Saturday, December
08, 2012, 8:11 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with this song:
My Jesus, I Love Thee / William R. Featherstone / Adoniram J.
Gordon
My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art
mine;
for thee all the follies of sin I
resign.
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art
thou;
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis
now.
I love thee because thou hast first
loved me,
and purchased my pardon on Calvary's
tree;
I love thee for wearing the thorns on
thy brow;
if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis
now.
Speak, Lord, for your
servant is listening. I read Psalm 19
(NIV 1984):
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the
earth,
their words to the ends of the world…
The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are
trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the Lord are sure
and altogether righteous.
They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.
By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward…
May the words of my mouth and the
meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Their Voice
The psalmist
expressed here how God’s created works declare the glory of God to the ends of
the earth. The moon, sun, stars, clouds, planets, the sky and all that is in
the visible universe, that is a creation of God, speaks of God’s power and his
divine nature. The heavens are not limited by human languages or cultures of
men in order to display or to communicate the knowledge of God throughout the
world. If we keep our voices silent, the heavens will still declare the glory
of God to the ends of the earth. Paul said this concerning how God’s created
works reveal God to us:
The wrath of God is being revealed from
heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth
by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them,
because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world
God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly
seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. ~ Ro. 1:18-20
We are also God’s
created works, and God has a plan for us to be part of this declaration of his
glory, his power and his divine nature throughout the world, too. Jesus said
that we are to go into all the world and make disciples (of Christ) of all
nations, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey all that Christ has
commanded us (see Matt. 28:19-20). Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit comes
upon us that we shall be his witnesses in our homeland and throughout the world
(see Acts 1:8). And, he said that we, the church (the body of Christ), are the
light of the world, so we should let our lights shine before men.
Paul quoted Ps. 19:4
in Romans 10 in reference to the beautiful feet of those who bring the good
news of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. Their voice, too, “goes
out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
Go and Say
The Lord Jesus
reminded me, as I read this first section of this psalm this morning, of the
call of God on Jeremiah’s life to “Go to everyone I
send you to and say whatever I command you,” and to not be afraid of the
people. He told him to get himself ready, to stand up and to say to the people
whatever God commanded him to say. In reality, this is the call of God for every
believer in Jesus Christ, because we are all his servants and witnesses, and we
have all been commissioned to speak his words, either in the sharing of the
gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost sinner, or else in the communication of words
of truth, counsel, encouragement and edification of the body of Christ. We need
to all be strong and courageous in speaking forth the words of God to others,
especially as God specifically leads us to do so.
And, then I was reminded of God’s call in
Habakkuk’s life, where God told him to “Write down the revelation and make it
plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it.” A revelation is something
revealed or disclosed; a discovery; something made known; shown; told; “to make
something visible that had been hidden or covered” (Encarta). This can include what
has already been revealed in scripture, i.e. the revelations of God in his word,
but it can also include the opening of our minds and hearts to understand what
has been previously revealed, but that has been hidden from our understanding
up to the point to where we understood it, and it could also be the Holy Spirit
of God giving us a practical insight or application of Biblical truth of which we
previously had not been made aware. What the Lord teaches us, we should thus
share with others to encourage and to edify the body of Christ and to share the
truth of the gospel of Christ - whether in spoken or in written word.
The
Ends of the Earth
In both the Matthew passage and the Acts
passage, where Jesus spoke with his disciples concerning their commission to be
his witnesses and to make disciples of Christ of all nations, he spoke to them of
the necessity to take the gospel of Jesus Christ, which includes teaching the
need to turn from our sins (repent) and to walk in faithful obedience to Jesus
Christ, as required for salvation (see Eph. 4:17-24; Luke 9:23-25), to the ends
of the earth.
There are many ways in which we can do that
today. We can physically go to other lands and travel throughout the world,
preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. We can be involved in radio ministry or
television ministry where the gospel is preached and which reaches people all
over the world. We can send Bibles or gospel tracts to people in other
countries who can then distribute them to people in their nations. And, we can
sing, speak or write on the internet (the runner), which goes throughout the
world, and we can share the gospel of Jesus Christ. And, I am sure there are
many other ways I have not thought of.
The point is that we are to go, and we are
to communicate the truths of God’s word and the gospel of Jesus Christ to other
people for their salvation and/or for their encouragement and edification. And,
if we surrender our wills to the will of the Father in this, he will often
stretch us in ways we would not have imagined, and he will open doors for us
that we would not even have thought to pursue. I know he has done this, and he
is doing this in my life, as he continues to encourage me to take his gospel “to
the regions beyond.”
Sing Praises / An
Original Work / November 30, 2012
Based off Psalms 6-9
Sing praises to the
Lord!
Tell of His wondrous
works.
Afflicted, they cry
out;
The Lord will not
forget;
The needy, not desert.
The Lord’s our refuge
now;
A stronghold when we fear.
The Lord will ne’er
forsake
The ones, who Him
pursue!
Sing praises to the
Lord!
With all my heart I
sing.
I will rejoice in Him;
Sing praises to His
name;
Tell of His wondrous
works.
My shield is God Most
High.
He saves those who
believe
In Jesus Christ, God’s
Son.
His grace has pardoned
you!
The Lord accepts my
prayer!
The Lord has heard my
cries.
He is so merciful.
He heals my anguished
soul.
The Lord has made me
whole.
Give thanks unto the
Lord.
Give praise unto His
name.
Our Lord is righteousness.
Sing praises to the
Lord!
Sing praises to the
Lord!
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