Faith – Page 22 – He is my Delight

No Tears

March 9, 2010Eirene2 Comments

Ezekiel 24 is a very difficult passage for me to understand. The prophet’s wife died and the Lord did not allow him to grieve for her. What must it have been like for Ezekiel to obey that command? How is such a thing even possible? But Scripture records “and at evening my wife died, and the next morning I did as I was commanded.” Ezekiel 24:18

Even in his time of sorrow, the prophet was expected to represent the Lord and be faithful to his calling. There are no vacations for those who have separated themselves to God. All of life becomes focused on presenting Him to and representing Him before lost humanity.

Lord, I am too easily moved by my emotions rather than your commands. You would have me put your desires above my own, yet so often I do not. I feel the need, and even the entitlement, to indulge my feelings. Even when I know they run contrary to Your word. This is not the life You have called me to.

For you have called me to obey, in love, without reservation. You have called me to live for the One who gave all to purchase me. You have called me to forget myself and count all things loss – for You. This is the life You have called me to.

This isn’t a life for sissies.

A door for the Word

March 5, 2010Eirene1 Comment

“meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains.” Colossians 4:3

There was a time when I thought it was very important that God should open a door for my “ministry”. I prayed for this and believed for this. I look back on that time in my life now and am ashamed of myself. How utterly selfish and self-seeking those prayers were. I did want Jesus to be glorified….as long as it happened through me. And of course I would certainly remain a humble servant while being celebrated as an anointed woman of God.

As ridiculous as that sounds, that really was the essence of my thoughts at one point in my life. While I might have prayed for God to open a door for the gospel, I really wanted Him to open a door for me.

The Lord rescued me from this mindset through a great disappointment that left me hurting and heart broken for a very long time. Today I can look back at it and thank Him from the depths of my heart for it.

I still pray for God to open doors, and He still does. And while I have the privilege of walking through those doors, I understand now that they are not for me. They are for the furtherance of this great gospel of Jesus Christ.

Spurgeon quote

March 2, 2010Eirene1 Comment

From Spurgeon’s sermon “Christ Precious to Believers”

…he who really has this high estimate of Jesus will think much of him, and as the thoughts are sure to run over at the mouth, he will talk much of him. Do we so? If Jesus is precious to you, you will not be able to keep your good news to yourself; you will be whispering it into your child’s ear; you will be telling it to your husband; you will be earnestly imparting it to your friend; without the charms of eloquence you will be more than eloquent; your heart will speak, and your eyes will flash as you talk of his sweet love. Every Christian here is either a missionary or an impostor. Recollect that. You either try to spread abroad the kingdom of Christ, or else you do not love him at all. It cannot be that there is a high appreciation of Jesus and a totally silent tongue about him.

Of tents and palaces

February 21, 2010EireneLeave a comment

“One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: 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 inquire in His temple.” Psalm 27:4

If the temple had been in existence at that time, David’s longing would have been more understandable. Who wouldn’t enjoy meeting with God amidst the ornate carving and abundance of gold in Solomon’s temple?

But during the life of David there was no temple. The ark of God remained in a tabernacle of skins and curtains as it had done since the days of Moses (2 Samuel 7:2) King David had built for himself a house of cedar, certainly something grand and palatial – suitable for a king. Yet his heart longed more intensely for the tent where God was than the comfort of his own dwelling.

But kings belong in palaces David. Not tents.

Yet Almighty God dwelt in a tent, and that made it a palace to David.

In the day of trouble

February 16, 2010Eirene2 Comments

For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble they will say, ‘Arise and save us’. Jeremiah 2:27

All is well. The land is safe. There is no danger. The people of Israel plunge headlong into idolatry. No playing on the fringes of it for them. The Lord Himself says of their idolatry:

“..on every high hill and under every green tree you lay down, playing the harlot.” Jer 2:20

“…for according to the number of your cities are your gods, O Judah.” Jer. 2:28

They weren’t just experimenting with a bit of false religion here and there. They had thrown themselves into the pursuit of other gods with all their heart. But then the day of trouble came.

They may have tried to convince themselves that these idols were actually something, but deep inside they knew that when they needed a deity with power to deliver, there was only One.

Sometimes I notice this about myself. When I am facing difficulty, I pray almost continually. I cry to Him and seek comfort from Him. But in the day of ease I am easily distracted by ten thousand things and forget that I need Him just as much then. It seems that about that time another crisis hits to remind me.

Oh, that I would cling to Him in the day of ease as I do in the day of trouble!

My Quiet Love

January 1, 2010November 27, 2020Eirene4 Comments

In stillness with my heart uplifted
Unto You in the heavenlies
I search for words that lend expression
To my soul’s unspoken pleas

Something perfectly poetic
A lovely masterpiece of words
Enduring terms of adoration
Worthy of my King and Lord

But words escape me, I am silent
Thoughts disjointed, unexpressed
Unspoken praise burns deep within
And seeks release in wordlessness

I have nothing lovely for You
Just a heart that feels as though
It’s broken in a thousand pieces
Can I lay this at Your throne?

Unutterable adoration
Expressed in tears of liquid praise
May each one say what words cannot
Though I’ve tried a thousand ways

So I sit at Your feet, dear Jesus
Silently and gaze at You
Content to dwell in wordless wonder
My quiet love I give to You.

Recalculating

December 7, 2009Eirene1 Comment

“Thus says the Lord: Do not deceive yourselves, saying, ‘The Chaldeans will surely depart from us.’ For they will not depart. For though you had defeated the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained only wounded men among them, they would rise up, every man in his tent, and burn the city with fire.” Jeremiah 37:9-10

Although this passages deals with the judgment to come upon Israel, there is a principle here that is repeated throughout Scripture – of a certainty, the plans of the Lord will come to pass. So often I feel as though my bad decisions have derailed the purposes of God in my life (as though I had such power!). I have found myself believing that any good plans He had for me have been forfeited by my stumblings. However, He is not thwarted by my weakness.

I heard a pastor speaking recently about the GPS he had purchased for his car. When he made a wrong turn, the soothing voice from the GPS announced “recalculating”. Although the route had changed, the destination remained fixed.

I do desire to be obedient to all the will of God, but it just doesn’t always seem to work out that way. What a comfort it is to realize that he is able to get me to the desired destination, even in spite of me.

Surrender

December 2, 2009Eirene1 Comment

Giving up my rights, it seems
Denying my desires and dreams
Is what the Lord requires of me

Dying to all hidden pride
And self-delight that seeks to hide
In secret places deep inside

Holding nothing as my own
Empty, I approach His throne
All confidence in self is gone

See the white flag lifted high
My surrender signified
Let all of self be crucified
Until it is not I, but Christ.

Counting the cost

November 28, 2009Eirene1 Comment

This week there was a shooting in my city. It wasn’t a drug deal gone bad. It wasn’t domestic violence. A man was sharing his faith in Christ and was rewarded with a bullet to the face. This man was a faithful servant in the house of the Lord and a regular at Saturday morning prayer. He mentored young, fatherless boys. And he shared his faith. This week it cost him a great deal to be a Christian.

He lived through the shooting and had reconstructive surgery to his face. While he will almost certainly be scarred, he will survive.

In America there has not been much risk involved with being a Christian. But the world is not as friendly towards the followers of Christ as it used to be. Seems that it might be a good time to begin counting the cost. Looks like it may soon begin to really cost us something.

Beyond thankful

November 26, 2009EireneLeave a comment

I have been thinking of all the things that I am thankful for. There are the things that make the list each year: Salvation, Bible, family, job, etc….

But this year there is something new to be thankful for – my new church.

For 12 ½ years I went to the same church. It would be considered a mega-church, with over 10,000 members. In June of this year, after a series of remarkable confirmations from the Lord, I joined a much smaller church. It would be difficult for me to explain what a blessing this church has been to me. I’ve seen such love and compassion from this group of people who are committed to prayer and missions and making Jesus Christ known.