I'm Free!

Psalm 61:11,12 Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God, and to You O LORD, belongs steadfast love. For You will render to a man according to his work.

Isaiah 60:21,22 Your people shall be all righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the Branch of my planting, the work of My hands, that I might be glorified. The least one shall become a clan, and the smallest one a mighty nation; I AM THE LORD; in it's time I will hasten it.

Job 34:10,11 Therefore, hear Me you men of understanding: far be it from God that He should do wickedness, and from The Almighty that He should do wrong. For according to the work of a man He will repay him, and according to his ways He will make it befall him.

While contemplating these passages along with witnessing the cutting down of a fruiting mulberry tree out side our apartment I was given two new poems to write, but as I began to type I was reminded of the almighty work of God in my heart.

While reading in the book of Job, I was reminded of a time not too many years hence in which God used this selfsame book to reveal to me my absolute helpless and hopeless estate. Having gone to this book looking for comfort in the midst of having a professed faith in Christ for 31 years, I was living with more of what I have come to know as an antinomian mindset in open, flagrant, disregard for the name and glory of Christ in my self-deception and ignorance. While thinking I was trying to do the "right thing" I found myself being crushed under a load of guilt. As I read of the many false accusations attributed to Job, all I could hear within was "Guilty!", "Guilty!", "Guilty as charged!" If I hadn't done it, I had thought it, and the Sovereign God of all creation knows my thoughts. Having called a friend of mine, by the name of Bob Joyce and after having confessed in detail many of the sins of my life, I said, "Bob, I feel like I am as lost as I can be and there is no hope. Would you pray for me?"

I do not remember the exact words that he said, but his response was something like this, "If there is no hope, what do I pray for? Do you not understand that the Bible says that when Jesus went to the cross, he became sin, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. In our place, Jesus, the sinless Son of God, became the worst adulterer, the worst murderer, the worst thief, the worst liar and anything else you can think of. He suffered the full force of the wrath of God, shed his blood, made the atonement, and thereby made us acceptable to God."

Though I had understood intellectually many things of the Bible including the doctrines of grace, having obtained two degrees and holding various positions over the years in "full time ministry", I had missed the truth of the gospel.

Understanding that in and of Himself, Christ was not capable of sin, yet He bore the sins of those given to Him of the Father, that he might redeem us from all unrighteousness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works. He was buried for our offenses and raised again for our justification. The Holy Spirit having made this application to our hearts and minds, birthed us into the family of God by faith and repentance, in conjunction with the unmerited love of God the Father manifested through His mercy and grace shown and given to us through Christ Jesus the Lord for His Own glory.

Some times I think back over all that has transpired over the years since I first professed faith in Christ in 1974, knowing of the many things of which there was an outward show of Christianity, and in many ways was far more zealous than many of my peers, and yet there was the lack of understanding in the very core and heart of my being that Christ alone for sin atoned! Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Through reading Spiritual Affections by Johnathan Edwards I have come to understand there are countless ways in which a person may have and display a type of spiritual understanding and possibly be used of God to show the way to others and yet not be born again. The truth is, a person may experience a number of "enlightenment's" and never truly taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh how many are there that follow the Lord for temporal gain and are blinded to the eternal weight of glory due to Christ alone, trusting in a type of faith that is not faith at all?

How many are there who trust in the teachings of men rather than the whole counsel of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit as He reveals Himself through the scriptures? How many are there who have professed faith in Christ, call themselves backsliders, and say and believe they will "get right with God" someday, who have never truly been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb? How many are there who do not understand that being a Christian is not something you do, but something that was done and you are, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone?

That which is of the utmost importance is the testimony of Jesus Christ through the cross of Calvary to the glory of God the Father. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD. Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!(Psalm 40:2-4)

Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift! Thanks be to God that He would save a helpless, hopeless, wretch like me. Thanks be to God that He by His Sovereignty watches over and orders every detail of our lives to bring many sons to glory. Thanks be to God that He works all things together for our good as He has called us to be conformed to the image of His Son; our past, our present, and our future, that in all things He may be glorified!

Far be it from God to ever do wrong.
The Infinite Almighty to ever do harm.
It is of His power to make of His sons
Like Jesus, His Image, all glorious ones.

Does it now matter if I am well known,
If by God's pleasure He hideth me?
For He Who Is Mighty condescended
And for His glory, redeemed; I'm free!

For He is my Treasure, All Glorious One!
I am my Beloveds and He Is mine.
To worship and praise Him for all He has done.
Oh then for joy, my soul shall resign.

For though now He pruneth, draws me close,
To provide fruit for all He doth choose.
To strengthen, empower, perfect for His will,
Hidden in Jesus, not one He will lose!

Michael E. Wood
October 1, 2010

"The Memory of the Righteous is a Blessing"

*Proverbs 10:7a

Upon contemplating the home going of Allen Vestal of whom I have known for nearly 40 years, I was at a lose for words initially; for how can we as men convey that which our hearts know and feel to the glory of God, and for the encouragement and comfort of others. And yet as we look to the God of all comfort, Who comforts us in all our tribulation, we trust that by the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ will be magnified through the weakness and smallness of our words and actions to will and to do of His good pleasure. Thus these thoughts came to mind--

Heaven never seems so near
Than when with grief we bear
The temp'ral lose of our beloved
Into our Father's care.

With joy we shall continue on
With hearts yet firmly fixed
In Christ alone in hope we live
With sorrows intermixed.

For though the pain we feel is real
Our love for Christ grows strong
And peace He gives, as Him we seek;
For His return we long.

How glorious then will that day be
When all with Him we'll be
And praise Him for the Life He gave
Through all eternity.

We thank You Father for new life
You gave to Allen Vestal.
Who now with You, his works complete
Will shine like stars celestial.

His character You formed and forged
Through all You brought in life,
And faithfulness in Christ displayed
Through grace against all strife.

Commending Your great mighty works
In his own generation,
Unto another, Your Majesty
You chose before creation.

And all will speak, pour forth the fame,
Of Your abundant goodness.
Give thanks to You, O LORD, our God,
Made righteous in Christ likeness. (John 3:1-3)


Michael E. Wood
October 26, 2010

The Grace of His Lips!

Inspired by a message entitled, “God’s Assuring Love on Earth” (Roman 8:28-39) preached by Joel Beeke on October 10, 2010 during the Conference held at Covenant Reformed Church in Sacramento, California entitled The (Neglected) Doctrine of Assurance.

God, owner of all, accepted the payment
Christ made by His blood for our purchase.
When raised from the dead; our Savior and Head,
Ascended to Glory to serve us.

For there He now sits; and the grace of His lips,
Is poured by His Spirit upon us.
For no other love can ever compare
With that by which he makes righteous.

Oh, now our response, to all that He is
In glory and beauty of person—
Exceeds all His gifts; and great benefits
Through seasons of life that may worsen.

For none shall escape His great disciplines
By which all His sons are made Holy—
As all for our good, shall be understood;
By which we cry unto Him, Glory!

How worthy is He who once then endured
The hatred that sprang from our hearts—
By His sacrifice, He gave us new life;
And new hope to see past the parts—

Now hidden to us; as only in love
Could He change us, so wicked and vile—
To be like He is; in Heaven to live,
Unashamed then to look on His smile.

Michael E. Wood
October 11, 2010

How Precious Are Your Thoughts to Me.

O how thankful I am for the Word of God, who became flesh, and dwells among us by faith in His blood. How thankful I am that He has given us His Spirit by which He leads us into all truth through His written Word, comforting, guarding and guiding us each day til we are with Him in glory. How wonderful is our Almighty God and Father, who loves us as His Own Son, and gives to us individually that which we have need of for our good and His glory.

While looking to Him and struggling for answers concerning other things; reading in Psalms 139, and 92, the following words with music came to mind:

How precious are Your thoughts to me--
O God how great the sum!
When I awake, I'm still with You
O Christ, the Risen One!
O search me God and know my heart,
You made of flesh from stone
For Jesus came and shed His blood
To make me all Your Own.

How wonderful, are all Your works
My soul knows very well.
For I was made in secret
When my life was bent toward hell.
Your eyes saw all my substance
When unformed, but in Your book--
All written, every single day
You changed with just one look.

You called my name and gave to me
A brand new set of eyes;
That I might look upon Your face
My everlasting Prize!
Oh make me more like Jesus
As You change my wicked ways--
From glory unto glory
Til with you at end of days.

Oh You who are my Sabbath,
How I thank You for Your grace;
For Christ alone for sin atoned
To see Your smiling face.
For You, O LORD, have made me glad--
Most High, Your praise to sing.
And joyfully shall all Your works
To You our offering bring.

Michael E. Wood
September 29, 2010

To Magnify the Love of Christ!

Whereas the love of God has been the dominant theme of thought and encouragement in recent days, the following came to mind while viewing 1st Corinthians 13:1-7

If I had all knowledge;
Speak to angels and to men,
Without love I would be lost
For God I would offend.

For as a clanging cymbal
Or the sound of noisy gong,
With emptiness I would be filled,
True love not be my song.

And if prophetic powers
Were all mine and mysteries
And if all faith as mountains moved
Before me as one flees,

I would not yet then apprehend
The love by which God gave
His Son for me and nothing be
To Christ not then be clave.

If all I had I gave away,
My body to be burned,
But have not love, then nothing gained,
For God I would have spurned.

But Oh what joy Christ doth give
Through love that never ends.
For patiently His kindness shows
On Him I can depend.

For He removeth from me
All things of which my boast,
My envy, and my arrogance,
My way I craved the most.

My rudeness and resentfulness,
As irate in wrongdoing.
God undertook to put to death
Through Christ by His Own choosing.

Oh wondrous, matchless love of God
That rejoiceth with the Truth.
His love empowers us to bear
All things to show the proof--

Believing all that comes from Him
With hope then to endure
To magnify the love of Christ
Who died to make us pure.

Michael E. Wood
September 20, 2010

Love and Good Works

Upon hearing a message preached by David Guillen from Hebrews 10:24,25 on the subject of considering "How to Stir up love and good works", Dianna and I discussed the encouragement we had received and then upon reviewing the notes I had taken while desiring to be an encouragement in return the following words came to mind.

Our hearts were blessed
As you confessed,
The love of God employed,
Exhorting us to holiness
By which we're overjoyed.

For only He, as the redeemed
Unto good works, He stirs.
As by the cross of Jesus Christ
His Spirit thus confers

All power and authority
Fulfilled by His command
To walk with Him as He conveys
Us through His promise land.

And thus with grateful,thankful hearts
We trust unto His praise,
That He will knit all His unto
His glory all our days.

Michael E. Wood
September 20, 2010

Are You Hip?

Note: Below is a copy of the email that I sent to our nephew, Jared Duba, also known as JD (JesusDisciple) followed by a poem. He is a 19 year old writer, singer, and producer of Christian Rap.

Hey Jared,

I trust that you are doing well and that you and Amanda are finding the grace of God, through the person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, sufficient and abounding to meet your every need.

As I was viewing the article below and listening to a couple of the videos on "What God is doing through Christian Hip Hop", I couldn't help but think of you and thought you night enjoy the view sent out by John Piper's Desiring God blog, if you hadn't already seen it.

The following words came to mind as I was writing you, and trust the Lord will use them as an encouragement to be strong in the faith giving glory to God.

If ya wanna show that you are hip,
Then look to the Book of Holy Script.
Beyond all trends, conventional cool--
Walking in light, in Christ, He rules.

For all in love God does for you,
To show Himself, that He is True.
By steadfast love and faithfulness,
We're made partakers of His holiness.

By grace out-poured, His Spirit's fire,
Delivers us from the deep quagmire
Of all the doubts that make us lame--
Entrust all to Him by His Holy Name.

For only dross does He consume;
The dessert rose, He brings to bloom,
In our afflictions we thus share,
As like Him, His image we shall bare.

So now in His cross we rejoice--
Strength He gives by His lovely voice.
To do for us what we can't do;
Transformed to give Him the glory due.

Praying for you,
Michael & Aunt D.

Your Glory Excels Beyond our Minds!

While in the midst of reading through "Communion with God", by John Owen, I continue to be amazed by the fact that God can and does take the infirmities of our own minds to speak of the infinite love He has for us. We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. (2nd. Cor. 4:7) Oft I find myself to be slow to comprehend while reading, even slower of speech to articulate, and yet I rejoice in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2nd Cor. 12:9)

In sweet communion God's embrace
Doth lift our soul to run the race.
Now set before us, each new stride
By His design, our sin and pride
Is overcome to prove and test.
Christ Is our all, our peace and rest.

God's Word our lamp our feet to guide
And Christ our light, in Him we hide.

Oh Holy Spirit, in You we trust,
Renew our minds, as we of dust
Have naught within on which to lean,
Apart from grace by which we glean,
The meat You give of life and purpose,
Reflecting the glory of Your purchase.

For as we are not now our own,
We live to sow the seed that's sown
Within our hearts and cultivate,
That others know and contemplate.

Your glory excels beyond our minds.
Your love through Christ, the tie that binds
Our hearts to be in one accord,
As naught of earth can e'er afford
The mercy You have now bestowed
Through Christ alone to make us grow;

One holy temple unto Your praise,
Til Christ's return marks end of days.
And every one as brightest star
Transformed by the glory of Who You Are!

Michael E. Wood
September 20, 2010

My Everlasting Prize

How wonderful and how humbling it is to contemplate the great salvation of which we have been made partakers of through the mediation of Christ! And is it not much easier to contemplate and obey His command to esteem others better than ourselves when we look to those who have gone and those who do go before us as examples of the faith God has so richly blessed us with?

All Your works shall give thanks to You, O LORD and all Your saints shall bless You! They shall speak of the glory of Your Kingdom and tell of Your power, to make known to the children of man Your mighty deeds and the glorious splendor of Your kingdom. Psalm 145:10-12

How pure Thy love transcendeth me
To glorify Thy dignity.
As sweet perfume to Thine Own fields
Your grace transforms; my spirit yields.

And as Your love constraineth me,
My soul looks up, like You to be.
In You I find no more noble task
Than for Your Holy Spirit ask.

For by Your cross You have secured
My way to You to make me pure.
For as I am in sure position,
I long to rise in acquisition.

So humbled by Your matchless love
Direct my heart to You above.
Oh help me by Your Spirit do
And by Your Word what pleaseth You.

And every day I rest assured
Tis by Your grace I shall endure.
For You are God, forever wise,
And You my everlasting Prize.

Though my thoughts have their limits.
Your resurrection power exhibits
Your all transforming grace to prove
There is no other God like You.

Michael E. Wood
September 17, 2010

Weak Feeble Knees

The following poem was born out of contemplating the passages listed below along with the interaction with John Owen through his book entitled, " Communion with God."

So now faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1st Corinthians 13:13 "We are too needy to be satisfied by a mere human nature." John Owen "...but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her." Luke 10:42 "No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light." Luke 11:33 "Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy." Isaiah 61:7

Of all the things that we have need of;
The greatest of these is, that we have love.
Of this we find not in mere human nature,
The Source of all love is not in the creature.

But God Himself Is The Answer to this.
Through Christ alone, He inculcates with bliss.
To sit at His feet, receive all other things,
His fruit will be seen as the blessing He brings.

For He Is The Light that lightens the lamps
To show His great glory from Calvary's camps.
Be not now anxious, of many things troubled,
For Christ our good portion, true wealth of Him doubled.

From God then twelve tribes and yet all of one,
Reflecting the glory of God's Holy Son.
Brought out of Egypt by power, God's Hand
Displayed all His good, to cause them to stand.

Shown to the world was His Promised Land,
All hidden in Jesus by God's great command.
Then twelve apostles He gave to the world,
Walking with Jesus, though Satan did hurl,

Blinded by great pride, he thought to divide,
Ambition for greatness, by Christ crucified.
But death to all death Christ did accomplish.
His life He laid down by love to abolish,

With Him and in Him, He did count the cost,
Fulfilling the law, as nailed to the cross.
Cried, "It is finished", by death for our shame,
All purchased by blood, all in Christ proclaim;

Sing now for joy, His infinite love,
Will make us like He Is, when with Him above.
The dept of our sins, only The Infinite
Son without measure, God's wrath could befit.

Oh by His pleasure may we thus resolve
That for His glory our choices revolve.
Walk in His Spirit, as to Him we live
Each day to His praise, by faith He did give.

Thus through and in all diversity,
Christ is our only hope and plea.
For He giveth strength to weak, feeble knees
And to His cross gives grace to flee.

Michael E. Wood
September 16, 2010