Tuesday March 1

How Great Thou Art

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,

Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.

When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur

And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;

Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;

That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,

He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,

And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.

Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,

And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

The history of the hymn How Great Thou Art begins with Mr. Carl Gustaf Boberg (1859-1940). He was a Swedish pastor, editor, and member of the Swedish parliament. Mr. Boberg was enjoying a nice walk when a thunderstorm suddenly appeared out of no where. A severe wind began to blow. After the storm was over, Mr. Boberg looked out over the clear bay. He then heard a church bell in the distance. And the words to How Great Thou Art begin to form in his heart -- O Lord, my God, When I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds Thy hands hath made. . .

Monday February 28

One of the happiest days of my life.

Friday February 25

Do you need to hear this right now?

He is able to do immeasurably more than all you ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

I do.

He can.

His power. In you. His glory. Throughout the generations. Amen. Amen.

Thursday February 24

When I was on Young Life staff, I used to fantasize a lot about doing something else. Most of the time it was being a waiter. I thought that would be such an awesome job. Clock in, clock out, take orders, refill people's drinks.

I told my friend this. He said, "You don't want to be a waiter, Ned. You are just tired of responsibility."

He was right, of course. I didn't want to be a waiter. I was stressed out at work. I wanted something easier. I was holding on too tightly. I wasn't trusting God. My fantasies showed me something about myself. God used them to correct my perspective.

What do you fantasize about doing when you are at work? What might your fantasies be teaching you?

Wednesday February 23

This is Gordon MacDonald on 2 Corinthians 8:9

Think of Christ; think of grace. He came to the world as a "rich" person. As Son of God, He was rich in position; as heir of all the treasures of heaven, Jesus was rich in inheritance. Prior to His incarnation, there is nothing He did not know, nothing He could not do; no one possessed greater amounts of power and knowledge. However, He exchanged all this richness for a form of poverty. "He became poor." Poor, how? He became the sacrificial Lamb of God and forfeited His life that out of the atoning work of the cross, spiritually poor people (each of us) might become rich.

Genuine Christianity compels the true Christian to become a generous person because the central act of our faith is an act of generosity. "He became poor that we might become rich." It cost Christ to transfer wealth-of-spirit to us.

Tuesday February 22

Clyde the Glide,

My main preacher man challenged us to memorize 2 Corinthians 8:9. Are you up for it?

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

First, let's memorize it. We'll analyze it later.

Monday February 21

I had a quite unexpected worship experience this evening. On Youtube I typed Hubble space telescope and watched the images. I can't describe it. I was simply awestruck by God...

February 18

My friend Rick told me this.

Whenever you cross a border, the customs folks ask you three very good questions:

Who are you?

Where are you going?

Do you have anything to declare?

Take a moment to consider your answers...

February 17

I thought I'd throw up one of my favorite verses today in three different versions. See which one hits, you. Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God , which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (NIV)

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (NLT)

Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything comforting together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

February 15 & 16!

For four years, NPR aired a series called This I Believe, short essays from folks from all walks of life.

They aired Colin Powell’s essay on April 11, 2005. He called it “The America I Believe In.” He ended his piece this way:

“Last year I met with a group of Brazilian exchange students who had spent a few weeks in America. I asked them to tell me about their experience here. One young girl told me about the night the 12 students went to a fast food restaurant in Chicago. They ate and then realized they did not have enough money to pay the bill. They were way short. Frightened, they finally told the waitress of their problem. She went away and she came back in a little while saying, “I talked to the manager and he said, ‘It’s OK.’ The students were still concerned because they thought the waitress might have to pay for it out of her salary. She smiled and said, ‘No, the manager said he is glad you are here in the United States. He hopes you are having a good time, he hopes you are learning all about us. He said it’s on him.’

It is a story that those young Brazilian kids have told over and over about America. That’s the America I believe in, that’s the America the world wants to believe in.”

That manager, by his generosity, was Jesus to those 12 kids. Their perspective was changed. Their lives were changed. I was changed. That’s what the generosity of Jesus does.

Monday February 14

Oh my gosh, I totally forgot to give a nugget!

On Valentine's Day! Oh brother. I'm sorry.

All right, here you are...Think about love.

Think about the most you have loved anybody. Now, think about that moment when you felt you were about to burst because of the love you felt for that person. Ok, that feeling. You got it? Now multiply that feeling by infinity. That's how God feels about you.

Friday February 10

Luke 9:23

If anyone wants to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Compare what Jesus says above to what Jesus did below:

Philippians 2:6-8

Who, being in very nature God

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped

but made himself nothing

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to death -

even death on a cross!

February 9, 2011

Luke 9:23

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

I've been thinking about cross carrying. It made me think of this guy Simon. He actually did. He carried the cross of Christ. There's something here to pay attention to.

Here is the passage.

Luke 23:26

As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.

Denied himself - he was kept from doing what he wanted to do.

He took up the cross - literally.

He followed Jesus - literally.

I got to chew on that awhile...

Wednesday February 9

Luke 9:23-25

And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?

I've been thinking about how Jesus denied himself today. I'm not even sure if we'll ever appreciate his self-denial - what it must have been like for me to shed his divinity for skin. To humble himself by denying his Almightyness to become a limited, weak, mortal human being. I can't even fathom. Yet he refused to use his divinity for his own purpose. He denied his nature out of love for his Father and love for us. I can't do a single thing that is 100% self-denial. It's impossible. There is always a self-motivator. Jesus. He blows me away.

Tuesday February 8

Psalm 107:39-43

Then their numbers decreased,

and they were humbled

by oppression, calamity and sorrow;

he who pours contempt on nobles

made them wander in a trackless waste.

But he lifted the needy out of their affliction

and increased their families like flocks.

The upright see and rejoice,

but all the wicked shut their mouths.

Whoever is wise, let him heed these things

and consider the great love of the Lord.

The truth is we are all needy. We all need Jesus. He alone is the giver of all good things. He is the lifter of our heads. It is by him and through him that we will will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. He is faithful. You can trust him.

Trust him, Ned.

Monday February 7

Psalm 107:33-38

He turned rivers into a desert

flowing springs into thirsty ground,

and fruitful land into a salt waste,

because of the wickedness of those who lived there.

He turned the desert into pools of water

and the parched ground into flowing springs;

there he brought the hungry to live,

and they founded a city where they could settle.

They sowed fields and planted vineyards

that yielded a fruitful harvest;

he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased,

and he did not let their herds diminish.

God goes both ways. So you can't judge what he's doing based on your circumstances. But you can pay attention to your circumstances. They can teach you things. Are you in a desert right now? Take the opportunity to repent, seek his face, humble yourself and draw near to him. Are you in an oasis? Plant, invest, grow, multiply...use the blessing to be a blessing. There is one guarantee when it comes to circumstances: they will change.

Friday February 4

I'll finish 107 next week...let this minister you today...

Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.

Wouldn't you like to get away?

Sometimes you want to go

Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.

Thursday February 3

Psalm 107:23-32

Others went out on the sea in ships;

they were merchants on the mighty waters.

They saw the works of the Lord,

his wonderful deeds in the deep.

For he spoke and stirred up a tempest

that lifted high the waves.

They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;

in their peril their courage melted away.

They reeled and staggered like drunk men;

they were at their wits end.

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,

and he brought them out of their darkness.

He stilled the storm to a whisper;

the waves of the sea were hushed.

They were glad when it grew calm,

and he guided them to their desired haven.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for men.

Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people

and praise him in the council of the elders.

I really relate to this one tonight. As I typed I got chills. I'm in the tempest right now. The waves are mounting, and I'm afraid I'm not going to make it out of this in one piece. Lord still the storm...even more...guide me to my desired haven. With you I don't mind riding the waves as long as I know we're going to make it to the other side.

Wednesday February 2

Psalm 107:17-22

Some became fools through their rebellious ways

and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.

They loathed all food

and drew near the gates of death.

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he saved them from their distress.

He sent forth his word and healed them;

he rescued them from the grave.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for men.

Let them sacrifice thank offerings

and tell of his works with songs of joy.

I know God loves me because he has loved me at my very worst. And I don't know about your very worst, but mine is heinous. I'm not just saying that. It really was. It really is. And yet God's love has been unrelenting. He never lets go. Too many times I take God's love for granted. Often these are the times when I think I deserve it. When I start thinking too highly of myself. The fact of the matter is God does love me then. He loves me. That's right, period. The other fact of the matter is that whether I know it or not I live a life so steeped in darkness it's a miracle I don't stub my toe more often. God loves me then, too. He loves me now. It melts me.

Staggers me. Humbles me. Blows me away. Amen amen.