Lord, Help Me Know My Ways

Lyrics:

Lord, how long will you look on?
Save my soul from it's slow decay.
For the mire has been too deep for too long,
When was the last time I gave you all my praise?
Have you swallowed me in shame?

Chorus
Lord, help me know my ways,
And the measure of my days.
Deliver me faithfully,
Consume me all the way, oh Lord.

Hear my prayer, oh Lord
Give ear to my cry.
Hold back my tears,
Return to me delight.
Put me on a rock
Set my feet on high.
Then a new song I'll sing
From dawn until night.
Patiently you wait for me.

This song's lyrics are a compilation of Psalms 35, 39, 40, and 46.

Download the full version at http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?songs=695038&T=1660

Titled, "Lord, Help Me Know My Ways"

Be Glorified

Be glorified in me, Oh Lord
Be glorified in me
Cast the wretched man away
And plant a fruitful tree.

Be exalted through me, Oh Lord
Be exalted through me
Don't let me boast in my own way
But bring me prostrate at your feet.

Be merciful to me, Oh Lord
Be merciful to me
Let Your mercy abound today
So my spirit can then be free.

Proverbs 18

Before destruction the heart of man is haughty,
And before honor is humility.



A fool has no delight in understanding,
But in expressing his own heart.



A rich man's wealth is his strong city,
And it is like a high wall in his own esteem.

Hebrews Twelve, Pauls Vision of the Race

The stage was set, the starting line pulled,

And thousands of racers where preparing to go.

No ordinary race, but one with a bid,

Fall into torment, or finish and live.

In the mob of strong and fit men,

Stands a young racer, who's trembling instead.

"The race is so far, and I don't feel that strong.

My confidence wavers. Can I go for that long?"

But then the bell chimed, It was now time to run,

The mob surged forward, and the man was just one.

"Lord be with me." The man said under his breath,

Then he exhaled strong, and took his first step.

For hours the racers fell by the side,

As those who were strong

Became weak in there minds.

And sin, the most vigorous competitor of all,

Grabbed at the racers and caused them to fall.

The man felt exhausted, could he really last,

The mightiest athletes he had already past.

So another fast prayer he said in his head,

"If you've chosen me, give me strength over sin.

Give me the endurance to finish the race,

To run from my sin and take in first place."

As he prayed, he felt courage within,

He leaned over strong and sprinted again.

He passed sin up with a valient charge,

And there was the finish line, looming massive and large.

This was the end, it was down to just two,

And sin was coming on strong, the man didn't know what to do.

He felt a hand grab him, and he almost fell down,

But he kept his eyes on the prize, his heart started to pound.

"Lord, if I'm chosen, be my might in this day."

And just as he said it, his arms pulled away.

He lunged for the end, and the rope was torn.

Then came a shout, a trumpet, a horn.

He made it to the end, he now had been saved.

And as the angels rejoiced, he was awed and amazed.

Then he felt a gentle hand pull him aside.

"Well done my child, I'll now call you mine."

Beatitude

"Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." - With each beatitude the gulf is widened between the disciples and the people, their call to come forth from the people becomes increasingly manifest. By "mourning" Jesus, of course, means doing without what the world calls peace and prosperity: He means refusing to be in tune with the world or to accommodate oneself to its standards. Such men mourn for the world, for its guilt, its fate and its fortune. . . The world dreams of progress, of power and of the future, but the disciples meditate on the end, the last judgement, and the coming of the precious Kingdom. To such heights the world cannot rise. And so the disciples are strangers in the world, unwelcome guests and disturbers of the peace. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer (from The Cost of Discipleship)

Cheap Grace

More and more I find that the profession of Christ has become a profession of culture. That the Lord that is revealed in the Bible is being softened by men through their own claim to fames. The name of God, "The I Am," which is so revered by the Jews, and which name Jesus holds the claim to, is reduced to mere iconic culture. In an effort to make the "Gospel" more appealing, more listenable, and more acceptable, men have lowered the standard that God himself set; not just by taking his name down to our level, but taking his holiness down to human level, taking his sovereignty down to human level. We have turned aside from the true and real God of the Bible, even Jesus, and replaced Him with a Jesus and a gospel that is received by all. But, we should be weary about the popularity of Jesus' name. He himself said that he would be hated of all men. Hated! Not just disliked. The reality is that the more our church system and its leaders have made Christ, the gospel and God appealing to men the less of God their is in it.

But why has this happened? Perhaps it is as John Macarthur states, "People like the idea of believing in God, they even applaud it, as long as it is not the God of the Bible. Because once you affirm the God of the Bible, you get the God of the Bible. You get the law of the God of the Bible, you get the commandments of the God of the Bible, you get the morrality of the God of the Bible, you get the justice of the God of the Bible, you get the righteousness of the God of the Bible, and you get the punishment of the God of the Bible. . . . . But men love their sin! And many religions will not infringe upon that. Only the God of the Bible."

Many church institution and its leaders have so desired the acceptance of the world that the things stated by John Macarthur have slowly been escorted out the door. We are no longer under the law, pastors say. But this is really a twisting of scripture. We are not under the "Old" law, but the "new" one which is Christ, and he puts the old law on our hearts as the spirit convicts us. Morality has deteriorated in the church. This is affectuated by the term Cheap Grace, which is really cheap salvation. That it wasn't that big of a deal that Christ died for me, I'm not that bad. . . It has become more of an insurance than a way of life. But in 1 John 1:6 it says that, "If you say that you're in the light, but walk in darkness, you lie." That means that Christ becomes our everything, not just a tag along, culture accepted, icon. Even God's justice is diminished, because we exalt his Love far above all his other attributes, even though they all hold the same importance. We have disfigured the real God so much that it would be hard to tell the difference between a buddhist and a Christain. We have labeled Christ as an acceptor of all men. But he doesn't accept all men. He has come to seek and to save the lost, the sinner (that is, the sinner that admits he's a sinner). What is he saving them from? Death for sure, but in all reality, their sin. That is to say, he is transforming them from servants of sin to servants of God. For if they call themselves Christ's but still sin with an unrepentant heart, then their salvation is folly, and Christ's death is mocked.

What we need to do is to repent! To turn from the world, and not try to be accepted by the Great Majority. We need to preach the God of the Bible. We need to hold fast to His laws, His commands, His justice and His righteousness. For all else is vanity, and a pursuit which ends in death.

Angelicum Clavae