Grace upon Grace
Sandra McCracken
In every station, new trials and new troubles
Call for more grace than I can afford
Where can I go but to my dear Savior
For mercy that pours from boundless stores.
Grace upon grace, every sin repaired
Every void restored, you will find Him there
In every turning He will prepare you
With grace upon grace.
He made a way for the fallen to rise
Perfect in glory and sacrifice
In sweet communion my need He supplies
He saves and keeps and guards my life
To Thee I run now with great expectation
To honor You with trust like a child
My hopes and desires seek a new destination
and all that You ask Your grace will provide.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Monday, November 23, 2009
Justice smiles & asks no more
"The Premise:
Let Us love & sing & wonder (Jars of Clay)
Let us wonder grace and justice
Join and point to mercy's store
When through grace in Christ our trust is
Justice smiles and asks no more
& Justice is truly what we deserve. Upon examining (& not skimming over any details) our hearts, we find alot of scary hidden slime there. 'Course, that's why it's hidden.
"The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?"
The Story -Mine
& as a white, part-of-arich-family American, my experiences have been pretty clean- leastways, I never woke up to a gunshot, had an intensely loved one die.....nevertheless, I lie every two seconds, & this year hid a million lies from my family &...I'd have liked to think...from God. er, no-- He knew every time I lusted after impure things, & every time I carried through with those thoughts, indulging my selfish heart & recklessly breaking my own heart & hurting people & dishonoring God's name.
"O Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil,
that you may be saved.
How long shall your wicked thoughts
lodge within you?" (Jeremiah 4)
He knew. & He didn't want me to continue on in ignorant darkness & false passion. That's where the crazy story comes in.
Somehow I got to White Sulphur Springs this summer (wells, it was completely God who got me there)
Being around so many godly people, reading so much Word, etc. made me realize that you cannot serve two things-
you can't worship fake love & yet still expect experience the legit. love of Christ.
*BAM*
so when I got home, alot of things CHANGED. a secret relationship ended, & the painful process of striking-and-healing started:
"And the LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the LORD, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them." (Isa. 19)
'Course, making the truth about my sin COMPLETELY known to those who needed to know it took awhile-
it's only been a couple weeks since I confessed everythin' to mum & dad-
Since then, it's also the realization that many people see this salvation as foolishness-
1 Cor. 2:14,
"The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."
I meet many people like this daily. But God DOES NOT take pleasure in the death of the wicked-
(Ezekiel 18:23)
"Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?"
Exactly.
This was alot of rambling, & mayhaps only Cate will read this.
But Jesus is God, & there is no other.
He's changed my life in unexplainable ways, so if you don't understand, that's not unsurprising.
"The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising Jesus from the dead." -Acts 17
-em & em
Let Us love & sing & wonder (Jars of Clay)
Let us wonder grace and justice
Join and point to mercy's store
When through grace in Christ our trust is
Justice smiles and asks no more
& Justice is truly what we deserve. Upon examining (& not skimming over any details) our hearts, we find alot of scary hidden slime there. 'Course, that's why it's hidden.
"The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?"
The Story -Mine
& as a white, part-of-arich-family American, my experiences have been pretty clean- leastways, I never woke up to a gunshot, had an intensely loved one die.....nevertheless, I lie every two seconds, & this year hid a million lies from my family &...I'd have liked to think...from God. er, no-- He knew every time I lusted after impure things, & every time I carried through with those thoughts, indulging my selfish heart & recklessly breaking my own heart & hurting people & dishonoring God's name.
"O Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil,
that you may be saved.
How long shall your wicked thoughts
lodge within you?" (Jeremiah 4)
He knew. & He didn't want me to continue on in ignorant darkness & false passion. That's where the crazy story comes in.
Somehow I got to White Sulphur Springs this summer (wells, it was completely God who got me there)
Being around so many godly people, reading so much Word, etc. made me realize that you cannot serve two things-
you can't worship fake love & yet still expect experience the legit. love of Christ.
*BAM*
so when I got home, alot of things CHANGED. a secret relationship ended, & the painful process of striking-and-healing started:
"And the LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the LORD, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them." (Isa. 19)
'Course, making the truth about my sin COMPLETELY known to those who needed to know it took awhile-
it's only been a couple weeks since I confessed everythin' to mum & dad-
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” –James 5:16.
God Blesses godly sorrow that leads to repentance. & As Martin Luther, in the 1st of the 95 Theses, wrote,
Since then, it's also the realization that many people see this salvation as foolishness-
1 Cor. 2:14,
"The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."
I meet many people like this daily. But God DOES NOT take pleasure in the death of the wicked-
(Ezekiel 18:23)
"Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?"
Exactly.
This was alot of rambling, & mayhaps only Cate will read this.
But Jesus is God, & there is no other.
He's changed my life in unexplainable ways, so if you don't understand, that's not unsurprising.
"The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising Jesus from the dead." -Acts 17
-em & em
Friday, March 7, 2008
i love my love with an.....
....alice through the looking glass is one of my favorites.
`I love my love with an H,' Alice couldn't help beginning,' because he is Happy. I hate him with an H, because he is Hideous. I fed him with -- with -- with Ham-sandwiches and Hay. His name is Haigha, and he lives -- '
`He lives on the Hill,' the King remarked simply, without the least idea that he was joining in the game, while Alice was still hesitating for the name of a town beginning with H. `The other Messenger's called Hatta. I must have TWO, you know -- to come and go. Once to come, and one to go.'
`I beg your pardon?' said Alice.
`It isn't respectable to beg,' said the King.
`I only meant that I didn't understand,' said Alice. `Why one to come and one to go?'
`Don't I tell you?' the King repeated impatiently. `I must have Two -- to fetch and carry. One to fetch, and one to carry.'
At this moment the Messenger arrived: he was far too much out of breath to say a word, and could only wave his hands about, and make the most fearful faces at the poor King.
`This young lady loves you with an H,' the King said, introducing Alice in the hope of turning off the Messenger's attention from himself -- but it was no use -- the Anglo-Saxon attitudes only got more extraordinary every moment, while the great eyes rolled wildly from side to side.
`You alarm me!' said the King. `I feel faint -- Give me a ham sandwich!'
On which the Messenger, to Alice's great amusement, opened a bag that hung round his neck, and handed a sandwich to the King, who devoured it greedily.
`Another sandwich!' said the King.
`There's nothing but hay left now,' the Messenger said, peeping into the bag.
`Hay, then,' the King murmured in a faint whisper.
Alice was glad to see that it revived him a good deal. `There's nothing like eating hay when you're faint,' he remarked to her, as he munched away.
`I should think throwing cold water over you would be better,' Alice suggested: `or some sal-volatile.'
`I didn't say there was nothing BETTER,' the King replied. `I said there was nothing LIKE it.'
`I love my love with an H,' Alice couldn't help beginning,' because he is Happy. I hate him with an H, because he is Hideous. I fed him with -- with -- with Ham-sandwiches and Hay. His name is Haigha, and he lives -- '
`He lives on the Hill,' the King remarked simply, without the least idea that he was joining in the game, while Alice was still hesitating for the name of a town beginning with H. `The other Messenger's called Hatta. I must have TWO, you know -- to come and go. Once to come, and one to go.'
`I beg your pardon?' said Alice.
`It isn't respectable to beg,' said the King.
`I only meant that I didn't understand,' said Alice. `Why one to come and one to go?'
`Don't I tell you?' the King repeated impatiently. `I must have Two -- to fetch and carry. One to fetch, and one to carry.'
At this moment the Messenger arrived: he was far too much out of breath to say a word, and could only wave his hands about, and make the most fearful faces at the poor King.
`This young lady loves you with an H,' the King said, introducing Alice in the hope of turning off the Messenger's attention from himself -- but it was no use -- the Anglo-Saxon attitudes only got more extraordinary every moment, while the great eyes rolled wildly from side to side.
`You alarm me!' said the King. `I feel faint -- Give me a ham sandwich!'
On which the Messenger, to Alice's great amusement, opened a bag that hung round his neck, and handed a sandwich to the King, who devoured it greedily.
`Another sandwich!' said the King.
`There's nothing but hay left now,' the Messenger said, peeping into the bag.
`Hay, then,' the King murmured in a faint whisper.
Alice was glad to see that it revived him a good deal. `There's nothing like eating hay when you're faint,' he remarked to her, as he munched away.
`I should think throwing cold water over you would be better,' Alice suggested: `or some sal-volatile.'
`I didn't say there was nothing BETTER,' the King replied. `I said there was nothing LIKE it.'
Thursday, March 6, 2008
so it begins....
blood moon-cate told me about this. i've never been much of a blogger outside of xanga, but she inspires me to do great things. if blogging is a great thing. which is isn't. because i have quite a lot to do. but i am easily distracted. it's a problem.
poetry.
"When I cannot look at your face I look at your feet. Your feet of arched bone.But I love your feet only because they walked upon the earth and upon the wind and upon the waters, until they found me."
-Pablo Neruda
he was from chile. eh, well--
poetry.
"When I cannot look at your face I look at your feet. Your feet of arched bone.But I love your feet only because they walked upon the earth and upon the wind and upon the waters, until they found me."
-Pablo Neruda
he was from chile. eh, well--
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