An eve of light: holy night

Merry Christmas to each of you, as you carry your burdens and pray your prayers, and trust, even as you walk through the darkness... light dawns for you! Alleluia!

Be blessed this night, this holy day!

Alleluia!

Behold: All the gates of heaven unfold!

Gabriel's message does away

Words: Piae cantiones, 1582; trans. John Mason Neale (1818-1866)
Tune: Angelus emittitur

Gabriel's message does away
Satan's curse and Satan's sway,
out of darkness brings our Day:

So, behold,
All the gates of heaven unfold.

He that comes despised shall reign;
he that cannot die, be slain;
death by death its death shall gain:

So, behold,
All the gates of heaven unfold.

Weakness shall the strong confound;
by the hands, in grave clothes wound,
Adam's chains shall be unbound.

So, behold,
All the gates of heaven unfold.

By the sword that was His own,
by that sword, and that alone,
shall Goliath be o'erthrown:

So, behold,
All the gates of heaven unfold.

Art by art shall be assailed;
to the cross shall Life be nailed;
from the grave shall hope be hailed:

So, behold,
All the gates of heaven unfold!

Alleluia!

Selah.

Though I unworthy be

My spirit longs for thee

Words: John Byrom (@1692-1763)
Tune: Amen Court

My spirit longs for thee
within my troubled breast,
though I unworthy be
of so divine a guest.

Of so divine a guest
unworthy though I be,
yet has my heart no rest
unless it come from thee.

Unless it come from thee,
in vain I look around;
in all that I can see
no rest is to be found.

No rest is to be found
but in thy blessèd love:
O let my wish be crowned,
and send it from above!

Selah.

When oceans vast their depths reveal

When oceans vast their depths reveal

Words: Morgan Rhys (1716-1779) translated by Edward M Powell (1852-1928)
Tune: Wiltshire

When oceans vast their depths reveal
And moons have ceased to wane,
The Lamb who died and rose again,
On Zion's hill shall reign.

His glorious Name must long endure
When suns have ceased to shine,
And through eternity the saints
Will sing His praise divine.

As countless as the drops of dew,
Or sand upon the shore,
Are blessings which the ransomed have
In Him for evermore.

Let every other name recede,
His Name alone extol;
In Him reserved, there is the grace
To satisfy my soul.

Selah.

His is the radiance of thy dawn

Begin the day with God

Words: Horatius Bonar (1808-1889)
Tune: Dominica

Begin the day with God:
He is the rising Sun,
His is the radiance of thy dawn,
His the fresh day begun.

Sing a new song at morn;
Join the glad woods and hills;
Join the fresh winds and seas and plains;
Join the bright flowers and rills.

Awake, cold lips, and sing;
Arise, dull heart, and pray;
Lift up, O man, thy heart and eyes;
Brush slothfulness away.

Cast every weight aside;
Do battle with each sin;
Fight with the faithless world without,
The faithless heart within.

Look up beyond these clouds,
Thither thy pathway lies;
Mount up, away, and linger not,
Thy goal is yonder skies!

Selah.

When rising floods my soul o'erflow

O Thou to whose all-searching sight

Words: Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf (1700-1760) translated by John Wesley (1703-1791)
Tune: Abends

O Thou to whose all-searching sight
The darkness shineth as the light,
Search, prove my heart; it pants for Thee;
O burst these bonds, and set it free!

Wash out its stains, refine its dross,
Nail my affections to the Cross;
Hallow each thought; let all within
Be clean, as Thou, my Lord, art clean.

When rising floods my soul o'erflow,
When sinks my heart in waves of woe,
Jesu, Thy timely aid impart
And raise my head, and cheer my heart.

Saviour, where'er Thy steps I see,
Dauntless, untired, I follow Thee;
O let Thy hand support me still,
And lead me to Thy holy hill!

Selah.

Thanksgiving prelude

Enjoy, friends! :-)

Dinosaur oops!

Caption: The real reason why the dinosaurs went extinct!

Commentary: Your day is not as bad as you think it is! The Ark hasn't sailed without you, whatever else has gone on today... so celebrate: you are not too late, your destiny is right on time, your call is waiting! :-)

Enjoy!

Trust Him like the little ones He feeds

Behold the lilies of the field

Words: Cecilia M Caddell (1813-1877)
Tune: Flora

Behold the lilies of the field,
they neither toil nor sow;
yet God does all things needful yield
that they may live and grow.

Not Solomon in glory shone
like one of these poor flowers,
that look to God and God alone
for sunshine and for showers.

And does His mercy value less
the offspring of His grace?
And will a Father's love not bless
the child that seeks His face?

He is our Father, and He knows
His earthly children's need:
on all our daily wants and woes
He looks with careful heed.

O then away with fear and care
for all that may betide;
and turn to God in trustful prayer,
and in His love confide.

Selah.

Why stagger at this word of promise?

By grace I'm saved, grace free and boundless

Words: Christian L Scheidt (1709-1761)

By grace I'm saved, grace free and boundless;
My soul, believe and doubt it not.
Why stagger at this word of promise?
Hath scripture ever falsehood taught?
No! then this word must true remain:
By grace thou, too, shalt heaven obtain.

By grace! None dare lay claim to merit;
Our works and conduct have no worth.
God in His love sent our Redeemer,
Christ Jesus, to this sinful earth;
His death did for our sins atone
And we are saved by grace alone.

By grace! O, mark this word of promise
When thou art by thy sins oppressed,
When Satan plagues thy troubled conscience
And when thy heart is seeking rest.
What reason cannot comprehend
God by His grace to thee doth send.

By grace! This ground of faith is certain;
So long as God is true, it stands.
What saints have penned by inspiration,
What in His word our God commands,
What our whole faith must rest upon,
Is grace alone, grace in His Son.

Selah.

But with my God I leave my cause

Though trouble springs not from the dust

Words: Scottish Paraphrases (1781)

Though trouble springs not from the dust,
nor sorrow from the ground;
Yet ills on ills, by Heav'n's decree,
in man's estate are found.
As sparks in close succession rise,
so man, the child of woe,
Is doom'd to endless cares and toils
through all his life below.

But with my God I leave my cause;
from Him I seek relief;
To Him, in confidence of pray'r,
unbosom all my grief.
Unnumber'd are His wondrous works,
unseachable His ways;
'Tis His the mourning soul to cheer,
the bowed down to raise.

Selah.

The ant and the contact lens

Here is a neat story recounted by Elisabeth Elliot, as told to her by Brenda Folz. The original version in the first person can be found here, on Elisabeth's website.

Lost and Found

It was Brenda's first climb. Halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff, she stood on a ledge and took a breather. As she rested there, the safety rope snapped against her eye and knocked out her contact lens . "Great," she thought. "Here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff, and now my sight is blurry."

She looked and looked, hoping that somehow it had landed on the ledge. But it just wasn't there.

She felt anxiety rising in her, so she began praying. She prayed for calm, and she prayed that she might find her contact lens.

When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but it was not to be found. Although she was calm now that she was at the top, she was saddened because she could not clearly see across the range of mountains. She thought of a partial verse, "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth."

She thought, "Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me."

Later, when they had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they met another party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, "Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?"

Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across a twig on the face of the rock, carrying it!

The story doesn't end there. Brenda's father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a cartoon of an ant lugging that contact lens with the caption, "Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it."

Perhaps when we carry something heavy that we can't understand, we can pray, "God, I don't know why you want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy. But, if you want me to carry it, I will."

God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called!

Carry, trust and smile!

Selah.

Note: This story is often wrongly attributed to people who forward it on email. But the real story comes from Brenda Folz via Elisabeth Elliot, and retold in Elisabeth's book, A Quiet Heart, under the title of "Lost and Found."
Note: I can believe this story, because I've had at least one similar story happen to me personally. You can read that story here: The Miracle of the Lost Lens.

Note: And remember that God doesn't always lead us to the items, even though He surely does know where they are! A good friend recounted a story of a lost item, in which God chose to answer with a larger lesson -- larger than the item itself! So always trust and hope!

Has anyone trusted in the Lord and been disappointed?

You who fear the Lord, wait for His mercy

Ecclesiasticus 2

You who fear the Lord, wait for His mercy;
do not stray, or else you may fall.
You who fear the Lord, trust in Him,
and your reward will not be lost.
You who fear the Lord, hope for good things,
for lasting joy and mercy.
Consider the generations of old and see:
has anyone trusted in the Lord and been disappointed?
Or has anyone persevered in the fear of the Lord and been forsaken?
Or has anyone called upon Him and been neglected?
For the Lord is compassionate and merciful;
He forgives sins and saves in time of distress.

Alleluia!

Selah.

Note: Ivan, of Brothers Karamazov, would answer this rhetorical question, yes. "Yes, many have trusted in the Lord and been disappointed!" But Dostoevsky, the author of Brothers Karamazov, would answer resoundingly, no! No, the one who trusts in the Lord will not be disappointed. How can such an author, who utterly believes in God, pen the strongest literary argument against God? It baffled critics in his day, and confounds critics still. Why? How? The answer brings light. And it is for you, faithful reader, to discern!

Selah, indeed.

Hope is all about trust

I saw this cartoon of Moses and Aaron at the Red Sea, where Aaron's got his floatie on just in cast the whole sea crossing thing doesn't work out, lol. Just had to smile! Because it is so true of human nature. When that one moment arrives where we have to push off and live what we say we believe, it's a pausing moment: do I really believe that God has spoken? And am I really willing to trust His voice over my own -- my natural desires, inclinations and comfort zones?

As I thought about it, I realized that hope is all about trust.

When the ancient words tell us to Hope in the Lord, when God speaks through the prophets and says, "Hope you in the Lord and renew your strength!" what does it mean, except to trust in the Lord, even to the exclusion of our own natural wisdom?

When the psalmist tells us that God takes pleasure in those who wait for Him, he is speaking of a kind of expectant waiting, where we wait in trust, expecting God to keep His word, even in His timing.

Likewise, delighting in the Lord is also about placing one's whole being in what God delights in, the highest order of trust... we cannot escape trust! Hope is inextricably linked with trust, but it then is also forever linked with the character of God: the joy of the Lord then becomes our strength, our heart and character remade in divine intent: a paradox, a miracle of grace and transformation.

So, loose the floatie! Trust. Jump in. Enter the miracle. Journey.

Alleluia!

Selah.

A word for the day: Raging waters, constancy, love

If the Lord had not been on our side

Psalm 124

If the Lord had not been on our side,
let Israel now say;
If the Lord had not been on our side,
when enemies rose up against us;
Then would they have swallowed us up alive
in their fierce anger towards us;
Then would the waters have overwhelmed us
and the torrent gone over us;
Then would the raging waters
have gone right over us.
Blessed be the Lord!
he has not given us over to be a prey for their teeth.
We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the fowler;
the snare is broken and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the maker of heaven and earth.

Those who trust are like Mount Zion

Psalm 125

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be moved, but stands fast for ever.
The hills stand about Jerusalem;
so does the Lord stand round about his people,
from this time forth for evermore.
The sceptre of the wicked shall not hold sway
over the land allotted to the just,
so that the just shall not put their hands to evil.
Show your goodness, O Lord, to those who are good
and to those who are true of heart.
As for those who turn aside to crooked ways,
the Lord will lead them away with the evildoers;
but peace be upon Israel.

A Song of Divine Love

1 Corinthians 13:4-13

Love is patient and kind,
love is not jealous or boastful,
it is not arrogant or rude.
Love does not insist on its own way,
it is not angry or resentful.
It does not rejoice in wrongdoing
but rejoices in the truth.
Love bears all things and believes all things;
love hopes all things and endures all things.
Love will never come to an end,
but prophecy will vanish,
tongues cease and knowledge pass away.
Now we know only in part
and we prophesy only in part,
But when the perfect comes,
the partial shall pass away.
When I was a child, I spoke like a child,
I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.
But when I became mature,
I put an end to childish ways.
For now we see only puzzling reflections in a mirror,
but then we will see face to face.
Now I know only in part;
then I shall know fully,
even as I have been fully known.
There are three things that last for ever,
faith, hope and love,
but the greatest of these is love.

Selah.

Lord, thou hast made the blind to see

Lord I was blind: I could not see

Words: William Tidd Matson (1833-1899)
Tune: Breslau

Lord I was blind: I could not see
in thy marred visage any grace;
but now the beauty of thy face
in radiant vision dawns on me.

Lord, I was deaf: I could not hear
the thrilling music of thy voice;
but now I hear thee and rejoice,
and all thine uttered words are dear.

Lord, I was dumb: I could not speak
the grace and glory of thy name:
but now, as touched with living flame,
my lips thine eager praises wake.

Lord I was dead: I could not stir
my lifeless soul to come to thee:
but now, since thou hast quickened me,
I rise from sin's dark sepulchre.

Lord, thou hast made the blind to see,
the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak,
the dead to live: and lo, I break
the chains of my captivity.

Alleluia!

Selah.

A strong wind from another Land

A spacious place, free from restriction

Bless our God, you peoples;
make the voice of his praise to be heard;
Who holds our souls in life,
and will not allow our feet to slip.
For you, O God, have proved us;
you have tried us just as silver is tried.
You brought us into the snare;
you laid heavy burdens upon our backs.
You let enemies ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water;
but you brought us out into a place of refreshment.
I will enter your house with burnt offerings
and will pay you my vows,
which I promised with my lips
and spoke with my mouth when I was in trouble.
I will offer you sacrifices of fat beasts
with the smoke of rams;
I will give you oxen and goats.
Come and listen, all you who fear God,
and I will tell you what he has done for me.
I called out to him with my mouth,
and his praise was on my tongue.
If I had found evil in my heart,
the Lord would not have heard me;
But in truth God has heard me;
he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer,
nor withheld his love from me.

Lift up your voice, fear not!

Go up to a high mountain,
herald of good tidings to Zion;
lift up your voice with strength,
herald of good tidings to Jerusalem.
Lift up your voice, fear not;
say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
See, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him.
Behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
God will feed his flock like a shepherd,
and gather the lambs in his arms;
He will carry them in his breast,
and gently lead those that are with young.

Selah.

God's help is sure, but His methods seldom guessed

Say not, my soul, 'From whence...?'

Words: Thomas T Lynch (1818-1871)
Tune: St. Ethelwald

Say not, my soul, 'From whence
'Can God relieve my care?'
Remember that Omnipotence
Has servants everywhere.

God's help is always sure,
His method seldom guessed;
Delay will make our pleasure pure,
Surprise will give it zest.

His wisdom is sublime,
His heart profoundly kind;
God never is before His time,
And never is behind.

Hast thou assumed a load,
Which few will share with thee,-
And art thou carrying it for God,
And shall He fail to see?

Be comforted at heart,
Thou art not left alone;
Now, thou the Lord's companion art;
Soon, thou wilt share His throne.

Put all your faith in God's great goodness

Put all your faith in God's great goodness

Words: Amos Cresswell (born 1926) based on Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten by Georg Neumark (1621-1681)
Tune: Neumark

Put all your faith in God's great goodness
and hope in him for every day;
through all your anguish, pain and sadness
his shadow guards along life's way:
and if he leads you by the hand
you never build on shifting sand.

When we are lonely and despairing,
when visions fade and hopes are dim,
he comes, our depths of sorrow sharing,
invites our faith to turn to him;
he never will forsake his child;
his hold is form though storms are wild.

Our Lord is present in our weakness,
for this he left his heavenly throne.
His power and strength lie in his meekness,
'You will not agonise alone;
I drank the bitter cup for you;
my crucifixion proves this true.'

Sing, pray and tell the mighty story;
God comes to us in vibrant Word.
The wonder of the heavenly glory
is seen by us in Christ, our Lord.
Our God has never left in need
a soul who trusted him indeed.

Selah.

You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God

Hidden with Christ in God

How can we who died to sin still live in it?—I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.—He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.—Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

We are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ.—“Just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us.”—Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.—“Because I live, you also will live.”

“To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.”

Selah.

Col. 3:3; Rom. 6:2; Gal. 2:20; 2 Cor. 5:15; 2 Cor. 5:17; 1 John 5:20; John 17:21; 1 Cor. 12:27; John 14:19; Rev. 2:17