All For Good

Michael E. Wood
July 2-4, 2011

On Tuesday, June 28th, 2011, I had begun to have back pains which continued to grow worse to the point of being in tears as I struggled to get out of the bed on Sunday morning. Dianna insisted it was time to go to the Doctor and I had to agree. Thus we headed to the ER at Mercy San Juan Medical Center. Everyone from the intake personnel, to the nurses and doctors were wonderful and to our amazement we were in and out in about two hours. There was no bone damage according to the X-rays, I was given some medication and told if it did not get better to return in a couple of days so they could recommend a physician for further care. The next four days were spent almost entirely in the bed.

Having been born again by the Spirit of God by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ Jesus on the cross, I have likewise come to understand that the things which happen to us in this life are never by accident but rather are designed by the sovereignty of God for the purpose of the furtherance of the gospel. While having my X-rays done, one of the technicians noticed the inscription on my wedding ring and asked, “What language is that?” I said, “It is Hebrew. Both my wife and I have the same inscription, and it means, ‘I am my Beloved’s and He is mine’”. I would like to have said more but I have learned to despise not the day of small things and trust that God will bring glory to Himself through the infirmity of my flesh and in the weakness of my witness for Him.

Pastor Jeremy Twombley stayed in touch via email and special prayer was offered up to our Lord on Wednesday night by our brothers and sisters at Immanuel Baptist Church. Again to our amazement when I awoke Thursday morning, the pain that I had been feeling had subsided by at least fifty percent and when Sunday came I was well enough to attend all of the services. And what a wonderful day it was! Though I was somewhat uncomfortable sitting with low levels of pain, and at the time of this writing have not completely healed, we are happy to say, “It is good to be in the house of the LORD!”

The first verse of this poem was written the day before going to the hospital, with the remaining being given the day after.

All for good You do for me
That flows forth from Thy charity.
Sweet comforts are found all in Thee,
O Christ, because of Calvary!


We thank You when afflictions come,
We’re made to know that You they’re from,
As mercies flow amidst our ills
And lifts our eyes unto the hills
From whence You come, O God our strength
And stretch us to know more the length,
The breadth, the width, the depth, the height
Of Your great love both day and night.


Because of You we persevere
Rejoicing as You draw us near
To make Your Presence very clear
That others come to know Your fear.


O Holy Spirit come revive
Your church that we may humbly strive
With power from on high by grace
Reveal the light of glory’s face.


For Jesus is our only hope,
Who gave Himself to show the scope
Of glory which transcends the fall
To praise Your Name O Lord of all!

In Him Your Glory is Shown!

Michael E. Wood

July 1, 2011

James 1:17:   Every good gift and every perfect gift cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

To the natural man with a natural eye fixed upon things of this world and to those who have a view of God in relation to the temporal enjoyments of this life this verse would be viewed in the light of the pleasures this world has to offer and seen as the direct blessing of God upon a life which would seem to be pleasing to Him by virtue of outward forms of religion and obedience thereto. So then, how does one who professes godliness but denies the power thereof handle the adversities of life such as loss of health, wealth, or any other earthly enjoyment which eventually comes upon all men?

The true grace of God gives a person an eye to see that all that our Sovereign Father does and brings into our lives are truly good gifts, yea, perfect gifts in which His goodness is displayed by that which He works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. He does not change, nor is it in Him to change; therefore we are made to delight in Him who through the abundance of mercy shown through the shed blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ hath granted us forgiveness of sins and all things by His Spirit which pertains to life and godliness unto His eternal praise.

Oh now I exclaim, and gladly proclaim

Tis pleasure to sit at Your feet

To listen with awe, and know above all

Your grace is sufficient to meet

Every command by writ of Your hand

You breathed out, as men wrote on paper,

The Gospel, Good News, for those that You choose

Through lives that on earth are but vapor.

Oh Spirit come quicken in hearts You have written

To know we are claimed through the cross,

With sin overcome by the blood of Your Son

Whose glory will never know loss.

In knowing we’re Thine, we humbly resign;

Receive all as good from Your hand;

And count all as joy of which You employ

That others in Jesus will stand

Strong in the test to prove godliness

With contentment is now our great gain.

For in You we find none other so kind

To give us Your joy in our pain.

So light our affliction and sweet the affection

You speak by the sound of Your voice

To guide and to cheer, to draw us so near

And say now again we rejoice

In You who alone, Oh Jesus enthroned

In glory to now intercede

For though we be tried, in You glorified

We’ll be as You meet every need.

Oh in us inflame more love for Your Name

Through the fires of this life that You meet

Out to all those whose faith in them grows

More pure as in You we’re complete.

Oh help us to bloom as the fragrant perfume

Of Your life in us You did impart

So sweetly to sing to You our Great King

Who gave us the love of Your heart!

In our generation our great expectation

Is that You will raise for Your glory

A remnant to shine by Your glory divine

By Your Spirit to exult in Your story.

For our happiness is only in this

That You above all will be known

Through Christ crucified and now glorified

And in Him Your glory is shown!

To Us Makes It Plain

Michael E. Wood
June 30, 2011

Having strained my back earlier in the week and finding it difficult to move around without pain, I found myself having to make arrangements for someone to fill in for me in the janitorial duties at church. With having some extra time on my hands I decided to read the Gospel Coalition blog for the day and share its content, via email, with one of the elders from our church.  In his first reply, he asked how I was feeling and in his second reply, he said that I should have some good time for reading and writing.  In between emails, the poem below was composed and I forwarded it along with my reply beginning with, "Thanks Jeremy.  I started to reply to your first email by answering "feeling older" but before I could answer, here's what He gave me between emails."

Older days and still amazed
At just how good God is,
For He confines, to know His mind,
And know that I am His.


For in the pain there is much gain
And glory to behold,
To be still and know His will,
As He to me unfolds


His light amidst earthly conflicts
As darkness flees away
To rejoice in Sovereign choice
That He has brought my way.


For as we shall behold Him well
Amidst obscurity,
We ask for pow'r in the hour
He gives for clarity.


To make Him known, as from the throne
He calls His human sheep.
By His Spirit; His voice they hear it,
And know that He will keep


All who fall and to Him call,
As Christ for us was slain,
As He from glory, reveals His story
And to us makes it plain!

The Father, Spirit, and The Son

Michael E. Wood
June 27, 2011

1st John 1:2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us-

While pondering this passage as a part of preparation for a Bible study, thoughts arose in my mind concerning the difference between “the life” and “the eternal life”. To the apostle John, along with the other apostles, the life of Jesus while on earth was openly displayed and witnessed by them. From the effectual call to follow him, to every word spoken in purity and with the power of the Holy Spirit, to every work which continually affirmed him to be the Son of God come in the flesh, the life was made manifest. In the gospel attributed to the same writer, he closes out the account therein by saying, “Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”

Though these brief words are sadly and woefully disproportionate in regards to explanation, I rejoice in the fact that our Father is pleased in our contemplations of the glories of His grace as revealed not only in the written word but by His mighty Spirit in the person of Christ Himself. For he was eternally with the Father before all creation, came to earth in the form of a man, lived the life of obedience to the Father’s will that we could not live, even unto death, the death of the cross. He took upon Himself our sin, shedding his blood and offering himself up as the only sacrifice sufficient to deliver us from the wrath to come. He was buried for our offences and raised again for our justification. Overcoming sin, death, and hell on behalf of all appointed by the Father who would put their trust in Him, he ascended to the right hand of the Father, and lives to make intercession for us. He that has the Son has life; and he that has not the Son has not life, for He is life eternal.

By grace through faith, which is the gift of God we are likewise made partakers of His life and it is this same Jesus of whom and by whom we are made witnesses not only of his life while here on earth but forever unto His glory and eternal praise.

Arrested by His loving voice,
Called of God by Sovereign choice
By faith made now to see and hear
Like those who by Him knew God’s fear,
To witness water turned to wine
And raised the sick by simple line,
Spoken with authority,
That to God all the glory be.


Walked on water, calmed the storm,
Each day the works of God perform,
As grace and truth poured from the lips
Of Christ the One who still equips
The members of His body each,
That we be used and others reach
As vessels, Holy Spirit filled,
Rejoicing as the Father willed
Perfections spoken by the law
From Sinai fulfilled them all
That perfect in obedience
Jesus would in every sense
Become as man the sacrifice,
Pay in full the awful price,
As all our sins are blotted out
To join as one the festal shout,


Eternal life, eternal praise
Is now our theme eternal days
Till all shall culminate in One,
The Father, Spirit, and The Son!

Christ-Likeness Fashioned

Michael E. Wood
June 23, 2011

Psalm 79:9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Thy Name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for Thy Name’s sake.


There are dangers in focusing on ourselves as individuals concerning change in our lives. If our desire is stimulated by either feeling better about ourselves or outwardly looking better to others, our motivation is far from pressing toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. When God has done a work of grace in our hearts through the merit of Christ alone, the outward manifestations may not be very apparent at all depending on the former character of the individual. In some cases an outwardly radical change may prove to be a work of common grace rather than that of particular redemptive grace, but will surely become manifest at the Judgment seat of God if not before then..

From God’s perspective, as He speaks and manifests His will by the Word of His grace, His glory is the primary purpose of our salvation, for His glory is worth more than the souls of all men. Thus our definitive sanctification both individually and as His body is a part of the covenant of grace established between God the Father and God the Son before all creation, and our progressive sanctification manifests the work of His Spirit evidenced first by change within that no one else on earth may be privy to by immediate observation, and yet the heart rejoices in God our Savior through our Lord Jesus Christ and rejoices in the obedience of Christ alone as it’s full satisfaction. For of Him and through Him, and to Him are things; to Whom belongs glory and honor and power, and blessing both now and forevermore. Amen

Our sanctification issues not
By the works from our own hands,
But only from a heart made new
In Christ made strong and stands
Against the torrents of the passions
Springing from sinful lusts,
Enabled by the Spirit’s power
To fulfill the Almighty musts
That come from God alone
As a Father Who surely will fulfill
All He has promised showing the glory
Of Christ who did all of His will.


So help us Dear Father Who now in this life
You’ve called by Your great Sovereign choice,
And justified freely as only in Jesus
We’re made to hear truth in the voice
Of Him that from heaven now speaketh to all
Removing the things that are shaken
Till we stand on the mount of Your infinite love
And shine like the light of a beacon.


We praise You for grace by which You exalt
Yourself to show mercy to us
And cause us to know the way in to walk
As You gave us The Song of Your chorus.


So if now you’re made to see and believe;
God’s glory your one greatest passion,
His grace you will find sufficient through time
As your being is Christ-likeness fashioned.

Beyond All Mortal Means

Michael E. Wood
June 22, 2011


Romans 5:15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through the one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.


God’s grace is super-abounding
And to it there is no end.
This attribute is His alone.
The free gift He did send,
By one man Jesus Christ,
Grace hath abounded unto many,
Though undeserved by mortal man,
Not even one; not any!


Much more than the forgiveness
Of which we were in need
And more than all the cleansing
Of every thought and word, and deed.
More than restoration where
In Adam we had fell,
And more than just a way to keep
Us from a burning hell.


Much higher our position now
Than before in Adam’s innocence,
For in Christ Jesus we have all
He purchased as a recompense.
And though in awe we do not yet
Completely understand,
His Word declares and makes us know
All things are in His hand.


Almighty Spirit come and help
Us always to draw nigh
And rejoice in hope of this
Great truth You do apply,
That the glory of our God
And Father will be seen
In all those who do rejoice
Beyond all mortal means.

Your Infinite Glory

Michael E. Wood
June 18, 2011

John 17:10 All mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.

Once we are born again, we begin to understand and grow in the purpose for which we were first created and secondly regenerated by the Spirit of the Living God through the merit of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Hence, to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!

Our sanctification is the fruit and the result of the sanctification and satisfaction of Christ Himself.

How precious is our God and Savior as He leads His dear children along, often in ways we are not aware of until after the fact. Having completed reading a message by Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones concerning our Covenant making and Covenant keeping God, I had viewed the time that was yet available to do a little reading and read a sermon by Robert Murray McCheyne, entitled, I The LORD Have Called Thee in Righteousness The following are excerpts from that sermon:

Isa. 42:6-8 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

In this passage we have some of the most wonderful words that ever were uttered in the world. It is not a man speaking to a man. It is not even God speaking to a man. It is God speaking to his own Son. Oh, who would not listen? It is as if we were secretly admitted into the counsel of God, as if we stood behind the curtains of his dwelling-place, or were hidden in the clefts of the rock, and overheard the words of the eternal Father to the eternal Son.

Learn the greatness of your sins. Remember Christ had no sins of his own. No wrath was due himself; all that wrath he bore was ours. You that are believers, you have but a small sense of the greatness of your sins. Oh! Look here; see God holding the hand of his Son, while he wades through the sea of wrath! Oh! Surely a look at a suffering Christ should keep you in the dust for ever. You must never open your mouth any more. And, oh! Will you not love him who so loved you, who lay down under these surges and billows of God’s wrath for you?

Your infinite glory Oh help us express
By the word and the life of all true holiness.
For that which is Yours and not shared with another
Can only be seen in our great Elder Brother;
You took by the hand and You led through the sea
Of Your infinite wrath which would have consumed me.

And my soul melts with tears when I think of Your love
That You lavished on us by Your Son from above.
For He in our place and New Covenant Head,
Endured to the end on the cross in our stead.

Oh stir our affections anew in the light
Of Jesus in whom is Your glorious delight,
Forsaking all things of no profit below
That he for Your glory some others will know.

Oh Spirit of God please do come and effect
The word of Your grace through our lives to project
The infinite value of Christ and the call
Of God only wise, Who is LORD overall.

We thank You Oh Father for great Sovereign kisses
You give with each day that none of Yours misses.
For as You take pleasure and to us display
The work of Your hands that we too might convey,
The faith that You caused us to see and to feel
That others might come to know Jesus is real.

We praise You for mercy, though we be but gentiles,
As You look through Christ Jesus and show us Your smiles.