If the Ultimate, the Hardest, Cannot Be Asked of Me;...

If the ultimate, the hardest, cannot be asked of me;
if my fellows hesitate to ask it and turn to someone else, 

then I know nothing of Calvary love.  
Amy Carmichael, If

12Moses said to the Lord, “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’  

13Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.”  

14And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”  

15And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. 

16For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”

17And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.”  

18Moses said, “Please show me your glory.”  

19And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.  

20But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”  

21And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock,  

22and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by.  

Exodus 33:12-23, ESV

Hymn: He Hideth My Soul A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord, A wonderful Savior to me; He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock, Where rivers of pleasure I see. Refrain: He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock That shadows a dry, thirsty land; He hideth my life with the depths of His love, And covers me there with His hand, And covers me there with His hand. A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord, He taketh my burden away; He holdeth me up, and I shall not be moved, He giveth me strength as my day. Refrain With numberless blessings each moment He crowns, And filled with His fullness divine, I sing in my rapture, oh, glory to God For such a Redeemer as mine! Refrain When clothed in His brightness, transported I rise To meet Him in clouds of the sky, His perfect salvation, His wonderful love I’ll shout with the millions on high. Refrain Words: Fanny J. Crosby, 1890.

O My Soul, Wait In Silence

“There is no man on the face of the earth who can satisfy the deepest longings of a woman’s heart—God made us in such a way that we can never be truly satisfied with anything or anyone less than Himself”. 

 ~Nancy Leigh DeMoss

5For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
6He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

8Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah

Psalm 62:5-8, ESV

If I Ask To Be Delivered From Trial...

  If I ask to be delivered from trial rather than for deliverance out of it, to the praise of His glory;

if I forget that the way of the cross leads to the cross and not to a bank of flowers; 

if I regulate my life on these lines, or even unconsciously my thinking,
so that I am surprised when the way is rough and think it strange, though the word is,
"Think it not strange," "Count it all joy," 

then I know nothing of Calvary love.  
Amy Carmichael, If

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.  
¹³ But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
¹⁴ If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.  
¹⁵ B^ut let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.  
¹⁶ Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.  
¹⁷ For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?  

¹⁸ And  “If the righteous is scarcely saved,
    what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

¹⁹ Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

1 Peter 4:12-19, ESV

If I Refuse to Be a Corn of Wheat That Falls Into the Ground and Dies...

If I refuse to be a corn of wheat that falls into the ground and dies 

("is separated from all in which it lived before"),

then I know nothing of Calvary love. 
Amy Carmichael, If

23And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  
24Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.  
25Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 
26If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
John 12:23-26, ESV 

“The principles of gain through loss, of joy through sorrow, of getting by giving, of fulfillment by laying down, of life out of death is what the Bible teaches, and the people who have believed it enough to live it out in simple, humble, day-by-day practice are people who have found the gain, the joy, the getting, the fulfillment, the life.”

Elisabeth Elliot

If The Love That "Alone Maketh Light of Every Heavy Thing, ...

If the love that "alone maketh light of every heavy thing, and beareth evenly every uneven thing"*
is not my heart's desire,

then I know nothing of Calvary love.
Amy Carmichael, If
*Thomas a Kempis

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.  
10For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!  
11Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone?  
12And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, ESV

My favorite authoress, Elisabeth Elliot, has devoted her life to serving others.  Prior to her health becoming poor, it was not uncommon for her to travel to speak to women of all ages at churches and conferences.  I have had the blessed privilege of hearing her speak in person on three different occasions.  Her past radio broadcast, books, and audios have encouraged my spirit greatly for many years as a wife and mother.  I have poured over her books since I was a college graduate.  She is very much the godly mentor and counselor that I have found to be deeply rooted in Scripture and the character of God.

A practical exercise she once said helped her put her calling as a wife and mother in a proper perspective was to meditate on 1 Corinthians 13, The Love Chapter, by inserting her name in the place where the word "Love" (or a pronoun for the word) is read...

 

[Karen] is patient and kind; 

[Karen] does not envy or boast; 

[Karen] is not arrogant or rude. 

[Karen] does not insist on its own way; 

[Karen] is not irritable or resentful; 

[Karen] does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 

[Karen] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 

(1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV) 

 

Knowing our Lord is the best example and source of 'Love' that we have, meditating on who He is, and thinking through the many ways He demonstrated His love for us, we are better able to 'put on love' so we may better love and build up others (Colossians 3:12-17, ESV).

Lord, as I seek to love my family and friends, I ask that you will please give me grace to trust You for each and every step of this love journey.   With all the faith you've granted, please help me to be a channel through which Your genuine love flows in to the lives of others.  

How Manifold Are Your Works

O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.

Here is the sea, great and wide,
which teems with creatures innumerable,
living things both small and great.

Psalm 104:24-25, ESV

Holiness

“Holiness, as taught in the Scriptures, is not based upon knowledge on our part. 
Rather, it is based upon the resurrected Christ in-dwelling us and changing us into His likeness.”
― A.W. Tozer, Preparing for Jesus' Return: Daily Live the Blessed Hope

6 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 

2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 

6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 

8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 

9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 

10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 

11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:1-11

In the Way of Your Testimonies I Delight...

⁹ How can a young man [girl] keep his [her] way pure?
    By guarding it according to your word.
¹⁰ With my whole heart I seek you;
    let me not wander from your commandments!
¹¹ I have stored up your word in my heart,
    that I might not sin against you.
¹² Blessed are you, O Lord;
    teach me your statutes!
¹³ With my lips I declare
    all the rules of your mouth.
¹⁴ In the way of your testimonies I delight
    as much as in all riches.
¹⁵ I will meditate on your precepts
    and fix my eyes on your ways.
¹⁶ I will delight in your statutes;
    I will not forget your word.

Psalm 119:9-16, ESV

If I Make Much of Anything Appointed, Magnify it Secretly to Myself...

If I make much of anything appointed,
magnify it secretly to myself or insidiously to others;

if I let them think it "hard";
if I look back longingly upon what used to be,
and linger among the byways of memory,
so that my power to help is weakened,

then I know nothing of Calvary love. 

Amy Carmichael, If

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, 
but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.  
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,  
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12-14, ESV 
 

Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,
and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. 

Be not quick in your spirit to become angry,
for anger lodges in the heart of fools. 

Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?”
For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. 

Wisdom is good with an inheritance,
an advantage to those who see the sun. 

For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money,
and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life 

of him who has it.  

Consider the work of God: 

who can make straight what he has made crooked?  

(Ecclesiastes 7:8-13 ESV)

Let Not Our Longing...

Jim Elliot, Passion and Purity

If When An Answer I Did Not Expect Comes...

If when an answer I did not expect comes to a prayer which I believed I truly meant,
I shrink back from it;
if the burden my Lord asks me to bear be not the burden of my heart's choice,
and I fret inwardly and do not welcome His will,

then I know nothing of Calvary love.
Amy Carmichael, If

Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!
Psalm 43:3, ESV
 
Speak, O Lord, as we come to You
To receive the food of Your Holy Word.
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness,
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us
All Your purposes for Your glory.

Teach us, Lord, full obedience,
Holy reverence, true humility;
Test our thoughts and our attitudes
In the radiance of Your purity.
Cause our faith to rise; cause our eyes to see
Your majestic love and authority.
Words of pow'r that can never fail—
Let their truth prevail over unbelief.

Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds;
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us—
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time
That will echo down through eternity.
And by grace we'll stand on Your promises,
And by faith we'll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, till Your church is built
And the earth is filled with Your glory.
"Speak, O Lord"
Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music

Photo: St. Augustine Lighthouse on Anastasia Island, 08/14

If It Be Not A Simple And a Natural Thing...

 


















If it be not a simple and a natural thing to say,
"Enviest thou for my sake?
would God that all the Lord's people were prophets,"

then I know nothing of Calvary love.
Amy Carmichael, If

Numbers 11:16-30, ESV
 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord.  And he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent.  
²⁵ Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it.
²⁶ Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. 
²⁷ And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 
²⁸ And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” 
²⁹ But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” 
³⁰ And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.
 

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary- 
We have here the fulfillment of God's word to Moses, that he should have help in the government of Israel. He gave of his Spirit to the seventy elders. They discoursed to the people of the things of God, so that all who heard them might say, that God was with them of a truth. Two of the elders, Eldad and Medad, went not out unto the tabernacle, as the rest, being sensible of their own weakness and unworthiness. But the Spirit of God found them in the camp, and there they exercised their gift of praying, preaching, and praising God; they spake as moved by the Holy Ghost. The Spirit of God is not confined to the tabernacle, but, like the wind, blows where He listeth. And they that humble themselves shall be exalted; and those who are most fit for government, are least ambitious of it. Joshua does not desire that they should be punished, but only restrained for the future. This motion he made out of zeal for what he thought to be the unity of the church. He would have them silenced, lest they should occasion a schism, or should rival Moses; but Moses was not afraid of any such effects from that Spirit which God had put upon them. Shall we reject those whom Christ has owned, or restrain any from doing good, because they are not in every thing of our mind? Moses wishes all the Lord's people were prophets, that he would put his Spirit upon all of them. Let the testimony of Moses be believed by those who desire to be in power; that government is a burden. It is a burden of care and trouble to those who make conscience of the duty of it; and to those who do not, it will prove a heavier burden in the day of account. Let the example of Moses be followed by those in power; let them not despise the advice and assistance of others, but desire it, and be thankful for it. If all the present number of the Lord's people were rendered prophets, or ministers, by the Spirit of Christ, though not all agreed in outward matters, there is work enough for all, in calling sinners to repentance, and faith in our Lord Jesus.

Mark had the privilege of accompanying our pastor, Shane Waters, to the Dominican Republic this time last year for one week to assist a missionary family our church supports.  
Noah and Stephanie, along with their five children, are missionaries who stand in the gap for pastors in the DR and Haiti that are planting churches to reach the lost.  Noah works more closely with a couple of men who have helped him start a school of theology, in order to provide the local pastors further training to teach and disciple their flocks.   
Mark returned very blessed for having gone, and with much to be in awe of the Lord about.  

The Lord has positioned the Joyners in the Dominican Republic several months out of the year, and they're able to return to the states for respite a few months at a time as well.  However, their ministry to the nationals continues throughout the year, as Noah travels alone when needed to provide leadership and training to the men who help him in the ministry there.  
I couldn't help but think of Noah when I read this verse.  He, like Moses, has been called to lead and govern people. The men who work alongside him have been called and gifted in various ways by the Holy Spirit as well.  Though they are working to accomplish the same goal of sharing the Gospel so that the lost would accept Christ, they all have faith to believe the work is God's and He will perfect it.  That is how Noah and his family can come back to the states for rest, and return with full assurance, they are accountable to Him, fit for the work He calls them to, wherever they are positioned.    

May the Lord Keep Us Alert

"My Dear Wife, 

I hope you will make good use of the Bible, and throne of grace, to preserve you from being infected by the spirit of the world. Ah! what a poor vain thing is the world! We have both found it so at times, (though we once loved it,) and shall find it so again. May the Lord keep us alert to a sense of its vanity!  ..."

John Newton

Surrender

Surrender--stillness--a ready welcoming of all stripping, all loss, all that brings us low, low into the Lord's path of humility--a cherishing of every whisper of the Spirit's voice, every touch of the prompting that comes to quicken the hidden life within: that is the way God's human seed-vessels ripen, and Christ becomes "magnified" even through the things that seem against us. "Mine but to be still: Thine the glorious power, Thine the mighty will."

I. Lilias Trotter

If I Want to Be Known as the Doer...

 

















If I want to be known as the doer of something that has proved the right thing,
or as the one who suggested that it should be done,

then I know nothing of Calvary love.
Amy Carmichael, If

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 
² “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat,  
³ so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. 
⁴ They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.  
⁵ They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, 
⁶ and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues  
⁷ and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.  
⁸ But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers.  
⁹And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.  
¹⁰ Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ.  
¹¹ The greatest among you shall be your servant.  
¹² Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
¹³ “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  ...
Matthew 23:1-39, ESV

If the Praise of Man Elates Me and His Blame Depresses Me;...

If the praise of man elates me and his blame depresses me; 
if I cannot rest under misunderstanding without defending myself; 
if I love to be loved more than to love,
to be served more than to serve,

then I know nothing of Calvary love.  
Amy Carmichael, If

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 
² complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 
³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 
⁴ Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,  
⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
Philippians 2:1-7, ESV

Photo:  Mr. Taccati's Piano Recital, 05-05-2007  

If Something I Am Asked to Do For Another Feels Burdensome;...

If something I am asked to do for another feels burdensome;
if, yielding to an inward unwillingness, I avoid doing it,

then I know nothing of Calvary love.
Amy Carmichael, If

I am thankful we have very special neighbors.  They've always been special, but they've become even more special as we've tried to make ourselves available to them through a difficult season.  
Though I don't usually doubt my ability to help them, it concerned me that through this particular trial, my dear friend's restored health depended on my availability and willingness to relieve her of stress.
My friend was terribly sick, and I quesioned my ability to be the support she needed.  I knew if all were left up to me, I could fail her and I feared I could add more stress to her situation.  There was no way I could help her without the Lord first giving me the desire and the strength to help.  My help had to come from Him! 
There were definitely moments when helping her required we bow our heads together and ask the Lord for help.  I knew of no other source to draw from in order to help and encourage her!  What a trial, but what a comfort He was for us! 

Now that we're on this side of the trial, my neighbor is much improved and doing well.  I look back in awe of what the Lord did for her, and for the way He stretched and grew me.  I can't help but sense the Lord allowed and used that trial so that we could both learn more personally that He is truly Faithful!  His love and faithfulness was and still is a joy to know and remember, and I will look back on this trial as the burden that was lightened, because He was there to bear it for me, for us!  
Thank you, Lord!  

Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.  
21“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  
22But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.  
23And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  
24But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest.

25At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 

26yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

27All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.  

28Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  

29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 

30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:20-30, ESV

If I Become Entangled...

If I become entangled in any "inordinate affection";
if things or places or people hold me back from obedience to my Lord,

then I know nothing of Calvary love.
Amy Carmichael, If

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 
12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 
13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 
14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
(Titus 2:11-14 ESV)

Photo: Yesha Demonstration, 10-17-09