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ThuThursdayJanJanuary12th2012
NEW SONG: Never Once
I'm really looking forward to the gathering of our church family together this Sunday. One of the things I'm most excited about is lifting our voices together in singing "Never Once" from Matt Redman's 10, 000 Reasons album. This song is an amazing testimony of God's faithfulness and constancy.
I encourage you to listen to it yourself in your own private worship time before we all come together for corporate worship.
Here's Matt Redman explaining the story behind the song.
Here's the full song.
Here are the lyrics to the song.
Verse 1
Standing on this mountaintop
Looking just how far we've come
Knowing that for every step
You were with us
Verse 2
Kneeling on this battle ground
Seeing just how much You've done
Knowing every victory
Is Your power in us
Pre-Chorus
Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes, our hearts can say
Chorus 1
Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
Bridge
Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Never once did we ever walk alone
Carried by Your constant grace
Held within Your perfect peace
Never once, no, we never walk alone
Ending Chorus
Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
Every step we are breathing in Your grace
Evermore we'll be breathing out Your praise
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
FriFridayAugAugust12th2011
FASTING Before the Throne
Fasting is the discipline of humbly and prayerfully seeking
God by abstaining from all or certain foods for a period of time. Throughout
the Bible, we see God’s people pray and fast, Jesus being the greatest example
(Matt.3:17-4:2). And as Jesus’ disciples, He instructs us to follow in His
footsteps (Matt.6:17-18; 9:15). The Scriptures point to fasting for forgiveness
of sin, rescue from enemies, for wisdom and direction, or just to draw nearer
to God in worship. Fasting expresses our humility and faith in our almighty
God, seeking Him and declaring that with God, all things are possible. Fasting
also reveals the things that control us. Our heart is tested and exposed
through fasting, and we find out what we truly love, trust and hope in most
(Deut.8:2-3).
How Do I Fast?
During the Week of Prayer, we encourage you to follow our
Saviour’s example and join the generations of God’s people who sought the Lord
through fasting.
1. Prepare your Heart - review Isaiah 55:6-7 and 1 Peter
5:6-7. Ask the Lord what kind and length of fast He would have you do. Does He
want you to go completely without food, consuming only water? Or water and
juices? Is He asking you to fast one meal a day, one day a week, or several
days at a time?
2. Set an Objective - use Harvest’s Prayer Booklet to guide
you in praying for the church. Ask God to show you areas in your own heart that
need to change.
3. Make a Plan - commit to a specific time when you will
fast and pray. Proactively think of a location where you will have the most
freedom to pray (e.g. walk outside, office, home, etc.)
4. Know your Body - limit your physical activity as much as
your schedule will permit. During your fast you may experience side effects
such as headaches, stomach aches, nausea, or a foul taste in your mouth. This
is all normal; the body is taking advantage of the fast to clean itself (NOTE:
if you are pregnant or have a medical condition, please consult your physician
to work out a suitable plan before fasting).
TueTuesdayAugAugust9th2011
Don’t Drift from the Throne: D.A. Carson's 7 Practical ways to Impede Mental Drift
Here's a excerpt from my favourite book on prayer "A Call to Spiritual Reformation" by D.A. Carson. I have personally benefited from each of the ideas he presents below and commend them to you.
"Anyone who has been on the Christian way for a while knows
there are times when our private prayers run something like this: “Dear Lord, I
thank you for the opportunity of coming into your presence by the merits of
Jesus. It is a wonderful blessing to call you Father ... I wonder where I left
my car keys? [No, no! Back to business.] Heavenly Father, I began by asking
that you will watch over my family—not just in the physical sphere, but in the
moral and spiritual dimensions of our lives ... Boy, last Sunday’s sermon was
sure bad. I wonder if I’ll get that report written on time? [No, no!] Father,
give real fruitfulness to that missionary couple we support, Whatever their name
is ... Oh, my! I had almost forgotten I promised to fix my son’s bike today
...” Or am I the only Christian who has ever had problems with mental drift?
But you can do many things to stamp out daydreaming, to stifle reveries.
One of the most useful things is to vocalize your prayers.
This does not mean they have to be so loud that they become a distraction to
others, or worse, a kind of pious showing off. It simply means you articulate
your prayers, moving your lips perhaps; the energy devoted to expressing your
thoughts in words and sentences will order and discipline your mind, and help
deter meandering.
Another thing you can do is pray over the Scriptures.
Christians just setting out on the path of prayer sometimes pray for everything
they can think of, glance at their watches, and discover they have been at it
for all of three or four minutes. This experience sometimes generates feelings
of defeat, discouragement, even despair. A great way to begin to overcome this
problem is to pray through various biblical passages.
A slight variation of this plan is to adopt as models
several biblical prayers. Read them carefully, think through what they
arevsaying, and pray analogous prayers for yourself, your family, your church,
and for many others beyond your immediate circle.
Similarly, praying through the worship sections of the
better hymnals can prove immensely edifying and will certainly help you to
focus your mind and heart in one direction for a while.
Some pastors pace as they pray. One senior saint I know has
long made it his practice to pray through the Lord’s Prayer, thinking through
the implications of each petition as he goes, and organizing his prayers around
those implications. Many others make prayer lists of various sorts…
This may be part of the discipline of what has come to be
called ‘journalling’. At many periods in the history of the church, spiritually
mature and disciplined Christians have kept what might be called spiritual
journals. The real value of journalling, I think, is severalfold: (a) It
enforces a change of pace, a slowing down. It ensures time for prayer. If you
are writing your prayers, you are not daydreaming. (b) It fosters self-examination. It is an old truism that
only the examined life is worth living. If you do not take time to examine your
own heart, mind and conscience from time to time, in the light of God’s Word,
and deal with what you find, you will become encrusted with the barnacles of
destructive self-righteousness. (c) It ensures quiet articulation both of your
spiritual direction and of your prayers, and this in turn fosters
self-examination and therefore growth. Thus, journalling impedes mental drift.
But this is only one of many spiritual disciplines. The danger in this one, as
in all of them, is that the person who is formally conforming to such a regime
may delude himself or herself into thinking that the discipline is an end in
itself, or ensures one of an exalted place in the heavenlies."
D.A. Carson, “Lessons from the School of Prayer” A Call
to Spiritual Reformation: Priorities from Paul and His Prayers. Grand
Rapids: Baker, 2006. Pg.20-22
TueTuesdayAugAugust2nd2011
Fellowship of the Unashamed
I keep coming across this anonymous declaration of discipleship. If this doesn't fire you up, there's probably something wrong with you.
I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed.
I have Holy Spirit Power.
The die has been cast.
I have stepped over the line.
The decision has been made.
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.
I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure.
I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity.
I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded.
I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.
My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear.
I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed.
I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ.
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.
I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes.
And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear for "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes."
WedWednesdayJunJune29th2011
Prayer from Philippians 2:5-11
This Puritan prayer from a great little book entitled Valley of Vision has helped me pray along the themes in Philippians 2:5-11. The language is a little bit antiquated, but I hope it encourages you as you seek to discover the power of humility and learn that the way up is down.
O Source of all Good,
What shall I render to You for the gift of gifts,
Your own dear Son, begotten, not created,
my Redeemer, Proxy, Surety, Substitute,
His self-emptying incomprehensible,
His infinity of love beyond the heart's grasp.
Herein is wonder of wonders:
He came below to raise me above,
He was born like me that I might become like Him.
Herein is love;
when I cannot rise to Him He draws near on wings of grace,
to raise me to Himself.
Herein is power;
when Deity and humanity were infinitely apart
He united them in indissoluble unity, the uncreated and the created.
Herein is wisdom;
when I was undone, with no will to return to Him,
and no intellect to devise recovery,
He came, God-incarnate, to save me to the uttermost,
as man to die my death,
to shed satisfying blood on my behalf,
to work out a perfect righteousness for me.
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