Date Night Doting on Divine Mercies

Thou Eternal God,
Thine is surpassing greatness, unspeakable goodness,
super-abundant grace;
I can as soon count the sands of ocean's 'lip' as number thy favours
torwards me;
I know but a part, but that part exceeds all praise.
I thank thee for personal mercies,
measure of health, preservation of body,
comforts of house and home, sufficiency of food and clothing,
continuance of mental powers,
my family, their mutual help and support,
the delights of domestic harmony and peace,
the seats now filled that might have been vacant,
my country, church, Bible, faith.
But, O, how I mourn my sin, ingratitude, vileness,
the days that add to my guilt,
the scenes that witness my offending tongue;
All things in heaven, earth, around, within, without, condemn me-
the sun which sees my misdeeds,
the darkness which is light to thee,
the cruel accuser who justly charges me,
the good angels who have been provoked to leave me,
the countenance which scans my secret sins,
the righteous law, thy Holy Word,
my sin-soiled conscience, my private and public life,
my neighbours, myself-
all write dark things against me.
I deny them not, frame no excuse, but confess, 'Father, I have sinned'.
Yet still I live, and fly repenting to thy outstretched arms;
thou wilt not cast me off, for Jesus brings me near,
thou wilt not condemn me, for he died in my stead,
thou wilt not mark my mountains of sin, for he leveled all,
and his beauty covers my deformities.
O my God, I bid farewell to sin by clinging to his cross,
hiding in his wounds, and sheltering in his side.

pg 10, Valley of Vision, edited by Arthur Bennett

Appointed time

It's 5 o'clock and I'm just now reading my Bible. hmmm... not what I would consider a good day when I miss THE BEST beginning I could have. Thought I'd go back to blogging... I was challenged last night by my 5 Aspects Study, in the application section: How much time do I spend each week giving spiritual life through teaching or sharing my spiritual lessons with others? My very first thought: Blogger, an old friend, although not forgotten. If Christ is my utmost treasure, why wouldn't I share the joys and learning with others?? Answer: I've got complexes. aka: insecurity + laziness.

Exodus 5:22
Then Moses turned to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.”

Hahaha...The very first sentences of my reading today and I can hear Moses asking, "Yeah, so, didn't you tell me you were going to use me to release your people? And, ummm..., well, why, have you not done that yet? Actually, you made it worse for them. I know you know that, so it leads me to doubt if I heard you correctly or not the first time..." This reminds me how God is the God of time. Holy and perfect is God's appointments. I love that I cannot operate outside of His boundaries. (1 Cor. 8:6, Eph. 4:6) Everything, before time began, was appointed. I see at least 35 verses that use the phrase at the "appointed time". There are countless stories that illustrate the purposefullness for everyone, everything: each small nano second, each of the 37 steps necessary for bloodclotting, each fertalized egg in a womb. Everything is set so that God would be shown as worthy to receive glory, as uncomparable, as the only thing worth pursuing and savoring. Even when we can't see the big picture and only see the trouble we are in, like Moses. So, let's get back to reading and see God's faithfulness...