Unto the King Eternal: Tongues of fire

Unto the King Eternal

The love of our king radiantly outshines a love that's maternal,
His love knows no bounds, it's freeing and everlasting, a love that's eternal.

So love and live for the King eternal,
Grab hold of life in Jesus and let go of the temporal, the infernal.

Live life in humility, don’t stress the lack of bliss,
place your trust in Jesus, all else is lacking, and frankly quite amiss,

And though we are earthly bound, and heaven seems far away,
Keep your eyes turned on Jesus, in his service with a smile. Don’t deviate from his purpose, don’t let your determination sway.

We can't see beyond to the answer with the problem right there in our face,
Look away to the answer, and let trust in God be your base.

Can you live life his way, not your own that's the test,
It's hard to give up control when the urge to snatch it back seems to pester and fest,
But if we are faithful, leave control in his hands, one day we'll look back to see our life at it's best.

With the view from down here it's impossible to see all that's there in our path,
From his view from on high in eternity he sees the road we travel from beginning to end,
And those determined to be a hindrance to his guiding hand will find it impossible to avoid his wrath.

Yes I'll forever live in Jesus and for him, the King eternal,
Not just a physical life passed to me from mother, the maternal,
But born anew through the Spirit of God with submission and trust in Jesus my King,
For a life that's peacefully abundantly fulfilling with Jesus forever to those external flowing from His Spirit within, a love that's internal.

God's Renovation Project

While I consider the expanse and the fine detail of your creation
I can’t help but be in awe of the honor of your gracious invitation.
Yes I accept your gracious offer, and am truly amazed as I stand here on the threshold viewing the splendor of your yet unfinished but awesome renovation.

It starts in our heart, his wonder to unfold,
And will end with all creation a beauty to behold.

Out with the old and in with the new, an amazing renovation that can not be bought.
It’s better than imagined, beyond all expectation, this heavenly renovation is more than we sought.

The old? Murky muddy waters were swamping me with misuse and distrust,
Dirty desires and abuse were up there with the feeling of loneliness and like I would bust,

Feeling despised and even hated, and a sense of despair and regret,
Being cold and alone in the darkness of my sin and my guilt a thing I’d like to forget,

it is my complete undoing and has me at the end of my rope,
yes there’s a thought.., but ending my life would destroy all hope.

But wait, there’s more…

He’s offered the new and it’s free of charge except for the release of all that goes with the old.
The decision should be easy, no need to be bold, Just open your heart and release your hold.

It sounded so good I was free to admit,
But when it came time to release my hold it was hard to commit.

I’ll just do the work myself, and without a design,
Let’s start with this shelf that’s dirty, and out of align.

God’s handiwork is good and I like his design,
But he takes too long and my work will look just fine.

But when I looked at the vastness of the project at hand,
My work was cut out from the leaky roof to the foundation of sand,

The walls were unstable, the floorboards loose and unsteady,
The doors and windows were broken, so I throw up my hands in surrender already.

Lord I’ve tried this and failed, I can’t pass the test.
So I give you my heart and all of the rest.

So make me anew I said with decision,
And rip out the old at your own discretion.

So I gave him free reign of this huge renovation
I might even lend a hand in joy and jubilation.

God said with a smile as he turned to me,
“How about this closet, will you give me the key?”

With a loving heart that could melt me, and his hand on my shoulder,
He said still smiling, “the weight of all this is that of a bolder.”

He said, “I’ve shown you just a little of what I can do,
But the choice isn’t mine, it’s all up to you.”

His love was melting me like a figurine made of wax,
And without all that weight I began to relax.

“Please don’t get too comfortable.” he said again with a smile,
“There’s work yet to be done can you go the mile?”

by Jim Wilday.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Tongues of fire

1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. Acts 2:1-3

Interesting Trivia about Pentecost

It is or was an agricultural celebration in Jerusalem about 50 days after the Passover. It was a celebration in connection with the people of Israel reaching the mountain where Moses was given the ten commandments, the law was the first covenant with God. Now God will write the law on our heart making us a new creature through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. THE NEW COVENANT!

How long did the apostles wait and pray before Pentecost?
Note that the Passover would have been celebrated the night of the last supper just hours before Christ was betrayed by Judas and arrested. Then perhaps the following day crucified, resurrected on the 3rd day. Luke says in Acts 1 that He was with his disciples about 40 days after the resurrection before the ascension where he told them, "John baptized you with water but my father will baptize you with the Holy Spirit" then he said to go and wait in Jerusalem until the appointed time would come. Since it happened at the first day of Pentecost, 50 days after the passover, they would have been waiting and praying about 7 days or 1 week.

The result of a week of intense prayer before God?
A week of intense prayer if you can imagine, they were separated from their King awaiting his return, hoping he would come back to set up his earthly kingdom. But God had need of him in heaven. knowing he could hear their prayers, they prayed for his return and likely for the increase of their number of those who would believe, hoping their Jewish leaders would turn from their sin and believe. Naturally they were concerned also for their own safety. Indeed their prayers were answered by way of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Another interesting fact is that Jews came from all over the known world into Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost which is why there were so many who each heard them speaking in their own tongue or language as they were "speaking in tongues" and guess what, after the 3000 received Christ they went home starting satellite churches all over the known world. Is God clever and good? or What?

Christ became death for us in the crucifixion so that in his resurrection we can have life through his Spirit living in us. Through Jesus, God has begun the mending of sinful flesh, He has begun to bind in wholeness once again a connection between man and God, heaven and earth. With his birth we have God in the flesh on earth. With his death our sin can be removed far from us and God’s holy presence brought into the heart of sinful flesh. With his resurrection God broke the chains of sin and death. With his ascension we have human flesh represented in the heavenly realms and God’s Spirit in sinful flesh to begin his renewing work among us and through us, beginning with the renewing of our mind. ALL THIS IS IN FACT THE BEGINNING OF THE WORK GOD WILL COMPLETE WITH THE FULFILLMENT OF REVELATION CHAPTER 21. Read it to begin to grasp just a few of the details of God's restorative plans. Much like the proper restoration of an old rusty car, God plans to restore all of his creation back to factory specifications.