Who knows what today will hold? Well, God does, but besides him...so, I'll spend some time with him this morning.
"My God,
I feel it is heaven to please thee, and to be what thou wouldst have me be.
O that I were holy as thou art holy, pure as Christ is pure, perfect as thy Spirit is perfect!
These, I feel, are the best commands in thy Book, and shall I break them? must I break them? am I under such a necessity as long as I live here?
Woe, woe is me that I am a sinner, that I grieve this blessed God, who is infinite in goodness and grace!
O, if he would punish me for my sins, it would not wound my heart so deep to offend him;
But though I sin continually, he continually repeats his kindness to me.
At times I feel I could bear any suffering, but how can I dishonour this glorious God?
What shall I do to glorify and worship this best of beings?
O that I could consecrate my soul and body to his service, without restraint, for ever!
O that I could give myself up to him, so as never more to attempt to be my own! or have any will or affections that are not perfectly conformed to his will and his love!
But, alas, I cannot live and not sin.
O may angels glorify him incessantly, and, if possible, prostrate themselves lower before the blessed King of heaven!
I long to bear a part with them in ceaseless praise;
But when I have done all I can to eternity I shall not be able to offer more than a small fraction of the homage that the glorious God deserves.
Give me a heart full of divine, heavenly love."
1 In you, O LORD, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame! 2 In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me, and save me! 3 Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. 4 Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.
This is one of those passages that I love so much about God being a "rock of refuge" or a "fortress."
According to Don Wyrtzen, in A Musician Looks at the Psalms, this psalmist is probably an older person "who has experienced the marvelous faithfulness of God for a lifetime." This person has the utmost confidence in God's ability to protect and save him from people who would do him harm. "He pictures the Lord as his Refuge, his Rock, and his Fortress. He knows that the only reliable place of safety and security is with the Lord."
"Older saints have learned the paradox that dependence upon the Lord is the secret to perfect freedom!"
That reminds me of an older saint that I used to attend worship with. She is a wonderful lady, strong in the Lord, and filled with love for God's people. I hope I'm that way if I live to be that old.
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
From Matthew Henry Daily Readings:
"Hold no communion with your heathen neighbors in their idolatrous worship. Your God is jealous, and would have you come out, and be separated from among them; mortify the flesh, and be crucified to the world, that they may not usurp the throne of dominion in the heart, which is due only to God. The God whom you have known is he who made you, who redeemed you by his Son, who has sent his gospel to you, who has pardoned your sins, begotten you unto himself by his Spirit, and given you eternal life. Cleave to him in faith, and love, and constant obedience, in opposition to all things that would alienate your mind and heart from God."
I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!
I love this verse. Miss Angie had a song called "I Love Light" that quoted the verse (although from a different version), "Run in the path of Your commands/For You have set my heart free."
This is from Holiness Day By Day, by Jerry Bridges:
"We must keep going back to His grace. Only the grace of God revealed in the gospel of Jesus Christ will give us the courage to get up again and keep on going even after we have failed for the umpteenth time. Only grace will allow us to be as honest about our sin as David was about his.
"The desire to engage in the discipline of mortification comes only from the gratitude and joy of knowing that, however miserably, I've failed, God's grace is greater than my sin."
And THAT reminds me of one of my favorite hymns, "Grace Greater Than Our Sin."
Dark is the stain that we cannot hide.
What can avail to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,
Brighter than snow you may be today.
Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within.
Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin.
Oddly enough, every instance of that hymn that I can find on the Interwebs, says "Brighter than snow." All my life, in every Baptist Hymnal I've seen, it says "Whiter than snow." I wonder who changed it? And why? I wonder which is right?
I pray that I might "cleave" to you "in faith, and love, and constant obedience," that I might remove from my mind and spirit anything that would hinder me from serving and worshiping you rightly. Let me run in the path of your commands. Let me mortify the flesh. Let me love you as I should!
But I know that I cannot! Not in this current state. I will not be able to love you as I should until this mortal coil is no more! So...we're back to grace again. Praise you for your marvelous grace!!
Father, you are my rock and my refuge, my fortress. May I always be safe within your arms. Protect me from both myself, as well as from any that would harm me.
Once again, I lift up Melody to you, praying that her interview went well. I am also praising you that Rick is going home today. What a miracle that is!
And I keep praying for Christi's pain to be relieved in her knees.
THE ECONOMY
Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke warned that the federal budget is on an unsustainable path, while recognizing
that the exceptional increase in the deficit had been necessary to ease the recession.
The tax deduction for mortgage interest is being proposed to be eliminated by the White House budget, saying it could
save $208 billion over the next decade, and �correct inequities� in the tax code.
Pray for our lawmakers to find ways to reduce spending and control costs in our government.
Grace and peace, friends.