Bass-line Trials

I was reading my daily devotional book by CH Spurgeon the other day and one of the sentences really stood out for me. The Lord has been playing it over and over in my heart so I thought I would share it with you all. I posted the photo of the quote to Facebook, here it is again.

Isn't that just amazing imagery?? I love how Spurgeon sees the world. His poetic descriptions make me smile. This one in particular. 

I love the thought that our trials are the bass line in our life's song. Imagine a song with no bass line. It is empty, shallow and without real colour. The music is unbalanced. Actually, for me, it becomes even a little boring and irritating. 

But when the bass kicks in there is an immediate change in the depth of the piece of music. I love how the bass adds colour, fullness and rounds out the music. It becomes almost multi-dimensional. 

My daughter Aimée is learning to play cello and it is a beautiful instrument. The richness of the bass notes it plays is truly heart-warming. Even when it is played less than perfectly, there is a beauty in the deep, resonance that flows from it. 

I think that is what Spurgeon had in mind when he said that griefs are the bass part of our life's song. Our trials do not take away from the melody of our life. Trials and griefs add dimensions that are not possible to know without them. Imagine a life that is only ever good. While most of us think we want that, we would end up being very one-dimensional people. I believe God allows trials to round out our character, to bring about depth and fullness in us just as the bass does in music. 

Our trials do not lessen our praise before God. If anything, surely it must gladden God's heart to hear His children praise Him in the midst of adversity? I imagine it does. There is a depth and balance to the worship that flows from a heart that has known griefs yet still turns to God in praise. 

I thank God for the bass line that He has allowed in my life. Without it my song of praise to Him would be much emptier and much less balanced. Life is like a symphony that ebbs and flows from highs to lows. Every instrument is necessary to create the full, multi-dimensional song of praise that God alone deserves. 

My griefs will not mar my song, instead I will use them to make even sweeter music unto my God. 

God bless xx

Feeding the 5000 - A Picture of the Local Church

Mat. 14:14-21, Mark 6:32-44, John 6:5-13, Luke 9:10-17

In this well-known event in the Bible we see Jesus perform an amazing miracle but there is more here.
I love to read the gospels paying particular attention to what Jesus was teaching to the disciples. I believe that everything He did before them was to teach them something that they would need after He had returned to Heaven.

This passage is no different.
We begin with watching a crowd of people coming to hear Jesus speak and to watch Him heal the sick. The people were enthralled with Jesus and stayed later than was practical (at least for the disciples anyway).
Jesus used this as a teaching opportunity for the disciples. Remember these same disciples would be used in building and establishing the foundations of the Church that was to come.

Look at  Jn. 6:5-6
'When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.' Jn 6:5-6

Jesus already had a plan for these people. The Church has always been the plan on His heart.
I hear you ask 'how has this anything to do with the Church?' 

 The people have come to hear Jesus. They have come to find healing and rest. They have stayed beyond the normal time and now the disciples have to act. However, the disciples have no idea what to do with all these tired, hungry people. They wanted to send them away to find food and rest for themselves. But it was not Jesus' plan for the people to fend for themselves.

In Mark 6:37 Jesus says “You give them something to eat.” This is a strange thing for Jesus to say when He knew that the disciples had nothing to give. But therein lies the lesson - in and of themselves, the disciples had nothing to give to weary, hungry people. They were empty of physical or spiritual food and rest for the people.

Jesus then took the loaves and fishes that the young boy brought and proceeded to teach.
Mk 6:39-41
And He commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass. They sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves and He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them; and He divided up the two fish among them all.

What I see here is Jesus showing a pattern of local churches. The people are broken up and seated in manageable groups. I imagine these groups were made up of friends who came to see Jesus together, and people from the same families/towns/communities. When these groups went home after this amazing event, it is likely that a lot of people from the same family/village had been grouped together that day. I wonder did they continue to meet as a group of believers from then on? 

Jesus then does a miracle of providing ample food for everyone and He gives it to the disciples to distribute.
What are local churches if not smaller groups of believers within an area gathering together hear from and to receive blessing from the Lord?
He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them; Surely this is a picture of the local church leaders, to whom the Lord continually gives fresh bread to distribute to the church.

Mk.6:42 says 'They all ate and were satisfied'. Everyone was filled. In this setting the people were manageable for the disciples.What began as overwhelming for the disciples ended up being a successful provision for the crowds.
The lesson the disciples learned was that when they had huge crowds of people who were spiritually hungry they needed to group them together and turn to the Lord for provision. This is exactly what they did all over the known world after the death and resurrection of Jesus and the scattering of the believers. Local churches were set up wherever the disciples went. Titus 1:5 'For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you'

The lesson is still the same today. There needs to be local churches dependent upon Jesus for provision. Jesus is the provider for the church. He is the only One who distributes the provision in a way that leaves everyone satisfied. He is the Shepherd of the people (Mk.6:34) and He knows what each one needs. Even the distributors (local church leaders/pastors) are provided for when Jesus is the source. v.42 and they picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces, and also of the fish.

The local church is God's heart. I am sure of it. We all belong to the worldwide Church but it is important to belong to a single, local gathering of believers where the provision of the Lord can be distributed to satisfy all who hunger.
Heb. 10:24-25 'let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.'
 Being part of the local church is such a blessing and I am glad that it is God's heart for me :)

Proverbs 31 – The Virtuous Wife. A Picture of the Church Pt3

The NKJV title of this part of Proverbs 31 is ‘The Virtuous Wife’, and while many a new wife has been terrified by the long list of virtues expected of her according to this portion of Scripture, I would like to look at her as another picture of the church. The ‘wife’ corresponds to the ‘Bride’ which is the church. I would love to go through every verse but instead I will pick out some of the main ones and deal briefly with each metaphor. Hopefully not too long a post this time ;)

v.10 ‘Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies.’

Who can find a church that is virtuous in character? There are many churches nowadays that are far from virtuous but the true bride of Christ that depends solely upon the Lord for everything is worth far more than precious jewels.

v.11 ‘The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain.

Jesus is the husband of the Bride. When it is truly His church He trusts her. He knows who she is and on whom she depends and He knows that the church that depends on Him will lack no good thing and will increase in number and depth.

v.15 ‘She also rises while it is yet night,’

The word for ‘rises’ can also mean ‘to stand’.  Though it may be a time of darkness in the world, the church is still working and increasing. The church is not lazy, slumbering through the darkness, but knows the urgency of the time and works diligently for the Lord. The church will stand in the time of darkness because the Lord is her strength!

v.16 ‘She considers a field and buys it; from her profits she plants a vineyard.’

The church invests in sowing and harvesting and out of this harvest comes a vineyard.  As the church reaches out to those who are lost, there is fruit for their labour. The fruit are the men and women who turn to the Lord and become part of the church.

Jn.15 Jesus is the true vine and we are the branches. The church is a picture of a vineyard having its origins in the true vine.

v.17 ‘She girds herself with strength, and strengthens her arms.’

The strength of the church is the Lord. The church girds herself with the strength of the Lord. Out of His strength we work (1Peter 4:11). Working from any other source of strength is fruitless. Jesus Himself said ‘apart from me you can do nothing’ Jn. 15:5

v.20 ‘She extends her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.’

Is this not the calling of the Body of Christ?  The poor and the needy are the business of the church. Jesus came to save those who recognise their spiritual poverty and their need of a Saviour. The church carries on that message in His name and whosoever will, can still find rest and forgiveness in Him. One of the primary functions of the church is to show the compassion of God for the poor and needy.

v.21 ‘She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household is clothed with scarlet.’

The church is not afraid of the standard of perfection (white as snow) because God’s standard of perfection is satisfied by the scarlet blood of Christ. The church is not afraid of falling short of perfection, she is trusting in the blood of Jesus.  Is.1:18

v.22 ‘She makes tapestry for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple.’

Fine linen was for the priesthood and purple was the colour of royalty. The church is now the royal priesthood which ministers before the Lord. 1Peter 2:9

The church is clothed with the robes of righteousness and garments of praise that the Lord has bestowed upon her.

v.23 ‘Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land.’

The Lord is the husband of the church. The gates signify the meeting place of the town. The elders are a picture of those with authority or the leaders. Therefore we can see from this verse that the Lord is seen in the meeting places (local churches) when the leaders and those in authority allow Him to be seated/to dwell in the place of authority. Jesus alone is to be preached from the pulpits of the local churches and then His name will be glorified in the land.

v.24 ‘Strength and honour are her clothing; she shall rejoice in time to come.’

The church is clothed with power and strength. The Hebrew for ‘honour’ also means splendour and majesty. The church displays the power, strength, and splendour  of the Lord.

Because the church belongs to the Lord she has no fear of the future. Even though the Bible tells us that there is a time of tribulation coming on the world, the church need not fear. She rejoices that her Lord has already overcome the world. Jn.16:33

The church will eventually overcome the world and be eternally united with Christ in heaven. Therefore there is no fear of any time to come.

v.27 ‘She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.’

The church is to be watchful and prayerful, waiting for the Lord’s return to the earth. 1Peter 4:7

The church cannot afford to be apathetic in these last days. We must not be idle, nor found sleeping before the coming of the Lord. Mat.25:1-10

Also the church must be busy about the work of the Lord. There is no room for idleness since the ‘harvest truly is plentiful, but the labourers are few’ Mat. 9:37.

v.28 ‘Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:’

The children of the church are those who have been raised within the church, those who have been saved and nurtured to maturity in the local church. Those who have been saved and understand the plan of the Lord for the church will call the church blessed. The church is the plan of God and is good. Many have experiences within church life that make them wary of ‘church’ but the plan of God revealed in the Body of Christ is good and we are blessed to belong to it!

Jesus is pleased with the church because it is His. He is able to boast in her because His Holy Spirit abides with her, His strength keeps her and ultimately He will welcome her as His Bride and be joined to her forever! The church is indeed blessed!

v.29 “Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all.”

This is what the husband says when he praises her. The Lord is pleased with the individual ‘daughters’ (or local churches) but the Body of Christ which encompasses all the believers far surpasses any individual church/group. The total Body greatly excels in its goal of demonstrating the glory of God on the earth than any individual group of believers.

v.30 ‘Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.’

This is a warning to the church to remember not to chase the things of the world. Charm and beauty are valued in the world but the church is not to focus on temporary things or worldly values but to focus on the Lord. Reverence (fear) of the Lord is not highly valued in our society but it is to be the permanent attitude of the church. The Lord will praise and bless the church that continues in a humble reverence before Him.

I have loved looking through this proverb and seeing a deeper level of revelation than just the surface application for Christian wives. Many a wife has hidden from this passage of scripture but I believe that there has never been a wife that could satisfy these characteristics. I believe the passage is deeper than that. It is not about individuals satisfying these virtues, however in the Lord, the Church can and does satisfy every one!
Glory to God!!

Blessings xx

A Picture of the Church Pt2 -The Book of Ruth

In this second helping of the series 'The Church In the Heart of God', I want to look at the book of Ruth from the Old Testament. In this book it is evident in its theme and types, that God pictured the Church long before its existence in the world. The Bride of Christ has been in the heart of the Father for a long time and if we have spiritual eyes we will see it throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament.

This is a long post but it has to be in order to do justice to the wealth of revelation in this book.

 

Ruth symbolises the Gentile Church.

• Elimelech symbolises unrepentant Israel that never returns to the Promised Land and loses his inheritance in the wilderness.

• Naomi is a picture of penitent Israel that returns to God in time.

• Elimelech means ‘My God is King’

• Naomi means ‘my delight’

• Mahlon means ‘sick’

• Chilion means ‘pining’

 Elimelech is a picture of apostate Israel, a people who once knew that their God was King, but have forsaken Him. He takes his family away from the Promised Land and dependence on God and the results are sickness and pining (in his two sons), and eventually death. The fruit of apostasy is always death.

However we see that not all of his people are wiped out. There is a remnant in his wife and daughters-in-law.
Naomi is a picture of the remnant of Israel that is still the ‘delight’ of the Lord. Israel is still the apple of His eye, however not just physical Israel but spiritual Israel, those who belong to Christ.

Ruth 1:6 Naomi hears that there is bread again in Bethlehem. The word of the Lord graciously comes to her where she is and it is good news. The Gospel (good news) will be told to the remnant Israel and they will respond by returning to the Lord.

Ruth is a picture of the Gentile Church that enters the Promised Land by faith. She is not born into spiritual Israel but is grafted in by faith and union with Boaz, who is a type of Christ.

She is characterised by loyalty and devotion because of Christ’s loving-kindness, as is the church.

Ruth must have learned about God through Naomi as the church learned of God through Israel. Rom.11:11-12,15

By Elimelech’s rejection of the provision of the Lord, he made it possible for Ruth-a gentile-to become part of Israel.
We, as the church, should have a deep loyalty and respect for Israel as Ruth did, since we have been grafted into spiritual Israel. Rom.11:17-21
Ruth never considered herself better than or superior to Naomi, even after her union with Boaz. She just humbly devoted herself to the Lord.
The Church is not better than Israel. Rom. 11:17-24
We belong to Christ by His grace and are grafted in by His grace. We have nothing to boast in but His grace.

Ruth 1:21 Naomi says ‘I went out full…’

She went away full, but full of what?
Was her confidence in herself or her national status as the people of God? Was she full of assurance that because she was born of Israel she would not suffer?
(The Pharisees thought the same thing in Jesus’ day. Jn 8:33)
Naomi went through a transformation while in Moab. The Lord emptied her there.

God will empty Israel of its national pride – He already is by welcoming Gentiles into His family. Rom 11:11-13

 Naomi rightly attributes her misfortune to the hand of God since He has disciplined her. However we know that He disciplines those He loves, to bring them back to Himself. Heb 12:7,10

Naomi made the best move in returning to the Lord in her emptiness.

Ruth’s name suggests ‘friendship’. As the Body of Christ we are welcomed as friends of Christ. Jn 15:15

Boaz’ name means ‘In Him is strength’ as a type of Christ with whom we are joined in friendship and receive strength.
The offspring of Boaz and Ruth is Obed whose name means ‘servant’. The produce of uniting in friendship with Christ is service to Him and His purposes.

2:8- Boaz instructs Ruth to remain working in his field. He provides safety, protection, provision and sustenance for her though she is a foreigner. What a picture of Christ and the Church.

The warning is there for the church – ‘Do not go anywhere else’. Outside of Christ there is danger and the Body is vulnerable. He alone is our provision and sustenance. Abide in Him.

2:9- there is water provided for the thirsty Church. Jesus has provided the Holy Spirit for us that we may drink to overflowing.

2:11- the church has found favour as the people have laid down their lives to align themselves with Christ and they will be rewarded by God for their faith.

2:13- Ruth understands that she has found favour by grace alone. She is not of the servant nation of God and yet has found shelter and provision as one of His people. The church exists by grace alone.

2:14- Jesus promises not just to provide for the church but also to come and eat with her. Rev. 3:20

2:18- Ruth has her fill and was able to carry back provision to Naomi. The Lord is going to strengthen the Body and use it to provide and nourish penitent Israel. Rom.11:30-31

We actually see this happening in 2:19. Naomi becomes curious of the provision given to Ruth. She begins to question about the goodness of the provider.

 2:20- Naomi acknowledges her relationship to Boaz and remembers his kindness to her people. Her grief is turned to joy and hope at the point. How much more for the remnant of Israel who will remember their God and His unfailing mercy toward them?

3:3- Ruth prepares herself as a bride to meet her husband. The church is preparing as the Bride to meet her Groom.

3:4- The church needs to go to the feet of the Master and he will tell us what to do.
3:9- Ruth appeals for Boaz’s protection, marriage etc… ‘corner’ of garment' = 'wings’ (2:12) The Church takes refuge under the wings of the Lord. He is her covering.

3:10- Ruth has chosen correctly and the Master is pleased with her. Jesus is delighted when we forsake all others and turn to Him alone for love and provision.
3:11- the promise to be faithful to her as Christ is faithful to the church. Jn.16:23,24
3:11- the people recognise Ruth’s character as one who trusts in the Lord and acts accordingly. This should be the reputation of the Church among the people of the land.

 Next I want to linger on the subject of the Kinsman-Redeemer.

3:12 Who is the kinsman nearer than Boaz? If Boaz is a picture of Christ, then who is nearer to redeem? This question troubled me for a long time. I brought it before the Lord a number of times for clarification and this is the answer I received.

Kinsman-redeemer is a picture of mankind under the Law.

As a close relative, mankind is given the opportunity by the Law to redeem. However he becomes subject to the same law if he chooses to redeem.

Jesus gave mankind the opportunity, by the Old Testament Law, to redeem its inheritance - however just as the man here says ‘I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.’ Man cannot redeem the inheritance for himself because he then endangers himself under that same law.

 We have no inheritance by law because we are law-breakers and subject to punishment. If we try to redeem our inheritance according to the law, we automatically put ourselves under punishment for breaking the same law.

So if man is a nearer kinsman than Jesus, it means we had a kinsman who could not redeem and a Redeemer who was not a kinsman.

We needed someone who was able to fulfil the law as both the Kinsman and the Redeemer.

Jesus became the ‘Man’ we needed to redeem us. He made Himself one of us so that He could redeem us. He became our kinsman so that he could be our Kinsman-Redeemer. He fully satisfied both requirements.

 4:7-8 – In order for Christ to become the Redeemer, mankind has to lay down any claim to the inheritance by the Law. The man hands over the right of redemption to Boaz as the only one willing and able to redeem.

Jesus is willing and able to redeem us but we have to lay down any claim by the Law. By the Law we deserve only death so any claim under that Law leads to our death.

Only when we reach out to Christ by faith and as we understand our redemption is only by His Grace can we have any inheritance. Our inheritance is in Him.

4:9- when Jesus died on the cross, He purchased for us the inheritance that once belonged only to Israel. Apostate Israel (Elimelech) turned away and relinquished any right to an inheritance and it came to the church (Ruth) because of the grace and mercy of the Redeemer.

4:10- However God is not finished with Israel. By law, Boaz and Ruth’s firstborn would still inherit the property that used to belong to his father. He possessed the right of ownership of his family inheritance. Israel still has an inheritance from the Lord based upon his everlasting covenant with them- however this will also come as an act of grace- from a Redeemer who will return to them their rights as sons.

Therefore the union of Christ and the Gentile Church will offer new birth and renewed sonship to Israel.

4:16-Naomi receives the blessing of their union. She receives an inheritance from the Lord. She receives this inheritance because of the grace of God. She played no part in it, yet she receives the blessing.(Picture of the New Covenant/salvation by grace extending to Israel.)

When Naomi sees the blessing of God on Ruth and Boaz she moves from emptiness to fullness and eventually receives life from their union.

How much more then will Israel receive life, after she returns to God, after witnessing the blessing of God on the union of Christ and the Church.

This 'new life' is the hope of Israel. The name Obed means ‘servant’. When Israel trusts again in the Lord they will humble themselves under His grace and become His true servants again.

For the church, the union of Christ and the gentiles produces the same – a people of service, eager to acknowledge the goodness and grace of God that will serve Him always!

The Church/The Body in the Heart of the Father

Recently, well over the past year or two, The Lord has been taking me on quite the journey with the focus being squarely on the church.
What is the church? What does it look like? Who makes up the church? How does it/should it operate? etc...
These are questions that have been on my mind for ages and I believe The Lord has shown me some great insights into the church from His word - the Bible.
I think the next few blogs I write will be about this theme since it is on my mind a fair bit recently.
I believe the church has been on the heart of the Father since before the foundation of the earth and we can see that in so many places in Scripture.

To kick off this mini series of blogs I want to repost what The Lord showed me through the story of the Good Samaritan. Although I posted it a while ago, it was the first blog I wrote in this theme.

The Good Samaritan Luke 10

Luke 10:30-35

Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’

I have been pondering this story for a while now.

In my meditations I believe God has shown me a picture of the church of Jesus Christ through this parable.

It doesn’t take much imagination to suppose that the poor, beaten traveller is a picture of any one of us before we knew the Lord. The world beat us down, stripped us bare and left us for dead on the roadside. I know it was that way for me. Before I knew Jesus, I was a disaster- a mixed-up, broken-down, pitiful creature.

It is of great importance in this story that the man went down a road he knew to be dangerous and he went of his own accord. Nobody forced him to go but danger wasn’t long in catching up with him. How many times have we deliberately entered a pathway we know to be dangerous despite every attempt at warning us to the contrary? But there are those of us who seem always to want to learn the hard way.

As I said, danger found him on this road and left him bloodied and bruised. It was in this state that we meet the other characters in this parable; the priest, the Levite and the Samaritan.

Anyway, I know there is much more that can be said about the characters in this part of the story but I will not dwell on it since this is not really what God was speaking to me in this instance.

What I want to look at is the Samaritan. Here is a man, despised by the religious, shunned by the righteous and rejected by the ruling classes.

Is this not a picture of our Saviour?  He was despised, shunned and rejected and yet He humbled Himself to stop and pick me up from the side of the road, where I lay dying in my own sin, and went about the business of making me clean. He had compassion, even though I had chosen this path for myself! My Saviour poured in the oil and the wine as the old song says-‘the kind that restoreth my soul’. He picked me up, bandaged my wounds and carried me when I was too weak to walk by myself.

What a Saviour!!

But here is the most exciting part that God has been showing me. Where did the Samaritan take the man to? He took him to the Inn right? He took care of the man at the inn.

He charged the innkeeper at the inn to take care of the poor man while he was away and gave him the money that he would need to carry out this request. He even promised to repay him for any extra he might spend when he returned.

So, is not the inn a great picture of the church? An inn in the New Testament times was not just a lodging place but a place of refuge, a place where one could stay and be cared for and nourished. Isn’t that the church? Far more than a lodging place-isn’t it a place where Jesus places the broken-those who have been beaten by the world and the religious- to be cared for and nourished to full health?

Hasn’t Jesus provided all the resources we need to take care of the down-trodden who enter the inn in the same state we once came? Hasn’t he given us His Spirit to equip and strengthen us for the task?

What more do we need?

If that’s not enough, we have his promise to return. The Samaritan only left 2 denarii for the care of this man. That was equivalent to about 2 day’s wages in those days. That tells me that he wasn’t planning to stay away for too long. He was going to return soon.

Jesus is coming back soon to gather all those he has left at the inn. He will not delay much longer and no matter what we have spent to take care of his people, he will repay in full!!!

I want to encourage you, as God has been encouraging me, not be stingy with your resources. Jesus has given us everything we have in order that there is no lack at the Inn. Remember the state we were in when we first entered. Look around and see those who are broken, weary and in need of nourishment. Don’t worry about what it might cost, we cannot out-give Jesus. He will repay us for all we give to His people, in His name!

This whole story is positioned between two commands:

1. ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ … do this and you will live.

2. “Go and do likewise.”

Couldn’t be any clearer than that! Could it?

When I Think - Poem

WHEN I THINK

When I think about your sacrifice, how willingly you came,

When I think of how you suffered, Lord, the ridicule and shame,

When I think of how you took my place and bore my guilt and sin,

I am humbled by your mercy and filled with love again!

When I think of how you rose again just as the word foretold,

When I think about your victory, how death has no more hold,

When I think that you have set me free, by your own sacrifice,

I’m astounded by the grace you’ve shown and offer you my life!

When I think of how you went away, your glory to reclaim,

When I think of how you promised us another who’d remain,

When I think of how you sent Him here, your Spirit as our guide,

I am grateful for this Comforter who never leaves my side!

When I think about the future, Lord, how you will come again,

When I think that I will see your face and hear you call my name,

When I think that earth is not my home, how you’ve prepared a place,

I am filled with hope and confidence to finish out this race!

When I think about eternity, what glory we will see,

And hear the sound of angels singing holy, holy, holy,

When I think of how we’ll cast our crowns before your precious throne,

Already I cry Worthy, to The Lamb upon the throne!