The Reformation and Thanksgiving:
Mulling Both

Sections from Luther's 95 Theses and from Scripture

1. When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said "Repent!", He called for the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.

2. The word cannot be properly understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, i.e. confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.

3. Yet its meaning is not restricted to repentance in one's heart; for such repentance is null unless it produces outward signs in various mortifications of the flesh.

62. The only true treasure of the church is the Holy gospel of the glory and the grace of God.

http://www.spurgeon.org/ phil/history/95theses.htm

Chronicles through Which We Have Reason to Give Thanks and Ways to

We are your people, the people of your pasture

Call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples

He is good; his steadfast love endures forever!

Thanks due to his righteousness

I will recount all of your wonderful deeds

My strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults

That my glory may sing your praise and not be silent

Among the peoples, praise among the nations

For your name is near

We recount your wondrous deeds; from generation to generation we recount your praise

With my whole heart

It is good

You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. [Ps. 118:28]

Give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and faithfulness; for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.

All the kings of the earth shall give your thanks, O LORD; for they have heard the words of your mouth. [Ps. 138:4]

Christ always gave thanks before he shared bread and cup (cf. Luke 22:17).

Always after the Lord had given thanks (v. 19).

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. [1 Cor. 15:57]

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. [1 Thess. 5:18]

Terms and Trials


Initially I wrote this while taking an elective course on the book of Job. This week we have had our own trial by near by fires out here in Southern California (Santa Clarita Valley, northern Los Angeles County). The Lord has seen fit so far to spare our home (at least 25 in our area have been destroyed) and Grace to You, the ministry where my husband works and I volunteer, has been functioning even with fires within sight.


Terms and Trials


Terms and trials:

When is the thing just annoying?

When is it really adversity?

When is it a loss of sleep?

When sovereignty gives way

And tranquility is absent,

Doom and gloom on the ascent,

Sighing is strangling

When sovereignty is absent

And tranquility gives way,

When God is to appearance distracted

And I can only sway,

Wondering what to grasp

Of terms and trials,

Arrogance and denials,

Sleepless in my sleep,

Loneliness increasing deep;

Spiral this direction and that,

Cry like an almost-four on her mat.

Terms and trials--

Neither for nought--

Victory for each

Already Christ-blood-bought.

Rest, O heart and restless mind--

In His holding comfort find!

Two Short Poetic Meditations

Almighty and Unchanging One
Almighty and unchanging One,
Wholly Father,
Wholly Son,
Wholly Spirit,
Holy One.

How Lovely Our Christ Is
How lovely our Christ is who donned mankind's raiment
Became one of us yet maintained His sinless-ness.
Holy was He while walking among us,
Holy redeemed.
How lovely our Christ is,
Eternally scarred
For hearts which were hard,
Eternally marred
His hands and His side,
Eternally lovely,
In whom we abide.

Prioritizing

How do you prioritize? When I held down a "regular" job, my priorities had to be those which fulfilled the larger requirements of my employer. Even now, teaching part-time and home-making full-time, I have to keep my mind on the priorities God gives to each of His children and the fact that we have to plan these days in keeping with the timelessness of eternity. A recent sermon at church on Psalm 90 highlighted this, as do the commands Paul gives in his letters that we do whatever we do to the glory of God.

In Light of Eternity

In light of eternity,

What should my priority be?

How should I plan my days?

How should I seek His ways?

In light of eternity,

What should my pleasure be?

In what should I seek my joy?

For what should I lay out my ploy?

In light of eternity,

For whom should my living be?

At whose feet should I lay my life?

To whose ends should I serve as wife?

In light of eternity,

O Lord may I ever live, ever serve, every grow,

That Your joy I may forever know.

Humility
Do you really want to be humble? I think praying to be humble is as risky as praying to be patient. Even so, both are characteristics of Christ and we are to strive to pattern ourselves after Him.
Humility
Having written a piece or two on pride, it's time to see what I can do for humility on its side.
Humility is a singular gift, an asset toward which we strive,
Yet acquisition of such would be too much--
At that we cannot arrive.
Humility lasts until someone says, "My how humble you are,"
And pride is the bar, and "are" becomes "was" ["were"]
[If you really were.]
Humility is as difficult to achieve as any other attribute of Christ;
Because it is too high priced?
Humility requires work of a type we usually shirk;
Requires that daily cross-taking of a very heavy making;
Requires we look and focus with Christ our very locus;
Humility is more work than pride, and does not in our flesh reside.
While we are commanded to humble ourselves, we grumble instead;
What more can be expected of us? We think inside our big head.
Humility is more than we can bring ourselves to truly opt for,
Yet that is one of the things Christ went to the cross for.
Don't let His work be unfulfilled just because you are so self-willed.
Purpose as Christ to be self-sacrificed [Philippians 2; Luke 9:23].
To quote the apostle Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians:
For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? Then if you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? [4:7]