Lord what would give Thee glory? Surely not my myriad melancholy days Nor the stony silence of unwhispered praise. I wallow in this selfish despair And satisfy guilt with voices that aren’t there.
Lord what would give Thee glory? Religious nothings and solemn fasts, The heavy regrets of sins long past, Are only tokens of my prideful shame Bringing attention to only my name.
Lord what would give Thee glory? Naught are the words and poems and songs I write for myself, who I feel belongs Every attention and all the praise, Not my Maker or His marvelous ways.
Lord what would give Thee glory? Not the perfect health of body and soul Or the meaningless purity of my lifelong goals. Not the ways in which I plan to obey, Or the admirable “Christianity” I put on display.
Lord what would give Thee glory? Not icy attention to the living Word Or the burden and normality of sermons to be heard. Oh this contrived emotion and mechanical song Are merely routine, all sincerity gone.
Lord, I do not give Thee glory. This blackened heart so depraved And worthless rituals half in the grave Cannot even begin to be worthy of Thee I’m utterly lost, there is nothing in me.
Lord, who gave you glory? The blind and lame, the wretched, despised, The harlots, the deaf, the lost, and the spies. Broken and trembling, all turning to Thee, So broken Thyself and hung on a tree.
Oh Lord, teach me Thy glory: Samaritan love to the crippled unseen, Anonymous service to the troubled unclean. For it was I that was them, and was given Thy grace, Now only through Thee may they see Thy loving face.
Father, Thy glory surprised me: It wasn’t the grand, ceremonious things, Religion, perfection, or whatever joy brings, From all worldly pleasures, Christ wants nothing more, Than our broken, humble hearts for Him to adore. ~ Noa Lovegren “Glory”
But who can endure the day of his coming?
Who can stand when he appears?
For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. Malachi 3:2
The other day I received a message on my computer; evidently I had done something that fouled the computer and it could do some irreparable harm if not corrected immediately. I called my daughter Nancy, our computer person, and she came and rescued me.
We receive messages all the time. Most are non-threatening but occasionally you get one like the one about my computer.
The most important and sometimes frightening are the ones we get from the Lord. Such was the case with Malachi’s message to Israel. He came as a messenger from the Lord with a most alarming message. To an unfaithful people, the Lord, the messenger of the covenant, would come, and would come suddenly. And he would come as a refiner’s fire to see if there were any who in faith revealed something of the likeness of their Lord. In the words of Jesus, “would he find any faith?”All he found were unrighteous, self serving covenant breakers. To keep covenant was to love God and their neighbor, but there was no evidence of this. Consequently God said, “I will come near to you for judgment.”(3:5) But there is a word of hope a promise of rescue: “But to you who revere my name the sun of righteousness will arise with healing in it’s wings.”(4:12)
For us today the sudden coming of which Malachi predicts will happen once again. Once again the question Jesus posed will be valid, “Will he find any faith on the earth?”(Luke 18:8)
We live in a difficult day for Christians. Our testimony to the Truth is being challenged and abnegated with venom. Speaking the name of Jesus in the Public Square will, by some, cause you to be charged with Hate Speech. We are going to be challenged openly and viciously at every turn. It will come to the point that our very lives will be in danger.Are you and I willing to give our lives for the Lord Jesus? The “rescuer” says, “Fear not I have overcome the world.” I wonder if this is why Jesus posed the question, “When the Son of Man comes will he find faith on the earth?”
Isaiah 66:13–As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.
Even the most grown up of adults needs a mom again when times get rough — we need someone who loves us no matter what, who knows exactly what to say, what to do, and how to make things feel better. Even Jesus, God Incarnate on earth, needed a mother. The one God chose, Mary, stood by Him through his tough times of being rejected by men, even to the end of His life. As He was lifted from the cross she likely received Him into her arms once again, cradling Him just as she had when He was born and needed her loving comfort.
God knows His Son needed the comforting of a mother, as do we.
And so a young woman became His mother that holy night.
Wiser Lake Chapel Advent and Lenten Reflections 