Mark Schultz's Thoughts on God

I love the music of Mark Schultz. He is such a great story teller, as he puts our faith-walk in real-life terms anyone can understand. His new EP, Before You Call Me Home, is no exception. In only 5 songs, you can see God as our Healer, God as Love, God as our Father, God as our Eternal Home, God as the Object of our Praise, and God as our Hope and Sustainer. At times, I feel as if I'm listening to the Psalms on this CD. Especially with what is going on in the world today, with all the hurt we see everyday, and all the pain we suffer and cause each other, Lift Up Your Hands (When You Can't) is a must listen to put things back into an eternal perspective.

What Child Is This & O Holy Night Medley

Here is a great carol compilation in honor of our Savior this Christmas Day. This one is from my favorite pianist, Carlton Forrester, whose CD still brings me chills almost 5 years after I purchased it. This is his medley rendition of What Child Is This & O Holy Night, two of my favorites.

Carlton Forrester's website is http://www.carltonforrester.com/

What Child Is This & O Holy Night https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTlYGBmdddM

"Jesus Paid It All", While He Was Yet Young

"Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress." I Timothy 4:12-15
 
As I read over the words of 1 Timothy 4:11-15, preparing for this week's service, I can't help that two things really stand out to me.  First, I remember how many times I've heard the words of I Timothy 4:12 repeated in reference to our "youth".  In our youth, we should learn to follow the Lord's precepts.  After all, in Proverbs 22:6, Solomon writes "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (KJV) It is so much easier to live the Christian life having grown up within the church, the body of believers, learning what it means to follow God than to have accepted His salvation later in life.  We also have the privilege of not having to look back at our life and regret the opportunities that were lost while we were living for ourselves.

Later, Solomon also states in Ecclesiates 11:9-12:1, "You who are young, be happy while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless. Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”."

So, while we are young, we should learn and apply God's Word to our lives, to not only be an example to those around us, but also because the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever (Westminster Shorter Catechism).  What better time is there to serve God than when we have "youth and vigor."

The second thing that really sticks out to me is the phrase "give yourself wholly to them."  Now, in this context, Paul is referring to a young paster, specifically Timothy.  So, in this sense, pastors must be especially careful to rightly divide the Word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15), because God holds them accountable for the flock to which He has given them.  They must learn, study, memorize, and continually train their minds to meditate upon Scripture, because that is their calling or gift (Ephesians 4:11).

However, in a larger sense, we are all called to ministers of the Gospel.  After all, in 1 Peter 2:9, it says, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." (NIV)  And, in Revelation 1:5b-6, it says, "To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen."  (NIV) Also, in Revelation 5:9-10, the angels recognize that our Savior has given us this responsibility.  "And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” (NIV)

So, what does this mean for us as followers of Christ?  what does it mean to "give yourself wholly to them."?  I like what Albert Barnes writes, in his compilation, Barnes' Notes on the Bible:

"Give thyself wholly to them - Greek "Be in them" - a phrase similar to that of Horace - "totus in illis." The meaning is plain. He was to devote his life wholly to this work. He was to have no other grand aim of living. His time, attention, talents, were to be absorbed in the proper duties of the work. He was not to make that subordinate and tributary to any other purpose, nor was he to allow any other object to interfere with the appropriate duties of that office. He was not to live for money, fame, or pleasure; not to devote his time to the pursuits of literature or science for their own sakes; not to seek the reputation of an elegant or profound scholar; not to aim to be distinguished merely as an accomplished gentleman, or as a skillful farmer, teacher, or author. Whatever was done in any of these departments, was to be wholly consistent with the direction."

In other words, we are to make seeking and honoring God and learning to follow the Scriptures, the very "Word of God", the primary focus of our Christian walk.  And we are to make them more important than any other pursuit in life.  In this, unfortunately, we all fail.  We all get trapped by the world and its pleasures.  But there was one man who unfailingly fulfilled this mission to "give yourself wholly".  But why did Christ offer himself?  And for whom did He give himself?

Chris Poblete examines this on his blog entry entitled "Jesus Gave Himself For...":

"We have a God who gives, and He gives the greatest gift of all—namely, Himself.
There are seven places in the New Testament where the words “Gave Himself for,” are distinctly associated with Christ’s substitutionary work. In each case the Greek preposition, “Huper,” translated “for,” occurs. “Huper” means to act on behalf of another,as acting in the stead of him, in other words a substitute.

Why did Christ die?

1. To pay the ransom price. “…gave himself a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:6).
2. To bear our sins. “gave himself for our sins” (Galatians 1:4).
3. To stand in our place. “gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
4. To have us for Himself. “gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25).
5. To make us acceptable to God. “gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2).
6. To redeem us from all lawlessness. “who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness…” (Titus 2:14).
7. To remind us of our obligation to Him. “This is my body, which is given for you” (Luke 22:19-20)."

( http://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blb/2012/03/26/jesus-gave-himself-for/)

Jesus gave it all, and He did it for us.  And, he did it all at a young age, giving himself on the cross for us at the age of 33.  So, in light of all Jesus gave us, I leave as a final thought the words of the song,  "Jesus Paid It All (O Praise the One)", written by Kristian Stanfill, based upon the great hymn of the faith by Elvina Hall:

 
I hear the Savior say,
Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the leper's spots
and melt the heart of stone.

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
Jesus died my soul to save,
my lips shall still repeat

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow

O Praise the one who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead
O Praise the one who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead

Jesus Paid All (O Praise the One) by Kristian Stanfill

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38EVco7eba0

God's Thought on Integrity - Today's Proverb

"A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold."
Proverbs 22:1

Are We Pleasing Man or God?

"Is it my master ambition to please Him and be acceptable to Him or is it something less, no matter how noble?"
- Oswald Chambers

"So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad."
2 Corinthians 5:9-10

Hope and Victory in the His Great Name, the Name of Jesus

This Easter season, desire to look to our conquering King for our hope. Let us give praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! For in his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. (excerpts from 1 Peter 1:3) No one is like you, LORD; you are great, and your name is mighty in power. Among all the wise leaders of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like you. (excerpts from Jeremiah 10:6-7) And because of what Jesus has done, He has been given the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (excerpts from Philippians 2:9-11). This morning, let give Him honor and glory as we praise His Great Name!

Your Great Name - Natalie Grant
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zpLPh6LibE

Reality in Christ

What we perceive as reality in our own lives is really only a shadow of eternity (2 Chronicles 29:15; Psalm 144:4; Colossians 2:17; James 4:14; 1 John 2:17). What we can see is never the full picture, it is only a distorted representation. Faith looks to the eternal, to that which we cannot see (Matthew 6:19-21; Romans 1:20; 2 Corinthians 4:8, 5:7; Hebrews 11:1). And truth looks to the Author of eternity (Jude 1:25; Revelation 22:13). So, our true reality can only come from the Creator himself (Colossians 1:16, 2:17; 1 John 5:20). So let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). He is the Way, Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). And he has already claimed the victory! (1 Corinthians 15:57).