Spark - All These Things

Michael E. Wood
October 7, 2013

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 

2 Peter 1: 5-7

Since the passage from 2 Peter speaks of the process of our ongoing sanctification while we remain on earth, which is the effect of the gospel to the glory of God, I thought it would be appropriate to also include the following quote with the little spark of poetry that came to mind while reading the scripture passage.

“… we think of holiness in terms of deliverance from particular sins, but that is not its object. The object of holiness is to bring us into fellowship with God, that we may enjoy this fellowship; it is to prepare us for heaven. It must all be thought of always in terms of this fundamental relationship to God and not some feeling you are going to get. No, no; but to give you this deep knowledge, and to lead to a communion that goes on ever deepening so that eventually you shall have a vision of God: ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.’ That is the object of holiness.” *

All these things we’re called unto
Reflect the glory found in You.
So help us show the full effect
Of grace You give to make perfect
The fruit that others may partake
Of Christ who suffered for our sake
The wrath of justice that was due
To show, O God, Your mercy too.

*From An Exposition of Romans 9, page 130, D. Martyn Lloyd Jones

Forgive Me Father

Michael E. Wood
September 2013

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Psalm 51:17

While many accountability groups require confession of wrongs done toward mankind as a part of their "program", many or most are actually designed simply to make the individual feel better about themselves. And though outward sin against an individual should be confessed and appropriate restitution should be made when possible, it should likewise be understood that all sin is an infinite offense against an infinite Almighty God, to whom we shall give an account.

Thus a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, are the only sacrifices that God accepts. These can not be conjured up through the imagination of the mind but come as a free gift of the grace of God through the one sacrifice acceptable to Him. The sacrifice, He provided by sending His own Son to bear the iniquity of many, that He might redeem us from all unrighteousness.


Oh, not the guilt and shame I feel
But knowing my offense is real
Toward You, my God, and Father’s Son
That nailed You to the cross as one
Of all of Adam’s race that day
Is why I look through You and pray,
Forgive me Father, I have sinned.
In brokenness, I comprehend
The truth of what I’ve really done
And what You did that I be won,
As a captive of the war
From all my pride, to love You more!

This Wonder I See

Michael E. Wood
September 17, 2013

For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 
2 Corinthians 5:4

As children of the living God, we groan, being burdened. We groan through the process of aging. Bodies which were once vibrant, seemingly without care, are outwardly deteriorating. Minds which seemed to grasp and retain things with very little effort, struggle to be disciplined and to focus on the One who set us apart from our mother’s womb and called us by His grace to be conformed to the image of His Son, to the praise of His glory.

We groan, being burdened with the remnants of our old Adamic nature, which is continually rising up fighting against the Spirit. But thanks be to God which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, and has given us of His Spirit, continually working in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure.

And we groan, being burdened for those which are lost, both from within our earthly families and those with whom we encounter on a day to day basis.

Yes, we groan being burdened, and yet we rejoice in our Sovereign God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who will change our vile bodies to be like His glorious body and will perfect the deficiencies of our minds. He is ever present, just as He promised, and He will leave none of His behind at His return.


Where ever I am, this wonder I see,
God ever present and made known to me.
And this for His glory, His captive to be,
With God ever present and made known through me.

Each circumstance guided, controlled from above
To shape me within and without by His love.
To be like my Jesus: no shame will I see
When all that is mortal, no longer shall be.

Sing to Him a New Song

Michael E. Wood
September 30, 2013

Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. Psalm 33:1-3

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Ephesians 4:15-16

addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, Ephesians 5:19

In an earlier post we shared a link from which our dear sister in Christ, India Curry had put together a video from two concerts Celeste Chen preformed at two of the Assisted Living facilities at which we have an opportunity to minister the gospel on a regular basis.

In the link enclosed you will find the segment from the concerts which are specifically aimed at sharing three songs of which I had the privilege to write. The titles include: We Look to You, Oh LORD Teach us Your Rules, and Set Your Minds on Things Above. Celeste wrote the sheet music based on an acapella CD of the songs. And India put it all together so we could share it here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9JzfwJpYmA

You may follow the adventures of Michael & Celeste Chen at http://kenyachens.wordpress.com/

Thank you India and Celeste for sharing your gifts with the body,
To the praise of His glory!

The True Glory of God’s Face - Part 2

Michael E. Wood

September 11-12,26, 2013

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6

While contemplating passages from 2 Corinthians, the following question came to mind. What is the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ?

So this is the continuation of an attempt to answer that question with part two of the preceding poem.

Jesus is the express image
Of the Father, and His eyes
Pierce the darkness of the human
Heart, exposing all the lies
That holds captive every single one
Unless we’re made to face
Our condition by His Spirit
As a gift to Adam’s race.

Thus in fear we’re made to see
Him, in our hopeless, lost estate.
And cry out in faith, believing,
He alone, and for our sake,
Took on flesh, as man fulfilling
All the perfect law required.
And as God, the reconciling
Of the image, man had mired.

So we glory in the glory,
He alone deserves to share
With the Father, in His likeness,
As He’s interceding there
At His right hand on the throne
From whence proceeds so great a grace
That in glory we shall see Him,
The true glory of God’s face.

Let us praise Him then for mercy
With true hearts in whom He’s shown
Such resplendent light of glory
In the face of Christ to own
His own presence while we wait the day
When all will bow the knee
And then see Him in His glory,
Our King Jesus, Majesty!

The True Glory of God’s Face - Part 1

Michael E. Wood

September 11-12, 2013

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6

While contemplating passages from 2 Corinthians, the following question came to mind. What is the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ?

So this is an attempt to answer that question in a two part poem.

Now I know I cannot answer
With my small capacity,
But in part. I hope to share
A glimpse that you, His beauty see.
For this gift is so unspeakable,
No words will fully be
Comprehensible enough to tell
Of God so perfectly.

His features are the kindness
And the mercy shown to me.
In His face I see the glory
Of His sovereign majesty.
He has shown His love to thousands
Through the cross of Calvary.
And a myriad of angels
Wonder at His grace so free.

His compassion never faltered
When He hung there on the tree.
And He cried out to the Father
To forgive the likes of me.
And He suffered all the wrath
That would have been my destiny,
As He offered up His life blood
Through His death to set me free.

He is risen, demonstrating
That our Father’s satisfied.
Making godly, the ungodly,
As the Just One’s justified.
All appointed to His service
Thus, will dwell with Him on high
When we see Him in His glory,
And in Him we’re glorified.

He has given us His Spirit.
In our hearts He has outpoured,
His abiding, loving presence.
And He can not be ignored,
As we’re humbled by His holiness,
Partaking of His light,
We are filled with awe and wonder
By the power of His might.

With His mission then accomplished
We thus grow into the frame
Of the house He has established
To the glory of His name.
As each living stone is favored
To be like Him as the aim,
And we’ll praise Him as the Lamb
For us, before the world was slain.

Celeste

A sweet sister in Christ, India Curry, merged the video from the concert at Atria with the video from the concert at The Terraces into one wonderful production and has posted it on Youtube.  She did an outstanding job!   You can enjoy both concerts in one here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrmnb1ehYbY