Category Archives: Worship

Dying for want of water

This is the last week of my Women’s Bible Study on Personal Revival. I’m always sad to come to the end of these studies. Over the course you meet new people, develop friendships, learn with each other, pray for each other and then it’s over for the summer. I’ll remind myself and hopefully encourage you to continue in your daily devotion of following God wholeheartedly with these suggestions from my Study Book.

1. Prepare Your Heart

* “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!” (Psalm 100:4). Worship Him; praise Him for who He is; express thanksgiving for what He has done.

* Ask God to show you anything that could hinder your fellowship and communion with Him. Confess any sin He brings to mind.

* Ask God to quiet your heart, to open your ears, and to speak to you through His Word. Ask His Holy Spirit to be your Teacher. Commit yourself to obey whatever He shows you.

“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. “(Psalm 119:18, 34, NIV)

“Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” (Psalm 25:4-5, NIV)

“That which I see not teach thou me: If I have done iniquity, I will do no more.” (Job 34:32, KJV)

2. Listen to God

Select a chapter or passage of Scripture. ….Read through the passages thoughtfully and prayerfully.

[There are all kinds of study suggestions for you to go deeper into a passage or chapter of the Bible. Use the method you like. ]

3. Respond to God

During and following your time in the Word, respond to God in prayer and praise…

“One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4)

Seeking Him ~ Experiencing The Joy Of Personal Revival ~ Nancy Leigh DeMoss & Tim Grissom with Life Action Ministries

I think the point is to start somewhere. Find a place and a method that works for you. Do whatever you can to spend time in God’s Word, intimate time with Him springing from what the Holy Spirit is teaching you from the Word. Seek Him, learn from Him, love Him and spread the Word!

http://www.biblebelievers.com/pace_cartoons/pace013.jpg

O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus

O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus – Samuel Francis (1834 – 1925)

O the deep, deep love of Jesus

Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!

Rolling as a mighty ocean

In its fullness over me.

Underneath me, all around me,

Is the current of His love

Leading onward leading homeward,

To Thy glorious rest above

O the deep, deep love of Jesus

Spread His praise from shore to shore.

How he loveth ever loveth

changeth never, nevermore.

How He watcheth o’er His loved ones,

Died to call them all His own;

How for them He intercedeth,

Watcheth o’er them from the throne!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus

Love of ev’ry, love the best!

‘Tis an ocean vast of blessing,

‘Tis a haven sweet of rest.

O the deep, deep love of Jesus

‘Tis a heav’n of heav’ns to me;

And it lifts me up to glory,

For it lifts me, Lord, to Thee!

 

“““““““`

This is one of my favorite hymns. The words are so rich and the minor key  that it is written in takes me back to my Russian heritage.

 

The Ten Commandments ~ Following God Wholeheartedly

Pastor Steve at E.V. Free Conejo Valley is doing a series in Deuteronomy and we are at Deuteronomy 5.

Deuteronomy 5:1, 6-22 (ESV):

1 And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them.

6 “‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

7 “‘You shall have no other gods before me.

8 “‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 9 You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

11 “‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

12 “‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

16 “‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

17 “‘You shall not murder.

18 “‘And you shall not commit adultery.

19 “‘And you shall not steal.

20 “‘And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

21 “‘And you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’

22 “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly at the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and he added no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.

Questions from Pastor Steve to ponder in response to these commandments and to this question: Am I following God wholeheartedly?  2 Chronicles 25:2, “He did what was right in the eyes of God but not wholeheartedly.” 

What is your source of strength and guidance?  ~ What gives you a sense of security? ~ In what do you trust? ~ What has become the source of your joy this week? ~ What sparks your heart to adoration? ~ Who or what do you worship? (John 4:23) ~ What lifts your heart to wonder and praise? ~ What are you looking forward to? ~ What do you think will truly fulfill your life and make it worth living? ~ In whom do you place your hope?

God has given me these commandments for my good. I need to learn them and to remember them and teach them to my children and grandchildren and I am to be careful to do them and follow God wholeheartedly. Yep, I’m feeling convicted.

Disclaimer: I’m assuming the artwork at the top of this post is the Ten Commandments in Hebrew, but since I don’t read Hebrew I can’t be sure. Forgive me if it isn’t.

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/1/15/250px-Decalogue_parchment_by_Jekuthiel_Sofer_1768.jpg

The Doxology ~ Awake My Soul and With the Sun

 Thomas Ken ~ (1637-1711)

Words: Thom­as Ken, Man­u­al of Pray­ers for the Use of the Schol­ars of Win­ches­ter Col­lege, 1674.

 

Ken wrote this hymn at a time when the es­tab­lished church be­lieved on­ly Script­ure should be sung as hymns—with an em­pha­sis on the Psalms. Some con­sid­ered it sin­ful and blas­phe­mous to write new lyr­ics for church mu­sic, akin to ad­ding to the Script­ures. In that at­mo­sphere, Ken wrote this and sev­er­al other hymns for the boys at Win­chest­er Col­lege, with strict in­struct­ions that they use them on­ly in their rooms, for pri­vate de­vo­tions. Iron­ic­al­ly, the last stan­za has come into wide­spread use as the Dox­ol­o­gy, per­haps the most fr­equent­ly used piece of mu­sic in pub­lic wor­ship. At Ken’s request, the hymn was sung at his fun­er­al, fit­tingly held at sun­rise.

 Awake, my soul, and with the sun
Thy daily stage of duty run;
Shake off dull sloth, and joyful rise,
To pay thy morning sacrifice.

Thy precious time misspent, redeem,
Each present day thy last esteem,
Improve thy talent with due care;
For the great day thyself prepare.

By influence of the Light divine
Let thy own light to others shine.
Reflect all Heaven’s propitious ways
In ardent love, and cheerful praise.

In conversation be sincere;
Keep conscience as the noontide clear;
Think how all seeing God thy ways
And all thy secret thoughts surveys.

Wake, and lift up thyself, my heart,
And with the angels bear thy part,
Who all night long unwearied sing
High praise to the eternal King.

All praise to Thee, Who safe has kept
And hast refreshed me while I slept
Grant, Lord, when I from death shall wake
I may of endless light partake.

Heav’n is, dear Lord, where’er Thou art,
O never then from me depart;
For to my soul ’tis hell to be
But for one moment void of Thee.

Lord, I my vows to Thee renew;
Disperse my sins as morning dew.
Guard my first springs of thought and will,
And with Thyself my spirit fill.

Direct, control, suggest, this day,
All I design, or do, or say,
That all my powers, with all their might,
In Thy sole glory may unite.

I would not wake nor rise again
And Heaven itself I would disdain,
Wert Thou not there to be enjoyed,
And I in hymns to be employed.

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

So…I was very surprised to find out that there is so much more to the Doxology and that it was taken from a longer hymn called Awake My Soul and With the Sun. I’m glad to know the whole story behind this great piece probably every one of us has sung time and time again! Thanks Rich for the post on your blog!

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/w/awakemys.htm

ht: Rich Sclafani http://richsclafani.blogspot.com/2007/03/doxology.html

Flying South

Today “Dear” and I fly south to LAX. We had a wonderful extended Easter weekend celebrating our Savior with family and friends. “Dear” hadn’t been home to Seattle since January so his children were very happy to spend some face to face time with their dad. His close friends in the Seattle area were very happy to spend some time with him, also.  I always have mixed emotions when I leave one home for another. I know my children are being stretched and gaining a lot of experience and independence. The responsibility in taking care of our home in Seattle is on their shoulders while “Dear” and I are gone. These are all good things and good experiences for them, but my “mother heart” gets sore when I face being away from my children for weeks at a time. Then when I come back to Seattle and leave “Dear” behind, I’m torn in two again and “Dear” is left home alone. At least I’m in the position of being with him or with my children. This is where God has us at this time and we are all trusting God more and more for what we will learn through these experiences of separation and reunion. My time in the south with “Dear” will increase over the next year. This is more personal then I’ve ever been on my blog but this is where I find myself today getting ready for our 4:00 P.M. flight. Dear and I choose to trust and continue to be glad and praise God for all He has for us. Blessings on all of you and your families wherever God has you today!

Easter ~ He Has Risen, Just As He Said!

Christ Is Risen!

Truly He is Risen!

Khristos voskrese!    Voistinu voskrese!

Blessings to all on this Glorious Easter Day!

One of my favorite Easter hymns growing up was Low in the Grave He lay. You just have to hear it sung in a church full of Russian Baptists! (In Russian of course) This song is sung with emotion and joy that can’t be missed.

Low in the Grave He Lay

Low in the grave He lay, Jesus my Savior,
Waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!

Refrain

Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Vainly they watch His bed, Jesus my Savior;
Vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord!

Refrain

Death cannot keep its Prey, Jesus my Savior;
He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!

Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Words & Music:  Ro­bert Low­ry, 1874.

Just for fun if you’d like to see Easter greetings from around the world,  link to this site;

 http://www.monachos.net/library/Paschal_Greeting

My brother in law sent this out yesterday and I thought it would be fun to share!

Behold Your King! ~ Matthew 21:1-11

When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. “If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them, ‘ and immediately he will send them.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, ‘BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU, GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.” The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats. Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST!” When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds were saying, This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Matthew 21: 1-11 (NASB)

All Glory, Laud and Honor

All glory, laud and honor,
To Thee, Redeemer, King,
To whom the lips of children
Made sweet hosannas ring.

Thou art the king of Israel,
Thou David’s royal Son,
Who in the Lord’s name comest,
The King and Blessèd One.

The company of angels
Are praising Thee on High,
And mortal men and all things
Created make reply.

The people of the Hebrews
With palms before Thee went;
Our prayer and praise and anthems
Before Thee we present.

To Thee, before Thy passion,
They sang their hymns of praise;
To Thee, now high exalted,
Our melody we raise.

Thou didst accept their praises;
Accept the prayers we bring,
Who in all good delightest,
Thou good and gracious King.

Thy sorrow and Thy triumph
Grant us, O Christ, to share,
That to the holy city
Together we may fare.

For homage may we bring Thee
Our victory o’er the foe,
That in the Conqueror’s triumph
This strain may ever flow.

Words: Theodulph of Orleans, circa 820, trans. John M. Neale

 

Be Beautiful

I decided to respond to the “Carnival of Beauty” challenge to post something on “The Beauty of Being Made in the Image of God”.  I ran to several good sources I know. The first excerpts come from R.C. Sproul in his book, Now That’s a Good Question, and a couple articles in His Tabletalk Magazine. The last contribution comes from my brother’s blog, The Temple.

R.C. Sproul – Now That’s a Good Question

The basic call to a person in this world is to be a reflection of the character of God. That’s what it means to be created in the Image of God. Long before the Sermon on the Mount, God required the people of Israel to reflect his character when he said to them, “Be holy even as I am holy.” He set them apart to be holy ones. The New Testament word for that is saints.

From Tabletalk June 2003 – Imago Dei – Sproul

An image cannot reflect something utterly dissimilar to it. Rather, an image is a likeness of something beyond itself. It is not the original, but it mirrors the original.

…That we bear the image of the God of glory is an unspeakable blessing. But with this elevated status comes a weighty responsibility. We were made to glorify God – to reflect the character of God and that duty comes with a divine mandate “You shall be holy, for I The Lord your God am holy” (Lev. 19:2)

” Thinking God’s Thoughts”  – Wayne Kenyon

Among created things, human beings are unique, for they are made in the image of God. As rational creatures, we are able to know God and , in a finite manner, think like Him.

For this reason, we have the great privilege of thinking God’s thoughts after Him. Also, as volitional creatures, we are able to reflect His excellencies in the manner in which we live and exercise dominion. This is our great responsibility.

…All of creation is also “for him”. With man’s great privilege to think God’s thoughts after Him comes the responsibility to take that which we receive and give it back to God in an act of worship. The God who is knowledge is worshipped by our knowing Him. The pursuit of knowledge is good. The only wise God is worshipped when His creatures are wise. This is done when we have the noblest of ends (i.e.,God Himself) and employ the most effective means of exercising dominion over His world. The God who is love is glorified when appreciative love for God is the motive from which we act. The God who is truth is worshipped when we “practice the truth” (I John: 1:6). God is worshipped when we model our lives after Him in loving obedience.

Finally from Steve at The Temple, a post on holiness. I’m including this because it personalizes holiness so well for me. Is what I’m doing the beautiful thing, the holy thing? Am I reflecting God’s image in me? Now in Steve’s words:

I wrote this in my journal some time ago:

“Holiness is doing something beautiful as opposed to not doing something ugly.”

I chose the words beautiful and ugly purposefully because they are not usually used in conjunction with holy behavior, and yet I think that they are wholly appropriate, and challenging. We are much more attracted to behaving beautifully, which may be defined as the most good. Beautiful is related to a word much closer to holiness: beatific. Being holy, being a holder of beauty. I like that correlation, it is an inspirational definition.

This perspective also hits the core issue in successful Christian living. What God wants from us is not simply the absence of evil acts, not even that we stop wanting to do bad things. God wants us to love to do the beautiful thing, the holy thing, the right thing. With regard to our speech, that is also the goal. So many of us, self included, have seen it as a matter of Christian freedom to use an occasional “strong” term, that was ultimately ugly. I am striving now to have only things of beauty as my expression in life, to the glory of the Beautiful One.

Be beautiful.

ht: Tabletalk from Ligonier Ministries and R.C. Sproul – June 2003

Come, Holy Spirit, heav’nly Dove

From Jan Karon’s, Light from Heaven:

 

Come, Holy Spirit, heav’nly Dove

With all thy quick’ning powers

Kindle a flame of sacred love

In these cold hearts of ours.

See how we trifle here below

Fond of these earthly toys

Our souls, how heavily they go

To reach eternal joys.

In vain we tune our formal songs

In vain we strive to rise

Hosannas languish on our tongue

And our devotion dies.

Come, Holy Spirit, heav’nly Dove

With all thy quick’ning powers

Come, shed abroad a Savior’s love

And that shall kindle ours.