Gracious is the Lord, and righteous...

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;

    our God is merciful.

The Lord preserves the simple;

    when I was brought low, he saved me.

Return, O my soul, to your rest;

    for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

       -Psalm 116:5-7

God is our refuge and strength..."Psalm 46"

"Psalm 46" 

The Corner Room 

 God is our refuge and strength,

A very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,

Though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

Though its waters roar and foam,

Though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city...of God,

The holy habitation of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;

God will help her when morning dawns.

The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;

He utters his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come, behold the works of the Lord,

How he has brought desolations on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

He burns the chariots with fire.

“Be still, and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!”

The Lord of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our fortress.

Humble yourselves, therefore...

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.   -1 Peter 5:6-11

If you think to build a high house of virtues, lay first a deep foundation of humility.  -Augustine

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven...

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,

    whose sin is covered.

Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,

    and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away

    through my groaning all day long.

For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;

    my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. 

I acknowledged my sin to you,

    and I did not cover my iniquity;

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”

    and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. 

           -Psalm 32:1-5

The grandest fact under heaven is this—that Christ by his precious blood does actually put away sin, and that God, for Christ’s sake, dealing with men on terms of divine mercy, forgives the guilty and justifies them, not according to anything that he sees in them or foresees will be in them, but according to the riches of his mercy which lie in his own heart.  -CH Spurgeon

In this you rejoice...

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 

-1 Peter 1:6-7

Faith always means helplessness. In many cases it means: I can do it with a great deal of trouble, but another can do it better. But in most cases it is utter helplessness; another must do it for me. And that is the secret of the spiritual life.  

-Andrew Murray Image

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial...

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. -James 1:12

God never strikes but in love, nor takes away save to give again. I pray Him to comfort you, to preserve your health, and to turn your heart wholly to Himself. Blessed is he who lives in faith, trusts to none save God, and uses this world as though he were already beyond it.    -François Fénelon

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord...

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.  See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 

-Colossians 2:6-10

Let us therefore without ceasing hold fast by our hope and by the earnest of our righteousness, which is Jesus Christ who took up our sins in His own body upon the tree, who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth, but for our sakes He endured all things, that we might live in Him. Let us therefore become imitators of His endurance; and if we should suffer for His name’s sake, let us glorify Him. For He gave this example to us in His own person, and we believed this.   -Polycarp

“O Lord, Thou knowest.”

But, as it is written,

 “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,

     nor the heart of man imagined,

 what God has prepared for those who love him”—

   these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.  -1 Corinthians 2:9-11

God will not hold us responsible to understand the mysteries of election, predestination, and the divine sovereignty. The best and safest way to deal with these truths is to raise our eyes to God and in deepest reverence say, “O Lord, Thou knowest.” Those things belong to the deep and mysterious Profound of God’s omniscience. Prying into them may make theologians, but it will never make saints.   

-A.W. Tozer

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross

 

 Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross

 Keith and Kristyn Getty, Sandra McCracken 

Vs 1

Jesus, keep me near the cross

There a precious fountain

Free to all, a healing stream,

Flows from Calv’ry’s mountain

Chorus

In the cross, in the cross

Be my glory ever

Till my ransomed soul shall find

Rest beyond the river

Vs 2

Near the cross my trembling soul

Heard the Savior calling

There He died that I may know

Grace and peace abounding

Vs 3

Near the cross! O Lamb of God,

Bring its scenes before me

Help me walk from day to day

With its shadow o’er me

Vs 4

Near the cross! My heart will stay

Hoping, trusting ever

Till my eyes shall see the face

Of my blessed Savior

The Christian is the real radical of our generation...

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” John 14:6-7

The Christian is the real radical of our generation, for he stands against the monolithic, modern concept of truth as relative. But too often, instead of being the radical, standing against the shifting sands of relativism, he subsides into merely maintaining the status quo. If it is true that evil is evil, that God hates it to the point of the cross, and that there is a moral law fixed in what God is in Himself, then Christians should be the first into the field against what is wrong.   -Francis A. Schaeffer

Therefore you also must be ready...

Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.   -Matthew 24:42-44

Fear not the storm...

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”   -Matthew 8:23-27 Image

Fear not the storm, it brings healing in its wings, and when Jesus is with you in the vessel, the tempest only hastens the ship to its desired haven.   -CH Spurgeon

And this is the confidence that we have toward him...

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. -1 John 5:14-15

God will either give you what you ask, or something far better.

-Robert Murray M’Cheyne

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice...

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;

    let them ever sing for joy,

and spread your protection over them,

    that those who love your name may exult in you.

For you bless the righteous, O Lord;

    you cover him with favor as with a shield.

-Psalm 5:11-12

The blessed and inviting truth is that God is the most winsome of all beings and in our worship of Him we should find unspeakable pleasure.   -A.W. Tozer

You did not choose me, but I chose you...

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. -John 15:16 Image

“A soul filled with large thoughts of the Vine will be a strong branch, and will abide confidently in Him. Be much occupied with Jesus, and believe much in Him, as the True Vine.”  ―Andrew Murray

I Will Wait For You (Psalm 130)

 

 I Will Wait For You (Psalm 130)

Jordan Kauflin

Verse 1

Out of the depths I cry to You

In darkest places I will call

Incline Your ear to me anew

And hear my cry for mercy Lord

Verse 2

Were You to count my sinful ways

How could I come before Your throne

Yet full forgiveness meets my gaze

I stand redeemed by grace alone

Chorus

I will wait for You

I will wait for You

On Your word, I will rely

I will wait for You

Surely wait for You

'Til my soul is satisfied

Verse 3

So put your hope in God alone

Take courage in His pow’r to save

Completely and forever won

By Christ emerging from the grave

Chorus

Verse 4

Now He has come to make a way

And God Himself has paid the price

That all who trust in Him today

Find healing in His sacrifice

Tag

That all who trust in Him today

Find healing in His sacrifice

Chorus

Chorus 2

I will wait for You

I will wait for You

Through the storm and through the night

I will wait for You

Surely wait for You

For Your love is my delight

For the invasion of my soul by Thy Holy Spirit...

You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. -2 Corinthians 2:2-3 Image

For the invasion of my soul by Thy Holy Spirit:

For all human love and goodness that speak to me of Thee:

For the fullness of Thy glory outpoured in Jesus Christ

I give Thee thanks, O God.    

-John Baillie

Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God...

And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. -1 John 3:23-24  Image

A genuine Christian should be a walking mystery because he surely is a walking miracle. Through the leading and the power of the Holy Spirit, the Christian is involved in a daily life and habit that cannot be explained.  -A.W. Tozer

“Ask, and it will be given to you..."

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! -Matthew 7:7-11

Such is our dependence upon God that we are obliged not only to do everything for His sake, but also to seek from Him the very power. This happy necessity of having recourse to Him in all our wants, instead of being grievous to us, should be our greatest consolation. What a happiness is it, that we are allowed to speak to Him with confidence, to open our hearts and hold familiar conversation with him by prayer! He Himself invites us to it.  -François Fénelon

For his anger is but for a moment...

For his anger is but for a moment,

    and his favor is for a lifetime.

Weeping may tarry for the night,

    but joy comes with the morning.

-Psalm 30:5

We who live in this nervous age would be wise to meditate on our lives and our days long and often before the face of God and on the edge of eternity. For we are made for eternity as surely as we are made for time, and as responsible moral beings we must deal with both.  -A.W. Tozer

Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes...

Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes;

    and I will keep it to the end.

Give me understanding, that I may keep your law

    and observe it with my whole heart.

Lead me in the path of your commandments,

    for I delight in it.

Incline my heart to your testimonies,

    and not to selfish gain!

 -Psalm 119:33-36

A loving Personality dominates the Bible...

When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” -Luke 24:30-32 Image

A loving Personality dominates the Bible, walking among the trees of the garden and breathing fragrance over every scene. Always a living Person is present, speaking, pleading, loving, working, and manifesting himself whenever and wherever his people have the receptivity necessary to receive the manifestation.  -A.W. Tozer

Holy Forever

 

Holy Forever 

CeCe Winans

A thousand generations 

Falling down in worship

To sing the song of ages to the Lamb

And all who've gone before us 

And all who will believe

Will sing the song of ages to the Lamb

Your name is the highest

Your name is the greatest

Your name stands above them all

All thrones and dominions

All powers and positions

Your name stands above them all

And the angels cry, Holy

All creation cries, Holy

You are lifted high, Holy

Holy forever

If you've been forgiven 

And if you've been redeemed

Sing the song forever to the Lamb

If you walk in freedom 

And if you bear His name

Sing the song forever to the Lamb

We'll sing the song forever and amen

And the angels cry, Holy

All creation cries, Holy

You are lifted high, Holy

Holy forever

Hear Your people sing, Holy

To the King of Kings, Holy

You will always be, Holy

Holy forever

Your name is the highest

Your name is the greatest

Your name stands above them all

All thrones and dominions

All powers and positions

Your name stands above them all

Jesus

Your name is the highest

Your name is the greatest

Your name stands above them all 

Above all thrones and dominions

All powers and positions

Your name stands above them all

And the angels cry, Holy

All creation cries, Holy

You are lifted high, Holy

Holy forever 

Hear Your people sing, Holy

To the King of Kings, Holy 

You will always be, Holy

Holy forever

You will always be, Holy

Holy forever

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness...

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. -Romans 8:26-27

It is not necessary to maintain a conversation when we are in the presence of God. We can come into His presence and rest our weary souls in quiet contemplation of Him. Our groanings, which cannot be uttered, rise to Him and tell Him better than words how dependent we are upon Him.   -O. Hallesby

Jesus! Where’er Thy people meet...

Jesus! Where’er Thy people meet,

There they behold Thy mercy-seat;

Where’er they seek Thee, Thou art found,

And every place is hallow’d ground.

 

Dear Shepherd of Thy chosen few!

Thy former mercies here renew;

Here to our waiting hearts proclaim

The sweetness of Thy saving name.

    -William Cowper Image

“I will make with them a covenant of peace..."

“I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke, and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. And I will provide for them a renowned place for planting so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land, and no longer suffer the reproach of the nations. -Ezekiel 34:25-29

What we have been told is how we men can be drawn into Christ—can become part of that wonderful present which the young Prince of the universe wants to offer to His Father—that present which is Himself and therefore us in Him. It is the only thing we were made for. And there are strange, exciting hints in the Bible that when we are drawn in, a great many other things in Nature will begin to come right. The bad dream will be over: it will be morning.-C.S. Lewis

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses...

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.  -Hebrews 12:1-2 Image

We get our moral bearings by looking at God. We must begin with God. We are right when, and only when, we stand in a right position relative to God, and we are wrong so far and so long as we stand in any other position.-A.W. Tozer

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me...

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. -Jeremiah 29:12-13

Faith is to the soul what life is to the body. Prayer is to faith what breath is to the body. How a person can live and not breathe is past my comprehension, and how a person can believe and not pray is past my comprehension too. -J.C. Ryle

When you walk through fire you shall not be burned...

When you pass through the waters, 

I will be with you;

    and through the rivers, 

they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire 

you shall not be burned,

    and the flame shall not consume you.

-Isaiah 43:2

Image

As sure as ever God puts his children in the furnace, 

He will be in the furnace with them.  -CH Spurgeon

Your Word Endures

 

Your Word Endures 

 Sovereign Grace Music

VERSE 1

Your Word, O God, endures, 

unbound and never-changing 

Your promises are sure, Your purposes unfailing 

You speak and earth and heaven shake, 

oceans roar, stars awake

VERSE 2 

Your Word, O God, endures, 

it binds the broken-hearted 

With riches for the poor and light for those in darkness

You speak and free the captive slave,

dead are raised from the grave

CHORUS

Your word is forever, holds all things together 

Your heart revealed with mercy unreserved 

Your Word, O God, endures

VERSE 3

Your Word, O God, endures 

revealing your salvation

It sanctifies your church through every generation

You speak and we behold Your Son, 

Word made flesh, God with us

CHORUS

Your word is forever, holds all things together 

Your heart revealed with mercy unreserved 

Your word is forever, our joy and our treasure  

Your matchless works and wisdom seen and heard 

Your Word, O God, endures

Your Word, O God, endures

The spiritual life is a stern choice...

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. 1 John 3:16-18

The spiritual life is a stern choice. It is not a consoling retreat from the difficulties of existence, but an invitation to enter fully into that difficult existence, and there apply the Charity of God and bear the cost.  -Evelyn Underhill