die to self

"On the last evening of his life George Whitefield started to mount the stairs of the Presbyterian manse at Newburyport, Massachusetts. Though but fifty-five, he was tired and weak, utterly worn out from his lifetime of evangelistic labours, and for days he had been so infirm that he ought not to have left his bed.
But as he ascended the stairs people came pressing in at the door, begging to hear the Gospel form his lips once more. In response he paused and began to preach. There he stood, candle in hand, and such was his zeal that he spoke on, heedless of the passing of time, till the candle finally flickered, burned itself out in its socket and died away."

Taken from "George Whitefield" by Arnold Dallimore c.1970 Bath Press

Do you see in those words the dedication of this man's life to the truth? This was the last night of his life, no doubt he was as sick and weak as can be imagined. Yet he preached on and on into the night, oblivious of his ailments or of the clock. So full of desire to see men come to knowledge of the truth.
When I read those words immediate conviction came to my lazy heart. How many times have I neglected studying or presenting truth because I was tired or sick or out of sorts? May we learn from this man greatly used by God that if one wants to be great in God's kingdom, he must be slave and servant on earth to all. Serving the greatest gift ever given - Truth - to men.

in HIS hands

Grace By Which I Stand

Lord, the feelings are not the same,
I guess I'm older, I guess I've changed.
And how I wish it had been explained,
that as you're growing you must remember,
That nothing lasts, except the grace of God, by which I stand, in Jesus.
I know that I would surely fall away, except for grace, by which I'm saved.
Lord, I remember that special way,
I vowed to serve you, when it was brand new.
But like Peter, I can't even watch and pray, one hour with you,
And I bet, I could deny you too.
But nothing lasts, except the grace of God, by which I stand, in Jesus.
I'm sure that my whole life would waste away,
except for grace, by which I'm saved.
But nothing lasts, except the grace of God, by which I stand, in Jesus.
I know that I would surely fall away, except for grace, by which I'm saved.
- By Keith Green copyright to Sparrow Records

These words rung true in my ears today as I was playing this cd. If not for the grace of God where would I be? I would be on my way to hell. All the human effort in the world cannot bring me one inch closer to Him. And He is so gracious, so forgiving. Like the song says, I've made those vows to pray more, to study more...to do whatever more. And every time I come up short of my own goal. If I come up short of my own goal, it is so obvious I could never even begin to reach the goal of perfection required by Christ. Hebrews 12:14 is so clear "Without [holiness] no one will see the Lord." That excludes everyone. No one can see the Lord on his own efforts. Only through the grace of God in Christ's sacrifice on our behalf. Only when HIS righteousness is imputed to us through regeneration (II Corinthians 5:21).

Like the song, and more importantly, the scripture says. If it were up to me, to my efforts, I would surely fall so utterly far away. Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." But it is not dependent on me - it is Christ who does the work and praise Him for Philippians 1:6:

"And I am sure of this,

that He who began a good work in you

will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."

It's all in the cupholder...

Today as E and I strolled through Wal Stuff Mart I had to laugh at the photo on a carseat box.
The picture on the front is of a smiling 4-ish little boy quietly reading a magazine with his sippie cup neatly settled into the cupholder. Yes, if you purchase the deluxe model with pull-out cup holder and magazine rack, your little one will have hours of car-ride excitement.

The cupholder would be a wasted expense for my little one, sad to say. The cup would be up, down, all around the car, but definitely NOT in the cupholder when she decided she wanted to take a sip. Then while driving 65 mph down the highway I would unbuckle my belt, reach around searching for lost cup only to find it under the seat. Then we must pull over, get out of the car, reach under seat and grab sippie cup for screaming baby. But the cupholder would not be empty, oh, no it would be a wonderful place to stash shoes and socks, which are the most exciting things to play with in the car. Instead of the cupholder, I'll just be sure to pack some extra cups and all will be well.

Just wanted to make a note for my faithful readers....Due to an overwhelming desire to nap and eat animal crackers during the afternoon, my blogging is sparce. Hopefully once June hits, the nautiousness will be over and I'll be my old self again. Until then, checking once every 2 weeks might see an update or two!