Walking Thoughts

"When tears are great,
And comforts few,
We hope in mercies ever new,
We trust in You."

From God Moves
Bob Kaughlin/William Cooper

Grace abounding, strong and true
That makes me long to be like You
That turns me from my selfish pride
To love the cross on which You died

Grace unending all my days
You'll give me strength to run this race
And when my years on earth are through
The praise will all belong to You

By Bob Kaughlin 2005 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)

We sometimes forget the depths of His grace.  The grace He extends to us on a daily basis to cleanse us from our sin as we confess it to Him and uphold us in righteousness.  Yes, every blessing we receive cannot be received without grace.  The lyrics in this song are such a great reminder of the depth of His grace.

It is so true that where sin abounds, grace abounds more - not an excuse to sin, but hope for the sinner and his sinful state.  The beginning of each verse describes His grace so accurately. It truly is unmeasureably vast, free to us at any time, completely pure, so deep, truly amazing, true, strong and never ending.  Also, it is the only way sinners like us can see his face in heaven, or even do what's right, because it has paid for our sins.

So often we think trusting in Jesus means being weighed down and discouraged because trusting in Him means never allowing ourselves to think that what we desire is of His will.  We think that because we have the desire for it, we must suffer against ourselves to trust in Him.  And for the most part... it's true, but that cross we carry doesn't need to be in discouragement and defeat even if we are forced to set ourselves against our selves.
 
The lyrics in this song reminded me that trusting in Jesus is a sweet experience because He brings peace and joy as we rest in Him and allow Him to bring about those things in our lives that we truly desire, in holiness, and purity.
 

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus
And to take Him at His word.
Just to rest upon His promise
And to know, "Thus saith the Lord."

      Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
      How I've proved Him o'er and o'er!
      Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
      O for grace to trust Him more!

O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood
And in simple faith to plunge me
'neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Yes, 'tis sweet to trust in Jesus
Just from sin and self to cease
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace

I'm so glad I learned to trust thee
Precious Jesus, Savior and Friend
And I know that thou art with me
Wilt be with me to the end.

--  Louisa Stead


That last verse especially impacted me when I read it.  Trust is definitely a learned thing, and He will teach me that He is not only my Savior, but my very dearest and closest Friend - the only One I can trust.  To know that Jesus is always with me produces a stable peace that is unsurpassed by any person, activity, resource, or thing this world has to offer.

Last night I was playing through this song and He really brought to my attention how this is what we're called to do and be for Him.

The Servant Song
By: Richard Gillard

Brother, let me be your servant.
Let me be as Christ to you.
Pray that I might have the grace
To let you be my servant, too.

We are pilgrims on a journey.
We are brothers on the road.
We are here to help each other
Walk the mile and bear the load.

I will hold the Christ-light for you
In the night time of your fear.
I will hold my hand out to you;
Speak the peace you long to hear.

I will weep when you are weeping.
When you laugh, I'll laugh with you.
I will share your joy and sorrow
Till we've seen this journey through.

When we sing to God in heaven,
We shall find such harmony
Born of all we've known together
Of Christ's love and agony.

******

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Honor one another above yourselves.
Romans 12:10

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.
Romans 13:8

Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love doesn not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:1-8

What to say, Lord?
It's You who gave me life and I
can’t explain just how
much You mean to me now
That you have saved me, Lord.
I give all that I am to You
That everyday I can
Be a light that shines Your name.

Everyday, Lord, I’ll
Learn to stand upon Your Word.
And I pray that I,
That I may come to know You more
That You would guide me in
Every single step I take that
Everyday I can
Be Your light unto the world

Everyday it’s You I live for
Everyday I’ll follow after You
Everyday I’ll walk with You my Lord

It’s You I live for everyday, my Lord.

When you wake up in the morning, who are you waking up for?  What are you waking up to do?  Is it to accomplish this or that task/responsibility?  Is it to make this day better for yourself than yesterday, to try and have a better life?  Or are you waking up to the Lord, knowing that these verses are true:

Ephesians 2:10
For we are God's workmanship , created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Matthew 5:15-17
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Everyday we wake up, if we wake up in Christ Jesus, we need to realize that He is our salvation, we belong to Him, and that as He is in us, we must shine His light today.  We have to know Him, His word, and let Him guide us every day by His Spirit.  Any day we wake up here on earth is a day He has something for us to do for His purpose and His kingdom.  Are you ready?  Do you have that eternal perspective in your daily life?  Paul did.  He knew that every day he was still alive and not in heaven meant fruitful labor for him to do for others so they could know Him more.

Philippians 1:21-26
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

So let this song be an anthem for your life.  Let everday be a day that you live for the Lord, follow after Him, and walk with Him in steadfast love, righteousness, and justice - to know Him.

About two Christmases ago (my first real Christmas), one of my friends shared this with me about this song, and now I'm sharing it with you.

Imagine you are a little poor shepherd's son and you have nothing except the tattered clothes you wear and a drum you fashioned from some wood and sheep hide.  All of a sudden there's a commotion and you hear that the Savior, the Son of God, is born!!  How amazing... there are even three wise kings... and they came from very far away bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  You want to see Him... but you don't have anything to bring... but... you have your drum and you have practiced long hours on it.  Since that's the best you have, that's what you'll give him.

Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum 
A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum 
Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum 
To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum, 
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum, 

So to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum, 
When we come. 

Little Baby, pa rum pum pum pum 
I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum 
I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum 
That's fit to give the King, pa rum pum pum pum, 
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum, 

Shall I play for you, pa rum pum pum pum, 
On my drum? 

Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum 
The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum 
I played my drum for Him, pa rum pum pum pum 
I played my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum, 
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum, 

Then He smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum 
Me and my drum. 

Whatever you have, great or small - give Him your best. He is God, offer Him all you have and are.

Matthew 12:41-44
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury.  Many rich people threw in large amounts.  But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.  Calling His disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ⁴They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."

The Twelve Days of Christmas is a song you will always hear in November and December.  I never really understood what the gifts or the twelve days had to do with Christmas or Jesus at all until a friend sent me this little bit of history!

*****

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of  their church.

Each element in the carol has a code
word for a religious reality which
the children could remember.
 
  The partridge in a pear tree was
Jesus Christ.
 
  Two turtle doves were the Old and
NewTestaments.
 
  Three French hens stood for faith,
hope and love.
 
  The four calling birds were the four
gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke &
John.
 
  The five golden rings recalled the
Torah or Law, the first five books
of the Old Testament.

The six geese a-laying stood for the
six days of creation.
 
  Seven swans a-swimming represented
the sevenfold gifts of the Holy
Spirit-Prophesy, Serving, Teaching,
Exhortation, Contribution,
Leadership, and Mercy.
 
  The eight maids a-milking were the
eight beatitudes.
 
  Nine ladies dancing were the nine
fruits of the Holy Spirit - Love,
Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness,
Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness,
and Self Control.
 
  The ten lords a-leaping were the ten
commandments.
  
  The eleven pipers piping stood for
the eleven faithful disciples.
 
  The twelve drummers drumming
symbolized the twelve points of
belief in the Apostles' Creed.
 

 So that's your history for today.
May God grant you peace and
happiness throughout this Christmas
Season!!

Sometimes I get so caught up in the justice of God, trying to be obedient to an Almighty and Holy God, that I forget how much He truly loves me and wants to fill my life with His healing Spirit.  Jesus is a personal a Savior.  He tells us in Revelation 3:20 that He wants to dine with us and us with Him.  He desires us and He wants us to desire Him because He wants to quench our thirst for Him for only He can quench the thirst in us.

Like David says in Psalm 42:1, his souls pants after God as a deer pants for water and God wants to satisfy our thirst.  This song, All Who Are Thirsty, reminded me that God does love me and wants to have His rivers of living water flow through me by His Spirit.

All who are thirsty
All who are weak
Come to the fountain
Dip your heart in the stream of life

Let the pain and the sorrow
Be washed away
In the waves of His mercy
As deep cries out to deep.
(we sing)

Come Lord Jesus Come
Holy Spirit Come

On Sunday mornings my College-Aged group meets next door to our Joint Heirs class. One day I heard a vaguely familiar song they were doing for worship and I stuck my head in to listen.  I found a song that I knew I needed to introduce to our own worship time.

Over all the earth, You reign on high
Every mountain stream, every sunset sky
But my one request, Lord my only aim
Is that You’d reign in me again.
 
   Lord reign in me, reign in Your power
   Over all my dreams, in my darkest hour
   You are the Lord of all I am
   So won’t You reign in me again.

Over every thought, over every word
May my life reflect the beauty of my Lord
Cause you mean more to me, than any earthly thing
So won’t you reign in me again.

If you've heard this song you know the melody is uplifting in and of itself. The lyrics have the perfect mix of acknowledgement of who God is, self-examination, and rededication of one's life to Him. Focusing on the words of the song in combination with the movement of the music can really draw one's heart into worship.

It all starts with remembering who God is.  The Israelites were told time and again to remember the Lord, the things He's done and who He is. The first line sung does just that - "over all the earth, You reign on high, every mountain stream, every sunset sky" What an awesome and great God we have. He is Lord of all, but we have to make the choice to let Him be the Lord of us -- that should be our primary aim in life.  That means, like it says in Colossians 3:17 and in the second verse, that every thought, word and deed should reflect His glory in gratitude of His grace.  It means laying down my agenda and yielding to His authority in His reign.  It's not easy sometimes but He is pateintly faithful and comes to us everytime we ask Him "won't You reign in me again."

The next time you sing/hear this song, ask yourself, "what/where in my life do I need Him to reign in me again?"

It is a rarity to find an album where all the songs can move you lyrically and melodically, but such is the case with the MercyMe album Spoken For.  Every song on this CD is really powerful musically and the lyrics are extraordinarily sharp in their simplicity.  There are so many awesome songs on this CD like Word of God Speak, The Change Inside of Me, Spoken For, There's a Reason, and especially the following song Crazy.

Why would I spend my life longing for the day that it would end
Why would I spend my time pointing to another man   Isn't that crazy
How can I find hope in dying with promises unseen
How can I learn Your way is better in everthing I'm taught to be 
Isn't that crazy


I have not been called to the wisdom of this world
But to a God who's calling out to me
And even though the world may think I'm losing touch with reality
It would be crazy to choose the world over eternity


And if I boast let me boast in filthy rags made clean
If I glory let me glory in my Savior's suffering  Isn't that crazy
And as I live this daily life I trust You for everything
And I'll only take a step when I feel You leading me   
Isn't that crazy

Jesus died on the cross.  But He didn't just die - He laid Himself down to death on the cross at the hands of men. In John 15:13 Jesus says, "Greater love has no one than this than one lay down His life for his freinds."  You see Jesus was showing us His love by choosing to take the cross.  Love, I've come to realize is a choice fulfilled by action, and that's what Jesus did. He loved us by choosing to take our death and then following through with it.  This beautiful song illustrates what my response should be to that.  He's calling out to me in His love, in His choice - so how am I going to respond in my love towards Him, in my choices?  Am I going to choose the temporary fleeting things of this world or am I going to choose the path of the Eternal Savior who suffered for me?  Faced with what He's done for me, taking the filthy rags of my life and making them clean, it would be crazy to choose this world over that free gift of eternity!  And even in the face of the world calling out to me to live by the realities of today, I choose to fix my gaze on Him and I will follow through in the steps I take because I heard His voice when He called out to me. So I follow and trust Him because even though I can't see Him now, I will in eternity. Isn't that crazy?