Psalm 139:23-24

"Search me, O God, and know my heart:

try me, and know my thoughts:

and see if there be any wicked way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting."

- Psalm 139:23-24

 

My Father, to my heart I take

Thy simple word of truth today,

I shall not lose me in the brake,

For Thou dost know the way.

 

Before my face a mountain frowns,

Above me all the sky is grey;

The mist is lying on the downs,

But Thou dost know the way.

- Amy Carmichael

Sunshine and Shelter

Today the sun showed its face for the first time in almost a week. After days of grey, gloomy skies, it was so refreshing to see the golden light shine through the windows and glisten on the snow.

It seems that when I go without something I usually take for granted or see someone else lacking one of the blessings I have, I realize how thankful I am.

In other words, I'm afraid that I am often thankful after the fact when I should be thankful in everything.

One of our friends recently moved to Alaska and is living inside the Arctic Circle, and right now, there is only one, maybe two hours of daylight each day. I frankly cannot imagine not seeing the sun or at least light for months on end. After only a few days without sunlight, I was eager for the sun to shine again.

Last night, I was given another vivid reminder to be thankful when I went with my dad to a home dedication for our area's Habitat for Humanity. The new home was several towns away from us, so it was a nice drive with good discussion.  When we arrived, the house was full of people milling about -- family, friends, people from the community, one of the local pastors, and staff from Habitat. I didn't know anyone except Dad, so I followed him around as he toured the house and visited.

The small, four bedroom home was built for a single father and his five children. I couldn't pick out which of the several children running about went with the father until everyone gathered for the ceremony and he stood with his family in the middle. After Dad welcomed everyone and thanked them for being there, the young father was asked to introduce his family: four girls and a little boy. I guessed their age range to be thirteen to three. After introducing his children, the father tried to thank everyone, but he was so overwhelmed that all he could do was bury his face in his young son's chest and sob.

In that moment, I saw all I had been given flash before my eyes and I was so thankful -- for being raised in an intact home by Christian parents, for the house we have called home for nearly all of my life, for never having to worry about my needs being provided for. Here was this young father trying to raise his children on his own, struggling to do the best for them with what he had been given. Thanks to his hard work and a giving community, he now has his own home.

But the battle isn't won yet. The statistics are against his children. Over and over the studies prove that children with one parent have an increased probability to struggle in school, have emotional problems, try drugs and alcohol, and commit crimes. Maybe his son and daughters will turn out fine, only time will tell.

The Apostle Paul writes that "godliness with contentment is great gain" (I Tim. 6:6). In our consumer-oriented society and especially during the Christmas season, people are focused on making wish lists and buying gifts, while enticing advertising proclaims yet another new product that we simply MUST have. 

Yet, even if we were to receive no gifts this Christmas, we would still be blessed beyond measure. Take some time out of the busy holiday season to count your blessings and thank the Lord for the many that you already have, not the ones you're hoping to receive Christmas morning or the things you think you need to be happy. I was reminded of two very big ones this week: sunshine and shelter.

To give you a little help, here is a list from Philip E. Howard Jr.'s book New Every Morning:

"Blessings taken for granted are often forgotten. Yet our Heavenly Father 'daily loadeth us with benefits' (Psalm 68:19). Think of some of the common things which are nevertheless wonderful:

              "-- the intricate, delicate mechanism of the lungs steadily taking in fresh air eighteen to twenty times a minute;
 

"-- the untiring heart, pumping great quantities of clean blood through the

labyrinth of blood vessels;
 

"-- the constant body temperature, normally varying less than one degree;
 

"-- the atmospheric temperature, varying widely it is true, but never so

much as to destroy human and animal life;
 

"-- the orderly succession of day and night, spring, summer, autumn,

and winter, so that, with few exceptions, man can make his plans

accordingly;
 

"-- the great variety of foods, from the farm, the field, the forest, and

the sea, to suit our differing desires and physical needs;
 

"-- the beauties of each day - the morning star and growing light of

sunrise, the white clouds of afternoon, the soft tints of a

peaceful sunset, and the glory of the starry heavens;
 

"-- the refreshment that sleep brings;
 

"-- the simple joys of home - the children's laughter and whimsical

remarks, happy times around the table, the love and understanding

of husband and wife, and the harmony of voices raised together

in praise to God.

 

"All these and many others come from the bountiful hand of Him 'who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's (Psalm 103:4-5)."

 

"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord,

and to sing praises unto Thy name, O most High."

- Psalm 92:1

Be Still, My Soul

One of my favorite hymns, set to Sibelius' gorgeous melody Finlandia.

In the busyness of life in this loud, technological, fast-moving world, we often forget to quiet ourselves before the Lord. It is so easy to start fretting about this or get distracted by that, but once we come before the Lord and reflect on Him, our problems grow dim and our souls are refreshed. "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10) is a command that our weary hearts ought to gladly obey, for it is only in Him that we find true rest. Even in the midst of normal everyday life, we can still have a quiet mind. In her book Keep a Quiet Heart, Elisabeth Elliot quotes the below poem and I think it captures well the essence of a quiet mind:

I've many a cross to take up now,

And many left behind;

But present troubles move me not,

Nor shake my quiet mind.

And what may be tomorrow's cross

I never seek to find;

My Father says, "Leave that to Me,

And keep a quiet mind."

- Anonymous

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.

Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.

Leave to thy God to order and provide;

In every change, He faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend

Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

 

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake

To guide the future, as He has the past.

Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake:

All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know

His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

 

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on

When we shall be forever with the Lord.

When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,

Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.

Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past

All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

- Katharina von Schlegel

 

"In returning and rest shall ye be saved;

In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength."

- Isaiah 30:15

 

Season of Light

One of my favorite parts about the Christmas season is the lights. I love the garlands Mom puts up all around the house every year. I love the reflection the outdoor lights make in the water at night as I drive by the lake. I love the lighted snowflakes on the lamp posts downtown. As I was experimenting with the camera and taking pictures of the tiny lights on one of our garlands, I was reminded of how we are called to be lights in the world.

Light pierces the darkness. As Christians, we no longer walk in darkness but in light. "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, 'I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life'" (John 8:12). His word has become a light to our paths (Psalm 119:105), and we no more stumble in the darkness of separation from Him.

Yet, in a dark, dark world, not only do we live in the light but also are called to be lights for Christ. "Ye are the light of the world....Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5:14, 16). We are to "cast off the works of darkness" and instead "put on the armour of light" (Romans 13:12). Are we letting our lights shine for Him? The world is full of individuals who desperately need to hear the good news of the gospel. We can be beacons of light in the midst of a hurting, perishing world.

"But if our gospel be hid,

it is hid to them that are lost:

In whom the god of this world

that blinded the minds of them which believe not,

lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,

who is the image of God should shine unto them.

 

For we preach not ourselves,

but Christ Jesus the Lord;

For God, who commanded the light

to shine out of the darkness,

hath shined in our hearts,

to give the light of the knowledge

of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

- II Corinthians 4:3-6

Candles aglow; glistening snow -

It's the season of light!

It's the season of light!

Open your eyes; open your heart.

It's the season of light!

It's the season of light!

See the Light in the darkness appear

With the message of hope that the world needs to hear.

Jesus has come; darkness is gone.

It's the season of light!

It's the season of light!

 

Angels filled the heavens,

Sent from the Father of light,

Bringing good news

Tidings of joy

Offering a hope in the night.

 

O holy night -

A holy Light has dawned in Bethlehem

Shattering darkness, piercing the night,

Ushering in the season of light!

- Ron Hamilton, Cheryl Reid, Shelton Love

Thank You, Lord

"I will praise the name of God with a song,

and will magnify Him with thanksgiving."

- Psalm 69:30

 

 

Loving Shepherd of my soul,

Keep me close; I love You so.

Lead me where the waters flow

In Your rich green pasture.

Be my Guide; I'm in Your care;

Keep my feet from ev'ry snare.

I will follow anywhere

You call me to go.

 

 

Refrain

Thank You, Lord; Thank You, Lord;

I will thank You, Lord.

In Your will I'm content;

I'll not wish for more.

I will seek Your kingdom first;

I will trust all that You do.

Thank You, Lord; Thank You, Lord;

I rejoice in You.

 

 

Shepherd of eternity,

All my future You can see.

Show me what is best for me;

I trust in Your goodness.

In the valley I'll not fear;

Through the storm Your voice I hear.

Your strong arm is always near;

I rest in Your love.

- Ron Hamilton

 

(pictures from Banff National Park, Canada 2012)

Thanksgiving

"As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord,

so walk ye in Him: rooted and built up in Him,

and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught,

abounding therein with thanskgiving."

- Colossians 2:6-7

 

 

Thanksgiving and its hustle and bustle of preparation has passed. Many travel long distances to celebrate with family and friends, enjoy a wonderful meal, and spend a few minutes filling out notecards with things they are thankful for. Today, however, most will return home and go back to their normal routines. 

 

As Christians, gratitude and a thankful heart are not to be limited to a holiday that comes once a year. Our lives are to be characterized by thanksgiving year-round. The Apostle Paul exhorts us to "in everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (I Thessalonians 5:18).

 

Wait a minute. In everything give thanks?

 

Well, that's what Scripture says. Note, however, the Apostle's wording: not "for" everything but "in" everything. As believers, we can always find something to be thankful for, no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in.  In her book Choosing Gratitude, Nancy Leigh DeMoss writes, "True, Christ-centered, grace-motivated gratitude fits everywhere, even in life's most desperate moments and difficult situations." That's because it's not about us, it's all about Him and what He has done for us.

 

Salvation is one of God's great gifts that we can never be thankful enough for. "Being humbly thankful to God for our salvation - the most undeserved transaction in our personal history - is the starting point for the purest form of gratitude: God-ward, Christ-centered gratitude" (Nancy Leigh DeMoss).

 

Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul.

Thank you, Lord, for making me whole.

Thank you, Lord, for giving to me

Thy great salvation so rich and free.

- Seth and Bessie Sykes

 

I am so thankful that the Lord came down to earth to die for me and save me by His amazing grace. My sins are forgiven, and I now live as an accepted, beloved child of God (Ephesians 1:18, Galatians 3:26). In light of what the Lord has done for us, our lives should be characterized by gratitude -- an outpouring of the grace we have received.

 

In addition to salvation, the gift of every spiritual blessing in heavenly places (Ephesians 1:13), and the gift of all things that pertain to life and godliness (II Peter 1:3), we have many other things to be thankful for. A few of the gifts I am thankful for this morning...

 

- salvation and the assurance of eternity with Christ

 

- God's faithfulness, mercy, and lovingkindness

 

- my wonderful parents

 

- my best friends: my brothers and sister

 

- my dear grandma

 

- the friendship and fellowship of sisters-in-Christ

- books

 

- a warm, cozy house that shelters from the icy wind and snow blowing outside

 

- my iPhone (I don't know what I would do without it!)

 

- my laptop and its host of amazing software programs that allow me to write, edit pictures, do graphic design work, chat with friends via webcam, blog, email, and earn my degree

 

- music and the ability to use it to share the gospel, minister to others, and honor the Lord

 

- my piano

- my violin

 

- a car that runs well and gets good gas mileage

 

- our adorable, affectionate puppy

 

- a day at home with my favorite people in the whole wide world

 

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,

and cometh down from the Father of lights,

with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

- James 1:17

 

What are you thankful for today?







Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

 

"Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith."

- Hebrews 12:2

 

 

O soul, are you weary and troubled?

No light in the darkness you see?

There's light for a look at the Saviour,

And life more abundant and free!

 

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

In the light of His glory and grace.

 

Through death into life everlasting

He passed, and we follow Him there:

Over us sin no more hath dominion --

For more than conquerors we are!

 

His Word shall not fail you -- He promised;

Believe Him, and all will be well:

Then go to a world that is dying,

His perfect salvation to tell!

- Helen Lemmel

 

The words for this precious hymn we sang in church this morning were inspired by a pamphlet by Lilias Trotter entitled "Focused." The following paragraph especially stood out to the hymnwriter Helen Lemmel and became the main theme for her hymn:

 

"Turn full your soul's vision to Jesus and look and look at Him, and a strange dimness will come over all that is apart from Him, and the Divine 'attrait' by which God's saints are made, even in this 20th century, will lay hold of you. For 'He is worthy' to have all there is to be had in the heart that He has died to win."

- Lilias Trotter

 

"While we look not at the things which are seen,

but at the things which are not seen:

for the things which are seen are temporal;

but the things which are not seen are eternal."

- II Corinthians 4:18





The Servant's Prayer

"O Jesus the Crucified I will follow Thee in Thy path. Inspire me for the next step, whether it leads down into the shadow of death or up into the light. Surely in what place my Lord the King shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will Thy servant be. Amen."

- Lilias Trotter

 

Lilias Trotter finishes Parables of the Cross with this simple yet profound prayer. What amazes me is how much is reflected in these few words.

 

Humility. Absolute surrender. A request for guidance coupled with a willingness to travel whatever path is revealed, even suffering and death. A heart's desire to do the Lord's will. Peace, knowing one is under Christ's loving and sovereign care.

 

Lilias trusted her Saviour with her life.

 

How many of us truly trust the Lord with our lives? It is one thing to surrender our lives, our talents, our skills, our weaknesses, but to willingly accept how the Lord decides to use what we have offered is quite another. Do we reserve areas of our lives for ourselves, unwilling to let Him have control because we have our own goals and afraid He will spoil them? Do we doubt His lovingkindness, not fully resting in the promise that He will work everything out for our good?

 

How can He not know what is best for us? After all, He created us. Our heavenly Father "knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust" (Psalm 103:14).

 

He knows us better than we know ourselves. "O, Lord, Thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it all together. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid Thine hand upon me" (Psalm 139:1-5).

 

Surrendering our lives to Christ involves knowing God's character. If we know who He is, then we know that everything that touches our lives has already passed through His divine hand. When we offer ourselves to Him, we have nothing to lose. "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find it" (Matthew 10:39). As Elisabeth Elliot says, fulfillment only comes through sacrifice. We need not worry what Christ will do with our sacrifice. Like Lilias, we only need rest in the truth of His character and His promises, knowing He doeth all things well.

 

"Lord, You have assigned me my portion

and my cup; You have made my lot secure."

- Psalm 16:5, NIV

Our Hope

The election results were likely troubling and disappointing for many Americans, as they were for me. The majority of the voters chose to jettison traditional American conservatism and constitutionalism and embraced instead a different political, economic, and social future for our nation -- a future far removed from what the Founding Fathers envisioned in 1791.

While this is disheartening, we Christians must not forget our hope and our position. As the Apostle Peter writes, we are pilgrims and strangers passing through the world (I Peter 2:11). St. Augustine described our position as members of two cities: the city of God and the city of man. For a time, we are temporary residents of the city of man -- the earth -- and while we live here, we are to do our best to help bring order. We can be involved in politics, exercise our duty to vote, and "render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's" (Mark 12:7). Furthermore, no matter what may happen down here on earth, our sovereign God is in control.

It is He who "removeth kings, and setteth up kings" (Daniel 2:21). God knew the results of the 2012 election and allowed them -- they were not a surprise to Him.

Yet we are never to get so caught up with the happenings on earth that we forget our real home: the city of God.

Our permanent home is not here on earth -- our citizenship is in heaven where we will dwell with our Saviour for eternity (Philippians 3:20). Our ultimate hope is not in America or any other nation, government, or political party -- it is in Christ. This hope is described by the author of Hebrews as "an anchor of the soul" that is "both sure and steadfast" (Hebrews 6:19). It is a certain hope because it is based on God, who is sovereign, faithful, omnipotent, and immutable. A hope based on a government filled with sinful human beings will surely disappoint. Instead, Christians have the confident expectation of an eternal home in heaven and that Christ will return soon to take the Church home. That is our "blessed hope" as believers (Titus 2:13).

"He which testified these things saith, 'Surely I come quickly.'

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

- Revelation 22:20

The Lesson of the Seed

"So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth;

but God that giveth the increase."

- I Corinthians 3:7

 

Lilias Trotter

As believers, we are called to spread the gospel. In Scripture, this is likened to a farmer sowing and watering seeds (Matthew 13:3-23). The farmer, however, cannot force the seeds to germinate and grow into healthy plants or trees. All he can do is sow and water.

 

In a similar way, as we are yielded to Christ, He can use us to plant gospel seeds in the lives of those around us, and if He gives us opportunity to do so, "water" those seeds. But we cannot make the seeds grow -- we cannot make someone accept the gospel. Only God can give the increase. Our responsibility is to be yielded to Christ, willing to be used as He desires and "ready always to give an answer to to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is within you" (I Peter 3:15). That is our part. The person within whom we "plant" the "seed" must accept it himself.

 

"It does not follow that every seed will spring up: it is not so in the natural world. The plant's business is to scatter it, not withholding, not knowing which shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good; once scattered, the responsibility is transferred to the ground that receives it. But the aim of the plant - the goal of all the budding and blossoming and ripening - is that every seed should carry potential life. Thus are we responsible, not for the tangible results of our ministry to others, but for its being a ministry in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, such a ministry as will make those around us definitely responsible to God for accepting or rejecting the fullness of His salvation. If so, the 'signs following' will not be wanting. It will be to the one the savour of death unto death, and to the other the savour of life unto life, but 'whether they hear, or whether they will forbear, they shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.'"

- Lilias Trotter, Parables of the Cross

 

 

(for other installments in this series, see the lessons of the buttercup and the dandelion, and the husk of independence.)

 



Cast Your Care

“Why are thou cast down, O my soul?

And why art thou disquieted in me?

Hope thou in God.”

- Psalm 42:5

After a refreshing week of fall break, the second subterm started on Monday. Having finished two classes the previous Monday, I began two new block classes this week – Corrections and Judicial Process – and resumed my sixteen week science class.

Even after four years of college, I’m afraid I still get “syllabus shock.” Why? Perhaps it’s my type-A personality, and the simple truth that I tend to stress out about nearly everything. It’s not that I’m not excited for the classes – I love learning. Rather, it is worries about time management, health, the workload, and compensating for the little surprises life brings – surprises that can’t be anticipated.

Yet, at the beginning of each term and in the midst of my anxiety, the Lord faithfully brings me back to Him. He allows something in my life, usually illness, to remind me that I am not sufficient of myself and without Him, I can do nothing (John 15:5). The virus I have been fighting for the past week worsened. Today my doctor diagnosed bronchitis and put me on antibiotics. So, once again, I have been humbled and reminded that I am to cast myself in dependency on Him, who "performeth all things for me" (Psalm 57:2). 

 

The Daily Light for today was so fitting. I needed to be reminded of the truth in the verses. I’m so thankful for the way the Lord directs, giving me just what I stand in need of.

                “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved – I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song: He is also become my salvation.

                “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? – Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus – In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.

                “The effect of righteousness shall be quietness and assurance forever – Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid – Peace, from Him which is, and which was, and which is to come.”

 

                (Psalm 55:22 – Isaiah 42:2; Matthew 8:26 – Philippians 4:6-7 – Isaiah 30:15; Isaiah 32:17 – John 14:27 – Revelation 1:4).

 

Is there anything troubling you today? Any "care" that seems overwhelming? Cast it upon the Lord. He waits, ready to comfort you and give you rest (Matthew 11:28).

His Robes For Mine

"Herein is love, not that we loved God

but that He loved us, and sent His Son

to be the propitiation for our sins."

- I John 4:10

 

 

His robes for mine: O wonderful exchange!

Clothed in my sin, Christ suffered 'neath God's rage.

Draped in His righteousness, I'm justified.

In Christ I live, for in my place He died.

 

Refrain:

I cling to Christ, and marvel at the cost:

Jesus forsaken, God estranged from God.

Bought by such love, my life is not my own.

My praise - my all - shall be for Christ alone.

 

His robes for mine: what cause have I for dread?

God's daunting law Christ mastered in my stead.

Faultless I stand with righteous works not mine,

Saved by my Lord's vicarious death and life.

 

His robes for mine: God's justice is appeased.

Jesus is crushed, and thus the Father's pleased.

Christ drank God's wrath on sin, then cried "'Tis done!"

Sin's wage is paid; propitiation won.

 

His robes for mine: such anguish none can know.

Christ, God's beloved, condemend as though His foe.

He, as though I, accursed and left alone;

I, as though He, embraced and welcomed home!
- Chris Anderson





Breathing

For most of us, breathing is one of the most natural parts of living. It is an involuntary function. We usually don’t pause to think about because it happens whether or not we are conscious of it. In fact, we often take it for granted.

Photo via Google

Yet it is perhaps the most important function in our body. Without oxygen, our organs will not function properly. Without oxygen, we cannot live.

I am an asthmatic, so my ability to breathe is compromised by certain triggers, which inflame and narrow my airways. Like most of you, though, I usually do not have to think about breathing. As long as I am careful, avoid the triggers, and take my medication, I am fine.

A couple of days ago, I was hit with a nasty upper respiratory virus that settled right in my chest. As a result, I have had to be conscious of every breath I take, struggling painfully to draw air in and fighting the fatigue that comes from lowered oxygen levels.  It struck me yesterday how often I take breathing for granted…how often I fail to be thankful when I can breathe unhindered. And then I thought of a spiritual parallel.

A person who cannot breathe normally or is not breathing at all is obviously unhealthy. His or her body is not functioning as it was designed to. It is the same way in our spiritual lives. Unless we are in fellowship with Christ, reading and meditating on His Word, and praying, we are spiritually unhealthy. These things are the “oxygen” of our spiritual lives.

Furthermore, when we stop and consider it, it is only because of God’s mercy and grace that we can function physically as well. “For in Him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Christ is our all. He sustains us, allowing us to live for the next minute, the next hour, the next day. “And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:17).

If you are a Christian, then God has left you on this planet to do one thing: His will. Christ is our reason for breathing air – for living. We are left here to do His bidding, to carry the cross, to share in His sufferings, and to honour and glorify His name.

And the most wonderful thing of all is that He gives us the power to do His will. “For without Me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). Without Christ, we are nothing and can do nothing. He created us to live in harmony with Him, but it’s our choice. My choice. Your choice. He doesn’t force us to love Him. We have to choose to love Him, to obey Him, and to yield ourselves to Him. We must rid ourselves of the last strands of the husk of our independence, casting ourselves in dependency upon Him. “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God” (II Corinthians 3:5). And all the while, He waits patiently for us, ready to give His everlasting strength (Isaiah 26:4) and His all sufficient grace (II Corinthians 12:9).

I can choose not to take my medication and sit there, struggling all the more, but I won’t be healthy. I won’t have peace. I’ll be exhausted. Anxious. Restless.

But if I decide to take the medicine, my lungs will open and the oxygen will flow in. I’ll have more energy. Be more alert. And my body will function more like it is supposed to.

The same goes for my spiritual life. If I dig my heels in and try to do things on my own strength, I’ll end up worn out, frustrated, and ineffective. I have to choose to cast my cares upon the Lord, letting Him work in me and through me to do His will. That’s the only path to lasting joy and peace.

“Am I not enough, Mine own?

Enough, Mine own, for thee?

All shalt thou find at last,

Only in Me.

Am I not enough, Mine own?

I, for ever and alone, I, needing thee?”

 – Ter Steegen

The Husk of Independence

Surrendering to Christ and sacrificing out of love for our fellow man are foundational elements of daily Christian living (see the lessons of the buttercup and the dandelion). Until we yield ourselves unconditionally to Christ, we will not discover God’s perfect will for our lives. We will not discover the richness of walking in fellowship with Christ unless we have first presented our bodies as a living sacrifice to Him (Romans 12:1).

“People want to know how I discovered the will of God. The first thing was to settle once and for all the supremacy of Christ in my life, I tell them. I put myself utterly and forever at His disposal which means turning over all the rights: to myself, my body, my self-image, my notions of how I am to serve my Master. Oswald Chambers calls it ‘breaking the husk of my individual independence of God.’ Until that break comes, all the rest is ‘pious fraud.’ But there will be deaths to die. That is the price of following the way of the cross.” – Elisabeth Elliot.

"Death is the gate of life" by Lilias Trotter

But death sounds…drastic. Harsh. Difficult. It is. The way of the cross is not easy. It is a concept that is antithetical to our selfish, proud natures.

“The cross is offered to us every day in some form, at times comparatively trivial, at other times real suffering, but it is always something which slashes straight across our human nature, for the cross was an instrument of torture.” – Elisabeth Elliot.

When we take up the cross, however, we discover the abundant life – the blessed life. It is in dying to self we find our freedom in Christ. When the husk of our independence has been loosed and broken, we are free to serve in whatever way the Lord desires.

"Irises" by Lilias Trotter

“See in these wild iris-pods how the last tiny threads must be broken, and with that loosing, all that they have is free for God’s use in His world around. All reluctance, all calculating, all holding in is gone; the husks are opened wide, the seeds can shed themselves unhindered. Again and again has a breaking come:  – the seed broke to let go the shoot – the leaf-bud broke to let go the leaf, and the flower-bud to let go the flower – but all to no practical avail, if there is a holding back now. ‘Love is the fulfilling of the law,’ and sacrifice is the very life-breath of love. May God show us every withholding thread of self that needs breaking still, and may His own touch shrivel it to death.

 

“Are we following His steps; are we? How the dark places of the earth are crying out for all the powers of giving and living and loving that are locked up in hearts at home!

 

“Shall we not free it all gladly? It is not grudgingly or of necessity that the little caskets break up and scatter the seed, but with the cheerful giving that God loves.

 

“It is when the sun goes out from our horizon to light up the dayspring in far-away lands, that the glory of the day comes on: it is in the autumn, when the harvest is gathered and the fruit is stored for the use of man, that the glow of red and gold touches and transfigures bush and tree with a beauty that the summer days never knew.

“So with us – The clear pure dawn of cleansing through the Blood – the sunrise gladness of resurrection life; the mid-day light and warmth of growth and service, all are good in their own order: but he who stops short there misses the crown of glory, before which the brightness of former days grows poor and cold. It is when the glow and radiance of a life delivered up to death begins to gather: a life poured forth to Jesus and for His to others – it is then that even the commonest things put on a new beauty, as in the sunset, for His life becomes ‘manifest in our mortal flesh;’ a bloom comes on the soul like the bloom on the fruit as its hour of sacrifice arrives.

 

“Oh, that we may learn to die to all that is of self with this royal joyfulness that swallows up death in victory in God’s world around! He can make every step of the path full of the triumph of gladness that glows in the gold leaves. Glory be to His name!

 

“And the outcome, like the outcome of the autumn, is this: there is, a new power set free; a power of multiplying life around. The promise to Christ was that because He poured forth His soul unto death, He should see His seed: and He leads His children in their little measure by the same road. Over and over the promise of seed is linked with sacrifice, as with Abraham and Rebecca and Ruth; those who at His bidding have forsaken all receive an hundred-fold more now in this time, for sacrifice is God’s factor in His work of multiplying. ‘Except a corn of wheat fall to into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.’

 

“It is the poured-out life that God blesses – the life that heeds not itself, if only other souls may be won. The reason is this: – that into the being that is ready to let the self-life go, God the Holy Ghost can come and dwell and work unfettered; and by that indwelling He will manifest within us His wonderful Divine power of communicating vitality – of reproducing the image of Jesus in souls around.” – Lilias Trotter, Parables of the Cross

 

Lilias Trotter

And that is ultimately what it is all about – Christ working in us to reproduce His image in the souls around us, all for His honour and glory. It is not about us, it is about Him. Sanctification is Christ molding us, conforming us to His image (II Corinthians 3:18). But, praise the Lord, He supplies the power. All we have to do is trust Him. Just as we trusted Him for salvation and justification, so we also trust Him for sanctification.

“Perfect sanctification is as fully included in the word ‘salvation’ as is ‘wisdom, righteousness, or redemption.’ [Man] did not get Christ by effort, but by faith: and when he laid hold on Christ he received all that is in Christ. Hence, therefore, he has only to look to Jesus by faith, for the subjugation of his lusts, passions, tempers, habits, circumstances, and influences. He must look to Jesus for all. He can no more subdue a single lust than he could cancel the entire catalogue of his sins, work out a perfect righteousness, or raise the dead. ‘Christ is all and in all.’ Salvation is a golden chain which stretches from everlasting to everlasting, and every link of that chain is Christ. It is all Christ from first to last.” – C.H. Mackintosh

I Love to Tell the Story

The words of this wonderful old hymn have been on my heart lately,
encouraging and convicting me, so I thought I would share them.

"Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, singing and making melody
in your heart to the Lord."
- Ephesians 5:19

 

I love to tell the story

Of unseen things above,

Of Jesus and His glory,

Of Jesus and His love.

I love to tell the story,

Because I know 'tis true;

It satisfies my longings

As nothing else can do.

 

Refrain:

I love to tell the story,

'Twill be my theme in glory,

To tell the old, old story

Of Jesus and His love.

 

 

I love to tell the story;

More wonderful it seems

Than all the golden fancies

Of all our golden dreams.

I love to tell the story,

It did so much for me;

And that is just the reason

I tell it now to thee.

 

 

I love to tell the story;

'Tis pleasant to repeat

What seems, each time I tell it,

More wonderfully sweet.

I love to tell the story,

For some have never heard

The message of salvation

From God's own holy Word.

 

 

I love to tell the story,

For those who know it best

Seem hungering and thirsting

To hear it like the rest.

And when, in scenes of glory,

I sing the new, new song,

'Twill be the old, old story

That I have loved so long.

- Katherine Hankey

 

"Oh that men would praise the Lord

for His goodness, and for His wonderful

works to the children of men!"

- Psalm 107:8, 15, 21, 31

 

The Lesson of the Dandelion

Photo via Google



Unlike the buttercup which is admired for its delicate yellow beauty, dandelions are usually looked upon as a detested weed that spreads and spreads and spreads...and then spreads some more until one's yard has been overtaken by this vicious yellow lion. I, for one, must admit to having a particular abhorrence for the dandelion.

This picture of three-year-old me is one of the last times I ever touched a dandelion. My parents first discovered I was an asthmatic and had severe ragweed allergies when I did what every little girl does and blew on a dandelion that had gone to seed. Needless to say, I now stay as far away from dandelions and any of their ragweed relatives that I can.

During my devotions this morning, however, I was given a much different picture of the dandelion. In her Parables of the Cross, Lilias Trotter uses the lowly weed to illustrate an important spiritual principle: the Christian's surrender to Christ.


"Dandelion" by Lilias Trotter

She writes, "This dandelion has long ago surrendered its golden petals, and has reached its crowning stage of dying -- the delicate seed-globe must break up now -- it gives and gives till it has nothing left.

"The hour of this new dying is clearly defined to the dandelion globe: it is marked by detachment. There is no sense of wrenching: it stands ready, holding up its little life, not knowing when or where or how the wind that bloweth where it listeth may carry it away. It holds itself no longer for its own keeping, only as something to be given: a breath does the rest, turning the 'readiness to will' into the 'performance.' (2 Cor. 8.11.) And to a soul that through 'deaths oft' has been brought to this point, even acts that look as if they must involve an effort, become something natural, spontaneous, full of a 'heavenly involuntariness,' so simply are they the outcome of the indwelling love of Christ.

"Shall we not ask God to convict us, as to where lies the hindrance to this self-emptying? It is not alone mere selfishness, in its ordinary sense, that prevents it; long after this has been cleansed away by the Precious Blood there may remain, unrecognized, the self-life in more subtle forms. It may co-exist with much that looks like sacrifice; there may be much of usefulness and of outward self-denial, and yet below the surface may remain a clinging to our own judgment, a confidence in our own resources, an unconscious taking of our own way, even in God's service. And these things hold down, hold in our souls, and frustrate the Spirit in His working. The latent self-life needs to be brought down into the place of death before His breath can carry us hither and thither as the wind wafts the seeds. Are we ready for this last surrender?" -- Lilias Trotter

Am I ready for this surrender? What a powerful lesson from the dandelion. Surrender should be our response to Christ and what He has given us through salvation and justification. It should be the consequence of the love that has been "shed abroad in our hearts" (Romans 5:8). It is the least we can do for our Saviour -- the One who came down to earth and died on the cross for us, the sinful, selfish beings we are. Have we taken our hands off our lives and surrendered unconditionally to Him, willing to let Him use us in whatever way He sees fit? We have not been left here on earth to do our own thing. No, we have been left here to do the Lord's will, and until we surrender ourselves to Him, we will not know what He wants us to do, just as the dandelion must "die" to itself before the wind breaks up the seed globe and blows the seeds where it wishes.

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God."

- Romans 12:1-2

Complete in Thee

Complete in Thee, no work of mine

Could take, dear Lord, the place of Thine.

Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,

And I shall stand complete in Thee!

 

 

Complete in Thee, each want supplied,

And no good thing to me denied,

Since Thou my portion, Lord, will be,

I ask no more, complete in Thee!

 

Complete in Thee, no more shall sin

Thy grace has conquered reign within;

Thy blood shall bid the tempter flee,

And I shall stand, complete in Thee!

 

 

Dear Savior, when, before Thy bar,

All tribes and tongues assembled are,

Among the chosen I shall be,

At Thy right hand, complete in Thee!

 

Refrain:

Yea, justified, oh blessed thought!

And sanctified, salvation wrought!

Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,

And glorified I, too, shall be.

 

- Aaron R. Wolfe, James M. Gray



 

This morning in church, we sang one of my favorite hymns "Complete in Thee." The words are such a vivid reminder of our position in Christ. In Him, I am complete -- I lack nothing, I need nothing. That is how I stand before my Saviour, but it is easy for me to get so focused on myself and my supposed needs that I begin striving to fulfillment elsewhere instead of resting in my established position before Christ.

Then the Lord gently brings me back to His word and I am reminded that I will not find completeness in a degree, a career, a mate, or whatever else may seem to provide ultimate satisfaction. Christ is my all. In Philippians, the Apostle Paul wrote, "For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need" (vs. 11-12).  Paul could have this outlook on life because he knew he was complete in Christ and he trusted Him to provide for whatever else he needed. As I enter into a new week -- a week with a full schedule that I was beginning to stress out over-- I can rest in the blessed truth that I am complete in Christ. He is my Rock, He is my portion -- He is enough for me.

"And ye are complete in Him."

- Colossians 2:10

The Lesson of the Buttercup

"Yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead,
and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God."
- Romans 6:13b

"Buttercups" by Lilias Trotter

"Look at this buttercup as it begins to learn its new lesson. The little hands of the calyx clasp tightly in the bud, round the beautiful petals; in the young flower their grasp grows more elastic -- loosening somewhat in the daytime, but keeping the power of contracting, able to close in again during a rainstorm, or when night comes on. But see the central flower, which has reached its maturity. The calyx hands have unclasped utterly now -- they have folded themselves back, past all power of closing again upon the petals, leaving the golden crown free to float away when God's time comes.

 

"Have we learned the buttercup's lesson yet? Are our hands off the very blossom of our life? Are all things -- even the treasures that He has sanctified -- held loosely, ready to be parted with, without a struggle, when He asks for them?

 

"It is not in the partial relaxing of grasp, with power to take back again, that this fresh victory of death is won: it is won when that very power of taking back is yielded; when our hands, like the little calyx hands of God's buttercups, are not only taken off, but folded behind our back in utter abandonment. Death means a loosened grasp -- loosened beyond all power of grasping again.

 

"Yes, practical death with Him to lawful things is just letting go, even as He on the Cross let go all but God. It is not to be reached by struggling for it, but simply by yielding as the body yields at last to the physical death that lays hold on it -- as the dying calyx yields its flower. Only to no iron law with its merciless grasp do we let ourselves go, but into the hands of the Father: it is there that our spirit falls, as we are made conformable unto the death of Jesus."

 

- Lilias Trotter, Parables of the Cross

What if...

"'What' and 'if' are two words as non-threatening as words can be,

but put them together side by side and they have the power

to haunt you for the rest of your life."

- Letters to Juliet

 

"What if you woke up this morning and found the only

things you had left were the things you thanked

God for yesterday?"

- Terry Shock

 

"Giving thanks always for all things unto God

and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

- Ephesians 5:20

 

Have you thanked God for anything today?