David Shelton Online

DAILY PONDERINGS FOR 2011 - APRIL 27

Dare To Be A Daniel

Philip Paul Bliss

 

Standing by a purpose true

Heeding God's command

Honor them the faithful few

All hail to Daniel's Band

 

Many mighty men are lost

Daring not to stand

Who for God had been a host

By joining Daniel's Band

 

Many giants great and tall

Stalking thru the land

Headlong to the earth would fall

If met by Daniel's Band

 

Hold the Gospel banner high

On to victory grand

Satan and his host defy

And shout for Daniel's Band

 

Dare to be a Daniel

Dare to stand alone

Dare to have a purpose firm

Dare to make it known

There is a difference between involvement and commitment. Think about a chicken and a pig in relationship to a bacon and egg breakfast. The chicken is involved. The pig is committed. Daniel was committed. He lived his life based on God’s principles. He had multiple opportunities to compromise. He faced peer pressure. Compromising would have guaranteed his safety and improve his future prospects at work. He stood steadfast. It landed him in a den of hungry lions. Yes, he was delivered, but he did not know God was going to perform that miracle. He was prepared to be a martyr.

Many Christians are involved. They go to church. They talk the talk. They do most of things they know to do. The question is, “Are they involved?” Will they live by God’s standards when doing so is unpopular? Will they pass up career advancement or monetary gain if it means watering down their convictions? Will they cave under peer pressure or continue to rely on their walk with God?

Dare to be a Daniel.

DAILY PONDERINGS FOR 2011 - APRIL 26

Who Is On The Lord's Side

C. Luise Reichardt | Frances Ridley Havergal | John Goss

 

Who is on the Lord's side, who will serve the King

Who will be His helpers, other lives to bring

Who will leave the world's side, who will face the foe

Who is on the Lord's side, who for Him will go

By Thy call of mercy by Thy grace divine

We are on the Lord's side Savior we are Thine

 

Not for weight of glory not for crown and palm

Enter we the army raise the warrior Psalm

But for love that claimeth lives for whom He died

He whom Jesus nameth must be on His side

By Thy love constraining by Thy grace divine

We are on the Lord's side Savior we are Thine

 

Jesus Thou hast bought us not with gold or gem

But with Thine own lifeblood for Thy diadem

With Thy blessing filling each who comes to Thee

Thou hast made us willing, Thou hast made us free

By Thy grand redemption by Thy grace divine

We are on the Lord's side Savior we are Thine

Neutral is not an option. Whenever I watch a sporting event, I will pick a side. I may try to be neutral, but it does not work. After a while, I will find myself pulling for one team over the other. Often I root or the underdog or I pull for the team winning who is behind in a series. I might choose one team over another because of the affect the outcome will have on the teams I really like.

When it comes to the Lord, neutral is not an option. Joshua told the children of Israel they had to make a choice. Jesus said we could not split our loyalties. We are either for God or against Him. It is not just a matter of naming your side. Sadly, there are plenty of Benedict Arnold Christians. It is about how we live. It is about who or what we serve. It is about our priorities. Who will we serve today?

DAILY PONDERINGS FOR 2011 - APRIL 25

Does Jesus Care

Frank E. Graeff | Joseph Lincoln Hall

 

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained

Too deeply for mirth and song

As the burdens press and the cares distress

And the way grows weary and long

 

Does Jesus care when my way is dark

With a nameless dread and fear

As the daylight fades into deep night shades

Does He care enough to be near

 

Does Jesus care when I've tried and failed

To resist some temptation strong

When for my deep grief I find no relief

Tho' my tears flow all the night long

 

O yes He cares I know He cares

His heart is touched with my grief

When the days are weary

The long nights dreary

I know my Savior cares

Jesus and his disciples made a quick decision to get into boats and cross the Sea of Galilee. No one checked the weather. The storm caught them in the middle of the sea. Waves were filling the boat with water. The disciples did everything they knew to do. Nothing helped. Then they remembered Jesus was in the boat. Amazingly, He was asleep. They woke Jesus up with the question, “Do you not care about us?”

Just like the disciples, we can be caught in tough situations. We fill our lives with activities to find a way out. We forget Jesus is there. Just like the disciples, we ask, “Do you not care about us?” Just like the disciples, we know the answer. He cares. We just sometimes lose sight of that reality. Interestingly, Jesus did not condemn the disciples. He took care of their need and asked a few question. He wanted them to grew in their understanding and faith. He wants us to do the same thing.

DAILY PONDERINGS FOR 2011 - APRIL 23

And Can It Be

Charles Wesley | Thomas Campbell

 

And can it be that I should gain

An int'rest in the Savior's blood

Died He for me who caused His pain

For me who Him to death pursued

Amazing love how can it be

That Thou my God shouldst die for me

 

He left His Father's throne above

So free so infinite His grace

Emptied Himself of all but love

And bled for Adam's helpless race

'Tis mercy all immense and free

For O my God it found out me

 

No condemnation now I dread

Jesus and all in Him is mine

Alive in Him my living Head

And clothed in righteousness divine

Bold I approach th'eternal throne

And claim the crown through Christ my own

 

Amazing love how can it be

That Thou my God shouldst die for me

Value is subjective. The purchaser and the price he or she is willing to pay for something determine its value. I know people who have paid a high price for items I believed were not worthy any amount of investment. They could say the same thing for me.

I am a sinner. I am full of shortcoming and weaknesses. How much am I worthy? The answer is debatable. My family may believe me to be of great value. My detractors may believe I am practically worthless. Others would be somewhere in between.

God thought I was extremely value. He paid the highest price for me – the life of His Son, Jesus. He paid the same price for you.

DAILY PONDERINGS FOR 2011 - APRIL 22

There Is A Fountain

Lowell Mason | William Cowper

 

There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel's veins

And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains

Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains

And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains

 

The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day

And there may I though vile as he wash all my sins away

Wash all my sins away, wash all my sins away

And there may I though vile as he wash all my sins away

 

E'er since by faith I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply

Redeeming love has been my theme and shall be till I die

And shall be till I die, and shall be till I die

Redeeming love has been my theme and shall be till I die

 

When this poor lisping stamm'ring tongue lies silent in the grave

Then in a nobler sweeter song I'll sing Thy pow'r to save

I'll sing Thy pow'r to save, I'll sing Thy pow'r to save

Then in a nobler sweeter song I'll sing Thy pow'r to save

He was a thief. Just hours from his death, he was promised entrance into heaven. Some have questioned this outcome. They want to belief the thief was not that bad person. There must have been enough good in him for Jesus to grant him entrance. The truth is that he was thief. He was not a pickpocket. He was not an early version of Robin Hood. He was not someone who robbed because of his life circumstance. He was a professional and proficient thief – to the point of being condemned to death.

Some say that Jesus did not really promise him heaven. He was only given Paradise. They want to believe there can be no eleventh hour confession. A dying prayer cannot erase a lifetime of sinfulness. This would make the thief a second class citizen, but what are the requirements for full citizenship?

He was a sinner. I am a sinner. He called on the name of Jesus for his salvation. I called on the name of Jesus for my salvation. If I doubt his salvation, how can I be sure of my own? Salvation is not about when we come or from where we come. It is all about coming to Christ. He can save – and does.

DAILY PONDERINGS FOR 2011 - APRIL 20

Nothing But The Blood

Robert Lowry

 

What can wash away my sin

Nothing but the blood of Jesus

What can make me whole again

Nothing but the blood of Jesus

 

For my pardon this I see

Nothing but the blood of Jesus

For my cleansing this my plea

Nothing but the blood of Jesus

 

Nothing can for sin atone

Nothing but the blood of Jesus

Naught of good that I have done

Nothing but the blood of Jesus

 

This is all my hope and peace

Nothing but the blood of Jesus

This is all my righteousness

Nothing but the blood of Jesus

 

O precious is the flow

That makes me white as snow

No other fount I know

Nothing but the blood of Jesus

When I served with the volunteer fire department, I never knew when a call would come. When one came, I had to respond immediately. This meant often arriving at scenes dressed in a suit or at least a shirt and tie. More than once, I would get blood on my clothes. There were many ideas on how to get the blood stains out. Some of them worked some of the time. None of them worked all the time.

Ironically, I once had another kind of stain. It was on my heart. The stain was sin. I tried many ways to remove that stain. I tried being religious. I tried being a good person. I tried the acquisition of knowledge. Nothing worked. Finally, I found the one and only cure. It was the blood of Jesus, which He had poured out on the cross. The blood was able to wash away the stain.

DAILY PONDERINGS FOR 2011 - APRIL 19

Jesus Paid It All

Elvina Mabel Hall | John Thomas Grape

 

I hear the Savior say

Thy strength indeed is small

Child of weakness watch and pray

Find in Me thine all in all

 

Lord now indeed I find

Thy power and Thine alone

Can change the leper's spots

And melt the heart of stone

 

For nothing good have I

Whereby Thy grace to claim

I'll wash my garments white

In the blood of Calvary's Lamb

 

And when before the throne

I stand in Him complete

Jesus died my soul to save

My lips shall still repeat

 

Jesus paid it all all to Him I owe

Sin had left a crimson stain

He washed it white as snow

There are television commercials that ask, “Do you have more than $10,000 in credit card debt? They amaze me. I do not that amount of credit line on all of my credit cards combined. Still, I know such a debt can occur. People then feel trapped. They cannot make the payments. This leads to more debt. They need help. Sadly, the track record of most debt help companies is not good. Instead, they often compound the problems.

Because of our sinfulness, we had a debt. It was more debt than we could ever pay. No amount of goodness would erase it. The cost was just too great. We were in a helpless situation. God saw our need. He decided to pay the debt at the cost of Son. If we have received His gift, then our lips should never cease to sing His praises.

DAILY PONDERINGS FOR 2011 - APRIL 18

Open My Eyes That I May See

Clara H. Fiske Scott

 

Open my eyes that I may see

Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me

Place in my hands the wonderful key

That shall unclasp and set me free

Silently now I wait for Thee

Ready my God Thy will to see

Open my eyes illumine me Spirit divine

 

Open my ears that I may hear

Voices of truth Thou sendest clear

And while the wave-notes fall on my ear

Everything false will disappear

Silently now I wait for Thee

Ready my God Thy will to see

Open my ears Illumine me Spirit divine

 

Open my mouth and let me bear

Gladly the warm truth everywhere

Open my heart and let me prepare

Love with Thy children thus to share

Silently now I wait for Thee

Ready my God Thy will to see

Open my heart illumine me Spirit divine

 

Open my mind that I may read

More of Thy love in word and deed

What shall I fear while yet Thou dost lead

Only for light from Thee I plead

Silently now I wait for Thee

Ready my God Thy will to see

Open my mind illumine me Spirit divine

Often when my kids come home from school, I will ask them, “What did you learn new today?” I did not always expect an answer, but I hoped it would make them think about the opportunities to learn and grow. I want them to have a life-long desire to discover new things.

I wonder if our heavenly Father has the same question for us at the end of each day. Did we learn something new? Are there spiritual principle and percepts that we have not learned? Are their new ways of applying the truths we already now? Are we content or do we truly want to grow?

DAILY PONDERINGS FOR APRIL 4

The Haven Of Rest

George D. Moore | Henry Lake Gilmour

 

My soul in sad exile was out on life's sea

So burdened with sin and distressed

Till I heard a sweet voice saying make Me your choice

And I entered the haven of Rest

 

I yielded myself to His tender embrace

And faith taking hold of the Word

My fetters fell off and I anchored my soul

The haven of Rest is the Lord

 

The song of my soul since the Lord made me whole

Has been the old story so blest

Of Jesus who'll save whosoever will have

A home in the haven of Rest

 

O come to the Savior He patiently waits

To save by His power divine

Come anchor your soul in the haven of Rest

And say My Beloved is mine

 

I've anchored my soul in the haven of Rest

I'll sail the wide seas no more

The tempest may sweep o'er the wild stormy deep

In Jesus I'm safe evermore

Several years ago, I went fishing with some friends on the Chesapeake Bay. I enjoyed the day except for one little part. In our search for fish, we went out past a point where the shoreline protected the waters. The wind was blowing at a good rate. The waters become choppy. I found myself starting to feel a little queasy. As soon as we moved back deeper into the harbor, the waters calmed down.

The songwriter evokes an image of life. He sees it as sailing on the seas. Once we get out into unprotected waters, we are fair game. The winds and waves are free to batter us. Fortunately, he reminds us that Jesus is our continual harbor. He keeps us safe and secure.

DAILY PONDERINGS FOR 2011 - APRIL 2

More About Jesus

Eliza Edmunds Stites Hewitt | John Robson Sweney

 

More about Jesus would I know

More of His grace to others show

More of His saving fullness see

More of His love who died for me

 

More about Jesus let me learn

More of His holy will discern

Spirit of God my teacher be

Showing the things of Christ to me

 

More about Jesus in His word

Holding communion with my Lord

Hearing His voice in every line

Making each faithful saying mine

 

More about Jesus on His throne

Riches in glory all His own

More of His kingdom's sure increase

More of His coming Prince of Peace

 

More more about Jesus

More more about Jesus

More of His saving fullness see

More of His love who died for me

People have a way of influencing us – often without us being consciously aware of it. Just think about it. If we spend time with people, we will find ourselves using some of the same words and phrases as they do. We will want to go to the same places they like to go. They will affect our choice of clothes.

Becoming like Christ is the goal of the Christian life. Too many people make this harder than what it is. They want to make it about a list of rules and regulations. In reality, it is simple. The more time we spend with Christ, the greater His influence. He begins to flow out of our attitudes, our actions, and our speech.

© 2011 David Shelton