“I rejoice to think that all things are at Thy disposal, and I love to leave them there. Then prayer turns wholly into praise, and all I can do is to adore and love thee” (ref#76, p49).
Salvation
You, GREAT FATHER, have given me faith to know of Your existence (Heb 11:6). You have formed me from the dust and breathed living life into me (Gen 2:7).
Your standards are most glorious but I fall short of them (Rom 3:23). Therefore, You destine me to die; And I face Your certain wrath (Heb 9:27).
But, by Your free gift of grace I am delivered from Your judgment. You make me a partaker of CHRIST’s salvation through my faith and not through my striving (Eph 2:8).
You make my death temporal not letting me continue under its power. You give me a resurrection to life eternal (John 11:26).
CHRIST is the way, the truth, and the life. I come to You, GOD, through CHRIST (John 14:6). He bore my sins so I might die to them. Through CHRIST I can live rightly (1 Pet 2:24).
Through CHRIST, through CHIRST, I turn to praise. I adore and love Thee— through CHRIST, through CHRIST.
Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the clouds (Ps 36:5). It is “so high that it does not change with the weather…” (ref#18, [Ps 36:5-12]). Your mercy is so exalted it is more extensive than I can conceive—above all visible space—to the eternal regions (ref#15, [Ps 36:5]). Your mercy and loving-kindness is infinite, Your loyalty astronomic.
Constant and unfailing is Your love. Indeed, Your faithfulness binds You to fulfill the promises and covenants made by Your mercy and love.
Your righteousness is like the mountains; Your judgments are like the great deep (Ps 36:6). Your justice, O GOD, is as fixed as the everlasting hills—sure and immovable. Your judicial dealings are immeasurable and vast—beyond comprehension as the ocean (ref#16, [Ps 36:6]). You are “a God of unsearchable wisdom and design” (ref#18, [Ps 36:5-12]).
With You is the fountain of life (Ps 36:9). You give life-giving streams of providential goodness—that living water (ref#15, [Ps 36:9]). It includes “the fullness of happiness” because no foes can take away life and blessedness that comes from You, FATHER, the “Fountain” (ref#17, [Ps 36:9]).
So, let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away (Ps 36:11). Reveal to me the preciousness of Your mercy; teach me to value it beyond all treasures; I want to know how to prize it (ref#68, [Ps 36:5-9]). Forever bless me with Your steadfast love O LORD, my righteousness.
“It is not enough to remember [who God is and what His promises are]; we must hear it again. Prayer is the act in which we hear it again. It is not enough to carry memory verses around with us; we need daily encounter with the resonant voice of God. Prayer is that encounter. Situations change. Does God change? We pray. We listen. God speaks his word again—the same word!—and we are restored and renewed in our commitment….Resolve is essential but not enough. In prayer God provides renewal. Prayer is not so much the place where we learn something new, but where God confirms anew the faith to which we are committed” (ref#144, loc 1298-1311).
Reasons for Waiting for GOD:
Because You plant eternity in my heart—a sense of purpose which nothing under the sun but You can satisfy (Eccl 3:11), I will wait for You. Because my blood is costly in CHRIST’s sight and because He has pity on me (Ps 72:13- 14), I will wait for You.
Because You confirm and make me steadfast and established and endue me with the gifts of the HOLY SPIRIT (2 Cor 1:21), I will wait for You. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life (Ps 63:3), I will wait for You.
“Christmas is the annual Christian festival celebrating Christ’s birth, held on December 25 in the Western Church. The traditional date goes back as far as A.D. 273.”1
When we celebrate Christmas, we are celebrating the moment in history when prophecy was fulfilled. God came to be with us. It was the beginning of God’s redemptive plan for humanity. An act He didn’t have to take part in but He chose to out of love.2
The central truth of the Christmas story is this: the Child of Christmas is God; Christmas is not about the Savior’s infancy; it is about His deity. The humble birth of Jesus Christ was never intended to conceal the reality that God was being born into the world. Without forsaking His divine nature or diminishing His deity, He was born into our world as a tiny infant. He was fully human, with all the needs and emotions that are common to us all. Yet He was also fully God—all wise and all powerful.3
It was only in the Babe of Bethlehem that the whole of God’s character shone forth, that men might not merely find Him and bow before Him, but trust in Him and love Him, as one who could be touched with the feeling of their infirmities. A God in need! A God weak! A God fed by mortal woman! A God wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger! God has been through the pains of infancy from the nature of the babe on its mother’s bosom, to the nature of the full-grown and full-souled man, fighting with all his powers against the evil of the world. All this is His, and He is all; that no human being, from the strongest to the weakest, from the oldest to the youngest, but may be able to say, “What I am, Christ has been!4
Christmas is not about pretending that everything is great and we don’t struggle or suffer. Christmas is about acknowledging that sometimes things are not great and we do struggle and suffer, even at Christmas—and that God knows this, God hears us, and God has got involved for us. You live in a world that has been visited by its Maker. God showed up. God didn’t send Moses. God came himself. That’s how committed he is to your good.5
[W]e are all poor and desperate, so we all need the promise bound up in that baby. We are in need of a way out of our poverty of soul and the desperate state of our human condition. We find it in this child lying in a manger, who was and is Jesus Christ, the long-promised Messiah, Seed, Redeemer, and King.6
“For all the promises of God find their Yes in him” (2 Cor 1:20 ESV).
11. Isaac Watts, The Psalms and Hymns of Isaac Watts (Morgan, PA: Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 1997) 497.
12. “The Spirit of the LORD GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound” (Isaiah 61:1 ESV);
Love is the greatest of all the virtues on the Advent wreath and encompasses Jesus’ entire purpose for being on earth. Christ connects all the Advent candles. Through him, we can have hope, peace, joy, and love.1
“It was a holy night. God’s glory came to earth and wrote a love letter to the world in the form of a newborn baby.”2 “God made His love visible.”3
And certainly the greatest truth about Christmas is that God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son. Christmas is really the effect of which God’s love is the cause. God’s love for mankind then is evident in the offer of the gospel to all people. And the path to the gospel has been given to everybody.4
This was the most loving act ever performed in history, for there has never been and can never be a gift greater than the life of the Son of God given for the “sins of the whole world.” Without God’s Spirit indwelling them, people cannot look to the love they have for others or even the “love” they have for God as an example to be emulated for we are born self-centered and remain so unless the Holy Spirit changes our hearts.5
“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son” (1 John 4:10 ESV).
Christian love comes from God Himself. This love is not natural to fallen humanity. It originates in God and is a divine gift to His people. When we are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are given a capacity for this supernatural love that has God as its source and foundation. [N]ot every human being who loves another is born of God. The kind of love of which he speaks comes only from regeneration. Without the Holy Spirit’s transformation of the human heart, no one has this capacity for love. No unregenerate person has this kind of love, and no regenerate person lacks such love. Therefore, a person who does not have the ability to love in the way John describes has not been born again. “Anyone who does not love [in this manner] does not know God.”6
The Father sent his Son to make his worst enemies into beloved children, and yet he’s crowded out by other, more earthly details — the kind of details that can be finely painted on ornaments. [W]e have an almighty Father of infinite wisdom and relentless love, a Father who authored that first Christmas and every one since. Nothing compares to the Creator of the universe sending the radiance of his own glory, the exact imprint of his nature, into his creation. Let Christmas remind you that the Son was sent, in love, from heaven, and that you are sent, in love, on earth.7
“Advent is a journey to joy, but it is not we who are traveling. Joy is coming to us.”1
This third week in Advent, let us remember that the good news of Jesus’ birth has the power to bring us great joy this Christmas season. [J]oy that flooded the hearts of the shepherds, the angels, the wise men, the hosts of heaven, and Mary and Joseph is the joy that still has the power to overwhelm our hearts with rejoicing.2
“And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10 ESV).
“The words are expressed in the same kind of language that was used by kings and emperors when a new heir was born. It was the Birth Announcement of a King.”3
“The angel opens his discourse by saying, that he announces great joy. By calling it great joy, he shows us that this blessing is so great and boundless, as fully to compensate for all the pains, distresses, and anxieties of the present life.”4
“We find joy in the truth of what God has already done and in the anticipation of what is to come, in the expectancy of God’s faithfulness. Joy overtakes uncertainty when we see how God works in unexpected ways to fulfill promises.”5
[T]he distinguishing nuance of joy is that it lasts beyond the moments of happiness. It can be present when the shine of Christmas cheer dulls or even tarnishes. Biblical joy is an attitude that God’s people adopt, not because of happy circumstances, but because of our hope in God’s love and promises.6
“We find joy in our current circumstances by choosing to remember the joy that Jesus’ redemption of our lives brings, redemption that is only possible through his birth, death, and resurrection.”7
“Let us learn to be so delighted with Christ alone, that the perception of his grace may overcome, and at length remove from us, all the distresses of the flesh.”8
In our present challenges, we anticipate the returning King, who with ‘salvation and power and glory’ will bring the hope of the fulfilled kingdom into being. We look around us at the brokenness of our world, and in the power of Jesus’ life and love, choose joy anyway.9
“You made known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Ps 16:11 ESV).
“Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this” (Isa 9:7 ESV). “This was prophesied about Jesus more than 700 year before his birth.”1
“‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’” (Luke 19:38 ESV).
“The Advent of Jesus is the arrival of peace. He not only made peace with God for us, but he became our peace. [N]ot only are we no longer in conflict with God, but much more in that God has restored us to a state of wholeness.”2
“The most basic meaning of shalom is not ‘peace’ but ‘complete’ or ‘whole.’”3 “Peace is not just the absence of war or conflict, but the positive presence of something else.”4
Psalm 46 declares with confidence, ‘We will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea’ (v.2). Our world, like the psalmist’s world is in collapse: racial injustice, wildfires, hurricanes, floods. Our earth is giving way and the mountains are falling into the sea.5
“And [JESUS]awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm” (Mark 4:39 ESV). “His trust was so great that he could rest amid the crashing waves. Such supernatural peace is available to any of us who knows who God is.”6
“’Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’” (Luke 2:14 ESV).
“The ‘peace’ announced at the first Christmas is a unique peace that only the Messiah Himself can offer, but it’s for anyone who will take it.”7 “Now He doesn’t offer peace on our terms but His. And His terms are this: total surrender, turning away from any sort of self-trust or self-righteousness.”8 “Confession and being made right with God (justification) is our starting point to having peace with God.”9
“And He gives it to those who do it like a kid—humble, wide-eyed, maybe even hesitant or through tears. Jesus gives peace to those who come to the point they truly believe HE is the answer to what they are looking for.”10
[W]here the guilt of the past is forgiven; where the trials of the present are overcome; and where our destiny in the future is secured eternally. This kind of peace has a name. We celebrate during this season that ‘to us a child is born, to us a son is given.’ His name is the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.11
15. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6 ESV).
16. “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14 ESV).
“Happy New Year! The Christian year begins with the season of Advent.”1 “Advent anticipates the ‘coming of Christ’ from three different perspectives: the physical nativity in Bethlehem, the reception of Christ in the heart of the believer, and the eschatological Second Coming.”2
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land” (Jer 33:14 ESV).
The Christian story is essentially one of daring hope, and we proclaim it boldly during Advent. All our senses tell us that God is not here, that the world is encompassed in darkness, cold, and pain. Yet we proclaim during this darkest, coldest time that He is here, tangibly born in the flesh, present with us still today.3
If you read the Bible cover to cover, you will discover there is a lot of waiting done by God’s people. Even though God made them wait, He didn’t allow them to wait without hope. He made covenants, anointings, and promises with his people while they waited, which gave them hope.4
“Hope, in the Bible, exists as a secure assurance, a trust placed in a trustworthy God. God has not failed us in the past, and therefore, if he claims he will do something in the future, we can have a hope that he will fulfill that claim.”5
“We aren’t alone in hope for an improved political climate. The Jewish people living more than two thousand years ago were hoping for the arrival of the Messiah to rescue them and bring about a just and peaceful kingdom.”6
Revelations initial recipients were living in two overlapping realities: their assurance in the sovereign reign and glorious return of Christ; and their earthly, everyday experience of waiting and suffering. Some two thousand years later, we still live amid these overlapping realities. Here, between Christ’s first coming and his glorious return, our lives may also feel like a mix of kingdom and confidence alongside waiting and suffering.7
“In this day and age, where evil abounds and all seems lost, we can also hope that the prophecies about Jesus’ second arrival to earth will also be fulfilled.”8
“[W]ait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 1:7-8 ESV).
“On the last Sunday of the liturgical year, Catholics celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. [T]his feast is designed to give special recognition to the dominion Christ our Lord has over all aspects of our lives.”1 “Even though it was created by a pope less than a hundred years ago, some Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, and Presbyterians celebrate the feast.”2
“[T]his feast reminds us that whatever earth powers may do or ask of us, Christ is the true king that should reign in our hearts.”3
This feast is a fitting way to send us into Advent, the season of preparing our hearts to better recognize and receive God who comes to us in the person of Jesus. Jesus will come to us at the end of time to usher in the fullness of God’s kingdom, and it reminds us to recall that Jesus comes to us every day as well.4
“[T]he kingship of Christ overturns the systems of power, wealth, and force which rule over the world.”5 “[He] will return to take back the earth from the usurper and establish His kingdom.”6
“[W]hen the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,”(2 Thes 1:7-9 ESV).
“Christ, as Savior, is also the universal Judge, who will one day pass judgment on all people according to their deeds.”7 “God’s righteous judgment will be fully manifest when Jesus returns. At that time unbelievers will be condemned and believers will be saved.”8
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil”(2 Cor 5:10 ESV).
“Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; it is near,”(Joel 2:1 ESV).“[T]he ‘day’ refers to a final judgment upon the nations.”9 “God judges and ends this world system in its present form.”10
“CHRIST the King Day” is also called, “The Judgment Day” is some churches. It is a perfect occasion to seriously evaluate where we will be in the next life.
The only thing that will deliver you from the eternal wrath of God is the eternal Gospel of God. God’s eternal and undiluted wrath was poured out on Christ at the cross. He drank the whole cup of the full fury of God’s justice against sin. If you trust in Jesus, he drank that cup for you. You will either trust in Christ or you will drink that cup for yourself.11
“His joy is my joy. My experience of joy must be emanating from His experience of joy.”1
Before the foundation of the world, our names were engraved on the Savior’s hands. In Christ, we have always been redeemed by His precious blood, always been preserved by the power of God, always been secure of the heritage given; therefore, let us always be grateful. If we are not always singing with our lips, let us always be singing with our hearts.2
Singing will often make the heart rise. The song, though at first it may appear to drag, will soon be fitted with wings that lift the spirit. Sing more and you will sing more still, for the more you sing, the more you will be able to sing the praises of God.3
The good tidings of great joy have reached us; as we, by His grace, have believed them, He has saved us from sin and death and hell. He has not simply promised to do it someday, but He has already done it. Sing to Him with a grateful heart, saying, ‘My soul doth magnify the Lord.’4
‘Delight thyself also in the LORD’ (Psalm 37:4). This is His command, and is it not a lovely one? So greatly does God desire us to rejoice in Him that to the command is added a promise: ‘and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.’ [D]elight becomes a duty, to be happy is to be obedient to a command!5
“The engagement of the heart in worship is the coming alive of the feelings and emotions and affections of the heart.”6 John Piper
“[Y]ou always sing best when you are most spiritually focused. If you cannot sing artistically, never mind, you will be right enough if you sing from the heart and pay attention to it.”7
“It glorifies God when we delight in him, expressing the joy of knowing him and being known by him. [E]xpressions of delight point to God’s worth.”8 “The joy is ours. The glory is his.”9
“Only Jesus himself can bring us into God’s presence, and he has done it through a single sacrifice that will never be repeated—only joyfully recounted and trusted in.”10
To purchase song book
see BOOK in main menu
ENDNOTES
(52) Joyful Singing
1. Doug Newton, Fresh Eyes on Famous Bible Sayings (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2018) 94-95.
2. Charles Spurgeon, The Power of Praising God (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 1998) 12.
3. Spurgeon, 24.
4. Charles Spurgeon, The Fullness of Joy (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 1997) 136-137.
13. Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ (Springdale, PA: Whitaker House, 1979) 161.
14. “But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall” (Malachi 4:2 ESV).
15. Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ (Springdale, PA: Whitaker House, 1979) 160.
Bonnie's Prayer Affair 