VIDEO To God be the glory, Great things He hath done!

Nov 30, 2008

To God be the glory! Great things He hath done!
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son;
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,
And opened the life gate that all may go in.

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
Let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son:
and give Him the glory! Great things He hath done!

O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood!
To every believer the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

Great things He hath taught us, great things He hath done,
And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;
But purer, and higher, and greater will be
Our wonder, our rapture, when Jesus we see.

If My People: Pray for Conviction

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. Ephesians 1:18-19a, NASB

In the second century B.C. came the compass; now we have GPS. People today get in their cars and obey the directions of their GPS. With both the compass and the GPS, one thing is required: conviction.

The same is true spiritually. In order to navigate through life’s difficult passages, we must grow in conviction that God is in control. We must believe that the directions He gives will lead to our destination. Paul prayed as much for the Ephesians—that the eyes of their hearts would be enlightened. He wanted them to know more and more of God’s calling, the riches of the inheritance God prepared for them, and of His great power toward them. We don’t get all of that the day we believe. We must grow in our spiritual conviction.

Pray the same for yourself today. Pray God would enlighten the eyes of your heart to see God more fully and clearly.

Day by day, day by day, O dear Lord, three things I pray: to see thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, follow thee more nearly, day by day. Richard of Chichester

Watching God Work

Psalms 66

The Lord’s fingerprints can be detected all throughout history. At times His work is dramatically obvious—like parting the Red Sea—but other times, it’s unnoticeable to our senses. Our lack of perception, however, never impedes His activities. He keeps working whether we’re aware of it or not, and blessings await those who develop the spiritual discernment to see what He is doing.

Preconceived ideas about how the Lord works can be a significant hindrance to perception. When He answers our prayers, we rejoice and readily acknowledge His active intervention on our behalf. But what if He doesn’t give us what we request? Too often we then conclude He’s not doing anything. But in today’s passage, the psalmist recognizes that God works in a variety of ways—sometimes with a great deliverance (Ps. 66:5-6) and sometimes through painful situations (Ps. 66:10-12).

Another problem that can prevent us from seeing God’s hand in our life is inattention. The demands of a busy lifestyle claim our time and concentration, leaving little room for quiet moments in His presence. Without periods of meditation and prayer, our spiritual senses become dull. But those who read Scripture regularly will learn to recognize the Lord’s activity in their life, because He always acts in accordance with His Word.

Eyes focused on the Lord are open to a new perspective. Your faith will grow as you begin to discern His activity in your life. The joy and excitement of seeing His involvement in both big and small areas will motivate you to praise and thank Him, even in the hard times.

Unshakable Things

“And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.” (Hebrews 12:27)

In this present evil world, there are many pressures that would tend to shake our faith and tempt us to compromise. Paul would exhort persecuted believers “that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled” by such things, but rather to “stand fast” in the truths God has taught them (2 Thessalonians 2:2, 15).

The “hope set before us: . . . we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast” (Hebrews 6:18-19). The “word” to which our text refers is from Haggai 2:6-7: “For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come,” who will establish “a kingdom which cannot be moved” (Hebrews 12:28).

Note God’s amazing promise: “The heavens shall vanish away like smoke, . . . but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished” (Isaiah 51:6). Similarly, Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). “The world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:17).

The earth may crumble, and even our bodies may return to dust, but God’s Word endures, and so do His righteousness and His kingdom and His great salvation! If our hope is in Him and His Word alone, and if we are seeking to do His gracious will, then our faith and our destiny can never be shaken. “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain” (Isaiah 66:22). HMM

In Case God Fails

Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. —Deuteronomy 31:6

To many Christians Christ is little more than an idea, or at best an ideal; He is not a fact. Millions of professed believers talk as if He were real and act as if He were not. And always our actual position is to be discovered by the way we act, not by the way we talk….

Many of us Christians have become extremely skillful in arranging our lives so as to admit the truth of Christianity without being embarrassed by its implications. We fix things so that we can get on well enough without divine aid, while at the same time ostensibly seeking it. We boast in the Lord but watch carefully that we never get caught depending on Him. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it” (Jeremiah 17:9)?

Pseudo-faith always arranges a way out to serve in case God fails it. Real faith knows only one way and gladly allows itself to be stripped of any second ways or makeshift substitutes. For true faith, it is either God or total collapse. And not since Adam first stood up on the earth has God failed a single man or woman who trusted Him.

Thank You, Father, that my faith rests in an unfailing God. Help me remember that I don’t need a backup plan, “just in case.” I rest in Your faithfulness today. Amen.

Yes, I Will Arise and Go

I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned. (Luke 15:18)

When Jesus told the story of the Prodigal Son, He was giving our lost society a graphic picture of more than a willful son or a backslidden man.

Years ago I spent time alone with God, in prayer and supplication, asking the Spirit of God to aid me in the comprehension of the parable of the Prodigal Son. I have relied upon the understanding which I believe God gave me.

I believe the Prodigal Son is God’s clear-cut picture to us of the entire human race that went out to the pig-sty in Adam—and came back to the Father in Christ!

The most telling part of the parable is the fact that the errant son “came to himself”—and that speaks to us of the reality and necessity of repentance. He could repent and turn and seek forgiveness because he knew that his Father had not changed. He knew the character of his Father. Except for that knowledge, he could never have said: “I will arise and go to my Father!”

Brethren, all of us who have come back to God by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ have found, as did the prodigal, that the Father in heaven has not changed at all!

What is your desire this day?

What is your desire this day? Is it set upon heavenly things? Do you desire liberty in close communication with God? Do you aspire to know the heights, and depths, and lengths, and breadths? Then you must draw near to Jesus; you must get a clear sight of him in his preciousness and completeness. He who understands Christ, receives an anointing from the Holy One, by which he knows all things. Are you saying, “O that he would dwell in my bosom?” “Would that he would make my heart his dwelling-place forever?” Open the door, beloved, and he will come into your souls. He has long been knocking, and he will sup with you, and you with him.