19 April 2014 - A reflection

I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.

2 Samuel 7:14-15

Lord God of hosts, You alone are great.
Indeed Almighty is awesome
For You are faithful to Your promises to Your servant
You redeemed me with the blood of Your Son
Sanctified me with Your Spirit, and
Still sanctifying and transforming me to the likeness of Your Son
You disciplines me whenever I sinned against You
Your staff pull me back tenderly when I gone astray from Your path
You carries me with Your loving mighty arm
When I fell to the ground and bruised
Truly bruised reed You do not break
Faintly burning wick You do not quench
But You shows steadfast love to Your people
According to Your covenantal mercy

Therefore LORD of hosts, my LORD, my God
Teach me Your way, O LORD
That I may walk in Your truth
Unite my heart to fear Your name
That I will after Your heart all my life
Strengthen me when I am weak
Bring me back to You when I am lost
Discipline me when I become stubborn
Soften my heart that I be mold by Your statute
Produce in me a thirst for Your truth
Create in me a hunger for Your righteousness
May my life bring forth Your glory
May my life show forth Your grace
May Your kindness be sure in my path
May Your faithfulness be firm on my way
That Your name will be great
And the world will bring You praise

In the name of Jesus Christ, my LORD, my God, my Savior, Amen  

Psalm 77

I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
in the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
When I remember God, I moan;
When I meditate, my spirit faints.

You hold my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
I consider the days of old,
the years long ago.
I said, “Let me remember my song in the night;
Let me meditate in my heart.”
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
“Will the Lord spurn forever
and never again be favorable?
Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?

Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”

I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
You have made known your might among the peoples.
You with your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph.

When the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
Indeed, the deep trembled.
The clouds poured out water;
the skies gave forth thunder;
your arrows flashed on every side.
The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lighted up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
Your way was through the sea,
your path through the great water;
yet your footprints were unseen.
You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

*******

What do we do when we are stressed?
When we doubt God? When we unsure of His grace, faithfulness?
When we ‘don’t feel’ His presence?
When we tremble before Him, don’t know what to pray?
When we face all kind of pressure within and without us?

The psalmist poured out his heart.
He cried aloud to Him. Then,
he pondered and meditate on the work of the Lord.
The ancient mighty deeds He did
when He brought His people out from the land of slavery

Today too, let us learn to focus on Him.
Lives is never easy. Especially since Adam sinned.
But we add our sorrowness upon that root: we sin, too.
We make our lives more miserable
when we focus on problems, instead of Him

Here is the solution: focus on God
think of Him, meditate of His deed
Remember how He led His army from Egypt?
Remember how He opened the sea with His mighty deed?
He is Almighty, the Holy One, no other gods match Him

So take heart! He never forget!
His path through the water is unseen
Likewise His wondrous work in our lives
Tough often unseen to us, yet
He works marvel us when we are delivered

So praise Him! Give Him glory! For He deserves that!
He is the Holy One of Israel
and we His people
Whom He chosen in Christ
Surely, He will shepherd us till we see Him face to face

Lord God, Jesus Christ my Savior
Save me

*******

Psalms 118:14
The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.

Hebrews 10:26-27

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, for a fury of fire that will consume the adversary.

LORD
You are good
Full of compassion
Hence
You give me Your truth
Showing to me
How wonderful Your salvation

Help me to live a holy life
For without it no one shall see You
Preserve me
So that I endure through
This wilderness till the coming age

In the name of the High Priest
Who shed His blood
Accomplish the salvation once for all
For all who believe and endure till the end
Amen

LORD, help me!

Search me, O LORD, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting!
~ Psalms 139:23-24

LORD, prepare my heart
to speak Thy works in me
to tell the Truth
and Truth alone
to Thy glory

In about six months time
I shall stand before the saints

To witness to Your wonderful deed

In changing a lost and filthy soul

To one hated of the world

And hate the world

For Your glory

LORD, help me

This wondrous child of Yours

Who once lost his ways in darkest hour

Now in Your glorious bright light shower

Live the way everlasting hour

LORD, search me and try me

Cleanse me of all impurity

That I may present myself pure

To Thy glory sure

May You receives Your glory

Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. (Job 1:21)

… a time to be born, and a time to die; … a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; … He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, 12)

You are life, and life comes from You.
Therefore I say, ‘May You receives Your glory.’
You are the Giver of life
And You has all the right to take it away

May You comforts those are mourning
Grants us hope in You
Let Your peace be with us
Shower Your grace on us
That we may declare and sing Yours praise

And strengthen Your servant’s hands
My Lord
So that amidst wavering flood of tears
Your servant will not be drown to despair
But rise up like eagle to
Declare Your mercy and grace
Proclaim Your majesty and praise
Amen

Undeserving Grace

John 3:16             For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

2 Co 5:17              Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

1 Jn 1:8-9             If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

John 15:1-8         I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

Gal 5:22-23          But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Psalms 86:1-7     [A prayer of David] Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you – you are my God. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day. Gladden my soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me.

1 Co 10:13            No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Act 1:8                  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.      

A Sinner's Prayer

O God, You know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from You. (Ps 69:5)

Answer me, O LORD, for Your steadfast love is good; according to Your abundant mercy, turn to me. Hide not Your face from Your servant; for I am in distress; make haste to answer me. Draw near to my soul, redeem me; ransom me because of my enemies! (Ps 69:16-18)

But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay! (Ps 70:5)

But I will hope continually and will praise You yet more and more. My mouth will tell of Your righteous acts, of Your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge. With the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD I will come; I will remind them of Your righteousness, Yours alone.
O God, from my youth You have taught me, and I still proclaim Your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim Your might to another generation, Your power to all those to come. Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens.
You who have done great things, O God, who is like you? You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth You will bring me up again. You will increase my greatness and comfort me again.(Ps 71:14-21)

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” (John 5:14)

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that You have broken rejoice.
Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. (Ps 51:7-12)

Satisfy us in the morning with Your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. (Ps 90:14)