A little more coffee sounds lovely, please.
Just tear yourself away from that book you’re reading
Give me another chance, darling, and just lean in,
And tell me, won’t you, that you love me, please?
a glimpse of the Divine, unworthy now
If it be man’s chief end to glorify God and enjoy Him forever,
then man has attained his end, the sole purpose for which he was made,
the entire object for which he exists, when he enters into communion
with God, abides in His presence, streaming out to Him in all the emotions,
I do not say appropriate to a creature in the presence of his Maker and
Lord, apprehended by him as the Good Lord and Righteous Ruler of the
souls of men, but appropriate to the sinner who has been redeemed by
the blood of God’s own Son and is inhabited by His Spirit and apprehends
his Maker as also his Saviour, his Governor as also his Lover,
and knows the supreme joy of him that was lost and is found,
was dead and is alive again,-and all, through the glory of
God’s seeking and saving love. He who attains to this experience
has attained all that is to be attained. He that sees God shall be like Him.
-B.B. Warfield, Faith and Life,pg 439
Comfort Ye
Get yourself up on a high mountain,
O Zion, bearer of good news,
Lift up your voice mightily,
O Jerusalem, bearer of good news;
Lift it up, do not fear.
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
Behold, the Lord God will come with might,
With His arm ruling for Him.
Behold, His reward is with Him.
And His recompense before Him.
Like a shepherd He will tend His flock,
In His arm He will gather the lambs
And carry them in His bosom;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes.
This passage from Isaiah 40 – is it not beautiful? I wish I could write the whole chapter of Isaiah 40 – truly one of the most stunningly magnificent chapters in Scripture. But for now, just read the verses from above and meditate on the glorious attributes of our Lord. He is one who is mighty and all powerful. He is one who reigns and deals swift justice. And this same God is also one who is tender and gentle. He is one who has compassion on the fainthearted and deals kindly with the weak. Look at the above verses – the arm of God that rules is the same arm that gathers the lambs and carries them in His bosom. This God we serve is mighty and able to do all things, sovereign in power and perfect in justice. This God we serve is merciful and compassionate beyond measure, perfect in love and sovereign in grace. How precious is it to know that we can trust this God to lead and care for us, even when we know not the way? He is sovereign and He cares for us. He chooses to care for us. Our God will one day come and rule perfectly upon this earth. He will pour out wrath upon the wicked yet He will lift up the flock that is His. The flock that our God has chosen for His own. Is that not a wonderful thought? Here is your God! So think on that, this day – we serve a mighty God. We serve a sovereign God. And this God deeply cares for us. He holds us in His bosom. Be at rest this day, my friends. Meditate on the grand compassion and mercies of our God. Rest in His arms. Think on His love. Rest.
A Blinding Jewel of Light and Beauty
Hello friends!! Monday here and it is furiously raining outside. And I am inside. And it is glorious. Finally, my habit of coming in super early pays off…so everyone else is going to be dripping wet, but because I came in before it started raining, I am nice and dry. Fantastic. Oh and I also have my peppermint mocha, so that’s great too! Had fun chatting with the baristas at Starbucks while I waited for mine this morning…I do love getting to know my Starbucks people – grateful I’m able to make friends with them. I’ve just got off the phone with Dad – had a good chat too, recapping the football from yesterday(Packers beat the Cowboys in a thrilling game, then the Steelers kicked many(six) field goals to beat the Chiefs…now four teams left – Patriots, Steelers, Falcons & Packers. I…don’t really care who wins? I’ll probably root for Atlanta, just because they’re the one team that hasn’t won a Super Bowl recently. Ever? Just looked it up, and they have never won! So I’m definitely rooting for Atlanta now. Go Falcons!).
Football sidebar aside, this weekend has been glorious. Saturday was a crazy day of superb busyness but yesterday was a wonderful day of worship and rest. Oh how I enjoyed my time at church in the morning, hearing God’s word preached. And then after church, went home and had leftover salad for lunch while watching an episode of 24 with John. Eventually, after doing some laundry and workout…had a most beautiful time of quietude and reading. Had a cuppa tea while reading B.B. Warfield’s Faith and Life. Beautiful reflections upon the gospel – reminding me why I live and why I love. Such special meditation time.
And now friends, I must be off…but have a most beautiful Monday, thinking on the wonders and love of Christ Jesus our Lord.
The River and the Tree
“I, Jesus,
have sent my angel to testify to you
these things for the churches.
I am the root
and the descendant of David,
the bright morning star.”
The Spirit and the bride say,
“Come.”
And let the one who hears say,
“Come.”
And let the one who is
thirsty
come;
let the one who wishes
take the water of life
without cost.
What words. Amen and Amen. Come Lord Jesus Indeed, these words are faithful and true.
How good it is to know God. And one day – to see the face of the Lamb. One day. Some day.
DC Sleeps
I simply love when I rediscover passages in Scripture full of beauty and truth and my heart is stirred to hope eternal. I walked in to work this morning thinking these thoughts. And the wind tousled my hair in cool alignment with the starlight softly tripping down to earth. And so my soul sang.
Someday I’d like to write my thoughts on this whole chapter, but for now, I shall simply chronicle what is in the Word. From Isaiah 25…
The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet
For all peoples on this mountain;
A banquet of aged wine,
Choice pieces with marrow,
And refined, aged wine.
And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples,
Even the veil which is stretched over all nations.
He will swallow up death for all time,
And the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces,
And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.
Day of Peace
So this morning as I was driving to work, I pondered the verses below:
How blessed is the man
Who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
And as my thoughts whirled in my head, I especially was convicted by that middle section of verses. Do I truly meditate on the law of the Lord day and night? Oh that I did! My desire – as I hope is yours as well – is to abide in the Lord each and every moment. And if truly what I wish is to be close to the Lord as I walk through this life, am I daily dying to self and meditating on the truths of God? Not ever so much as I should be. Not near enough. So that is my prayer this day, that I continue to grow closer to my God as I ponder and meditate on the truths of His Word, the truths that reveal God Himself. May my love ever increase – this is my prayer! A shabby, shattered piece of pottery am I – yet the Potter King makes me new. May I dwell on the words of God ever more. May my spirit be renewed day by day as I seek the face of Christ. Amen and Amen.
I Know That My Redeemer Lives
Enjoying my chicken parm leftovers and a fresh tomato salad this lovely Sunday afternoon. And I shan’t write more than a couple sentences here – need to get back to my dinner and football(Giants v Packers playoff game), of course! But just wanted to take this chance to say how wonderful today has been. A day in which I was able to worship God with all my heart as I stood amongst my fellow brothers and sisters in church this morning. What a wondrous thing it is to be loved by God. What a beautiful thing it is to be known by God. We are blessed e’er so much, my dear friends.
La La Land
…and it’s Friday once again! And beautifully enough, it is cold outside and it is wonderful. 37 degrees this morning – love it so! Also raining slightly, which is not quite as nice, but I won’t complain. Stopped at Starbucks for my traditional and now I’m at work ready for a good and most productive work day! I have to say, I did so much enjoy walking from my car to the building this morning and feeling the cold air on my face, relishing the feel of winter. And then I think about all the terribly bitter cold mornings in Aberdeen, crunching through snow and ice and barely being able to feel my fingers. This Houston “winter” is nothing in comparison!!
Now, about time to get to work…guess I’ve used up all my time talking about the weather! I am quite sleepy this morning – was at Chase’s last night for a long-awaited catch-up time. We got some quality gaming time in as well – dominated it up in classic Gears of War fashion! So yes, an epic night…but now I am quite sleepy. Ah well, will try and find some good music to wake me up. And I am rambling.
I’m off – peace and love!
Always
Good afternoon, friends…and Happy New Year. Thus begins the year of our Lord 2017. May this year be blessed – and so it shall be!
I shan’t write long now(mostly because I have a bandaged finger that makes it somewhat awkward to type – resulting from me mistaking my finger for a potato during potato peeling time yesterday. Not advisable).
Anyways!! Just wanted to write a few words – maybe more later this week when I have full use of my fingers! – as we enter this grand new year. 2016 was a year in which God worked mightily in my life – even the times I was not always aware of such! And I want to offer my praise and thanksgiving to Him this day – for who He is – God Almighty! – and for all of His great works.
And what else shall I say? I suppose I will say how precious yesterday was…a day where I decided to stay at home and make a nice roast beef dinner and enjoy a quiet night in. A day that turned in to a relaxing time over at Camille and Erin’s with John, reading and eating fine food and watching far too many episodes of Sherlock! And a quiet night – one spent with good friends, finally eating my roast beef dinner and ringing in the new year sitting on this couch, reading a bit of A Wise Man’s Fear and sipping on my Hungarian wine. A wonderful, relaxing and joy inspiring day, all in all. And now, as I sit here on the couch and lift my eyes to the heavens, I ponder anew the goodness and love of my God. May I never cease to think on these things.
Peace, my friends. Peace and love.
Something Weird 