Looking Toward Easter - #4 - 2 Hymns

How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
And make a wretch His treasure

How great His pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon the cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom.

-----by Stuart Townend, 2008 AD

 

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And this hymn from an earlier time...


O sacred head, now wounded
With grief and shame weighed down
Now scornfully surrounded
With thorns Thy only crown
How pale Thou art with anguish
With sore abuse and scorn
How does that visage languish
Which once was bright as morn?

What thou, my Lord, has suffered
Was all for sinner's gain
Mine, mine was the transgression
But Thine the deadly pain
Lo, here I fall, my Savior!
Tis I deserve Thy place
Look on me with Thy favor
Vouchsafe to me Thy grace

What language shall I borrow
To thank Thee, dearest Friend
For this Thy dying sorrow
Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever
And should I fainting be
Lord, let me never, never,
Out live my love to Thee.

   -- Paul Gerhandt, 1650 AD


Ageless words about the ageless
act.....Christ's work on the cross...
O how He loves you and me.....

Re-thinking diet - Solution #20

But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his counsel.

In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wasteland they put God to the test.

So he gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease upon them.
                       -- Psalm 106:13-15



They gave into their craving....they were in the wilderness desert, in a wasteland.

They were outside the Promised Land. They had not entered the land that flowed with milk and honey and all God's goodness.

Maybe we also need to move on.....

1. They forgot what?

2. They didn't wait for what?

3. Then they gave into what?

Re-thinking Diet - Solution #19

Rome wasn't built in a day -- No, it wasn't built in a day. But it was built by the day.

Stone by stone the mighty buildings went up. Mile by mile the highways sliced through the frontier. It took centuries, but even today we can witness the perseverance of the great Roman empire builders.

Rome didn't just drift into view, suddenly appearing on the landscape. It was designed and constructed by daring men with patience and vision.

And so it is with us.

We don't just "happen" to live healthy lives. It has to be a purpose that drives us to say "No" to some things and "Yes" to others.

It's about making choices. Decisions. Daily.

Not in a day. But by the day.

Victories are about the daily battles. Not about the war.

 One choice at a time.

 

     Make every effort to add to your faith goodness,

    and to goodness knowledge, and to knowledge,  self-control, and to self-control perseverance.

                            -- 2 Peter 1:5-6

 

 

1. We add to our faith,__________________.

 

2. And to goodness, we add________________.

 

3. And to knowledge, we add_________________.

 

4. And to self-control, we add_________________.

 

Any significance to the order of virtues?

 



Re-thinking Diet -Solution #18

I spread out my hands to you;
I thirst for you like a parched land.
    -- Psalm 143:6


Crave food? Desserts? Extra fries? (After all, the super-sized is certainly a better buy -- doesn't that make us better stewards of God's money?)

It's all false - pseudo satisfaction.

Numbing us to our real thirst and hunger.

Lord, teach me to understand that what I really crave
is more of You in my life....not more food...

Teach me to seek the fullest measure of You  --  to recognize that all other earthly desires do not compare to Your satisfying presence.

Nothing in the world compares to You!

Re-thinking Diet - Solution #17

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.

It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
                                    -- Titus 2:11-15


1. What has the grace of God brought us?

2. This grace has taught us to live what kind of lives?
     (3 answers)

3. What are we to say "No" to? (2 answers)

4. What is the blessed hope we are waiting for?

5. Christ came to redeem us from what?

6. Why?

7. Finish this sentence: To purify for himself a people
that are his own,____________ to do___________
____________________.

Re-thinking Diet - Solution #16

Two realities at work in our lives: (1) God's fullness
and (2) our emptiness.

What we lack, God can supply.

Our greatest craving is for Him to fill our emptiness.



Taste and see that the LORD is good (Psalm 34:8).

You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. (Psalm 4:8).