Likeness of my Lord

"Men of the world... have their portion in this life... As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness" (Psalm 17:15).

Worldly men are gratified
With their portion in this life,
As history has testified
By their greed and bitter strife.

But as for me, I'm satisfied
With God's marvelous reward:
I shall awake when I have died
In the likeness of my Lord!

Lines of my Lot

"The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: Thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. I will bless the Lord.... Therefore my heart is glad.... Thou wilt show me the path of life: in Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore" (Psalm 16:5-7,9,11).

Lord, You are my Portion, and You maintain my lot.
The lines have fallen pleasantly! Oh what a happy thought!
And I will bless You, precious Lord, for all that's yet in store:
In Your presence fullest joy and pleasures evermore!

Walking Worthy

"[W]alk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.... for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of he body of Christ" (Ephesians 4:1,12).

Each child of God has a special vocation
Bestowed by our Lord with two objects in mind:
One is God's church and its edification,
The other to reach the spiritually blind.

Abundantly Able

"Now unto Him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be the glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen" (Ephesians 3:21).

Exceedingly, abundantly above all we ask,
And even all we dare to think:
Yes, that is the power God has for the task,
When His will and our prayers are in synch.

Ruins to Riches

"And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein time past ye walked according to the course of this world... and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (for by grace are ye saved)... that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:1-7).

Dead in sins! Could it be worse?
We fell beneath rebellion's curse!
But God beheld our ruined state,
And loved us with His love so great.

Yes, Love descended to this place
To share the riches of His grace.
And through eternal days above
He'll show the riches of His love.

Pure and Preserved

"The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, Thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever" (Psalm 12:6,7). "Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer" (Proverbs 25:4).

The words of the Lord are first of all pure,
As a vessel God purges from dross.
The words of the Lord shall also endure,
Preserved and protected from loss.

Flee from the Flame

"In the Lord put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain? .... The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven: His eyes behold, His eyelids try, the children of men... Upon the wicked He shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup" (Psalm 11:1,4,6).

How can you say to me, "Flee as a bird!"
As if God were not on His throne?
Our Lord is watching. Oh, haven't you heard?
He still can take care of His own.

Flee rather, my friend, from the flame yet in view,
For the souls that reject Jesus Christ.
Jesus is calling; there's still room for you
At the cross of the Lamb sacrificed.

Fruit of our Freedom

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free... This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh... But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law... But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:1,16,22,23).

The fruit of our freedom is shown in our life
When we're led by the Spirit, in peace or in strife.
Here love, joy, and peace from the Spirit abound;
Likewise are patience and gentleness found.

Goodness and faith are abundant and full,
With meekness of heart, and mature self-control.
So let us stand fast in this freedom and power
That manifests Christ in our life every hour.

Given to God?

"My son, give Me thine heart" (Proverbs 23:26).

God wants your heart. To whom is it given?
If not to our Lord, who or what will it be?
You cannot be neutral and be purpose-driven.
Give it to God, and your heart will be free.

Exalted in Excellence

"O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth" (Psalm 8:9). "A good name is rather to be desired than great riches... A prudent man foreseeth the evil and hideth himself" (Proverbs 22:1,3).

O Lord, our Lord, in all the earth, how excellent Your name!
You gave to us Your righteousness, and took away our shame!
And thus we find within Your name our perfect hiding place;
Exalted in Your saving love, our refuge is Your grace.

Carnal Confusion

"This only would I learn of you: Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" (Galatians 3:2,3).

By grace through faith we have been saved,
When we were hopelessly depraved.
And with salvation we received
God's Spirit when we first believed.

Having thus by grace begun,
Shall we in our own strength run?
No! Let us run just as we started,
By the Spirit God imparted!

Crucified with Christ

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

I am crucified with Christ,
And thereby I am free
To be a living sacrifice
For Him who died for me.

Accounted Accursed

"[B]e wise in thy latter end. There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless, the counsel of the Lord shall stand" (Proverbs 19:20,21). "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so say I now again: if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8,9).

The Gospel we're preaching must be in the end
That which was given by Jesus at first.
We all have sinned and must be born again;
Account other gospels accursed.

Triune Treasure

"Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased" (Psalm 4:7). "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of he Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen" (2 Corinthians 13:14).

The grace of our Lord Jesus' union
And the love God without measure,
And the Spirit of God's sweet communion:
Are my unequaled Triune Treasure!

Spend and be Spent

"And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you" (2 Corinthians 12:15).

My Savior in love was given for me;
To that very end He was sent.
By His example I clearly can see
I likewise should spend and be spent.

Welcome Weakness

"And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9).

If weakness must come for grace to be known,
If God's own sufficiency thereby is shown,
If strength be the harvest where weakness is sown,
Then weak I would rather be.

Weakness is welcome if this is God's way
To experience grace that He gives day by day.
"My grace is sufficient," I hear my Lord say,
And that is enough for me.

Subtlety vs. Simplicity

"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:3).

Satan's craft is subtlety
By which he would deceive
And rob us of simplicity
In Christ when we believe.

Constantly Captive

"Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Constantly captive, let every thought be;
Replace every thought with truth that makes free.
Oh Lord, set a guard at the door of our minds,
To purge every thought that Your holy eye finds.

Unspeakably Unsparing

"Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable Gift" (2 Corinthians 9:15). "He...spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all" (Romans 8:32).

Thanks be to God for His unsparing love
That gave His unspeakable Gift from above.
He spared not His Son! What words can suffice
To rightly give thanks for our Lord Jesus Christ?

Guided by Grace

"Prove the sincerity of your love. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich" (2 Corinthians 8:8,9).

You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
That He left heaven's riches to be sacrificed.
He thereby enriched us with infinite treasure,
And left us a model for love's truest measure.

Sorrow of Salvation

"For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death" (2 Corinthians 7:10).

The sorrow of salvation
That calls us to repent,
Leads to restoration
And comfort heaven sent.

There is a worldly sorrow
That only leads to death.
It sees no hope tomorrow;
It robs us of our breath.

Notion of Now

"Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2).

"Now" is a very illusive time:
How quickly it slips away!
Now is that singular moment sublime
To seize while it's called today.

"Now" is that time to redeem
For Jesus who ransomed your soul.
Treat every "now" with esteem,
And live every day to the full.

Recommedation of Reconciliation

"Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 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" (2 Corinthians 5:17-20).

God in Christ, who reconciled
Our souls by His salvation,
Made each of us, though once defiled,
In Christ, a new creation.

And God gave us the ministry
In His own stead to say:
The truth in Christ will set you free!
Be reconciled today!

Weigh the Worth

"Wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.... Riches and honor are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness" (Proverbs 8:11,18). "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

Weigh the worth of what you cherish,
For things we see will soon be gone.
Yes, temporal things we know shall perish,
While things unseen continue on.

The things we see are temporary,
But things unseen our God secures.
Eternal wealth, though it must tarry,
We know forevermore endures.

So let us rightly weigh the worth
Of temporal things that we hold dear,
And loosely hold to things on earth:
Eternity is drawing near.

Call to Cause

"Cause me to hear Thy lovingkindness in the morning: for in Thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto Thee" (Psalm 143:8).

Lord, cause me hear Your love in the morning,
For in You do I trust everyday.
Lord, cause me to know Your will and Your warning,
And thereby to walk in Your way.

Savor of our Savior

"Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of His knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savor of death unto death; and to the other the savor of life unto life" (2 Corinthians 2:14-16).

Thanks be to God for our triumph in Christ,
And the savor of Jesus, for us sacrificed.
That savor arises to God's holy throne,
And is now manifested in all of His own.

That fragrance to some is death's potent savor;
The wages of sin that were borne by our Savior.
To others, the sweetness of life unto life,
Of Christ's resurrection and victory in strife.

Comfort out of Calamity

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God" (2 Corinthians 1:3,4).

Blessed be God who comforts our souls!
When the tide of calamity over us rolls,
He is our refuge, our strength, and salvation;
And thereby we comfort with His consolation.

Maranatha Meditation

"If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema; Maranatha" (1 Corinthians 16:22).

The Lord is coming! Blessed thought!
Yet cursed are those who love Him not.
If in Christ you live, sing Maranatha!
The alternative brings Anathema.

For Jesus died to bear our curse.
He bore our Anathema first.
He pleads, oh sinner, flee from wrath;
Come walk the Maranatha path.

Always Abound

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58). "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21).

Always abound in the work of the Lord;
There's no higher honor, no greater reward.
Our labor of love surely won't be in vain,
Since our living is Christ, and dying is gain.

After Adam

"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.... And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening Spirit.... The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second Man is the Lord from heaven" (1 Corinthians 15:22, 45,47).

After Adam's tragic fall,
Death was ushered in.
And so in Adam's race we all
Are likewise born in sin.

So in Adam all must die;
For our nature and behavior.
But God in love could not stand by:
He sent to us a Savior!

Hallelujah! Christ arrived,
The Lord from heaven above!
And so in Him we're made alive,
And rescued by His love!

Song for all Seasons

"How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" (Psalm 137:4). "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season" (2 Timothy 4:2).

There is no land or season wrong
To sing our Lord and Savior's song.
People everywhere still need to know
That Jesus saves; let's tell them so!

In every place and every time,
Let's share the Gospel news sublime.
Let's sing the Lord's song while we may,
In this timely season called "today."