Tuesday, September 30, 2008

The Tumultuous Hour...

In my reading this morning, I came across this Psalm...  A beautiful set of promises for those of us who fear the Lord and delight in His Word.  I was especially blessed by # 8 and #9, seeing how totally freaked out people are getting about the economic situation, world affairs, and the coming elections.  We need not fear; our hearts should be fixed, trusting the Lord.  

Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.
  1. His seed shall be mighty upon earth:
  2. The generation of the upright shall be blessed.
  3. Wealth and riches shall be in his house: 
  4. His righteousness endureth for ever. 
  5. Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
  6. A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.
  7. Surely he shall not be moved for ever:
  8. The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.
  9. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.
  10. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.
  11. He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor;
  12. His righteousness endureth for ever;
  13. His horn shall be exalted with honour.
  14. The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.
Psalms 112:1-10
Selah!

Monday, September 22, 2008

The Love of God

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”
—1 Peter 1:3-9
How beautiful His love and mercy truly is; and how little of it we really realize and understand.  This morning's sermon was on how the Love of God changes our lives when it truly grips us.  When we really try to grasp what the Lord did for us at Calvary, oh, how it should make the things of this earth fade away into utter nothingness...  We will never fully understand, but how the boundless, peerless, love of God should thrill our souls, changing the very way that we look at our relationship with our Father in Heaven.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.