I've been asking the Lord to give me a hunger for His word. Sitting here in the quiet dark with the white noise of a fan, the heavy breathing of a sleeping person, and the occasional song of a bird drifting through the window, this beautiful whisper of prose stole subtly into my mind.
Oh to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be...
At first I thought, "Wow, that's not a very positive thought, being constrained or bound daily to something. Then I thought about the grace I receive anew each morning. What an incredible gift! How can being chained to something so generous and preciously good be a bad thing?? Thank you, Lord, for renewing my mind!
Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise his Name, I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise his Name, I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.
Come. An invitation for Christ to come into our hearts.
Thou fount of every blessing. A neverending supply of good things! (James 1:16-18)
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace. As evidenced before, my heart definitely needs tuning!
Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Calls for song of loudest praise. God, you are worthy!
Teach me some melodious sonnet, Sung by flaming tongues above. God gives us the ability to please Him with our praise and worship. Without His Holy Spirit dwelling in us & the sacrifice of Christ, our best gift of praise or worship is unfit.
Praise His name, I'm fixed upon it, Mount of Thy redeeming love. The proper place for our life's perspective to be: focused on Christ & His perfect providence for our every need.
Thou fount of every blessing. A neverending supply of good things! (James 1:16-18)
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace. As evidenced before, my heart definitely needs tuning!
Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Calls for song of loudest praise. God, you are worthy!
Teach me some melodious sonnet, Sung by flaming tongues above. God gives us the ability to please Him with our praise and worship. Without His Holy Spirit dwelling in us & the sacrifice of Christ, our best gift of praise or worship is unfit.
Praise His name, I'm fixed upon it, Mount of Thy redeeming love. The proper place for our life's perspective to be: focused on Christ & His perfect providence for our every need.
Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I'll begin;
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I'll begin;
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Sorrowing I shall be in spirit, Till released from flesh and sin. Not an excuse for a pity party, but an honest longing for the perfection of our heavenly bodies and the wondrous lightness of a world without the dark heaviness of sin and all of its consequences!
Yet from what I do inherit, Here Thy praises I'll begin. Now is the time to enjoy the benefits of our salvation and eternal life! Praise God for our adoption into His family and the unfathomable inheritance he has already bestowed on us.
Here I raise my Ebenezer; Here by Thy great help I've come. I thought the same thing. What in the world is an Ebenezer?
Great little article by Dr. Gregory S Neal. I love how he summarized it:
Yet from what I do inherit, Here Thy praises I'll begin. Now is the time to enjoy the benefits of our salvation and eternal life! Praise God for our adoption into His family and the unfathomable inheritance he has already bestowed on us.
Here I raise my Ebenezer; Here by Thy great help I've come. I thought the same thing. What in the world is an Ebenezer?
Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen.
He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far has the LORD helped us.”
– 1 Samuel 7:12
He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far has the LORD helped us.”
– 1 Samuel 7:12
Great little article by Dr. Gregory S Neal. I love how he summarized it:
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure, Safely to arrive at home. God does delight in us and it is His desire for us to be home with Him in heaven!
Literally speaking, an Ebenezer is a "stone of help," or a reminder of God’s Real, Holy Presence and Divine aid. Spiritually and theologically speaking, an Ebenezer can be nearly anything that reminds us of God’s presence and help: the Bible, the Sacramental Elements, a cross, a picture, a fellow believer, a hymn – those things which serve as reminders of God’s love, God’s Real Presence, and God’s assistance are "Ebenezers."
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
Skipping down a line:
Let Thy Goodness, like a fetter, Bind my wandering hearth to Thee. Let us fix our eyes on God's goodness so we aren't drawn away by the empty promises of Satan's lies.
We are such weak and imperfect creatures, doing what we hate and know not to do.
Here's my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above. A prayer of acceptance of Christ's sacrifice for sin for the unsaved. A rededication of our heart's affection for those already adopted. Once saved, always saved with no need to repeatedly ask for redemption. God has already sealed our hearts with His Holy Spirit, if we have surrendered to Him.
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
Skipping down a line:
Let Thy Goodness, like a fetter, Bind my wandering hearth to Thee. Let us fix our eyes on God's goodness so we aren't drawn away by the empty promises of Satan's lies.
We are such weak and imperfect creatures, doing what we hate and know not to do.
Here's my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above. A prayer of acceptance of Christ's sacrifice for sin for the unsaved. A rededication of our heart's affection for those already adopted. Once saved, always saved with no need to repeatedly ask for redemption. God has already sealed our hearts with His Holy Spirit, if we have surrendered to Him.
O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.
O that day. Do we daily treasure that hope of Christ's second coming? Is that where our hope is based?
When freed from sinning. Though forgiven, we are still imperfect and sin as a result, but we are covered by Christ's blood.
I shall see Thy lovely face. Wow! From time to time, I imagine what it would be like to hear God's voice. To think I will see His face?!? I can faintly grasp the power of how men in ages past were brought to their knees with their faces turned to the ground when God appeared in any form. To be able to look God in the face... To be that pure and sinless, justified and sanctified by His blood. What a miracle!
Clothed then in blood washed linen, How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace; Praise God! He has washed us white as snow! I bet those heavenly robes will feel amazing! I love singing to God now. How exciting to be able to sing forever, without losing our voices and without missing a note! I can't wait!
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry, Take my ransomed soul away; Can you wait any longer? I have moments where I think, "But Lord, I want to experience the joy of having children. The wonder of watching them grow. There are so many things I want to see in this lifetime." It's then that I realize I have no grasp on how good being in God's presence really is.
Send thine angels now to carry Me to realms of endless day. Since joining Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church, I have witnessed two elderly men who have felt the pain and misery of their earthly bodies and voiced their desire for God to take them home now - even today. God did take one of them home already, but only after many years of suffering with diabetes and other health ailments. Being sick a lot lately, I can only slightly comprehend the darkness of suffering and the many long nights these men endured. I admit that I struggle badly with anxiety lately and it always seems to worsen when the sun sets. In those pits of despair and worry, I learn the joy of a place of endless day. Bodies that are never sick and that never tire. This hope causes me to cry out, "COME, LORD JESUS, COME!!"
I know this post is long, but thank you for reading this far and sharing these thoughts with me. I trust God will bless you and renew your mind as you meditate on His word and His praises.
Have an amazing Easter weekend as you celebrate and experience the beautiful grace of God!
Thank you, Lord!
When freed from sinning. Though forgiven, we are still imperfect and sin as a result, but we are covered by Christ's blood.
I shall see Thy lovely face. Wow! From time to time, I imagine what it would be like to hear God's voice. To think I will see His face?!? I can faintly grasp the power of how men in ages past were brought to their knees with their faces turned to the ground when God appeared in any form. To be able to look God in the face... To be that pure and sinless, justified and sanctified by His blood. What a miracle!
Clothed then in blood washed linen, How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace; Praise God! He has washed us white as snow! I bet those heavenly robes will feel amazing! I love singing to God now. How exciting to be able to sing forever, without losing our voices and without missing a note! I can't wait!
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry, Take my ransomed soul away; Can you wait any longer? I have moments where I think, "But Lord, I want to experience the joy of having children. The wonder of watching them grow. There are so many things I want to see in this lifetime." It's then that I realize I have no grasp on how good being in God's presence really is.
Send thine angels now to carry Me to realms of endless day. Since joining Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church, I have witnessed two elderly men who have felt the pain and misery of their earthly bodies and voiced their desire for God to take them home now - even today. God did take one of them home already, but only after many years of suffering with diabetes and other health ailments. Being sick a lot lately, I can only slightly comprehend the darkness of suffering and the many long nights these men endured. I admit that I struggle badly with anxiety lately and it always seems to worsen when the sun sets. In those pits of despair and worry, I learn the joy of a place of endless day. Bodies that are never sick and that never tire. This hope causes me to cry out, "COME, LORD JESUS, COME!!"
I know this post is long, but thank you for reading this far and sharing these thoughts with me. I trust God will bless you and renew your mind as you meditate on His word and His praises.
Have an amazing Easter weekend as you celebrate and experience the beautiful grace of God!
Thank you, Lord!
1 comment:
Wow, Kari, that is absolutely beautiful! Thank you for inspiring thoughts this a.m.
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