Helos (Greek: nail)

Here you and I can find what I learn "When I Survey" nailed up.


Saturday, November 25, 2006

The Unsung

About a month ago I wrote a song. When I thought moving to California was still an option. It was intended for those I would possibly have to leave just after the holidays. Now it's only a part of my journal, a rhyming reminder of what was happening at the time. The words are just as heartfelt today as when they were penned, however not nearly as necessary.

There are many things that God puts us through to mold us into the vessel He desires. I know that I will never be left without a song even if it is not sung. There are many songs that will be left unsung in the end but that end will be more glorious than all of them combined.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

"The Beat Goes On"

By way of information to very few who don't already know. I have decided to remain here in Arkansas. I am already missing the kids and family very much, but they will come 'round for a visit very soon.
Thank you to all who have been praying on my behalf. Please continue to do so as I am now faced with subsequent decisions about staying here.

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Breath By Breath

It seems that I have lots to say about my mom lately but bear with me.
When I was little I would wake up in the middle of the night because of a nightmare or a noise, or just that little kid thing. When I woke up I would go to my mom's room and climb into her bed and she would hold me. As I lay there I would try to match her breathing with my own. Because my lungs were a bit smaller than her adult ones, I never could get it quite right.
As I think of this tid-bit from my past I am reminded of Elijah and his experience in the cave while running from Jezebel the wicked queen.

Then [Elijah] came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing.
It came about when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
I Kings 19:9-13

The amazing thing to me is that Elijah knew when to come out of the cave. The command was “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” Elijah knew that the Lord was not in the “great and strong wind” or the earthquake or the fire but rather the “gentle blowing” was the sound of the Lord’s presence.

How is it that we may recognize the Lord’s presence? Many times we are looking to what we have assumed is the Lord’s calling or voice for our guidance. But how is it that we know if it be the Shepherd’s voice we are following? How do we know who’s breath we are trying to match with our own just as I tried to match my own to my mother’s so many years ago?

John MacArthur, Jr. has a small book “found: God’s Will” in which he highlights some scriptural directives that are the explicit will of God. The final chapter reveals the answer to the question every Christian asks at every stage of life; “What is the will of God?” Answer: follow the five principles laid out in chapters two through six and then go for it.

1. God’s will is that you be saved.
“The first thing about God’s will – He wants men to be saved. So much so that He stays His judgement. Paul said, ‘For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth’ (1 Timothy 2:3-4)

“It is God’s will that men be saved. If you are stumbling around in life and tossing up some periodic prayers to God but have never come on your knees to the foot of the cross and met Jesus Christ, then you are not even in the beginning of God’s will. God has no reason to reveal to you anything particular about your life because you have not met qualification number one: Salvation….

“If you have never committed your life to Jesus Christ, you cannot expect anything at all from God. He owes you nothing. He is not obligated to you in even the slightest sense.

“People reject this. The doctrine of salvation is unpopular because it includes the recognition of sin. And many people resist the idea that they need to be saved….

“Talking about sin and salvation is offensive to some people. Who wants to hear about sin? Most people mask it. Sin is not sin. Oh, no. Sin is ”a prenatal predilection,” psychologists tell us. Sin is an “idiosyncrasy of individuality.” Sin is “poor secretion of the endocrine glands”!

“But God’s will is that people be saved! And basic to salvation is the recognition of sin. This lays it right at your feet. Either you are not saved from your sin and you need to come to Christ because that is God’s will, or you are saved and need to reach others with the message of salvation. There is a world out there that needs Jesus Christ. God wants them to be saved, and you and I are vehicles for the transportation of the Gospel. That is God’s will….

“God so desired that men be saved that He gave the One whom He loved most, His Son, and sent Him to die on a cross. That is the measure of His love, and that indicates how much He wills that men be saved!”

2. God’s will is that you be Spirit-filled.
If you are intrested further please check this post in a few days and hopefully I will have added the next point and prehaps even the one following it.
Many Blessings,
N.L. White