by Elizabeth | Dec 3, 2010 | Learning Story
Glory meditations took me back to a simple folk hymn yesterday — and the memories of singalongs with Amy Grant’s version in a car packed full of kids. (Jackie’s best friend would always take the bass part and remind us, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus!”)
Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus by Helen Lemmel
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!
Refrain:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
O’er us sin no more hath dominion—
For more than conquerors we are!
His Word shall not fail you—He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!
by Elizabeth | Dec 2, 2010 | Learning Story
This morning’s email has arrived with prayer requests for sorrow, sickness, and suffering. Again my heart and mind lean toward glory. Where is Your glory, Lord? What does it look like for each of these individuals in this suffering season? I know it is there, for I have seen Your glory revealed in the midst of hard stories of . And yet, we wait for it.
John Piper says,
“I believe the entire universe exists to display the greatness of the glory of the grace of God. I might have said more simply that the entire universe exists to display the greatness of the glory of God. That would be true. But the Bible is more specific. The glory of God shines most brightly, most fully, most beautifully in the manifestation of the glory of his grace. Therefore, this is the ultimate aim and the final explanation of all things—including suffering.”
Lord, I ask you, implore you, reveal your glory to my suffering friends. May the warmth of your light shine into the dark places. May we have glimmers of your grace in the tough moments of today. May we rest in your comfort as only those who need comfort desperately can. May we remember that all of life is lived “to the praise of Your glorious grace which You have freely given in the One You love.” Amen, Come Lord Jesus!
For more on suffering and glory, check out the entire article.
http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/conference-messages/the-suffering-of-christ-and-the-sovereignty-of-god
Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org
by Elizabeth | Dec 1, 2010 | Learning Story
“The weight of glory is worth the wait.” That’s a Scotty Smith-ism — or at least I first heard it from him.
As Advent arrives, I am waiting on glory. I am trying to pay attention to it when I see it (the word, the concept, the demonstrations.) Several days ago, I was reading about the glory of the Lord and its connection to not showing partiality. Listen to what John Stott says in his commentary on James 2:1:
Moses asked the Lord, “I pray thee, show me thy glory.”
“In reply, the Lord, ever prompt to meet the needs of those he loves, promises: ‘I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you my name.”
“…the Lord in effect answered by saying, ‘You will certainly see my glory, for I will come to you myself, reveal my essential goodness and spell out my very nature to you.'” (John Stott, James commentary).
Let us look for the glory of the Lord in this season. He has promised to reveal it, and He has kept His promise.
“In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel.“
by Elizabeth | Nov 29, 2010 | Learning Story
It’s not hard for me to know what to do when a holiday was difficult or stressful. The challenge is to live after a really joyous one. Monday has come around and it is time to return to work or school or to an empty house which we liked just fine full; now is a good time to be on guard. The fact is, though we are redeemed, we sometimes feel a little uncomfortable with glory and beauty. Here are some perfectly biblical ways to tear up some of the good God has given us. I know because I’ve done them, if not this year (yet), at least in other years.
1. Gossip. Now that Aunt Hildebrand is out of the house, start talking about what a wicked tongue she has. Guaranteed joy-killer.
Proverbs 17:9
He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.
2. Harbor bitterness. Remember that one horrible moment when you felt everyone was picking on you. Sure, you may have spoken an ill-timed word, but you certainly didn’t mean to. And they all made you feel like the shrimp-and-pimiento dip Aunt Hildebrand brought but no one wanted to touch.
Ephesians 4:31-32
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
3. Get stressed. After all, you’ve got exams coming in ten days. In fact, why did you stop studying at all to have a good time with family and friends? Look how much you have to do! What a fool you are. Start pulling all-nighters now!
Luke 12: 22-26
“Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his lifea? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?”
I can think of many many more than these, all of which I have done — have a fight with your [fill-in-the-blank], start dreading Christmas now, throw yourself into busyness…Instead, I’ll close with a prayer my heart needs right now and perhaps yours does too:
“Dear Lord,
We need you. We thank you for our Thanksgivings, for both the empty and the full, the sour and the sweet, the quiet and the noisy. Quiet our hearts now; help us to seek YOUR pleasure and to receive it and rest in it. Be with us each moment of this day as we “re-enter.” Draw kindness and compassion from our hearts. Help us to look at others as Jesus would; help us to walk where you want us to walk today, living out of the power of Your gospel, not out of our own power.”
In the name of Your precious Son, we pray. Amen
by Elizabeth | Nov 25, 2010 | Learning Story
Reading this Psalm translation by Robert Alter, Jewish and literary scholar aloud for a great meditation on God’s bounty and beauty in all and through all, I am drawn to worship Christ, who is the FOOD we celebrate today!
Psalm 65:
“To you silence is praise, God, in Zion,
and to You a vow will be paid.
O, Listener to prayer,
unto You all flesh shall come.
My deeds of mischief are too much for me,
Our crimes but You atone.
Happy whom You choose to draw close,
he will dwell in your courts.
May we be sated with Your house’s bounty,
the holiness of Your temple.
With awesome acts You answer us,
our rescuing God,
refuge of all the earth’s ends
and the far-flung sea.
Who sets mountains firm in his power,
–He is girded in might —
Who quiets the roar of the seas,
the roar of their waves and the tumult of nations.
And those who dwell at earth’s ends will fear your signs,
The portals of morning and evening You gladden.
You pay mind to the earth and soak it.
You greatly enrich it.
God’s stream is filled with water,
You ready their grain, for so You ready it.
Quench the thirst of its furrows, smooth out its hillocks,
melt it with showers, its growth You will bless.
You crown your bountiful year,
and Your pathways drip ripeness.
The wilderness meadows do drip,
and with joy the hills are girded.
The pastures are clothed with flocks
and the valleys are mantled with grain.
They shout for joy, they even sing.”
The Book of Psalms, A Translation with Commentary, Robert Alter
by Elizabeth | Nov 19, 2010 | Learning Story
I was really coming to the end of myself, and there were few around me who couldn’t perceive it. Unraveling. Stressed. Taut. Edgy.
Was it that circumstances were barraging me more aggressively and relentlessly, or that I was not absorbing the blows of fallen-world-life with the softness of a heart open to shifting agendas? I don’t know. Probably both. All I know is that I needed a rest.
And funny thing, just as I was packing to leave home for about 36 hours (with the blessing of my family and a text message from a friend: “NO MORE THAN ONE HOUR OF WORK; REST!”), a friend sent me a great article (which of course I did not have time to read — until now), on the need for regular rest. Listen to just one little piece and look back at these commandments regarding rest. A great encouragement on a topic I am experientially pondering: Why rest?:)
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Exodus 20
“Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.”Deuteronomy 5
“Why should we rest? In the first take (Exodus 20), we hear how the Creator made all things – and then stopped to rest, enjoying all the good that He’d made good, so very good. Don’t forget exactly how you got here. Faith awakens and remembers. We serve this Maker by working well and resting well. But in the second take (Deuteronomy 5), we hear how the Redeemer freed His beloved from the meaningless sweat of slave labor and carried those He had rescued into a place of rest and peace. Don’t forget exactly how you got here. Faith awakens and remembers. We serve this Savior by working well and resting well, and also by giving others who toil – even work animals – the pleasures of rest.” David Powlison, Innocent Pleasures
