Therefore, brethren, since we have
confidence to enter the holy place by
the blood of Jesus, by a new and
living way which He inaugurated for us
through the veil, that is, His flesh,
and since we have a great priest
over the house of God, let us draw
near with a sincere heart in full assurance
of faith, having our hearts
sprinkled clean from an evil
conscience and our bodies washed with
pure water. Let us hold fast the
confession of our hope without
wavering, for He who promised is
faithful; and let us consider how to
stimulate one another to love and good
deeds, not forsaking our own assembling
together, as is the habit of some,
but encouraging one another; and all
the more as you see the day drawing near.
Tag: scripture
A softer silence
“Nothing renders us so like unto God as our love unto Christ Jesus, for he is the principal object of his love;-in him doth his soul rest – in him is he always well pleased.”
-John Owen, The Glory of Christ
Just some brief musings as I read…truly, as difficult as Owen is to read at times, reading his writings on the glories and beauty of Christ is honey to my soul. Ah what longings it arouses in my heart, to read such sweet words on the nature and majesty of Christ and of the Father and of the Spirit and of their divine love and incomprehensible wisdom. As many good books as may be out on the bookshelves of this world, the ones I love reading the most are the ones that stir my passions for Jesus and let me see His face a little clearer. When a book brings me such joy, as to ponder on the ineffable Christ…this is when I know I’m reading the right book.
Oh my brothers and sisters, rest in peace tonight, knowing that our Savior is with us, always and forever.
Dreams of love
And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write:
The Son of God, who has eyes like
a flame of fire, and His feet are like
burnished bronze, says this:
‘I know your deeds, and your love
and faith and service and perseverance,
and that your deeds of late are greater
than at first. But I have this against
you, that you tolerate the woman
Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess,
and she teaches and leads My bondservants
astray so that they commit
acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed
to idols. I gave her time to
repent, and she does not want to repent
of her immorality. Behold, I will
throw her on a bed of sickness, and
those who commit adultery with her
into great tribulation, unless they repent
of her deeds. And I will kill her children
with pestilence, and all the
churches will know that I am He who
searches the minds and hearts; and I
will give to each one of you according
to your deeds. But I say to you, the
rest who are in Thyatira, who do not
hold this teaching, who have not known
the deep things of Satan, as they call
them- I place no other burden on you.
Nevertheless, what you have, hold
fast until I come. He who overcomes,
and he who keeps My deeds
until the end, to Him I will give
authority over the nations; and he
shall rule them with a rod of iron, as
the vessels of the potter are broken to
pieces, as I also have received authority
from My Father; and I will give him
the morning star. He who has an
ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to
the churches.’
Oh what sweet words!! Something that’s really hit me hard lately…how can we compartmentalize our lives so, and be so self-satisfied in our own accomplishments. How can we so easily tolerate and even praise the evils of this world? Oh let us overcome. Let us hold fast to the the words of God and of Jesus Christ our Lord. And let us praise His most glorious name! He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Hallelujah
How blessed is everyone who
fears the LORD,
Who walks in His ways.
When you shall eat of the fruit
of your hands,
You will be happy and it will be
well with you.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful
vine within your house,
Your children like olive plants
Around your table.
Behold, for thus shall the man
be blessed
Who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion,
And may you see the prosperity
of Jerusalem all the days
of your life.
Indeed, may you see
your children’s children.
Peace be upon Israel!
Psalm 128
Men of Valor
From the Gadites there came over to David in the wilderness, mighty men of valor, men trained for war, who could handle shield and spear, and whose faces were like the faces of lions, and they were as swift as the gazelles on the mountains…
Seriously epic verse, no? I’m not actually sure why I posted that, but I just love finding random awesome verses like that. (1 Chronicles 12:8, if anyone’s wondering) And while there’s nothing particularly “spiritual” in that verse…well, my heart can’t help but be lifted up and inspired to be such a man of valor as they. Maybe I’m not equipped with shield and spear or I’m not actually as fast as a gazelle(seriously – those guys were beasts!!)…but may I serve my God with such a dedication as they. Sometimes we are too lax in our service to our God…comfortable in our nice warm homes in our luxurious cities. Not too many of us willfully choose to make ourselves uncomfortable by charging into the wilderness. Not often do we give up all that we have to serve our Savior. I just pray that as blessed as we are to live such comfortable lives, we give thanks to our God continually! And that we never seek our own pleasure or glory before that of our most awesome Father. Amen? Amen.
Also, may we constantly seek after our Lord’s face and delight in His Word to us! Let’s stop continually indulging in the things of this world…and instead rest in the quiet peace of knowing Jesus Christ. Take a moment away from thinking on the whirlwind that is this world and think upon the things of God. Rest in his glory. Rest in his love.
And now, as always, I leave you with mine.
Peace and love.
Oh blissful morning!
And don’t have long to write as it’s about time to go to Gilc to do some Christmas caroling! One note on Christmas music – I do so love that this is the one time of year where you can go to Starbucks and hear songs praising Jesus – such awesomeness!
And I’ll leave you with this…
The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty;
The LORD has clothed and girded Himself with strength;
Indeed the world is firmly established, it will
not be moved.
Your throne is established from of old;
You are from everlasting.
The floods have lifted up, O LORD,
The floods have lifted up their voice,
The floods lift up their pounding waves.
More than the sound of many waters,
Than the mighty breakers of the sea,
The LORD on high is mighty.
Your testimonies are fully confirmed;
Holiness befits Your house, O LORD,
forevermore.
Epic glory. Ah, Psalm 93, love it.
Love you all.
Thanksgiving, always
How great is your goodness,
which you have stored up
for those who fear you,
which you bestow in the sight of men
on those who take refuge in you.
In the shelter of your presence
you hide them from the intrigues of men;
in your dwelling you keep them safe
from accusing tongues.
Praise be to the LORD,
for he showed his wonderful love to me
when I was in a besieged city.
In my alarm I said,
‘I am cut off from your sight!’
Yet you heard my cry for mercy
when I called to you for help.
Love the LORD, all his saints!
The LORD preserves the faithful,
but the proud he pays back in full.
Be strong and take heart,
all you who hope in the LORD.
Scent of Roses
And as I think of writing a few lines here…I sign in happiness, relaxing at home in Tampa!! The cool Florida sea-breezes are blowing through the house and I smell lunch(hash – fried beef, potatoes, onions and carrots, mmmmm…) on the stove and I’m chilling here with Dad…yep it’s a good day!! Just had a sweet few minutes outside in the glorious Florida sunshine, watering the roses and digging in the garden a bit.
But no, getting home wasn’t that easy. After a somewhat over-adventuresome journey home(missed my connecting flight in Amsterdam, barely got on the next flight to Detroit, then snagged the last seat – first class, yo – on the Detroit-Tampa flight to arrive home some five hours later than I’d planned. And without my luggage. But I’m here home now and all is well!! Oh how wonderful it is to relax with Dad, Mom and Katharyn and enjoy this lovely vacation!
Yesterday was Dad’s 58th birthday!! So of course we celebrated in classic Hogan-style, complete with Pizza Hut and a few episodes of ’24’. How we do it! Dad and I finished up the evening watching the Oklahoma State(ranked #2) vs. Iowa State game…went down to 2OT with Iowa State pulling off the massive upset, complete with the field being rushed! A good birthday present to my dad, I’ll say! (Yes, Iowa State alumnus)
And now lunch smells almost complete – and how can I spend too much time on the computer when I can spend it with the fam here! – so I think I’ll be away. Before I do…some sweet verses I read this morning…(actually I would love to quote verbatim Psalms 37 and 38 in their entirety, but I’ll spare you)
Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgement as the noonday.
-Ps. 37:4-6
Oh glorious verses! How I long to follow my God in all that I do – and for Him to bring forth righteousness in me as the rising sun! Oh bliss.
And I’m really off now. Love y’all.
Swallowed in the sea
Well, I *was* going to go to bed freakishly early tonight(say, around 9pm!!), but as happens many a night, I got distracted by a good book. Oops. I really should keep the books further from my bed.
Anyways, reading in “The Glory of Christ” by John Owen…and I got to say, as much of a struggle it sometimes is to wade through his gorgeously intricate paragraphs, it’s so worth it. Any of you that own this(hey, I can’t be the only one!) needs to read the last few pages of Chapter 10…amazingly beautiful. I don’t quote from books often here, but…
The due remembrance of what the blessed Lord Jesus hath done for us, of the ineffable love which was the spring, cause and fountain of what he so did – thoughts of the mercy, grace, peace and glory which he hath procured thereby – are the great and unconquerable motives to fix our faith, hope, trust and confidence in him.
His divine nature is the ground and warranty for our so doing. This is that from whence he is the due and proper object of all divine faith and worship. From the power and virtue thereof do we expect and receive all those things which in our believing on him we seek after; for none but God can bestow them on us, or work them in us. There is in all the actings of our faith on him, the voice of the confession of Thomas, “My Lord and my God.”
Oh lovely.
And I could go on quoting..but I shall refrain. For now!
Oh but… just thinking about another one of my favs…
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that
He loved us and sent His Son to be the
propitiation for our sins.
And from this amazing truth does our love spring!
Adrift in raging seas
and lost in the maelstrom of silence
and seized in the chains of the poets
and drowning in rainbows.
Drowning yet grasping and
gasping and hoping and
praying and trying and
living yet dying.
Until there came a light,
the light that was a man
the man that was a lord
Our Lord and our God!
So no longer do we writhe,
and no longer do we write,
but still, but still, we sigh
in love, for love, divine.
Have a most glorious night, y’all!!
Hallelujah
Praise the LORD!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty expanse.
Praise Him according to
His excellent greatness.
Praise Him with trumpet sound;
Praise Him with harp and lyre.
Praise Him with timbrel and dancing;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe.
Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath
praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD!
-Ps. 150
Praise the Lord!!!
Something Weird 