Category Archives: Bible

Paul Tripp ~ Losing Heart (Psalm 27)

 This is a quote from part of a post on Psalm 27 by Paul Tripp called “Losing Heart”

“There’s only one place where stable and reliable hope can be found. There’s only one place of rest for your heart and surety for your soul. There’s only one reliable place to find your reason to get up in the morning and continue. There’s only one source of motivation that’s sturdy enough to weather the storms of life in a fallen world. “Wait for the Lord” really does say it all.”

To read his whole post click here…you’ll be glad you did.

Prayer ~ O Gracious Light

 

O gracious Light
Pure brightness of the everlasting Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
And our eyes behold the vesper light,
We sing praises, O God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O giver of life,
And to be glorified through all the worlds. [Amen]
~ Phos Hilaron

This is attributed by some to the martyr and bishop Athenogenes (d. c. 305), who is said by tradition to have sung this hymn (“O Cheerful Light”) as he was burned for his faith.

I John 1:5 ~ This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

John 8:12 ~ Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

I Peter 2:9 ~ But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Revelation 22:5 ~ And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Thankful Thursday ~ Psalm 145: 1-10

  I am thankful for our great God the King and I’ll joyfully sing my praise to Him…

Psalm 145: 1-10 ~

I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever.

Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever.

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.

One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts.

They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds.

They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.

The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.

All you have made will praise you, O Lord; your saints will extol you.

To see more Thankful Thursday Posts go to Sting My Heart.

Holiness ~ J.C. Ryle ~ 1877

Well I’m behind others who are reading Holiness by J.C. Ryle in the blog world but that way I can glean from the book and their reviews and hopefully comprehend the book better. The full text of Ryle’s original work on Holiness is included in J. I. Packer’s book Faithfulness and Holiness. Here’s a quote from the book that I wanted to share from chapter 2 on Sin…

“In the next place, a right view of sin is one of the best antidotes to the overstrained theories of Perfection, of which we hear so much in these times. I shall say but little about this, and in saying it I trust I shall not give offence. If those who press on us perfection mean nothing more than an all-round consistency, and a careful attention to all the graces which make up the Christian character, reason would that we should not only bear with them, but agree with them entirely. By all means let us aim high. But if men really mean to tell us that here in this world a believer can attain to entire freedom from sin, live for years in unbroken and uninterrupted communion with God, and feel for months together not so much as one evil thought, I must honestly say that such an opinion appears to me very unscriptural. – I go even further. I say that the opinion is very dangerous to him that holds it, and very likely to depress, discourage, and keep back inquirers after salvation. I cannot find the slightest warrant in God’s Word for expecting such perfection as this while we are in the body. …Christ alone is without sin; and that all we, the rest, though baptized and born again in Christ, offend in many things;

…we do not love God so much as we are bound to do, with all our hearts, mind, and power; we do not fear God so much as we ought to do; we do not pray to God but with many and great imperfections. We give, forgive, believe, live, and hope imperfectly; we speak, think, and do imperfectly; we fight against the devil, the world, and the flesh imperfectly. Let us, therefore, not be ashamed to confess plainly our state of imperfections.”

James 5:16 ~ “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”

I John 1:8-10 ~ “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

I am imperfect and I prove it many times a day but thanks be to God that He keeps leading me forward and He continues His work of sanctification on me.

In Other Words Tuesday ~ Crown of Roses?

 Iris at Sting My Heart has chosen the following quote for “In Other Words Tuesday“.

 “They gave our Master a crown of thorns. Why do we hope for a crown of roses?”
~ Martin Luther ~

 

The New Testament does not paint a rosy picture for the Christian life on this Earth. Instead it assures us that if we follow Christ wholeheartedly we will face trials and persecutions. Because we are identified with Christ we will receive much of the same bad treatment and rejection He received.

II Timothy 3:12 ~  Indeed, all who desire to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

I Peter 4:12 ~ Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

And here’s the one that I’ve been chewing on these last few days…

James 1:2-4 ~ Count it all joy my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have it full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 

The trials are inevitable. How will I react?  How should I behave in the midst of these trials? Will I choose joy trusting in Almighty God and His plans and purposes? I hope so. I want to experience steadfastness. I want to rejoice and be glad when Christ’s glory is revealed. I choose to trust that God will teach me in and during my trials to react and behave in a way that let’s steadfastness have its full effect bringing me homeward towards perfection and completeness, lacking nothing. I don’t want a crown of roses now, I want a crown of life when I get to heaven so I can cast it at Jesus’ feet…

To see more thoughts on this quote click on Sting My Heart.

O Christ, Who Hast Prepared A Place ~ Jean B. de Santeuil

 John 14: 1-6 ~ “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going. Thomas said to him, Lord we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way? Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

O Christ, Who Hast Prepared A Place

O Christ, who hast prepared a place
For us around Thy throne of grace,
We pray Thee, lift our hearts above,
And draw them with the cords of love.

Source of all good, Thou, gracious Lord,
Art our exceeding great reward;
How transient is our present pain,
How boundless our eternal gain!

With open face and joyful heart,
We then shall see Thee as Thou art:
Our love shall never cease to glow,
Our praise shall never cease to flow.

Thy never-failing grace to prove,
A surety of Thine endless love,
Send down Thy Holy Ghost, to be
The raiser of our souls to Thee.

Words: Jean B. de San­teüil, in the Par­is Bre­vi­a­ry, 1686, p. 503 (No­bis, Olym­po red­di­tus); trans­lat­ed from La­tin to Eng­lish by John Chandler, Hymns of the Prim­i­tive Church, 1837, p. 86.

ht: cyberhymnal

Thankful Thursday ~ Faithful One

James 1: 16-17 ~

 “Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Hebrews 13: 8 ~

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

I am thankful that our God does not change, He has no variation like shifting shadows, He is dependable and He is faithful.

Faithful One (Brian Doerksen)

Faithful One so unchanging
Ageless One You’re my rock of peace
Lord of all I depend on you
I call out to You, again and again
I call out to You, again and again

You are my rock in times of trouble
You lift me up when I fall down
All through the storm
Your love is an anchor
My hope is in You alone

Copyright © 1997 Mercy/Vineyard Publishing. All rights reserved. International copyright secured.
~

For more Thankful Thursday Posts click head over to Sting My Heart…

Labor Day ~ Sept. 3, 2007

Happy Labor Day to You All ~

Hoping you find rest today!

Labor Day: How it Came About; What it Means

“Labor Day differs in every essential way from the other holidays of the year in any country,” said Samuel Gompers, founder and longtime president of the American Federation of Labor. “All other holidays are in a more or less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man’s prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Day…is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation.”

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

To read more go here.

Good News for all those who labor!

Mathew 11: 28-30 ~

” Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

ht: http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/laborday.htm

James 5: 14-15 ~ I’m Wondering…

I’m not called the Happy Wonderer for nothing. There are lots of things I wonder about. Right now I’m in the midst of my yearly Bible reading (reading each book of the Bible 20x ~ which will take way longer than a year) I’m in the book of James.

James 5:14-15 ~ “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

So my questions are:

Has anyone called their elders when they are sick? Did they come?

Did they annoint you with oil and pray for you?

If you haven’t done this, why not?

Is it a common practice?

What has your experience been with this instruction?

Leave a comment with anything that might help my wondering….

http://www.albany.edu/~ka762934/anointsickpic.gif

Never Give Up ~ Fanny Crosby ~ Hymn

 Never Give Up

Never be sad or desponding,
If thou hast faith to believe.
Grace, for the duties before thee,
Ask of thy God and receive.

Refrain

Never give up, never give up,
Never give up to thy sorrows,
Jesus will bid them depart.
Trust in the Lord, trust in the Lord,
Sing when your trials are greatest,
Trust in the Lord and take heart.

What if thy burdens oppress thee;
What though thy life may be drear;
Look on the side that is brightest,
Pray, and thy path will be clear.

Refrain

Never be sad or desponding,
There is a morrow for thee;
Soon thou shalt dwell in its brightness,
There with the Lord thou shalt be.

Refrain

Never be sad or desponding,
Lean on the arm of thy Lord;
Dwell in the depths of His mercy,
Thou shalt receive thy reward.

Refrain

James 1: 2-4 ~ “Consider it all joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

ht: Cyberhymnal