About Me

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I am a born-again Christian, who is Reformed, but also charismatic, spiritually speaking. (I do not speak in tongues, but I believe glossalalia is a bona fide gift not given to all, and not as great as prophecy, for example.) I have several years of college education but only completed a two-year degree. I was raised Lutheran and confirmed, but I didn't "find Christ" until I was in the Army and responded to a Billy Graham crusade in 1973. I was mentored or discipled by the Navigators in the army and upon discharge joined several evangelical, Bible-teaching churches. I was baptized as an infant, but believe in believer baptism, of which I was a partaker after my conversion experience. I believe in the "5 Onlys" of the reformation: sola fide (faith alone); sola Scriptura (Scripture alone); soli Christo (Christ alone), sola gratia (grace alone), and soli Deo gloria (to God alone be the glory). I affirm TULIP as defended in the Reformation.. I affirm most of The Westminster Confession of Faith, especially pertaining to Providence.
Showing posts with label poetry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poetry. Show all posts

Monday, June 22, 2020

Indebted To Jesus

Do you know that you owe
It all to the Lord Jesus!
When your goal loses your soul,
And you want a way out,
Remember He's near and saves ev'ry tear,
And your woes won't overflow His bowl.  




When the fight is lonely as the night,
And you wonder where He is,
Remember all the same to praise His name.
So thank Him anyway,
For you He'll win, so don't lose by sin.
And if you pray, claim His fame.  





The joy you'll share, knowing He's there,
Treading those paths ahead.
But let it glow, and you will grow,
To lighten the paths of sin;
But love is the way to make His day,
And loving the Lord will make them know.  




Soli Deo Gloria!

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Indebted To Jesus!

Do you know that you owe
It all to the Lord Jesus!
When your goal loses your soul,
And you want a way out,
Remember He's near and saves ev'ry tear,
And your woes won't overflow His bowl.

When the fight is lonely as the night,
And you wonder where He is,
Remember all the same to praise His name.
So thank Him anyway,
For you He'll win, so don't lose by sin.
And if you pray, claim His fame.

The joy you'll share, knowing He's there,
Treading those paths ahead.
But let it glow, and you will grow,
To lighten the paths of sin;
But love is the way to make His day,
And loving the Lord will make them know.


Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Indebted To Jesus!

Do you know that you owe
It all to the Lord Jesus!
When your goal loses your soul,
And you want a way out,
Remember He's near and saves ev'ry tear,
And your woes won't overflow His bowl. 

When the fight is lonely as the night,
And you wonder where He is,
Remember all the same to praise His name.
So thank Him anyway,
For you He'll win, so don't lose by sin.
And if you pray, claim His fame. 

The joy you'll share, knowing He's there,
Treading those paths ahead.
But let it glow, and you will grow,
To lighten the paths of sin;
But love is the way to make His day,
And loving the Lord will make them know. 

  Soli Deo Gloria!

Friday, October 10, 2014

Is Invictus Right?

Are we the "masters of our fate" and the "captains of our soul?"  According to this famous poem Invictus, penned by William Ernest Henley, and recited at a many a graduation ceremony, we are unconquerable and just don't realize it all the time.  We should thus thank God for our own success.  The irony of modern man is that he ruins his own life and blames God (cf. Prov. 19:3) however, he becomes a success and gives himself the credit. Like the definition of an Englishman:  "A self-made man who worships his creator."  There is no such animal as a self-made man.  Isa. 64:8 says God is the potter and we are the clay.  We should remember the rock from which we were hewn and the stone from which we were cut, says Isaiah in chapter 51:1.  We are all a byproduct of all those we've been influenced by in our circle of friends and family.   Very little of our personality or success is due to genetics per se, but the sovereignty and providence of God and, of course, environmental factors.

The psalmist says in Psa. 31:15 the following claim:  "The course of my life is in your power."  Another translation reads, "My future [my times] is in your hands."  God can, and does control the king and sovereign of the state just like the course of a river according to Prov. 21:1.  "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way,"  says Psa. 37:23.  The most devastating blow to think that we are in control of our lives and destiny is two verses that essentially say the same thing:  Jer. 10:23 and Prov. 20:24.  "I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his steps."  "A man's steps are from the LORD, how then can a man understand his way?"

 Did you know that your life was already planned out by God and written in a book before you were born, just like an author writing a play and you merely have a role to play?  Psa. 139:16 says precisely this:  "....in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me when as yet there were none of them."  Fate is impersonal, like the blind "kismet" of Islam, but we have a destiny, which is different:  We have a part to play and must cooperate with God to reach God's best for us.  For instance, if your destiny was to be a piano virtuoso, you must practice diligently.

Isaiah says in Isa. 26:12, "...all that we have accomplished you have done for us...."  Paul says he will not "venture to speak, but of what Christ has accomplished through him,"  in Rom. 15:18.  Amos 6:13 speaks of Israel being proud of accomplishing nothing by themselves:  "You who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar [nothing] and say, 'Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?'"  All our fruit comes from God (Hos. 14:8).   In summation, our destiny is ultimately in God's hands, but it isn't a blind, mechanical, impersonal fate that some seem to think--our input matters!  Soli Deo Gloria!