Monday, May 11, 2009, 9:13 a.m. – I woke to this song in my head:
Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken / Henry F. Lyte / Mozart/ Arr. Hubert P. Main
Jesus, I my cross have taken,
All to leave and follow Thee;
Destitute, despised, forsaken,
Thou, from hence, my all shalt be.
Perish every fond ambition,
All I've sought, and hoped, and known;
Yet how rich is my condition,
God and Christ are still my own!
Let the world despise and leave me,
They have left my Savior, too;
Human hearts and looks deceive me;
Thou art not, like man, untrue;
And, while Thou shalt smile upon me,
God of wisdom, love, and might,
Foes may hate, and friends disown me;
Show Thy face, and all is bright...
Haste then on from grace to glory,
Armed by faith and winged by prayer;
God's eternal days before thee,
God's own hand shall guide thee there.
Soon shall close thy earthly mission,
Swift shall pass thy pilgrim days,
Hope shall change to glad fruition,
Faith to sight, and prayer to praise.
I could not get to sleep last night – too much caffeine intake yesterday - so I spent some time talking with the Lord:
Sunday, May 10, 2009, 11:07 p.m. – I was in bed wide awake, so I began talking with the Lord. I thanked him for my day (Mother’s Day); for the time with my husband, children and grandchildren; and for my new camera (my first digital camera) and for the ability to take pictures of my family. I had a lot of fun taking the pictures, loading them on my computer and then sharing them with others.
I was expressing to the Lord how I knew that cameras and picture-taking were temporal and that all these kinds of things are going to pass away, yet I enjoyed what he had provided for me and I was grateful for what I had for the time that he allotted it to me. I’m not a big picture taker, but I was enjoying this new experience.
Just as I was acknowledging to the Lord that I knew that the things of the earth which he has given to us to enjoy are going to pass away, He put this song in my mind:
Just a Closer Walk with Thee / Unknown
I am weak, but Thou art strong,
Jesus, keep me from all wrong,
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.
Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.
When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more,
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom, dear Lord, to Thy shore.
Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
I believe that last night and this morning that the Lord was helping me to keep things in perspective and to gently remind me of why I am here, of the shortness of time, and what my focus should be. This passage of scripture says it well:
I Co. 7:29-31: What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.
To me, this is not saying that we can not enjoy the things of this world, but we should keep all things in the perspective of eternity. We should keep all things in the perspective of our relationship with Jesus Christ and His Lordship over our lives. We should realize that all the things of this world are not ours to keep and we should not get engrossed in them. So, I appreciate the gentle reminder from the Lord to keep all things in perspective and to keep my focus on Him.
I read II Peter 2, and these verses stood out to me – vv. 7-9a:
… and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials…
I thought about how a closer walk with the Lord involves seeing life from God’s perspective – seeing what he sees and feeling what he feels, and this is the life that Lot had. I prayed, “May I always be distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men as Lot was, and may I never desensitize myself to sin – to the lawless deeds I see and hear about. May my soul be tormented as was Lot’s over the sins of mankind.”
Back to Today: Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read II Peter 3:
In Summary: Again, I sensed this was a gentle reminder from the Lord concerning the shortness of time, the understanding of the times we live in and that this world is not our home nor are the things of this world mine to keep nor should I be engrossed in them. It was a gentle reminder that, with regard to eternity, that my focus should be holy living and that I should be on guard that I don’t get carried away by the pleasures of the world. Again, this is not saying that I can not enjoy what God has provided, but that I should keep in perspective why I am here and that this world in its present form are going to pass away. I need to do everything with eternity’s values in view. So, thank you, Jesus, for this reminder! Amen!!
Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken / Henry F. Lyte / Mozart/ Arr. Hubert P. Main
Jesus, I my cross have taken,
All to leave and follow Thee;
Destitute, despised, forsaken,
Thou, from hence, my all shalt be.
Perish every fond ambition,
All I've sought, and hoped, and known;
Yet how rich is my condition,
God and Christ are still my own!
Let the world despise and leave me,
They have left my Savior, too;
Human hearts and looks deceive me;
Thou art not, like man, untrue;
And, while Thou shalt smile upon me,
God of wisdom, love, and might,
Foes may hate, and friends disown me;
Show Thy face, and all is bright...
Haste then on from grace to glory,
Armed by faith and winged by prayer;
God's eternal days before thee,
God's own hand shall guide thee there.
Soon shall close thy earthly mission,
Swift shall pass thy pilgrim days,
Hope shall change to glad fruition,
Faith to sight, and prayer to praise.
I could not get to sleep last night – too much caffeine intake yesterday - so I spent some time talking with the Lord:
Sunday, May 10, 2009, 11:07 p.m. – I was in bed wide awake, so I began talking with the Lord. I thanked him for my day (Mother’s Day); for the time with my husband, children and grandchildren; and for my new camera (my first digital camera) and for the ability to take pictures of my family. I had a lot of fun taking the pictures, loading them on my computer and then sharing them with others.
I was expressing to the Lord how I knew that cameras and picture-taking were temporal and that all these kinds of things are going to pass away, yet I enjoyed what he had provided for me and I was grateful for what I had for the time that he allotted it to me. I’m not a big picture taker, but I was enjoying this new experience.
Just as I was acknowledging to the Lord that I knew that the things of the earth which he has given to us to enjoy are going to pass away, He put this song in my mind:
Just a Closer Walk with Thee / Unknown
I am weak, but Thou art strong,
Jesus, keep me from all wrong,
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.
Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.
When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more,
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom, dear Lord, to Thy shore.
Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
I believe that last night and this morning that the Lord was helping me to keep things in perspective and to gently remind me of why I am here, of the shortness of time, and what my focus should be. This passage of scripture says it well:
I Co. 7:29-31: What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.
To me, this is not saying that we can not enjoy the things of this world, but we should keep all things in the perspective of eternity. We should keep all things in the perspective of our relationship with Jesus Christ and His Lordship over our lives. We should realize that all the things of this world are not ours to keep and we should not get engrossed in them. So, I appreciate the gentle reminder from the Lord to keep all things in perspective and to keep my focus on Him.
I read II Peter 2, and these verses stood out to me – vv. 7-9a:
… and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials…
I thought about how a closer walk with the Lord involves seeing life from God’s perspective – seeing what he sees and feeling what he feels, and this is the life that Lot had. I prayed, “May I always be distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men as Lot was, and may I never desensitize myself to sin – to the lawless deeds I see and hear about. May my soul be tormented as was Lot’s over the sins of mankind.”
Back to Today: Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read II Peter 3:
In Summary: Again, I sensed this was a gentle reminder from the Lord concerning the shortness of time, the understanding of the times we live in and that this world is not our home nor are the things of this world mine to keep nor should I be engrossed in them. It was a gentle reminder that, with regard to eternity, that my focus should be holy living and that I should be on guard that I don’t get carried away by the pleasures of the world. Again, this is not saying that I can not enjoy what God has provided, but that I should keep in perspective why I am here and that this world in its present form are going to pass away. I need to do everything with eternity’s values in view. So, thank you, Jesus, for this reminder! Amen!!
