Worldliness

"Worldliness is so serious

because

Christ

is so glorious."

~from a thought-provoking recent-read Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World, edited by C.J. Mahaney

I am His, and He is Mine

This evening on the way home from work, I was listening to the new Soundforth CD, Beyond All Praising. It was the song "Be Not Afraid," based on Isaiah 43. What a blessing these words were to meditate on as I drove home!

"But now, thus says the LORD...

'Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by your name;

You are Mine.

When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

And through the rivers,

they shall not overflow you.

When  you walk through the fire,

you shall not be burned,

Nor shall the flame scorch you.

For I am the LORD your God,

The Holy One of Israel,

your Savior.

Since you were precious in My sight,

You have been honored,

And I have loved you.'

Thus says the LORD,

who makes a way in the sea,

And a path through the mighty waters...

Behold, I will do a new thing,

Now it shall spring forth;

Shall you not know it?

I will make a road in the wilderness

And rivers in the desert.

This people I have

formed for Myself;

They shall

declare My praise."

~various verses from Isaiah 43~

Specifically spoken to Israel, yet definitely applicable to God's children today!

Day of Victory

He is not here,

but is risen!

~ ~ ~

One day the grave could conceal Him no longer,
One day the stone rolled away from the door;
Then He arose, over death He had conquered;
Now is ascended, my Lord evermore!

photo courtesy ClickArt Christian Graphics Deluxe

Scripture: Luke 24:6

with One Day (O Glorious Day)

Day of Confusion

But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”
Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”
She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”

~ ~ ~

Mary wept because she did not understand.

None of the disciples did, until after Jesus resurrected.

What was that Sabbath day like for Jesus' followers? Luke describes how confused they were, even as they began hearing reports of the empty tomb, and how they didn't fully believe until they saw Jesus themselves. We can rejoice, knowing now what they did not fully know!

~ ~ ~

Dying for me, dying for me,
There on the cross He was dying for me;
Now in His death my redemption I see,
All because Jesus was dying for me.

Risen for me, risen for me,
Up from the grave He has risen for me;
Now evermore from death’s sting I am free,
All because Jesus has risen for me.

photo courtesy christian-graphics.net

Scripture: John 20:11-15

with Wounded for Me

Day of Sorrow

 Who has believed our report?
      And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
       For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
      And as a root out of dry ground.
      He has no form or comeliness;
      And when we see Him,
      There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
       He is despised and rejected by men,
      A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. 

~ ~ ~

O sacred Head, now wounded,

with grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded with thorns,

Thine only crown...

Men mock and taunt and jeer Thee,

Thou noble countenance,
Though mighty worlds shall fear Thee

and flee before Thy glance.
How art thou pale with anguish,

with sore abuse and scorn!
How doth Thy visage languish

that once was bright as morn!
~ ~ ~
      And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
      He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
       Surely He has borne our griefs
      And carried our sorrows;
      Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
      Smitten by God, and afflicted.
       But He was wounded for our transgressions,
      He was bruised for our iniquities;
      The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
      And by His stripes we are healed. 

~ ~ ~

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered,

was all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression,

but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior!

’Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor,

vouchsafe to me Thy grace.

~ ~ ~

     All we like sheep have gone astray;
      We have turned, every one, to his own way;
      And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
       He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
      Yet He opened not His mouth;
      He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
      And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
      So He opened not His mouth.
       He was taken from prison and from judgment,
      And who will declare His generation?
      For He was cut off from the land of the living;
      For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. 

~ ~ ~

Near the cross, a trembling soul,
Love and mercy found me;
There the bright and morning star
Sheds its beams around me.

~ ~ ~ 
And they made His grave with the wicked—
      But with the rich at His death,
      Because He had done no violence,
      Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
       Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him;
      He has put Him to grief.
      When You make His soul an offering for sin,
      He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
      And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.
       He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
      By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
      For He shall bear their iniquities. 

~ ~ ~

Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day,
With its shadows o’er me.

~ ~ ~      
Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
      And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
      Because He poured out His soul unto death,
      And He was numbered with the transgressors,
      And He bore the sin of many,
      And made intercession for the transgressors.

photo courtesy christian-graphics.net

Scripture: Isaiah 53, NKJ

with O Sacred Head Now Wounded

and Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross

My Prayer

All I ever want to be is what You want of me, Lord;

I give my life to You.

And all my hopes and dreams and plans

I place within Your hands, Lord, and give my life to You.

by Nate Carter; sung by the Taylors on Everlasting Praise

Whatever You give today, I will accept.

Whenever You withhold, I will praise You.

Plans

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.

~Proverbs 19:21~

We can make plans...but if God didn't make the same plans, then our plans are the ones that go.

The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.

~Proverbs 16:9~

Our hearts are not completely reliable, but God and His ways are!

Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.

~Proverbs 16:3~

We pray and make biblical choices--but even then God is God and we are not!

Conclusion: Fun Stuff Wednesday

"For everything there is a season,

and a time for every matter under heaven."

Ecc. 3:1, ESV

As time goes on, seasons change.

Almost a year ago, I graduated from college. I went on a missions trip. I came back to my job of 5 years. I started this blog. I paid off my school loan. I saved up for and bought a car. I dropped hours at work, partly because it was the slow season and partly because I didn't think I needed all those hours (and just sometimes I feel like doing things besides working all the time. :) )

Over a month ago, I found out I didn't get the work-study job for graduate school that I had been planning on. Which means that I'm not going back to campus this summer but, rather, Lord-willing, this fall when school actually starts. It means I'll still be working at my job of now 6 years. It means I go back up to full-time hours.

When seasons change, priorities shift. And my blog is part of that. "Fun Stuff Wednesday" had its season. I enjoyed it--I got to talk about polar bears, and snow, and current projects I was working on, and my car, and our road trip, and random things that make me happy. And while all those things are good and are the result of God's blessings in my life, I want to focus my limited time on other things.

Not that you necessarily cared that much, but I wanted to explain why FSW disappeared. (Or, maybe perhaps why I didn't bother to do one today?) I'll still be counting God's blessings...but in a different format.

Happy Wednesday!

The Gain

In his sermon on the passage beginning in John 15:18, Pastor Mike used II Timothy 3:12, "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."

As I thought about this, I recalled I Timothy 6:6. Obviously it's a different context, but it also talks about godliness: "Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment."

Godliness has a price (persecution) ... but the gain far outweighs the price.

The Blessings of Bible Conference

Snippets of the fun times...

Road trip.

Moms who find good maps and sisters who help navigate.

Being grateful we were going East rather than West!

Showing my sister around my home-away-from-home as we walked around campus and ate at the snack and coffee shops.

Running into and catching up with old friends and past roommates.

Sitting with Shalin for the Tuesday afternoon session; with Karah on Thursday night.
Seeing my (practically grown-up) little kiddies I babysat for at the campus daycare center last year.

Enjoying a Reedy River picnic.

Using the dorm snack room microwave to heat up leftovers like old times.

Having a mission team reunion.

Going to Starbucks with Fiona, a freshman buddy.
Navigating my way through crazy Greenville streets (and only getting lost a couple of times. :)

Taking sermon notes in a stylish homemade book. :)

Buying souvenirs.

Coffee mug from BJ and butterfly mug from downtown's
Mast General Store flank the picture;
I bought the piano book because it has an arrangement of
"Arise, My Soul, Arise";
"Beyond all Praising" is the 2011 Soundforth CD
~ the others had songs I wanted!

And even Ivy got a souvenir. ;)

Enjoying a week of Spring but driving back in Winter--in our flip-flops, no less!

Praise God for His provision. :)

The Best of Bible Conference

(These are from my notes, so they are not necessarily direct quotes. The full audio of these sermons can be found here; my quotes start with Monday evening and go in order.)

~ Monday ~

"Know God intimately...then serve Him."
-Craig Scott

~ Tuesday ~

"Is the Bible precious enough to me to guard it?"
-Bob Potter

On Ephesians 5:15-17: " 'Not as fools but wise' = Saying yes to God's Word."
-Craig Scott

"Man has the tendency to bring God down; we don't look so bad then as when we exalt God."
-Greg McLaughlin

~ Wednesday ~

"Does God have to show me the end before I'm thankful for the interruptions and mistakes?"
-Sam Horn

"A genuine faith is a walking faith."
-Bob Potter

"If you have no walk with God, you have no ministry."
-David Innes

~ Thursday ~

"I desperately need God to speak to me through His Word; to reveal sin and build me up in the faith."
-Bruce Compton

On Titus 2:11-15: "God's sanctifying grace 'teaches us' = meaning we should live with a certain view; we should live intentionally and thoughtfully. It teaches us to live 'righteously' = meeting obligations that God has given us; and 'godly' = in a way that meets God's approval."
-Sam Horn

~ Friday ~

"Not every Bible reading experience is a 'hallelujah' moment. But the Bible is rich. Live by it. It's not inspired just because we feel like it is!"
-David Innes

On Psalm 90:12: "We are short on time. Whatever ground God puts us on is holy ground: there is no difference between sacred and secular. Watch out for unproductiveness."
-Ken Casillas

On James 1:22-25: "A doer is characterized by doing God's Word; he has a consistent testimony."
-Bruce Compton