Gods Glory Thus We Shall Proclaim!

Michael E. Wood

August 13, 2012

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?  And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”  But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”  So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.  Romans 10:14-17

"'If you can stay out of the ministry, stay out.' You should only be in the ministry when you cannot stay out of it; when you can no longer refuse; when you have to give in as it were, and you stop resisting. That is the call; that is the sending. It becomes inevitable. You cannot do anything else."   Martyn Lloyd-Jones commenting on a quote by C.H.Spurgeon

Pastor Robert Briggs preached a devotional message on Wednesday, August 8, 2012, from Romans 10:14-17 which was used to cause me to investigate more thoroughly the meaning of the text.  Thus, while spending several hours in research, the following words came to mind.

Are you called by men or sent

By God’s choosing and are leant

As a gift through God’s own Son?

A gospel herald of the One,

Who in time now speaks to men

To show He is Yeah and Amen!

Discernment Christ will give to fill

The knowledge of His Father’s will

To all appointed and made plain

That it is He that doth ordain

To open up by Sovereign choice

The scriptures that men hear His voice.

The Holy Spirit shall confirm

Though we as men be but a worm;

The message which before was sealed,

The power of the cross revealed,

To know and love Him as He is

To all He has alone made His.

Stand firm then in the faith Oh men

Who know Him as He’s always been

The same today and yesterday,

Forever Light, and Life; The Way;

The Truth embodied for one aim:

God’s glory, thus we shall proclaim!

To Be Like Jesus (New Song)

Michael E. Wood

August 7-8, 2012

I am often amazed how God uses men both from the present and from the past to stir my heart afresh in praise to Him. During the early part of my day while reading “Studies in The Sermon on the Mount”, by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones I came across the following statement, “’The day will declare it’, says Paul, as if to say: It is all right. I am going on with my ministry, I am doing everything with my eye on that day; people may criticize and say this or that about me, but I shall not allow that to worry me. I have delivered myself and my whole eternal future into the hand of the Lord my Judge, and the day of His judgment is going to make everything manifest.”

As we are thus exhorted to examine ourselves by His written Word in the light of that coming day, may He who is worthy of all praise continually move within our hearts by His Spirit and cause us to do all that we do to the glory of God.

Oh what a story! The God of glory,

Reveals Himself now through sacred page

As by His Spirit the myst’rys given

To know and love Him through every age.

For by His pleasure He had determined

The darkness would not the Lamb conceal.

To all appointed by His Anointed

His presence in us He has revealed.

Eternal purpose is that which led Him;

The One true Savior of all mankind

And by His grace we have now been given

God’s gift so perfect to know His mind;

To be like Jesus who once was riven

From God the Father when crucified

And by His blood now we are forgiven

And live to see Him when glorified.

And so we walk now with this assurance

Though groaning oft with remaining sin.

We shall put off all, while looking to Him

Who suffered for us, that Him we win.

Oh Hallelujah, to You our Savior;

To whom all glory and praise shall be!

The greatest pleasure in every measure,

You give to praise Thee eternally!

So when that day comes, when with the angels

We shall sing strains of immortal praise.

We’ll worship You then in spotless garments

And glory in You by whom we’re raised!

Oh come Lord Jesus, we as Your bride say

And by Your Spirit on You we call.

We long to worship with all creation

And bow before You, The Lord of all!

The Battle We Fight Daily

Michael E. Wood

August 1, 2012

Upon awakening early Wednesday morning, knowing what my schedule would be like for the day, and not feeling as though I was as well equipped as I would like to be, the following words came to mind.

Oh the joy that we possess now,

Though we feel our sinful strains

And we war by faith to honor

Him who is our King who reigns.

Now the battle we fight daily

Looking to our Sacred Head

For we know that He is living

And we reckon we are dead

To sin which before had bound us

And the law we could not keep

But the power of Gods Spirit

Has now made us human sheep

Of the fold which hears our Master

As He speaks and leads us out

By still waters and green pastures

To lie down in till the shout

Of final vict’ry is then given

To all those who in His train

Rise as those who more than conquer

And with Jesus ever reign!

Till All Will be Renewed

Michael E. Wood

July 29, 2012

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:1-4

While contemplating the third petition of what is known as “The Lords Prayer”; “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”, it seemed only reasonable to focus on the things which are revealed to us by the Holy Spirit through the scriptures concerning those things which we will not only find in heaven but also those things which shall be done away.

Though death, mourning, crying and pain are realities that face each of us as children of God, we are likewise privileged to rest in the assurance of those realities that are found in Christ alone. Grace is given as each day requires and the hope of the glory of God through all eternity.

Now within this veil of tears

We walk with joy in strides

While comforts come that we may know

That Christ with us abides

And though we see not yet all things

To Him alone subdued,

We see Him now by grace through faith

Till all will be renewed.

Oh glory in the glory

That one day shall be revealed

When Christ will then display all those

Who in Him were concealed.

For by His blood He purchased

All before that were decreed

By God the Father through the Son;

The woman’s promised seed.

Then all will see Him as He is

As on the left and right

His glory will be fully shown

As Judge in awesome might!

His holiness and justice on

All those who are condemned.

His mercy and His grace on those

He saved though they had sinned.

For mercy met with justice

On the cross at Calvary.

God’s wrath and love then intermixed

To set the captives free

To glorify the splendor of

The precious Holy Name

Of God the Father and the Son

Forevermore the same!

9-11 Remembered

Michael E. Wood

September 11, 2012

"Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Alan Jackson. Written in the wake of the September 11 attacks, it was introduced at the Country Music Association's annual awards show on November 7, 2001.

Yes, I remember where I was that day and the tears that came to my eyes when hearing the above song on numerous occasions. A huge problem that looms in the midst of tragedies is our tendency to view them with the skewed blindness of our own interests and pursuits. Some times the things that occur cause us as humans to stop in our tracks and make spurious decisions with nothing but our own welfare in mind. Such can be said for many professions of faith in Christ

A “decision” can be made with thoughts only of deliverance from the pain that we feel in the moment, without any inclination of true repentance from sin or faith toward God in Christ.

On the other hand, God can take the tragedies of our life to reveal the fact that it is our sins that has brought about the effect not only of the circumstances of our life but our guilt and offence toward His righteous, Holy demands. His demands are representative of His character, His position as Sovereign LORD over all things, and the God to whom all glory belongs.

Thus in the midst of our personal tragedies, He can choose to crush us under the weight of our guilt to see the condemnation we justly deserve. In the place of feeling we are without hope, He can then enable us to see by faith through the power of His Spirit that Christ, who had no sin of His own, has borne our sin. He exhausted the wrath of God in our place, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. This brings about a transformation, whereby we are made complete in Christ, fully justified before God as our Father.

Our Father sees the end from the beginning, which is the display of His own glory; and for that purpose continually, renews us to faith and repentance not to be repented of.  He calls us to responsibility before Him. In love, He continually renews and enables us to be responsible before Him.

Having risen about 4:00 am this morning, I found myself struggling to be alert enough to focus on the things God was pleased to reveal to me through His Word and in the continuation of reading through “The Christian in Complete Armour” by William Gurnall, I had decided it might be profitable to lie back down and get a short nap before continuing the day in preparation for the events of the rest of the week. As I lay there meditating on the things of which I read and committing those things to the Lord in prayer the words of the first stanza of the following poem came to mind. Thinking that would be the end for the moment, I wrote down the time and then the date, which was 8:26am, 9-11-12. That in turn spawned the remainder of the poem, and when I looked at the time of which it was completed it just happened to be 9:11 am.

I must confess that my pursuit of You in what I think

Is not what it yet ought to be and thankful that You wink

At ignorance that’s past and calls to faith; repentance new,

That You may be my All and All, and You alone pursue!

I think upon that day that my own towers were torn down

In which my elevated pride was cast unto the ground.

Amidst the rubble, You sprang in and cast Your Own pure Light

To see the glory of my Savior, hanging in Your sight

Upon the cross with all my sin, in love He bore that day,

Consumed Your wrath, that righteousness in me, He might display.

And as His perfect patience brings again my soul to tears,

I thank You for Your goodness and Your mercy o’er the years,

Of which I see now follows as the Shepherd of my soul

Leads me by still waters, which refresh and make me whole.

So as we think on tragedy, let us likewise remember

That we were enemies of God, Who gave us sweet surrender

By the One True Sacrifice to make us all His Own,

By His Spirit through the blood of Christ who did atone!

Home Going of Beryl Barkman

Michael E. Wood

August 30, 2012

While words seem to be such a small thing to give expression to the desire to encourage and comfort, the following words came to mind concerning the Home Going of Beryl Barkman; the father of my friend and former Pastor, Gregory N. Barkman.

Our loss is felt for certain.

A jewel from the crown,

Of Christ our King is home with Him,

With weapons now laid down,

Of warfare well accomplished

Through many a faithful year,

Whose works shall follow in the train

Of Him we hold so dear.

And though we sorrow briefly,

Tis not without this hope,

That God Himself will manifest

The glory of the scope

Of Christ whose perfect presence

Is the glory and reward

Of all who look to Him by faith

Through Calvary, adored!

What joy so inexpressible

Must fill now Beryl’s gaze,

With sinless satisfaction of

The One to whom all praise

Fills the perfect splendor of

That Glorious Promise Land,

While awaiting coronation of

Our King, by Whom we stand.

Holy Spirit fill with comfort

While we too await the time

That the glory of our Savior’s

Resurrection so sublime

Will be seen in all its fullness

As all sorrow, sin, and pain

Shall give way to our Almighty God

Whose cross has brought our gain!

Article below published in TheTimesNews.com from September 1 to September 2, 2012

Beryl V. Barkman, age 95, of 2045 Shirley Dr., Burlington, went home to be with the Lord on Thursday, August 30, 2012 at UNC Memorial Hospital, Chapel Hill.

A native of LaMoille, Illinois, he was the son of the late Lester and Celia Mae Splain Barkman and husband for 69 and a half years of Mary Frances Norris Barkman who survives.

Beryl, born on an Illinois farm in 1917, has found his way from a one room schoolhouse to heavenly mansions. On his path home, his trail lead to a degree from Monmouth College, Illinois, through heroic and decorated service during WW II in the US Navy as the gunnery officer on a destroyer, to an MBA from the University of Chicago, on to two graduate degrees from Bob Jones University and then a PhD from the University of South Carolina. Along the way, both in the United States and abroad, he taught college, university, Bible Institute and Sunday School classes too numerous to list.

He finally retired at the age of 85 as Associate Professor of Accounting and Finance from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. Finding the pace of life a little dull upon such retirement, he filled his remaining days as a member, deacon, usher and Sunday School teacher at Beacon Baptist Church, delivering Meals on Wheels in Burlington and tending to his home and yard.

Words cannot express the deep sorrow of his wife and family in losing him from this life. Nevertheless, they rejoice in the certain knowledge that to be with Christ is far better while remembering him as he was here, echoing the words of the English poet, William Wordsworth: "That best portion of a good man's life, His little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love."

Survivors include his wife, Mary Frances Norris Barkman of the home; sons, Gregory Norris Barkman and wife Marti of Hawfields, NC and Jonathan David Barkman of Easley, SC; daughter, Nancy Sue Rights and husband Michael of Brewster, NY; grandchildren, Jordana B. Duncan and husband Gabriel, Cherith B. Newton and husband Eric, Bethany B. Allgrove and husband Warren, Jessica B. Yelverton and husband Joel, David Barkman, Andrew Barkman and Elizabeth Rights; and 4 great grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 2:30 pm on Tuesday, September 4, 2012, at Beacon Baptist Church with Rev. Greg Barkman and Rev. Gerald Counts officiating. Interment will follow in Alamance

Memorial Park.

Memorials may be made to Alamance Rescue Mission; 1519 N. Mebane St., Burlington, NC 27217.

Display His Glory!

Michael E. Wood

July 24, 2012

Paul Tripp wrote an excellent article entitled, “4 Debilitating Fears-Four fears tempt every pastor”, which can be found on the Gospel Coalition blog, dated July 22, 2012.

After reading the article the following came to mind.

Does fear of man now shape your mind?

Or humble you to be refined,

To know the grace of all that rest

In Christ alone who stood the test,

That all the glory would go to

Our God and Father holding you.

For fear of man doth bring a snare,

Entrapping all with worldly care

Who have not learned on bended knees,

Tis God alone whom we should please!

Rejoice then if with broken heart

You cry to Him who shall impart

The grace for every need we ask

That He be seen in every task

Of which we’re called in Him to share

That others will then praise Him there,

Where doubts and fears shall fly away

As He in us will then display
His glory!