New Book Study, New Blog

The ladies of SFURC have recently begun a new book study on The Disciplines of a Godly Woman by Barbara Hughes. For more information about that, please follow this link. Thanks!

A Final Prayer from the Valley

--from the Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions

Lord God Almighty,

Holy is thy wisdom, power, mercy, ways, works.
How can I stand before thee
with my numberless and aggravated offences?

I have often loved darkness,
observed lying vanities,
forsaken thy given mercies,
trampled underfoot thy beloved Son,
mocked thy providences,
flattered thee with my lips,
broken thy covenant.

It is of thy compassion that I am not consumed.
Lead me to repentance, and save me from despair;
Let me come to thee renouncing, condemning,
loathing myself,
but hoping in the grace that flows
even to the chief of sinners.

At the cross may I contemplate the evil of sin,
and abhor it,
look on him whom I pierced,
as one slain for me, and by me. . . .

Thus may my soul rest in thee, O immortal
and transcendent one,
revealed as thou art in the Person and work
of thy Son,
the Friend of sinners.

Another Prayer from the Valley

--from the Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions

O God whose will conquers all,

There is no comfort in anything
apart from enjoying thee
and being engaged in thy service;

Thou art All in all, and all enjoyments are what to me
thou makest them, and no more.

I am well pleased with thy will, whatever it is,
or should be in all respects,

And if thou bidst me decide for myself in any affair
I would choose to refer all to thee,
for thou art infinitely wise and cannot do amiss,
as I am in danger of doing.

I rejoice to think that all things are at thy disposal,
and it delights me to leave them there....

I can of myself do nothing to glorify thy blessed name,
but I can through grace cheerfully surrender soul and
body to thee.

Prayer from the Valley

--from the Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions

Lord, High and Holy, meek and lowly,
Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to posses all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine;
Let me find thy light in my darkness,
thy life in my death,
thy joy in my sorrow,
thy grace in my sin,
thy riches in my poverty,
thy glory in my valley.

Lest You Be Judged

The following is part of a lesson taken directly from Beth Moore's study on the Fruit of the Spirit called "Living Beyond Yourself: Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit." (Nashville, TN: LifeWay Press, 1998) It was a good lesson for us to study together from the chapter called "Lest You Be Judged" (a small part of a larger study on patience). The following quotes are found on pages 123-125.



SIX REASONS WE MUST NOT JUDGE OTHERS (Romans 2:1-5):

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. -Romans 2:1-5 (NIV)

1. When we judge others, we cause God to be harder on us.
“At whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself” (v. 1). We invite the discipline of our Heavenly Father.

2. We do many of the same things we condemn in others (see v. 1).
For example, we are quick to judge sexual sin; yet few of us have not transgressed in at least some area of sexual sin. If not physically, mentally. We often sit on the judgment seat as if to determine and compare degrees of sin. Judgment bears hypocrisy.

3. We do not know the whole truth.
“God’s judgment…is based on truth” (v. 2). We may think we have “all the facts,” but we are incapable of reading minds or judging hearts.

4. We are mere humans.
“So when you, a mere man” (v. 3). I [Beth Moore] love the way Isaiah 29:16 expounds upon the temptation to switch roles with God: “You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!” We must withstand all temptation to assume God’s job!

5. When we judge others, we are judging God.
Our judgment reveals contempt for the riches of God’s patience. (see v. 4). To judge why God won’t bring a speedy punishment to those who mock or despise Him is not our responsibility. To all of us, His long-suffering has been our salvation. Eternity is a long time; the effects are irreversible… I once heard Dr. Adrian Rogers say, “Time is not nearly as important to God as timing.”

6. God’s judgment is always righteous. Ours is tainted by the flesh.
“When his righteous judgment will be revealed” (v. 5). Our judgment of others is colored by our attitudes, our pasts, our personalities, and our positions. Only God is the perfectly righteous Judge.


MORE REASONS NOT TO JUDGE OTHERS (Matthew 7:1-5):

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye..." -Matthew 7:1-5 (NIV)

7. We risk application of the same type of judgment to ourselves (see vv. 1-2).
When I recall times I have been quick to judge, my reaction has often been tainted by my own personality and past. The same lack of mercy I’ve dispensed could, in turn, be dispensed to me!

8. We cannot judge the speck of sawdust in another’s eye because of the planks in our own (see vv. 3-4).
We can’t judge righteously because our sight is hindered by our own sin. Consider the following illustration. A precious little preschool boy was picked up by Child Protective Services after a church nursery worker discovered multiple marks and bruises on his body. After some investigation, his guardians were found picketing the rights of the unborn at an area abortions clinic. What is wrong with this picture? Why not protect the child entrusted to you first?


LET’S SEE WHAT WE LEARNED FROM JAMES 4:11-12:

Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor? -James 4:11-12 (NIV)

9. “There is only one lawgiver and judge” (Jas. 4:12).
There’s simply no room on the bench! God wrote the commands. Only He has the right to judge the infractions and punish the offender.

10. Only God has noble purpose in His judgment.
We judge to make ourselves feel righteous in comparison. Whether or not the thought is conscious, most judgments boil down to this justification: “At least I don’t do that!” God’s judgment is not based on His “ego.” It is a practical action by which He determines the fate of all humanity.


THE FINAL REASON NOT TO JUDGE (John 8:14-18):

Jesus answered, "Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me." -John 8:14-18 (NIV)

11. Just like Christ’s, our judgment would have to be completely consistent with God’s. He must agree with us for our judgment to be valid.
We judge by “human standards” (v. 15) and, therefore, possess little heavenly perspective. To make a valid judgment, the second testimony cannot be our best friend or neighbor…it must be God.

Supplication

The following is a summary of writings taken from Carol J. Ruvolo's book entitled Before the Throne of God: Focus on Prayer (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1999). This summary is taken from pages 90-94 of that book, which is a chapter written to guide our thoughts when we go to "MAKE REQUESTS" to God in our prayers.

How easily we forget that God who declared, and thus knows, “the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10) also know the needs of His children much better than they do. How easily we presume on His grace by filling our prayers with requests conceived in short-sightedness and brought forth in pure selfishness. And how easily we sin by resorting to anger, despair, or self-pity when He declines our requests. But how easily we could be rejoicing in His perfect provision if we defined our needs in terms of His perspective! -Ruvolo, pp 90-91

Aside from our most basic need of

• knowing Christ Jesus our Lord (Luke 10:38-42; Philippians 3:8-11),
• the Bible also describes our need to understand the truths contained in the Bible (2 Timothy 3:15-17),
• to respond to the leading of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 15:26-27; 16:7-11; Romans 8:9-17, 26-27),
• and to spend time in prayer (Jeremiah 29:11-13; Luke 18:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:17).
  

Scripture speaks of our need for

• wisdom (James 1:5),
• contentment (Philippians 4:11-13),
• and freedom from fear (Psalm 37).
• It tells us we need to lift our minds from the things of earth to the things above (Colossians 3:1-3),
• seek God’s kingdom first (Matthew 6:33),
• and testify boldly of the gospel of grace (Ephesians 6:18-19).
• It highlights our need to accurately assess our abilities (Romans 12:3)
• and to faithfully exercise our gifts in the body of Christ (vv. 4-7).
  

It reveals our need to be

• loved by God and pass His love on to others (1 John 4:7-19),
• to live in relationships (Colossians 3:18-4:1; Hebrews 10:24-25),
• and to work for a living (2 Thessalonians 3:7-12).
• It exposes our need for forgiveness (Luke 18:13),
• as well as our need to forgive others (Ephesians 4:32),
• and reminds us of our need to take every thought captive to he obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5)
• so that no unwholesome word will proceed from our mouths (Ephesians 4:29).
  

Scripture also affirms our need for

• food, shelter, and clothing (Matthew 6:11; 1 Timothy 5:8; 6:10),
• and protection from danger (2 Thessalonians 3:1-2),
• without down-playing our concomitant need to trust in God’s sovereign mercy when we must suffer deprivation or persecution for the sake of the gospel (Matthew 5:10-12; 1 Peter 2:20-24).
  

…The apostle prayed for real needs and knew that his God would always supply them (Philippians 4:19). He knew the indescribable peace of being anxious for nothing because his grip on God’s truth gave him a big-picture perspective that transcended temporal circumstances. He would have agreed wholeheartedly with A. W. Pink, who wrote nineteen hundred years later, “There can be no peace for the mind, no joy of heart, if we fail to recognize that our lot—our circumstances, our condition—is fully ordered by a sovereign and gracious God.” -Ruvolo, pp 92-94

Confession

The following is a summary of writings taken from Carol J. Ruvolo's book entitled Before the Throne of God: Focus on Prayer (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1999). This summary is taken from pages 78-84 of that book, which is a chapter written to guide our thoughts when we go to "CONFESS OUR SINS" to God in our prayers.

Have you ever tried to hug a stiff kid? Stiff kids aren’t responsive. And a lack of response invariably kills a good hug. In much the same way, unresponsiveness on the part of God’s kids greatly hinders their prayer lives and disrupts the fellowship with God that prayer is intended to foster.

Confessing our sin means agreeing with God about every aspect of it.

• We agree, first, that we actually committed the sin, without making excuses or shifting blame to another (Psalm 51:3).
• We also agree that our sinful behavior offends God and violates all He intends us to be as His children (Psalm 51:4-5).
• We acknowledge our tendency to deny our sin, as well as God’s faithfulness in driving us to repentance (Psalm 32:3-4).
• We admit that our sin has disrupted our fellowship with Him and that He alone can cleanse and restore us (Psalm 51:7-13).
• And finally we anticipate, in agreement with His revealed truth, the delightful blessings resulting from sincere confession (Psalm 32:1-2, 8-11; 51:14-19).
  

True confession of sin follows heart-felt repentance of specifically identified sins. And because the problem is in us, that can’t be done without the Spirit’s help. David recognized this truth when he closed his great psalm extolling God’s sovereign authority and love with the words,

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.
(Psalm139:23-24)

First John 1:9 is chock-full of comfort for even the stiffest of God’s guilty kids. I [Ruvolo] often wonder when I read it if John was thinking of the way Jesus, on the night of His death, comforted a stiff kid named Peter. The disciples had gathered for their last meal together and soon found themselves under conviction for the sin of pride. None wanted to humble himself to wash the feet of the others. But all must have been horrified when Jesus quietly accepted the task they had spurned.

I’m sure you could have heard a ripe fig drop in the courtyard as the Master made His way around the room with basin and towel. The silence was broken, as it customarily was, by the burly fisherman whose stiff unresponsiveness to his Savior’s tender conviction reverberated in his cry, “Never shall You wash my feet!” (John 13:8).

Jesus’ great love for Peter came through in His persistent pursuit of conviction: “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” These words finally softened Peter. “Lord,” he replied humbly, “not my feet only, but also my hands and my head” (v. 8-9).

Jesus went on to bless Peter with the comfort of His cleansing forgiveness. By assuring His repentant disciple that he did not need a bath, but only a footwashing (v. 10), He reassured him of his secure position among God’s children. Although his stiff- ness had temporarily disrupted the harmony of this eternal relationship, humble confession of sin was all it took to restore it.

(The previous lesson from the life of Peter is a word-for-word copy of Ruvolo's writings--pages 83-84).