Such a deep hallelujah

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea:
A great High Priest, whose name is Love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.

My name is graven on his hands,
My name is written on his heart;
I know that while in heaven he stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look, and see him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/s/shane_shane/before_the_throne_of_god_above.html ]
Because a sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Praise the One,
Risen Son of God!

Behold him there, the risen Lamb
My perfect, spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace!

One in himself, I cannot die
My soul is purchased by his blood
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God
With Christ, my Savior and my God

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/s/shane_shane/#share

Beautiful resources

http://www.disciplemakingintl.org/media/

This website has resources that will- promised- change your life because they are rich with teaching, videos, audio, pdf, whatever, of solid teaching on the Bible.

I'm supposed to be sleeping for a family vacation we're leaving for early tomorrow morning. But then I started watching Part 1 of How to Study the Bible (click on the Secret Church box, then find and click on the "How to Study the Bible" box, and then click Part 1), and I feel as though I have been revived, invigorated, and refreshed in my pursuit of knowing God through studying Scripture. Oh please, use these resources. I'm going to Cambodia next month and want to do all I can to bring some of these resources, this teaching, and strengthen the church in that nation. If you are dry, Christian, then admit it to yourself and to God. There are many deserts in the honest walk with God. It's ok. But then please, delve into the fathoms of these resources. It's incredible how my spirit can quickly forget the quenching satisfaction of Scripture. What's more, it is only when I drink it that I realize that I have been sipping sand for days.

Praise be to God among all tribes, peoples, and languages. The God of the Bible is an infinitely glorious and stunningly gorgeous God.

A meaningful encounter

Last week I was studying for summer classes in Ft. Worth when I decided to take a study break in a shop I had heard a lot about. There were “SALE” signs up, so I went in and started browsing the sale table.

There was a middle-aged woman browsing next to me, and she commented on the great sale. I agreed and said that it made a great study break. She then asked me where it was that I studied, and I explained that I was working on finishing a degree from the Baptist College of Florida through extension work. She nodded, and I perceived that her interest in me waned when I mentioned BCF. The conversation dwindled, and our attentions were drawn to separate parts of the store.

We met again in the back of the store, where I commented that the shop had so many cute things. She said that she designs jewelry, and loves seeing all of the ideas this shop can give her. We discovered a sale room and went in together to peruse.

While thumbing through pairs of shorts, I asked her what got her into making jewelry. She said that it was during her second round of chemo when she had breast cancer in both breasts. She reflected that she was so down and bored that she figured she might as well get into something, and so she began to make jewelry. I was surprised by what this woman had gone through, and told her that my grandmother died of breast cancer and that although I was young when she passed, cancer is still close to me. I remarked that she was a walking miracle. She agreed.

Then she said that through that time in her life, the Lord birthed a connection between her and her mother that was not previously there. She told me that they had a good relationship, but couldn’t relate on spiritual things prior to God working through her cancer. Again, encouraged by what she said, I told her that her story was incredible and asked how she came to know the Lord. She said it was when she was twelve years old in a Baptist church.

I was surprised and wondered why I had gotten my previous perception of her losing interest in me at the sale table. I didn't know all that this woman had gone through or where she was in her relationship with God now, so I just stated what I did know. "He is good." She agreed.

Our conversation continued to be salted with mutual encouragement. On my way out of the sale room to try a few things on, I realized that I hadn’t introduced myself. So, I turned and told her that my name was Elizabeth. She stopped for a moment and her eyes softened. She said that it touched her heart when I said that. Not understanding, I fought back a puzzled expression. She explained that she had had an ectopic pregnancy where the baby develops inside the fallopian tube and they have to terminate it.

Immediate sympathy formed my mouth to say that I was sorry for her loss. She thanked me and gently continued to explain. She said that when she was pregnant, the Lord gave her and her husband a distinct impression that the baby was a girl, and that her name was Elizabeth.

The grave significance of this woman's words to her life, and in that moment my life as well, left me unsure how to respond. All I could say was, “Oh, wow. You never know who you’re going to meet, do you?” She agreed and confidently stated that it was a divine appointment for us to meet. I nodded in agreement, saying that I loved those moments.

We parted ways mutually in awe of the Lord’s divine orchestrations.

Let no one caught in sin remain

Inside the lie of inward shame

We fix our eyes upon the cross

And run to Him who showed great love

And bled for us

Freely You've bled for us

Christ is risen from the dead

Trampling over death by death

Come awake come awake

Come and rise up from the grave

Christ is risen from the dead

We are one with Him again

Come awake come awake

Come and rise up from the grave

Beneath the weight of all our sin

You bowed to none but heaven's will

No scheme of hell no scoffer's crown

No burden great can hold You down

In strength You reign

Forever let Your church proclaim

Christ is risen from the dead

Trampling over death by death

Come awake come awake

Come and rise up from the grave

Christ is risen from the dead

We are one with Him again

Come awake come awake

Come and rise up from the grave

O death where is your sting?

O hell where is your victory?

O church come stand in the light

The glory of God has defeated the night

Sing it o death where is your sting?

O hell where is your victory?

O church come stand in the light

Our God is not dead He's alive He's alive

Christ is risen from the dead

Trampling over death by death

Come awake come awake

Come and rise up from the grave

Christ is risen from the dead

We are one with Him again

Come awake come awake

Come and rise up from the grave

Christ is risen from the dead

Trampling over death by death

Come awake come awake

Come and rise up from the grave

Christ is risen from the dead

We are one with Him again

Come awake come awake

Come and rise up from the grave

Rise up from the grave

-Matt Maher

A Martyr's Rememberance

Afraid? Of what? 

To feel the spirit's glad release? 

To pass from pain to perfect peace, 

The strife and strain of life to cease? 

Afraid? Of that?  

Afraid? Of what? 

Afraid to see the Saviour's face, 

To hear His welcome, and to trace, 

The glory gleam from wounds of grace, 

Afraid? Of that?  

Afraid? Of what? 

A flash - a crash - a pierced heart; 

Brief darkness - Light - O Heaven's art! 

A wound of His a counterpart! 

Afraid? Of that?

Afraid? Of what? 

To enter into Heaven's rest, 

And yet to serve the Master blessed? 

From service good to service best? 

Afraid? Of that?  

Afraid? Of what? 

To do by death what life could not - 

Baptize with blood a stony plot, 

Till souls shall blossom from the spot?

Afraid? Of that?

-E.H. Hamilton

writing in response to his friend, Jack Vinson's, martyrdom by Chinese bandits in 1931

Returning to the Blog World

Hey there! Long time, no blog. A very close friend of mine is going to Jordan for the summer and needed help setting up a blog the other night. So, I pitched in with a couple of my other close friends to help set one up for her. Thus, in the process of helping her, I remembered that I had a blog myself! It's funny how that works, isn't it? This blog was originally intended to simply be a way to update my family on my internship in the Brazilian Amazon region last summer. However, it looks like the blog will have a longer tenure than I originally foresaw.

So what do you say in a blog after eleven months of absence? I'm back home from attending college in Florida. I went to one of my favorite little Texas diners for breakfast this morning. My one-year-old niece is walking now. And in even bigger news, my dad and brother left for Portugal this morning on a mission trip, and I can't wait for the big things that God has planned for them to happen! That's exciting blog material.

How about I share something I read yesterday.

I am going through Kay Arthur's Bible study, "Teach Me To Pray," at the moment with a small group at church. Each day has been so refreshing through Kay's solid, Biblical study on prayer. She has a very nurturing writing style, which appeals to my biblical need for older godly women to invest in my life (Titus 2). I feel as though the topic of prayer is being unveiled to my soul anew. It is obvious that God is working through this study to make me look more like Him. What an exciting process! Something I read yesterday in Kay's lesson is very convicting. While reading it, what was intended for a wide audience became more like an exposing personal biography. Here's an excerpt:

"Unfortunately, many of us-even those who attend church and profess Christianity or a belief in God- have fallen flat on our faces in the mud of the world! Instead of living in total obedience, unwavering allegiance to His kingdom and His reign as King in our lives, we are double-minded, desiring the best of both worlds, forgetting that 'our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ' (Phil. 3:20).

We are not eagerly awaiting Him because we have entangled ourselves in the affairs of everyday life and have forgotten we are to please the one who enlisted us as soldiers (see 2 Tim. 2:4). Too often our allegiances are to money and what it provides, to position and its prestige, to things and their pleasures, and even to "churchianity" and its works. Notice I say churchianity, not Christianity. Churchianity puts people first; church is about them and their desires. Christianity puts Christ in His rightful place as head of the church.

Don't we often only give lip service to God? We want only enough of Christianity to get us to heaven, only enough to get our prayers answered and the benefits of healing and prosperity. We do not want to give total allegiance to His kingdom because it calls us to a cross. We do not want His kingdom to come today, tomorrow, or even within a few years because, like Demas, we love this present world more (2 Tim. 4:10). Is this right or is it wrong? Does any of it describe you?

I don't mean to sound harsh, beloved, but as I write this, truth is "in my heart... like a burning fire shut up in my bones" (Jer. 20:9). Oh, how my heat grieves as I see multitudes who name His name yet who have not given Him their total allegiance. Oh, how my heart grieves when the Spirit of God shows me incidents when I failed to give my absolute, total, unwavering allegiance to Him, the Lord God of all heaven and earth. Do you realize that God calls us to discern? Study Matthew 7 carefully, and you will see that our fruit- our doing or not doing of the Word- bears witness to our allegiance.

When people have time for everything except a personal, diligent study of God's Word, we know they are not approved unto God (2 Tim. 2:15). They know much about the world but little about God! Why? Because they have time for the things of this life but not time to study God's Word. They refuse to believe that "man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). Communion with God through His Word and prayer is essential to the fruitful life that will hasten the coming of His Kingdom."

Arthur, Kay. Teach Me to Pray Workbook: Practicing a Powerful Pattern of Prayer (Nashville, TN. LifeWay Press, 2010).

I found myself convicted of my laziness in studying God's Word. Every time I do get to soak, so-to-say, in the richness of the Bible, I don't understand how I ever go without spending time in it. So, needless to say, the process of being transformed into the image of Christ (Rom. 12:2) took a definite step yesterday. I desperately desire to be approved unto God as His follower (2 Tim. 2:15). I hope this encouraged you if you are a believer who is giving God your full allegiance. Or, maybe this challenged you, as it challenged me, if you are a believer but are not walking as closely to God as you could be. If you haven't trusted Jesus as your Savior, perhaps this post brings up questions or thoughts to your mind. Whatever the case, I hope you will receive and/or wrestle with it.

Reminiscing

"And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." -Paul, Acts 20:22-24

Wow. I'm praying for that same Christ-centered focus. As I think about it, if Jesus, my Savior, lived a simple life on Earth: poor, often hungry and homeless, hated by so many people because of His message, loved by a few, beaten, and killed on a cross (wikipedia crucifixion- it's absolutely gruesome)... then why do I even play with the idea that my life will be safe, comfortable, and risk-free? It's so hard not to waste my time chasing after 'my own life'- keeping it all in perspective. I fall on my face in this so many times into materialism, anxiety about the future, wanting my own desires my own way instead of asking God what He has for me. But God is my strength and focus! That is so much easier to type than to live. But every time I read the Bible, there is strength, focus, guidance and everything else I need to live it out! It's amazing.