KNOWS

I don't know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future. ---- Selected

 

....your Father knows what you have need of before you ask Him (Matthew 6:8).

BIG HEAD

A big head is the mark of a small man ---- pgs.

 

For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself (Galatians 6:3).

HAPPY & HOLY

Those that look to be happy must first look to be holy. --- William Gurnall

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous...whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected (I John 2:1,5).

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Gracious Spirit, Dwell With Me (Thomas T. Lynch, 1855).

ELECT

From eternity to eternity there is never a time when God does not know and love His elect children. ---- pgs

 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:3-6).

 

PROMISES

If the weeds of loneliness and fearfulness grow in your heart, crowd them out with plantings of sturdy flowers of faith and confidence rooted in the promises of the Word of God.---- pgs.

 

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want....  (Psalm 23:1a). 

 

I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears (Psalm 34:4). 

 

O taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him. The LORD redeems the soul of His servants and none of them who trust in Him shall be desolate (Psalm 3:8, 22). 

 

He has said, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you," so that we may boldly say, "The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do to me" (Hebrews 13:5, 6).   

YES,BUT

Q: If Christ did not live a perfect life and die a substitutionary death and rise from the dead, what would we poor sinners do?

 

A: We would all die and go to hell, we would never enjoy fellowship with God nor with each other, we could never rejoice over lost souls coming to God, we would never know the joy of serving Him, we would never know the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge, we would never know the grace and forgiveness of God, we would have false hope or no hope...."we would be children destined for wrath...."

 -Anonymous 

Yes, but....

 

"....but God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ -- by grace you have been saved -- and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming age He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith . And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God...." ---- Ephesians 2:4-9a.

 

LAUGHTER

 Next to a good soul-stirring prayer is a good laugh, when it is promoted by what is pure in itself and in its grotesque application. ---- Mutchmore.

....a time to weep, and a time to laugh... (Ecclesiastes3:4).

These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full (John 15:11).

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Rejoice, the Lord is King, Charles Wesley, 1746.

HONESTY

I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man. ---- George Washington

True honesty takes into account the claims of God as well as those of man; it renders to God the things that are God's, as well as to man the things that are man's. ---- C. Simmons

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation (I Peter 2:13-15).

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God:  What Kind of Man Can Live in the World (Psalm 15) ---- Jonathan Barnes, 1973).

HOLINESS

Holiness.  Holiness is the architectural plan on which God builds up His living temple. ---- Charles Spurgeon 

But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." (I Peter 1:15-16).

....you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stand in Scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame" (I Peter 2:4-6).

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Gracious Spirit, Dwell with Me. Thomas T. Lynch, 1855.   

DOING

I would give nothing for that man's religion whose very dog and cat are not the better for it. -- Rowland Hill.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9)

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Take My Life, and Let it Be. Frances R. Havergal, 1874.

FAITH

Strong Son of God, Immortal Love, Whom we, that have not seen thy face, By faith, and faith alone, embrace.
-Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809 - 1892)

The Christian Almanac, p. 33.


....you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith --- more precious than gold that perishes thought it is tested by fire --- may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (I Peter 1:6-8).


A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Christ, of All My Hopes the Ground. (Ralph Wardlaw, 1817)

WORKMANSHIP

The life of holiness is the life of faith in which the believer with a deepening knowledge of his own sin and helplessness apart from Christ's work, increasingly casts himself upon the Lord, and seeks the power of the Spirit and the wisdom and comfort of the Bible to battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil. --- Edmund P. Clowney, The Church, p. 89.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience --- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses,  made us alive together with Church --- by grace you have been saved --- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the  immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepare beforehand that should walk in them (Ephesians 2:1-10).

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God:

Christ of All My Hopes the Ground, Ralph Wardlaw, 1817.

HE

Whatever point of compass the wind is in, it is fulfilling God's Word, and turns about by His counsel. ---- Matthew Henry

God the great Creator of all things, does uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things from the greatest even to the least, by His most wise and holy providence, according to His infallible foreknowledge and the free and immutable counsel of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy (from the Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 5-1).

-- He upholds all things by the word of His power (read Hebrews 1:3 and its context).

-- He does according to His will in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth... (read and meditate on Daniel 4:34ff. and the context, and Psalm 135:6 and the context).

--- He determined all the circumstances of all our days, and does whatever He wishes - in Him we live and move and have our being...(read and think about Acts 17:25-28, and Matthew 10:29-31). Meditate also upon Psalm 15:3; 104:24; 145:17; Acts 15:18; Ephesians 1:11. 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah (from Psalm 148:1-13).

PRESERVED

When the dust of battle dies down we shall hear all sixty-six books declare with the apostle Paul, 'Do thyself no harm, for we are all here.' -- W. H. Griffith Thomas.

....you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God, for "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever." And this word is the good news that was preached to you (I Peter 1:23b - 25).

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Forever Settled in the Heavens (Psalm 119:89-97).

CROSS

The saving power of the cross does not depend on faith being added to it; its saving power is such that faith flows from it. -- J. I. Packer.

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (I Corinthians 1:17-18).

A hymn to read, sing, hum or whistle to the glory of God: Hark! the Voice of Love and Mercy,(Jonathan Evans, 1784).

SIN

There is the seed of all sins --- of the vilest and worst of sins --- in the best of men. ---- Thomas Brooks

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. (Psalm 51:4-5)

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle to the glory of God: From Depths of Woe I Raise to Thee(Martin Luther, from Psalm 130).

-Just a thought (no pun intended): if you do not have a hymnal at home, I would encourage you to purchase a Trinity Hymnal from Christian Education and Publications, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 102, Lawrenceville, GA 30043-8143, Tel. 678-825-1100.  It is from this excellent hymnal that I select  the hymns recommended in the daily 'Thoughts'.   Paul Settle

HAPPY

Oh, happy day, that fixed my choice

On thee, my Savior and my God!

Well may this glowing heart rejoice,

And tell its raptures all abroad.

                            -- Philip Doddridge

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first-fruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this He called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ (II Thessalonians 2:13-14).

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle to the glory of God: O Happy Day, That Fixed My Choice (Philip Doddridge, 1702-1751).

SEEK

O what a blessed change would it make in our hearts and lives, did we but firmly believe this truth, that the best way to be comfortably provided for in this world, is to be most intent upon another world! We begin at the right end of our work, when we begin with God -- Matthew Henry.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:33).  

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Consider the Lilies, (Grace Hawthorne, 1977).

TIME

Time writes no wrinkle on the brow of the Eternal (Anonymous).

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is one day (II Peter 3:8).

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Take Time to Be Holy (William D. Longstaff, 1887).