Through the Cross, our lips He's kissed

As I was in the midst of reading Psalm 132, and came to verses 13-18: "For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place: "This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread. Her priests I will clothe with salvation, and her saints will shout for joy. There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed. His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on him his crown will shine." my mind thought of the sweetness of which I have been made to partake in Christ as a member of the local body of Christ here in North Carolina which is now known by the earthly name of Beacon Baptist Church.

There are no words to express the privilege that has been afforded me, but as I also thought of how quickly the time seems to have gone by, my eyes filled with tears of sorrow intermixed with joy, as I began to write, and happily was led to Zephaniah 3:17, of which we hear the voice of His Word speak to our hearts; "The LORD is in your midst, a Mighty One to save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with singing.", and thus I began to write;

How short the time seems we have had
By which our Lord has made us glad,
As He has tightened up the strings
Of our heart chords, as He now sings--

Rejoicing o'er His bride with joy
That we might all, of Him enjoy
His mighty presence in our midst
As through the cross, our lips He's kissed.

Oh, how sweet, is His rest in love
As He prepares our place above.
And though for now we're afflicted and poor,
We feast on all He holds in store.

For He Who makes our speech so pure,
That we may call on Him secure,
And serve Him with our hearts ablaze,
As we lie down and on Him we graze.

Sing aloud, O Zion's daughter
And worship Him with all we offer!
For He has changed our shame to praise!
Redeemed for Himself, now all our days.

Before our eyes He will restore
Our fortunes by our King, we adore.
Oh, so much more than I can tell,
When we at last in glory dwell!

Michael E. Wood
May 8, 2010

I am also so very thankful for the platform that I was given at Cracker Barrel to sing His praise and rejoice in Him with many of those He has chosen and called to Himself though not members of Beacon, I trust to see in heaven one day, to the praise of the glory of God's amazing, overwhelming grace. Amen!

All who seek You will Rejoice!

While contemplating Psalm 40, I came to verse 5 which says, "You have multiplied, O LORD my God, Your wondrous deeds and Your thoughts toward us; none can compare with You! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told" and the following words came to mind;

Your wondrous deeds and thoughts toward us
Are more than can be told,
And ears you have now dug for me*,
Your myst'ry to unfold.

For You take not delight in things
Where we once thought to stand,
For all we have to offer You,
Comes freely from Your hand. (1st Chron.29:13)

In mercy You inclined to me
And heard my feeble cry.
You drew me from the miry pit
And left me not to die.

You set my feet upon The Rock
And make my steps secure.
My mouth You put a new song in.
A song of praise so sure.

As many will now see and fear
And put their trust in You.
For Christ Is All--our Song of praise,
In which You chose to prove,

The glory of Your steadfast love,
And all Your faithfulness,
And for the glory of Your Name,
Christ Is our Righteousness!

All who seek You will rejoice--
Love You, Oh, our Salvation!
For Great Are You, O LORD our God,
And great Your congregation.

Michael E. Wood
May 7, 2010

(*ESV Hebrew for; you have given me an open ear)

Then Jesus Saved Me

As I was given the grace to awake this morning and to begin the day with reading Titus, and the beginning of 1st Timothy 1:12-17 which reads, "I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." I had the thought of reading through, but was captivated by the thoughts given to the apostle Paul, and by the same grace given to Him by the Spirit of the Living God, I saw myself and my sin, and more importantly I saw my Jesus, Who Is my Strength and has put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God, for His Own glory.

My actions once in unbelief,
In ignorance I brought Him grief.
My insolence opposed Him then
Until He saved me from my sin.

(Chorus)
For God in mercy, He has come.
O'erflowed my heart by grace and won.
With faith and love in Christ I see,
And to Him all the glory be!

The vilest hypocrite I know--
Professing faith that could not grow
And all my life was to my shame;
Then Jesus saved me by His Name.

(Chorus)

What tender mercy I receive
As faithful He appointed me
Unto His service I will live
And to Him all the glory give.

(Chorus)

What patience Christ now shows in me
That others in Him will believe
And all eternity we'll sing
To Jesus Christ our Lord and King.

(Chorus)

Michael E. Wood
May 4, 2010 11:06 am

Be Not Wise in Your Own Eyes

As I was directed by the Sovereignty of God to taste again for the first time of the treasures found in Proverbs 3:7-12 which reads, "Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. t will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine. My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights", I cannot but help to be thankful for all the members of the body of Christ that He has used and continues to use to build me up in the faith, of which I am quite certain none of us will truly know the full extent until we see Christ in glory. But while reading this passage my mind was directed to a message preached by Thad Boyd on the subject of "Jail House Religion"; a song that was sung by the teens at Beacon Baptist Church; Tim Keller's post from April 28, 2010 on "Proverbs, Community, and the Culture"; and, messages preached from the past by Gregory N. Barkman on the subject of "Counting others more significant than yourselves", and the following words came to mind:

Be not wise in thine own eyes,
Fear the LORD and turn from lies.
For His Truth will set you free
And your healing it will be

Refreshment to your flesh and bones
Building up the others stones,
As you find in Christ your wealth,
He knits His body into health.

What may seem like trash to you,
May be a treasure He doth hue
Into a diamond sparkling bright,
Reflect the glory of His Light!

Oh, Father please remove the scales
Upon our eyes which now prevails
As we confess our ugly pride
By which Your glory is denied.

Oh, help us think of others better
And hold them not unto the letter
Of the laws of which we set
Conformed not to Your image yet.

Oh, help us see in other cultures,
Consuming not like filthy vultures,
Those for whom Christ paid the price,
For He is all our Sacrifice.

Remove from us our wickedness
And all of our self righteousness.
Renew our minds to walk within
The steps of those, who've entered in

The presence of Your Perfect Love,
Delighting in our Christ above,
As they now witness to our heart
And bid us from our sin depart.

For only in our brokenness
We know the joy of holiness.
Rejoice our hearts to fear Your Name,
As only Christ we shall proclaim!

For He Is All our Hope and Fear,
As by His blood we now draw near.
Oh, Father help us count the cost
For Jesus came to seek the lost.

As once we were apart from You
And blinded to our sentence due,
But Christ for all Your glory came,
Oh bless His Precious Holy Name. Amen

Michael E. Wood
May 3, 2010

Can You Hear the Distant Sound (Part Two)

After reflecting and writing the previous poem/song, these words came to mind and are a continuation of the pondering and mediation from my time with the Lord on the morning of May 2, 2010:

Though eye has not seen; nor ear ever heard,
God reveals to His own by His Spirit and Word.
Though bodies give way, and our thoughts may take wings,
We're blessed by our God with all spiritual things.


Though words express not, but only in parts,
Nor yet God reveals to mere human hearts,
But kept now in store for those who adore,
And love Him, and Jesus we'll meet on that shore.



Michael E. Wood
May 2, 2010

Can You Hear the Distant Sound? (Part One)

As I was awakened this glorious Lord's day before 6:00a.m. with my head still groggy from sleep, the words of a song by "Mercy Me" came to mind, "And all creation sing with me now". This conjoined with the sounds of praise sung by various birds of the morning here in North Carolina, along with the sounds of the frogs chirping in the background as I spoke with my beloved Dianna last night, nearly three thousand miles away in our new temporal place of abode, and closing with the passage found in Revelation 22:12-21, brought the following words to mind;

Oh, can you hear that distant sound
With the angels gathered round
Bending now before the throne
Expressing all the glory shown?

Of the Father, and the Son,
And Holy Spirit, three in One!

All of grace and mercy hear it
Empowered by God's Word and Spirit.
The blood of Christ has bought us,
Redemption, Oh so glorious!

Praise the Father, and the Son,
The Holy Spirit, three in One!

By faith we walk in weakness now
But then in power we shall bow.
A mighty voice we'll lift as one,
All praise to Christ, by Him we come.

To glorify the Father, Son,
And Holy Spirit, three in One!

Though all creation speaks of this,
And groan we now, but then all bliss.
We walk in love and faithfulness,
Until as one our Saviour kiss.

God's glory will be all the sum,
The Spirit and the Bride say, come!

Michael E. Wood
May 2, 2010 - (Part One)

"Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."

The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.

Rev 22:12-21

What's in it for me?

While contemplating questions I was being asked concerning others which preach a gospel which is not "The Gospel" at all and looking to God through His Word in 2nd Peter chapter 2 and coming to verses 17 and 18 which tells us, "These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. For speaking load boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh", the following words came to mind;

"What's in it for me?" is what they did ask.
Though not with words--I was given the task,
To look to God's Word to find what He says;
The hope of the gospel to raise from the dead,

Those who are lured by their sensual passions,
Caught up in the darkness of vanities fashions.
For what now appeals to their self-centered ways,
Has blinded their minds to the Ancient of Days.

So if you are reading now, Do you not know
Condemnation and destruction reserved long ago,
Is determined for those whose hearts trained in greed;
Will keep you from seeing what you truly need;

Repentance and faith, as you look to the Son,
The Gift of God's glory--The Only Just One!
For all we have sinned and God's glory defame,
And apart from His grace we would die in our shame!

Only the cross of my Jesus can give you,
Forgiveness and grace, God's mercy will grant few.
Though many are called, they go on in the broad way,
And living in error, they will find themselves cast-away,

From the Presence of Him, Who has shown forth His love,
By sending Christ Jesus; our Lord from above.
So now I will ask you this one final question,
"Will you turn from your sin, look to Christ for direction?"

For all that He Is and all that He's Done
Will only be true for those who humbly come
To the end of themselves, to show forth God's glory,
And enter through Jesus, His Kingdom with joy!

Michael E. Wood
May 1, 2010 7:40 am