CHRIST IS ALL
O Lover to the uttermost,
May I read the meltings of your heart to me
in the manger of your birth
in the garden of your agony,
in the cross of your suffering,
in the tomb of your resurrection,
in the heaven of your intercession.
Gold in this thought I defy my adversary,
tread down his temptations,
resist his schemings,
renounce the world,
am valiant for truth.
Deepen in me a sense of my holy relationship to you,
as spiritual Bridegroom,
as Jehovah's Fellow,
as sinners' Friend.
I think of your glory and my vileness,
your majesty and my meanness,
your beauty and my deformity,
your purity and my filth,
your righteousness and my iniquity.
You have loved me everlastingly, unchangeably,
may I love you as I am loved;
You have given yourself for me,
may I give myself to you;
You have died for me,
may I live for you,
in every moment of my time,
in every movement of my mind,
in every pulse of my heart.
May I never dally with the world and its allurements,
but walk by your side,
listen to your voice,
be clothed with your graces,
and adorned with your righteousness.
I continue to feel inspiration to write songs based on these prayers. I haven't done anything about it yet, but I think I may start next week (if I have time between all my TWC workshops).
2 "How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah 3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. 4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." 5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
God is speaking in this passage. The initial question speaks just as well to us in the 21st century. Do we judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? We are commanded to give justice to the weak and fatherless; rescue the needy.
It's true that God is addressing a specific group of people. However, it would not hurt us to examine our own attitudes and actions "toward the oppressed, the weak, the fatherless, and the poor." How do we respond when we encounter these groups?
We are accountable to God to not only reflect his justice, but his mercy, as well.
Holiness and Happiness
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age (Titus 2:11-12)
"The doctrine of grace and salvation by the gospel, is for all ranks and conditions of men. It teaches us to forsake sin; to have no more to do with it."
"We must look to God in Christ, as the object of our hope and worship."
"See our duty in a very few words; denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, living soberly, righteously, and godly, notwithstanding all snares, temptations, corrupt examples, ill usage, and what remains of sin in the believer's heart, with all their hindrances. It teaches to look for the glories of another world. At, and in, the glorious appearing of Christ, the blessed hope of Christians will be complete: To bring us to holiness and happiness was the end of Christ's death."
As I live in you and learn from you, Lord, I pray that my sense of "justice" will be ever growing. Let me rise above any sense of national pride and uphold only standards of justice and mercy that you set forth. I understand that this may mean holding forth values that may seem "unpatriotic" to some. But I must maintain myself as a citizen of heaven before I am a citizen of any earthly nation. Your kingdom must come before the "kingdom of America." Help me to have compassion and mercy toward the weak, fatherless, and needy.
Let me live for you, Father!
PRAY FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA AND HIS ADMINISTRATION
In a rare divergence from administration policy, President Obama used the term �radical Islam� to describe the
Somalia-based terror group that killed 74 people in Uganda as they were watching World Cup playoffs.
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to issue new suspensions of
deep water drilling on the outer continental shelf citing the need for improved safety measures.
Pray for our leaders to have clear vision and discernment in their speech and directives.
Grace and peace, friends.