That I may Gain Christ and be Found in Him

It  is cold and dark.  The night is quiet--cushioned in the peculiar stillness of a snowy night.  Soon one year will be exchanged for another. 

 It's a night for reflection. 

 Ephesians 3:8 I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

I pray that, in 2008, we might all "press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus," holding "true to what we have attained" in Him.

For Naomi

Naomi asked if I knew the name of piano selection played at Kyle's blog, Covenant in Blood.  I followed the link he provided and learned that it is from Psalm 40.

My Help and My Deliverer

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

40:1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.

4 Blessed is the man who makes
the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after a lie!
5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
yet they are more than can be told.

6 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
but you have given me an open ear. [1]
Burnt offering and sin offering
you have not required.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
8 I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”

9 I have told the glad news of deliverance [2]
in the great congregation;
behold, I have not restrained my lips,
as you know, O Lord.
10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
from the great congregation.

11 As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain
your mercy from me;
your steadfast love and your faithfulness will
ever preserve me!
12 For evils have encompassed me
beyond number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
and I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head;
my heart fails me.

13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!
O Lord, make haste to help me!
14 Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether
who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
who delight in my hurt!
15 Let those be appalled because of their shame
who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
17 As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God!

Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith

December 31
No Stranger in Heaven

Thou shalt guide me with Thy Counsel, and afterward receive me to glory - Psalm 73:24

From day to day and from year to year my faith believes in the wisdom and love of God, and I  know that I shall not believe in vain. No good word of His has ever failed, and I am sure that  none shall ever fall to the ground.

I put myself into His hand for guidance. I know not the way that I should choose: the Lord shall choose mine inheritance for me. I need counsel and advice; for my duties are intricate, and my  condition is involved. . . The counsel of the infallible God I seek in preference to my own judgment  or the advice of friends. . .

Soon the end will come: a few more years and I must depart out of this world unto the Father. My Lord will be near my bed. He will meet me at heaven's gate: He will welcome me to the  gloryland. I shall not be a stranger in heaven: my own God and Father will receive me to its endless bliss.

Glory be to Him who
Will guide me here,
And receive me hereafter. Amen.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Westminster Confession of Faith

Have you been following Kyle's week by week, chapter by chapter posts on the Westminster Confession of Faith?

He's up to Chapter 21,  Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath Day.  Have you read it lately?  Have you ever read it?  Oh, you should! 

I remember clearly the first time I studied through this chapter.  It lead to a whole bunch of Bible reading and book reading (and book buying) and praying and thinking and reading and praying.  

If you read it for the first time (or again for the fifth or tenth or fiftieth time!) and it grabs you, let me know.

In the meantime, I'll crank up the volume and listen again to the beautiful piano music on Kyle's blog.  I'll bet that grabs you, too. 

(Oh, and you can click on the Westminster button in my side bar and find links to the other 20 chapters, too. . .) 

Sunday Hymn: Mighty God While Angels Bless Thee

Mighty God, While Angels Bless Thee 

Mighty God, while angels bless thee,
May a mortal sing thy name?
Lord of men as well as angels,
Thou art every creature's theme.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

Lord of every land and nation,
Ancient of eternal days,
Sounded through the wide creation
Be thy just and lawful praise.

For the grandeur of thy nature,
Grand beyond the seraph's thought;
For created works of power,
Works with skill and kindness wrought.

But thy rich, thy free redemption,
Dark through brightness all along,
Thought is poor, and poor expression,
Who dare sing that awful song?

Brightness of the Father's glory,
Shall thy praise unuttered lie?
Fly, my tongue, such guilty silence,
Sing the Lord who came to die:

From the highest throne in glory,
To the cross of deepest woe,
All to ransom guilty captives,
Flow my praise, for ever flow.

Blue Trinity Hymnal #5 

Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith

December 30
Loved To Perfection

Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end - John 13:1

This fact is essentially a promise; for what our Lord was He is, and what He was to those with  whom He lived on earth, He will be to all His beloved so long as the moon endureth.

"Having loved": here was the wonder! That He should ever have loved men at all is the marvel.  What was there in His poor disciples that He should love them? What is there in me?

But when He has once begun to love, it is His nature to continue to do so. Love made the saints  "his own"--what a choice title! He purchased them with blood, and they became His treasure.  Being His own, He will not lose them. Being His beloved, He will not cease to love them. My soul,  He will not cease to love thee!

The text is well as it stands: "to the end." Even till His death the ruling passion of love to His own  reigned in His sacred bosom. It means also to the uttermost. He could not love them more: He  gave Himself for them. Some read it, to perfection. Truly He lavished upon them a perfect love, in  which there was no flaw nor failure, no unwisdom, no unfaithfulness.

Such is the love of Jesus to each one of His people. Let us sing to our Well-beloved a song.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

2008 Redux: Recipes

January
Cream of Broccoli Soup with Cheese and Bacon

February
Pasta Salad
(borrowed from March--no recipes posted in February!  Unthinkable!!)

March
Beef and Guiness Pie

April
Ham and Cheese Scones
Chicken Lasagna Florentine

May
Olive Tapenade
Hot Onion Souffle

June
Bok Choy Salad

July
Tea Party Recipes
Soup, tea sandwiches
Scones with lemon curd and Devonshire cream
Lavender Lemonade

August
Grilled Chicken Bistro Sandwich

September
Thai Chicken Noodle Soup and Italian White Bean Soup with Sausage and Spinach

October
Pesto
(you're going to need this recipe for the Bistro Chicken Sandwiches. . .)

November
Cranberry Salad

December
Chicken and Walnuts

Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith

December 29
He Will Carry Us Home

And even to your old age I am He; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will  bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you - Isaiah 46:4

The year is very old, and here is a promise for our aged friends; yes, and for us all, as age creeps  over us. Let us live long enough, and we shall all have hoar hairs; therefore we may as well enjoy  this promise by the foresight of faith.

When we grow old our God will still be the I AM, abiding evermore the same. Hoar hairs tell of  our decay, but He decayeth not. When we cannot carry a burden and can hardly carry ourselves,  the Lord will carry us. Even as in our young days He carried us like lambs in His bosom, so will  He in our years of infirmity.

He made us, and He will care for us. When we become a burden to our friends and a burden to  ourselves, the Lord will not shake us off, but the rather He will take us up and carry and deliver  us more fully than ever. In many cases the LORD give His servants a long and calm evening.  They worked hard all day and wore themselves out in their Master's service, and so He said to  them, "Now rest in anticipation of that eternal Sabbath which I have prepared for you." Let us not  dread old age. Let us grow old graciously since the Lord Himself is with us in fullness of grace.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Just One More

December snow

 

 

more to come. . .

 

uh, oh

At precisely 7:45 this morning, my computer reminded me that I had an appointment at 8:00 am.

What a wonderful thing it is to have a computer program that pops up automatically and tells you what you are supposed to be doing.

Or, at least,  it would be if the person who set the appointment with the wonderful computer program had remembered to type into the subject line where the appointment would be or had noted in some small way why the appointment was set.

So, really, what I have this  morning is a wonderful computer program that pops up automatically and tells me how forgetful I am.

 Sigh. . .

2008 Redux: Favorite Quotes

January
Jonathan Edwards

February
J.I. Packer 

March
Francois de La Rochefoucauld

(translation in comments section) 

April
C.S. Lewis

May
J.I. Packer again

June
G.K. Chesterton

July
(I couldn't decide, so I've included two for July.)

Jonathan Edwards
Sinclair Ferguson

August
J.C. Ryle

September
W. Somerset Maugham

October
Oswald Chambers

November
William Temple

December
Robert Murray M'Cheyne

It was hard to chose between the quotes, because I wouldn't've posted them if I didn't think they were worth reading.  If you're curious about the ones I didn't link, here's the link to all the quotes.  Happy reading! 

All Quotes 

Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith

December 28
Absolute Assurance

He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee - Hebrews 13:5

Several times in the Scriptures the Lord hath said this. He has often repeated it to make our  assurance doubly sure. Let us never harbor a doubt about it. In itself the promise is specially  emphatic. In the Greek it has five negatives, each one definitely shutting out the possibility of the  Lord's ever leaving one of His people so that he can justly feel forsaken of his God. This  priceless Scripture does not promise us exemption from trouble, but it does secure us against  desertion. We may be called to traverse strange ways, but we shall always have our Lord's  company, assistance, and provision. We need not covet money, for we shall always have our God, and God is better than gold; His favor is better than fortune.

We ought surely to be content with such things as we have, for he who has God has more than all  the world besides. What can we have beyond the Infinite? What more can we desire than  almighty Goodness.

Come, my heart; if God says He will never leave thee nor forsake thee, be thou much in prayer for  grace that thou mayest never leave thy Lord, nor even for a moment forsake His ways.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

2007 Redux: Photos

Redux:  

Function:  adjective
Etymology:  Latin, returning, from reducere to lead back
Date:  1860

Def:  brought back —used postpositively

 

As and end-of-the-year retrospective, I'm going to be posting up some Redux entries.  I picked one favorite photo from each month.  (well, I cheated several times with multiple photos in one entry) 

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

More redux posts to come. 

In 15 Words or Less Poems

Like Tupperware treasures
tucked in the fridge;
words preserved
for later-
unidentifiable to me.

15 Words or Less Poems

 

Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith

December 27
His Kindness And Covenant

For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from  thee, neither shall the Covenant of My Peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee  - Isaiah 54:10

One of the most delightful qualities of divine love is its abiding character. The pillars of the earth  may be moved out of their places, but the kindness and the covenant of our merciful Jehovah  never depart from His people. How happy my soul feels in a firm belief of this inspired  declaration! The year is almost over, and the years of my life are growing few, but time does not  change my Lord. New lamps are taking the place of the old; perpetual change is on all things, but our Lord is the same. Force over turns the hills, but no conceivable power can affect the  eternal God. Nothing in the past, the present, or the future can cause Jehovah to be unkind to me.

My soul, rest in the eternal kindness of the Lord, who treats thee as one near of kin. Remember  also the everlasting covenant. God is ever mindful of it--see that thou art mindful of it too. In  Christ Jesus the glorious God has pledged Himself to thee to he thy God and to hold thee as one  of His people. Kindness and covenant-dwell on these words as sure and lasting things which  eternity itself shall not take from thee.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Boxing Day

I had an email from one of my Canadian friends this morning, wishing me a Merry Boxing Day.

When it comes to Boxing Day, I seem to be a "Bear of Very Little Brain."   I can never quite remember what it's all about.  So, every year when it comes to my attention, I have to go look it up.

 I confess I always feel a bit disappointed that there isn't a bit more to it.  I think I get it confused with the Boxer Rebellion and find myself wondering what connection there is between the UK and China, and why they would get a day off for it, and if Canada was largely French in the beginning why the French don't celebrate Boxing Day and how we Americans, who will celebrate nearly anything, don't get the day off to shop for new china or something. . .

And you may be saying, like Rabbit, " I don't see much sense in that."

To which I humbly reply, like Pooh, " there was going to be when I began it.  It's just that something happened to it along the way."

Update on Wednesday, December 26, 2007 at 06:52AM by Kim from Hiraeth

Oh, I forgot to add, "Merry Boxing Day!"

Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith

December 26
God Only, You Can Trust

Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of Thee, yet will I  never be offended - Matthew 26:33

Why," cries one, "this is no promise of God." Just so, but it was a promise of man, and therefore it  came to nothing. Peter thought that he was saying what he should assuredly carry out; but a  promise which has no better foundation than a human resolve will fall to the ground. No sooner  did temptations arise than Peter denied his Master and used oaths to confirm his denial.

What is man's word? An earthen pot broken with a stroke. What is your own resolve? A blossom,  which, with God's care, may come to fruit, but which, left to itself, will fall to the ground with the  first wind that moves the bough.

On man's word hang only what it will bear.

On thine own resolve depend not at all.

On the promise of thy God hang time and eternity, this world and the next, thine all and the all of  all thy beloved ones.

This volume is a checkbook for believers, and this page is meant as a warning as to what bank  they draw upon and whose signature they accept. Rely upon Jesus without limit. Trust not  thyself nor any horn of woman, beyond due bounds; but trust thou only and wholly in the Lord.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith

December 25
He Came; He Is Coming

This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have  seen Him go into heaven - Acts 1:11

Many are celebrating our Lord's first coming this day; let us turn our thoughts to the promise of  His second coming. This is as sure as the first advent and derives a great measure of its certainty  from it. He who came as a lowly man to serve will assuredly come to take the reward of His  service. He who came to suffer will not be slow in coming to reign.

This is our glorious hope, for we shall share His joy. Today we are in our concealment and  humiliation, even as He was while here below; but when He cometh it will be our manifestation,  even as it will be His revelation. Dead saints shall live at His appearing. The slandered and  despised shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Then shall the saints appear  as kings and priests, and the days of their mourning shall be ended. The long rest and  inconceivable splendor of the millennial reign will be an abundant recompense for the ages of  witnessing and warring.

Oh, that the Lord would come! He is coming! He is on the road and traveling quickly. The  sound of His approach should be as music to our hearts! Ring out, ye bells of hope!

Charles Haddon Spurgeon