Monday, December 5, 2011
Sunday, December 4, 2011
What Will You Choose?
Thoughts From the Mount of Blessings pg. 91-93
Singleness of purpose, wholehearted devotion to God, is the condition pointed out by the Saviour’s words. Let the purpose be sincere and unwavering to discern the truth and to obey it at whatever cost, and you will receive divine enlightenment. Real piety begins when all compromise with sin is at an end. Then the language of the heart will be that of the apostle Paul: “This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.” Philippians 3:13, 14, 8.
But when the eye is blinded by the love of self, there is only darkness. “If thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness.” It was this fearful darkness that wrapped the Jews in stubborn unbelief, making it impossible for them to appreciate the character and mission of Him who came to save them from their sins.
Yielding to temptation begins in permitting the mind to waver, to be inconstant in your trust in God. If we do not choose to give ourselves fully to God then we are in darkness. When we make any reserve we are leaving open a door through which Satan can enter to lead us astray by his temptations. He knows that if he can obscure our vision, so that the eye of faith cannot see God, there will be no barrier against sin.
The prevalence of a sinful desire shows the delusion of the soul. Every indulgence of that desire strengthens the soul’s aversion to God. In following the path of Satan’s choosing, we are encompassed by the shadows of evil, and every step leads into deeper darkness and increases the blindness of the heart.
The same law obtains in the spiritual as in the natural world. He who abides in darkness will at last lose the power of vision. He is shut in by a deeper than midnight blackness; and to him the brightest noontide can bring no light. He “walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.” 1 John 2:11. Through persistently cherishing evil, willfully disregarding the pleadings of divine love, the sinner loses the love for good, the desire for God, the very capacity to receive the light of heaven. The invitation of mercy is still full of love, the light is shining as brightly as when it first dawned upon his soul; but the voice falls on deaf ears, the light on blinded eyes.
No soul is ever finally deserted of God, given up to his own ways, so long as there is any hope of his salvation. “Man turns from God, not God from him.” Our heavenly Father follows us with appeals and warnings and assurances of compassion, until further opportunities and privileges would be wholly in vain. The responsibility rests with the sinner. By resisting the Spirit of God today, he prepares the way for a second resistance of light when it comes with mightier power. Thus he passes on from one stage of resistance to another, until at last the light will fail to impress, and he will cease to respond in any measure to the Spirit of God. Then even “the light that is in thee” has become darkness. The very truth we do know has become so perverted as to increase the blindness of the soul.
Singleness of purpose, wholehearted devotion to God, is the condition pointed out by the Saviour’s words. Let the purpose be sincere and unwavering to discern the truth and to obey it at whatever cost, and you will receive divine enlightenment. Real piety begins when all compromise with sin is at an end. Then the language of the heart will be that of the apostle Paul: “This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.” Philippians 3:13, 14, 8.
But when the eye is blinded by the love of self, there is only darkness. “If thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness.” It was this fearful darkness that wrapped the Jews in stubborn unbelief, making it impossible for them to appreciate the character and mission of Him who came to save them from their sins.
Yielding to temptation begins in permitting the mind to waver, to be inconstant in your trust in God. If we do not choose to give ourselves fully to God then we are in darkness. When we make any reserve we are leaving open a door through which Satan can enter to lead us astray by his temptations. He knows that if he can obscure our vision, so that the eye of faith cannot see God, there will be no barrier against sin.
The prevalence of a sinful desire shows the delusion of the soul. Every indulgence of that desire strengthens the soul’s aversion to God. In following the path of Satan’s choosing, we are encompassed by the shadows of evil, and every step leads into deeper darkness and increases the blindness of the heart.
The same law obtains in the spiritual as in the natural world. He who abides in darkness will at last lose the power of vision. He is shut in by a deeper than midnight blackness; and to him the brightest noontide can bring no light. He “walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.” 1 John 2:11. Through persistently cherishing evil, willfully disregarding the pleadings of divine love, the sinner loses the love for good, the desire for God, the very capacity to receive the light of heaven. The invitation of mercy is still full of love, the light is shining as brightly as when it first dawned upon his soul; but the voice falls on deaf ears, the light on blinded eyes.
No soul is ever finally deserted of God, given up to his own ways, so long as there is any hope of his salvation. “Man turns from God, not God from him.” Our heavenly Father follows us with appeals and warnings and assurances of compassion, until further opportunities and privileges would be wholly in vain. The responsibility rests with the sinner. By resisting the Spirit of God today, he prepares the way for a second resistance of light when it comes with mightier power. Thus he passes on from one stage of resistance to another, until at last the light will fail to impress, and he will cease to respond in any measure to the Spirit of God. Then even “the light that is in thee” has become darkness. The very truth we do know has become so perverted as to increase the blindness of the soul.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
My Personal Translation of Psalm 147
Psalm 147
Praise the Lord
It’s good to sing to Him about His goodness
It’s enjoyable, a thing of beauty
The Lord has built up His church
He is the one who brings in His people from unknown places
He heals those who are broken inside
He makes safe the causes of that brokenness
He knows how many stars are in the sky
He remembers their names (He was there when they received them)
Our God is amazing and has no lack of power
He knows and understands everything about everything
The Lord not only takes care of the humble, He exalts them
The wicked are cut off from His help (unless they become humble in time of course)
Sing praise to the Lord with exuberant gratitude
Sing praises accompanied by your guitar to God
He’s the cloud Creator
He's the one who waters the earth
The one who dresses the mountains with grass
He provides food for wild animals
He hears the cry of young ravens and is moved
It’s not the strength of horses he delights in (or the greatest help men can employ)
Not the legs, not the best of men's strength
He finds joy in those who fear Him (those who realize who He is)
He delights in those who hope is in His mercy (the same mercy that cares for even obscure animals)
Praise the Lord REACH Philadelphia
Praise Him blessed of the Lord
He is Your defender
He cares for your young
He give You peace among yourselves
And blesses You with the best for your needs
When He gives the word
Time is no obstacle
The beautiful snow is His covering creation
He can cover the ground with frost as well as ashes
He has abundant hail to dish out
Who is His match?
Just as easily He can melt the frigid
Bring the wind and let the waters flow for new life
He has made His word known to us
We know his rules and the consequences of our actions
This is our special privilege as His people
Those without His Word don’t get know what causes what
God has been so good to us!
Praise the Lord
It’s good to sing to Him about His goodness
It’s enjoyable, a thing of beauty
The Lord has built up His church
He is the one who brings in His people from unknown places
He heals those who are broken inside
He makes safe the causes of that brokenness
He knows how many stars are in the sky
He remembers their names (He was there when they received them)
Our God is amazing and has no lack of power
He knows and understands everything about everything
The Lord not only takes care of the humble, He exalts them
The wicked are cut off from His help (unless they become humble in time of course)
Sing praise to the Lord with exuberant gratitude
Sing praises accompanied by your guitar to God
He’s the cloud Creator
He's the one who waters the earth
The one who dresses the mountains with grass
He provides food for wild animals
He hears the cry of young ravens and is moved
It’s not the strength of horses he delights in (or the greatest help men can employ)
Not the legs, not the best of men's strength
He finds joy in those who fear Him (those who realize who He is)
He delights in those who hope is in His mercy (the same mercy that cares for even obscure animals)
Praise the Lord REACH Philadelphia
Praise Him blessed of the Lord
He is Your defender
He cares for your young
He give You peace among yourselves
And blesses You with the best for your needs
When He gives the word
Time is no obstacle
The beautiful snow is His covering creation
He can cover the ground with frost as well as ashes
He has abundant hail to dish out
Who is His match?
Just as easily He can melt the frigid
Bring the wind and let the waters flow for new life
He has made His word known to us
We know his rules and the consequences of our actions
This is our special privilege as His people
Those without His Word don’t get know what causes what
God has been so good to us!
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