Thursday, January 28, 2016

An Urgent Invitation

Today's journal entry is an invitation to the believer to rejoice again in the gift of eternal life they have received from the Lord. I have incorporated some classics in the worship portion today. I encourage you to click on the links below each song. Especially enjoy the live versions of Phil Keaggy, a extremely gifted musician and "true Believer"(the tittle to one of his songs). If you have stumbled on this blog, then I urge you to listen and read the whole blog before you reject what is said here. My prayer is that, once hearing and reading that you too will become a "true believer".

August 19, 2015

Worship: Heaven Came Down & Filled My Soul by John W. Peterson

O what a wonderful, wonderful day - day I will never forget;
After I'd wandered in darkness away, Jesus my Saviour I met.
O what a tender, 
compassionate friend - He met the need of my heart;
Shadows dispelling, With joy I am telling, He made all the darkness depart.

Chorus:
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul,
When at the cross the Saviour made me whole;
My sins were washed away -
And my night was turned to day -
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul!

Born of the Spirit with life from above into God's fam'ly divine,
Justified fully thru Calvary's love, O what a standing is mine!
And the transaction so quickly was made when as a sinner I came,
Took of the offer of grace He did proffer - He saved me, O praise His dear name!

Chorus:
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul,
When at the cross the Saviour made me whole;
My sins were washed away -
And my night was turned to day -
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul!

Now I've a hope that will surely endure after the passing of time;
I have a future in heaven for sure, there in those mansions sublime.
And it's because of that wonderful day when at the cross I believed;
Riches eternal and blessings supernal from His precious hand I received.

Chorus:
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul,
When at the cross the Saviour made me whole;
My sins were washed away -
And my night was turned to day -
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul!


Heaven came down and glory filled my soul!

https://youtu.be/pXa7CSsrUus  Sing with Choir

When I get Home I will see all
The holy men I read about.
Peter and John, James, Luke, and Paul
And brother Tom without a doubt.
And I do believe there will be
King David at the harp
A song of praise with every chord.
What a sight to see, the redeemed and
The angels gathered round worshiping the Lord.
What a day that will be
Oh what a day that will be!

When we get Home, our Eternal Home
There'll be no more sick and dying.
No one is sad, no one is alone
And there will be no more crying.
He will wipe away every tear
From His children's eyes
And put a smile upon their faces.
What a happy day when we see
Our Lord in Paradise
Crowned as King of Kings.
What a day that will be
Oh what a day that will be!

What a day, what a day,
What a day that will be..........

Phil wrote this song soon after his mother’s passing in honor of her.

https://youtu.be/kX5l-X2B0iI                From the Album
https://youtu.be/owNFDPIPoSk           Live version
https://youtu.be/8xJZU8CHuig             Another live version


Personal: Another interesting Day. I went to bed very encouraged. 5 things happened really quickly which made me see God’s hand of blessing in it. I thought perhaps then that He would answer my prayer that I had prayed concerning whether I should be more upfront with Pauline in forcing the issue of coming home or not. When I woke up my daughter had texted me about texting mom to tell her God had led her to tell He loved her and she still could come home to work things out. Blessed answer to prayer.
Listening to Phil Keaggy right now; praise God for blessing his life with such talent to share with others!

Word:
Ps 22:25-23:1
5 From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
26  The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the Lord!
May your hearts live forever!


27 All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before you.
28 For kingship belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.

29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
even the one who could not keep himself alive.
30 Posterity shall serve him;
it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
that he has done it.
ESV
Ps 22:25-23:1

25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows. 26 The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the Lord will praise him — may your hearts live forever! 27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, 28 for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him — those who cannot keep themselves alive. 30 Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. 31 They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn — for he has done it.
NIV



Continuing in verse 26 concerning the afflicted or poor or meek, is this not the lot of everyone at sometime in their life? I have a friend who understands this all too well. Having riches and traveling the world, to loosing it all and sinking to the depths of deep depression and being rescued and sitting at the table again. The promise to him and to me and to all who are afflicted is that we will share in the blessings of salvation and be satisfied.

Hear the words of the Lord:

3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matt 5:3-12 NIV

But we do not eat alone nor should we despise others who seek this same blessing. Hoarding it for ourselves….unwilling to share it with others.

Spurgeon says:

Let us who have sought the Lord praise Him. Let us show our poor friends the seekers the way we sought and we found; let us magnify the Lord at once.
(from The Biblical Illustrator Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2006 Ages Software, Inc. and Biblesoft, Inc.)

Why would we do that? Because of fear? Because of shame? Because of a feeling of inadequacy? They won’t believe me if I tell. They will mock me. I won’t be able to answer their question: why do people suffer?

Maclaren says:

the right use of affliction being to bow men, and they that bow themselves are those who are fit to come to Christ's feast. Men are shut out only because they shut themselves out.(A. Maclaren, D. D.)
from The Biblical Illustrator Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2006 Ages Software, Inc. and Biblesoft, Inc.)

So do not let these things deter you from sharing with others as the Lord leads and always remember this exhortation from scripture (I am speaking to myself chiefly) :

13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened."  15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.   17 It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. 1 Peter 3:13-18 NIV

Do you (I) remember what it was like when coming to the table for the first time and the joy felt when receiving that great salvation blessing? Do we still rejoice in it and praise Him for it? Surely those who seek and find do not take it for granted or believe that they deserved to be blessed so abundantly, that it was due them because they suffered affliction. But realizing their impoverished estate, their dire predicament, they sought relief and deliverance recognizing they do not deserve it, nor is God required to grant it.

What  is the attitude of the seeker who finds?

Spurgeon writes:

All his seeking, I say, helps him to prize Divine mercy when he receives it, and trains him to praise God according to the promise of our text, "They shall praise the Lord that seek Him." Never is a babe so dear to its mother as when it has just been restored from a sickness which threatened his life; never does a father rejoice over his little child so much as when he has been long lost in the woods, and after a weary search is at last brought home. No gold is so precious to a man as that which he has earned by hard labour and self-denial: the harder he has toiled to gain it, the more rejoiced is he when at length he has enough to permit him to rest. No freedom is so precious as the new found liberty of a slave, no enlargement so joyous as that of one who has long been sitting in the valley of the shadow of death bound in affliction and iron. No return to a country is so full of delight as that of sorrowful exiles who come back from cruel Babylon, by whose waters they sat and wept, yea, wept when they remembered Zion.
(from The Biblical Illustrator Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2006 Ages Software, Inc. and Biblesoft, Inc.)

And what is their response?

Again Spurgeon writes:

Psalms 22:26
As a bird lies hidden among the heather, but is seen when at last it is startled and made to take to the wing, so doth praise take to the wing and display itself when at last those who seek the Lord are permitted to find Him. What thunderclaps of praise come from poor sinners when they have just found their all in all in God in the person, of Christ Jesus. Then their joy becomes almost too much for them to hold, vastly too much for them to express. Oh, the praises, the day and night praises, the continuous praises, which rise from the returning, repenting soul which has at last felt the Father's arms around its neck and the Father swarm kisses on its cheek, and is sitting down at the table where the happy household eat and drink and are merry. Praising time has come indeed when finding time has arrived. Happy day! Happy day! when we meet with God in Jesus Christ.
(from The Biblical Illustrator Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2006 Ages Software, Inc. and Biblesoft, Inc.)

For all who have not come, remember the words in Revelation 22:12-17 shared two days ago and now hear also these words of exhortation and warning:

Isa 55:6-7

6 Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake his way
and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
NIV

And again:

2 Cor 6:1-2
As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain.  For he says,

"In the time of my favor I heard you,
and in the day of salvation I helped you."

I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.
NIV

But heed this warning:

Heb 3:7-19

7 So, as the Holy Spirit says:
"Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, 9 where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did. 10 That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, 'Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.' 11 So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.'"
12 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. 15 As has just been said:
"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion."
16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed?  19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
NIV


May God’s invitation penetrate your heart today and may you seek and find the Savior who only can satisfy your longings and give you true peace and joy and salvation!

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