“Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art, Thou my best thought, by day or by night, Waking or sleeping, Thy presence, my light.”
Be Thou my wisdom, Thou my true Word; I ever with Thee, Thou with me Lord; Thou my great Father, I Thy true son; Thou with me dwelling and I with Thee one.
Be Thou my battle-shield, sword for the fight; be Thou my dignity, Thou my delight; Thou my soul’s shelter, Thou my high-tower; raise thou me heaven-ward, O Power of my power.
High King of heaven, Thy victory won; may I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heav’n’s Son; Heart of my own heart, whatever befall; still be my vision, O Ruler of all.”
I’ve always loved the words of this song; So much content , So much meaning — “My best thought, Thy presence, my life, My wisdom, My true word, My great Father, I Thy true son. My battle-shield, sword, dignity, delight, shelter,
O Bright heav’ns Son, heart of my own heart! whatever befall!
In this song is the call of God, The high, The heavenly, The holy — a call to union with Christ, to Our Father, to wisdom, the battle, the heaven-ward focus.
“God does not choose people because of their ability, but because of their availability.” ― Brother Andrew
“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer
” It is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular, it is why he does it. The motive is everything. Let a man sanctify the Lord God in his heart and he can thereafter do no common act.” ― A.W. Tozer
These three — 1) availability, 2) willingness to give our life, and 3) proper motivations are developed in us by God himself.
All three come to us by the grace of God because 1) “no man seeks after God,” 2) “none doeth good,” and 3) we self-preserving (desperately wicked) men and women fight to stay alive in the natural sense.
Yes, faith accesses these three graces, but faith emerges in us as also a gift of God’s calling.
Romans 11:6 says, “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.”
A missions website wrote, “I have been reflecting on the book of Joshua …
The refrain that is echoed is, “Be strong and courageous” (1:6,7,9). But how? The key is in the fact that this command is always connected to a promise of God’s presence … God does not tell Joshua, “Be strong and courageous because you’re bigger, you’re stronger, you’re smarter than your enemies.” No, the reason why Joshua is commanded to be strong and courageous is because God is with him. … Joshua is not to trust in his own abilities for courage and strength, but in the promises and presence of God.” www.mtw.org/stories
In Closing, here’s a quote from Dr.Carl H. Stevens, “
Lastly, Daniel 11:32 B teaches, ” … but a people knowing their God shall prevail, and do valiantly.”
