Strength For Today

Thomas Chisholm's (pictured) powerful hymn Great Is Thy Faithfulness never ceases to move me. What a mighty God we serve! He truly is faithful! He gives strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow. Isn't that what we need? Praise Him today for His love!

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Refrain

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

The Valley of Vision

This prayer is taken from The Valley of Vision, an excellent collection of Puritan prayers:

"Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory. Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess all, that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, that to give is to receive, that the valley is the place of vision. Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine; let me find Thy light in my darkness, Thy life in my death, Thy joy in my sorrow, Thy grace in my sin, Thy riches in my poverty, Thy glory in my valley."

Tears

Oops! I almost did it again. One of my typos almost got widespread distribution but I caught it just in time.

I was referring to the past 35 years of sports ministry but I accidentally typed "tears" instead of years. 35 tears of ministry? Actually there have been many more than 35 over the years.

Ministry and life, in general, are not without their share of heartaches, sorrows, tears. They are part of the equation.

I'm reminded, though, of one of my favorite Bible verses . . . a promise that I have appropriated and I have seen God confirm the truth of His Word.

The Psalmist writes, "Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him." (Psalm 126:5,6)

As we share God's "good news" with love, compassion and tears, we can expect a glorious harvest in His time. Don't shy away from tears. As the songwriter penned, "Tears are a language, God understands."

P. S. I guess the classic typo from my pen was when I stated that "many livers have been changed through the Epistle, letter-writing ministry."

The Centrality of the Cross - A to Z

A – His AGONY & ANGUISH provided ATONEMENT

B – His BLOOD, His BRUISING and His BROKENNESS provided BLESSING

and eternal BENEFITS

C – His CRUCIFIXION brought CLEANSING and a CLEAR CONSCIENCE

D – His DEATH gave us DELIVERANCE

E – His EXCRUCIATING death gave us ETERNAL life

F – Through the FOOLISHNESS of the cross we received FORGIVENESS &

FAVOUR with the FATHER.

G – His GRIEF brought us GLORY

Our GUILT was replaced by His GRACE

H – His HANDS gave us HOPE and HEAVEN

I – His INFINITE loss became our INDESCRIBABLE gain

J – Instead of being JUDGED we were JUSTIFIED

K – He was KILLED but I became a child of the KING

L – His LOVE gave us LIFE

M – His MARRING brought us MERCY (Mercy there was great and grace was

free)

N – His NAILS brought us NIGH and made us NEAR to God

“But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13)

“Near, so very near to God, Nearer I cannot be;

For in the Person of His Son, I am as near as He!”

O – His ORDEAL gave me OVERCOMING power

P – His PAIN provided PROPITIATION, PARDON & PEACE

Q – His QUEST to do His Father’s will led to my QUICKENING (new life)

R – His REJECTION led to REDEMPTION, RECONCILIATION, REST &

RIGHTEOUSNESS

S – His SUFFERING, SHAME & SUBSTITUTIONARY SACRIFICE provided

SALVATION & SECURITY

T – His THORNS lead to TRIUMPH

U – His UNDYING commitment to His Father brought us into UNION with the

Godhead

V – His seeming VANQUISHING defeat turned into VICTORY

W – His WOUNDS led to our WORSHIP. Instead of God’s WRATH we

became WORTHY in and through Him.

X –

Y –

Z –

Midnight

Last night I was awake for quite some time...my mind racing as it often does. I picked up an old copy of Springs in the Valley, edited by Mrs. Chas. E. Cowman, and found the following thought:

"Go unto Him at midnight!" Let us go when all other doors are barred and even the heavens seem brass, for the gates of prayer are open evermore; and it is only when the sun is gone down and our pillow is but a stone of the wilderness, that we behold the ladder that reaches unto heaven with our Infinite God above it, and the angels of His Providence ascending and descending for our help and deliverance. He is a friend in extremity. He is able for the hardest occasions. He is seated on His throne for the very purpose of giving help in time of need.

No matter if the case is wholly hopeless, and your situation one where you have nothing, and the hour is dark as midnight, "GO UNTO HIM". Go unto Him at midnight. He loves the hour of extremity. It is His chosen time of Almighty interposition.

There's a budding morrow in midnight

So fold your griefs away,

And wait for the bud to open,

A fragrant and fair new day.

Wait for the bud to open,

Cease to worry and to grope;

There's a budding tomorrow in midnight

It's name is The Dawn of Hope.

So today, my friend, remember - He is a friend in extremity! Run to Him and let Him enfold you in His everlasting arms.

"Go unto Him at midnight." - Luke 11:5 (KJV)

No Scar?

Dr. Stephen Olford writes the following words concerning Amy Carmichael:

Amy Carmichael was an Irish missionary who spent 53 years in South India without a furlough. She founded the Dohnavur Fellowship, a refuge for children in mortal danger. For a great part of her life she was bed-ridden with an incapacitating affliction but she never let up in serving others by her prayers, writings and personal counseling. The Spirit of God, to whom she was totally committed, has wafted the fragrance of her life across the Christian world.

Her life and ministry are best reflected in this challenging poem:

Hast thou no scar?
No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand?
I hear thee sung as mighty in the land;
I hear them hail thy bright, ascendant star.
Hast thou no scar?

Hast thou no wound?
Yet I was wounded by the archers; spent,
Leaned Me against a tree to die; and rent
By ravening beasts that compassed Me,
I swooned.
Hast thou no wound?
No wound?

No scar?
Yet, as the Master shall the servant be,
And piercèd are the feet that follow Me.
But thine are whole; can he have followed far
Who hast no wound or scar?

by Amy Carmichael

Sabbatical

For years I've dreamed of taking a sabbatical from some of my regular routines. It's always been near to impossible. How do you leave a job, forsake a family, drop the important things? Usually you can't.

Over the past several years I've resigned from the boards of several organizations in an effort to simplify my life. It has helped somewhat.

Tonight I decided to take a sabbatical, for at least 40 days, from Facebook.

It's so easy to become addicted to some of these social network systems that are so popular these days. There's a lot of value in these if we discipline ourselves and use them to build and maintain positive relationships and to minister to others but all too often I've found myself leaving silly comments and spending too much time writing things that weren't really that uplifting.

And so...I'm taking some time off.

I'm going to try to concentrate on writing encouraging, thought-provoking posts both here on The Barnabas Blog and over at my other site, Pilgrim Scribblings.

Thanks for your prayers as I seek to refocus...by the enabling of the Spirit of God.

Be encouraged today!

David

Specific Plans

I've always appreciated Joni Eareckson Tada's godly perspective on life and suffering. Today's devotional thought in her excellent book Pearls of Great Price ministered to me in a special way.

Joni writes:

"God's plan is specific. He doesn't say, 'Into each life a little rain must fall,' and then aim a hose in earth's general direction to see who gets the wettest. He doesn't wind up nature and then sit back to watch its sunny days and devastating hurricanes. God doesn't let Satan prowl about totally unrestricted. Do you feel as though God has taken a hands-off policy to certain hardships in your life? Right now, place them under His sovereign care. Commit to trust Him with His plan for your life."

Good stuff! Agree?

The Big "E" - Encouragement

A New Day

This incredible sunrise photo appeared on my friend Stephen Weber's devotional web site Daily Encouragement today. Just seeing the picture caused the following lines to well up in my spirit. I trust they will bless you. Check out Stephen's site here.


SUNRISE

The sun arose this morning
And God is on His throne
No need to fret or worry
The Father loves His own.

So bid farewell to doubting
And welcome trust anew
Rest in the truth of scripture...
The Father cares for YOU!

~ David W. Fisher
January 29th, 2008