Morning Prayer: 4/1/2014

“15 My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from
them that persecute me. 16 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy
mercies’ sake.” (Ps 31:15-16 AV)

Dear Precious Heavenly Father: Everything in my life, all the good times and all the
bad times are in Your hand” You bring both evil upon the sons of men and You bring
good, and as Your children know these things, plenty and want, joy and sorrow, death
and living, hope and despair, winning and losing, and health and sickness.

But in a special way You hold the times of Your people in Your hand, so that they are
measured out according to our capacity and calling. You do not give us an excess of
good things, or we would forget You and forget the hope of heaven, and we would
treasure Your gifts more than You.

Neither do You give us more trouble than we can bear, but You also make a way to
escape that we are able to bear it. Hence, we can never be overthrown by our sorrows,
for they serve Your good purpose of making us strong, correcting our errors, and
making us partakers of Your Holiness.

So even in good times and bad times, Your face shines upon us, and we will not be
delivered into the hands of our enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil. Your
mercies are high above the heavens and nothing can take them out of Your hand and
take them from Your servants. We love You, O Lord Jesus, and we want no Lord but
You, no God but You, and we are content.

Amen and Amen.

10 But he [Job] said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh.
What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all
this did not Job sin with his lips.

Hebrews 12: 5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto
children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art
rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son
whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for
what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

Musical Idolatry?

Ps 33:3 "Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise." "skilfully" means with beauty and
pleasure [toward God, for the music is to be "unto him" as a spiritual sacrifice to His majesty and
greatness], "loud noise" means "alarm, signal, sound of tempest, shout, shout or blast of war or alarm
or joy."

Nowhere is music to be used as a protest dishonoring mothers and fathers and setting asides
grandmothers and grandfathers, and sowing strife and discord. Ps. 33 extols the glory and majesty of
God and begins, "Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright." "comely"
means "beautiful" [before God] and doesn't fit a fool: Pr 19:10 "Delight is not seemly for a fool; much
less for a servant to have rule over princes." Humility, truth, and sound doctrine are the foundation for
"comely" praise in music or in anything else, for gravity and seriousness must mark all of our worship
of the Lord, even our rejoicing. Hence, those who lead the church must be "grave" men [1Tim 3 and
Titus 2] The church is the temple of God, not a place for silly ditties and stupid doctrines.

The church is primarily a place to hear the voice of God. Hab. 1:18 What profiteth the graven image
that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work
trusteth therein, to make dumb idols? 19 Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb
stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in

 the midst of it. 20 But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him."

An idol can be an instrument of music, made of brass, or wood, or hide and can become an object of
veneration as though worship cannot take place without it. A guitar which becomes an essential for
"worship" is a false God, for the only essential for worship is lively preaching of the word of God and
humility and reception of that word in the hearts of the people. And yet thousands turn away from
sound preaching in order to have a guitar or any instrument of music and are idolaters as certainly
as those who enter the temple of Baal.

Erring Through Wine

Isa 28:7 "But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of
the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed
up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they
stumble in judgment."

If you have known those who are alcoholics, you know that you have not seen the real
person for years; you have been talking and relating to the alcohol. The alcohol distorts
his judgment, victimizes him, and makes him unfit to render judgment in church or in
state. When they sober up, you may be amazed at what a different person has been
hidden under the alcohol.

Alcohol swallows up people and turns them out of the way. This is the reason that
elders and overseers in the church must not be abusive of wine or strong drink, for how
can they be just with men when they err in vision and stumble in judgment?

Proverbs 31: "4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for
princes strong drink: 5 Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of
any of the afflicted."

Of course, the sin is not in the bottle or in any material thing: the sin is in the heart; the
lovelessness that turns to self-indulgence rather than doing the hard work of judgment
in church or state. It is an idolatry and rejects the world that God created in favor of a
dream world created by the drug.

Morning Prayer: March 28, 2014

March 28, 2014 Morning Prayer and Meditation from Psalm 25

Precious Heavenly Father, none of us can stand if You should remember all of our
sins. Yet, You do remember them and they are written in your books, which shall be
opened at the last day. Though we may have forgotten or ignored them, we will be
judged by the things that are written in your books. Romans 2:6 and Revelation 20:12,
13.

Even the sins of our youth are remembered by You, O Heavenly Father and how we
are besotted by them. What great forbearance and longsuffering you have showed to
us, to lead us to repentance and faith.

We confess, O Precious Heavenly Father, that there is no cleanser nor soap that can
wash away our sin, try as we can. Only the blood of Jesus of Nazareth, Your Only
Begotten son can wash away the stain of them.

We would go nowhere else than to that fountain of blood that was opened at Calvary,
and there we would wash and be clean. We do confess our sins, and dark and wicked
though they be, we are made clean and pure forever for you are faithful and just to
forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all iniquity.

We believe, O just and holy God, our Heavenly Father, that you have put our sins
away as far as the east is from the west; behind you back, to be remember against us
forever. This, only, because we have faith in Your Son, the Lamb of God who takes
away the sins of anyone in the world who believes on Him and the blood of His cross.
Amen and Amen. In His name we pray.

I saw One hanging on a tree!

by John Newton

In evil long I took delight,
Unawed by shame or fear,
Till a new object struck my sight,
And stopped my wild career.

Chorus:
O can it be upon a tree
The Savior died for me
My soul is thrill, my heart is filled
To think He died for me.

I saw One hanging on a tree,
In agonies and blood;
He fixed His languid eyes on me,
As near His cross I stood.

Sure never till my last breath,
Shall I forget that look!
It seemed to charge me with His death,
Though not a word He spoke.

My conscience felt and owned the guilt
And plunged me in despair
I felt my sins His blood had spilt
And helped to nail Him there.

Alas! I know not what I did,
But now my tears are vain:
Where shall my trembling soul be hid?
For I the Lord have slain.

A second look He gave, which said,
"I freely all forgive;
This blood is for your ransom paid;
I die that you may live."

Thus while His death my sin displays
In all its blackest hue,
Such is the mystery of grace,
It seals my pardon too!

http://tinyurl.com/pv5cvum

Ps 25:7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O LORD.

Morning Prayer: March 27, 2014 Titus 3:14

March 27, 2014   Morning Prayer  Meditation and Prayer on Titus 3:14

Precious Father in Heaven,

We want your Name to be glorified in the work that we do today. May we be useful in
your kingdom and not live in idleness and vanity. Save us from wasting time and
resources, which should be put to necessary and urgent uses. You have said that we
must build in gold and silver and precious stones, and not in wood hay and stubble.

The wise man said that we should seek wisdom as better than gold and silver and our
Lord Jesus said that our treasures should be laid up in heaven and not on earth. How
necessary and urgent is the care of men’s souls, for there is no profit in gaining the
world and losing our souls!

In doing this, O Father, you have said we will be like trees planted by rivers of water,
bringing forth fruit in due season and prospering. Otherwise we are like the chaff that
the wind blows away.

How precious is our Christ and Savior, and we would live lives of value for His praise
and glory. We ask these things in the Name of our Lord Jesus, Amen.

Morning Prayer, March 23, 2014

Ephesians 2:21,22

Dear Precious Father, what a glorious privilege it is to go to Your temple this morning
to fellowship with the people that you have loved and called into a holy fellowship....

Your beloved Apostle John wrote that we know we have fellowship with You because
we have fellowship with the Apostles by whom your sent the word of grace, the light
of the holy Gospel to all the world. We love your Word, dear Lord, because it is in
Your word that we see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Bless your church in all her parts throughout the whole world, we pray. Confirm her in
the faith, exhort her by your faithful ministers, and discipline her by your holy rule
from heaven.

We love you, Lord Jesus, and we love your people. We pray in your Holy Name,
Amen.

21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. --Ephesians 2

Morning Prayer, March 22, 2014

Psalm 119:12, 13 "Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes. With my lips
have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth."

O precious Father, you teach us your words so that we may speak them. A baby's
mumblings are sweet and cute, but growing up in Christ means to learn and to know
how to speak your words. Dear Father, it is precious that you understand our groanings
which cannot be uttered, but how much more blessed we are when we can open our
mouths with words of praise and thanksgiving. Man rises to his highest when he
confesses with his mouth the Lord Jesus and believes in his heart that God has raised
Him from the dead.

When we present our bodies to You as living sacrifices, that includes our lips and our
voices that were created to speak your praises and your righteousness.

Ho 14:2 Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all
iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.

May it be so with us, O Holy Father, in the name of Christ, we pray.  Amen.

Prayer and Meditation on Psalm 27:5-8

Psalm 27:5-8

I have sought after You, O Precious Father, because You first sought after me. When
You said, “Seek ye my face,” it was like You had said “Let there be light,” for my
heart immediately responded, “Thy face, Lord, will I seek.”

It was Your powerful command that caused the light to shine our of darkness on the
first day of Your wonderful creation, and it was Your powerful command that shined
into my heart, to give the light of the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
“Follow me,” was Your powerful command to that tax collector, who immediately rose
up, left all, and followed Jesus.

For we confess, O Lord, that we did not choose You, but You chose us for Your own
glorious purpose before the world ever began. You saved us and called us with an holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”

Therefore we must not fear in the day of trouble, for You will hide us in Your holy
tabernacle which the world cannot know, for it is hidden from them. There we stand
upon the solid rock of Christ who can never be moved.

There, in Your church, we offer up to You the spiritual sacrifices, coming from our
whole body, soul, and spirit—sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise. We also offer up to
You our very bodies, for we have not really offered ourselves to You unless we give
You our bodies, for that is our reasonable service.

This brings great joy to our hearts, O Lord, and we sing praises to You, bubbling up on
our hearts because of Your mercy and grace. For we believe You, O Precious Father,
for You will hear us when we cry to Your for mercy, and You will answer us.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord You have made us vessels of mercy from Adam’s sinful
clay. So we bless You, our blessed God and precious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
which according to Your abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

We praise and magnify Your Name, O most High God, in the Name of Your Son,
Jesus of Nazareth. Amen.

Morning Prayer: 3/21/2014

Morning Prayer for March 21, 2014. 

Psalm 14:1

Dear Lord, save me from playing the fool today. I mean, I am so prone to act as if there
were no God. I trust my own thoughts, my own feelings, my own decisions just as if
You had not said, “He that trusts in his own heart is a fool.”

Intellectual atheism is so easy to refute and reject, but this practical atheism is more
deadly and poisonous. It robs us of our joy in fellowship with You; it causes us to
blush and retreat before the ungodly; and endangers the soul itself.

Forgive, O Lord, this demon that rests in my flesh and teach me the power of your
Cross, so that I might know Christ and the power of His resurrection, being made
conformable to His death. In the name of Christ my Savior, Amen.

Psalm 14:1 "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they
have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good."

New Revelations?

“God who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by
the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath
appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.” --Hebrew 1:1,2

The implications of our text are plain. God used to do something, but now He no
longer does that because His Son has come. What did He used to do? He used to speak
at sundry times and in divers manners. He spoke by visions, by dreams, by prophets,
by signs and wonders; once he even spoke to a prophet by a donkey.

All this was done in this manner in order to indicate that the Truth, the Perfection, the
Way had not yet appeared.  Even the great Moses saw only the hinder parts of God and
complete and perfect revelation would come the Lord Jesus Christ.

What Are “Last Days”?

But in these “last days” it is not God's purpose to take away from the glory of His Son
by cluttering up the message by words “at sundry times and in divers manners.” “Last
days” has a uniform meaning in Scripture, the times of the Gospel, the word of our
Lord Jesus Christ. They are the last days because they are the days predicted by the
Old Testament prophets, and when Jesus appeared, there was no other message left for
God to speak to the world, because Christ is the appointed heir over all things. 

Degrading Christ 

Those who pretend new revelations, or those who long for new revelations, are
downgrading Christ, and slandering Him, as if He did not speak plainly, or that His
message is out of date, or as if He didn't really know everything that we need to know
about God, going to Heaven, and doing what is right.

There are those who would speak of the Holy Ghost as if He had a message “more
full” than the gospel of Christ. It reminds me of my children when they were small.
Sometimes after their mother would tell them something, they would come to me and
ask the same question, because they hoped I would give them permission to do
something other than what their mother said. It didn't happen very often, because their
mother and I soon put a stop to it. We always tried to be on the same page, so they
could not play us off against each other. They soon found out that it was wrong for
them to ask me something that their mother had already spoken to.

Words for the Last Days

Our text tells us that Christ's words are the words for the last days. The words for the
last days are the last words. It was the Holy Ghost who spoke in the prophets and who
spoke of Christ. It was Christ who poured out the Holy Ghost on the Church. It is in
Christ that all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily.

(Col. 2:9), and that means that we are complete in Him (Col. 2:10). Through the men
whom He appointed personally, He finished the doctrine of the gospel and established
His church (Acts 10:41), and God bore them witness with mighty signs and wonders
(Heb. 2:3,4). Being complete, there are no other experiences, there are no other
messages, there are no other blessings. Having Christ is all there is; but the all is all.

This does not limit the church in blessing, gifts, or opportunities; but clears the way for
faith in Christ to lay hold on the true fullness that is in Him.

People Just Need Christ
Because of this, if you are in Christ, all things are yours (I Cor. 3:23). The reason we
do not need any other message is because Christ is the creator of all things, and they
were all created to display His excellences. Like Paul, we should understand that “the
fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in
God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now unto the
principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the
manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ
Jesus our Lord: in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of
him.”

How to Abound
Peter tells us how to abound in this faith. In Jesus Christ we have all things that pertain
to life and godliness (2Pet. 1:3,4) so that we can escape the corruption that is in the
world through lust.

It is not by adding some new revelation or by lusting after signs and wonders, but by
“diligently” (vs. 5) adding “to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to
knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to
godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.” (II Pet. 1:5-7) There
are no shortcuts, and those who promise shortcuts will take you away from Christ.

If we do what Peter commands, then we will not be barren nor unfruitful in the
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we will “never fall,” but have an abundant
entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (vs. 11).

The Source of Strength
The Apostles knew where the source of their real strength, wisdom, power and
knowledge was: it was in Jesus Christ, the Word that was made flesh. Paul, “I can do
all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Phil. 4:13). Matthew: “Jesus came
and spake unto them saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye
therefore....” (Matt. 28:18). Peter and John: “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth
rise up and walk” (Acts 3:6).

The Strength of Revival
This was the power and the genius of the great Protestant Reformation. Satan's
kingdom would be overthrown and his minions vanquished by one thing alone: faith in
Jesus Christ. Not by holy water, not by exorcism, not by magic ceremonies, not by the
mutterings and peepings of ignorant priests, but by the preaching of the gospel of faith
in Jesus Christ.

They saw that all these other things were but devices to hold people in bondage to the
devil, and under his control. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works lest any man should boast. For we are his
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:8-10). The victory was by faith in Jesus
Christ alone (I John 5:4). For this reason they were not ashamed of the Gospel of
Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth (Rom. 1:16.

To depart from this gospel to seek signs and wonders, new revelations, and new
gospels, is to depart from Christ and lose all possibility of salvation, for the just shall
live by faith (Rom. 1:17).

The Only Savior
Those whom God saves, He saves by the gift of faith in Jesus Christ. None other are
saved, but remain under the power and control of the devil. On this the Bible is very
clear (John 14:6; 1 John 5;11,12; Acts 4:12).

Meditation and Prayer on Psalm 27: 1-4

1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the
strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my
flesh, they stumbled and fell.
3 Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war
should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
4 One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the
house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to
enquire in his temple.

Precious Heavenly Father, I confess that You are indeed my light and my salvation.
You are my natural light, for You are the Creator of the sun, moon, and stars, and You
made my eyes to behold and rejoice in light and color and beauty. How You must have
loved Your creatures as You delighted in making them and placing them in such a
colorful and beautiful universe. How blind are those who deny You, and refuse to seek
You among these beauties.

You are my salvation and have delivered me from the kingdom of darkness and
translated me into the kingdom of Your dear Son. You, who first commanded the light
to shine out of darkness hath shined into my heart to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. How dark was my world of sin and misery
until You came to me, O light of the world, saving my soul and showing me the way of
life.

You are the light of my path, O Precious Lord. The works of sin and darkness
overwhelmed me and I did not seek Your glory, but walked in the darkness of my own
mind and thought, seeking to kindle sparks to light my way, but sinking deeper and
deeper into the night. But You taught me, even when I was young, that the way that a
young man cleanses his way is to walk in the way of the Lord. Your word became a
lamp unto my feet and light unto my pathway. By Your Spirit You lit the lamp of faith
in my heart, and light that has never gone out for You are its Author and Finisher.

For You are the Light that makes faith living and gives hope to me. By Your promises
my path has been lit and I have been able to catch a glimpse of that city that has
foundations, whose builder and maker is God. How vain and shallow are the hopes of
men, when we see them in the light of the great hope that has been set before those
who turn from idols to serve the true and living God.

I have the certain hope that I shall someday be with You in Your City of Light, the
New Jerusalem, that does not need the sun, moon, or stars, for God Himself and the
Lamb are the light of it.

Because You are my Light, I need not fear what my enemies can do. The great enemies
of my soul, the world, the flesh, and the devil have been overcome and conquered by
the blood of the Lamb, so what can feeble men, whose breath is in Your hand do to
me?

I need not fear those hosts of darkness that can only kill the body, for we fear Him who
is the Father of all souls, and can cast into hell, and also can reward with eternal life
those who love the Lord Jesus Christ and trust in Him and follow him as becomes the
children of God.

We are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor
of darkness. We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar
people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of
darkness into his marvelous light.

Therefore, O precious Father, I seek but one thing: that I may dwell in the house of the
Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His
temple. This is the church that You purchased with Your own blood, the pillar and
ground of the truth.  

There in the beauty of the gospel and the sacraments and the promises we truly see the
light of Your promises and in them we see the beauty of our King and we make our
petitions to You in Your house of prayer. 

We walk in the light of Your holy government and order so that we may shine as lights
in the midst of a perverse and wicked generation. By this, men will see our good works
and glorify our Precious Father which is in Heaven.

Blessed be Your glorious Name, forever and ever, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen and Amen

Ending Up.

It is not how you start out that matters; it is how you end up. Many start out, but when the heat of persecution and troubles arise, they turn aside.

12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; Hebrews 3.

The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints does not affirm that you will be saved whether or not you persevere unto the end, but that the faith that saves you is from God and cannot fail to deliver you to the goal, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Only those who are led by the Holy Spirit are the sons of God; the rest turn aside to damnation.

"When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;
For I will be with thee thy trouble to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress."

Meditation and Prayer upon Psalm 121

Psalm 121

“1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth,
and even for evermore.” (Ps 121:1-8 AV)

Our Precious Father in Heaven, we confess this morning that there is no hope for us
arising from this world. There is no hope from the mountains or the hills, no matter
how high they are situated above the world. There is no hope either in man, no matter
how exalted he is nor how honored he is, for every man is made of dust.

Our help comes only from You, O Lord, our God, for You are the Creator of the hills
and the mountains. You raise them up, and you cast them down. You have founded the
earth upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. You still the storms of the seas
and quiet the risings of the people, for You are God and there is none else.
You, even You, are LORD alone; You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with
all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein,
and You preserve them all; and the host of heaven, even the mighty angels worship
You.

It is vain for us to seek for help for anything except from You, oh Lord. You never
sleep and You guard and keep us while we sleep. It is easy for us to stumble on the
stony and slippery path that we must climb, but You will not let our foot be moved, for
You do not sleep, nor does Your attention wander from Your children.

We do not need any man to be our keeper, nor would we presume to be our brother’s
keeper, for You are the keeper of all. You are the savior of all men, especially those
who believe.

We are therefore safe from the heat of the sun, and the baleful influences of the
darkness. Our souls are safe in Your keeping for You preserve us from all evil. Our
times are in Your hands, for the steps of a good man are ordered of the Lord. You will
bring us through times of joy and times of sadness; through heath and sickness;
through want and plenty; through peace and war; through prosperity and persecution,
for all our times and seasons belong to You, even forever more. Teach us to trust in
You for all things, walking in faith and your commandments which you have taught us.

Our trust is in Jesus Christ alone, for He has been appointed by You to be our Mediator
and in Him you have deposited all the riches of grace and power of the Holy Spirit to
comfort, to renew, to protect, to enable us to endure and persevere unto the end. You
preserve us so we can persevere.

In the Name and for the Glory of the Son of God our Mediator, Jesus of Nazareth.
Amen and Amen.

New Geneva and Missions

New Geneva Seminary's focus is teaching servants of Christ for a lifetime of ministry.
We do this teaching primarily on our campus in Colorado Springs. However, over the
years New Geneva has fulfilled this purpose in other places, extending the reach of the
seminary.

In 2002, New Geneva opened an extension in Fredericksburg, VA, meeting at the New
Life in Christ Presbyterian Church. The pastor, Dr. Doug Kittredge, is the Dean. There
are about 12 students there and we have had two graduations services.

New Geneva also has an extension in Israel. Dr. Kittredge had been connecting with
pastors and churches in Israel for many years, and they asked if we could provide
theological education there. New Geneva began in Tel Aviv with the Masters in
Christian Ministry, where we graduated one class; presently we are located in Haifa,
where we have also graduated one class.

New Geneva has also started an extension in Egypt, partnering with Equipping Pastors
International and the Nasr City Presbyterian Church. PCA minister Rev. Jim Fitzgerald
had been working for a number of years to equip church leaders and asked New
Geneva to join him by offering the Masters of Christian Ministry curriculum there. The
inaugural classes were held in March2013.

New Geneva was also asked to begin an extension in the Hyderabad region of India.
Mr. Will Perkins introduced Dr. A. J. Krishna to Dr. Aquila a number of years ago;
this resulted in A. J. asking us to consider offering the same Masters curriculum in
India. Dr. Aquila and Mr. Perkins visited India in August 2013, presenting the first
series of lectures.

In each of these international extensions, we ask qualified instructors from the US to
teach. They raise their own support to cover their expenses, with New Geneva
providing administrative support.

We have also recently added an online extension to our course offerings, after
receiving repeated requests from prospective students who were not able to physically
move to Colorado Springs. We are now in the process of video and audio recording our
classes for online use and have begun four online courses, with students from
Nebraska, Baltimore, and China. In developing our online program, the challenge has
been to retain a sense of community in which students can interact with their
professors and fellow students.

We have sought to accomplish this through live, online conferences with professors,
online forums with fellow students, and mentoring by local pastors. We still believe
that our main focus is what we do in Colorado Springs, but we believe that these open
doors are great opportunities to equip and teach servants of Christ for a lifetime of
ministry here and around the world.

There are startup and administrative costs associated with these extensions and online
courses.

If you would like to support these efforts you can designate your gift to New Geneva to
fund these programs. We will be glad to discuss any or all of these programs with you;
call the office to schedule an appointment. New Geneva Theological Seminary,
Colorado Springs, Co. 719-573-5395

I Love Christmas!

I Love Christmas! 

Yes, it is commercialized. Yes, the -mas refers to the Catholic mass. Yes, there are songs about Santa 

Claus, Rudolf, and some kid's two front teeth. Yes, the pagans worshipped the fir tree, and the druids 

had a thing about mistletoe and yule logs. That is one of the reasons I love Christmas: these are the remnants 

of paganism--remnants that have no idolatrous meaning to us today. 

No one I know worships a Christmas tree, mistletoe or the yule log. We see so many Santa Clauses that no 

kid is going to be confused for very long. It is true that the Greek letter tau was a symbol for Tammuz, but a 

cross does not remind Christians of Tammuz, but of the Savior who died. If there are devils around whose 

followers reverenced Tammuz centuries ago, I am sure that these devils do not laugh up their sleeves--if they 

have sleeves--at the simple Christian who sees in the Cross the symbol of his redemption by the blood of 

Christ. Christ has triumphed over all these things. 

Faith delivers from bondage. 

Although symbols of paganism are everywhere in our culture, yet we know that an "idol is nothing in the 

world'' (I Cor. 8:4). The days of the week are named after the Sun, Moon, Tiu, Woden, Thor, Fria, and 

Saturn. The symbol Rx for a doctor's prescription is ``R'' for ``take'' in Latin, and the symbol of Jupiter, or 

Jove. The symbol means ``Take this medicine under the care of Jove, the patron of medicine.'' But who does that now? 

These are just a few of the examples of why an ethical system based on pagan origins can be unprofitable. 

There may be good and profitable reasons why Christians should not eat meat offered to idols, but being 

contaminated by devils is not one of them. 

If you are anywhere where offerings of incense or anything else are offered in worship of a Christmas tree, 

then you should leave, for a variety of reasons that concern people and not things. Idolatry will defile you, 

even if there are no Christmas trees. Christians are not having fellowship with devils because they have 

Christmas trees, Easter eggs, go to church on Sunday, eat food sold by unbelievers, or listen to music 

composed by unbelievers. 

This thinking even leads some to reject the doctrines of the Virgin Birth, Sunday Worship, and the Trinity 

because the corrupt church of the Middle Ages confessed them. 

There Are Far Deadlier Enemies 

There are other influences in our lives that are far more deadly than worn-out paganisms. There is much 

hypocrisy among Christians that has nothing to do with Santa Claus. There is much false doctrine, and 

dependence upon the flesh that is far more deadly to Christian faith than any Christmas tree. 

We need to fear the gods of secularism, pleasure, and humanism far more than the gods of a dead and 

defeated paganism. I suspect that Satan does more harm getting Christians to condemn other Christians for 

Christmas trees than the tree itself does. Strife, discord, self-righteousness, hypocrisy, and pride: these are 

the devil's best works, and they affect those who decorate a tree as well as those who do not. 

The Doctrine 

Things are unclean only if we esteem them unclean (Romans 14:14). The light in the eyes of children in the 

Christian home when the Christmas tree is trimmed, has nothing to do with paganism, but is part of the joy 

of remembering the birth of our Lord Jesus. It is just family fun. 

But a Christmas tree will not make the modern Christian into a pagan, nor a lack thereof make a modern 

humanist a Christian. In spite of some foolishness, Christmas is rooted in the work of the Savior, without 

which there is no meaning to the holiday. This is the true tree of Christmas, even though some of its modern 

ornaments are frivolous. 

The magic of imagination; the joy of family and friends; a special time to remember God's Son who was 

given to take away sins: These can make the season a precious time for those who love the Lord. Luther 

had the right idea. He thought that the devil should be mocked, because Jesus Christ had thoroughly 

defeated him. I think it is good advice. 

Trinity Covenant Reformed Church 

Meeting: 2511 N. Logan Ave., 

Colorado Springs, CO 80918

Psalm 135:1-6 Meditation and Prayer

Psalm 135:1-6 Meditation and Prayer


-----------

Heavenly Father, our Lord and our King. It is pleasant indeed to sing praises unto Your Name. We look

forward every week to this Sabbath Day, where we remember that You are good and have remembered the

promises that You made to Your people.

You have chosen us to be Christians, to be Your people. We glory in being Your special treasure in the

earth. We are not ashamed to declare it, because You are not ashamed to acknowledge us as Your people.

This is very great and wonderful news for us, Dear Lord, for it is of Your great pleasure that You have done

this. You have done whatever You have pleased in heaven and in earth, in the seas, and in all deep places.

You chose us for Your pleasure and not that there were good things in us that You saw attractive. Indeed, it

was when we were in our sins, alienated from You that Christ died for us.

Your house is the church, the pillar and ground of the truth. Your church has ministers who preach the

gospel, deacons who care for the people, elders who rule that things are done decently and in order so that

the wolves do not waste and destroy. You have pronounced them blessed and they are blessed.

You are very great, O Lord God. You are far above all that we call gods, all that have a name among the

great of the earth. You are so great that their evil cannot touch You, for You are above All and do as You

please, and nothing binds Your hands. You will fulfill all Your purposes and grace for the people of Your

 choice.

So we stand in the house of the Lord every Sunday, dear Lord, and we sing praises unto Your Name. It is

pleasant for us to do so. We are proud to be Your servants, and nothing fits our tongues and our lips and our

voices and our hearts better than to praise the name of the Lord.

We will not number ourselves among those who scoff at the Lord’s House and would remove the walls that

protect us from the world, the flesh, and the devil. It is not a small thing to sing Your praises with Your

people.

A church without walls is no church, for You have built the walls of Jerusalem and Your church is Your

peculiar treasure, belonging to You alone. The church is not like a football game, an afternoon picnic, or a

family reunion.

Blessed be Your Name forever.

We will speak of the glorious honor of Your majesty, and of Your wondrous works. Who is like unto thee,

O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
-----------
1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the name of the LORD; praise him, O ye servants of the LORD.

2 Ye that stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God,

3 Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.

4 For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure.

5 For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.

6 Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.

Prayer on Psalm 119:65-72

Psalm 119_65-72

O Precious Father in Heaven, I know that You have dealt very well with me, as You
have said in Your holy word. Not one of Your promises to me has failed. This is only
because of Your grace and mercy for I have not had good judgment and knowledge,
but by Your grace I have believed Your commandments.

It is of Your mercy that You teach me, for I am as a child before You, without
understanding or knowledge.

Your afflictions have been good and do good to me, because they teach me Your
statutes. Before I had afflictions, I went astray, but now I have learned to walk better
and to be more obedient. How good You have been to me! Truly as a Father You have
instructed and taught me in the way! My heart is filled with Your praises.

The wicked are proud and hate Your precepts. They make up lies about Your children,
as weapons of iron are forged in the furnace. They are very proud and their hearts are
fat and satisfied. They do not know meekness and are not poor in spirit.  They do not
know you and are not your children, for they are not taught of You. 

They mock the godly and take merriment in the failures of Your children. Little do
they know that the day of wrath will sweep them away. 

It is good that I have known afflictions, for You have designed them for me as a kind
and loving Father. There was a time, I confess, when I would almost feel sorry for
myself, but now I know they came from Your Fatherly and gracious hand so that I may
learn obedience from the heart, for You cannot be served with men’s hands.

The pure in heart see You, O father, and this purity is forged only in the
fires of affliction.

Far more precious than thousands of gold and silver are the words of Your mouth, My
Father. Your Word became flesh and dwelt among us, even Jesus of Nazareth, Your
Only Begotten Son.

He was set aside of the builders and cruelly crucified for our sins,  but You raised Him
from the dead and set Him at Your own right hand on the throne of David, and made
Him both Lord and Christ. 

This I know and confess, O heavenly Father. You have dealt very well with Your
servants, Precious Father, for You are good, and do good. This I confess and believe.
Amen and Amen.

----------------------

Psalm 119:65-72

65 Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O LORD, according unto thy word.
66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.
68 Thou art good, and doest good; teach me thy statutes.
69 The proud have forged a lie against me: but I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart.
70 Their heart is as fat as grease; but I delight in thy law.
71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.
72 The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.

Prayer on Psalm 71:1-3

Psalm 71:1-3

Precious Father, we praise and magnify your wisdom and grace. We reject the arm of
the flesh and the wisdom of the flesh, which are confusion and trouble.

You alone are wise and good, O Father, and we have nothing of our own. Our life is
but a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. But our hope is in you
alone. Do not forsake us, O Father, or leave us for a moment, or we will be put to
confusion and waste away.

We are caught in the snare of sin and misery, O Lord, and only your righteousness can
deliver us. We flee to your righteousness, O Lord, for our salvation is in your
righteousness alone. We love the Lord Jesus, whose blood and righteousness has been
appointed for our salvation.

We confess and believe that it is through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
that according as his divine power He has given unto us all things that pertain unto life
and godliness, “through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye
might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the
world through lust.”

Our sinful desires will destroy us, O Lord, so we would escape to your righteousness
and turn from our own ways to find safety in you, our rock and our fortress. We may
continually flee there, O God, for you are our strong dwelling place.

How precious is your commandment, O Lord, for you have given commandment for
our salvation! The hosts of heaven are sent on behalf of those who will be heirs of
eternal life; the very rocks and hills, the seas and the vastness of the heavens bend to
do your will, to accomplish the salvation of those who trust in Jesus Christ.

So we will not fear what man can do to us. Forgive for our doubts and fears, and let us
always seek your obedience and your kingdom before all else.

1 In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion.
2 Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me,
and save me.
3 Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given
commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.

Do Not Fret, My Child. Meditation on Psalm 37:1-4

Prayer and Meditation on Psalm 37:1-4

Precious Heavenly Father, I confess that the way of evildoers burns me up at time and
cause me to fret. But this is directly against Your commandment and is sinful of me.

We are not to fret against the workers of iniquity, for we understand that they have
only a short time given to them.

The times of all men are in Your hands, O Father, and their successes, failures, joys,
and sorrows come from You alone. Evil has only a short time, Dear Lord, for so You
have decreed. Evil men have hooks in their jaws, and in spite of their arrogance and
insults to You and Your people, when the purpose that You have for the evil is fulfilled
in the testing and purification of Your elect, then You yank their chain and they pass
away.

They wither as green herbs in the drought, cut down like the grass, and the wind blows
them away.

This is not true of Your people, for their inheritance is secure. Israel’s inheritance was
the land of Canaan, and that was secure to them by faith. Ours is also by faith but our
inheritance is reserved in heaven for us.

Israel’s inheritance was a figure of the inheritance of the elect, who will inherit the
earth, the reason for which it was created, for You always intended to set man over the
works of Your hands.

So, O Heavenly Father, teach me to trust in You always, and do good to all men. Teach
me to pray more for our enemies and to do good to those who despitefully use us, for
this is Your commandment. It is not my job to cut down the wicked or to see that they
wither; that is what You do as judge of all the earth.

So I glory in this O Lord, that You exercise loving kindness, righteousness, and
judgment in the earth, for You have said that You delight in these things. My job is to
live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present world, doing good to all men,
especially to the household of God. You are the Savior of all men, especially of those
who believe.

There is no other God but You, O Precious Father, and all the world moves and
breathes and labors by Your loving kindness and power. Without You, we could
not so much as move.

How gracious You are to the people You have made, dear Father. You have filled
man’s heart with many desires, all of them good, created to be satisfied by You and
Your gifts. But sin has corrupted our hearts, dear Father, and we seek to satisfy these
desires apart from You, and desires become perverse.

We lust and envy, we war and contend, we lie and deceive because we are sinners.
But we have not because we ask not, and when we ask, we ask not for Your glory
and praise but to wallow in our sin and rebellion.

Teach me, O Lord, to seek my desires in You, for this is why I was created. When we
delight in You, O Heavenly Father, then our deepest and true desires are satisfied, as
Your servant Augustine said, “our souls are restless until we rest in Thee.“ You will
grant to us our deepest desires, when we delight in You, O Lord.

If I ask a fish, You will not give me a serpent; if bread, You will not give a stone; if an
egg, You will not give a scorpion, for You are a gracious and kind Father and know
what I need before I even ask, for You are the Creator of all my desires.

So teach me not to seek them as idols, but as Your child, waiting at Your table to be
fed from Your hand, O Lord, that which is lawful and good for me. You will give the
Holy Spirit and all the treasures stored up in Christ when I ask You. I am content with
Your provisions, for that is my deepest desire. Amen and Amen.

So I need not fret, O Lord about the wicked and the abominable. I will bear witness
and abhor the evil and cleave to the good, for sobriety, righteousness, and godliness
require this.

But I will rest in You, O God, for You are the Author and Finisher of Our Faith, and in
Jesus Christ are stored up all the riches that You pour out upon Your people. To the
rest are weeping and gnashing of teeth, as the Lord Jesus taught. It is enough.
----------
1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of
iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou
shalt be fed.
4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Psalm 37:1-4

Anxious? Try this Meditation on Psalm 3

Psalm 3

I feel anxiety tonight, Dear Lord. There are so many things that trouble my mind:
General anxiety that I cannot really define.

You have been faithful, and I wonder why my soul should be cast down. Help me, O
God of my salvation.

I have cried unto you many times, Oh Lord God, and you have always heard me and
comforted my heart and protected my path.

I have cried to you with my Voice; You will hear me out of Your holy hill. I will lay
me down and sleep and awaken for the Lord will sustain and refresh me.

I will not be afraid of ten thousand troubles and people; whatever Satan brings to
destroy me, for You, O Lord, justify me and protect me.

Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the
cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.

Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. I will think about
THAT.