Awake My Soul

The image of God invisible, the first born of all life

Before and within, he holds it all in

One name, one faith, one Christ

No one is good enough, to save himself

Awake my soul tonight, to boast nothing else

I trust no other source or name, nowhere else can I hide

This grace gives me fear, and this grace draws me near

And all that it asks it provides

No seam in this garment, all my rags to hide

No less than your love, Jesus is mine

When I stand on the edges of Jordan

With the saints and the angels beside

When my body is healed, and the glory revealed

Still I can boast only Christ

Romans 3:10-11 "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God."

Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God."

Acts 4:12 "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

Galatians 6:14 "But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."

Christ Is All

There are a great many differences among believers, but there is no difference as to this essential point. Unhappily, the Christian church has been divided into sections, but those divisions do not affect our agreement upon this one point, that Christ is all.

It is no uncharity if I say that the man who does not accept this is no Christian, nor is it too wide a liberality to affirm that every man who is sound in heart upon this point is most certainly a believer. He who trusts alone in Christ, who submits to him as his sole teacher, king, and Savior, is already a saved man; but he who gives not Christ the glory, though he should speak with the tongues of men and of angels, though he should have the gift of prophecy, and all knowledge, and though he should have all faith, and could remove mountains, and he should appear to have all virtue, yet he is no Christian if Christ be held in light esteem by him, or be anything less than all in all; for in the new creation this one thing stands as the mark of the newly created, that “Christ is all, and in all” to them, whatever he may be to others. _chs

May I treasure Christ as all through my thoughts, passions, actions, and love!

Looking to Jesus

Thought you all would enjoy reading the blog of a dear sister in Christ who was recently diagnosed with cancer.

Lizzie Metcalf is beautiful, vibrant, chic, and best of all is in love with our Savior, possessing a child-like faith and desiring His pleasure before her own.

I love her blog, because in it she lavishes praise upon our Savior whom she trusts so completely and encourages me to fix my eyes heavenward even as she seeks to do so herself.

I am jealous of the ways she has grown to cherish and know Jesus better throughout this trial. Which has caused me to realize two things:

1) I need to be pursuing and loving and knowing Jesus NOW, by begging Him for His grace and for faithfulness

2) Only when I am preparing in the easy times will I be prepared for the hard times...as many a person has quoted, "We are like sponges, who we really are comes out under pressure."

Oh to be prepared for the storms ahead like my sweet friend, Lizzie! Oh to be a beacon of light to a generation who has lost what hope is, replacing it with empty imitations. People are watching us, and how we respond to each trial the Lord sovereignly places upon our path either magnifies and validates the Gospel, or disgraces and detracts from it!

May we all strive to run hard like Lizzie, leaning on His everlasting arms...our God is so faithful!

Enjoy!

http://chemochronicles.tumblr.com/

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." -Hebrews 12:1-2

Justice & Mercy

Bear with me as I think out loud....it'll be a bit messy....

Justice - getting what is obligated to you; getting what you deserve; getting something by merit. Reward and punishment can both be aspects of justice.

Mercy - not getting the just punishment you deserve for the evil you have done

Grace - getting what you don't deserve and have not justly merited


That's why mercy and grace can never be obliged, deserved or merit. As soon as they are obligated to you, deserving or merited, then you are no longer talking about mercy and grace...you are talking about justice.

Salvation is by the mercy and grace of God. Therefore, it is never right to speak of salvation as something that is merited, obligated or merited. Salvation would no longer be by mercy and grace, but by justice. And only Christ can satisfy the justice of God. Mercy and grace have to be voluntary for them to be such. And since we cannot satisfy the justice of God, either by merit or by punishment, then we must rely on another to satisfy His just demands. This is where Christ shines brightest and His gospel becomes good news. He alone satisfies God's justice in taking my punishment...He got what I deserve. And I get what He deserves...and that is mercy and grace in action.

It's freely given. Not merited. Not earned. Voluntary. And God gives it to whom He wills...whom He chooses. It has to be that way or else we are no longer talking about mercy and grace...but justice.

In light of this, the doctrine of election has to be what it is as taught from a reformed perspective.

Just thinking out loud here. Not trying to write eloquently. Just working some thoughts out from our Bible study tonight.

PAGE CXVI

Page CXVI's 3rd album.
You can listen to it in it's entirety.