Chrysostom

John Chrysostom's (347-407) Homily XX is a very thought provoking commentary on Ephesians 5.25-33.

"Being better than most is not good enough. 'Being better' was never the goal."

::choose joy::

Twenty-five Trips Around the Day Star

O Wondrous Love

O wondrous love
That will not let me go
I cling to You
With all my strength and soul
Yet if my hold should ever fail
This wondrous love will never let me go

O wondrous love
That's come to dwell in me
Lord who am I
That I should come to know
Your tender voice assuring me
Your wondrous love will never let me go

I'm resting in the everlasting arms

In the ever faithful heart

The Shepherd of my life

You carry me on

Your mighty wings of grace

Keeping me until the day

I look into Your eyes

O wondrous love
That sings of Calvary
The sweetest sound
This sinner's ever known
The song of Your redeeming Son
Whose wondrous love
Will never let me go

O wondrous love
That rushes over me
I can't excape
This river's glorious flow
You overwhelm my days with good
Your wondrous love
Will never let me go

(c) Sovereign Grace Worship
Steve Cook / Vikki Cook

How can I begin to recount the blessings that God has given me thus far?
My Messiah alone deserves all the praise, glory, and honor.

::choose joy::

Girlfriend

Pronunciation: 'g&r(-&)l-"frend
Function: noun
1 : a female friend
2 : a frequent or regular female companion in a romantic or sexual relationship

@>~>~~

The above definition is courtesy of Merriam-Webster Online.

Fine and good.

But I have a big problem with the term "girlfriend." The word is used so flippantly and haphazardly that using "girlfriend" in describing the woman you are serious and purposefully courting but are not yet engaged to seems almost disrespectful and dishonoring. "Girlfriend" carries with it so much baggage from the world's ungodly views of romantic relationships. I refuse to use it.

Why does there seem to be an abundance of synonyms for "boyfriend" that allow one to escape the world's typical assumptions regarding that word? In applying a label to the woman you are courting - there seems to be very few options. "Girlfriend" sits at one end of the spectrum and multiple names only appropriate for a fiancée at the other end. There seems to be no happy medium.

Believe me, I've looked.

Any suggestions?

In the mean time, I get to look forward to a long weekend with the marvelous woman ("You are the best, Rachel! I miss you so much!") that I (the suitor) have the honor to court. Terms and labels probably won't matter much.


"...a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." - Proverbs 31.30

::choose joy::

Painful Yet Good

Let a righteous man strike me--it is a kindness;
let him rebuke me--it is oil on my head.
My head will not refuse it.
--Psalm 141.5a--

Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you;
rebuke a wise man and he will love you.
Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still;
teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
--Proverbs 9.8-10--

::choose joy::

Taw

Lord, in Jesus' name and through His blood alone I approach Your throne...

May my cry come before you, O LORD;
give me understanding according to your word.

May my supplication come before you;
deliver me according to your promise.

May my lips overflow with praise,
for you teach me your decrees.

May my tongue sing of your word,
for all your commands are righteous.

May your hand be ready to help me,
for I have chosen your precepts.

I long for your salvation, O LORD,
and your law is my delight.

Let me live that I may praise you,
and may your laws sustain me.

I have strayed like a lost sheep.
Seek your servant,
for I have not forgotten your commands.
--Psalm 119.169-176--

Amen.

::choose joy::

God Must Pay The Price

"God created man, created him to be His own... God set him in Eden to live in fellowship with Him, but man sinned. Man became the slave of evil. He cannot break free. This is precisely the situation that the ancient world saw as calling for an act of redemption. We who belong to God have gotten into the power of a strong enemy from which we cannot break free. If I can say it reverently, God, if He wants us back, must pay the price.
And the great teaching of the New Testament is that God has paid the price. He has redeemed us. Christ became our Redeemer.... To release the slaves of sin He paid the price. We were in captivity. We were in the strong grip of evil. We could not break free. But the price was paid and the result is that we go free."
--Leon Morris, quoted in Humility: True Greatness

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C.J. Mahaney's book, Humilty: True Greatness, is something else. There have only been a few Christian books that I have read where I have had to brush away tears from my eyes and set the book down. I'm not even half-way through this small book. This last chapter described James and John and their request of Jesus detailed in Mark 10. And what transformed these two men from self-confident, prideful disciples into humble servants and martyrs?

The Savior had died as a ransom.
The James and John we see back in Mark 10 were emphatically not laying down their lives for others, but they would be wholly transformed. And the explanation for this transformation wasn't just our Lord's example but our Lord's sacrifice. His sacrifice was a ransom for sin, and its effect was a liberation for James and John from their selfishness and patterns of pride.
Here were two men transformed into humble servants of the gospel and servants of the church by the Savior's sacrifice. Two men who ended their lives truly great in the eyes of God.
Why? How?
"The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28).
--C.J. Mahaney, Humilty: True Greatness

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In other random news...

Well, let's just say that God is very good! Joy runs rampant!


I know, I know... I didn't give you any decent, juicy, or personal information. If you ask me specific questions - I'll be more than happy to answer them... but not via xanga. I'll have to be careful answering questions over the phone too, now that I think about it. My cell phone minutes have been depleting exponentially this past month. *gasp*

::choose joy::

Jehovah Tsidqenuw - The LORD Our Righteousness

"Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!" declares the LORD. Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: "Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done," declares the LORD. "I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing," declares the LORD.

"The days are coming," declares the LORD,
"when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.

In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The LORD Our Righteousness.

"So then, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "when people will no longer say, 'As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,' but they will say, 'As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.' Then they will live in their own land." --Jeremiah 23.1-8

::choose joy::