Category Archives: Christian Life

Laying down life

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One of the things that continues to surprise me is just how far selfishness still has its roots in me.

An incident yesterday and a quote I saw this morning, among other things, brought it all to the forefront again. Someone called yesterday and the conversation got off on the wrong foot right off the bat when I said hello and heard voices, but no one answered. We’d been getting a lot of either political calls or calls where someone hung up as soon as we answered, so I figured it was one of those kinds of calls. When they finally spoke, I was irritated and it showed in my tone. It was someone I knew, but she hadn’t realized someone had picked up the phone, so she was talking to someone else with her. Then she told me about a problem resulting from an apparent oversight on my part, though I hadn’t gotten the information that I needed to take care of anything. Then, you know how sometimes people will talk and forget a detail like a name or what day something occurred, and then they get sidetracked trying to remember that detail when it doesn’t really have anything to do with the conversation? Well, that happened with this lady, and I was busy, still holding in one hand the things I’d been taking care of when the phone rang, and irritated in general, so I just interrupted and said, “Well, that’s not important,”and proceeded to discuss what we needed to do to take care of the situation.

Yikes!

My whole tone and demeanor indicated a lack of love and concern and a selfish preoccupation. Instead of being helpful and kind, I let it be known that I was bothered.

Then this morning on girltalk, Kristin shared a quote from a book by J. I. Packer. I’ve not read anything of his, but this quote struck me:

“The Christmas spirit does not shine out in the Christian snob. For the Christmas spirit is the spirit of those who, like their Master, live their whole lives on the principle of making themselves poor–spending and being spent–to enrich their fellow humans, giving time, trouble, care and concern, to do good to others—and not just their own friends–in whatever way there seems need.”

This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:12-13.

I’ve long believed that laying down our lives is not just martyrdom, not just physical death, but rather the everyday serving another by sacrificing our own time and attention for them. I’ve long believed that my schedule is in God’s hands, that even interruptions are allowed by Him, may even be His divine appointments for the day. That struck me full force one day when I realized the healing of the woman with the issue of blood took place while Jesus was on his way to heal Jairus’ daughter. Imagine how Jairus felt after he’d found Christ to come and heal his daughter who was dying, then this woman interrupts, then he receives word that his daughter has died (Luke 8:41-56). Yet Jesus reassures him that she would be made whole — and she was. He brought her back from the dead, and how much more glorious the whole situation was in the end.

In fact, if you study the life of Christ, He was constantly interrupted. He rose a great while before day to pray, and people came seeking him out. People were constantly wanting His attention, yet you never see Him ruffled, short-tempered, irritated, bothered.

I’ve known these things — but I often fail at living them.

By love serve one another. Galatians 5:13b.

I do want to serve others. But I tend to want to do it in my own way, at certain times or through certain events. If I listen to a conversation or fill a need, then I want to pat the other person on the head and say, “OK, I’ve served you for a while. Leave me alone now so I can do what I want.” That’s hardly characteristic of Christ.

And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved. II Corinthians 12:15.

Most of the people with whom I have to do are very loving in response. I generally don’t have to worry about expending time, energy, and care on people who don’t love me — so how much more willing should I be to “spend and be spent” for them?

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. Mark 8:35.

Lord, forgive me for thinking that my time, energy, schedule, resources, and everything else are my own. Help me to remember it is all Yours, and I am here to serve You, not live for myself. Help me to truly love You with all my heart and soul and mind and strength and to love others as You have loved me — sacrificially, unselfishly, continually. I need Your grace, because my natural bent is to be self-centered, to serve occasionally and often with the wrong motives. Help me to lay down the bits and pieces of my life every day rather than trying to grasp back enough for self. Help me to serve and love on Your terms and not my own.

Missionary Christmas Gifts

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Since I have mentioned our church’s missionary Christmas gift project, I’ve had some questions about it, so I thought I would explain it a little more. But I want to say at the outset I would also love to hear what you or your church does, and I would also love to hear from missionaries about what things have been helpful and even not so helpful that individuals or churches have done for them.

Whatever you do for missionaries or servicemen or anyone overseas, contact them first. It is all too easy to be a burden rather than a blessing with packages. We have had some missionaries for whom the duties they would have to pay on packages would make receiving any kind of package prohibitive. Others can tell you particular designations to put on the customs forms that would cause the least problems or duties for them. In some countries there is a degree of corruption in the mailing system, and missionaries can alert you to wording on the customs form that would not draw undue attention. Some missionaries have people come over from the States regularly and would rather you send a package to those people who will then bring it when they come — this not only saves on shipping but is more secure. And most countries have lists of prohibited items. The United States Postal Service web site has an Index of Countries which you can click on to find specific prohibited lists and other details, like package size restrictions, for each country.

I also want to say that when I mention problems or frustrations, it’s not meant as whining or complaining. I just want to be realistic for anyone who might be contemplating doing this. Anything we do in this life, even as a ministry, will have it problems.

As it stands now, what we usually do is e-mail our missionaries in the summer to ask for gift ideas for their family members and ministry and any particular mailing instructions. We also ask for ages of children, sizes, color preferences, etc. We try to give them a reasonable time frame, knowing that they are busy and that some have only limited e-mail access (of course, for those with no e-mail or unreliable e-mail, you can always write them a note). The very first time we explained a little bit more about what we were doing, but most of our missionaries are familiar with it now.

Then I take all the responses and make a master list and make copies to give out to folks at church. I also make a master sign-up list which stays on the back table at church. As people peruse the lists, they sign up for the things they want to buy, and a designated box is placed for people to turn the items in as they buy them. We usually do this over the whole month of September. Then in our October ladies meeting we wrap and label the gifts, then over the next few weeks I package and mail them.

The lady from whom I got this idea would put the gift ideas on 3 x 5 cards and alphabetize them by missionary name, then set up a little table in the church lobby so that people could come to her, tell her who they wanted to provide a gift for, and she would give them a card and note who had what card on a list. That worked fine for that church, but for me, I personally would like to see the whole list before deciding what to buy. I’ve learned over the years that some people buy for particular people, but some people buy preferred things. One lady used to buy tennis balls and golf balls every year because we would have some of those on several missionary lists: another lady who was a nurse liked to buy anything of a medical nature, etc. Some people prefer to donate money, and I use that for gifts that haven’t been signed up for or to “fill in” (for instance, if one child in a family gets socks and another has two toys, I try to find a toy to balance it out).

Another lady mentioned putting the gift ideas on paper ornaments on a Christmas tree in the lobby to make it a real “Christmas in September” (or July or whenever you do it). Though I really like this idea, I’d be afraid of some of the ornaments being accidentally knocked off or blown off or taken off by little kids, etc.

I ask for the items to be turned in unwrapped for a couple of reasons. I don’t want to over-manage, but sometimes people do get the wrong thing or the wrong size or title. Sometimes the gift isn’t quite appropriate: someone recently turned in an item for a one year old that was better suited to an infant. Sometimes people turn things in in big gift boxes that are bigger than the postal size restrictions, so we have to repackage them.

One of the problems that I encounter is timing. Sometimes the missionaries don’t respond in time (many are great about answering right away, and some travel and don’t see my message for a while, but some, just like us, don’t “get around to it.” When I do hear from them after I have made the master list, I can either buy their gifts with designated money, or often someone at church will come to me near the end of our endeavor to ask if anything is still needed, and I can give them ideas from those late entries.) And sometimes church folks don’t get things turned in on time, so it can take a while to tie up all the loose ends.

Another problem is that some missionaries will have people sign up for a lot of items, and others will have few to none. Part of this has to do with accessibility: people easily sign up for things they can get at the grocery store or Wal-Mart. They also tend not to sign up for anything over about the $20 range. Some families don’t mind spending $25-50, but they don’t want to spend that all on one thing. Many missionaries send us a variety of ideas and tell us they don’t expect everything on the list but just want to give a variety, which is excellent. We do ask the missionaries to designate on their lists if there is anything they prefer more that another on those lists, but only one has ever done that. So sometimes we end up with one missionary family with two boxes full of smaller grocery store items and another who only listed maybe one idea per person, but those items were harder to find or a little more expensive, and those missionaries don’t get signed up for at all, though the totals of the items on their list are about the same. I do try to emphasize to the folks at church that it would be better to have one gift per person than many gifts for one and none for another. At this point we take care of that with designated money or funds from our ladies’ budget, but I am trying to figure out a better way to handle it. I don’t at all begrudge the one family the two boxes of stuff, especially the items that I know they can’t get in their country — but I don’t want another family to have little.

Some churches deal with this by buying the same items for every missionary family, so they all get the same packages. But I would really rather personalize it with things that they truly want and can use. One missionary friend was telling me that those kinds of packages almost always contain toiletries, and though they appreciate the intent and the thought, they’re almost overrun with toiletries. So I think a generic package that would be meaningful might be hard to do unless it is something personal or homemade. Another church I know sends $25 per person for each missionary family member (usually to their mission board, but check with the mission board or missionary first to find out what’s best for that individual family), and that’s fine, too. But it is fun for them to get packages in the mail, and even with cash, there are items that some can’t get in their country that we’re happy to send.

Despite some of the problems mentioned, this is a joy to do, and we have heard from our missionary families that it is a blessing. I don’t know if there is an ideal or problem-free way to handle gift-giving overseas.

This is the first year that we are mailing things without benefit of what used to be called “surface mail,” the slowest but cheapest mailing rate (one person said things sent by surface mail went via boat, train, or llama. 🙂 ) The post office did away with it because they felt senders were more interested in speed and reliability than a low cost factor. When I first heard this earlier in the year, I consulted our pastor and church business manager to see if we should do anything differently. They said to just do things the same way this year and we’d evaluate before doing anything next year. It will probably cost us easily twice the shipping fees as in previous years. We want to be generous and be a blessing to our missionaries, but we want to be good stewards, too, so we may have to do something different next year, like put an emphasis on just sending things they can’t get in their country or sending one item per person or something else in the future. I’m not quite sure yet what we will do.

Some general tips for sending overseas mail:

— Though it is nicer to send things in gift boxes, when you’re sending a lot you have to compress everything down to the smallest and lightest packaging that you can.

— Anything liquid — lotion, shampoo, etc. — need to be put in a sealable bag and have some packaging material around it to absorb it if it should spill.

— Things with strong odors (soaps, candles) need to be put into sealable bags and placed away from food items in the shipping box.

— Anything breakable needs to be wrapped with packaging material to cushion it.

— There might be some things, like books, that can be ordered online and (and sometimes even gift-wrapped) and shipped directly to the person.

More mailing tips are here.

This wasn’t originally intended as a “Works For Me Wednesday” post, but then I decided it would work for that, too. You can find more tips, or add your own, at Rocks In My Dryer.

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Preparing good ground

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This is “harvest season” rather than spring planting, yet a farmer can take clues from inspecting his harvest to determine what he needs to do the next year for a better harvest.

The parable of the sower speaks of different “soils” of the heart that produced different results from the sowing of the Word. What can we do to help our hearts be “good ground” so that God’s Word can take root and bring forth fruit?

1. Hosea 10:12 says, “ Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.” Jeremiah 4:3 also speaks of breaking up our fallow ground.

2. We need to remove the “stones,” the hard places of our willfulness, and the “thorns” of the cares and pleasures of this life which want to choke out the Word.

3. Psalm 25:9 says, “ The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.” Elisabeth Elliot writes in Keep a Quiet Heart, “Meekness is teachability. ‘The meek will he teach his way’ (Psalm 25:9, KJV). It is the readiness to be shown, which includes the readiness to lay down my fixed notions, my objections and ‘what ifs’ or ‘but what abouts,’ my certainties about the rightness of what I have always done or thought or said. It is the child’s glad ‘Show me! Is this the way? Please help me.’ We won’t make it into the kingdom without that childlikeness, that simple willingness to be taught and corrected and helped. ‘Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls’ (James 1:21, KJV). Meekness is an explicitly spiritual quality, a fruit of the Spirit, learned, not inherited. It shows in the kind of attention we pay to one another, the tone of voice we use, the facial expression.”

4. Psalm 25:14 says, “The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.” Reverence for the Lord makes us teachable. Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

5. In Matthew 15:16 and Mark 7:13, Jesus tells the Pharisees and scribes that they have made the commandment or word of God “of none effect” through their traditions. That is a scary thought, that we can diminish the effectiveness of the Word by our preconceived notions or our imposing on the Word our own ideas of what it says or means.

6. In John 7:17, Jesus says, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” A willingness to do His will makes us teachable.

7. Though this speaks of the seed rather than the ground, it is a needed reminder: John 12: 24-25 say, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” In order to bring forth spiritual fruit we have to be willing to die to our own plans, dreams, desires, and will and yield all of those things to the Lord. This sounds so difficult, and it is, but the more we know the Lord, the more we can trust Him with all of those things and stop grasping them for ourselves, thinking we can protect them. His way really is so much better, but often we can’t see that til we get on the other side of the issue at hand, til after we’ve yielded. That’s where faith comes in — faith in Who He is, His love, wisdom, and goodness.

This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, and there are probably many other aspects to consider, but, if you’re like me, this is more than enough to get us started.

What do we do, though, if we’re not feeling particularly meek, if we know we don’t reverence the Lord as we ought, if we’re feeling stubborn and willful and we know it is wrong, but we don’t know quite what to do with ourselves? Should we avoid the Word, then, thinking it will be useless with our hearts in that condition? When I am feeling like that, first of all I pray and confess that to the Lord and ask Him to change my heart. Then I look up verses like three in Psalm 80 which say, “Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved,” or Psalm 85:6: “Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?” or Psalm 119:36-37: “Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way” or Psalm 119: 10-11: “ Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name’s sake: for thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.” (If you have a concordance or Online Bible program, it’s very helpful to search for the word “quicken” and read through the verses that contain that word, and use those in your own prayers. One online source is at crosswalk.com. When you click on the drop-down menu for the version you want to use, at the very bottom there are choices for the KJV or NASB with Strong’s numbers. If you use those, the words in the verse will be highlighted and you can click on them for definitions, other ways they are translated, etc. BibleGateway.com is another good source).

When we go to Him confessing our lack of meekness, reverence, and willingness and asking Him to work on us in those areas, then He can use His Word to begin to plow up the soil of our hearts and make “good ground.”

If we leave a field untended, it grows weeds and the ground hardens again. So this plowing must be a continual process. It might sound painful, “but no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (Heb. 12:11). The more our hearts are “weeded” and kept soft and pliable, the more the seed of God’s Word can take root and bring forth fruit.

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(Photos courtesy of the stock.xchng)

Psalm Sunday: Psalm 51

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My apologies for being late this week — we had out-of-town company over the last several days.

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1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

I am not going to outline this Psalm as it is pretty clear. I just want to pull a few thoughts from it.

This Psalm reminds me of the marks of godly sorrow and true repentance described in II Corinthians 7:9-11. There is no casual “Forgive me if I have done anything wrong” here.

David appeals to God’s lovingkindness here, and that is our hope and appeal as well. I am so glad God loves us in spite of our bent to sinning and created a way though Christ wherein we can have all our sins forgiven.

Though Israel was commanded to offer certain sacrifices at that time as a picture of the coming Christ’s redemptive work for us, just going through the motions was all for naught if there was not a broken and a contrite heart over sin (vv 16-17). God desires truth in the inward part of us (v. 6).

David acknowledges that, though his sin did affect other people, ultimately his sin was primarily against God (v. 4).

Thank God for His cleansing. I have prayed v. 10 many a time.

Then after there is acknowledgment, confession, repentance, and cleansing — then the joy is restored (vv. 8, 13).

See Butterfly Kisses for more Psalm Sunday meditations.

Fall Y’all Giveaway

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Comments are now closed and I am about to draw a winner….

fallyall.jpgIf you haven’t heard yet about Shannon’s Fall Y’all giveaway extravaganza, the guidelines are here, and the list of participants is here.

One of my most favorite things to do is read, and I spend a number of posts talking about good books I’ve found, so I wanted books to be a part of my giveaway.

daily-light.jpgI also spend a lot of time talking about the importance of the Word of God, so my first giveaway is a devotional book called Daily Light on the Daily Path. It is made up entirely of Scripture, compiled by the Samuel Bagster family. I don’t know how many times my reading for the day has given me just what I needed for the time.

The other books I want to give away as a set: The Secret Life of Becky Miller and Renovating Becky Miller by Sharon Hinck. I reviewed them earlier here and here. I know a lot of “Mom bloggers” participate in this giveaway, and Becky Miller is a young mom who wants to do “big things for God” but finds out life doesn’t always go the way she dreams it will. There are some hilarious moments as well as sweet and poignant moments. You don’t have to be a mom to get the spiritual lessons in the books, though.

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Leave a comment on this post and let me know if you are interested in either the devotional book or the Becky Miller set or both. I will close comments Friday night at midnight EST and use the random number generator to draw two winners on Saturday morning. This contest is open to anyone anywhere. One comment per person, please. You don’t have to have a blog to enter, but if you don’t just be sure to leave your e-mail address so I have a way to notify you if you’ve won.

I am also going to try to have another crafty give-away in a couple of days if I can get it together — it’s shaping up to be another busy week! But if I do I will post another link to the Fall Y’all giveaway page.

P.S.: Here is a works-for-me tip for keeping up with the giveaways I’ve entered. I started an e-mail to myself (though it could also be done via a Word document — I just used my e-mail because it’s always open when I am online and it’s handy) and listed the item and the address of the contest, then saved it in the “Mail waiting to be sent” folder. It’s easy to open back up when I go back to checking more giveaway posts. I think most of those offering a giveaway notify the winner, but some don’t, so this way I can run back through the list when this week is over and check the winners’ names.

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Sometimes love means….

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Most of my driving involves just a few miles from my home. We can get to our church and school in three minutes if the three traffic lights on the way are green, and most of the stores we go to aren’t much farther. So when a light comes on and a ding sounds from my car’s dashboard telling me I have less than 1/8 of a tank of gas, I can still drive for three or four days without filling up the car if it is a normal week. Stopping for gas is not one of my favorite things to do, so I tend to put it off and then fill the car to the brim so I don’t have to do it again soon. When I hear that “ding,” I click on the button that tells me the DTE (distance til empty) and keep an eye on it over the next few days.

My car had “dinged” a couple of days ago, but the DTE showed I still had several miles before I needed a fill-up. Yesterday we had to take my car to the shop because the brakes were making awful noises, and my husband and oldest son went to pick the car up late in the afternoon. This morning when I got into the car to take Jesse to school, I glanced at my DTE and saw that it said something like 258 miles: Jim must have filled the car up after he picked it up from the shop yesterday. I told Jesse (and hope he remembers when he gets married) that sometimes flowers or a nice night out show love, but sometimes little things like filling up someone’s car with gas shows love, too. Those little signs of being cared for do a heart good.

I got to thinking about other “little” ways that my loved ones show me their love and care, and I thought I’d list a few. I invite you to do the same either here in the comments or on your own blog (and if you do the latter, let me know — I’d love to read your list). I might be adding to this as more things come to mind.

Sometimes love means…

— putting gas in my car.

— killing bugs or taking care of other unwanted “critters.”

— changing light bulbs. I have a balance problem, and though I can climb up on a chair, it’s hard for me to let go of the chair to use my hands for anything.

— watching “chick flicks” with me.

— listening when I talk about a problem without necessarily trying to “fix” it.

— patience when I am running behind.

— taking care of the “mess” when the kids are sick. That actually started when our firstborn was a baby and had gotten sick all over himself and his bedding. As my husband and I both took care of him, the smell and “ick” factor were almost overwhelming to me, and though I don’t think I said anything out loud, somehow Jim knew. He said, “Honey, why don’t you go on out and let me clean this up before I have two messes to deal with.” That started a routine, wherever the kids were sick, that he would take care of and clean up the child, and I would take the bedding and messed-up clothes straight to the washer. (I can deal with it if I need to, especially when Jim’s not home, but it involves taking several steps away to breathe fresh air for a minute and then coming back.) Even now, when one of the kids has the “throw-up pan,” Jim will usually empty it out and rinse it on his own initiative.

— working hard to provide for us.

Thank you, honey, for these things and for all that you do. I appreciate it so much, and I don’t tell you often enough.

With my kids, sometimes love means…

— doing what I ask you to cheerfully and without complaining or groaning.

— doing something that needs to be done without being asked.

— appreciation of the food I make, even if it is just tuna sandwiches.

— for my oldest son, patiently and often answering my computer questions.

There are so many ways you guys make me feel loved, but these are a few that come to mind. Thank you!

I have a couple of dear friends who make me feel loved by sending unexpected, thoughtful little notes sometimes and by their genuine attentiveness and interest in my life.

So how about you? What are some ways those in your life make you feel loved?

(Graphic courtesy of the stock.xchnge) 

My righteousness

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My Daily Light reading this morning reminded me of a precious truth, that our standing and acceptance before God is based on Christ’s righteousness, not our own. Here are a couple of the verses:

Psalm 89:16: In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.

Isaiah 45:24-25: Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.

Romans 3: 21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

I thought of another:

I Corinthians 1:30: But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.

My own righteousness can’t help me:

Isaiah 64: 6: But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

How could we think that any righteousness or work of our own could stand next to His blazing holiness and count for anything?

Philippians 3:9: And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.

Titus 3: 4-7: But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Romans 10:3-4: For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

We obtain a right standing with God by repentance from our own sins and works and instead accepting Christ, relying on His sacrifice on the cross to pay the debt of our sins. Once we are in Christ, God sees and accepts His righteousness on our behalf.

Romans 4:5: But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Romans 10:9-10: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

II Corinthians 5:20-21: Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!

— “Before the Throne of God Above,” Charitie L. Bancroft

Psalm Sunday: Psalm 49

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1 Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: 2 Both low and high, rich and poor, together.

3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.

4 I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.

5 Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?

6 They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;

7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:

8 (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)

9 That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.

10 For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.

11 Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.

12 Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.

13 This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.

14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.

15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.

16 Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;

17 For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.

18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.

19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.

20 Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.

This psalm calls to mind I Timothy 6:17: “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.”

It’s not wrong to be rich if it is within God’s plan for an individual. Abraham and many other Bible individuals were rich in their day. Years ago I read a biography titled Lady Huntingdon and Her Friends about Lady Selina Hastings who was instrumental in helping John Wesley and George Whitfield in their ministries and who founded 64 chapels. She said she was “saved by an m” because the Bible says not many wise, mighty, or noble are called, but it didn’t say not any. 

Yet it can be a temptation to the rich to trust in their wealth, and it can be a temptation to those who are not rich to think they would be secure if they had wealth.  Riches can be an idol in either case. Sometimes we don’t want to be rich, but we feel if we just had a little more then everything would be safe and secure.

But verses 7-8 remind us that riches can’t secure redemption, and verses 9-14 remind us that riches can’t keep death away (at least not forever). Verses 10 and 17 remind us that riches won’t be carried into eternity.

I’m reminded of a scene in Oliver! where Fagin, the evil master thief who has been teaching stray boys to pickpocket, is trying to escape with his hoard of riches after learning that the police are coming. He has all his worldly goods in his arms but somehow drops them into a muddy bog. They sit on top of the muck for just a second, and then, bloop, they disappear down into the mess, and with all Fagin’s thrashing around trying to retrieve them, he can’t find them and has to run on. Many wealthy people through the years can testify of a sudden robbery or a sudden change in the market or a slower change in industry or technology which rendered their product or service useless.

Our care, our provision, our sustenance in this life come from the Lord. And even more, He provides the way for the redemption of our souls from sin and our bodies from the grave (verse 15). The more we learn of Him and get to know Him through His Word, the more our faith will be increased to trust Him for all our needs.

Visit Butterfly Kisses for more Psalms Sunday mediations, and feel free to join in by adding your own.

Jesus, my Lord, my God, my All

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Jesus, my Lord, my God, my All,
Hear me, blest Savior, when I call;
Hear me, and from Thy dwelling place
Pour down the riches of Thy grace;
Jesus, my Lord, I Thee adore;
O make me love Thee more and more.

Jesus, too late I Thee have sought;
How can I love Thee as I ought?
And how extol Thy matchless fame,
The glorious beauty of Thy Name?
Jesus, my Lord, I Thee adore;
O make me love Thee more and more.

Jesus, what didst Thou find in me
That Thou hast dealt so lovingly?
How great the joy that Thou hast brought,
So far exceeding hope or thought!
Jesus, my Lord, I Thee adore;
O make me love Thee more and more.

Jesus, of Thee shall be my song;
To Thee my heart and soul belong;
All that I have or am is Thine;
And Thou, blest Savior, Thou art mine;
Jesus, my Lord, I Thee adore;
O make me love Thee more and more.

–Henry A. Collins, 1854

(You can hear a 90 second sound clip of this hymn here.)

Conditions for receiving strength

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From Climbing by Rosalind Goforth

It was while I had a large family of little children about me and mission work was pressing heavily upon me, while feeling burdened and that strength was insufficient, I sought to find in God’s Word whether there were any conditions to be fulfilled for the receiving of divine strength. The result of this study was a surprise and joy to me, and later a blessing and help to many to whom I passed it on, for every condition the weakest could fulfill!

Conditions of receiving strength

1. Weaknesses. II Cor. 12:9-10
2. No might. Isa. 40:29
3. Sitting still. Isa. 30:7
4. Waiting on God. Isa. 40:31
5. Quietness. Isa. 30:15
6. Confidence. Isa. 30:15
7. Joy in the Lord. Neh. 8:10
8. Poor. Isa. 25:4
9. Needy. Isa. 25:4
10 Dependence on Christ. Phil. 4:13

Deut. 31:6: Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.