Thursday, July 31, 2008

Whate'er My God Ordains is Right

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
His holy will abideth;
I will be still whate’er He doth;
And follow where He guideth;
He is my God; though dark my road,
He holds me that I shall not fall:
Wherefore to Him I leave it all.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
He never will deceive me;
He leads me by the proper path:
I know He will not leave me.
I take, content, what He hath sent;
His hand can turn my griefs away,
And patiently I wait His day.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
His loving thought attends me;
No poison can be in the cup
That my Physician sends me.
My God is true; each morn anew
I’ll trust His grace unending,
My life to Him commending.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
He is my Friend and Father;
He suffers naught to do me harm,
Though many storms may gather,
Now I may know both joy and woe,
Some day I shall see clearly
That He hath loved me dearly.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
Though now this cup, in drinking,
May bitter seem to my faint heart,
I take it, all unshrinking.
My God is true; each morn anew
Sweet comfort yet shall fill my heart,
And pain and sorrow shall depart.

Whate’er my God ordains is right:
Here shall my stand be taken;
Though sorrow, need, or death be mine,
Yet I am not forsaken.
My Father’s care is round me there;
He holds me that I shall not fall:
And so to Him I leave it all.

~Samuel Rodigast, 1676

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Sovereignty

God's Sovereignty

There is no attribute more comforting to His children, than that of God's sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe trials--they believe that sovereignty has ordained their afflictions, that sovereignty overrules them, and that sovereignty will sanctify them all. There is nothing for which the children of God ought more earnestly to contend, than the doctrine of their Master over all creation--the kingship of God over all the works of His own hands--the throne of God and His right to sit upon that throne.

On the other hand, there is no doctrine more hated by worldlings, no truth of which they have made such a football--as the great, stupendous, but yet most certain doctrine, of the sovereignty of the infinite Jehovah. Men will allow God to be everywhere, except on His throne. They will allow Him to be in His workshop to fashion worlds and make stars. They will allow Him to be in His almonry to dispense His alms and bestow His bounties. They will allow Him to sustain the earth and bear up the pillars thereof, or light the lamps of heaven, or rule the waves of the ever-moving ocean; but when God ascends His throne--then His creatures gnash their teeth!

We proclaim an enthroned God, and His right to do as He wills with His own, to dispose of His creatures as He thinks well, without consulting them in the matter. Then it is, that we are hissed and execrated; and then it is, that men turn a deaf ear to us--for God on His throne--is not the God they love. But it is God upon the throne that we love to preach. It is God upon His throne, whom we trust!

~Charles Spurgeon

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Fearing God or Loving the World

I recently learned from Krista Fetterly about a great seminar that Logan Carr did this past February for a group of ladies between the ages 18 and 23. The title is Fearing God or Loving the World. There is also a Q and A. They are both excellent! Since Logan Carr will be at our church for a women's fall conference on September 12-13, I thought many of you ladies would enjoy hearing her on this topic. This would be very good to allow your older teen girls to hear, also.

You can go here for the conference message and here for the Q&A segment.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Give Me Your Heart...

Give Me your Heart

(Arthur W. Pink)

"Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)

"My son, give Me your heart." (Proverbs 23:26)

A "willing" heart (Exodus 35:5)--which acts spontaneously and gladly, not out of necessity.

A "perfect" heart (1 Chronicles 29:9)--sincere, genuine, upright.

A "tender" heart (2 Chronicles 34:27)--yielding and pliable, the opposite of hard and stubborn.

A "broken" heart (Psalm 34:18)--sorrowing over all failure and sin.

A "united" heart (Psalm 86:11)--all the affections centered on God.

An "enlarged" heart (Psalm 119:32)--delighting in every part of Scripture, and loving all God's people.

A "sound" heart (Proverbs 14:30)--right in both doctrine and practice.

A "merry" heart (Proverbs 15:15)--rejoicing in the Lord always.

A "pure" heart (Matthew 5:8)--hating all evil.

An "honest and good heart" (Luke 8:15)--free from deceit and hypocrisy, willing to be searched through and through by the Word.

A "single" heart (Ephesians 6:5)--desiring only God's glory.

A "true" heart (Hebrews 10:22)--genuine in all its dealings with God.

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do." (Proverbs 4:23)


From Grace Gems

Friday, July 4, 2008

The Inexhaustible Gospel

“To grow in your passion for what Jesus has done, increase your understanding of what He has done.

Never be content with your grasp of the gospel. The gospel is life-permeating, world-altering, universe-changing truth. It has more facets than any diamond. Its depths man will never exhaust.”

From CJ Mahaney "The Cross Centered Life".

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

No One Else Could Do It

CJ Mahaney's book, Living The Cross Centered Life, has many nuggets to meditate on. I recently purchased this at a conference and have been reading through it. It is a wonderful book...many times while reading it I have had to put the book down just to say thank you, Lord for the cross, and what you have done for us. It reminds us of who we are and what God did for us...something we should never get over. CJ Mahaney says this in the chapter on the divine rescue:

No one else could do it. Only Jesus Christ, truly God and fully man, could be our substitute and make this sacrifice. Only Jesus could ever stand in this unique place and position. This One who lived the only perfect life also died a completely unique death as a ransom for our sin. He paid the price you and I owed to the innocent offended party, God our Creator and Judge. Therefore the offended party is appeased. His righteous wrath against our sin is satisfied, having been poured out not upon us, but on Christ. God's holy hostility against us has ended. The divine dilemma is resolved. That's what Christ's death means to God.