(C) Cheryl Howard 2009

I love that YOU share YOUR secret thoughts with me

I adore YOUR precious heart that YOU reveal, indescribably

Oh I’m enamoured with the sound of YOUR incomparable voice

Every word that YOU do utter, so exquisitely choice

 

 

I can hardly wait each day for the time we spend apart

When I’m so blessed to draw aside with YOU and glimpse YOUR heart

Indescribable are YOU, so full of wonder that I soar

In my heart do YOU inspire such devotion and such awe

 

 

BELOVED, that is YOUR Name I cherish and hold most near

For YOU are to me The ONE above all others held most dear

YOU are Holy, full of Truth and fierce compassion

And in me YOUR loving image YOU would fashion

 

 

YOU are unrivalled in YOUR power and YOUR beauty

To be in YOUR wondrous Presence is only joy – not ever duty

I have barely scratched the surface of Who YOU are

And I’m dizzy with desire to discover more of YOU by far

 

 

O my Glorious and unequalled mighty SAVIOR and my LORD

YOU in all creation, Alone, deserve to be worshipped and adored

The privilege of serving YOU, unparalleled, is mine

For only YOU are GOD Most High, YaWeH, KING DIVINE!

 

 

 

 

thought for the journey …

 

John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”

 

We are commanded to a higher love - not just ‘love your neighbor as you love yourself’, but to love each other as CHRIST has (and does) love us! HE raised the bar to unattainable heights for mere man!

Does that thought make you shrink inside with the knowledge of your inadequacy? Does it fill you with a sense of impossibility? To love your neighbor (whoever that may be) with the same love that JESUS loves you!

 

Well the truth is, it is impossible!

For us that is!

But not for our GOD!

The key is “HIS love” - not ours, but HIS. We don’t possess this love in and of ourselves, but CHRIST in us - our Hope of glory - does! It is not a command to love with our flawed, selfish love, but to love in and with HIS Perfect love!

 

Romans 5:5 tells us that ‘hope does not disappoint because the love of GOD has been poured out in our hearts by The HOLY SPIRIT Who was given to us!’ The words ‘poured out’ come from the Greek word ‘ekcheo’ and means to gush out, to run greedily, to be shed abroad and spill - in other words GOD does not give HIS love to us in a neat, tidy little measured dose; HE literally pours it into us so that it overflows!

GOD indwells us by HIS SPIRIT - JESUS told HIS followers that it was to their benefit that HE returned to The FATHER, because if HE didn’t then HE couldn’t send HIS SPIRIT to be with us and in us!  HE pours HIS love, the love of Great GOD Almighty, into our hearts - a love out of which we are commanded to love others. It is not about our striving and working to attain to this love, it is about our yielding, humbling ourselves, depending upon HIM and allowing HIS love to bubble and course through us - for HE is The Source of Agape Love, it is HIS love!

 

Hebrews 4:9-10 talks about there remaining a rest for the people of GOD, it says “For he who has entered HIS rest has himself also ceased from his works as GOD did from HIS.” We are to rest in GOD, to keep our focus, our hearts, set upon HIM and HIS work of grace within our lives - to yield to HIM in every way, to take up our cross as we die to self (to self will and self rule), and to abandon ourselves in joyful obedience to HIS will and purpose. Let HIM fill us with HIS perfect love so that we can let it flow through our lives and saturate all those we come in contact with!

 

(C) Cheryl Howard 2008

Life at times can turn with slow, monotonous grind,

Dreary, pallid days linger listlessly in your mind,

A dull and flat horizon turns into years that endlessly unwind,

The dreams that once enthralled you are somewhere left behind.

 

 

You wonder how you got here, on such an arid ‘scape,

When hope began to wane, your joy with it did take,

And somewhere in the grey, dim past your heart began to break,

And now you grapple desperate, for a way out, an escape.

 

 

Your future looms before you, an uninspiring plain,

When did you trade your mountains for this lonely, flat terrain?

You gaze about with sadness, regret - you sense its pain,

And then you hear HIS echo, “To trade death for Life I came!”

 

 

Remember the refrain of grace, by distraction, neglect - abused!

And do not turn your back on HIM, by your unbelief accused.

As faltering you reach out, with rusty faith, poor used,

Let HIM take your heart in HIS, in love and hope be fused.

 

 

HE will strip the mist away that grips you in its sway.

HE will blow the darkness, fill you with HIS light, a ray.

HE will take your dreams, and breathe in HIS hope this day,

If you but yield your heartsong and trust HIS will to have its way!

 

 

 

thought for the journey …

Perhaps you find yourself in a place you never dreamt possible - a place of hollow hopelessness and grinding boredom? Did your heart once drum with excitement, expectation - and hope? Do you find yourself disturbed, confused and dismayed at the empty and arid condition of your heart? Did faith in GOD once burn brightly within, was there a time you loved to draw aside and simply spend time alone with JESUS, did HIS word once inspire and ignite your heart? Has passion and love been slowly replaced by cool indifference?

 

How did this happen to you, what went wrong? How do you get back? Are you afraid of your own entrenched cynicysim? Can you ever ‘return’?

Jeremiah 3:22a “Return you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings!”

Hosea 10:12 “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek The LORD, till HE comes and rains righteousness on you!”

 Isaiah 55:6-7 “Seek The LORD while HE may be found, call upon HIM while HE is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to The LORD, and HE will have mercy on him; and to our GOD, for HE will abundantly pardon.”

 

It’s not complicated - it takes a simple act of your will, a determination to ‘return’, to ‘repent’ - to come home; HE awaits you more eagerly than you could ever dare to imagine - for to HIS heart you have ever been most dear!

HIS call to you echoes HIS call to the Corinthian church, and to the lukewarm Laodiceans - ”Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2a). Don’t delay even a heartbeat longer, return to HIM in all your wretched need - Now! 

 Revelation 3:19-20 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears MY voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with ME.” Can you not hear HIS voice calling you? For it is HE who is reaching out to you, calling you to return home to HIM!

 

 

(C) Cheryl Howard 2009

Almighty GOD HE holds the future in HIS wise and loving hands

So I’ll not stress about tomorrow for tis HE who helps me stand

I may not know what lies ahead nor what a new day brings

But of this I’m sure – my life is safe in HIM who forgave my sins

 

 

Today is a gift HE offers, tis full of life and so profound

An opportunity for more of CHRIST, to be closer to HIM bound

There is no room for worry here, no place for dread despair

For my SAVIOR rescued me and holds me secure within HIS care

 

 

HE knew what yet must come even before my life was formed

HE knew for me HE’d face the Cross, and that its shame HE’d scorn

How could I ever doubt such love, such unimaginable kindness?

How could I fear tomorrow when I’m held by HIS power and goodness?

 

 

For me HE gave HIS everything, laying down HIS all

And all HE asks of me is to trust HIM, and obey HIS call

To follow HIM in childlike faith, knowing HE’ll lead me true

For HE is GOD Incarnate Who came to earth, our good to do

 

 

So no matter what the future holds, the challenges it throws

I won’t be swayed or overcome, for I know HIM Who knows!

On HIS promise to bring me home to HIM, my life in faith does rest

And every obstacle that I face, an opportunity of proving my trust, a test!

 

 

Whatever tomorrow brings your way, don’t let it your joy steal

Entrust yourself into the loving hands of YAHWEH – HE is real

When there’s no way to move forward and you’re hemmed in from behind

Throw yourself into HIS arms - HE will light your darkness when you’re blind.

 

 

 

 

 

thought for the journey ….

 

Matthew 6:33-34 “But seek first the kingdom of GOD and HIS righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

 

One day at a time!

Worry adds nothing to our lives - except a burden too heavy to bear; we can’t change anything by worrying - except maybe the state of our health (physical and mental), and the color of our hair. That is why our loving, powerful HEAVENLY FATHER tells us in Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to GOD; and the peace of GOD, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through CHRIST JESUS.”

 

The power of ‘but’ - “but in everything” … every worry, every anxiety, every care, burden and concern … “by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving” - how important it is for us to take our every worry, our every need to our SAVIOR, to lay it before HIM in prayer, trusting HIM and HIS wisdom and thanking HIM for HIS provision, protection, goodness and care … and then we will have HIS peace, guarding and keeping our hearts and minds safe in HIM, our Redeemer JESUS! HE knows we will be assailed with worries and burdens, that is a given in this life - it is what we do with them that determines whether we live crippled by them, or whether we live overcoming and victorious, secure in HIS peace. That choice is up to us - will we hold on to our worries or will we trust, releasing them into the capable hands of our wise and loving HEAVENLY FATHER?

 

Lamentations 3:21-25 “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The LORD’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for HIS compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is YOUR faithfulness. ‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘Therefore I have hope in HIM.’ The LORD is good to those who wait for HIM, to the person who seeks HIM.”

 

 

 

(C) Cheryl Howard 2008

I am lavished with love from Beloved GOD Most High

It is HIS voice I hear and cherish more than life, deep inside

I am wrapped in HIS mercy, encircled by grace

It is HIS heart that woos me and sets me longing for HIS face

 

That YOU set YOUR wondrous heart upon me

Is a miracle only YOU could conceive

That into this life YOU formed from dust

Awesome GOD, YOUR heart do YOU entrust!

 

YOU are infinitely more precious than the rarest stone

YOU mean more to me than life, YOU who would make me YOUR own

I cannot contain YOUR great love in my frame

For from me it bursts, declaring YOUR matchless Name

 

A fire within me burns for HIM and it will rage eternally

HE is to me my greatest desire, I ache evermore for HIS company

Such deep joy and contentment in HIS Presence I do discover

That I’m left yearning for more of this GOD, my soul’s Lover

 

To dive deep in YOUR heart and stay there forever

Is my dearest longing, for to leave YOU I could never

YOU are my SAVIOR, the One above all I truly treasure

There does not exist another of YOUR exquisite measure

 

HE is Love, HE is Life, HE is Truth, HE is Peace

How passionately I adore Him Who from my chains released

Every day I rise hungering for HIS Glorious return

I search the horizon to glimpse HIM for Whom I yearn

 

My most cherished Beloved help me here to abide

Serving YOU faithfully in devotion by YOUR side

For each day’s a gift, to YOU to draw nearer

And to proclaim loud YOUR praises to every lost hearer!

 

 

 

thought for the journey …

What a high and holy calling we have in our Redeemer - Jesus. We are called to be in this world but not of it, we are called out to be separated, set apart to HIM and for HIM; we are called aliens, pilgrims, sojourners … and we are lavished with HIS love …

As ‘HE has poured HIS love into our hearts by HIS HOLY SPIRIT’ (Romans 5:5) so let us pour out HIS love upon those whose lives ours touch - unstintingly, abundantly; for like our infinite GOD, so is HIS love without end, without measure!

We are the most blessed of people, for we have been called out of darkness and into light - and we are called to take this good news of the gospel, this message of forgiveness of sin, of hope, redemption and salvation to a lost, dying and depraved world …

 

Isaiah 60:1-3 “Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of The LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but The LORD will arise over you, and HIS glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising.”

This is JESUS - The LIGHT of the world, The GLORY of GOD -  “…..which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27c). So let us abide in HIS Presence, and let us shine ever more brightly in this increasingly dark world!  We need not fear the encroaching darkness, for the darker it becomes the fiercer we will shine HIS Light, HIS Love, HIS Grace, and HIS Hope - and those drowning in the despair of darkness will see CHRIST in us and be drawn to HIM Alone, The SAVIOR of the world! 

(C) Cheryl Howard 2009

 

 

YAWEH Alone is GOD Most High; Holy, Righteous ONE

The ONE True GOD does rescue us, through the Cross of HIS SON.

All about imposters strut, proclaiming loud their lies

Do not embrace the devourer’s ‘truth’, for if you do you’ll die.

 

 

For GOD will not be reduced to our size, HIS image we can’t change

With our humanistic reasoning, we think this odd and strange.

In the marketplace of ideas and idols we are quick to reject the truth

Offended by HIS rightful claim, we serve ‘self’, elevating experience as ‘proof’.

 

 

It is not the lot of man to define the truth, for it is absolute

And should we dare to claim it’s ours, then we are foolish, duped.

Only a sinless, Holy GOD Who exists outside of time

Can give to us eternal truth on which to build our lives.

 

 

Tis an ancient lie that whispers sweet, ’You can be as GOD’

Seductive is its endless refrain, its way have many trod.

Destructive is its widening path, that leads to hell’s broad gate

Its appetite to worship self, though cloaked in ‘piety’ you’ll never satiate.

 

 

For we are not our deity, we have no god within

All of us share common ground, crippled by our sin.

Only ONE could rightly claim to be Truth and Life – The Way

HE Who took our judgment place offers love and forgiveness each day.

 

 

We can not achieve our ‘godhood’ – we’re indebted to HIS grace

And to HIS heart our own must yield – if we would see HIS face.

In humbleness and penitence to CHRIST alone we may come

Then SPIRIT of GOD in us will breathe Life and make of us HIS home.

 

 

Through the Cross of Calvary, the shed blood of HIS SON

Incarnate GOD, The WORD made flesh, bids lost sinners to HIM run.

Such manifest and manifold mercy displayed for you and me,

If we would surrender our lives to HIM, then HIS Life in us would be!

 

 

 

thought for the journey …

 

The Divine Exchange … HE took our place!

Our defeat         - HIS victory

Our sin               - HIS righteousness

Our judgment    - HIS forgiveness

Our punishment - HIS mercy

Our separation  - HIS reconciliation

Our lostness     - HIS rescue! The Cross!

 

HE bore our sin, our sickness, our judgment and punishment, HE was cut off in our stead - and HE secured for us forgiveness, healing, mercy, reconciliation and righteousness. In a word the ‘Cross’, HIS startling rescue of lost sinners, was Grace! Unearned and undeserved - yet lavished upon us by a Loving, Holy GOD!

John 6:44 “No one can come to ME unless The FATHER who sent ME draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

1Peter 3:18 “For CHRIST also suffered once for sins, the Just for the unjust, that HE might bring us to GOD, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by The SPIRIT.” Truly we have cause to celebrate, to shout to a lost, deceived ’self’ worshipping world that there is One True GOD - and HE loves them and is willing that not one should perish - to urge them to hear HIS voice calling them “Behold now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2b), to urge them to yield their very heart and soul to HIM - to say ‘Yes LORD!’

 

Psalm 105:1-4 “Oh give thanks to The LORD! Call upon HIS Name; make known HIS deeds among the peoples! Sing to HIM, sing psalms to HIM; talk of all HIS wondrous works! Glory in HIS Holy Name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek The LORD! Seek The LORD and HIS strength; seek HIS face evermore!”

(C) Cheryl Howard 2006

How subtle is that thing called doubt,

That clouds your mind and mutes your shout.

Embraced by it you tarry long,

In that nothing place where right seems wrong.

 

 

There days they blend, in quick succession,

A life poor spent – awaiting heaven,

Not knowing if to move, or be still,

You fritter time and avoid HIS will.

 

 

For doubt it robs the soul of faith and hope,

Instead of eyes on CHRIST it vacillates and mopes.

The purposes of GOD will never come to pass,

Unless you’re willing to obey, HIS bidding, when you ask.

 

 

For trust it rests in the Goodness of GOD’s Great Heart,

All obstacles it resolutely sweeps apart,

Believing what HE says, HE will surely do

Running joyfully beside HIM and labouring with HIM too!

 

 

 

 

thought for the journey …

 

Doubt accuses GOD - of neglect, of lack of care, of powerlessness; of being unwilling or unable to come to our aid , to meet us at our point of need, to carry us through….

Doubt at its’ heart is lack of faith and trust in Who GOD is; in HIS Love and HIS goodness.

Doubt is an assault on the character and integrity of our Heavenly FATHER.

 

Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please HIM, for he who comes to GOD must believe that HE is, and that HE is a rewarder of those who diligently seek HIM.”

 

To believe that HE is! WHO He is, what makes HIM HIM; HIS character, nature, integrity.

 

Nahum 1:7 “The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and HE knows those who trust in HIM.”

Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am GOD; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 

 

To be still means to let go, to let drop, to cease, to relax, to be quiet, to leave off your own attempts, to abandon, forsake and refrain - it is a picture of ceasing from our own worrying, striving, resisting and doubting. Be still and know that I am GOD - to know is a relational word, not only head knowledge, but heart knowledge. It means to consider and experience GOD, to perceive and see HIM, to be instructed and to acquire knowledge by experiencing and understanding Who GOD is! It is a picture of intimate relationship with, and confident trust in The Ancient of Days, The Alpha and The Omega - GOD who is Omniscient (HE knows everything, past, present and future), who is Omnipresent (not ‘in’ everything, but unlimited by time or space), and who is Omnipotent (HE truly is All Powerful)!

 

To diligently, hungrily, earnestly seek and pursue HIM!  It is this kind of a people whom GOD is looking for, this kind of a people who thrill HIS heart and delight HIM - a people who not only believe him, but believe in HIM and who are willing to cast off every obstacle in their resolute determination to seek after HIS heart. A people who are so hungry for HIS Presence, so longing to know HIM - for intimacy with HIM, that no price is too high in their pursuit of JESUS. 

 

Phillipians 3:8-9a “Yet indeed I count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of CHRIST JESUS my LORD, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain CHRIST and be found in HIM,”

 

 

 

(C) Cheryl Howard 2008

When your cup of sorrow overflows,

To get through today you just don’t know.

When those closest let you down,

And comfort just cannot be found.

 

It’s HIS promise that you must hold,

HE’ll not forsake when young or old.

When your dreams lay at your feet,

Hurt so bad your heart scarce beats.

 

Though storm clouds obscure your view,

And try to steal all hope from you,

HE is constant, HE is true,

HE is holding tight to you.

 

When you walk a lonely road,

It is HE who bears your load.

In the darkness of your night,

HE has sworn to be your light.

 

When your heart it quails within,

Your courage fading it’s so thin.

Reach out your hand HE is right there,

HE fought to rescue you, child so dear.

 

HE is The KING who conquered all,

Into HIS loving arms do fall.

HE is The LION on the throne,

And HE protects and guards HIS own!

 

 

 

 

thought for the journey …

 

The Faithfulness of GOD …. how often we fail to truly comprehend it.

Yet it is an essential part of HIS character - of WHO HE is. HE will never forsake us, HE is not weak or powerless, fickle or faithless, HE is not mercurial or whimsical! HE is The ROCK; solid, unchanging, dependable, reliable, faithful, true and constant. HE is Strength, Power, Might and Force - Uncontainable and Unpredictable (at times); but HE is TRUE and HE is always true to HIS Word and HIS Nature - a Loving, Gracious, Merciful, Forgiving, Holy And Righteous GOD …

Hebrews 13:5b-6 “be content with such things as you have. For HE HIMSELF has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say; ‘The LORD is my Helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

 

In the Hebrew the words ‘faithful’, ‘faithfully’ and ‘faithfulness’ come from the words ‘Aman‘ and ‘Emunah‘.

‘Aman‘ means to build up or support, to foster as a parent or nurse, to be firm and faithful, to trust or believe, to be permanent or quiet, to be true or certain - “to be firm, endure, be faithful, be true, stand fast…”

‘Emunah‘ means firmness and security, fidelity and faithfulness, truth, honesty, stability…”

In the Greek the word ‘faithful’ comes from the word ‘Pistos‘, which means trustworthy, trustful, faithful, sure, trusting and believing…

 

Deuteronomy 7:9 “Therefore know that The LORD your GOD, HE is GOD, the faithful (’Aman‘) GOD who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love HIM and keep HIS commandments;”

Psalm 36:5 “YOUR mercy O LORD is in the heavens; YOUR faithfulness (’Emunah‘) reaches to the clouds.”

Psalm 89:8 “O LORD GOD of hosts, who is mighty like YOU, O LORD? YOUR faithfulness (’Emunah‘) also surrounds YOU.”

1 Corinthians 1:9 “GOD is faithful (’Pistos‘), by Whom you were called into the fellowship of HIS SON, JESUS CHRIST our LORD,”

Revelation 19:11 “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And HE Who sat on him was called Faithful (’Pistos‘) and True, and in righteousness HE judges and makes war.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 “Now may The GOD of peace HIMSELF sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our LORD JESUS CHRIST. HE Who calls you is faithful (’Pistos‘), Who also will do it.”

 

It is not our faithfulness we are to depend upon - but HIS. HIS fidelity, HIS support of us; that HE endures forever and HE is our Firm foundation, HE is our Stability in a world made of quicksand - HE is Trustworty and True; on HIM and in HIM we can stand fast and believe, for HE is Certain and Permanent! What A ROCK our JESUS is!! So let us hold on, with unshakable confidence, to the Promise of GOD’s faithfulness - and let us guard the faithfulness of our own hearts in trust towards HIM.

 

(C) Cheryl Howard 2008

Can you hear the whisper stir your soul?

Great GOD Almighty is coming to make you whole.

SON of GOD came to earth stripped of glory, helpless babe at birth,

HE trod the path of suffering for those HE imbued with worth.

 

The greatest tale ever told has barely yet been heard,

The grand adventure writ by GOD encased within HIS Word.

Every soul ever born HIS imprint they do bear,

Each and every precious child, the object of HIS care.

 

HE gambled it all for humanities sake,

Impoverished HIMSELF, incomprehensible risk did HE take.

In victory HE conquered our sin and our death,

For HIS love it does reign and is All that is left!

 

Soon HE is returning riding in HIS glory,

To gather HIS own and begin eternities story!

The night it is all but over and done,

The Day is dawning, illumined by The SON!

 

Be watchful, be careful – arise and awake,

Don’t in lethargy your own destiny forsake,

Don’t let compromise your eternal reward steal,

In abandon and passion pursue HIM who is real!

 

Be ready for HIS return, it is nigh,

Without warning HE’ll descend from on high.

Live each moment as if it is your last,

Devoted to The CHRIST, to HIM alone hold fast!

 

 

 

thought for the journey …

Isaiah 11:1-5;9-10 “There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The SPIRIT of The LORD shall rest upon HIM, The SPIRIT of wisdom and understanding, The SPIRIT of counsel and might, The SPIRIT of knowledge and of the fear of The LORD. HIS delight is in the fear of The LORD, and HE shall not judge by the sight of HIS eyes, nor decide by the hearing of HIS ears; but with righteousness HE shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; HE shall strike the earth with the rod of HIS mouth, and with the breath of HIS lips HE shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of HIS loins, and faithfulness the belt of HIS waist.”  “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all MY Holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of The LORD as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek HIM, and HIS resting place shall be glorious.”

 

This is our SAVIOR, The LORD JESUS CHRIST! And HE is coming back for HIS people - oh that we would be ready and waiting for our worthy LORD! What a glorious future awaits us with HIM - our KING of Glory. A future where lions and calves, cows and bears, wolves and lambs will graze peacefully, side by side, led by a little child - for finally the earth will be full of the intimate knowldege of The Lord. This is our Loving GOD Incarnate - what a Glorious LORD awaits us to share HIS future: HE is wise and understanding, full of counsel and might, of knowledge and of the fear of The LORD (in fact HE delights in the fear of The LORD - so how much more ought we mere humans nurture and develop the fear of ALMIGHTY in our lives!). HE judges not on face value with only the evidence of HIS eyes or HIS ears, but with righteousness, it is a belt that girds HIS loins; the poor and the meek are under HIS protection, but watch out if wickedness is lord in your heart! Faithfulness is so much a part of Who HE is that it is the belt that girds HIS waist! What a GOD, what a SAVIOR - ought not our hearts to burn with longing for HIS Return! Ought not our hearts burn with desire to warn others to be ready for HIM - to be right with HIM; right in heart and right in relationship - reconciled to our SAVIOR, to their SAVIOR (for that is what HE would be!) 

 

The early church understood this hope, this promise, and they lived with their hearts seeking HIS return, scanning the horizon with expectancy - knowing one day soon HE would come back with a shout of glory to rule and reign. How eagerly they anticipated HIS Glorious Appearing; they ‘occupied’ diligently, urgently telling others of the hope of CHRIST that filled their days with purpose, joy and longing; being the hands and feet, the heart and the voice of GOD to all they shared life with.. But they also heeded Paul’s advice to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:3-4 “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of JESUS CHRIST. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”

They kept a clear head over Who they were living for, Whose Kingdom they belonged to, Who they wanted to please and where their loyalties lay! We are ever nearer to HIS return, how much more we need to heed this advice; to look for HIS coming - not with fear, anxiety or uncertainty, but with hope, longing and joy; and to keep ourselves pure of heart in our devotion to HIM, and our focus unflinching upon HIM, as we woo and warn those about us who may be sleeping, or worse- dead!

 

Ephesians 5:14-16 “Therefore HE says: ‘Awake you who sleep, arise from the dead, and CHRIST will give you light.’ See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”

(C) Cheryl Howard 2008

Vulnerable HE hung on a cross on a cursed hill,

Battered and bruised and bearing all our ills.

A sight too achingly common, yet unspeakably rare,

Unrecognized, DEITY, for all humanity hung there.

 

 

Shame inexplicable, degradation beyond compare,

The single motive – Love, for lost sinners did HE bear.

To the ends of creation HE willingly did go,

To give us life in HIS death – HIMSELF did HE sow.

 

 

A rescue unparalleled, breathtaking and ambitious,

Only GOD could conceive, so costly and audacious.

HIS own life did surrender, yielded up for all,

Hear HIS longing resonate, crying, “Respond to MY call!”

 

 

You were there in HIS heart, HIS yearning, HIS thoughts,

It was in spilling HIS blood your salvation HE bought.

To HIM you were worth every agony HE had to endure,

And you’re yet in HIS heart - let HIM your rescue secure!

 

 

 

thought for the journey …

 

1 Corinthians 2:2 “For I determined not to know anything among you, except JESUS CHRIST and HIM crucified!”

 

The Cross of Calvary - how familiar many of us are with this object of suffering, sacrifice, substitution and death; and how often we’ve heard its message of resurrection Life and of victory!

Yet …. how well do we really know The Cross? Is it reality in our lives, do we live daily under its shadow, do we grasp its reach of grace, do we fathom its bloody price? Do you see The Cross as a “symbol” or do you know it in its power? The power of GOD ALMIGHTY to justify us, to conquer, atone and defeat our sin! Do you recognise and truly know THE CHRIST Who hung upon its crude beams, giving up HIS sinless Life in substitute for ours - so hating our sin, yet so loving us lost sinners that HE was willing to take our judgment and punishment?

How intimate are we with the power of HIS resurrection life coursing through our veins? Have we “died” with HIM, and are we now “living” in HIM?

We are called to a life that echoes the truth of Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with CHRIST; it is no longer I who live, but CHRIST lives in me …..”

  

1 Corinthians 1:23-24 “but we preach CHRIST crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block (offense) and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, CHRIST the power of GOD and the wisdom of GOD!”

Romans 5:6-10 “For when we were still without strength, in due time CHRIST died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But GOD demonstrates HIS own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, CHRIST died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by HIS blood, we shall be saved from wrath through HIM. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to GOD through the death of HIS SON, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by HIS life!”

1 Corinthians 15:16-17 “For if the dead do not rise, then CHRIST is not risen. And if CHRIST is not risen then your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!”

Hallelujah we belong to, and serve, a Risen CHRIST - HE conquered sin and death - so let’s live in that “blood washed” and “blood bought” knowledge!

 

 

(C) Cheryl Howard 2008

Shine the light of YOUR Cross on the depths of our sin,

Rip open the foul chains that hold us bound and enslaved within.

All that YOU suffered unbearably on those crude wooden beams,

Let the truth haul us unrelenting to YOUR healing streams.

 

 

Most awful of deaths YOU willingly embraced for mankind,

Bearing our fetid sins, so grace every lost soul could find.

YOU died chained in our stead so that we could be free,

What fathomless love YOUR heart bears humanity.

 

 

To the Cross were YOU condemned, alone in darkness YOU died,

Neither death nor sin could hold YOU, HOLY GOD we crucified.

With a roar of victory that echoes through all time,

YOU arose imputing righteousness to all to YOU, YOU bind.

 

 

Now the Cross stands testament in time, to the wisdom and power of GOD,

Mighty risen SON of GOD Who crushed our enemy, as on his head YOU trod.

Death no more holds captive sin-ravaged, fallen sons of men,

The Cross secured our safety, if on CHRIST’s Atonement we will depend.

 

 

If in HIS innocent shed blood, our very selves we will trust,

Then our ruined, guilty lives HE will pronounce pure and just.

The power of HIS Cross, the power of HIS Blood,

ALMIGHTY GOD for us did die, to wrap us ever in HIS love!

 

 

 

thought for the journey …

 

Acts 17:30 “Truly these times of ignorance GOD overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because HE has appointed a day on which HE will judge the world in righteousness by The MAN whom HE has ordained. HE has given assurance on this to all by raising HIM from the dead.”

 

Acts 2:38 “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the Presence of the LORD”

 

GOD commands us all to repent - not pleads, HE commands!

HE is “longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” - 2 Peter 3:19; and it is HIS goodness that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). 

This is HIS will - but we choose: Death or Life.

 

One day we will each stand before a HOLY and RIGHTEOUS GOD, and our lives will be measured against the standard of HIS law - an impossible standard for sinful humans to attain; we have all broken at least one of the ten commandments, and nothing less than perfection will suffice! For anything less would be for ALMIGHTY GOD to condone our lawlessnes, to wink at our sin - in a sense to aid and abet us in our breaking of HIS Holy and Righteous standards. “… Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:20.

 

The law will measure us and we will be found wanting. The verdict will be passed - Guilty; and Judgment will be meted out, Justice served - eternal death and separation; Hell!

We are all doomed and there is naught that  we can do about it, we are in desperate need of rescuing - only the mercy of a Loving GOD can save us, we need ‘imputed righteousness’.Only those whose names are written in The LAMB’s Book of Life will escape this deserved penalty of sin, pride and rebellion against our CREATOR. Only CHRIST upon The Cross, only HIS Blood that was shed in our stead will suffice. HE fulfilled the righteous requirement of the Law on our behalf - “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” Matthew 5:17. 

HE took our Judgment, served our sentence, died in our place and rose again to offer us HIS Eternal Life, HIS Pardon - and by faith we receive HIS merciful forgiveness and grace, so undeserved yet so lavishly offered. HIS breathtaking rescue and redemption. In HIM we become the Righteousness of GOD because HE who knew NO sin became sin for us! (2 Corinthians 5:21).

 

Now that is Grace!

How could we offer HIM anything less than a fully yielded, lovingly obedient and eternally thankful life?