the competition, they are praying to be affirmed.
They don't seem to want to be told that they are the most amazing talent to ever grace a stage.
Instead, the longing is to be told simply that they are good. Good enough. Valued. Valued by someone...the judges, the fans, their peers, their parents, their long-lost critics of bygone ages.
Many of the contestants have overcome adversity: years of being told they aren't worthy of chasing their dreams, physical difficulties and accidents to fight through, family responsibilities that take up the majority of their time, setbacks of all types.
These are the ones we love. We cry when we hear their stories. We root for them. Know them by name.
As long as pride does not overwhelm their story, we take them into our hearts. We are drawn to the humble strength that comes with suffering for a cause, for a part of oneself.
Isn't that the way we were created?
Created for affirmation, created for relationship, created for caring.
The Fall perverted how we seek to fill this created part of our being. Instead of seeking fellowship with the One who created us for eternal, holy fellowship, we put our trust in people, in acquisition, in status, in success.
We were created with intrinsic value. We were created in His image. He has value, infinite value. He imparted that valuableness to us.
We sense that we have value, and we wish to have that confirmed in our souls. When the affirmation is fickle or slow in coming, we are crushed. This is why we can't entrust our value to other humans. Our ability to esteem each other is tarnished and circumscribed by selfishness and pride.
Yet, we long to let others know that we value them. We were created for this as well. We are relational and were made to give back to Him...to others. We don't know how to do this perfectly or even well. We struggle and stumble in our small attempts to express that which is too big for us to grasp: Love. Charity. Goodness. Kindness. Sacrifice.
I watch the contestants explain why they are driven to do what they do. Why they are willing to stand in front of thousands with their rare gift and be completely vulnerable with the thing they care about most: their dreams.
So often, it comes down to finding positive recognition for their giftings.
They need Jesus. Sometimes, I tell my television this. They need the perfect affirmation that comes only from knowing Him.
I remember the day it became clear to me that I am never out of His mind. He thinks of me constantly. Prays for me. Remembers me before the Father. Loves me. Calls me His beloved.
For a girl with many dreams and a few disappointments, this was astounding. I've known Him for many years, but I still forget these precious bits and bobs in the midst of just living.
Do you wonder if you are precious? If you are remembered? If you and your dreams and your giftings are valuable despite your failures and adversity and loneliness?
Beloved, He spent His life on you. That's the value He places on your life. He took the value you already had and increased it infinitely.
I can be a music reality show junkie. If I can't catch an episode, I record it or find it in OnDemand. Quite honestly, I am drawn in weekly less by the talent of it all and more by the human interest of the experience.
There's one overarching characteristic linking the contestants of these shows together. They're all looking for acceptance. From the very early stages of the competition, they are praying to be affirmed.
They don't seem to want to be told that they are the most amazing talent to ever grace a stage.
Instead, the longing is to be told simply that they are good. Good enough. Valued. Valued by someone...the judges, the fans, their peers, their parents, their long-lost critics of bygone ages.
Many of the contestants have overcome adversity: years of being told they aren't worthy of chasing their dreams, physical difficulties and accidents to fight through, family responsibilities that take up the majority of their time, setbacks of all types.
These are the ones we love. We cry when we hear their stories. We root for them. Know them by name.
As long as pride does not overwhelm their story, we take them into our hearts. We are drawn to the humble strength that comes with suffering for a cause, for a part of oneself.
Isn't that the way we were created?
Created for affirmation, created for relationship, created for caring.
The Fall perverted how we seek to fill this created part of our being. Instead of seeking fellowship with the One who created us for eternal, holy fellowship, we put our trust in people, in acquisition, in status, in success.
We were created with intrinsic value. We were created in His image. He has value, infinite value. He imparted that valuableness to us.
We sense that we have value, and we wish to have that confirmed in our souls. When the affirmation is fickle or slow in coming, we are crushed. This is why we can't entrust our value to other humans. Our ability to esteem each other is tarnished and circumscribed by selfishness and pride.
Yet, we long to let others know that we value them. We were created for this as well. We are relational and were made to give back to Him...to others. We don't know how to do this perfectly or even well. We struggle and stumble in our small attempts to express that which is too big for us to grasp: Love. Charity. Goodness. Kindness. Sacrifice.
I watch the contestants explain why they are driven to do what they do. Why they are willing to stand in front of thousands with their rare gift and be completely vulnerable with the thing they care about most: their dreams.
So often, it comes down to finding positive recognition for their giftings.
They need Jesus. Sometimes, I tell my television this. They need the perfect affirmation that comes only from knowing Him.
I remember the day it became clear to me that I am never out of His mind. He thinks of me constantly. Prays for me. Remembers me before the Father. Loves me. Calls me His beloved.
For a girl with many dreams and a few disappointments, this was astounding. I've known Him for many years, but I still forget these precious bits and bobs in the midst of just living.
Do you wonder if you are precious? If you are remembered? If you and your dreams and your giftings are valuable despite your failures and adversity and loneliness?
Beloved, He spent His life on you. That's the value He places on your life. He took the value you already had and increased it infinitely.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
A people near unto Him (Psalm 148:14) – c.h. spurgeon
The dispensation of
the old covenant was that of distance.
When God appeared even to his servant Moses,
he said, “Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet”;
and when he manifested himself upon Mount Sinai,
to his own chosen and separated people,
one of the first commands was, “Thou shalt set bounds about the mount.”
Both in the sacred worship of the tabernacle and the temple,
the thought of distance was always prominent.
The mass of the people
did not even enter
the outer court.
Into the inner court
none but the priests
might dare to intrude;
while into the innermost place,
or the holy of holies,
the high priest entered but once in the year.
It was as if the Lord in those early ages would teach man that sin was so utterly loathsome to him, that he must treat men as lepers put without the camp; and when he came nearest to them, he yet made them feel the width of the separation between a holy God and an impure sinner.
When God appeared even to his servant Moses,
he said, “Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet”;
and when he manifested himself upon Mount Sinai,
to his own chosen and separated people,
one of the first commands was, “Thou shalt set bounds about the mount.”
Both in the sacred worship of the tabernacle and the temple,
the thought of distance was always prominent.
The mass of the people
did not even enter
the outer court.
Into the inner court
none but the priests
might dare to intrude;
while into the innermost place,
or the holy of holies,
the high priest entered but once in the year.
It was as if the Lord in those early ages would teach man that sin was so utterly loathsome to him, that he must treat men as lepers put without the camp; and when he came nearest to them, he yet made them feel the width of the separation between a holy God and an impure sinner.
When the gospel
came,
we were placed on quite another footing.
we were placed on quite another footing.
The word “Go”
was exchanged for
“Come”;
distance was made to give place to nearness,
and we who aforetime were afar off,
were made nigh by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Incarnate Deity has no wall of fire about it.
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” is the joyful proclamation of God as he appears in human flesh.
Not now does he teach the leper his leprosy by setting him at a distance, but by himself suffering the penalty of his defilement.
What a state of safety and privilege is this nearness to God through Jesus!
Do you know it by experience?
If you know it, are you living in the power of it?
Marvellous is this nearness,
yet it is to be followed by a dispensation of greater nearness still,
when it shall be said,
“The tabernacle of God is with men, and he doth dwell among them.”
Hasten it, O Lord.
was exchanged for
“Come”;
distance was made to give place to nearness,
and we who aforetime were afar off,
were made nigh by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Incarnate Deity has no wall of fire about it.
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” is the joyful proclamation of God as he appears in human flesh.
Not now does he teach the leper his leprosy by setting him at a distance, but by himself suffering the penalty of his defilement.
What a state of safety and privilege is this nearness to God through Jesus!
Do you know it by experience?
If you know it, are you living in the power of it?
Marvellous is this nearness,
yet it is to be followed by a dispensation of greater nearness still,
when it shall be said,
“The tabernacle of God is with men, and he doth dwell among them.”
Hasten it, O Lord.
“He has raised
up for His people a horn, the praise of all His saints, of Israel
Psalm 148:14
Psalm 148:14
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Trust in him at all times (Psalm 62:8) - c.h. spurgeon
Faith
is as much the rule of temporal as of spiritual life;
we ought to have faith in God
for our earthly affairs as well as for our heavenly business.
It is only as we learn to trust in God for the supply of all our daily need that we shall live above the world.
We are not to be idle,
that would show we did not trust in God, who worketh hitherto,
but in the devil, who is the father of idleness.
We are not to be imprudent or rash;
that were to trust chance,
and not the living God, who is a God of economy and order.
Acting in all prudence and uprightness,
we are to rely simply and entirely upon the Lord at all times.
Let me commend to you a life of trust in God in temporal things....
Serve God with integrity, and if you achieve no success, at least no sin will lie upon your conscience.
[H]e that trusteth in the Lord is like a vessel propelled by steam,
she cuts through the waves,
defies the wind,
and makes one bright silvery
straightforward track to her destined haven.
Be you a man with living principles within; never bow to the varying customs of worldly wisdom.
Walk in your path of integrity with steadfast steps, and show that you are invincibly strong in the strength which confidence in God alone can confer.
Thus you will be delivered from anxious care,
you will not be troubled with evil tidings,
your heart will be fixed, trusting in the Lord.
How pleasant to float along the stream of providence!
There is no more blessed way of living than a life of dependence upon a covenant-keeping God.
We have no care,
for he careth for us;
we have no troubles,
because we cast our burdens upon the Lord.
Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.
Psalm 62:8
is as much the rule of temporal as of spiritual life;
we ought to have faith in God
for our earthly affairs as well as for our heavenly business.
It is only as we learn to trust in God for the supply of all our daily need that we shall live above the world.
We are not to be idle,
that would show we did not trust in God, who worketh hitherto,
but in the devil, who is the father of idleness.
We are not to be imprudent or rash;
that were to trust chance,
and not the living God, who is a God of economy and order.
Acting in all prudence and uprightness,
we are to rely simply and entirely upon the Lord at all times.
Let me commend to you a life of trust in God in temporal things....
Serve God with integrity, and if you achieve no success, at least no sin will lie upon your conscience.
[H]e that trusteth in the Lord is like a vessel propelled by steam,
she cuts through the waves,
defies the wind,
and makes one bright silvery
straightforward track to her destined haven.
Be you a man with living principles within; never bow to the varying customs of worldly wisdom.
Walk in your path of integrity with steadfast steps, and show that you are invincibly strong in the strength which confidence in God alone can confer.
Thus you will be delivered from anxious care,
you will not be troubled with evil tidings,
your heart will be fixed, trusting in the Lord.
How pleasant to float along the stream of providence!
There is no more blessed way of living than a life of dependence upon a covenant-keeping God.
We have no care,
for he careth for us;
we have no troubles,
because we cast our burdens upon the Lord.
Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.
Psalm 62:8
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide (Genesis 24:63) – c.h. spurgeon
Very
admirable was his occupation.
If those who spend so many hours in idle company,
light reading, and useless pastimes,
could learn wisdom,
If those who spend so many hours in idle company,
light reading, and useless pastimes,
could learn wisdom,
they would find more profitable society and more interesting engagements
in meditation
than in the vanities which now have such charms for them.
We should all know more,
live nearer to God,
and grow in grace,
if we were more alone.
Meditation…extracts the real nutriment from the mental food gathered elsewhere.
When Jesus is the theme, meditation is sweet indeed.
Isaac found Rebecca while engaged in private musings;
many others have found their best beloved there.
Very admirable was the choice of place.
In the field we have a study hung round with texts for thought.
From the cedar to the hyssop,
from the soaring eagle down to the chirping grasshopper,
from the blue expanse of heaven to a drop of dew,
all things are full of teaching,
and when the eye is divinely opened,
that teaching flashes upon the mind
far more vividly than from written books.
Our little rooms are neither
so healthy,
so suggestive,
so agreeable,
or
so inspiring as the fields.
Let us count nothing common or unclean,
but feel that all created things point to their Maker,
and the field will at once be hallowed.
Very admirable was the season.
The season of sunset
as it draws a veil over the day,
befits that repose of the soul
when earthborn cares yield
to the joys of heavenly communion.
The glory of the setting sun excites our wonder,
and the solemnity of approaching night awakens our awe.
If the business of this day will permit it, it will be well,
dear reader,
if you can spare an hour to walk in the field at eventide,
in meditation
than in the vanities which now have such charms for them.
We should all know more,
live nearer to God,
and grow in grace,
if we were more alone.
Meditation…extracts the real nutriment from the mental food gathered elsewhere.
When Jesus is the theme, meditation is sweet indeed.
Isaac found Rebecca while engaged in private musings;
many others have found their best beloved there.
Very admirable was the choice of place.
In the field we have a study hung round with texts for thought.
From the cedar to the hyssop,
from the soaring eagle down to the chirping grasshopper,
from the blue expanse of heaven to a drop of dew,
all things are full of teaching,
and when the eye is divinely opened,
that teaching flashes upon the mind
far more vividly than from written books.
Our little rooms are neither
so healthy,
so suggestive,
so agreeable,
or
so inspiring as the fields.
Let us count nothing common or unclean,
but feel that all created things point to their Maker,
and the field will at once be hallowed.
Very admirable was the season.
The season of sunset
as it draws a veil over the day,
befits that repose of the soul
when earthborn cares yield
to the joys of heavenly communion.
The glory of the setting sun excites our wonder,
and the solemnity of approaching night awakens our awe.
If the business of this day will permit it, it will be well,
dear reader,
if you can spare an hour to walk in the field at eventide,
but if not,
the Lord is in the town too,
and
will meet with thee in thy chamber or in the crowded street.
Let thy heart go forth to meet him.
the Lord is in the town too,
and
will meet with thee in thy chamber or in the crowded street.
Let thy heart go forth to meet him.
He went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching. Rebekah also looked up and
saw Isaac. She got down from her camel and asked the servant, "Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?"
Genesis 24:63-65
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Everlasting consolation (2 Thessalonians 2:16) – c.h. spurgeon
“Consolation.”
There is music in the word: like David's harp, it charms away the evil spirit of melancholy.
It was a distinguished honour to Barnabas to be called “the son of consolation”;
nay, it is one of the illustrious names of a greater than Barnabas,
for the Lord Jesus is “the consolation of Israel.”
“Everlasting consolation” — here is the cream of all,
for the eternity of comfort
is the crown and glory of it.
There is music in the word: like David's harp, it charms away the evil spirit of melancholy.
It was a distinguished honour to Barnabas to be called “the son of consolation”;
nay, it is one of the illustrious names of a greater than Barnabas,
for the Lord Jesus is “the consolation of Israel.”
“Everlasting consolation” — here is the cream of all,
for the eternity of comfort
is the crown and glory of it.
What is this “everlasting consolation”?
It includes a sense of pardoned sin.
A Christian man has received in his heart the witness of the Spirit that his iniquities are put away like a cloud, and his transgressions like a thick cloud.
If sin be pardoned, is not that an everlasting consolation?
Next, the Lord gives his people an abiding sense of acceptance in Christ.
The Christian knows that God looks upon him as standing in union with Jesus.Union to the
risen Lord is a consolation of the most abiding order; it is, in fact,
everlasting.
Let sickness prostrate us,
have we not seen hundreds of believers as happy in the weakness of disease
as they would have been in the strength of hale and blooming health?
Let death's arrows pierce us to the heart,
our comfort dies not, for have not our ears full often heard
the songs of saints as they have rejoiced
because the living love of God was shed abroad in their hearts in dying moments?
Yes, a sense of acceptance in the Beloved is an everlasting consolation.
Moreover, the Christian has a conviction of his security.
God has promised to save those who trust in Christ: the Christian does trust in Christ, and he believes that God will be as good as his word, and will save him.
He feels that he is safe
by virtue of his being bound up
with the person and work of Jesus.
It includes a sense of pardoned sin.
A Christian man has received in his heart the witness of the Spirit that his iniquities are put away like a cloud, and his transgressions like a thick cloud.
If sin be pardoned, is not that an everlasting consolation?
Next, the Lord gives his people an abiding sense of acceptance in Christ.
The Christian knows that God looks upon him as standing in union with Jesus.
Let sickness prostrate us,
have we not seen hundreds of believers as happy in the weakness of disease
as they would have been in the strength of hale and blooming health?
Let death's arrows pierce us to the heart,
our comfort dies not, for have not our ears full often heard
the songs of saints as they have rejoiced
because the living love of God was shed abroad in their hearts in dying moments?
Yes, a sense of acceptance in the Beloved is an everlasting consolation.
Moreover, the Christian has a conviction of his security.
God has promised to save those who trust in Christ: the Christian does trust in Christ, and he believes that God will be as good as his word, and will save him.
He feels that he is safe
by virtue of his being bound up
with the person and work of Jesus.
“Now our Lord
Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath
given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your
hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.”
II Thessalonians 2:16-17
II Thessalonians 2:16-17
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Her last two coins
On my nightstand rest two tiny coppery disks. The symbols engraved on them are foreign,
ancient. I don’t exactly know how I came
by these metallic
images of sacrifice.
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Each one represents a coin placed in the temple treasury by the widow whose story is recorded in Luke 21:1-4.
I learned her narrative in my childhood Sunday School class. There, her humble gift of two small coins was always contrasted with the showy contributions of the pompous rich. I understood, as the record shows, that she gave everything she had to live on for the Lord’s work.
By my teachers, she was lauded as a woman of great generosity…and rightfully so. The lesson was that we should be generous in giving to the Lord, and not just in times of comfortable wealth.
But I never really thought about WHY she gave her last two coins as an offering.
It certainly wasn’t for praise or honor—it seems that Jesus was the only one who noticed her and knew her situation. He drew attention to her, not the other way around. My guess is that it was incredibly humbling for her to place that little bit of change in the treasury in the midst of all of the other liberal wealth flowing that day.
It wasn’t to “keep up with the Joneses” either, for who would willingly give up her last pennies as an offering at an already gilded temple when there is daily bread to buy and monthly rent to pay?
I doubt it was for atonement or some sort of guilt offering. If she needed to respond to God’s requirements of justice, surely she would have done all she could to save up enough to purchase the appropriate animal to sacrifice at that temple, as she had been raised to do.
If not for these reasons, then why would she give all she had to live on?
Two thoughts spring to mind.
1. She was fully devoted to God. She had something, tiny yet precious, to give Him as an offering, and she did not allow her poverty to stop her from giving from a willing, generous, loving heart.
2. More importantly, I think it was that she knew something about the God she served with her last ounce of sustenance: She knew her God would provide for her needs. Perhaps she reasoned that He had brought her, a lowly and impoverished widow, this far, and He could certainly grant her all she needed in the days to come. She was throwing herself on His gracious promise to care for the most vulnerable of
Another idea dances around the edges of my thoughts: What if God simply laid it on her heart to take her two very last coins to the temple on the very day Jesus and His disciples were standing there? All so future generations could have an object lesson about what it truly means to give righteously?
Of course, that prompting would likely not go too far unless our dear widow’s heart was both devoted to her Lord and filled with faith in His promises.
Stories like these make me want to grab a dozen Bible commentaries, as I did when I had an entire Bible college library easily within reach, and read what others have to say about her story. There is so much more to an account when the cultural and historical context is explained in greater detail. If I tried to add that to this little post, I’d get so excited and share everything…and this would end up being 20 pages long!
Back to the replicas of the widow’s “mites.” I keep them on my nightstand to remind me to be gracious in my offerings. (While I have not yet attained this level of giving in my finances or any of my other resources, I want to press on toward that goal.)
We humans like visible reminders of spiritual concepts.
Touchstones.
Tangibles that give us something finite to hold on to when we’re struggling to grasp what it means to serve an infinite God.
I gaze at their holding place.
These little metal disks sit beside two equally small glass spheres. Two marbles, each one a tiny icon of two of my ongoing prayer requests. Once each prayer is answered with a clear “yes,” “no,” or “now is the right time,” the marble representing it will be taken back to my alma mater’s prayer room and deposited in the glass bowl filled with other multi-colored, round demonstrations of the answered prayers of fellow students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
As I reflect on these four objects lined up together for the time being, it occurs to me that my coins should also be speaking a message of whole-hearted devotion and unwavering trust in a God who hears and answers our prayers and cares for us in our most vulnerable state.
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