Refreshing Reproof

"Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me more than these? He saith unto Him, Yea, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee. He saith unto him, Feed My Lambs.... Feed My Sheep.... Follow Me.... Then Peter, turning about... saith unto Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou Me" (John 21:15-21).

How refreshing is correction
Coming from our risen Lord,
Pointing us toward perfection
In His calling and reward!

If we love Him, we shall know
The way that we should take;
He will lead us and will show
Our path for His name's sake.

"Feed My sheep" and "Follow Me."
This is what our Savior said,
And sometimes "What is that to thee?"
When we have turned our head.

Daily let us hear His voice,
And go wherever He will lead.
Love for Him will guide our choice,
And give reproof we surely need.

Mischievous Madness

"Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? The goodness of God endureth continually" (Psalm 52:1).

Why do you boast, O mischievous man?
The goodness of God continues forever.
God's purpose prevails according to plan.
No one can change it, no matter how clever.

The mischievous man, though allowed for awhile,
Continues no further than God will permit.
God is not fooled by his mischievous guile,
But God shall restrain him as He will see fit.

Satisfying Sacrifices

"Behold, Thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part Thou shalt make me to know wisdom.... Thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: Thou delightest not in burnt offering.... The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise" (Psalm 51:6-17).

The sacrifices God desires
Are deep within our hidden part;
This is what the Lord requires:
A broken and a contrite heart.

Since our Lord and Savior died
To save each hell bound soul,
Let us see Him satisfied,
And satisfied in full!

Let us bring what He has sought;
Let nothing therein lack!
Everything we are He bought;
Let nothing be held back!

Lord, it seems a poor exchange:
You paid so high a price!
To give you less now seems so strange:
A living sacrifice!

Gathered at Golgotha

"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might" (Deuteronomy 6:5). "Gather My saints together unto Me; those that have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice" (Psalm 50:5). "Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.... and the disciple standing by, whom He loved.... And after this Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus... came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.... And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, brought a mixture of aloes, about an hundred pound weight" (John 19:25-39).

Gathered at Golgotha's scene
Along with Mary, Jesus' mother,
We see there Mary Magdalene,
Another Mary, and a brother.

Joseph, a disciple, claimed
His body that was sacrificed.
Nicodemus, unashamed,
Brought his aloes, weighed and spiced.

Gathered at Golgotha thus
In spirit with this gathering,
What would God now have from us?
What do we now have to bring?

The Lord has told you His delight:
To love the Lord with all your heart,
With all your soul, and all your might;
There's nothing greater to impart!

Redemption and Reception

"Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about? They that trust in their wealth... none of them can by any means redeem his brother.... Nevertheless man being in honor abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.... But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for He shall receive me" (Psalm 49:6,7,15).

Judgment comes, and come it must,
As is appointed when we die.
Whom, in that day, will you trust?
Are you confiding in a lie?

Things are not now what they seem,
As many put their trust in wealth,
And some will trust in high esteem,
And others boast of robust health.

Yet by their wealth they can't redeem
Nor ransom even one poor soul.
Their honor is a fading dream,
And health eludes them when they're old.

Where will be your confidence
When God will judge iniquity?
In riches there is no defense,
And temporary comforts flee.

BUT GOD redeems those who believe
And put their trust in Christ alone,
And by His grace He will receive,
Defend, and claim them as His own.

Behold what He Became

"For this God is our God forever and ever: He will be our Guide even unto death" (Psalm 48:14). "And Pilate said unto them, Behold the Man!..... And he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!" (John 19:5,14).

Behold, our God became a Man;
Behold our Guide and gracious King!
Behold the distance God would span,
And down to us salvation bring!

Behold what Jesus Christ became,
Descending in humility
To take upon Himself our shame:
Behold the Lamb at Calvary!

Behold the Man of Sorrows there;
Behold the crown of thorns He wore!
Behold His love beyond compare;
Behold the Savior we adore!

Behold Him dying on the cross:
It was for us He bore that pain
To spare us from eternal loss
And heap on us eternal gain!

Behold Him laid within the tomb.
Behold Him as they seal the grave.
Behold that Seed who died now bloom,
Alive forevermore to save!

Behold Him now upon His throne:
The Lamb who washed our sins away!
He's coming back to call His own;
Behold He comes: perhaps today!

Behold, He'll come to reign on earth
When all the nations praise His name,
And they shall then declare the worth
Of all that Jesus Christ became!

Truth on Trial

"I call heaven and earth against you this day.... For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?.... Out of heaven He made thee to hear His voice, that He might instruct thee" (Deuteronomy 4:26,32,36). "Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world... and in secret have I said nothing.... Every one that is of the truth heareth My voice. Pilate saith unto Him, What is truth?" (John 18:37,38).

Assemble the witnesses into the court:
Call heaven and earth; call history past.
Call every prophet with Scripture's report.
Let each one be heard, the first to the last.

God's truth has been seen in the light of creation,
His judgments have also been put on display.
At last Jesus came as the Lord of salvation,
And openly spoke to the world in His day.

Ask now if anything like this was done.
Ask now the elderly; ask now the youth:
Was ever there one like Jesus, God's Son,
With words and with deeds confirming His truth?

All those who are of the truth hear His voice.
Pilate may ask, "What is truth?" if he will.
Nevertheless it comes down to a choice,
And those who deny Him are culpable still.

Cup of our Curse

"Then said Jesus unto Peter.... The cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?" (John 18:11).

The cup of our curse was full for our Lord
With judgment from God to the brim.
The judgment that should have been ours was outpoured
With all of its fury on Him.

Why would He take it? What force could compel
Our Savior to drink it all up?
Love, boundless love, which would save us from hell
Drank all of our curse in that cup!

Peter was speechless and surely distraught,
When hearing this question of Christ.
"Shall I not drink it?" How dreadful the thought,
If He wouldn't be sacrificed!

Thank You for drinking that awful cup down,
To give us Your blessing so sweet!
What joy it will be, Lord, to cast every crown
In heaven at Your wounded feet!

Given to God

"My son, give Me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe My ways" (Proverbs 23:26).

The Father tenderly commands:
My son, give me your heart.
Lord, take as well my head, my hands,
And my most inward part!

Let my eyes observe Your ways;
Lord, take my ears as well.
Take my voice to give You praise
For saving me from hell.

Let my feet go in your path
Now with the Gospel shod.
Delivered from eternal wrath,
I'm given now to God.

Cheered by our Champion

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).

How sweet are the wonderful words of our Lord,
Imparting His peace in this world of strife!
How mightily, too, as a quickening sword,
The Word of His Gospel awakens new life!

Be sure in this world you will have tribulation,
"But be of good cheer," our Champion said.
He knew by His death He would bring us salvation
And conquer the grave when He rose from the dead.

These things He has spoken the we might have peace
In Jesus our Savior, triumphantly near.
Even when our tribulations increase,
Our Lord and our Champion still gives us His cheer!

Joined with Joy

"O send out Thy light and Thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto Thy holy hill, and to Thy tabernacles. Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy; yea upon the harp will I praise Thee, O God, my God" (Psalm 43:3,4). "And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you" (John 16:22).

Led by the light and the truth of God's Word,
I know that by these I'll ascend
To the altar where Jesus my Savior endured
For the joy that He saw in the end.

O what assurance! Though seasons of sorrow
In God's time will come now and then,
Upon the horizon there dawns a tomorrow
When Jesus shall come back again!

And we shall be joined with our Lord in the air
And with all of the souls He redeemed.
No fleeting joy on this earth will compare,
No matter how thrilling it seemed!

Reason for Reproach

"I will say unto God my Rock... Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me, while the say daily unto me, Where is thy God? Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art Thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall ye praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God" (Psalm 42:9-11). "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you.... Remember the Word that I said unto you: the servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also" (John 15:18,20).

I will say to the Lord, my God and my Rock,
When I look for a song in the night:
Lord, hear the reproach of the enemy's talk,
So filled their arrogant spite!

"Where is your God?" they incessantly say;
Their hatred is filled to the brim,
Yet Jesus foretold they would act in this way
Because they have first hated Him.

And so I will say to my turbulent soul:
Why should you now be cast down?
Hope now in God; He is still in control!
Why should your face wear a frown?

Remember the Word that your Lord clearly stated,
And know it is timeless and true:
Since Jesus your Lord by this world was hated,
His servants are thus hated too.

Then live with compassion toward those who hate,
In view of their fearful condition:
Unless they've repented before it's too late,
They'll enter eternal perdition!

Factors of my Favor

"By this I know that Thou favorest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me" (Psalm 41:11). "Because I live, ye shall live also.... Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not you heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.... The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me" (John 14:19,27,30).

By this I know God favors me:
For me He gave His life.
He gave me joy for misery;
He gave me peace for strife.

By this I know God favors me:
My enemy was spoiled.
Yes, Satan lost at Calvary;
His plans for me were foiled.

By this I know God favors me:
What favor I enjoy!
My Savior gave me victory,
Which Satan can't destroy.

By this I know God favors me:
Because My Savior lives
To give His peace eternally,
Not as the world gives.

By this I know God favors me:
For Satan has no part
And cannot change the guarantee
That God gave to my heart.

Eloquent Evidence

"Many, O Lord my God, are Thy wonderful WORKS which Thou hast done, and Thy thoughts which are to usward... Sacrifice and offering Thou didst not desire; Mine ears hat Thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast Thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is WRITTEN of Me" (Psalm 40:5-7). "Now I tell you before it come, that when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am He... I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.... Believe Me for the very works' sake" (John 13:19, 14:6,11).

Many, O Lord, are the works You have done
Fulfilling the promises You prophesied.
There's no other book in the world, not one,
That offers such evidence like You provide.

There is no reason now we should make a mistake;
We ought to believe every Word in Your Book
By the eloquent evidence of Your works' sake,
Inviting us there to objectively look.

All the evidence speaks! O how great is the sum
Of each precious thought You communicate thus!
In Your Book it was written: You said, "Lo, I come,"
Providing the Way of salvation for us.

There's only one Way of salvation required;
It's not in those offerings of old sacrificed.
There's only one Offering that God has desired:
His Lamb of perfection: our Lord Jesus Christ!

Verily Vanity

"Verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity.... And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in Thee.... O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more" (Psalm 39:5,6,13). "If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.... If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them" (John 13:15-17).

Verily vanity! That's all that I am,
Unless I am living my life for the Lord,
But now that I'm washed in the blood of the Lamb,
There's more to my life I can now look toward!

Verily vanity is self-centered strife,
For age, wealth, and power, the grave will soon swallow!
But Jesus our Lord has portrayed by His life
A higher example that His own should follow.

Verily vanity: It need not be so,
For we may be spared from a life lived in vain!
The way that our Savior has taught us we know:
By laying His life down, His love was made plain.

Verily vanity? No, not in the Lord,
For He sheds His light on the way that is true
And gives to us grace that will thereby afford
The power to do what we know we should do!

Appropriate Approval

"Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue. For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:42,43).

Whose approval are we seeking:
That of men or God above?
Would we rather hear God speaking
Or the human praise we love?

Purge our hearts, Lord! Rid us of
A love to hear mere men applaud.
May we rather seek and love
The sole approval of our God.

Call of His Cause

August 15: CALL of His CAUSE

"Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour? But for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name" (John 12:27,28).

When trouble invades my soul with its power,
What then shall I say to it all?
It is for this cause that I came to this hour:
The words of My Lord I recall.

My Savior knew all of the trouble that waited,
Yet none of it gave His soul pause.
In spite of the sorrows He anticipated,
He never lost sight of His cause.

And what was the cause to which He was drawn?
Was it not to procure my salvation?
Yes! It was for my soul He marched on,
To save me from sure condemnation!

The call of His cause now beckons my soul;
I lift up my eyes to His throne.
Trouble may come, but He's control;
I'll press toward the cause He makes known.

Odor of the Ointment

"Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment... Then saith... Judas Iscariot... Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?.... Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of My burying hath she kept this" (John 12:3-7).

When Mary worshipped Christ our Lord
Anointing then His feet,
The costly ointment that she poured
Could not have been more sweet.

For there was more than her perfume
Applied thus with her hair:
It was her worship in that room
With love that filled the air.

Yes, Judas saw it all as loss
Through eyes obscured with greed,
Yet Mary's heart foresaw the cross
And Christ who met her need.

The odor of that ointment rose
To heaven's highest court,
As will the fragrance of all those
With worship of this sort.

Stopping Stone

"Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus.... cried with a loud voice, Lazarus come forth. And he that was dead came forth" (John 11:39-44).

There is a lesson here for us
We see within the stone
That sealed the grave of Lazarus
That God would teach His own.

Jesus said to take away
The stone that hid the dead.
Simple faith should just obey
And do what Jesus said.

He did not tell them to reprove
Or argue with their story,
He simply told them to remove
That stone to see His glory.

And once they did that simple task
That faith would have them do,
Above all they could think or ask
Came forth into their view!

Is there a stone that God demands
You take now from your heart?
Do that which your Lord commands;
He'll do the harder part!

Honest Hours

"Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him" (John 11:9,10).

Among the twelve hours of light in the day,
There is not even one we should waste
By walking in darkness and going astray,
For our nightfall is coming in haste.

Shall we not walk everyday in the light
Of living to please our dear Lord?
Shall we not honestly walk in His sight
With all of the grace He’ll afford?

How quickly the sun on your short day will set!
Your days and your hours are numbered.
The twelfth hour comes! Will it bring you regret
For work left undone while you slumbered?