Posted in Uncategorized on December 30, 2022| 24 Comments »
Steve and I have been reveling in the presence of our happy family the past week. May you and yours also be creating glorious memories to enjoy for years to come.
I’ll be back with a new post next Thursday, January 5!
Photo credit: http://www.canva.com
Posted in Christmas, God's Presence, Praise, Uncategorized, Worship, tagged Matthew 1:22-23 on December 22, 2022| 26 Comments »
Who better to expound on the wonder of God’s presence with us than the eloquent Charles Spurgeon:
“Immanuel, God with us.”
Satan trembles at the sound of it . . .
Let him come to you suddenly,
and do you but whisper that word, “God with us,”
back he falls, confounded and confused . . .
“God with us” is the laborer’s strength.
How could he preach the gospel,
how could he bend his knees in prayer,
how could the missionary go into foreign lands,
how could the martyr stand at the stake,
how could the confessor own his Master,
how could men labor if that one word were taken away?
“God with us” is eternity’s sonnet,
heaven’s hallelujah,
the shout of the glorified,
the song of the redeemed,
the chorus of the angels,
the everlasting oratorio of the great orchestra of the sky.
-Charles Spurgeon
The Treasury of the Old Testament, III:430
* * * * * * * * * *
Oh, for words to praise you rightly, Heaven Father, for the glory of “God with us!” Thank You, Lord Jesus, for coming to earth to be our Immanuel, for gracing us with your ceaseless presence.
We stand in awe of what Immanuel means. In addition to the strength Spurgeon mentions here, you provide comfort, encouragement, peace, joy, and more.
May we never take for granted this precious reality!
Photo credit: http://www.dailyverses.net
Posted in Blessings, Christmas, God's Goodness, God's Grace, God's Provision, God's Salvation, Jesus, Joy, Meditation, Praise, Renewing the Mind, Salvation, Uncategorized, Worship, tagged God's Blessings, God's Salvation, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Life with Jesus, Prince of Peace, Sun of Righteousness on December 15, 2022| 31 Comments »
For the last two posts I’ve shared journal-contemplations from the first two stanzas of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” As with most hymns and praise songs, it’s easy to sing through the lyrics and miss their full significance.
But when we put pen to paper and delve into word meanings, explore implications of the lyrics, and ponder the impressions God brings to our spirits, wonderful blessings emerge: increased understanding of God and his Word, renewal of the mind, and augmented intimacy with God.
Contemplations become worship.
With those thoughts in mind, let’s savor the third stanza:
Hail, the heav’n-born Prince of Peace!
I praise You, Lord Jesus, the only One who can mediate reconciliation between the sin-prone people we are and the righteous God of heaven. Without You, we’d have no hope of eternal life.
I praise You also for the peace of mind you provide as we affirm Your attributes. By Your omnipotent strength you will uphold, and by Your omniscient wisdom You will guide, until our days on earth are complete. We are safe in Your hands (1).
Hail, the Sun of Righteousness! Light and Life to all He brings
I praise You, Lord Jesus, that Your radiant presence brings comfort, joy, and prosperity of soul.
Your Light of truth obliterates the lies of our enemy and brings us closer to You.
From Your Light shine beams of blessing such as these:
Risen with healing in His wings
I praise You, Lord God, for raising Jesus from the dead. Because He’s alive, we who believe in Him can be confident of eternal life also.
One day Your Son will come on swift wings, ready to bestow perfect healing upon all who’ve come to Him. Our healing from the sickness of sin that causes so much woe will finally be complete. There will be no more pain and suffering, no more harm and brokenness, no more sorrow or death!
But even now, Lord Jesus, just as beams from the sun bring health to every living thing, You bring health to our spirits—a deep-down contentment only You can provide (3).
Mild he lays his glory by, born that man no more may die
I praise You, Lord Jesus, for laying aside Your glory as the Son of God. You left Your celestial throne, the unceasing adoration of angels, and all the splendors of paradise to be born a helpless baby.
During your earthly life, few praised You as You deserved; many found fault with Your glorious perfections.
Nevertheless, You see worth in every human being; you desire that everyone accept God’s gift of eternal life, that “man no more may die.”
I praise You for saving us from the death-sentence of our sin (4).
Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth.
I praise You, Lord Jesus, for the transformed life You offer, raising each believer out of his plight of eternal death and into the pleasure of eternal life with You–pleasures that begin the moment we say yes to You.
Those gifts include:
One day, Lord God, You will raise all Your children into the magnificence of Your heaven! With joyful expectation we anticipate the wonders You’ve planned for us.
Thank You for making possible this second birth into Your family. All the amazing blessings highlighted in this carol come to us when we choose adoption into Your family (5).
I praise You, Lord Jesus, for providing reconciliation with God, ultimate victory over death, over-arching peace and joy, healing for the wounds of our spirits, and more.
Glory to You, my magnificent, sovereign King!
Notes:
Photo credits: Nancy Ruegg; http://www.openclipart.com; http://www.dailyverses.net; http://www.flickr.com; http://www.heartlight.org; http://www.open.life.church/resources; http://www.dailyverses.net; http://www.heartlight.org.
Posted in Blessings, Christmas, Encouragement, God's Goodness, God's Salvation, Jesus, Meditation, Praise, Salvation, Uncategorized, Worship, tagged 2 Corinthians 5:21, Emmanuel, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, John 1:14, Philippians 2:6-8, The Lordship of Christ on December 8, 2022| 34 Comments »
Last week I shared with you journal-contemplations from the first verse of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” As with most hymns and praise songs, it’s easy to sing through the lyrics of this carol and miss their full significance.
By putting pen to paper, we slow our thinking and wonderful blessings begin to emerge—like increased understanding of God and his Word, renewal of the mind, and augmented intimacy with God.
Contemplations can become worship.
With that in mind, let’s savor the second verse:
“Christ by highest heaven adored”
How glorious the music in heaven must be! Rich, clear voices, every note perfectly pitched. Intricate harmonies and faultless instrumentation.
All these sublime elements come together to worship You, Lord Christ–the Anointed One–who left the magnificence of heaven to be the Savior of humankind.
Thank you, Father, for giving us a glimpse (in the book of Revelation) of the heavenly song that celebrates King Jesus. I can’t help but hear Handel’s majestic melody from Messiah for the lyrics:
I praise You, Lord Jesus, for Your splendor!
“Christ, the everlasting Lord!”
You, O Christ, existed throughout the infinite past and will prevail into the infinite future.
Though Son of God, You are also the Eternal Father, forever with us and LORD of all. Nothing is outside Your control (1).
Power often corrupts in the human realm. But You are perfect in all attributes and motivated by matchless love.
I praise You, O Christ, for the supreme grace of Your Lordship!
“Late in time behold Him come”
To those who waited for Your arrival, You must have seemed late! Centuries had passed since the last prophecy of Your coming.
“But when the time was right,” You, O God, sent Your Son to redeem us (2).
In retrospect we can see why You chose the time of Roman rule. They had established stability in their far-reaching empire, built thousands of miles of roads, and established a common language.
Such factors meant early Christians could spread the good news about You more easily than ever before (3).
I praise You, O God, for Your masterful orchestration
that’s always in operation for the benefit of Your children!
“Offspring of the Virgin’s womb”
You are the One and Only begotten Son of the God the Father, the only Man of heavenly origin who ever lived on earth.
You committed no sin. Without that absolute perfection in You, there would be no salvation for us. God made You, who never sinned, to be sin so we could be made right with Him (4).
I praise You, Righteous Savior, for Your perfection!
“Veiled in flesh the Godhead see”
You embodied all the magnificent attributes of God during Your time on earth, yet You were also human.
You dealt with exhaustion, frustration, temptations, and discomforts, just as we do. The fullness of Your glory was veiled behind the ordinariness of Your humanity (5).
How difficult that must have been to know Your full capabilities yet continually hold Yourself in check.
I praise You, Lord Jesus, for your fierce love
that compelled You to complete such an arduous mission.
“Hail th’incarnate Deity”
No one has ever lived a sinless life except You.
No one espoused wisdom as You did or performed miracles like You.
You are the radiance of God’s glory!
I praise your for your divine holiness.
“Pleased as man with men to dwell”
You chose to come to earth and dwell among us, in spite of our self-centeredness, pride, weakness, and brokenness.
Such an incredible reality!
I praise You, O Lord, for your mercy, for wanting to be with us.
“Jesus, our Emmanuel.”
You are Emmanuel—God with us (7). Once we invite You into our lives we’re never left to our own feeble devices; we’re never without Your attentive care.
In Your presence we experience joy, refreshment, help, and pleasure (8). You enhance every moment of life with Your radiant attributes!
I praise You, O Christ, for choosing to veil Yourself in flesh that we might behold You.
I praise You for dwelling with us that might enjoy You!
Notes:
Art & photo credits: http://www.rawpixels.com; http://www.openclipart.com; http://www.pexels.com; http://www.heartlight.org; http://www.worldhistory.org; http://www.canva.com; http://www.freebibleimages.org (2); http://www.wallpaper4god.com; http://www.hippopx.com.
Posted in Christmas, Jesus, Praise, Salvation, Uncategorized, Worship, tagged Advent, Christmas, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Journaling, Worship on December 1, 2022| 28 Comments »
Some time ago, wise-and-insightful blogger Michele Morin (over at Living Our Days) shared that she was journaling through some of the old hymns. Isn’t that a brilliant idea?
I imagined her digging into the meaning of some of the rich language and theology, personalizing the truths, and/or using them as the basis for prayer.
Most often we sing through the lyrics so quickly we miss their full significance. But if we intentionally slow our thinking by putting pen or pencil to paper, we make room for wonderful blessings to emerge—blessings like increased understanding of God and his Word, renewal of the mind, and augmented intimacy with God.
Our contemplations can become worship.
So far I’ve journaled through seven hymns. For Advent I chose to contemplate a Christmas carol: Charles Wesley’s “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” which offers both rich language and theology. (The story behind the song is also interesting. You can read it here: “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing.”)
Over the next three weeks we’ll savor the three best-known verses of this carol. No doubt you’re familiar with the first:
My journaled prayer included the following.
“Hark!” the hymn writer begins, inviting me to listen with close attention. His lyrics take me back in time to that night when angels declared life-transforming news for those who embrace it:
A new King has been born—a king like no other (1)!
That’s YOU, Lord Jesus. You are the Prince of Peace, the One who offers inner tranquility to all who desire it (2), and universal, all-encompassing peace when the new heaven and the new earth are established (3).
I praise You, O Christ, for Your comforting peace
that steadies me and gives me hope.
You’re the One who bestows mercy—tender-hearted forgiveness—when I confess the wrongs I’ve committed. You’re the One who put ultimate mercy into action by “being obedient to God and dying a criminal’s death on a cross” (4).
I praise You, O Christ, for your unceasing mercy.
You have not punished me
the way I deserve, and You never will.
You’re the One who reconciled me to God (5). First, You chose to do the unthinkable, to die in my place and pay the penalty for every sin I commit.
Then You restored my broken relationship with God, as I put my trust in You and accepted Your free gift of eternal life. Because of You, I have right standing with God and access into His presence at any time.
I praise You, O Christ, for your unimaginable sacrifice,
making the impossible possible.
For all these blessings (and so much more) I rise up with Jesus-followers from around the world to sing joyful praise to You (6)!
Our voices join those of the angels to give you glory (7)–celebrating Your attributes, rejoicing in Your excellent works, and taking pleasure in the privilege of being sons and daughters of Almighty God.
I praise You, O Christ, for leaving the wonders of heaven
to be born in the humble village of Bethlehem
and live among ignoble humanity—
all for our benefit.
I praise You, O Christ, for the incredible FREE gift
of eternal ecstasy in paradise with You.
And I praise You for being my compassionate Christ,
my glorious Emancipator, and my powerful King!
Notes:
Photo credits: http://www.pxhere.com; Nancy Ruegg; http://www.openclipart.com and http://www.canva.com; http://www.negativespace.com (3); http://www.publicdomainpictures.net.
Impressions Becoming Expressions
Gaining a heart of wisdom
Christian Lifestyle Blogger
I'm Patty, and my husband and I are living with our adult son who has autism and epilepsy. I love sharing lessons learned from life around me, especially life with Aaron.
Impressions Becoming Expressions
Impressions Becoming Expressions
Impressions Becoming Expressions
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