One Thing! What one thing motivates you when you awaken each day?
It is a question that one man answered when he said, "This one thing have I desired and that will I seek......" This statement came from a man who was the king of the strongest empire at his time in history. He was the ultimate warrior, had complete control of the nations around him and had no need for any material thing, and knew who he was, yet he pursued with all his heart this 'One Thing'. Wonder what that one thing was? When you put on 100 year glasses and you look down the time line, what you are pursuing today, how will that impact what you will be 100 years from now?
Something to ponder!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
CALLING
CALLING
Have you ever wondered why am I here? What is my destiny? Where am I going? What is my calling?
It seems today, probably much like it has been in all of history, that most folks define who they are by what they do. That ‘what I do’ defines them, in the eyes of the beholder and in their own eye’s.
However, there is One who doesn’t observe as we do and 'calling' to Him has a far different meaning and impact on all that we do and in fact how we should respond to life. I like the following definition of calling. I think Os Guinness does an excellent job of helping us understand what it is and how it impacts our entire lives.
“calling is the truth that God calls us to Himself so decisively that everything we are, everything we do, and everything we have is invested with a special devotion and dynamism lived out as a response to His summons and service.” (P.4 The Call by Os Guinness)
In some ways you might think this as selfish on God’s part, however, everything God does is for our best. Don’t think so well consider the Cross. That was His Sons calling. Jesus said I have come to do your will O God. The bible says of Jesus ‘call’, “ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:17
So calling is one made by God to come and fellowship with Him on a daily basis and all we do is in response to who He is and who we are in Him. That’s significance, purpose and destiny.
Have you ever wondered why am I here? What is my destiny? Where am I going? What is my calling?
It seems today, probably much like it has been in all of history, that most folks define who they are by what they do. That ‘what I do’ defines them, in the eyes of the beholder and in their own eye’s.
However, there is One who doesn’t observe as we do and 'calling' to Him has a far different meaning and impact on all that we do and in fact how we should respond to life. I like the following definition of calling. I think Os Guinness does an excellent job of helping us understand what it is and how it impacts our entire lives.
“calling is the truth that God calls us to Himself so decisively that everything we are, everything we do, and everything we have is invested with a special devotion and dynamism lived out as a response to His summons and service.” (P.4 The Call by Os Guinness)
In some ways you might think this as selfish on God’s part, however, everything God does is for our best. Don’t think so well consider the Cross. That was His Sons calling. Jesus said I have come to do your will O God. The bible says of Jesus ‘call’, “ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:17
So calling is one made by God to come and fellowship with Him on a daily basis and all we do is in response to who He is and who we are in Him. That’s significance, purpose and destiny.
Love So Amazing
MY GRATITUDE FOR
THE COST OF THE CROSS
When I survey the wondrous cross, On which the Prince of Glory died,My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ my God,All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood.
See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down,Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
His dying crimson, like a robe, Spreads o'er His body on the tree;Then I am dead to all the globe, And all the globe is dead to me.
Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were an off'ring far too small;Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.
By Isaac Watts 1707
Summed up in these lyrics is a man’s heart that is filled with gratitude for he recognized the cost of the Cross.
The bible says that from the ‘foundation of the world Christ was crucified.’ Before man was created the love of God compelled Him to provide an atoning sacrifice so that we ‘who have sinned and come short of the glory of God’ might become ‘sons of God’ through faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross of Calvary.
Isaac Watts compels us to survey the wonder of the Cross. It is the pivotal point in history of mankind as God reached down into humanity, became like one of us and gives His life a sacrifice for all humanity for the purpose of reconciling man back to God.
As I reflect on the cross I come to some understanding of the cost of the cross.. It cost the Father His Son, it cost the Son absolute humility and brokenness and for a time in history an abandonment from the Father as He cries out My God, My God why have You forsaken Me? In that moment in Jesus last act of sacrificial love on the Cross, the perfect Lamb of God takes on Himself my abandonment, my forsakenness, my orphanness. Because of His act of love for us, each individual who comes to Christ will never know forsakenness again for He has promised, “I will never leave nor forsake you.” It cost the Holy Spirit, as the Son of Glory takes on Himself the sin of all mankind and suffers alone. The greatest suffering ever known was borne by the Godhead, yet it was done out of love for you and for me.
When I glimpse the truth of the ‘cost of the cross’ I too respond, “Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ my God..” My heart bows in absolute gratitude. For His cost became my greatest gain.
The writer goes on to say, “All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood.” When I see this beautiful Man giving Himself so completely I am compelled to lay aside everything this world has to offer for it cannot compete with the power of the Blood of Christ. “What shall wash away my sins, nothing but the blood of Jesus.” The writer of Hebrews says, “without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.” Oh the cost of the cross, the wonder of the cross. When once I see, my heart is constrained to follow this Man where ever He might lead.
As we find ourselves at the foot of the cross, bowed in humility the writer admonishes us to look up and, “See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down, Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown?” It was at the cross that, Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed. (Psalms 85:10) So rich a gift from the Father’s hand that we who believe have become ‘heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.’ When I see this lovely Man broken, pierced, humiliated and scorned and I realize it was for me, my heart cries out, “Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were an off'ring far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all. And I come and bow down to worship with a heart filled with such gratitude for the infinite cost of the cross.
THE COST OF THE CROSS
When I survey the wondrous cross, On which the Prince of Glory died,My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ my God,All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood.
See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down,Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
His dying crimson, like a robe, Spreads o'er His body on the tree;Then I am dead to all the globe, And all the globe is dead to me.
Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were an off'ring far too small;Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.
By Isaac Watts 1707
Summed up in these lyrics is a man’s heart that is filled with gratitude for he recognized the cost of the Cross.
The bible says that from the ‘foundation of the world Christ was crucified.’ Before man was created the love of God compelled Him to provide an atoning sacrifice so that we ‘who have sinned and come short of the glory of God’ might become ‘sons of God’ through faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross of Calvary.
Isaac Watts compels us to survey the wonder of the Cross. It is the pivotal point in history of mankind as God reached down into humanity, became like one of us and gives His life a sacrifice for all humanity for the purpose of reconciling man back to God.
As I reflect on the cross I come to some understanding of the cost of the cross.. It cost the Father His Son, it cost the Son absolute humility and brokenness and for a time in history an abandonment from the Father as He cries out My God, My God why have You forsaken Me? In that moment in Jesus last act of sacrificial love on the Cross, the perfect Lamb of God takes on Himself my abandonment, my forsakenness, my orphanness. Because of His act of love for us, each individual who comes to Christ will never know forsakenness again for He has promised, “I will never leave nor forsake you.” It cost the Holy Spirit, as the Son of Glory takes on Himself the sin of all mankind and suffers alone. The greatest suffering ever known was borne by the Godhead, yet it was done out of love for you and for me.
When I glimpse the truth of the ‘cost of the cross’ I too respond, “Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ my God..” My heart bows in absolute gratitude. For His cost became my greatest gain.
The writer goes on to say, “All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood.” When I see this beautiful Man giving Himself so completely I am compelled to lay aside everything this world has to offer for it cannot compete with the power of the Blood of Christ. “What shall wash away my sins, nothing but the blood of Jesus.” The writer of Hebrews says, “without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.” Oh the cost of the cross, the wonder of the cross. When once I see, my heart is constrained to follow this Man where ever He might lead.
As we find ourselves at the foot of the cross, bowed in humility the writer admonishes us to look up and, “See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down, Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown?” It was at the cross that, Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed. (Psalms 85:10) So rich a gift from the Father’s hand that we who believe have become ‘heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.’ When I see this lovely Man broken, pierced, humiliated and scorned and I realize it was for me, my heart cries out, “Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were an off'ring far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all. And I come and bow down to worship with a heart filled with such gratitude for the infinite cost of the cross.
Gratitude
RESPONDING TO THE FATHER’S HEART
Gratitude is an Act of Worship
When we enter into the Kingdom of God, having responded to the call of God we do so as a disciple of Christ. We quickly come to the realization that the life we have been given is not ours but His and that our lives are built around one purpose, to follow Him.
Os Guines writes “..calling is a reminder for followers of Christ that nothing in life should be taken for granted, everything in life must be received with gratitude.” But how many of us take for granted all the Lord has blessed us with. (The Call p.195)
Albert Carnes wrote, “Man’s first faculty is forgetting.” In the busy world that we live in it is so easy to forget.
Os Guiness continues, “Ingratitude and forgetfulness are ultimately moral rather than mental; they are the direct expression of sin.” (The Call)
People pride themselves as needing no one or no thing, including God. The result is many have no sense of gratitude. Today the “world has transformed a sense of debt into a sense of rights and entitlements.” (The Call)
In 1863 Abraham Lincoln said, “We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown, but we have forgotten God. Forgetfulness results in bad statements such as the one made by television cartoon character, Bart Simpson, as he prays over his dinner, “Dear God, we pay for all this ourselves. So thanks for nothing.”
The Apostle James wrote, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of His creatures.
Daily the Father showers us with blessings, yet in our busy schedules we have little or no time to thank Him.
How sad to think where mankind has come to since creation. Created in God’s image, given destiny, dignity, value and worth, called to co-partner with God, yet mankind today is so self-centered that he cares for nothing or no one other than himself.
David, the great king of Israel, wrote these words “For you formed my inward parts; you covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalms 139v. 12,13)
David’s heart of gratitude came as a result of him recognizing how God saw him and cared for him. (See Psalms 139:1-12) In verses 17,18 of this same Psalm we read, “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them. If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with you.
David fully recognized that all that he was, all that he had and all that he would become was because of God and nothing else. He had a history with his heavenly Father and nothing would prevent him from following the One who had called him. This One who had, “ hedged me behind and before and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.”
When we come to the realization, as David did, that the One who has called us, loves us with unconditional love, we are obliged to respond with heartfelt love, and gratitude. When our hearts are captivated by the cost of the cross, then our hearts will worship with gratitude.
Oz Guiness writes (P 197 The Call) “…calling contributes to faith its own sense of wonder and gratitude, because of its insistence on God’s sovereign initiative and grace in the call.
When we come to the realization that Jesus called and chose us, not because we are worthy, but simply “because in his grace he loves us” then we are compelled to worship Him with a heart of gratitude.
In response to God’s mysterious grace of calling G. K. Chesterton said, “Nothing taken for granted; everything received with gratitude; everything passed on with grace.”
Heart felt gratitude to God is a result of our seeing clearly as did Job, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Without gratitude I become self centered and self reliant.
I am reminded of a song we learned years ago that goes like this, “I will come and bow down at Your feet Lord Jesus in Your presence is fullness of joy, there is nothing there is no one who compares with You I take pleasure in worshipping You Lord.”
When our hearts are filled with gratitude then we will come, willingly to bow in humble gratitude to the One who gave His all. As we do we find our hearts are filled with absolute joy.
Nothing in the whole world can give us this, only the creator and sustainer of our souls. And in this place we find great delight and pleasure as we worship our Creator, our Lord and Savior, our God, our King and our Father.
Gratitude should be as natural as breathing, but we must deliberately stop throughout the day and give thanks to the One who loves us with infinite unconditional love. As we do “the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of His goodness and grace.”
Gratitude is an Act of Worship
When we enter into the Kingdom of God, having responded to the call of God we do so as a disciple of Christ. We quickly come to the realization that the life we have been given is not ours but His and that our lives are built around one purpose, to follow Him.
Os Guines writes “..calling is a reminder for followers of Christ that nothing in life should be taken for granted, everything in life must be received with gratitude.” But how many of us take for granted all the Lord has blessed us with. (The Call p.195)
Albert Carnes wrote, “Man’s first faculty is forgetting.” In the busy world that we live in it is so easy to forget.
Os Guiness continues, “Ingratitude and forgetfulness are ultimately moral rather than mental; they are the direct expression of sin.” (The Call)
People pride themselves as needing no one or no thing, including God. The result is many have no sense of gratitude. Today the “world has transformed a sense of debt into a sense of rights and entitlements.” (The Call)
In 1863 Abraham Lincoln said, “We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown, but we have forgotten God. Forgetfulness results in bad statements such as the one made by television cartoon character, Bart Simpson, as he prays over his dinner, “Dear God, we pay for all this ourselves. So thanks for nothing.”
The Apostle James wrote, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of His creatures.
Daily the Father showers us with blessings, yet in our busy schedules we have little or no time to thank Him.
How sad to think where mankind has come to since creation. Created in God’s image, given destiny, dignity, value and worth, called to co-partner with God, yet mankind today is so self-centered that he cares for nothing or no one other than himself.
David, the great king of Israel, wrote these words “For you formed my inward parts; you covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalms 139v. 12,13)
David’s heart of gratitude came as a result of him recognizing how God saw him and cared for him. (See Psalms 139:1-12) In verses 17,18 of this same Psalm we read, “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them. If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with you.
David fully recognized that all that he was, all that he had and all that he would become was because of God and nothing else. He had a history with his heavenly Father and nothing would prevent him from following the One who had called him. This One who had, “ hedged me behind and before and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.”
When we come to the realization, as David did, that the One who has called us, loves us with unconditional love, we are obliged to respond with heartfelt love, and gratitude. When our hearts are captivated by the cost of the cross, then our hearts will worship with gratitude.
Oz Guiness writes (P 197 The Call) “…calling contributes to faith its own sense of wonder and gratitude, because of its insistence on God’s sovereign initiative and grace in the call.
When we come to the realization that Jesus called and chose us, not because we are worthy, but simply “because in his grace he loves us” then we are compelled to worship Him with a heart of gratitude.
In response to God’s mysterious grace of calling G. K. Chesterton said, “Nothing taken for granted; everything received with gratitude; everything passed on with grace.”
Heart felt gratitude to God is a result of our seeing clearly as did Job, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Without gratitude I become self centered and self reliant.
I am reminded of a song we learned years ago that goes like this, “I will come and bow down at Your feet Lord Jesus in Your presence is fullness of joy, there is nothing there is no one who compares with You I take pleasure in worshipping You Lord.”
When our hearts are filled with gratitude then we will come, willingly to bow in humble gratitude to the One who gave His all. As we do we find our hearts are filled with absolute joy.
Nothing in the whole world can give us this, only the creator and sustainer of our souls. And in this place we find great delight and pleasure as we worship our Creator, our Lord and Savior, our God, our King and our Father.
Gratitude should be as natural as breathing, but we must deliberately stop throughout the day and give thanks to the One who loves us with infinite unconditional love. As we do “the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of His goodness and grace.”
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