Sunday, February 26, 2012

For You to be Adored!

Michael E. Wood
February 8, 2012

Hebrews 11:1-2, 4

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation.

By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.

God is honored and glorified in the process of our sanctification, as He, through the merit of Christ alone by the power of His Spirit transforms us from glory to glory.

While beginning the day in the first few verses of Hebrews chapter 11 and reading where Abel by faith offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, it occurred to me what a benefit we have in our day to have the whole of the scriptures to know that which is acceptable in the sight of God. That which He commands, He also enables to accomplish through the finished work of Christ, that we with patience may receive the promise of the inheritance found in Him alone. Thus, as we read the life giving and life sustaining promises of His Word, we are stirred by the Spirit to pray that He will effectually work the promises in us, to the praise of His glorious grace.

Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God; we are told by the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul in the letter to the Romans. Take courage; though the process may seem slow. It is sure, as we are made partakers of His holiness, and thereby enabled to offer up lives of practical righteousness, receiving the commendation that comes from God alone.

Increase in me intensity, whereby I may pursue
The glory and the honor that’s befitting only You.
For as in life when others see the changes that You make,
Through Christ to show the power of the blessing I partake
By faith as a new vessel once devoted to destruction
And now as that of mercy and Your overcoming unction;
You strip away excuses by Your Spirit in their reasons
To bring a harvest of pure fruit in Your appointed seasons.


Oh, may Your people by Thy promise, as all those before
Continue to proclaim the Way which leads to heavens shore,
By lives marked with the faithfulness by which You show and prove,
In You alone, Almighty God, we are and in You move.
And as Your Presence is made known by Your appointed Seed,
Oh hear our cry, as by Your grace, for others now we plead
That they may truly see by faith the beauty of our Lord,
Christ Jesus, who has granted peace, for You to be adored!

Friday, February 24, 2012

Does Your Heart Now Burn Within

Michael E. Wood
February 4, 2012

Luke 24:30-32

When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”

While we at times, because of the infirmity of our flesh, find ourselves somewhat lethargic to the things of God; He yet remains faithful! Hallelujah! He is, Oh, so much greater than our hearts; and, knowing all things, causes our hearts to burn within us as He by the Spirit opens to us the scriptures, effectually and continually conforming us into His own image, and thereby bringing glory to Himself in the process, and will be fully displayed in the new heavens and the new earth.

Does your heart now burn within while reading sacred pages
Of the words as written by God’s own anointed sages?
For as the Spirit faithfully unfolds the Savior’s story,
It is His voice we hear which leads us forth unto His glory.


Now faith is that which leads us to believe all He has said,
Enlightened by the Light, He is who raised us from the dead.
And caused us to be born again, when into us was spoken,
The very Word of Life from God, as He for us was broken,
Upon the cross of Calvary; The Bread of Life, He is,
And He, Himself, we feed upon, as we have been made His,
And drink of His own precious blood, receiving the forgiveness,
As a gift within The Gift, of God’s redemptive business.


And so from sin, Christ set us free, that with Him we might reign;
For now we walk within the realm of faith that is not vain,
But shall receive the full reward, that He alone shall give,
Displaying all His luster, as the One in whom we live!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Exalt All the Glory of Christ

Michael E. Wood
February 1, 2012

John 1:1-3

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

This world we live in is a fallen world! It is no great wonder that the vast majority of those around us have such a low view of Christ and give but a flippant thought toward His humanity at certain seasons of the year, for they are without understanding and are blinded by the god of this world lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine unto them.

If we as His children are not careful, we too can entertain low views of Christ as well, if we do not contemplate the matchless glory and the majesty that He had before anything that was made was made and of His present glory with the Father, having obtained eternal redemption for us through the blood of His cross, to the praise of his glorious grace. This Jesus, whom we worship and serve, is God! He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End! Amen!

To exalt all the glory of Christ, who is God
Is what we are called now to do,
As He by himself gives us light in His love
To bring all He is into view;
To know who we are, yet delighting in mercy
He humbles the hardest of hearts
Of those He has chosen, His will then imposing
Transforming our innermost parts;
To bring forth true worship and all adoration
For Him upon whom we first gazed,
By faith in believing, His Spirit conceiving
The grace by with which we’re amazed.

“The effect of contemplating the Divine Sonship of the Lord Jesus Christ must be to bow our hearts in worship before the Great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Titus 2:13” A.W. Pink

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Fruit of the Death, That Jesus Christ died

Michael E. Wood
January 31, 2011

John 12:24, 25

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Whereas all true believers and followers of Jesus Christ are the fruit of the death that He died at Calvary, we are likewise partakers of His fullness and of His grace. Though in the midst of our day-to-day lives there are times of which we may lose the “Awe” of our first love for Christ; He is jealous for His glory and stirs our hearts to desire the same, leading us into the heights, depths, and widths of His love which matures us over time as we are enabled by the Holy Spirit to make use of the means of grace in our fight with remaining sin. And though our progress may seem slow, we are nevertheless encouraged as we witness His power to save us, setting free from self and sin, with no power but as He gives us, graciously by His command.

As fruit of the death that Jesus Christ died,
Born to give praise to the One crucified,
Losing our life and now hating our sin;
By Him who with blood did our victory win.

Regain now the ‘Awe’ of which you once had
In Jesus alone, who made our hearts glad
When He came from heaven, took sin in our place,
Revealing the glory of His precious face.

For He now reigns from heaven above
Transcending all trouble with infinite love;
And girds us with strength from grace unto grace
To fight the good fight and to finish our race.

So face now the conflict of sins to subdue
Transforming your mind by the words that are true
Which come by the Spirit of God to delight
In Jesus whose glory alone gives us light;
By which all our darkness of sin is displaced
By faith through the grace of the God of all grace!

As a side note; never underestimate how God may use you even when you are not aware of how He is using you. For in the writing of this poem, parts of it came from reading a recent post by my wife, entitled, “Modesty”, and a post on The Gospel Coalition Blog by Paul Tripp, entitled, “Lost in Awe”.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

The Author of Our Bliss

Michael E. Wood
January 27-28, 2012

John 1:1-4, 14, 18

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

While contemplating and studying for an upcoming message on the divinity of Christ, I was reading Matthew Henry’s Commentary on John and the first line of the following poem is a direct quote from that commentary.

The Author of our bliss, was the Author of our being,
As He who was before, has given sight by which we’re seeing
The splendor of His beauty, who encompasses all of time
And yet in His humility He stooped from the sublime

Position of authority o’er all He had created
And gave His back to smiters, who with whips emaciated
The human flesh with which Almighty God on earth traversed
And bore the wrath He had imposed by law as He was cursed

For sin upon the tree, which He became, and for our sake,
The sinless Son of God the Father’s justice did partake,
That in Him as ambassadors we would be reconciled;
Become the righteousness of God, as He on Him has smiled.


As children of His passion, all in Him will truly find,
There’s nothing like the wisdom God reveals by His own mind.
Oh, tremble now before Him and take courage all the same
And forever by His Spirit, all His glory then proclaim.

To Him who was and is transcending all we think or feel
And every eye will see in truth what He will then reveal
Upon His coming, as in power Jesus shall then unfold
The glory of His majesty beyond all we were told.







Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Every Day is Valentine's

Michael E. Wood
February 2, 2012

Romans 14:5
One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with having a special day for two people to express their love for one another, experience can prove that unrealistic expectations, selfish motives, and an unhealthy competitiveness can do more harm than good. Not to say that we are perfect and are not in any need of growth or that any of God’s children would ever have a problem with any of these things, I’m just saying…

I know that we’re a little strange, but in this we hold firm,
That every day is Valentines, by love we do confirm
Our hearts and lives to one another reflecting God’s pure grace;
For Christ doth love His blood bought church, and we, His glorious face.


And though there may be those who make one day above the rest,
Be careful not to make that day, a day by which you test
Authentic love which comes from God, for God indeed is Love
And proved it when He sent His Son to earth from heaven above.
And when He came, no greater love was e’er displayed than this,
As He laid down His life for sin that we might know true bliss.


And now He bids us follow with all purity of mind,
With love for Him above all else, for in Him love we find,
Upholding us with patience as a pattern to project
The love of Him who loved us with a love that is perfect!

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Read in the Writings

Michael E. Wood
January 20, 2012



Hebrews 11:4

By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.

What an amazing mercy it is to have our eyes opened up to see that when we are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, then the life we are given to live by grace through faith in Him while here on earth and its influence is not bound by time or the earthly circumstances God the Father has by His sovereignty placed us in. Being made to see that it is “not I but, Christ living in me” is that which frees us to know that, “to live is Christ and to die is gain”. As living letters of the grace of God by the Holy Spirit, we are indeed read by those with which we interact with from day to day, and we are either a fragrance of life unto life or death unto death. Thus while the Spirit of grace and glory rests upon us, let us be faithful to sow beside all waters, entrusting the Lord of the harvest to bring forth fruit for His glory.

These are the type of thoughts which encourage me to continue writing, with the understanding that my presence on earth is not necessary for God to use me for His glory. For though the things I write are but as crumbs from the Masters table, it is the Master which breaks us, and then blesses us that He may use us as vessels of mercy, to feed those within the realm of influence He has appointed.

If you read in the writings and follow the path
You’ll find that Christ Jesus did pay for God’s wrath.
For He by His Spirit can show you alone
That He for our sins with His blood did atone
For every transgression you find rising up
Within your own soul and was placed in the cup
Of which His own Father did give Him to drink
On the cross and for joy, He did not from it shrink,
But drank to the full and consumed every drop,
Producing by death the most glorious crop
Of wheat that will stand when the harvest is made
At the end of the age as the angels are bade
To go forth and gather to separate sheep
From the goats on the left, He, Himself did not keep
And “Come”, He will say, “who are blessed by my Father,
Inherit the kingdom”, you sons, every daughter
Of which was prepared, as the remnant of nations
In consummate glory, as God’s new creations
Will praise Him forever in infinite songs,
The King of all glory to whom all belongs

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

My Dear Wifey

Michael E. Wood
January 18, 2012

On November 17th 2008, by the providence of God, Dianna and I first met. Many a precious moment was spent together in the fellowship of the Spirit of Christ, though separated by three thousand miles. On May 18th 2010 we were blessed to be joined as one to the praise of His glorious grace and to begin our life together by making our earthly home in Northern California. Over the last few days as we are brought near to celebrating two years of marriage, we have spoken of how easy it is to slip into a sense of taking each other for granted, and yet our Father continually surprises us with gratitude first and foremost for Christ and then for each other in the manner in which He is pleased to use us for His glory.

While Dianna was at home for lunch today she spent most of her time completing some details for a guest post on a blog from Connecticut with the potential to be read by thousands of people around the world. I smiled with delight as earlier in the day she read the material that is to be posted, knowing that Christ is exalted! As she was heading back to work she apologized for not spending more time with me during her break, and the following came to mind of which I called and left on her answering machine. And by the way, C.H. Spurgeon used to call his wife “wifey”, and I have picked up the habit as of late.

Your love for Christ is my one great concern
And is that of which you should know and discern
Which makes you more precious than all to my eye
By Him who did willingly for us both die.


Not simply that we might have total forgiveness
But much more so as to walk in His presence
To trust and enjoy the unspeakable Spring
Of His Spirit to praise Him with song as we sing.


Fear not my dear wifey for you I do love
Much more than before as you are my sweet dove
With which I can fly and be constant in song
Until we see Jesus, for whom we do long!

Saturday, February 4, 2012

His Harvest of Righteousness

Michael E. Wood
January 13, 2012

2nd Corinthians 12:9,10
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Romans 7:4
Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.

Romans 8:2¬-4
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

As we grow older we become more acutely aware of the infirmities of our earthly bodies, and as we live in this fallen world fighting the fight of faith we also become increasingly aware of how utterly inept we are to do anything of eternal value apart from living and walking in the Spirit of Christ. But thanks be to God which gives us the victory and causes us to triumph through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who abundantly supplies more than we can ask or think.

Of my infirmities now I will boast,
For I am indwelt by the sweet Holy Ghost.
Under His influence now made to dwell,
As Christ has delivered from sin and from hell.

But not only this; God has caused me to walk
In the life that I live, and it will for me talk,
As Christ was not sent just to cover my shame,
But forever to live and His glory proclaim.

Bound then for glory with a taste of it now
In Jesus my hands are now fit for the plough
Which turns up the dirt as He breaks every clod
To make me like Him with His staff and His rod.

For fruit unto God He has called me to bear
Which comes from the Root of His glory to share,
Designed by His will in eternity past
And springs from Christ Jesus from first unto last.

So thus by this vessel God made from the dust
And breathed in new life by His Spirit to trust,
His glory to shine as His will is fulfilled
As His harvest of righteousness only will yield.