pressing on

  • Her Eyes Were Still Restrained ~ "When it looks like he is buried for good..."

    Luke 24:13 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.

    Her Eyes Were Still Restrained

    "O! Surely my Hope has died!
    I am destroyed on ev'ry side

    Bow Your ear: Hear my sighs!
    My bridegroom! Hear my cries!"

    Her eyes were still restrained
    Blinded by crushing pain

    My chosen bride, do not fret
    Can your Bridegroom e'er forget?

    Your eyes as yet do not recognize
    I needed to suffer and to die

    Misreading Divinity's design
    My thoughts are of a heav'nly kind

    Can eternal counsel ever fail?
    Will the purpose of God ever derail?

    I have formed the smith and his fire
    He works according to My ev'ry desire

    Her eyes were still restrained
    Blinded by crushing pain

    Your redemption is drawing nigh
    I am God, can I ever lie?

    Do not fear, nor be dismayed
    In the ground, Christ was laid

    Behold! I do a new thing
    From the depths He will spring!

    There in the crypt, the still and lifeless tomb
    Wisdom manifest on My inscrutable loom

    Hope woven in secret, the silent womb
    Only believe: the Sun awakes very soon

    Through the veil, Light will shine
    Mountains shall drip sweet wine

    A glimpse of Christ! His lovely face!
    A table in the wilderness

    From the Rock, refreshing grace
    In the howling desert place

    Lengthen your cords! Make haste!
    Do not tarry, come and taste!

    Enlarge your tent, sing, and make room
    The calves will leap, the fig will bloom

    My glory will flow, and I will rain
    I will make you a joy from age to age

    "He has answered my complaint!"
    The just shall live by his faith.

    Her heart was sweetly constrained
    By His love she leapt by faith

    * * *

    Isaiah 54:16-17
    “Behold, I have created the blacksmith
    Who blows the coals in the fire,
    Who brings forth an instrument for his work;
    And I have created the spoiler to destroy.
    No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
    And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
    You shall condemn.
    This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
    And their righteousness is from Me,”
    Says the Lord.

    Luke 6:20-23
    Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:

    “Blessed are you poor,
        For yours is the kingdom of God.
    Blessed are you who hunger now,
        For you shall be filled.
    Blessed are you who weep now,
        For you shall laugh.
    Blessed are you when men hate you,
        And when they exclude you,
        And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,
        For the Son of Man’s sake.
    Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!
        For indeed your reward is great in heaven,
        For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets."

    Isaiah 48:21
    And they did not thirst
    When He led them through the deserts;
    He caused the waters to flow from the rock for them;
    He also split the rock, and the waters gushed out.

    From John Piper's "Let the Nations Be Glad: The Supremacy of God in Missions" (Baker Books: Grand Rapids, 1993), 65-66:

    Victory Even From Inside the Tomb

       It will often look as though Christ is defeated. That's the way it looked on Good Friday. He let himself be libeled and harassed and scorned and shoved around and killed. But in it all he was in control. "No one takes [my life] from me" (John 10:18). So it will always be. If China was closed for 40 years to the western missionaries, it was not as thought Jesus accidentally slipped and fell into the tomb. He stepped in. And when it was sealed over, he saved 50 million Chinese from inside––without western missionaries. And when it was time, he pushed the stone away so we could see what he had done.

       When it looks like he is buried for good, Jesus is doing something awesome in the dark. "The kingdom of God is like a man who scattered seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises, night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows, but he knows not how" (Mark 4:26-27). The world thinks Jesus is done for––out of the way. They think his word is buried and his plans have failed.

       But Jesus is at work in the dark places. "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (John 12:24). He lets himself be buried, and he comes out in power when and where he pleases. And his hands are full of fruit made in the dark. "God loosed him from the pangs of death because it was not possible for him to be held by it" (Acts 2:24). Jesus goes about his invincible missionary plan "by the power of an indestructible life" (Hebrews 7:16).

       For twenty centuries the world has given it their best shot to hold him in. They can't bury him. They can't hold him in. They can't silence him or limit him. Jesus is alive and utterly free to go and come wherever he pleases. "All authority in heaven" is his. All things were made through him and for him, and he is absolutely supreme over all other powers (Colossians 1:16-17). He upholds the universe by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:3). And the preaching of the word is THE work of missions that cannot fail.


    * * *

    Romans 11:33-36
    Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
    How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

    “For who has known the mind of the Lord?
    Or who has become His counselor?”
    “Or who has first given to Him
    And it shall be repaid to him?”

    For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever.
    Amen.

    Related:

    Isaiah 54, Psalm 23, Jeremiah 31.

    Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

    Photo credits:

  • "The inestimable Benefits of Christ's Death, inferred from the excellency of his Person"

    The inestimable Benefits of Christ's Death, inferred from the excellency of his Person.
    by Joseph Hart

    Part I.

    1  The things on earth which men esteem,
            And of their richness boast,
         In value, less or greater seem,
            Proportion'd to their cost.

    2  The diamond, that’s for thousands sold,
           Our admiration draws;
         For dust, men seldom part with gold;
            Or barter pearls for straws.

    3  Then what inestimable worth
            Must in those crowns appear,
         For which the Lord came down to earth,
            And bought for us so dear?

    4  The Father dearly loves the Son,
            And rates his merits high.
         For no mean cause he sent him down
            To suffer, grieve, and die.

    5  The blessings from his death that flow,
            So little we esteem,
         Only because we slightly know,
            And meanly value, him.

    6  ’Twas our Creator for us bled,
            The Lord of life and power;
         Whom angels worship, devils dread,
            God blest for evermore.

    7  Oh! could we but with clearer eyes
           His excellencies trace;
        Could we his person learn to prize,
           We more should prize his grace.

    Part II.

    1  And did the darling Son of God
           For sinners, deign to bleed?
        The purchase of that precious blood
           Must needs be rich indeed.

    2  God’s wisdom would not pay for toys
           So great a price as this.
        ’Tis God-like glory, boundless joys;
            ’Tis unexampled bliss.

    3  Saints, raise your expectations high;
           Hope all that heaven has good;
        Think what the blood of Christ can buy;
           Invaluable blood!
    4  Eye has not seen, nor ear hath heard,
           Nor can the heart conceive,
        What blessings are for them prepar'd
           Who in the Lord believe.

    5  By others, for their virtue fair,
           Let rich rewards be sought;
        Give me, my God, to freely share
           What thou hast freely bought.

    Matthew 13:44  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.  45  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 46  Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
    Matthew 16:15  He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar–jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

    I Corinthians 2:6  Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: 7  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 8  Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11  For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15  But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 16  For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

    Have the eyes of your understanding been enlightened to behold the all-surpassing excellency of the Treasure?

    Psalm 27:4  One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.

    Psalm 84:10  For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

    Song of Solomon 3:1  By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. 2  I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. 3  The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? 4  It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go...

    Psalm 63:8a  My soul followeth hard after thee

    Psalm 73:25  Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. 26  My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. 27  For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. 28  But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.

    Philippians 3:7  But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10  That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11  If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 12  Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 13  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 15  Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.


    If you have beheld the excellency of Christ's person,
    if you have begun to grasp the inestimable benefits of His death,
    if you have tasted His unexampled bliss,
    how can you settle for any lesser treasure?

    For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
     (Luke 12:34)

    “Thursday, Oct. 21 [1742]. Had a very deep sense of the vanity of the world most of the day; had little
    more regard to it than if I had been to go into eternity the next hour. Through divine goodness, I
    felt very serious and solemn. O, I love to live on the brink of eternity, in my views and meditations!
    This gives me a sweet, awful, and reverential sense and apprehension of God and divine things,
    when I see myself as it were standing before the judgment-seat of Christ."

    "Tuesday, Dec. 9 [1740]. I was in a comfortable frame of soul most of the day; but especially in evening
    devotions, when God was pleased wonderfully to assist and strengthen me; so that I thought nothing
    should ever move me from the love of God in Christ Jesus my Lord. O! one hour with God infinitely
    exceeds all the pleasures and delights of this lower world."
    (David Brainerd's Journals)

    Reference: "The Death and Excellency of Christ," Hymns 803 and 803A in Gadsby's Hymnal. Please note: I edited the hymns found there to reflect the text of Joseph Hart's Hymn 76 (pp. 114-115) in "Hymns Composed on Various Subjects" (1811) by Joseph Hart. I highly recommend your reading Joseph Hart's account of his own experience found on page vii.

    Related:

    My other posts on Lent & the Resurrection

    Some other hymns of Joseph Hart:

    And these posts...

    Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

  • Lenten Reflections: "He looked round about upon all things, but as yet said nothing."

    As I was reviewing some of the chronology of Passion Week, this verse stood out to me:

    Mark 11:11  And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve. (KJV)

    "He came to the temple, and took a view of the present state of it, 11. He looked round about upon all things, but as yet said nothing. He saw many disorders there, but kept silence, Ps. l. 21. Though he intended to suppress them, he would not go about the doing of it all on a sudden, lest he should seem to have done it rashly; he let things be as they were for this night, intending the next morning to apply himself to the necessary reformation, and to take the day before him. We may be confident that God sees all the wickedness that is in the world, though he do not presently reckon for it, nor cast it out. Christ, having make his remarks upon what he saw in the temple, retired in the evening to a friend's house at Bethany, because there he would be more out of the noise of the town, and out of the way of being suspected, a designing to head a faction."
     
    – Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on Mark 11


    Consider Him who is greater than the temple!

    The Lord Jesus Christ is the One who is greater than the temple (Matthew 12:6)!

    Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation). Not with the blood of not by means of the blood of goats and calves but with His own blood, He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:11-12, 24).

    He is a Minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord erected, and not man! (See Heb. 8:1-6.) Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us (Heb. 9:24).

    He is the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, superior to Moses since Moses was a servant – Christ as a Son over His [God's] own house (see Heb. 3:1-6). He is superior to the Old Testament priests and priesthood because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood, and He is guarantor of a better covenant; because He was sinless had no need to offer sacrifices for Himself (see Heb. 7:20-28). (All that only gives a little glimpse. I encourage you to read through the Heb. 1:1-10:18 to see Christ's all-surpassing superiority to the earthly!)

    And yet, that very day in Jerusalem, as the Lord Jesus Christ – the Son of God incarnate, the Messiah, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Prince of Peace – entered into the temple, what did He do? Jesus looked round about at all things ––– and He kept silence!

    Would that we might follow our Lord's wise and patient example! Would that I might follow my Lord's wise and patient example!

    Let every man... for the glory of God

    Too often we flat-out disregard and disobey God's commandment in James 1:19-20:

    So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

    Let every man... No exceptions there... No loopholes!

    Too often I've been impetuous, and out of my fleshly, impatient heart have flowed unsanctified words, words which have brought no glory to God! Too often I've been like Moses:

    Numbers 20:2 Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. 3 And the people contended with Moses and spoke, saying: “If only we had died when our brethren died before the Lord! 4 Why have you brought up the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here? 5 And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink.” 6 So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and they fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them.

    7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 8 “Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.” 9 So Moses took the rod from before the Lord as He commanded him.

    10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.

    12 Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”

    God is all about having His name hallowed. We too easily and nonchalantly and flippantly and smugly jump ahead in the Lord's prayer to "Give me this day my daily bread..." We're all about "Give me! Give me!" We're no different than the young child who is whining at the supermarket check-out line for a treat, or two toddlers who are in tug of war over a single toy: "Gimme! Gimme!" We too quickly forget about the very first portion of the prayer:


    Our Father, which art in heaven
    Hallowed by Thy name

    In contrast to our "Gimmes!" God is saying to us: "Enough of you, you, you! Give Me the glory due My name! Give Me the glory due My name in all your activities! Give Me the glory due My name with your tongue!" We are created for God's glory (Isaiah 43:7), and there are times when God puts us into situations where the way we give Him glory is to look round about upon all things and be silent!

    Oh, I know it really doesn't make sense to us, as we look at it from a fleshly perspective, and it really grates on our flesh to be silent – we all want to have our own say, and we all want to have the last word – and I'll add here, these may sometimes be in regard to matters that don't revolve around us directly:  there may be injustice and oppression happening to the least of these, and there may be false teaching and apostasy rising up in the visible church, all of which is very grievous to us (and to God) – but God's thoughts and God's ways are higher than ours! Let us remember remember this instance in Mark 11:11, in which Jesus Himself, the Servant who had been given the tongue of the learned and could speak a word in season to refresh the weary (Isaiah 50:4-5), kept silence for a time!  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... The Word became flesh and dwelt among us – and yet at this moment, the Word was silent!

    We all know the struggle, and James writes of it in chapter 3... But no man came tame the tongue... Yes – no man... Mark 10:27 But looking at them, Jesus said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."

    As Christians, we have no excuses. We can't say, "I'm sensitive; I can't help it," or "You don't really know this situation and these people I have to deal with day in and day out. I have got to say something!" That's no way we should talk if we really are new creations in Christ! If we are truly concerned about the glory of God in a situation, we can trust God's timing, and if and when He wants us to speak, He will give us the opportunity to do so – but let us be careful not to grieve His Holy Spirit and speak when we ought not to, or to speak a moment too soon! And all the time, we must not neglect to take these burdens to God in prayer... pray without ceasing (I Thes. 5:17).


    Ecclesiastes 3
    1 To everything there is a season,
    A time for every purpose under heaven:

    2 A time to be born,
        And a time to die;
    A time to plant,
        And a time to pluck what is planted;
    3 A time to kill,
        And a time to heal;
    A time to break down,
        And a time to build up;
    4 A time to weep,
        And a time to laugh;
    A time to mourn,
        And a time to dance;
    5 A time to cast away stones,
        And a time to gather stones;
    A time to embrace,
        And a time to refrain from embracing;
    6 A time to gain,
        And a time to lose;
    A time to keep,
        And a time to throw away;
    7 A time to tear,
        And a time to sew;
    A time to keep silence,
        And a time to speak;
    8 A time to love,
        And a time to hate;
    A time of war,
        And a time of peace.

    Ecclesiastes 5
    1 Walk prudently when you go to the house of God;
    and draw near to hear
    rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil.

    2 Do not be rash with your mouth,
    And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God.
    For God is in heaven, and you on earth;
    Therefore let your words be few.
    3 For a dream comes through much activity,
    And a fool’s voice is known by his many words.

    I realize this passage in Ecclesiastes 5 is dealing with vows, but the principle applies in a general sense regarding all our communications. All too often we are rash with our mouths, and we run off at our mouths, rather than submit ourselves (mouths and all!) to God and be willing to look round about upon all things like our Lord, and then to run off into our closets and pour out our hearts to God, and trusting in Him and waiting on Him and entrusting ourselves to Him. Psalm 62:8 Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Those who trust in Him will never be ashamed or disappointed!

    God's people and waiting

    In the Bible and throughout Church history, we see God having His people wait all the time; that is part of God's sanctifying work in our souls. (All the more reason for us to keep in the Word of God, for these things are written as an example to us! – as well to read Church history and Christian biography!) We all find it excruciating to wait because we would all rather do any and all things but wait! However: No temptation has overtaken you but is common to man... (See I Cor. 10:1-13).

    We may turn a few pages in our Bibles, and we see Abraham and Sarah finally having baby Isaac – or we see the Israelites crossing the Jordan – and so on – but we too quickly forget about the years and years and years of waiting ... and waiting ... and waiting! Heb. 6:11-12 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises... We need God's powerful Holy Spirit to strengthen us to wait! Have you ever thought of it that way? We may ask God for power to do, do, do – but how often do we ask God for power to wait on Him? Colossians 1:11 Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy... How often do we ask God for power to look round about upon all things and be silent? How often do we ask God for power to be importunate in prayer?

    Like Jesus, Nehemiah looked round about upon all things

    I love the story of Nehemiah. Even while he was in Persia, 1000 miles away from Jerusalem, from the reports he's heard, he's deeply grieved at the condition of the city and of God's people – for both are a reproach and dishonor to God. Nehemiah has been given such a spiritual sight of the ruins because He had already been given a spiritual sight of the glory of God. The captives had begun returning from exile over sixty years before this time, and though the temple had been rebuilt (after some delay), both the walls and the gates of the city of Jerusalem remained unbuilt. After hearing this news, Nehemiah pour out his heart in prayer for several months and cries in repentance and confession and supplications to God (Neh. 1). Then, in God's sovereignty, King Artaxerxes is moved to permit Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem to rebuild (Neh. 2). Nehemiah takes the journey to Jerusalem. So you think after all that waiting and after the great burden God had given him, that Nehemiah would be chomping at the bit to get right down to the work of rebuilding... But what does Nehemiah do once he's arrived in Jerusalem? Following in the steps of the Lord Jesus, Nehemiah takes a little ride around the ruins, so he too might look round about upon all things:

    11 So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days. 12 Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there any animal with me, except the one on which I rode. 13 And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and the Refuse Gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were burned with fire. 14 Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to pass. 15 So I went up in the night by the valley, and viewed the wall; then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. 16 And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done; I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the others who did the work.

    Yes, afterwards Nehemiah does speak of all God had been putting into his heart, but that came only after this time of surveying the city. How can we really explain that a people who for years and years were so sluggish and apathetic as to the condition of Jerusalem suddenly shout out in response to Nehemiah these words: "Let us rise up and build!"? It appears that their embracing the work God had for them was conditioned upon Nehemiah moving and acting in obedience to God's will – and God's will included Nehemiah's nighttime ride around Jerusalem to look round about upon all things.


    Psalm 141
    1 Lord, I cry out to You;
    Make haste to me!
    Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You.
    2 Let my prayer be set before You as incense,
    The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

    3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
    Keep watch over the door of my lips.
    4 Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
    To practice wicked works
    With men who work iniquity;
    And do not let me eat of their delicacies.

    May God give us holy appetites, that Christ's food would be our food,
    and our lips would only be opened in accord with our Father's will for us.

    John 4:34
    Jesus saith to them,
    "My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to finish His work."

    Related:

    Lenten Reflections: He answered nothing...But Jesus still answered nothing.
    Lenten Reflections: the servant's tongue
    Why Naphtali?
    Why Naphtali? – Revisited
    Communication: Naphtali style
    Communication Naphtali Style: Jonathan Edwards
    "As soon as the ball left my hand"....The Power of the Tongue
    my deep concern for the churches
    Father, forgive me for joking
    "Satan tempted me to hold my tongue..." (Whitefield)
    William Perkins on Isaiah 6 and the tongue
    Your word & my tongue
    dedication 2010 (addendum): may He temper my tongue with love
    the dogs and the pigs (from the archives)
    from the archives: "How do we know if we're speaking the truth in love?"
    You whine and complain (Letter 70 on assurance & fighting for joy)
    As I abide in the Vine ~ the minister's meditation on the tongue
    "ALL public work must be subservient to my prayer work." (Evan Roberts)
    the journey to Jericho (Joshua 4-6): the journey of dependence on the LORD
    update/prayer requests - July 8, 2010
    You speak as one of the foolish women would speak ~ Job 2:9-10
    one way or the other God will be glorified (Bible Reading - Numbers 20)
    "today's a new day" (pressing on through sin, failure, fear & doubt)

    My posts on Nehemiah including:

    Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

    Scripture quotations marked KJV taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

    Work found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brooklyn_Museum_-_Reconstruction_of_Jerusalem_and_the_Temple_of_Herod_(R%C3%A9constitution_de_J%C3%A9rusalem_et_du_temple_d%27H%C3%A9rode)_-_James_Tissot.jpg  / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Public Domain

naphtali_deer

About me...

Christian hedonist in training. Pressing on to know more and more of the joy of the LORD. Pleading with God to rend the heavens and revive and refresh my own soul, as well as His Church, to His praise, honor and glory.

Thank God. He can make men and women in middle life sing again with a joy that has been chastened by a memory of their past failures. ~ Alan Redpath

My other websites

tent of meeting: Prayer for reformation & revival

(See also Zechariah821. Zechariah821 is a mirror site of tent of meeting, found on WordPress)

deerlifetrumpet: Encouragement for those seeking reformation & revival in the Church

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