Category Archives: Grace

To God Be the Glory

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This past week I have been meditating through the week on the Lord and all His goodness to me.  How many sins He has forgiven me through my Lord Jesus Christ. And the eternal life that I have through Him.  It will take me eternity to thank Him for the many times He was merciful, for the many times He was gracious, for the many times He was my shelter and my strength–my place of safety and comfort.

I’m thankful for every single person, from the youngest to the oldest, He has brought across my path throughout my life and especially those who have invested my spiritually life by word, deed and prayers since infancy.

“To God be the glory.  Great things He has done.  So loved He the world that He gave us his Son… Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!  Let the earth hear His voice!  Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!  Let the people rejoice!”

Psalm 91

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a]
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

3 Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
    and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 “Because he[b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”

To Whom Shall We Go But Thee (a hymn)

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“Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can fully share its joy.”                      Proverbs 14:10

Whom shall I seek when the lone silence speaks
Thoughts that my heart must defy.
I shall call on Him.
I shall wait on Him
Who comes with truthful reply.

To whom shall we go but Thee?
To whom shall we go but Thee?

Who can console my grief laden soul
In the helplessness of loss?
I shall draw near Him,
The meek heart of Him.
My strength is His love–the cross.

To whom shall we go but Thee?
To whom shall we go but Thee?

And what shall I do when the path grows dim?
Where shall I look for light?
I shall search for Him.
I shall walk with Him
Before the descent of night.

Lord, to whom shall we go but Thee?
You have the words of life.
And we have believed
And have come to know
That You are the Christ,
The Son of the living God.
You are the Christ.

                                                                         Meredith Cockroft

 

 

 

Wonderful Grace of Jesus

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“Wonderful grace of Jesus
Greater than all my sin
How shall my tongue describe it?
Where shall its praise begin?
Taking away my burden, setting my spirit free
The wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.”

“All sufficient grace for even me!”

How shall I describe it? Where shall its praise begin? Grace is one of the most beautiful words and powerful concepts in the Bible. It is often described as “unmerited favor” which is a nice, brief and apt description but makes it sound so simplistic and so mundane, like a quick catch phrase. For that and other reasons I find it inadequate for such a phenomenal gift from our loving God. To me it sounds like a one time thing, which of course it is, when speaking only of the justification of our souls through the death , burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But God’s grace does not stop there. It is so much more. It is all pervasive in the life of the Christian and the non-Christian alike. God’s gentle rain falls on the just and the unjust. The warmth and light of the sun, the beauty of the whole creation which declares to all the glory of the one true God is available to the saved and the unsaved alike by the grace of God.

God’s grace is an outflow of his never ending mercy. It means that God is continually and perpetually favorably disposed toward mankind. For the Christian it is vital to her life in Christ. It is free, abundant and ever present like God Himself. I personally like the description, “grace is the divine influence upon the human heart.” That is all encompassing. It is God’s grace, through the work of the Holy Spirit that influences the human heart to be drawn to His Son, Jesus Christ. It is this divine influence on the heart that draws men and women into Christian service, and good works, works wrought by God. It is this divine influence on the human heart that draws us to God in times of trouble, sickness and death instead of causing us to look to the safety of our money or science and technology or to retreat within ourselves, or feel hopeless and become bitter.

The teacher of the first Bible study I ever did described “this grace in which we stand” as a room called grace, filled with grace—a safe space, a place of strength, a place of wisdom and learning, a place of continual forgiveness and freedom, a place of comfort where God wipes away our tears and brings joy in the morning, a place where we can bask in His lovingkindness and His light and truth. That is as all encompassing as God is omnipresent and omnipotent. And to sing the praises of God’s grace will take eternity, but we can begin now.

Music Link:  Wonderful Grace of Jesus  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsPc-Ix3_ow&list=RDvsPc-Ix3_ow#t=2