Willing Witness

“Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power” (Psalm 110:3).  “What shall I do, Lord?  And the Lord said unto me… It shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do… Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of Me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome” (Acts 22:10, 23:11). 

The Lord is even now fulfilling

The prophecy about His power

In every witness who is willing

To glorify Him in this hour. 

The question, “Lord, What shall I do?”

Should be our constant prayer and guide. 

This is the goal that we pursue: 

To live for Him who for us died. 

That day of power shall be seen

When Christ returns in majesty.

Yet Christ in us will intervene

To witness for Him presently! 

There is a witness God has planned  

For all His own in every place.

He leads them onward by His hand

To manifest His saving grace. 

For Paul, the Lord appointed Rome,

And thus empowered him with cheer. 

Our mission post may well be home

As God appoints our witness here. 

We thank You, Lord, for Your salvation

And for the witness of Your Spirit

To testify in every nation

Your saving truth those who hear it. 

Lord, send us with Your own compassion

To sow the Gospel we proclaim. 

Thus may Your Spirit in us fashion

A willing witness for Your name.  

Confused Contention

“They have rewarded Me evil for good, and hatred for My love” (Psalm 109:5).   “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy…  If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest” (Proverbs 29:1,15).  “Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together” (Acts 19:32). 

Contention is surely confused

That rages against Christ our Lord. 

Our Savior was greatly abused;

He loved us, yet He was abhorred!   

Consider such hardened confusion  

With thinking so hopelessly flawed:   

How great is the sinner’s delusion

Who foolishly fights against God! 

The one who is often reproved  

With stubbornness all the more hardened,

Could have his transgressions removed,

And all of his sins could be pardoned! 

The Spirit of God will contend  

With those yet resisting the Savior,  

But one day the striving will end,

And so will His offer of favor. 

The rebel won’t listen to reason,

Regardless of how it’s presented. 

Destruction will come in its season

To those who have never repented. 

We see this confusing contention

In those who don’t know why they’re here,

And yet they despise the mere mention

Of truth in the Gospel so clear. 

O Lord, we give thanks for Your kindness

Which You plainly show in Your Word

That turns us from our willful blindness

To rest in Your promise assured. 

We thank You, Lord, for Your salvation,

Which You, by Your grace, have made plain. 

Your Gospel is our declaration;

Contention confused is insane!  

Fixed to Finish

“O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory” (Psalm 108:1).  “Then Paul answered… I am ready, not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.  And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done” (Acts 21:13,14).

How rightly we should fix our heart

To sing to God and give Him praise,

And never from this mind depart

From henceforth and for all our days. 

We see this attitude in Paul

That demonstrates a focused vision

Who was a model for us all

To cast away our indecision. 

We hear him say that he was ready

To live for Christ with every breath. 

The Lord Himself would keep him steady

In bonds, affliction, or in death. 

Though some persuaded otherwise,

His confidence was not diminished. 

Upon the Lord he fixed his eyes,

Until his course on earth was finished. 

Now may the will of God be done

In us with such compelling grace  

That we may thus be fixed to run

And finish our appointed race. 

O Lord, we thank You for Your love

That draws us now fix our choice  

And set our hearts on things above

Till in Your presence we rejoice.  

Continuing our Course

“O my Lord… teach us what we shall do” (Judges 13:8).  “They cried unto the LORD… and He led them forth by the right way” (Psalm 107:6,7).  “My son, be wise, and make My heart glad… Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds” (Proverbs 27:11,13).  “Neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). 

The Lord will teach us what to do

So we may stay on course each day. 

His counsel every day is new;

Our God will guide us all the way. 

It is our joy to seek His pleasure

As He has called us to be wise. 

Our testimony is His treasure,

Which to His glory testifies.

He calls us to be diligent

Regarding flocks now in our care. 

Each one of them to us was sent

By Christ, who numbers every hair. 

May life we hold be not so dear

That it would serve as a distraction. 

The coming of the Lord draws near:

His pleasure is our satisfaction! 

Our course’s end is just ahead! 

Our Savior surely knows its length,

And He will help us, as He said,

That we may finish with His strength. 

O Lord, the ministry we hold

Is ours for just a little while

To feed the flocks within Your fold,

To know their state, and seek Your smile. 

Our time on earth shall soon be done. 

Lord, grant us strength to run this race,

Continuing our course we run

As we, with joy, declare Your grace. 

Examine the Exchange

“They changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.  They forgat God their Savior” (Psalm 106:20,21).  “Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.  So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed” (Acts 19:19,20). 

Have we examined the exchange

That we are making every day?

Should not we count it very strange

If treasures thus are cast away? 

If we forget our God our Savior

And set His glory thus aside,

We have exchanged His loving favor

For things that feed our foolish pride. 

We see these episodes rehearsed

When Israel forgot their God:

Forsaking blessings, they were cursed

And felt the judgment of His rod. 

Yet we discover there was grace

When people truly would repent

And diligently would seek His face,

So healing mercies could be sent. 

We see this in the days of Paul,

When by His preaching many turned.

They answered thus the Savior’s call

And Satan’s books were promptly burned. 

They counted then the market price

For books that they consumed with fire,

Yet they esteemed the sacrifice

Of Jesus Christ to be far higher!

And thus the Word of God prevailed

When lesser things had been forsaken.  

How greatly had their value paled

In light of  truth that is not shaken! 

O Lord, the lesson here is plain

As we examine what we’ve heard. 

As we let go of what is vain,

We thus exchange it for Your Word. 

We thank You for Your admonition

With Your exchange of grace, O Lord,

As You examine our condition

That we may daily be restored.