Jesus, we look to Thee,
Thy promised presence claim;
Thou in the midst of us shall be,
Assembled in Thy Name.
Thy Name salvation is,
Which here we come to prove;
Thy Name is life, and health, and peace,
And everlasting love.
Not in the name of pride
Or selfishness we meet;
From nature’s paths we turn aside,
And worldly thoughts forget.
We meet, the grace to take
Which Thou hast freely given;
We meet on earth for Thy dear sake
That we may meet in Heaven.
Present we know Thou art;
But, O, Thyself reveal!
Now, Lord, let every waiting heart
The mighty comfort feel.
O may Thy quickening voice
The death of sin remove;
And bid our inmost souls rejoice,
In hope of perfect love.
“The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure
and altogether righteous.
They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.”
In your pursuit of faithfulness, embrace all your weaknesses along with your strengths. When you cherish the lowliest thought you choose of yourself and unite it with the loftiest conception of God’s All-Sufficiency you bring about God’s glory to its fullest extent.
“I will not lower the standard of the bible to the level of my experience.”
-BIll Johnson
How many times, how many experiences, how many revelations and visions from God must we receive to finally understand God is bigger, greater, more compassionate, more beautiful, more loving, more giving, more merciful, more glorious than any of your experiences. RAISE the standard of your experience to match the standard of the Word. I will not dare to do the other way around.
A passage from Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor:
“Tom Carson never rose very far in denominational structures, but hundreds of people … testify how much he loved them. He never wrote a book, but he loved the Book. He was never wealthy or powerful, but he kept growing as a Christian: yesterday’s grace was never enough. He was not a far-sighted visionary, but he looked forward to eternity. He was not a gifted administrator, but there is no text that says “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you are good administrators.” His journals have many, many entries bathed in tears of contrition, but his children and grandchildren remember his laughter. Only rarely did he break through his pattern of reserve and speak deeply and intimately with his children, but he modeled Christian virtues to them. He much preferred to avoid controversy than to stir things up, but his own commitments to historic confessionalism were unyielding, and in ethics he was a man of principle. His own ecclesiastical circles were rather small and narrow, but his reading was correspondingly large and expansive. He was not very good at putting people down, except on his prayer lists.
When he died, there were no crowds outside the hospital, no editorial comments in the papers, no announcements on the television, no mention in Parliament, no attention paid by the nation. In his hospital room there was no one by his bedside. There was only the quiet hiss of oxygen, vainly venting because he had stopped breathing and would never need it again.
But on the other side, all the trumpets sounded. Dad won entrance to the only throne-room that matters, not because he was a good man or a great man—he was, after all, a most ordinary pastor—but because he was a forgiven man. And he heard the voice of him whom he longed to hear saying, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your Lord.’”
D.A. Carson, writes a memoir of his Father Tom Carson, an ordinary man. He was no King David. No Edwards or Piper. He struggled with depression and saw little visible fruit in his own ministry. Yet, he remained faithful and served the Lord with all his heart until the very end. I am so humbled.
Colorful- United Pursuit Band
Revelation 4:3. This song makes my spirit want to dance
Psalm119:17,20,24
“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times. Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.”
Recklessly abandon yourself and surrender everything to Him. Then you will recognize His voice and hear it clearly.
“I lean on my own strength but it’s useless
Cause healing only come by them stripes and them bruises
I chunk deuces and turn towards you”
