On
my kitchen wall is a sign that reads, “Sing unto the LORD, bless His name; show
forth His salvation from day to day. Psalm 96:2” I like this verse especially
because of the second part: “show forth His salvation from day to day.” The influences of my salvation should “show
forth” in my daily living; my attitudes, words, and actions should be different
than my normal tendencies because of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.
This verse is both an encouragement and challenge to continue seeking to let
the image of Christ be more fully reflected in the routines of my life.
Salvation is at the same time a punctiliar event (justification), a process (sanctification), and a future realization (glorification). Sometimes in Christendom, we tend to only apply Scripture to the initial decision to trust Christ for salvation. However, that is just the beginning! There is so much of God's Word to be gleaned for daily living! A couple weeks ago, I looked at the miracles in John's gospel through the lens of how they apply to Christians, and was truly blessed by that study. Jesus said that eternal life is to know the Father and Himself (John 17:3). The more time we spend with Him in Scripture, the better we know Him, and see His interactions with the ins and outs and ups and downs of our lives. Thus, that eternal life which began with my justification is more beautifully experienced on this earth right now.
So, what do you need today? No matter what you may be facing, He has something for all of us, if we will sit at His feet with ears to hear...
So, what do you need today? No matter what you may be facing, He has something for all of us, if we will sit at His feet with ears to hear...
-MaryBeth Hall
Something
for All of Us
“But these are written
that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that
believing you may have life in His name.”
– John 20:31
Wise Solomon wrote eloquently:
“The thing that hath been, is that which shall be.”*
People today are, as in Bible days,
Desperate for help in identical ways.
John’s gospel records key miracles that give
Courage to trust as our lives we live.
There’s something for all, for all have a need
He can take every problem, and solve it indeed.
This poem is for those who are already saved;
Their bridge to heaven is already paved.
So start there if you’ve never His gift received;
John 14:6 tells what must be believed.
After that’s settled, read on then below,
There’s truth in these miracles that we ought to know!
In what should have been a gala affair,
Shortage and lack caused worrisome care.
But behind the scenes a miracle He’d do;
Servants and disciples His glory knew.
Then let us seek Him as Mary of old,
Willing to do whatever we’re told.
Our financial troubles His wisdom can see;
Gracious and generous He’ll always be.
A dad’s desperation for his dearly loved son
Who lay at death’s door after all had been done…
How many times have his feelings found echoes
Within our own hearts for the ones we hold close?
That dad came to trust that even over distance
Jesus’ word could be trusted without resistance.
Through His yes’s and no’s we likewise believe this;
Signs and wonders are sidelined – He is Who He is.
Thirty-eight years an infirmity he’d had.
He’d given up hope; life would always be bad.
And from words Jesus spoke to this man later,
It seems that sin was the real instigator.
As flawed human beings, it’s encouraging to know
God can change time’s deep faults His glory to show.
Bad habits and sins His power can transform
Life now made whole can be our new norm.
Challenged by an impossible question,
Philip must have thought, “What a suggestion!”
But Jesus already knew what He would do;
He took what was offered…see, how it grew!
And often in history, yes, in our own time
What God’s servants dare defies reason and rhyme.
His provision may not be quick or dramatic,
But of this be sure: our God is not static.
Even the most well prepared among men
Can be rendered helpless time and again
By nature’s calamities surprising and fierce,
As sky, sea, and land with fear the heart pierce.
Yet “what was over their heads was under His feet,”**
Creator o’er creation holds dominion complete.
When disaster strikes, we need not stay dismayed.
Find courage in His words, “It is I; be not afraid.”
When bad things happen and we don’t know why,
Playing the blame game is an easy reply;
But in healing the man who was blind from birth,
Jesus taught that some things are for God’s work on earth.
Then let us let Him make manifest His ways,
Through questions and trials that pepper our days.
If we’ll trust Him though blind, He’ll give us our sight
Perhaps now, but for sure, in eternity’s light.
The enemy none can evade
Before Him in the dust is laid.
The Resurrection and the Life
Brings end to death’s oppression rife.
Lazarus reminds us Jesus wins;
In Him eternal life begins.
As our tears fall, they fall in faith;
We trust the words that our Lord saith.
Dawn’s brightness was clouded only by failure
Added line by line in his mind’s ledger.
To the Friend that he loved, Peter hadn’t stayed true;
The night’s work of fishing had been fruitless, too.
Then he saw Jesus, Who in a very real way
Spoke straight to his heart that His call would stay.
Across the millennia His whisper still mends
His servants’ hearts, for they’re His to the end.
**Original source of this quote unknown
***Thanks to my dad for giving me the idea for this poem many years ago.
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