Crying with my Mouth

Psalm 66:17-20 Meditation and Prayer

O Lord God, you have created all things and all things are yours. You desire that we
present our bodies to you, that all we do is for the glory of God.

I cry to you with my mouth. I will take words and offer them to you; not my words
which are frail and useless, but words that are taught by thy Spirit and are found in
Scripture.

These wonderful words lift you up when they are on our tongues in prayers, singing,
and exhortations.

You will not hear us if we regard iniquity in our hearts, but you have renewed my heart
so that you will hear me. How precious this is, because from the heart come the issues
of life, and from the heart come the words of the tongue.

I could not praise you with my mouth or had thy words upon my tongue, if you had not
given me a new heart as you promised. I have no praise, no prayers, no petitions, no
fervent longing after You, O God, except that which You have given me. I confess
dear Lord, that I could only love Thee because You have first loved me.

Search me, O Lord, and try me. See if there be any wicked way in me. Lead me in Thy
life everlasting. 

Blessed, indeed, are You, O Lord, and nothing is hidden from you. You have not
turned away the prayers of Your servants; nor have you taken your mercy from me.

You did not hesitate to offer up your body for me, Lord Jesus. Give me Your grace that
I do not withhold any of mine from You: that my heart, my lips, my mouth, my tongue
may carry your praises now and forever.

In the precious Name of the Son of God. Amen and Amen.

17 I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue.
18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
19 But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer,

Arrested for Witness.

A Personal Testimony from a Close Friend

I have had the unfortunate opportunity to see some pretty grisly
baby parts in dumpsters in new Orleans when _____ was a baby. I
went with a girlfriend to a Pro-Life conference there. At the time
Operation Rescue was just getting off the ground.

After seeing the truth in front of my own face I made the decision
to get more involved. I was a counselor for Right To Life at that
time as well. We went to abortion mills in LA and San Bernardino.

I have never in my life felt evil on my skin and surrounding me like
a iron blanket. We would pray and try to sing hymns and songs
while sitting there waiting for victims to come to the killing
factories. I would cry for days.

When I finally got arrested in San Bernadino, they were beginning
to charge certain ones with RICO crimes. Having a young family at
the time I prayed to God to tell me what I should do. Pastor
_______ went to court with me many times. He was such a comfort
to me and the group.

God finally showed me that I must take care of my family first and
do counseling and praying/educating, things like that. My heart
breaks for these babies and their mothers.

Well, now that our children are grown, I wonder what God will ask
of me. What ever it is, I pray He will give me strength to give hope
through Christ to these women.

To ANYONE who needs to hear the truth. Thanks for posting that
article about that devil of a man [Gosnell, the Philadelphia
abortionist]. I pray people will take the time and guts to read
it. In Christ, __________

Child of God, Do not be dismayed.

It has seemed worse for Bible believers.  Wycliffe discredited; Huss burned.  Tyranny reigned everywhere.

Conclusion: "Never had official religion been at a lower ebb, or the public image of Christianity more
defaced, than in the second decade of the sixteenth century. It seems as though all opposition to the
unreformed Catholic church from within and without was dying away. The Fifth Lateran Council met
in Rome in 1512 and hear the orator declare: 'Now nobody contradicts, no one opposes.' The Medici
Pope Leo X ascended the papal throne in 1513 with the quip: 'Now that we have attained the papacy,
let us enjoy it.'

"The Lateran Council ended on a note of complacent self-congratulation in March 1517
[, scarce seven months before a solitary German monk, who had found the way for the conscience to
have peace with God would shake the church to its very foundation.] The peace of the Christian
world seemed assured. But the seeds of renewal had been sown, the harvest of Reformation was at
hand. In October of that same year, in an obscure province of the Empire, one roused German
conscience was stung into protest--and the great revolution began." (Lion Handbook) p. 356

God has not abandoned His world.  Be faithful unto death and you will receive a crown of life.

Spirtual Warfare

God could easily have overcome evil by His sovereign power, as He did at Sodom and Gomorrah.
Winning was not the issue; the way to win was everything. God would gain a moral victory over sin,
condemning it, speaking truth, overcoming evil with good, stopping every mouth so that all are guilty
before Him and His glory and purity remain unimpaired. He would be true and every man a liar.

The conflict between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent began at Eden and will not
end until the Final Judgment, but there is no doubt as to the outcome.

Hence, Christ triumphed over death and hell and rose from the dead and ascended to the throne of
David in heaven as Mediator after the order of Melchizedek and rules there until all things are put
under His feet and His enemies made His footstool.

His triumph is and will be twofold: calling to salvation and glory every one of His elect and purging
His universe of all evil, including spiritual wickedness in high places.

The conflict lies in the moral consciousness of men, and Paul addressed the issue always there: 2Co
4:2 "But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the
word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s
conscience in the sight of God."

The elect are called to forsake their wickedness, come to Christ, and to put off the old man and put on
the new. They must "Abhor that which is evil and cleave to that which is good." Satan's kingdom of
lies, murder, wickedness, unbelief, and darkness is overcome by truth, love, righteousness, faith, and
that light which lights every man that comes into the world.

Every child of God is called to follow the King of Kings in this glorious spiritual warfare and there is
no escape for those who shrink from the conflict. As Christians our faith requires us to believe the
Gospel for our salvation and to bear witness of the righteousness of God in every aspect of our lives,
speaking the truth, and upholding God's law as Christ did.

"The wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God." In the New Heavens and
New earth the final decree is this:

Re 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh
abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Re 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and
whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

Meditation on Psalm 130:6-8

Prayer for April 14, 2013. Psalm 130:6-8


O precious Father, we exalt Your Name this morning for You are gracious and kind to all, and do not
forget Your promises to us. You have created the heavens and the earth out of nothing and sustain
them with Your powerful Word, for Your Word cannot change, they endure for as long as Your
Word has appointed for them

So are the times of Your appointment for us, precious Father, that from Your love and grace are
designed for our good and purification.

We have days of light and nights of darkness. We rejoice in the light and joy in faith and love and
righteousness and hope. How good are the days of our faith. But You have also appointed nights for
us, and sometimes our faith is shaken and we are kept only by Your power and goodness. We cry out
to You in the darkness and sometimes we wonder if we are heard, but Your Holy Spirit works faith
and hope in us, hope that shines even in the darkness and brings us encouragement.

And so, in hope we wait for Thee, O precious Father. Sometimes the nights are long indeed, but we
wait for Thee because You have given us hope. We wait as the watchman waits through the long
night for the dawning of the day.

It is Your Word that gives us hope, for the Scriptures tell us that You are merciful and kind and
gracious to Your children, and will not forsake us. There is full redemption in You, O Father, because
of Jesus Christ our Lord.Our problem is our sins and iniquities, O Lord, and we confess that these are
the causes of our darkness.

And this is our hope and trust, that You will bring to us by that same Scripture the calm assurance
that our sins are fully forgiven and put away by the blood of Christ, our redeemer. We can put them
away by Your grace and begin to make progress in our Christian walk and life.

We have faith now in the often darkness of this present life, but the light of hope shines before us
because of Your mercy, and we know that our redemption draws nigh, because of Your promises.

In the Name of Our Precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.


6 My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that
watch for the morning.

7 Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous
redemption.

8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

So you long for the Day of the Lord?

There were also escapists in Israel, who longed for the "Day of the Lord," just as there are those
today to wish for the rapture to take them out of all the misery in the world.  They might as well pray
for death, for that would accomplish the same thing. But they are enjoying the world too much to
pray for death.

Those who pray for the coming of the Lord do not know what they pray for.  To the escapists of
Amos' day he wrote: 

"Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is
darkness, and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house,
and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.  Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness,
and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?"   Amos 5:18-20.

The first social result of the coming of Christ to Israel when He was born in Bethlehem was this: the
slaughter of the children by Herod.  Do you think that the travail of Israel in bringing forth the
Messiah was a bed of ease on perfumed couches?  Do you think that the bringing of all his enemies
under his feet will be accomplished by Christians who park their luxury cars, and go to sit in padded
pews in air conditioned churches, drinking flavored latte, wiggling to snappy music and listening to
preachers tell them that Christ is soon coming to deliver them from their discomfort of living in a
sinful world?  I think not, nor does the Bible support that.

Shall we enjoy the triumph without the battle?  Shall we reap the harvest without the plowing and the
sowing?  Shall we build on sand and expect the Lord to come and deliver us from the storms?  Shall
we foolish virgins expect the Lord to come and reward our lack of provision for the long wait and
endurance?  "Shall we be carried to the skies on flowr'y beds of ease; while others fought to win the
price and sailed through bloody seas?"  Are we not become false prophets of comfort and ease, part
of the wilderness and not voices crying out?

James 1:12  "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the
crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him."
There is more, but this is enough for now.

You have no religion?

You say you don't believe in religion? Then you don't believe in living your faith. Religion is just the

restraint and liberty that are the result of what you believe. I go to church because I believe in Christ

who commanded it. I believe in living the best I can by the Ten Commandments, because Christ

commands it. I am not saved by my religion and you are not damned by yours; you are saved ...by

faith in Christ and damned by believing other stuff, but your religion reveals what you believe. Can't

help it.

"Religion" is derived from the Latin word for "tie, or fasten." Don't trust a man who says he has no

religion: he cannot be trusted for he has no restrain upon his actions; he does as he pleases.

The Scriptures: Self Validating

Neither the Father, nor the Son, nor the Holy Spirit gave me a vision, a dream, a voice or any such
thing that convinced me that the Scriptures are the word of God.

I was convinced by the Scriptures themselves; not from the claims that Scripture makes [though it
does], but because they are the truth, discerning the thoughts and intents of my heart, penetrating the
lies that my own heart fabricates in defense, and leaving me naked before the eye of the Creator and
showing the folly of my own thoughts and the thoughts of all those who try to deny.

The Scriptures are as self-validating as the sun to those with eyes; as the song of the birds to those
with ears; as roses to those who can smell; as the honey to those who can taste; as the warmth of a
mother's love to those who can feel.

But beware: they are life unto life to those whose senses are exercised by the Spirit of God, but they
are death unto death to those who rebel and fly in the face of God.

2Cor. 4:3,4: "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who
is the image of God, should shine unto them."

A Period of Cleansing?

It very well might be that the American Church needs a period of cleansing and testing, a shaking so
that which cannot be shaken may remain. The winds, the rain, the storms come to all houses and they
reveal the foundations, whether sand or the eternal Rock, as Jesus said. Matt. 7:21-29. I do not know
that, for only God knows His own mind, but I do fear His words, which stand forever.

It is not those who say, "Lord, Lord," or even those who do mighty works in the name of Christ who
are of the kingdom of God. The Kingdom consist of those who do the Father's will. [Matt. 7:21ff]

Houses built upon the sand [hearing His word and doing it not, Matt. 7:26] will come tumbling down,
with their homosexual marriages, their feminist rebellion, their male pride and arrogance, their
arrogance of foolishness, and transgressions of the law of God, their irrational and frivolous worship,
their turning the house of prayer into a den a theives, their fornication, their adultery, their theft and
greed, their pretended love that makes merchandise of the poor to advance their power and ambition;
their slaughter of their children on the altar of convenience and pleasure; all come tumbling down, for
disobedience at the foundation of the house destroys the house, and the corruption of the missionary
message into Arminian humanism. You can count on it, according to the word of the Son of God,
whose words will never pass away.

For the Son of God will come in the day you think not [whether in temporal judgment or in the Last
Day], and judgment will begin in the house of the Lord. 1Pe 4:17 "For the time is come that judgment
must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not
the gospel of God?" If the salt has lost its savor, it is fit for nothing but to be cast out and trodden
underfoot.

Heb 12:26, 7 "Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I
shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of
those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may
remain."

Meditation and Prayer on 2Timothy 1:13

2Tim 1:13 "Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which
is in Christ Jesus."

Dear Heavenly Father, I confess that in Jesus Christ I have found faith and love that I could not have
imagined, for I have nothing that can reach so far into the heavens to lay hold on these immense
treasures. Your love has followed me all the days of my life, even when I was not aware of Your
presence.

This love and faith came to me only because of the words of the Gospel that were told to me by
people in whom your love and faith lived. They told me of Jesus and His love for sinners like me.
The story gripped my heart, dear Lord. I did not know how. Later I learned that it was your Holy
Spirit, but I was just a child and only knew that the story was true. I hungered to know more of this
faith and love.

Thank you for raising up your faithful apostles, including Paul who wrote this epistle to Timothy.
The apostles spoke words that you gave them, not words which human wisdom taught them, but
words which the Holy Ghost gave them. These words have meaning, the meaning that you chose to
place under them, so that when we heard the words we would know of your faith and love, and be
constrained by your Spirit to enter into the fellowship of the Gospel through the words of the
Apostles.

We confess, O Lord, that sound words are important, and we should not constantly trying to invent
new ways of saying these precious things, for they came to us in sound and clear words, words that
carried the meaning that You had revealed to us about the faith and love in Christ Jesus.

May we take the time and labor to teach people the meaning of these precious words so that your
message of faith and love is not confusing to the mind. You, O eternal Word and Wisdom of God,
our Lord Jesus, chose words very carefully and taught us their meaning in the Holy Scriptures. These
words have been carefully translated into our languages and we thank God for faithful men who did
this work so that we might have sound words and understand these things. We thank you for the great
creeds of the church that have carefully defined the words in our languages also, so that we might not
go astray in such an important matter.

Teach us, O Lord, to hold fast the form of sound words. Form means as “a lively picture”: the words
must not blur the meaning, but must be chosen carefully and used consistently until people know
what they mean and can rely on the great message of the gospel.  

We thank you, especially, in our day for the clarity of words that we have in our language that, if we
are diligent, we can know the meanings of them and so not go astray from the Gospel of faith and
love which is in Jesus Christ. May we not be guilty of shifting words so that people are not rendered
confused about the Gospel. 

We desire, O Lord, to communicate the Gospel, the same Gospel, that our fathers in the faith
conveyed to us. We want to be able to talk to one another in familiar, sound words that are not being
redefined again and again, according to the fashion and opinions of shifting public opinion.

The World of the Blind?

My sister knew a blind man who had never seen. She and her husband became good friends and one
day she asked the blind man, "What do you think of when you hear the word 'blue.'" "Windex," he
replied. When asked why Windex, the man said,

"One of my earliest memories was of my mom washing windows. She said, 'Oh, the sky is so pretty
today, so blue.' Since that that day, the smell of windex is blue... to me." In the same way, he had
learned to associate the word "yellow" with wood, because of the wooden bannister in their home that
everyone said was yellow.

Of course the "blue" had nothing to do with the color of windex, for he couldn't see that either; it was
the smell that made the association;

What he had done because of his blindness was to create a world of color that had only the faintest
resemblance to color, but involved the other senses.

That's why David prayed, Ps 119:18 "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of
thy law." We are blind to the things of God until His Spirit opens our minds, shut up in our own
world of physical things. Jesus said that we must be "born again" to see the kingdom of God. A
physical birth was not enough.

Thinking with your Greed-Genes.

I was wrong yesterday when I said that the worst thing about socialism is that it deprives you of the best use

of your money. That isn't so.

The worst thing is that it is a system designed by unbelief to try to bring salvation to men from every human 

ill, with no regard to moral choices, economic choices, or faith. It flies in the face of God and His curse upon 

mankind for the sin of Adam. It is a Tower of Babel designed to prevent us from being scattered abroad 

over the face of the earth. It pretends that there is no curse from God and tries to find the blame in 

conspiracies and a few powerful totally depraved people, taking the onus off of the rest of us, letting us feel 

righteous and superior in our professed lack of selfishness and greed. The evil in the world is the greed of the 

few, says socialism, and if economic goods could be taken from these evil few, and distributed to all, then all 

would be good and decent and love one another.

To socialism the curse is poverty and has nothing to do with God, if He exists. It has to do with the rich who 

are bad, not good like us. It does not have anything to do with the Ten Commandments, but everything to do 

with inequality of goods and opportunity. "Christian socialism" is an oxymoron.

The whole thing is a lie. It makes man's rebellion against God even worse, for it refuses repentance and faith 

and rejects God's diagnosis that out of the heart proceed the issues of life, not from economic condition. 

Jesus didn't have a place to lay His head, but He didn't teach equality of goods.

Yes, there are evil rich men. There are also some very evil denizens of the slums and the streets of the cities 

of the world. If you don't think so, wait until they are turned loose in the world by revolutionary self-seekers 

to burn the suburbs and "take what's theirs."

Socialism offers a false savior. It is, hence, antichrist, and has the curse of God upon it. Only that is blessed 

which God has blessed; and only that is cursed which God has cursed.

Some of you pietists out there who think with your greed-gene, will try to remind me of Acts 4:32-37. Yep, I 

said you couldn't think. When I see you giving all your money to the church in order to spread the gospel to 

the end of the world, then I will begin to take you seriously, for that is what happened in Acts. It was not a 

permanent condition or law. I won't [take you seriously] as long as you are taking other people's money in 

order to spread the moral-relativism of socialism to the ends of the world.

Don't cite European nations. How has the faith of Christ fared in the nations dedicated to socialism? Ah! I 

didn't think so.

The issue is not economics; it is faith and morality.

Learn about Your Heritage

Instead of the lies of Noam Chomsky and other hypocrites, you should listen to this course from Hillsdale
College on the true meaning of American History. Those who say the founders were a bunch of white guys
who were just looking out for their interest are as stupid as the guy who said that the Twelve Apostles were
just a bunch of selfish Jews trying to take over the world. I feel sorry for you ...if you think like this, for it is a
dead end.

http://tinyurl.com/d5fbd33   American Heritage. Free. You can also buy the nine hundred pages of
readings, but that is not required. Take some time to educate your family and friends; what they should have
been learning in school instead of global warming, Marxism, racist hatred, taking guns from decent people,
abortion rights, homosexual rights, thievery, and revolution. Don't put it off.

Why is Noam a hypocrite? because if it were not for the wisdom of the Founding Fathers, he wouldn't have
two nickels to rub together, no audience to hear his lies, and nobody to hate. He is like the agnostic who
makes a career attacking and hating God, with all the energy, breath, and cogency that God has gifted him
with.

Evil Socialism

The worst thing about socialism is that it takes money out of your pocket and deprives you of the privilege of
doing good with it. You cannot help your poor relatives; your church; your school; your neighborhood, for it
is taken by a bunch of politicians and given to their friends, often people that you wouldn't want your children
to be around, or shouldn't. Why do crooked politicians know better what to do with your money than you
do?

Dead to Sin?

Meditation for a Snowy Tuesday Morning:

1Co 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have
preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

Col 3:5a Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth;

Oh Precious Father, I confess there is much in me that is not dead to sin. I know that in my flesh
dwells no good thing. It has strong desires that war against desires of the new man which You have
formed in me by Thy Holy Spirit. The Scriptures do not say this in vain.

“I keep under my body,” the holy apostle wrote. It means to beat black and blue, to smite so as to
cause bruises and livid spots, or like a boxer one buffets his body, handle it roughly, discipline by
hardships.

What a sissy I am to seek ease and comfort for the body when we are called to endure hardships as
good soldiers of Jesus Christ.

I know that those old hermits and monks of ancient days did not do right by reading this literally, for
such ascetic exercises do not mortify sin, but often lead to pride and arrogance. Neither will it avail to
cut off the offending members, for Christ did not speak in the concrete, either. It goes much deeper
than that.

For the root of sin is not in the body, for it is the servant of sin and not the cause of sin itself. The
Apostle also wrote, “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but
yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of
righteousness unto God.”

I must deny myself, not just my body, for the root of sin is in my heart, it is me. I am the sinner and
my flesh is the instrument of my sin. I must yield myself to Christ in a kind of death, giving up
myself to Him for life and for death, for He purchased me with the blood of His cross.

No death of mine can atone for my sins. You, precious Lord Jesus, did that by the blood of Your
cross on which You died on Mt. Golgotha outside the city of Jerusalem, made a curse for me and
purchasing for me a perfect righteousness which is not my own. This You did because I was
predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.

But, ah! How far am I from being conformed to Christ!! I am the sinner, O Precious Father, not my
fingers, my toes, my tongue, my eyes, or my ears. Oh, I would take up my cross and follow You, dear
Master, for I am not my own; I was bought with a price, even the precious blood of Christ and I must
not allow sin to rule over me.

So I give up myself to You, Oh Christ my God; my flesh and bone and all my body as a living
sacrifice of thanksgiving to You, for You alone are worthy. Oh, what matchless grace that you would
accept the service of such as I! Because you were crucified for me, let me be a living sacrifice offered
up to You in newness of life, to the praise and glory of Christ forever. Amen and Amen

Heidelberg
Catechism Questiion 115
http://www.trinity-covenant.org/Creeds.htm

There Isn't Anyone, and I Like!

It the idea of a Person with Will and Motive that the agnostic hates. He can accept the blood and
horror of millions of years of evolution as long as there is nothing personal in it. This, he thinks, will
relieve him of the notion that men are sinners in the hand of an angry god. Impersonal angry nature is
ok, for then I am unlucky and not a sinner. I do not have to pray; just offer my thanks ...to the god of
Chaos. He/She/It will get us all sooner or later and all the things we love, but be glad, maybe you will
be one of the lucky ones that gets to stiff the unfortunate, but it won't be your fault, just the roll of the
dice. Do good? what's that and who decides? put your finger to the wind and take a poll? Why should
I feed the poor who are going to die like saps anyway? If there is not enough food, better cull the
herd.

But Chance doesn't escape the wrath of the Creator any more than any other false God. Random
storms, comets, birds flying, tragedies, unlucky "accidents" and many other "random" events will
also chase man from the bed that is too short and the covers too narrow. It has all been tried before
with the same weary result. Every man huddled in his corner, fearful, bitter, and arrogant. But cheer
up. The sharks will eat the big fish.

Psalm 27:12-14 "Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up
against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of
the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen
thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD."

Why NOT Give Your Mind over to the Author of Wisdom?

Why would a person NOT give his heart and mind over to the Author of reason and wisdom? Why 
not love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength?

Because sin has made him mad and he seeks death rather than life. Jer 10:23 "O LORD, I know 
that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." 

Man becomes utterly foolish by fooling himself that there is no god, that the evidence is not clear. 
"The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his 
eyes. For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful." Ps. 36:1,2 
How precious is this entire Psalm 36. Read it, saint, and rejoice and trust.

How can you teach a man whose eyes are closed and his fist clenched against the God who made 
him? How can a poor sinner like me teach a man who is not taught of God? I can tell Him the 
sweet story of Jesus and recount the glories of the Cross, and then my quiver is empty. This is the 
reason for the hope that lies within me, for it is based on nothing else. But I can pray, and that is 
not nothing.

Joh 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore 
that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

Isa 54:13 And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy 
children.

Prayer and Meditation on Isaiah 53:4-6

Isaiah 53:4-6 Meditation and Prayer

“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God,
and afflicted.  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement
of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have
turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isa 53:4-6)

===========

Our Precious Father in Heaven, we come before you as your people, those whom You have purchased with
your own blood.

We know that you have borne our griefs and our sorrows. We did not know how miserable and tragic was
our condition, O Lord, but You knew. You bore our griefs and our sorrows on Your cross, we do confess. 
We affirm that our sins and our transgressions were the cause of our misery and our sorrows, but You bore
them because You bore our sins.

How men and women have suffered since the beginning of the world, O Lord! We come into the world in
pain and crying; we suffer many infirmities and pains in body and soul in the course of our lives, and go out in
agony and suffering. Some have suffered their whole lives and found no remedy in drugs, doctors, or
hospitals. How awful has Thy curse been upon the sons of Adam because of sins!  The world is nothing
more than a vast graveyard where the bones of uncounted generations lie waiting the resurrection of the
dead. Some because of decay, fire, desolation have left not even their bones, but You know and Your
power will bring them forth in the last day.

But you bore all our sorrows and griefs and sins, dear Lord, although the world did not know You. They
mocked You and thought You were accursed of God, as You were, for You took our sins and curse upon
You so that we could be cleansed and blessed of God. It was our iniquities that bruised You; it was the
winning of our peace with the justice of our and Your God that brought the lash of God upon You. It was
Your agony and shed blood and broken body which bring healing to our souls and our bodies at the
resurrection of the dead.

For You, Oh our gracious and heavenly Father, made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him. Our sins were laid on Him, so that we might be clothed in His
righteousness; this we do believe and confess, O God, and our hearts are made glad, even though we weep
for His sufferings.

The Nature of Authority

The Nature of Authority.

Christians in America have a real need to study and understand the nature of authority.  To many of us,
reared in the dominant culture of religious Independencey, authority is something that is of no consequence. 
Nobody has any right to tell any of us what to do, think, or believe.  We listen to our our own will which we
pretend is free.  "It is better to obey God rather than man," is the second most relevant proof text [second to
"Judge not, that ye be not judged."], but by both citations we mean, "I will do as I please, so get out of my
face."

This rebelliousness has found its way into the public arena, as religious ideas always do, so that government
simply becomes more and more a stalemate.  Whatever authority remains is derived from elections, but
accusations of fraud dilute much of that, so that the losers of elections can justify their continuing non-
cooperation by labeling their opposition crooks and scalawags.

Christians, however, ought to be better than than, and have a clear understanding of authority and the biblical
requirement to submit to that which is legitimate.

What Does Excitement Have to Do with Worship?

I want to worship. I don’t need to get excited. Children need to get excited.

The “exciting” movements come and they go, and I am a bit bored with them. It seems that every few
years there is a new and “exciting” movement of “renewal” in the church. Well, let me tell you a
renewal that would please me. First of all I will tell you what I would look for if I went for the first
time to a new church. Then I will tell you what I would NOT want to see if I visited a new church.  

Maybe later I will write what I would hope to see if I visited that church five years later. But not now.

I would look for five things in my “new” church.
1. Is there Scripture reading and not just passing references?
2. Is there preaching and exposition of Scripture that reproves sin, calls to repentance and faith in
Christ?
3. Is there prayer: at the beginning, somewhere in the order of worship, and at the end.  Is it a prayer
matching the dignity of God who is in Heaven, and not in our universe, but Who has created and
Who sustains all things. I do not expect to voice my prayers in church, but I want to be able to say
amen in my heart to what the man who leads worship prays. It’s not all about me, anyway.
4. Is there an opportunity to worship God by the giving of tithes and offerings.
5.  Is there singing of hymns that match the dignity of God…..etc [see No. 3] The singing doesn’t
have to be at the top of the voice, or augmented by bells, drums, amplifiers, or other stuff.  

There are other things such as a confession of faith, the sacraments, constitutions and bylaws that
would interest me if I decided to continue to worship at my “new” church, but these five things would
constitute the “face” of the church, and I would probably not return if any of them is missing.

If I want excitement, I will go to a Air Force game. If I want a crowd, I will go to a rally for world
peace. If I want myths and pretense, I will rally against global warming. If I want childishness, I will
watch cartoons on Saturday morning. If I want loud music I will go to Red Rocks in Denver. What
does excitement have to do with taking up my cross and following Jesus?

There are several things I would NOT look for and would reject if I encountered them. I do not want
people to come up to me a gush about how they love Jesus. I have been on a long journey and know
these people. If your works reveal your good heart, you should shut up about it. I don’t want the
leader to look at me and tell me to raise my hands when they do what they call “worship.” Joy and
excitement are not the same thing. The joy of a Christian is “unspeakable” so we should generally
shut up about it or we will cheapen it, reducing it to the level of cotton candy and cheap perfume. If
you “heart” Jesus with the same “heart” that you “heart” your dog, some might be induced to think
that they are of the same value to you. I am not certain that Christian theology lends itself to bumper
stickers, which are better for political slogans, for promoting guns and guts.

You may have joy, joy, joy, down in your heart, but if you talk too much you will be like the man of
Pr 27:14 “He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted
a curse to him.” Jesus did his devotions in a solitary place, not to be seen of men. [Mark 1:35]

 I want to understand every word that is spoken, so I will walk out if people are so rude as to speak or
pray aloud while others are doing so. [1Cor. 14:31] The Holy Spirit brings order, not chaos [Gen. 1],
in both the old and the new creation. Gibberish in prayer or conversation is for madmen [1Cor 14:23]
or for those God has abandoned. [1Cor 14:21-22] When Israel refused to hear their prophets in their
own tongues, God sent Babylon to talk to them. Israel didn’t like it, and you shouldn’t either.

I don’t want to find people chattering on and on about nothing, promoting themselves, their books,
their cd’s or anything else for sale. Children should be sitting with their parents, learning to be still,
behave, and taking part in the servicc—not shuttled off to “Junior Church.” Even children small can
sing the praises of Jehovah. {Psalm 148:12) Your children are cute, but not when they are running
amok.

Some will say about now, but don’t you want a “user friendly church”? “Don’t you care about the
lost?”

My reply, “I don’t go to church to worship the ungodly. I do not care what the ungodly think about
my church, for if they do not know the Lord they will know nothing about worship. I try to spread the
gospel; I try to witness as I have opportunity, but the church is the ‘house of God, the pillar and the
ground of the truth.’ [1tim. 3:15] 

I will choose [and have done so] to worship with ten people, if I can offer prayers and praise to God
Almighty who dwells in clouds and darkness [Ps. 97:2; 1Kings 8:12], but who sends out His light and
truth to lead us to His holy hill [Ps. 43:3] where we worship Him with reverence and Godly fear
[Hebrews 12:28,29], than in the modern entertainment center where thousands gather to enjoy their
latte and popcorn to watch the religious show..

Because the ungodly worship gods that cannot speak, the people must chatter away all the time so
that people do not find out that their gods are phonies. I have heard the voice of the Spirit and He was
not yelling at me.

“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.” (Hab 2:18-20 AV)

In the temple of the Lord, we should be silent. He has something to say through His appointed
ministers. We should listen.  

Ro 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they
believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?