Greetings from True Hope!
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Greetings!
What’s in a name?
We have lived in the media age for so long that most people have forgotten that names represent what a person or a thing is or stands for!
Parents give their children names that “stand out in a crowd” rather than speak to a character strength to live up to!
Companies give their products names that focus groups say are easy to remember instead of what the item does for the consumer!
Churches are now renaming themselves with names that make for effective advertising and promotion - - here are a couple of examples:
- “The 360o Ministry”! They should have thought this one through better! Think about it, if you turn 360o you end up just like you started! So what good is that to anyone?
- “The Courageous Church”! Courage for what? To do what?
What do people expect when they encounter us? What is in our name and what purpose does our name serve?
In 2008 the Lord directed us to rename our Church and its ministry activity from “New Wine Family Church” to TRUE HOPE Churches & Ministries. The Lord had laid on our hearts, and I mean just about every member at the time, that New Wine fell far short of what God intends for us, and as I recall, True Hope was immediately accepted by every member!
So, what is in OUR name?
- TRUE: That which is genuine, valid, honest; That which is factual and correct; That which is consistent with reality; True also means “properly aligned”!
- HOPE: Confident expectation or, to expect with confidence; confidently expecting a positive outcome!
Let’s look a bit deeper:
- TRUE: God cannot lie or deceive! What God says is unchangeable reality!
- HOPE: The result of faith; the reason for our confidence! (Faith is the substance of things hoped for …) GOD’S INTENDED RESULTS!
Our slogan gives the fuller meaning of our name . . .
“Presenting the Lord Jesus Christ - - Mankind’s ONLY True Hope!”
Think of all the ways that our name can be used in ministering Truth to others!
- Have you discovered True Hope for your life?
- Do you have True Hope to get you through life?
- Only True Hope will see you through life’s difficult times!
- Come and experience True Hope for your life!
With these things in mind let me ask you: When people look at you, do they see someone who LOOKS like they are living with True Hope governing their lives?
When people hear you talk, do they hear someone who has a continuing experience of True Hope in their lives?
I am not talking about if you are a member of True Hope Churches & Ministries, or if you read this newsletter, the True Hope Times - -
But do other people recognize you as a person who really has and is relying on True Hope and do they know Who that True Hope is?
We who are born again saints are the only people on earth who have True Hope and that True Hope is able to be shared with everyone else! Unless, of course, you yourself have not yet found True Hope!
To do so is a simple matter, not at all complicated! It is found in many places in the New Testament, being born of the Spirit and the Spirit of adoption coming into our hearts crying “Abba Father!” And just how and when does this happen? When we remove ourselves from “office” and elect Jesus Christ to be our Lord!
Romans 10:4-13
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes … The word is near you, even in your mouth and in your heart'' (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.
For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.''
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.
For "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.''
For whoever elects Jesus Christ as Lord shall have God’s gift of True Hope! True Hope for everlasting life and True Hope for this present life!
MANY BLESSINGS!
Dr. Timothy
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From Dr. Timothy D.TH
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Beginning
GRACE IS SUCH A MAGNIFICENT WORD, FROM SUCH A MAGNIFICENT GOD, WHO DOES SUCH A MAGNIFICENT WORK THROUGH SUCH A MAGNIFICENT MEANS TO CHANGE OUR LIVES IN SUCH MAGNIFICENT WAYS!
Think of all that Grace does!
For by GRACE are we saved through faith!
There but for the GRACE of God go I!
We have received GRACE for obedience!
GRACE coupled with peace is granted to us from God our Father!
By GRACE we stand rejoicing in hope of the glory of God!
God's GRACE is our sufficiency when we lack ability and strength!
And this is but a partial list of what GRACE does in and for us!
Now to the point - - we talk about grace and sing about grace and ask for grace . . . but have we been correctly taught what grace is?
For many of you the answer is: Probably not!
Most Christians have been taught that "Grace is God's unmerited favor" and then travel down a path of Bible study that results in confusion and in really bad situations, the downfall of defeat! All because someone, sometime, somewhere came up with a meaning that is not at all the original definition of Grace!
Before we get on to the true meaning of GRACE, let me present a couple of problems that the "unmerited favor" definition causes.
FIRST: IF grace is unmerited; meaning that we cannot earn it nor can we in anyway do anything to be compensated with grace - - THEN HOW CAN WE POSSIBLY GROW IN GRACE?
- "but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen." 2 Peter 3:18
SECOND: IF grace is an unmerited response from God to our sinfulness - - THEN the only way to "grow in grace" is to sin more so God will respond with more of His grace!
- "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" Romans 6:1-2
SO WHAT IS THE SOLUTION? WHAT IS THE ANSWER?
The solution to the problem is to go back to the true meaning of the word "grace" as it is in the original language of the Bible! Let's see what it is . . .
Transliteration: charis
Phonetic Pronunciation:khar'-ece
Root: from <G5463>
from <G5463> (chairo);
graciousness (as
gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including
gratitude) :- acceptable, benefit, favour, gift, grace (-ious), joy, liberality, pleasure, thank (-s, -worthy).
Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary.
Don't see unmerited anywhere in there! What I do see, and did see a few decades ago is that God's grace is . . .
- God's divine influence upon our hearts and how it is reflected (or displayed) in our lives!
So then a simple "working definition" of GRACE is "God's divine influence upon our hearts".
Now THAT is something that we can grow in! Not THAT is something can abound in us and we can abound in!
Let me replay 2 Peter 3:18 replacing the word grace with the two definitions and tell me which one makes sense?
- "But grow in the divine influence upon your hearts ... of our Lord Jesus Christ" Sounds like this is not only plausible but possible, doable!
- "But grow in the unmerited favor ... of our Lord Jesus Christ." Sounds like a dilemma: If it is unmerited, how can we do anything to gain more of it?
By the way, UNMERITED FAVOR is more correctly the definition of MERCY! You might notice that we are never told in Scripture to grow in God's mercy!
NEXT TIME: Steps of Grace Growth!
Many blessings!
Dr. Timothy
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"Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death." Mark 13:12
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Quebec government reveals plan to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide
by Thaddeus Baklinski
QUEBEC, October 9, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Quebec’s newly elected government announced that it plans to table legislation legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide as early as next spring, even though Canadian federal law prohibits the practice.
A spokeswoman for the minority Parti Quebecois government of Premier Pauline Marois said the proposed legislation was part of the party’s election platform and was based on recommendations from the report of the province’s Special Commission on Dying with Dignity.
While some media outlets reported that the commission recommended the legalization of assisted suicide in exceptional cases, Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition pointed out that it actually advocates euthanasia, similar to how it is practiced in Belgium, which he said “is not limited to exceptional cases.”
According to the Dying with Dignity report, persons opting for “medical aid in dying” must be residents of Quebec, adults, must have freely requested the “medical help” to die, must suffer from a “serious and incurable disease,” must have a medical situation with “no prospects of improvement,” and must be experiencing “physical or psychological suffering which is constant and unbearable.”
“We really feel that it is necessary to put forward such a possibility for people who, at the end of their life, are suffering in an unbearable manner,” said Véronique Hivon, Quebec’s Junior Minister of Social Services.
“We’re really talking about people who have unbearable suffering and who have no chance of improving their quality of life and whose death is really going to happen.”
While Canada’s criminal code prohibits euthanasia and assisted suicide, Hivon asserts that Quebec can circumvent the federal legislation by passing a law instructing crown attorneys not to prosecute cases of euthanasia and assisted suicide as long as the case fits the province’s criteria.
“Quebec has jurisdiction over health and also over professional qualifications,” Hivon said, which “gives us the confidence to introduce this medical aid in dying in our bill.”
Alex Schadenberg said that the government appears to be attempting to legalize euthanasia through the “back door,” to get around the fact that it does not have the “legal authority to legalize euthanasia or assisted suicide.”
Georges Buscemi of Quebec Life Coalition said the PQ’s decision to introduce euthanasia legislation under the euphemism of “medical aid in dying” was disappointing, but not surprising.
“But as unsurprised as I am, I’m still amazed at how cynical the PQ has become,” said Buscemi. “They know that Quebec can’t, as a province, legalize something that is criminal under Canada’s criminal code. So instead they will call euthanasia ‘medical aid in dying’ and allow that, and somehow this is supposed to fool the federal government? How droll!”
“I would also like to remind the CAQ (Coalition Avenir Quebec) that they ran on a federalist ticket, the leader François Legault even going so far as to promise not to vote ‘yes’ on a next [separation] referendum,” Buscemi added. “But news reports say that the CAQ is ready to support this dubious legislation. Perhaps Legault should be reminded that it is not very becoming of a federalist party to attempt to circumvent the laws of the federation.”
The Parti Quebecois has the backing of the 19 MNAs of Francois Legault’s Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) on the proposed euthanasia and assisted suicide legislation, but as of press time the Liberals have remained silent on the issue.
The government’s proposal may face steep opposition from Quebecers. According to an independent analysis of the 427 oral presentations and written submissions to the Commission on Dying with Dignity conducted by Vivre dans la Dignité (Living With Dignity), a grassroots anti-euthanasia group, Quebecers who voiced their opinion overwhelmingly opposed legalizing assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Vivre dans la Dignité found that only about a third (34%) of those who submitted to the Commission were either somewhat or strongly in favor of euthanasia, whereas 60 percent of the submissions opposed any opening for euthanasia, whereas there was almost unanimous agreement that improvement in palliative care was essential.
Living with Dignity also pointed out that a further analysis of the content of the submissions of those who apparently favored euthanasia showed significant confusion between directly taking a patient’s life by euthanasia and assisted suicide, and ceasing futile treatment, which is universally acknowledged as being ethical.
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Billy Graham Opens His Heart to the Nation
CharismaNews.com
3:30PM EDT 7/24/2012 Billy Graham
Billy Graham
Some years ago, my wife, Ruth, was reading the draft of a book I was writing. When she finished a section describing the terrible downward spiral of our nation’s moral standards and the idolatry of worshiping false gods such as technology and sex, she startled me by exclaiming, “If God doesn’t punish America, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.”
She was probably thinking of a passage in Ezekiel where God tells why He brought those cities to ruin. “Now this was the sin of ... Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen” (Ezekiel 16:49–50, NIV).
I wonder what Ruth would think of America if she were alive today. In the years since she made that remark, millions of babies have been aborted and our nation seems largely unconcerned. Self-centered indulgence, pride, and a lack of shame over sin are now emblems of the American lifestyle.
Just a few weeks ago in a prominent city in the South, Christian chaplains who serve the police department were ordered to no longer mention the Name of Jesus in prayer. It was reported that during a recent police-sponsored event, the only person allowed to pray was someone who addressed “the being in the room.” Similar scenarios are now commonplace in towns across America. Our society strives to avoid any possibility of offending anyone—except God.
Yet the farther we get from God, the more the world spirals out of control.
My heart aches for America and its deceived people. The wonderful news is that our Lord is a God of mercy, and He responds to repentance. In Jonah’s day, Nineveh was the lone world superpower—wealthy, unconcerned, and self-centered. When the Prophet Jonah finally traveled to Nineveh and proclaimed God’s warning, people heard and repented.
I believe the same thing can happen once again, this time in our nation. It’s something I long for, and my son Franklin recently shared a vision for perhaps the greatest challenge in the history of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association—to launch an outreach called My Hope with Billy Graham that would bring the Gospel into neighborhoods and homes in every corner of America next year.
BGEA has already taken My Hope to more than 50 nations. We’ve worked in close partnership with local churches across each country, and those churches have reported millions of life-changing decisions for Christ. Carrying out a nationwide American version of this evangelistic outreach will be an enormous undertaking, but in my spirit I know God has called us to do this, and I pray He will stir your heart to join us in prayer and support.
Franklin will share more about the project with you as the planning develops. In the meantime, all this year Franklin and his son Will are preaching “repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21, ESV) at Crusade events across North America—from Texas to Canada—and God has blessed the work. Already tens of thousands have heard the Gospel, and many have responded, especially young people.
As I write, I am in the middle of a busy summer enjoying visits with many of my grandchildren and other family members, but also working hard on a new book that addresses some dangerous illusions about eternal salvation that are becoming increasingly accepted in many places. I want to point the world to what the Bible says.
Although age and health restrict my mobility and my stamina, not to mention my eyesight and hearing, I am thankful for the days God has given me, and I am humbled by His continued hand of favor on the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. The Lord draws people to Himself daily through BGEA’s various evangelistic ministries, and I am so deeply grateful.
Please join me in praying for the power of the Holy Spirit on the preaching of the Gospel.
May God bless you,
Billy Graham
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TIME WITH TRUE HOPE TEACHERS . . .
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James Kelm is the Senior Ministry Leader of
True Hope Church of Duluth Minnesota
LEGALISM -vs- OBEDIENCE
CONTINUED
By Pastor James Kelm
Now we must examine the concept of Christian obedience, and contrast it with the concept of legalism. "Christian obedience" is adopting a behavior or action, in order to express our love and gratitude to our Lord by complying with His commands. In other words, Scripture tells me to do it, and although my compliance will have no direct effect on my personal salvation, my obedience will be pleasing to God. As we can see, both "legalism" and "obedience" has less to do with our actual behavior, and more to do with our motivation for our behavior. Many times a particular action may be exactly the same between two individuals.
Whether or not either of them, or both of them are acting legalistically or within Christian obedience, depends on what each of there motivations are for the particular conduct. If either of their objective is to "earn brownie points" toward getting to heaven, they are acting in a legalistic fashion, and such conduct is condemned within Holy Scripture: "There is no man on earth of such righteousness that he does good and is free from sin all his days."
Ecclesiastes 7:20. But if either of them have performed the behavior out of a sincere belief that it is directed through Holy Scripture, and their goal is simply to be pleasing to God through their obedience, "legalism" would be an incorrect terminology to apply to their conduct. In other words, legalism requires a particular behavior in order to avoid condemnation, while obedience requires a behavior as an expression of love and gratitude. I do not beat my wife out of a fear of divorce, but rather I do not beat my wife because I love her and want to please her. In either case, the act of me not beating my wife is the behavior that is the central topic of examination. In one case I would be motivated by negativity or condemnation avoidance, while in the other situation I would be motivated by respectfulness and love. The behavior may be the same, but the motivation is what defines the behavior either as "legalism", or "Christian obedience"!
So we can see that when we correctly define a particular action as being either legalistic or obedient, we must look past the behavior itself and examine our motivating factor. If we are attempting to acquire our salvation through our fulfillment of The Holy Law, then we are acting legalistically.
If we are not attempting to fulfill the law to gain our personal salvation, but are simply attempting to show obedience to God in order to express our own love and respect for Him, our action cannot accurately be labeled as legalistic.
Never the less, so often we quickly and incorrectly identify a particular behavior as being legalistic, when we have only witnessed the outward exhibition of the particular behavior in others. We often label such actions as the wearing of head coverings, the singing of traditional hymns, the formal conduct within services, etc as being an example of religious legalism.
In fact if a preacher or church elder makes any suggestion to us that our conduct is not pleasing to God and that we ought to follow Scripture more closely within our lifestyle, we are often quick to dismiss the admonition as being an example of their legalistic viewpoint. But yet Christ Himself stated on a number of occasions, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15. That being the case, how can we proclaim that anyone who attempts to strictly observe the commandments found within Scripture, as representing a legalistic perspective?
Scripture tells us "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." John 14:23.
If we are not attempting to govern our salvation through our actions but only expressing our love for our Savior by our obedience, then is it not only proper, but in fact a requirement stated by Jesus that a sincere Christian observe those things that our Lord commands! Strict Scriptural obedience is not simply an option, but a requirement for demonstrating our love for God!
One of the common dismissals of strict Scriptural obedience is by proclaiming "we are now under grace, and no longer are required to follow the law".
This argument may be appropriate when examining some Old Testament commands, but it can hardly be legitimately argued when we are examining the commands found within the text of the New Testament.
By definition, the New Testament was given under grace, and not as an amplification of the old covenant. Therefore if a commandment is issued within the pages of the New Testament, we cannot use grace as our reasoning for ignoring the Scriptures!
CONTINUED NEXT ISSUE
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ATTENTION MINISTRY LEADERS!
The Ministry Leaders Co-op will be conducting its first Leaders' Team Web/Teleconference in just a couple of weeks!
If you have not yet registered and enrolled as a member, do so today!
More information - - click here
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20% DISCOUNT! Get Your Early Copy!
Be one of the first to own a copy of Faith in Focus and receive a 20% discount!
Click on the Book Cover or the link below, enter Discount20 for the coupon code and your copy will be on its way direct from the publisher!
Royalties from Faith in Focus are being invested in True Hope Churches & Ministries so when you buy your copy, you are also helping True Hope!
Click Here!
Thank You & God Bless!
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FIND US ON FACEBOOK!
Thanks to the help of Brother Michael we are up and running on Facebook - - finally!
(If the link doesn't work, please let us know!)
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TRUE HOPE PRAYER LINE
NEED AGREEMENT IN PRAYER?
WANT additional prayer support? Need to keep it private? Email the TRUE HOPE PRAYER LINE! mailto:pray@truehopechurches.com
Unless you specify otherwise, your prayer needs are NOT published and ALL messages strictly confidential!
TRUE HOPE PRAYER LINE
pray@truehopechurches.com
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ATTENTION MINISTRY LEADERS!
BECOME A CHARTER MEMBER TODAY!
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Joining together to build spiritual success among leaders! |
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BY MINISTRY LEADERS!
You will not only be blessed,
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Called to be an apostle...called to be saints
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(1 Corinthians 1:1-2)
The little word
called as used here by the apostle is like a door opening into another world, and when we enter we shall find ourselves in another world indeed. For the new world into which we pass is the world of God's sovereign will where the will of man cannot come, or if it comes, it is as a dependent and a servant, never as a lord.
Paul here explains his apostleship: It is by an effectual call, not by his own wish or will or determination, and this call is a divine thing, free, uninfluenced and altogether out of the hands of man. The
response is from man, but the call, never. That is from God alone.
There are two worlds, set over against each other, dominated by two wills: the will of man and the will of God, respectively. The old world of fallen nature is the world of human will. There man is king and his will decides events. So far as he is able in his weakness he decides who and what and when and where. He fixes values: what is to be esteemed, what despised, what received and what rejected. His will runs through everything. "I determined," "I decided," "I decree," "Be it enacted." These words are heard continually springing from the lips of little men. And how they rejoice in their fancied "right of self-determination," and with what comic vanity do they boast of the "sovereign voter." They do not know, or refuse to consider, that they are but for a day, soon to pass away and be no more.
Time, like an ever rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly forgotten as a dream
Dies at the break of day.
The busy tribes of flesh and blood
With all their cares and fears,
Are carried downward like a flood
And lost in following years.
—Isaac Watts
Yet in their pride men assert their will and claim ownership of the earth. Well, for a time it is true that this is man's world. God is admitted only by man's sufferance. He is treated as visiting royalty in a democratic country. Everyone takes His name upon his lips and (especially at certain seasons) He is feted and celebrated and hymned. But behind all this flattery men hold firmly to their right of self-determination. As long as man is allowed to play host he will honor God with his attention, but always He must remain a guest and never seek to be Lord. Man will have it understood that this is his world; he will make its laws and decide how it shall be run. God is permitted to decide nothing. Man bows to Him and as he bows, manages with difficulty to conceal the crown upon his own head.
When we enter the kingdom of God, however, we are in another kind of world. It is altogether other than the old world from which we came; always it is different from and mostly it is contrary to the old. Where the two appear to be alike it is only in appearance, "the first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven" (1 Corinthians 15:47). "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). The first will perish, the last abides forever.
God's Pursuit of Man. A.W. Tozer
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TRUE HOPE BIBLE INSTITUTE
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Now accepting new students!
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The True Place of the Creature
"These wait all upon Thee;
That Thou mayest give them their meat in due season.
That Thou givest unto them, they gather:
Thou openest Thine hand, they are satisfied with good." Psalm 104:27-28
This Psalm, in praise of the Creator, has been speaking of the birds and the beasts of the forest; of the young lions, and man going forth to his work; of the great sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. And it sums up the whole relation of all creation to its Creator, and its continuous and universal dependence upon Him in the one word: "
These all wait upon Thee."
Just as much as it was God's work to create, it is His work to maintain. As little as the creature could create itself, it is it left to provide for itself. The whole creation is ruled by the one unalterable law of—
waiting upon God!
The word is the simple expression of that for the sake of which alone the creature was brought into existence, the very groundwork of its constitution.
The one object for which God gave life to creatures was that in them He might prove and show forth His wisdom, power, and goodness, in His being each moment their life and happiness, and pouring forth unto them, according to their capacity, the riches of His goodness and power. And just as this is the very place and nature of God, to be unceasingly the supplier of every want in the creature, so the very place and nature of the creature is nothing hut this—to wait upon God and receive from Him what He alone can give, what He delights to give.
If we are in this little book at all to apprehend what
Waiting on God is to be to the believer, to practice it and to experience its blessedness, it is of consequence that we begin at the very beginning, and see the deep reasonableness of the call that comes to us. We shall understand how the duty is no arbitrary command.
We shall see how it is not only rendered necessary by our sin and helplessness. It is simply and truly our restoration to our original destiny and our highest nobility, to our true place and glory as creatures blessedly dependent on the All-Glorious God.
If once our eyes are opened to this precious truth, all Nature will become a preacher, reminding us of the, relationship which, founded in creation, is now taken in grace.
As we read this Psalm, and learn to look upon all life in Nature as continually maintained by God Himself, Waiting on God will be seen to be the very necessity of our being.
As we think of the young lions and the ravens crying to Him, of the birds and the fishes and every insect waiting on Him, till He give them their meat in due season, we shall see that it is the very nature and glory of God that He is a God who is to be waited on. Every thought of what Nature is, and what God is, will give new force to the call: "Wait thou only upon God."
"These all wait upon Thee, that thou mayest
give." It is God who giveth all: let this faith enter deeply into our hearts. Ere yet we fully understand all that is implied in our waiting upon God, and ere we have even been able to cultivate the habit, let the truth enter our souls: Waiting on God, unceasing and entire dependence upon Him, is, in heaven and earth, the one only true religion, the one unalterable and all-comprehensive expression for the true relationship to the ever-blessed one in whom we live.
Let us resolve at once that it shall be the one characteristic of our life and worship, a continual, humble, truthful waiting upon God. We may rest assured that He who made us for Himself, that He might give Himself to us and in us, that He will never disappoint us. In waiting on Him we shall find rest and joy and strength, and the supply of every need.
"My soul, wait thou only upon God!"
Waiting on God.
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