29 November 2013 - Thanksgiving in the Bible

In the Bible there are many verses about Thanksgiving

Which are applicable for every day that we are living

 

We see in Nehemiah twelve verses forty six and forty seven

That the entire nation gave thanksgiving to God in heaven

In Psalm ninety five verses two and three

Again thanksgiving to God we do see

In First Corinthians one verses four and five, Paul did write

We should thank God for grace which makes all things right

In Second Corinthians four verses fifteen and sixteen

Grace leading more people to thanksgiving is seen

In Second Corinthians nine verses eleven and twelve

Into generosity and thanksgiving Paul did then delve

Later in Ephesians one verse fifteen and sixteen

Paul's never-ending thanksgiving to God is seen

In First Timothy four verses four and five

True thanksgiving we do not need to contrive

From First Chronicles sixteen verse thirty four

We should give thanks to God forever more

Psalms seven verse seventeen and twenty eight verse seven

Speak about giving thanks to our righteous Lord in heaven

Psalms one hundred verse four and one hundred six verse one

Talk of praising God for His name and all the things he has done

In Isaiah chapter twelve verse number four

Give thanks for God for his deeds of yore

In chapter thirty three verse eleven, Jeremiah does say

To give thanks to the Lord Almighty forever and a day

From First Thessalonians five verse eighteen

"Give thanks in all circumstances" is seen

 

We all have so much to be thankful for all the time

And that is one of the points of this simple rhyme

But more important than the "what" is the "who"

For God who deserves thanks our whole life through

 

I know and acknowledge that by God I have been blessed

Of course what His Son did for me outweighs all of the rest

But that does not deter me from giving thanks for other things

A loving family, caring friends, even the morning bird that sings

Being able to worship God without persecution fear

Having a house and food on the table year after year 

Dear God, please never let me get complacent about this

For to do so would be very ungrateful and of course remiss

 

So no matter where you may be living

I wish you a Happy Thanks-giving

25 November 2013 - Name Above All Names

Alistair Begg and Sinclair Ferguson wrote a book

Their "Name Above All Names" is worth a look

The title refers to Philippians two verse nine

In the center of a favorite passage of mine

The authors identify attributes numbering seven

Which characterize Jesus who came from heaven

 

"The seed of the woman" is the first

He came to defeat the serpent cursed

This is clear in Genesis three verse fifteen

In 1 John three verse eight this is also seen

 

"The true prophet" is the second

Through Jesus, God beckoned

Per verse 25 and 26 of John chapter 4

In Hebrews 1:1-2 we read some more

 

"The great high priest" is the third

Seated on the throne of grace we heard

And per Hebrews four from verse fourteen

Anything we face, Jesus has felt and seen

 

"The conquering king" is the fourth

A lowly donkey belied Jesus' worth

In John 12:15 and Luke 1:33

This reference we clearly see

 

"The Son of Man" is the fifth

That Jesus said this is not a myth

It was foretold in Daniel 7 verse thirteen

In Mark 8:31 his suffering was foreseen

 

"The suffering servant" is number six

Taking His Father's cup he did not nix

Isaiah 53:3-5 speaks of Jesus being afflicted

Luke 22:42-44 confirms what was predicted

 

"The Lamb on the throne" is the last

Jesus died to atone for our sinful past

John 1:29 mentions the Lamb that came to earth

In Revelations 5, only He is deemed to have worth

 

There is really nothing else that I can add

These seven attributes make me very glad

Without Him, I would pay the price for my fall

I am thankful that Jesus came to save us all

24 November 2013 - Psalm 136

Some say that repetition is good for the soul

In most cases, remembering is the goal

Twenty six times in this psalm we see the same line

That is a strong message, not just a random sign

 

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good" start the words

"His love endures forever"

"Give thanks to the God of gods" and "Lord of lords"

"His love endures forever"

To Him who governs the day and the night

"His love endures forever"

To Him who filled the Egyptians with fright

"His love endures forever"

To Him who struck down many a mighty king

"His love endures forever"

To Him who gave His people everything

"His love endures forever"

To Him who "freed us from our enemies"

"His love endures forever"

To Him who provides food with ease

"His love endures forever"

To Him on whom we can always depend

"His love endures forever"

"Give thanks to the God of heaven" it does end

"His love endures forever"

 

These four words carry a great deal of weight

And reflect perhaps our God's greatest trait

"His love" is perfect, awesome, and absolute

That it "endures forever" we cannot dispute

 

Dear God, your love is there; this is know

In my heart and soul, please let it grow

By doing this, from me blessings will flow

And others can then see your loving glow

Never let me be content with the status quo

For as long as I live on this earth below

23 November 2011 - God in the New Testament

In the Bible, God reveals himself in every book

At biblestudytools.com, I did thus take a look

 

Matthew: the Messiah who is King does appear

Mark: the Messiah who is a Servant premier

Luke: the Messiah who is a Deliverer afresh

John: the Messiah who is God in the flesh

Acts: the Spirit who dwells in His people's hearts

Romans: the righteousness of God He imparts

1 Corinthians: the power and love of God does always flow

2 Corinthians: the down payment of what is to come, we know

Galatians: our very life, we are told very clearly

Ephesians: the unity of our church he loves dearly

 

Philippians: the joy of our life, for whom Paul sings

Colossians: holds the supreme position in all things

1 Thessalonians: our comfort in the last days

2 Thessalonians: our returning King we do praise

1 Timothy: Savior of the worst sinners ever known

2 Timothy: Leader of the leaders, setting the tone

Titus: of truth, the concrete foundation

Philemon: our Mediator and solution

Hebrews: our High Priest so pure

James: our faith he does mature

 

1 Peter: our hope in times of suffering

2 Peter: guarding against false teaching

1 John: the source of all Christian fellowship

2 John: God in the flesh, He does us equip

3 John: the Source of all truth in what He does say

Jude: protects us from stumbling along the way

Revelation: the King of Kings and Lord of Lords

As is the case throughout all of the Bible's words

 

He is the Alpha and the Omega, Beginning and End

He is coming again as our Redeemer and Friend

23 November 2013 - God in the Old Testament

In the Bible, God reveals Himself in every book

At biblestudytools.com, I did thus take a look

 

Genesis: as the Creator, Redeemer, I AM

Exodus: after the plagues, the Passover Lamb

Leviticus: the High Priest we now know

Numbers: as water in the desert He did show

Deuteronomy: for us, He became the curse

Joshua: commanding the army that does not reverse

Judges: from injustice, He did us deliver

Ruth: kinsman-redeemer and blessing giver

1 Samuel: the Prophet, Priest, and King from above

2 Samuel: appearing as the King of grace and love

 

1 Kings: the Ruler greater than Solomon

2 Kings: a powerful prophet bested by none

1 Chronicles: the Son of David coming to rule the earth

2 Chronicles: the King reigning eternally with immense worth

Ezra: a priest proclaiming freedom for His people

Nehemiah: restoring the broken down steeple

Esther: the Protector of his People all around

Job: the Mediator, even when people frowned

Psalms: our song in the morning and at night

Proverbs: our wisdom telling us what is right

 

Ecclesiastes: our constant and true meaning for life

Song of Solomon: Author of faithfulness like a wife

Isaiah: a long-suffering servant was He

Jeremiah: the weeping Messiah we see

Lamentations: assuming for us God's wrath

Ezekiel: the Son of Man as a righteous path

Daniel: the stranger in the famous oven of fire

Hosea: the faithful husband who will never tire

Joel: sending His Spirit to those He blessed

Amos: delivering justice to the oppressed

 

Obadiah: judging those who do evil seen and unseen

Jonah: the greatest missionary there has even been

Micah: casting our sin into the forgetfulness sea

Nahum: proclaiming world peace that there will be

Habakkuk: crushing injustice with every step he does take

Zephaniah: the Warrior who saves those that He did make

Haggai: restoring our worship about which we can rave

Zechariah: prophecies a Messiah who will the world save

Malachi: the Son of righteousness who brings healing

And throughout, He appears with passion and feeling

17 November 2013 - ENCS

Pastor Larry spoke on one of his aspirations

"How to sustain a movement for generations"

 

To start a movement, it takes elements three

First the people, very committed they must be

They must not be comfortable with complacency

As per Matthew 7:12 and Isaiah 54:2 we see

Second the people must be willing to sacrifice

What happens to some even today is not nice

Third, by disciple-making disciples it must be sustained

This allows the passing of the baton, Pastor explained

As an example, Jesus was easily the top

He started a movement that nothing can stop

He wanted change and even sacrificed his life

He made disciples, the gospel stories are rife

 

Pastor then asked us "how far is our reach"

Lessons from Colossians 1:21-22 he did teach

Reaching has three components, Pastor did say

If we follow them, we will be well on our way

 

First is to reach with the gospel, or to share

Our testimony shows others that we care

If by "each one, reach one" we can abide

In time, many of us will have to sit outside

We saw a video from Tacloban which did bless

For the church there focuses on joy not sadness

 

Second is that we must reach missionally

We must act with a purpose continually

In this way we can touch many others with love

As in Matthew 8:1-4, the leprosy Jesus got rid of

In another way, sometimes like the leper we feel

But Jesus will reach for us and our afflictions heal

Pastor then shared about Nate Saint who was a martyr

For Nate, not reaching out would have been a nonstarter

 

Third is to influence a culture by establishing value

We must establish and live our lives that way too

Pastor said each one of us can make an impact

This way, we can change the world - that's a fact

From Jeremiah 1 verses nine and ten we did read

To destroy and overthrow, build and plant we need

 

If we continue our current actions, Pastor did conclude

In a century, how will our family and nation be viewed?

We need to change today in order to impact tomorrow

By building a Christ-like legacy, bringing joy not sorrow

In order to help extend our reach and prayer

We must, Pastor Larry said, "dare to share"

10 November 2013 - ENCS

The Catching Fire series Pastor Charles did continue today

He said that God wants us to experience power His way

Living with His power is how we were designed to be

As highlighted by several passages that we did see

 

Pastor Charles first referred to Acts chapter one verse eight

Jesus' final words spoke of the Holy Spirit and its power great

The church cannot operate without this awesome power

With it, we can be witnesses globally until our final hour

 

Pastor then read from Acts chapter two verses one to four

The tongues of fire came from heaven, not through the door

On one hundred and twenty believers flames came to rest

They spoke in tongues for with the Spirit they were blessed

 

God has promised the Holy Spirit for each of us as well

He always keeps His promises, as the Bible does tell

The Holy Spirit is part of our eternal inheritance

Something God has planned, not a circumstance

 

An esteemed writer compared baptism to the pickling process

Step one is being dipped in boiling water for a minute or less

Then the fruit is submerged in vinegar and spices to be transformed

Similarly, we should be an example for the world - not be conformed

 

In Luke 24 verse 49, Jesus did instruct his disciples to stay

Until they were clothed with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Day

Remember what is said in verse twenty five of Hebrews seven

That for believers, Christ Jesus lives to intercede from heaven

 

The core of the message from Pastor Charles today

Is that Jesus left us a message and showed us the way

The Holy Spirit gives us great strength and power

Which we should use every day and every hour

10 November 2013 - Words and Works

"Do not merely listen to the word" says James 1:22

We deceive ourselves if what it says, we do not do

In chapter two verse seventeen, James also said

That "faith..., if not accompanied by action, is dead"

First Corinthians 15:58 contains another famous clarion call

"Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord" said Paul

 

These strong words do not come from the same author or book

But are linked in concept and therefore deserve a deeper look

God's words should serve to awaken me and stir my heart

And this in turn should lead to passionate action on my part

I must do this day by day, in the cold as well as in the heat

For then, and only then, will my life's work be truly complete

 

So dear God, I ask that as I awake, you convict my soul

Before the day's chores and interruptions take their toll

As a side note, to be able read your word at my leisure

Is indeed a blessing as well as a pleasure that I treasure

To keep my word means following Yours too

Please let me remember that in all that I do

3 November 2013 - Idols

After three straight worship nights, it is time to turn the page

In my head is a line from Jimmy Needham's "Clear The Stage"

"Anything that I put before God is an idol" he sings

This can refer to people, places, actions, or things

 

Here are some of that song's powerful lyrics

No matter who sings it, the message sticks

"We must not worship something that's not even worth it
Clear the stage make some space for the one who deserves it
Anything I put before my God is an idol
Anything I want with all my heart is an idol
And anything I can't stop thinking of is an idol
And anything that I give all my love is an idol

We can sing all we want to and still get it wrong"

The chorus ends with "Worship is more than a song"

 

There was so much more that came out of those nights

And those will no doubt influence what this poet writes

But for now, these idols I must identify and from myself rid

Out of love for God, whether or not the law does forbid

Coming up with my list of my idols will not be easy

And it will undoubtedly at times make me queasy

Anything that gets in the way of serving God

Must be eliminated, as per the lyrical prod

1 November 2013 - ENCS Music Encounter

At the Spirit-filled ENCS Music Encounter last night

Wayne Huirua spoke on "Priesthood" and its might

He based his talk on Deuteronomy ten verse eight

Which talks of the Levites and their tasks so great

 

To bear the ark of the covenant was the first of three

We also have to carry God's Presence for all to see

The Levites became priests by purging Israel of sin

This unfortunately involved killing lots of their kin

For us to be priests of God, then for His sake

We have to purge our sin, whatever it may take

If we are to lead others in the week and on Sunday

We have to do so by example and show them the way

To remind people of God's Presence was the purpose of the ark

When the Spirit is in us today, the difference is also visibly stark

Wayne spoke of our shoulders and the Holy Spirit dove

Which looks for a safe place when it alights from above

 

To minister unto Jehovah was point number two

This included having lots of menial tasks to do

When the pillar of fire moved, the Levites packed everything

Over time, they got bored and did complain instead of sing

We can all often fall into the same complacency trap

Getting too used to miracles, our enthusiasm may sap

 

But if the worship of people we are to facilitate

A vibrant environment we must foster and create

In this way we can bless lots of people

Building relationships under the steeple

 

Wayne then spoke about what qualifies us to be a priest

It is the same whether we are from the west or the east

We must confess our sins for the Presence to carry

And live what we are singing, not do the contrary

God told Abraham that he would be richly blessed

In this way, Abraham was a priest before the rest

The king of Salem appeared after Abraham's long trek

Abraham was ordained by God through Melchizedek

To do so, he had to walk by faith and in God trust

God will not bless a lie, so full honesty is a must

 

Our challenge is to recognize His authority in our lives

When we acknowledge this, our worship surely revives

We must use Jesus' authority by using the new way

And when he tells us to do something, just say okay

For as long as we try to do His will, we get His grace

And we can then lead worship in any setting or place

We must be careful, for any hypocrisy does impede

But with His authority, we have the authority to lead