Category Archives: Thoughts From Scripture

Things to be left behind

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From the January 15 reading of Our Daily Walk by F. B. Meyer:

“Lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus.”– Heb 12:1-2.

LEAVE BEHIND your past sins. They have been many and great, more than you can count. But if you have confessed and forsaken them, they have been put away, “as far as the east is from the west.'” Nothing could be more explicit than 1Jo 1:9. It is useless to brood over the past. God has buried it in the grave of Christ. Go and sin no more!

Leave behind your bad habits that encumber you (R.V. marg.). You know what they are, and how they cling–ill-temper, jealousy, pride, evil-speaking, and many another! You have fallen again and again, overtaken by them, tripped up, your robes stained and torn. There should be some finality in your life, a mark on the grass from which you start to run the race. The command to put off the old man is in the definite tense (Col 3:8-9). It be-speaks one sudden strong act of the will, God-nerved and God-empowered. This, then, is the hour when you must strike for liberty “Ye have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”

Leave behind your accomplished ideals. They were once far in front and above you. As you climbed they seemed almost inaccessible, and mocking voices rang out their defiance of your attempt. But by the grace of God things that once you dreamt of are now realised, and you are sitting on the peak that once seemed to laugh you to scorn. But you must leave it behind! Look up! look forward! Are there not fresh ideals calling to you? Leave behind your attainments and strike your tents. One battle is fought, but a yet stronger foe bars the way immediately in front. It is suicidal to rest on your oars; to do so will expose you to the inevitable backward drift.

The best way to leave behind is to press forward. The Spirit of God bids us “run with patience the race set before us, looking unto Jesus.” He is our Forerunner, always before us, always leading us on. His crest, like the plume of Henry of Navarre, is always in the very thick of the fight. Let the soul follow hard after Him, and it will become almost oblivious to what it leaves behind. The boy who is running for the goal, in his eagerness to win the prize, strips himself of one and another article of clothing. He will not count their worth, so long as he may win the prize. So run that ye may attain! Apprehend that for which you were apprehended! Lay hold on the outstretched crown of life!

PRAYER

Most gracious God, quicken me by Thy Holy Spirit, that I may run in the way Thou hast marked out for me. May I ever be kept looking off unto Jesus. AMEN.

My Jesus Fair

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“My Jesus Fair” is a new hymn written by Pastor Chris Anderson. I had read the words on his site some time back, and I don’t remember what my reaction was — positive, I’m sure — but this morning a young man sang it as a solo at our church, and, my, what a blessing. The first verse says:

My Jesus, fair, was pierced by thorns,
By thorns grown from the fall.
Thus He who gave the curse was torn
To end that curse for all.

Though of course I knew that Jesus took the penalty for our sin on Himself, it just struck me in a new way to think that the very thorns that grew as a result of sin coming into the world pierced the One who gave that curse “to end that curse for all.”

Then the refrain says:

O love divine, O matchless grace-
That God should die for men!
With joyful grief I lift my praise,
Abhorring all my sin,
Adoring only Him.

I love the poetry and rhythm as well as the truth of it, especially the last two lines. The whole hymn is filled the paradoxical juxtapositions: joyful grief (I have often wrestled between those two emotions in thinking about salvation: joy at what He did for me, grief that it cost Him so much); in subsequent verses, He meekly took abuse and forgave men acting most unmeekly; though kind, He was cruelly torn; though pure, crushed by judgment for sin.

You can find the full text of the hymn here and hear a sound clip here. I was thinking as I listened this morning that this sounded like something the Petit or Galkin Evangelistic teams would do, and I was delighted to discover that the Galkins have it on their latest CD, Christ Only, Always (and I was reminded that was something on my Christmas list I didn’t receive, but I hope to remedy that this week!)

Thank you, Pastor Anderson, for this beautiful and thoughtful hymn that turns our hearts and focus again to Him.

Whose life is it, anyway?

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It’s interesting how God brings something to my attention just as I need it. I had just been chafing under an area of service to another, a particularly minor service, when Michelle’s post about serving the Lord with gladness convicted me. That led me to thinking about serving one another in love. Then last night in Joy and Strength I read the following:

Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good.
ROMANS 15:2

Let us consider one another.
HEBREWS 10:24

LOOK around you, first in your own family, then among your friends and neighbors, and see whether there be not some one whose little burden you can lighten, whose little cares you may lessen, whose little pleasures you can promote, whose little wants and wishes you can gratify. Giving up cheerfully our own occupations to attend to others, is one of the little kindnesses and self-denials. Doing little things that nobody likes to do, but which must be done by some one, is another. It may seem to many, that if they avoid little unkindnesses, they must necessarily be doing all that is right to their family and friends; but it is not enough to abstain from sharp words, sneering tones, petty contradiction, or daily little selfish cares; we must be active and earnest in kindness, not merely passive and inoffensive.

There is no author listed for the quote: under it is just “LITTLE THINGS, 1852.”

Selfish as I am, I have to be frequently reminded my life is not my own. It’s His, and often serving others is serving Him.

Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. Ephesians 5:1-2.

New Year’s Prayer

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Another year is dawning
With the chance to start anew.
May I be kinder, wiser, Lord,
In all I say and do.

Not so caught up in selfish gain
That I would fail to see
The things in life that mean the most
Cost not a fancy fee.

The warm, kind word that I can give,
The outstretched hand to help,
The prayers I pray for those in need–
More precious these than wealth.

I know not what may lie ahead
Of laughter or of tears;
I only need to know each day
That You are walking near.

I’m thankful for this brand new year
As now I humbly pray,
My hand secure in Yours, dear Lord,
Each step along the way.

-Author unknown

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: Hope

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Theme: Hope| Become a Photo Hunter

Hope plaque

The verse on this plaque is Romans 12:12: “Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing steadfastly in prayer.”

I’m glad my hope is in the Lord.

My hope is in the Lord Who gave Himself for me,
And paid the price of all my sin at Calvary.

Refrain:
For me He died, For me He lives,
And everlasting life and light He freely gives.

No merit of my own His anger to suppress.
My only hope is found in Jesus’ righteousness.

And now for me He stands Before the Father’s throne.
He shows His wounded hands and names me as His own.

His grace has planned it all, ‘Tis mine but to believe,
And recognize His work of love and Christ receive.

(Words and music by Norman J. Clayton)

The Christian’s Bell

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I KNOW WHO I AM
I am God's  child (John 1:12)
I am Christ's friend (John 15:15 )
I am united with the  Lord (1 Cor. 6:17)
I am bought with a price (1 Cor 6:19-20)
I am a saint  (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)
I am a personal witness of Christ.  (Acts  1:8)
I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt 5:13-14)
I am a member  of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27)
I am free forever from condemnation (  Rom. 8: 1-2)
I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant (Phil 3:20)
I am  free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31 -34)
I am a minister of  reconciliation for God (2 Cor 5:17-21)
I have access to God through the Holy  Spirit (Eph. 2:18)
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph.  2:6)
I cannot be separated from the love of God (Rom 8:35-39)
I am  established, anointed, sealed by God  (2 Cor 1:21-22 )
I am assured all  things work together for good  (Rom. 8:28  )
I have been chosen and appointed  to bear fruit (John 15:16 )
I may approach God with freedom and confidence  (Eph. 3: 12 )
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil.  4:13)
I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15:  1-5)
I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16).   I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)
I  am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).. I have been justified (Romans  5:1)
I am God's co-worker (1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1). I am God's workmanship  (Eph. 2:10)
I am confident that the good works God has begun in me will be  perfected. (Phil. 1: 5)
I have been redeemed and forgiven  (Col 1:14). I have been adopted as God's child (Eph 1:5)
I belong to  God
Do you know
Who you are?
Seen at Strength for Today

Retrospectives

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I like end-of-the year retrospectives. The Today Show on NBC had a prime-time hour-long look back at 2008 a few nights ago. Time Magazine has a list of the Top 10 of Everything. I am sure there will be more of that type of thing in the next few days.

My family experienced many firsts this year: My husband’s first trips to China and Brazil; Jeremy’s first trip out of the country accompanying his dad to Brazil; Jesse’s first time to make the JV basketball team; Jason’s engagement, the first of our children to take that important step. My mother-in-law moved to SC from ID, the first time we’ve ever had one of our parents living so near us.

At the end of the past two years I’ve taken a look back at my blog, reposting the first sentence of the first post of each month. So let’s see what ushered in each new month of Stray Thoughts:

January:

Biblical Resolutions: “I don’t usually make New Year’s resolutions any more — not the kind you forget about by March.”

February:

A Winner!: “I used the Random.Org Integer Generator to determine the winner of my Bloggy Carnival Giveaway of the book The Greatest Love Stories Ever Told.”

March:

Whom God Has Joined: “Next to reading the Bible, reading missionary books has had the greatest impact on my Christian life. Isobel Kuhn’s books have been among the greatest of those to me.”

April:

Thanks!: “Thanks so much for your kind words and prayers concerning my earlier post. I saw the doctor today. She said I did still have cellulitis, but did not prescribe another round of antibiotics.”

May:

“You can’t say ‘No’ until you pray about it“: “I am “rerunning” this post because…I need it!”

June:

Prayer Request: “Heather’s daughter, Emma Grace. whom many of you know, appears to be in heart failure or rejection of her transplanted heart.”

July:

Caring for elderly parents: “I mentioned a while back that my mother-in-law is moving here to SC from Idaho.”

August:

Show and Tell: Paula Vaughan Collection: “Kelli at There’s No Place Like Home hosts ‘Show and Tell Friday.'”

September:

A Laborious Meme: “Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer is hosting a meme for Labor Day about labor — the kind that results in delivering a child.”

October:

Peace Child: “I first encountered Peace Child by Don Richardson several years ago in the Reader’s Digest Book Section.”

November:

A winner!: “The winner of the Christian Victorian Christmas novels via Random.Org is Katelyn.”

December:

Blue Monday & etc.: “We had a bit of drama this morning when Jim’s mom called about 7:30 a.m. saying her hearing aid was broken.”

Contests, memes, book reviews, thoughts from Scripture, prayer requests, family happenings, and assorted other stray thoughts — yep, that just about sums up my blog. 🙂

Updated to add: Kelli at There’s No Place Like Home is hostessing a Mr. Linky where those who do this exercise can link and enjoy looking back through the year together here.

Merry Christmas!

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I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with those you love remembering the birth of our Savior and Lord, who came from everything familiar, comfortable, right, and glorious to live among sinful people who would misunderstand and reject Him, in order to provide salvation for us.

Mystery of Christmas

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The Mystery of Christmas

By John R. Van Gelderen, sung by Mary Lynne Van Gelderen

Mystery of Christmas night,
Prophecies of old come true —
Infant lies in candle light,
Prince of peace in wondrous view.

Mystery of Christmas night
Shining forth salvation’s light.

Gift of God and hope of man,
King of glory born on earth.
God’s eternal master plan
Offers man a second birth.

Mystery of Christmas night
Shining forth salvation’s light.

Mystery of Christmas glow,
Shining still with saving light
Christ the Savior man may know
Miracle of Christmas night.

Mystery of Christmas night
Shining forth salvation’s light.

(Sound clip and download available here.)

Christmasy links

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Nannykim suggested I post some pictures of the “misfit ornaments” I mentioned the other day. I would so love to do that! I think it would be a lot of fun, and I’m in the mood for it. I’d love to do that today — but I must exercise self-disciple and get some things done. I’m kicking myself not so much because I am running behind, but because it is my own fault. So I am thinking maybe Saturday — though weekends are usually low blog-reading days for many — maybe early next week. If WordPress would support Mr. Linky I’d even think about setting it up where others could post links (but then that would be assuming that other people save their misfit ornaments like we do!)

This is a busy week — ladies’ group party was Monday (fun!), Jesse’s first basketball game was Tuesday (more on that tomorrow, hopefully), prayer meeting at church last night, Jesse’s piano recital tonight, then another basketball game tomorrow night. Plus some of my stuff to do from last week didn’t get finished then. So it’s been “lite” posting this week, though there have been some deep thoughts along the way. 🙂

During the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, my blog stats go way up because of several things I posted my first year of blogging. I had a lot of poems, quotes, etc. gleaned from several years of compiling our ladies ministry newsletter, and evidently people do a lot of searching for that kind of thing this time of year! I didn’t know some of you then, and I didn’t want to repost them but thought I’d post the links if any of you has time and inclination to look around. I’ll post some of my links first and then some other links around the blogosphere that have caught my eye recently.

My Christmas links:

Christmas links I have seen elsewhere lately:

One word about Christmas crafts: I see all these cute ideas during during December bur don’t have time to try them then. So the past few years I have made some in the week or two after Christmas. I’m still in the mood and the stores still have some Christmas supplies (though you could get the supplies earlier, if you’re afraid they’ll run out, and just make them when you can).

Happy reading!