Power of Grace
Apr 23
The words for "gift" and "grace" are very closely related. "Grace" is the most frequent translation for the Greek word charis, and charisma is most often rendered "gift."
Christian Identity – Part II – The Believers Purpose
Oct 27“Without blame” refers to our reputations. This character will only be fully realized in heaven (I Corinthians 1:8), but there is a present responsibility to “present your bodies a living sacrifice. . . . And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind . . .” (Romans 12:1,2).
Spiritual vs. Carnal Thanksgiving
Feb 25
"By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name." (Hebrews 13:15) Unique to the United States is the national holiday Thanksgiving. We are encouraged to recognize the bounty and wonder of our land, and express gratitude in some formal way. In many homes, however, thanks have become a vague expression of happiness for prosperity rather than a "sacrifice of praise" to our El Shaddai. This is the natural man's character and is temporal, oft times self-centered. Unique the the Christian Church however, we are told to, "...cry out with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of your wonderful works." Psalm 26:7 Not only by our outward expression of voice to offer thanks, but with song too. "I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving." Psalm 69:30 When we come before our God of grace to offer our thanks to Him, we remember that we are spiritually approaching the very One who sustains us in the day to day and for eternity through the death, resurrection and promise of salvation wrought by God the Son Himself, Jesus Christ.
Juliek – the last sonnet of a dying violinist
Feb 15
“For a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” John 4:23 In the book Night, Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel describes a moment in the concentration camp frozen in his memory. In the darkened corner of room, where the dead were slumped beside the living, his friend Juliek sat with his violin. On the brink of his own grave, he played notes pure and heavy to an audience of dead and dying men. Wiesel recalls, "[I]t was as though Juliek’s soul were the bow. He was playing his life. The whole of his life was gliding on the strings--his lost hopes, his charred past, his extinguished future. He played as he would never play again."(1) I cannot make sense of this scene other than to say, there are times when the gravity of a song flattens us. To this day, Wiesel admits, he cannot hear the sound of a violin without memory of Juliek dismantling all other thoughts. Perhaps similarly, you have been floored by a memory locked in a melody or leveled by the words of a song. In a very real sense, these are the images of worship. The Hebrew word for worship conjures a physical image, an outward response to an inward affection; to worship the Lord whether in song or in silence means "to prostrate oneself" before the Almighty. Far too often, this is not the result of the songs I sing.
God’s mercy is our escape
Jan 08
"O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever." Psalm 136:1 God’s "mercy" is a monumental theme in Scripture. This word, "mercy", appears some 341 times in the Bible. Variations of this word in both Hebrew and Greek appear a total of 454 times and are also translated by "kindness," "lovingkindness," "goodness," "favor," "compassion," and "pity." Of the 66 books of the Bible, only 16 do not use one of the words for mercy. Even though "mercy" is an important concept, it is somewhat difficult to prescribe a definition for it, especially since "grace" is occasionally coupled with it.
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