Lord’s Day Eve Hymn

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

–William Cowper

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Persevere, friends!

Ed Welch in his book on Depression has a lot of great stuff about perseverance.  Here are a few and I will have another post on it in a day or two.

“God has determined that many good things come through perseverance.  Look around and see how you have had to keep working at something before you learned it.  Sports, hobbies, vocations, and even relationships–they all follow the same pattern.  So don’t expect hope to happen immediately.  It would be like insisting that you play Mozart before you second piano lesson.  Hope is both a gift from God and a skill he enables us to attain.”

“Perseverance isn’t flashy.  It doesn’t call attention to itself.  It looks like putting one foot in front of another.  But beneath the surface, where few can see the glory, is something very profound (Revelation 2:2, 19).  You are becoming more like God. God sees it and he is pleased by it.

“Perseverance is more than just making it through life until you die from natural causes.  It is perseverance in faith and obedience.  It is perseverance in our God-given purpose, even when life is very hard.  Perseverance asks the question, “Today, how will I represent God? How will I trust him and follow him in obedience?” Then it asks help from others, cries out to the Lord, and looks for an opportunity to love.  It may seem feeble, but our confidence is in the God who is strong.  The essence of persevering is trusting or obeying because of Jesus.

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On “time” (2)

Some more practical truths I am mulling from Mahaney, Purswell, and Harris on redeeming the time!

• Attack your week before it attacks you.  The best way to do this is by setting aside 30-60 minutes at the beginning of the week to plan your time.
• There are many pressing needs in the ministry but God didn’t call you to be the solution to all of them.
• Receive your priority list from God, not people.
• Know your God-given roles and goals!
• The strategic moments of each day that also provide the greatest temptation for time wasting is early morning and late evening hours.
• At the root of all discipline is the disciplined use of time.  Without this one, there are no other disciplines.
• Remember that God is the only one who gets His to-do list done every day. So don’t derive your joy from how productive you think you are.
• Busyness doesn’t mean I am diligent. Busyness doesn’t mean I am faithful.  Busyness does not mean I am fruitful.

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