Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.
The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying:
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”
“How great you are, Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel.
To you, LORD, I call; you are my Rock, do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you remain silent, I will be like those who go down to the pit.
Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help,
as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.
Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy.
Blessed are those
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
LORD, you are the God who saves me;
day and night I cry out to you.
May my prayer come before you
turn your ear to my cry.
I call to you, LORD, every day;
I spread out my hands to you.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come into his courts.
Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come before him.
Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.
Tremble before him, all the earth!
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
I love the LORD, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
and praise the LORD.
“Yes Lord, walking in the way of Your truth we wait eagerly for You, for Your name and renown are the desire of our souls.”*
*This version of Isaiah 26:8 is a combination of the NIV and NASB translations.
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even children grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
But those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
“The Word of God!”
The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing.
For the message of the cross is foolishness
to those who are perishing,
But to us who are being saved
it is the power of God.
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
12Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
I was reading a devotional this morning by Stormie Omartian. He (I mean SHE – thanks Char!) said this about Grace…
Grace is always a surprise. You think it’s not going to happen, and it does.
I like her description of grace. It reminded me that even though I may not realize God’s grace on any given morning, it’s there – ready to surprise me. I’m thankful for the grace God has extended to me today, amazing.
It’s really windy today.
Ken Grant
December 18, 2007 at 10:08 am //
The concept of grace is one we really need to try to wrap our minds around.
Here’s an excerpt of something I put together on the subject a little while ago — I think both Stormie and T-Bone would appreciate being referenced in the same post:
T Bone Burnett is known these days as the musical genius behind such music as the soundtracks to “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?” and “Walk The Line.” Mr. Burnett has always been an interesting musician and an incredible songwriter. In 1988 he recorded a song called “The Wild Truth” (if you ever get a chance to purchase “The Talking Animals” by T Bone Burnett, do – it is an awesome recording). Anyhow, the song ends with these lines:
Are was supposed to take all this greed and fear and hatred seriously?
It’s like watching dust settle.
It never changes.
It’s too consistent.
Mercy is not consistent.
It’s like the wind.
It goes where it will.
Mercy is comic,
and it’s the only thing worth taking seriously.
I need the wild truth.
So, do any of us really, truly believe in this mercy, this grace? I am more convinced than ever that this is the concept that must be experienced (both receiving and offering) in order to truly claim to have a Judeo-Christian belief system.
char
December 23, 2007 at 11:55 pm //
hey terry-
not that this is an important factor in your blog- but i’m pretty sure Stormie Omartian is a woman- she wrote- The Power of a Praying Woman, The Power of the Praying Wife, The Power of the Praying Mom, etc. just a little fyi
char-see you onChristmas!
Terry Foester
January 2, 2008 at 1:46 pm //
Char – thanks for keeping me straight!