Holy Wednesday

(Jesus' High Priestly Prayer from John 17)

The Mediator

Everlasting Creator-Father,

I have destroyed myself, my nature is defiled, the powers of my soul are degraded; I am vile, miserable, strengthless, but my hope is in thee.

If ever I am saved it will be by goodness undeserved and astonishing, not by mercy alone but by abundant mercy, not by grace but by exceeding riches of grace;

And such thou hast revealed, promised, exemplified in thoughts of peace, not evil.

Thou hast devised means to rescue me from sin's perdition, to restore me to happiness, honour, safety.

I bless thee for the everlasting covenant, for the appointment of a Mediator.

I rejoice that he failed not, nor was discouraged, but accomplished the work thou gavest him to do; and said on the cross, 'It is finished.'

I exult in the thought that thy justice is satisfied, thy truth established, thy law magnified, and a foundation is laid for my hope.

I look to a present and personal interest in Christ and say, Surely he has borne my griefs, carried my sorrows, won my peace, healed my soul.

Justified by his blood I am saved by his life,

Glorifying in his cross I bow to his sceptre,

Having his Spirit I possess his mind.

Lord, grant that my religion may not be occasional and partial, but universal, influential, effective, and may I always continue in thy words as well as thy works, so that I may reach my end in peace.

Holy Tuesday

(based on Jesus washing His disciples' feet)

Humility in Service

Fill me with an over-flowing ocean of compassion, the reign of love my motive, the law of love my rule.
O thou God of all grace, make me more thankful, more humble;
Inspire me with a deep sense of my unworthiness arising from the depravity of my nature, my omitted duties, my unimproved advantages, thy commands violated by me.
With all my calls to gratitude and joy may I remember that I have reason for sorrow and humiliation;
O give me repentance unto life;
Cement my oneness with my blessed Lord, that faith may adhere to him more immovably, that love may entwine itself round him more tightly, that his Spirit may pervade every fibre of my being.
Then send me out to make him known to my fellow-men.

Holy Monday

(Working out of the anointing of Jesus)

The Deeps

Lord Jesus,
Give me a deeper repentance, a horror of sin, a dread of its approach
Help me chastely to flee it, and jealously to resolve that my heart shall be thine alone.
Give me a deeper trust, that I may lose myself to find myself in thee, the ground of my rest, the spring of my being.
Give me a deeper knowledge of thyself as Saviour, Master, Lord, and King.
Give me a deeper power in private prayer, more sweetness in thy Word, more steadfast grip on its truth.
Give me a deeper holiness in speech, thought, action, and let me not seek moral virtue apart from thee.
Plough deep in me, great Lord, heavenly Husbandman, that my being may be a tilled field, the roots of grace spreading far and wide, until thou alone art in me, thy beauty golden like summer harvest, thy fruitfulness as autumn plenty.
I have no Master but thee, no law by thy will, no delight but thyself, no wealth, but that thou givest, no good but that thou blessest, no peace but that thou bestowest.
I am nothing but that thou makest me, I have nothing but that I receive from thee, I can be nothing but that grace adorns me.
Quarry me deep, dear Lord, and then fill me to overflowing with living water.

Holy Week

For Holy Week I am going to try and post meditations/prayers from The Valley of Vision for each day. They are solely for me, but if they are a blessing to you as well then may all praise be to the Father. My desire is for God to lead me to the foot of cross to grieve over the cost of my constant and daily rebellion, yet find grace and forgiveness. From there, I can go out rejoicing in the victorious power of my risen Savior.

Palm Sunday: God Honoured

O God,

Praise waiteth for thee,

and to render it is my noblest exercise;

This is thy due from all thy creatures,

for all thy works display thy attributes

and fulfill thy designs;

The sea, dry land, winter cold, summer heat,

morning light, evening shade are full of thee,

and thou givest me them richly to enjoy.

Thou art King of kings and Lord of lords;

At thy pleasure empires rise and fall;

All thy works praise thee and thy saints bless thee;

Let me be numbered with thy holy ones,

resemble them in character and condition,

sit with them at Jesus' feet.

Writer's block

I have been experimenting with more writing recently as a break from all the reading I typically engage in. While the thoughts seem coherent in my head, they never seem to make it very far on the page. Therefore, I choose to post the lyrics to one of my favorite songs in the history of music. I don't know if it's an old hymn or not, but the people of Indelible Grace (and my sister) who brought it to my attention have done well. I learned to play it on the piano during the immense amount of free time I had last year, and reintroduced myself to it last month. The song best captures a genuine struggle of the soul while reaffirming the promises of God. There is a beautiful blend of intense sorrow and glorious hope in each verse. My writing tends to lean one way or the other. I find it comforting to know while pain is real our God is ready and waiting.

Dear Refuge of my weary soul

On Thee when sorrows rise

On Thee when waves of trouble roll

My fainting hope relies

To Thee I tell each rising grief

For Thou alone canst heal

Thy Word can bring a sweet relief

For every pain I feel

But, Oh, when gloomy doubts prevail

I fear to call Thee mine

The springs of comfort seem to fail

And all my hopes decline

Yet gracious God where shall I flee

Thou art my only Trust

And still my soul would cleave to Thee

Though prostrate in the dust

Hast Thou not bid me seek Thy face

And shall seek i in vain

And can the ear of Sovereign Grace

Be deaf when i complain

No still the ear of Sovereign Grace

Attends the mourners prayer

Oh may i ever find access

To breathe my sorrows There

Thy Mercy Seat is open still

Here let my soul retreat

With humble hope attend Thy will

And wait beneath Thy feet

Thy Mercy Seat is open still

Here let my soul retreat

With humble hope attend Thy will

And wait beneath Thy feet

Alright so this isn't exactly what I can see when I look out my window or go outside today. It's a picture from Zion National Park where I went last spring/summer with my brother and sister-in-law. However, the picture could pass off as the first day of spring. The skies are pure blue, clouds nice and fluffy, and green trees begin to show signs of life. While I thoroughly enjoyed the large amounts of snow we received this winter, I am enthusiastic about the spring. There is something special about the warm air and cheerful sounds of the spring. As Solomon said, "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3:1), and that season is spring!

Oh the madness!

Second to the Christmas season (and maybe summer), NCAA March Madness is the most wonderful time of year! I have adopted the wonderfulness into my classroom just to share the beauty. Each child randomly selected 3 teams (evenly distributed by seedings of course) who they will follow over the course of the next two weeks. Hopefully it gives them something else to get excited about besides my teaching. If not, I will at least get the satisfaction of filling out a really large bracket. Awesome!