Quick Thought for Meditation – Gave Himself – Galatians 1

Galatians 1:4-A

“Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:”

As we consider this verse I want to break it down into three parts and as such will consider it for the next three days in order to keep the length of each post reasonable.  Today let us consider the phrase, “Who gave himself for our sins,”.  The clarifier or antecedent for the “who” in this verse is the last person listed in Galatians 1:3, “and from our Lord Jesus Christ”.  So we know this is speaking of Jesus Christ, but notice the language that Paul used here.  “Who gave himself for our sins”, Jesus Christ was not forced into this role as our redeemer by the Father in heaven nor by the wicked plans of men.  Jesus Christ chose to offer up his own life and the wicked intents of men aligned with His will that the deed might be accomplished.  We must understand with the death of Christ that the hand of no man, including Christ, was forced by God.  Let us rejoice in having a savior that freely died that we might be made free from our sins.

Tuesday Tea – July 17 – “How Great Thou Art”

“For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else.” (Isaiah 45:18)

There is great value in taking time to consider the natural wonders of the world around us.  Visit the vastness of the Grand Canyon, marvel at the size of the majestic Redwoods, watch the waves crash on the seashore, or experience the never-ending horizon of the great plains.  In each of these we are reminded of the mighty work of God in creating this planet as a home for his elect here in time.  However, the true beauty is not just in the physical elements, but rather comes when we realize that if God could create all of the wonders of nature; what could possibly limit his ability to save his people?

Our hymn for this week, “How Great Thou Art”, expresses just this thought.  It begins by marveling at the physical beauty of the natural world and concludes with thoughts of the second coming of Christ Jesus.  The original foundation for this hymn was a poem written by a 26-year-old Swedish minister.  The poem written in 1885 was called “O Store Gud” – “O Mighty God”.  The words of the poem translated to English read:

“When I the world consider / Which Thou has made by Thine almighty Word

And how the webb of life Thou wisdom guideth / And all creation feedeth at Thy board.

Then doth my soul burst forth in song of praise / Oh, great God, Oh, great God!”

This poem was published and forgotten so much as Carl Boberg knew.  However, a few years later he was surprised to hear it being sung to the tune of an Old Swedish melody.  Despite this fact the poem nor the hymn gained popularity.  Some time later Stuart Hine, an English missionary, heard the hymn being sung while in Russia.  The words to the hymn touched him so that he expanded the words and created his own arrangement of the Swedish Melody.  The words he wrote to expand the hymn were inspired by the ruggedness of the Carpathian mountains of Russia.  Again though, despite its popularity among small groups it failed to gain notoriety and to spread among believers.

As the hymn continued to be sung among missionaries and small groups of people, Dr. J. Edwin Orr heard the hymn while in India.  He, like others, was moved by the hymn and decided to bring it back to America.  He introduced the hymn at a conference in California where it came to the attention of music producer Tim Spencer.  Spencer would go on to publish and record the hymn.

Finally, in 1954 an event would happen that would take the song from isolated favorite to household name.  At the Billy Graham Crusade in Harringay Arena, George Beverly Shea was given a leaflet containing the hymn.  He sang the hymn to himself and thought highly enough of it that he shared it with the rest of the Graham team.  When they returned from London they introduced the hymn the following year in Toronto.  In 1957, the year of the New York Crusade, Bev Shea sang the hymn 99 times.  After a long history, the world would finally come to fully know “How Great Thou Art.”

“When Christ shall come / With shout of acclamation / And take me home, / What joy shall fill my heart!”

What a beautiful thought this last verse presents.  When we consider all the things that the Lord created, and furthermore all the things that he sustains, what power we see.  Drive through the mountains and see boulders seemingly hanging on by a thread, drive through the driest of climates and see the cactuses in bloom, or make your way to the seashore and see the tiniest of crabs surviving the crashing waves.  All of these things seem to defy natural logic, and yet they prove over and over again the power of God to provide for his creation.  With this being the case, should we be surprised that God would have the power to open the graves and call forth the dead?  Let us not be doubtful of the power of God to work in the lives of his people.

Please enjoy this video as well!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By0iyTukDkQ

Blessing to You All!!

(Source: Then Sings My Soul: 150 of the World’s Greatest Hymn Stories by Robert J. Morgan)

Quick Thought for Meditation – Jesus – 1 Timothy 2

1 Timothy 2:15

“Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.”

As a final thought to this chapter the Apostle Paul reminds us of one more important factor regarding Godly women.  It was through childbearing that the Savior came into the world.  While Eve was deceived and had her husband eat, while women are to be subject to their husbands, and while women are not to be leaders of a church we should still remember that women are important in the family of God.  It was by a woman and her unpolluted seed that Jesus Christ took on the body of man and died for our sins.  Not that we are to worship Mary, but that we are to remember the importance of our Sisters in Christ.