To Your Praise

Michael E. Wood

April 21, 2017

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. 
  Is. 55: 6-11

For those of us whom God has given the capacity to both read and comprehend His Word to some degree, we can easily find ourselves reading passages repeatedly with a disciplinary mindset.  This is not bad but if we are not careful we can very well find that in the habit of reading we are doing just that, reading out of habit rather than seeking to know Him and desiring to see His face in the reading.  While our heavenly Father is pleased to see, us reading His infinite Word, and has promised it will not return void but will accomplish that for which He has sent it, the benefits which we receive through reading are greatly increased as we are empowered by His Spirit to hear His voice through the scriptures and enabled to do what He says to the praise of His glory.

Words of glory, words of grace

Help me through them seek Your face.

Not mere duty but with glee

Brighten more my eyes to see

The wonders now of who You are

My Jesus, My bright Morning Star.

In seeing more, Oh, make me then

Renewed in mind so that within

The change will wholly demonstrate

You save for Your own glory’s sake.

So now in time and end of days

Oh, may my life be to Your praise.

Taste of Heaven

Michael E. Wood
April 8, 2017

And they ate and drank before the LORD on that day with great gladness.
I Chronicles 29:22

While simply reading several portions of scripture as my normal portion for the day, the thoughts of this poem came to mind. I am fairly certain lingering thoughts from the preaching of Pastor Mark Webb at Beacon Baptist Church for the annual Spring Bible Conference had an impact on the resultant lines and they have a special place in being written as the first poem in our new place of abode in Burlington, N.C.  The preceding text of scripture is aptly appropriate and was read after the poem was written. How Great is our God, to confirm us as we go. To Whom is all the praise.

Oh taste of heaven in my heart
Which You by grace through Christ impart,
And all the glory goes to Thee,
Oh, Father through that matchless tree.
Though simple now these lines profess
The gift of Thine own holiness
Which by Your Spirit, You conform
Each child of Thine to be the norm,
To be like Christ in every thought,
Transformed to live as we are brought
Into Thy kingdom of the light
To show Thy glorious beauty bright.

While reading through Thy Holy Word
These thoughts of joy did thus occur.
Oh, take from us the frothiness
And fill with solid comforts bliss,
That we may honor as we stand
For truth, protected by Thy hand.
And help us see the open doors
By which Your Spirit thus out-pours
The Gospel to a dying land
Till all of Yours before You stand!

His Grace is Sufficient for me (Chorus)

Michael E. Wood
March 14, 2017

Sometimes simplicity is the best translator of eternal truth and this little chorus which came to mid is proof .

His grace is sufficient for me today.
His grace is sufficient for me.
Christ hath redeemed me from sin and shame.
His grace is sufficient for me.

The Providential Hand of God

Michael E. Wood

March 13, 2017

While God has shown Himself faithful to do abundantly above all Dianna and I could ask or think, He has likewise revealed wisdom in withholding things in the past to provide for things both in the present and for the future in relation to the temporal things that we have need of.  How much more are we enabled by His Spirit to trust Him for those things we need to be consistent in proclaiming His greatness both in the present and to future generations.

The providential hand of God by all who see is seen,

The glory of His majesty, and on Him wholly lean.

Tis seen by those who do not know and do not understand

His glory is the reason He controls with His own hand

The movements of His people for the gospel to be known

Both in and through and to all those whom Christ has made His own.

Oh, that we might with humble hearts and firm affections go

Where e’er He leads from day to day as soldiers made to grow

In strength to strengthen others for the battles yet to fight

That Christ be magnified to show the power of His might.

For of Him, through Him, to Him may the glory ever be

Expressed through songs of praise to God for all eternity.

All Creation Points to Jesus (New Song)

Michael E. Wood

December 25, 2016

  Having posted the Christmas poem “To Jesus”, Dianna decided to share it with the ladies Bible study group she has been involved with.  One of the women liked it so much she said, “You ought to put that to music”.  Upon hearing that, the music to “What Child is This” almost immediately came to mind and I began to sing it to Dianna. The music was a little bit of a stretch for my voice but she liked it so much I decided to work on it and sing it in the various assisted living facilities during the week.

  A funny thing happened in the “Life Guidance” (Alzheimer/Dementia unit) Center at Atria El Camino Gardens. I read the introductory remarks and prepared to sing when suddenly I realized I couldn’t remember the music.  How appropriate is that?  So, after standing there for a moment with a surprised and blank look on my face, the LORD brought the music to “Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken” to mind and I began to sing. Amazingly the flow of the music fit perfectly to the music and was a far better fit for my voice.

  To top it off, after singing it a couple of times at different facilities I found I was having to double up on one of the phrases to work with the music. On Christmas morning while thinking these things over, the last two lines came to mind and thus we have the finished product.

All creation points to Jesus; Son of God and son of man.

Even Adam in his forming was a type to show God’s plan.

Now the angel’s proclamation clearly seen by all who see

Glory in the incarnation of the Christ who set us free.

For His Name’s sake, God did send us such a Savior, humbly born,

Living life that we have failed to, cursed, rejected, bearing scorn.

Yet He stumbled not by seeing joy beyond that rugged cross,

Offering Himself completely to redeem us from our loss.

Now in heaven, how amazing and in hearts of all of those

Who are joined as one abiding in the knowledge, He arose!

Oh, to grace, how great a debtor, mercies fruit both you and I

If we’ve humbly bowed before Him, Jesus Christ, who reigns on high.

For the glory of the Father is more worth than all of men

And the hearts of all who love Him shout His praise who has no end!

In His Likeness, all redeemed will see Him as He truly is

And forever marvel in His Grace who made us for Him, His.

To Jesus (a Christmas Poem)

Michael E. Wood

December 19, 2016

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  Philippians 2:5-8

Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. Romans 5:14

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Luke 2:13-14

What do you think of when you think of Christmas? Going into debt, to buy things that may not be appreciated by those who receive them? Are you focused on the giving and receiving of gifts? Are you in angst about dinner parties or family gatherings? Do you think it’s all about the children? Or do you really think of Him, who emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men?

When we think of Jesus in any fashion, whether it be His preexistence as God the Son or His incarnation as the son of man; fully God and fully man, we should be humbled by the very thought of Him who gave himself for our sins. In our contemplation's of Him we should be changed from glory to glory. Obviously, this can only happen if we have been born again. Through our union with Him by the power the Holy Spirit and the instruction of His revealed will through the Word of God we are given the understanding of this unspeakable gift we have been given. For from Him and through Him, and for Him are all things, to Whom be all the glory both now and forevermore.

All creation points to Jesus; Son of God and son of man.

Even Adam in his forming was a type to show God’s plan.

Now the angel’s proclamation clearly seen by all who see

Glory in the incarnation of the Christ who set us free.

For His Name’s sake, God did send us such a Savior, humbly born,

Living life that we have failed to, cursed, rejected, bearing scorn.

Yet He stumbled not by seeing joy beyond that rugged cross,

Offering Himself completely to redeem us from our loss.

Now in heaven, how amazing and in hearts of all of those

Who are joined as one abiding in the knowledge, He arose!

Oh, to grace, how great a debtor, mercies fruit both you and I

If we’ve humbly bowed before Him, Jesus Christ, who reigns on high.

For the glory of the Father is more worth than all of men

And the hearts of all who love Him shout His praise who has no end!

The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.

Dianna Wood
December 18, 2016

Sometimes God makes his presence and power known in our lives in ways that are undeniable!  This is one of those times.  The story begins in North Carolina before Michael and I were married.

Placed near Michael's computer in North Carolina was a copy of a short poem that had been written by Bob La Tour, one of the Pastors from Beacon Baptist church--the church that Michael attended before he and I ever met.  When I flew to North Carolina in May 2010 to marry Michael, one of the wedding gifts we received was from Pastor La Tour.  It was a beautifully framed copy of that very poem.  We cherished that gift and hung it in our apartment upon arriving in California after our road-trip honeymoon from North Carolina.

Over the past six years, Michael has provided individuals in the facilities where he ministers with copies of the "Impact"--Pastor La Tour's weekly one-page devotionals.  Although they have never met Pastor La Tour in person, many of them feel as though they know him and look forward each week to their copy of his devotional.

In April of 2014, the lease on our apartment would be ending.  My mother was living in a senior mobile home park and had recently experienced several health related issues which left her temporarily in need of family assistance.  Rather than move her closer to us, we decided to not renew our lease at the apartment and purchase a small single-wide mobile home just a few streets over from mom in the same mobile home park.  Over the past two and a half years, mom has realized that in order to stay in her little mobile home, she would have to make modifications to accommodate her physical limitations and those modifications would be costly.  Her home had no room to accommodate live-in assistance.  She also realized that if she could not safely stay in her home alone she would eventually loose her home and end up in an assisted living facility.  That was not something that she desired and after spending just 3 days with her in one of those facilities after her last fall, it was certainly not something I would want for her, either.

With monthly lot rental fees going up each year and no rent control in place, mom was paying almost $700 a month to rent the dirt her little house sat upon and we were also paying almost $700 a month to live in our little mobile home just so that we would be in close proximity to mom as she needed more assistance with normal daily activities.  Earlier in the year, we discussed finding a home here with an in-law quarters so that she could live with us as long as possible and avoid the high cost of modifying her little mobile home and facing the increases in lot space as the years went by.    She was very excited about that possibility.  Unfortunately, we quickly discovered, because of the cost of real estate here in California,that was not even a remote possibility.  Things were not looking good in terms of options.

Fast forward to just a few weeks ago...

A co-worker started talking about her family moving to another state because of the laws recently passed in California, as well as, the cost of living and cost of real estate in other states and that got us looking at the possibility of finding an option for mom that was affordable. We quickly discovered that real estate near Michael's home town, large enough to accommodate all of us comfortably; with a fixed rate mortgage, was as low as $500 a month. So we talked to mom about how she felt about us looking into that. She was thrilled with the idea and we all realized that if we didn't seriously look into this now, she might be too old to make a move across the country, should we put it off for too long a time.

Here is where the reality of the intimacy of God's providence and sovereignty in our lives shinned undeniably brilliant, clear and overwhelmingly powerful!

On the Wednesday after Thanksgiving, Michael contacted the secretary of Beacon Baptist church in North Carolina and got the contact information for a Real Estate agent that was a member of the church. We contacted her and she advised that we take a look at Realtor.com to get an idea of the market and the prices so that we could give her a better idea of what we were looking for.

We spent that following Saturday and Sunday evening looking at hundreds of homes online and found several homes that we liked and could afford; but none were practical if we had mom with us. We really were hoping for a home with an in-law quarters and a walk-in shower.

Right before crawling into bed that Sunday night, and admittedly feeling a bit discouraged, the thought just popped into my mind, "What about homes for sale by owner?" So, once in bed, I grabbed the I-Pad and entered, "Homes for Sale By Owner" followed by the city and state. The first listing that came up was a 3 bedroom, 3 bath, with in-law quarters and a 30 x 24 shop with a price that we could afford. I showed the listing to Michael and we both said, "Wow, that seems to good to be true".

Early that next morning, we decided to email the link to the real estate agent and asked her to please look into that property for us. As I was getting ready for work, another thought popped into my head and I said to Michael, "Wouldn't it be weird if the owner of that "perfect sounding house" was somehow associated to someone at Beacon Baptist Church?" An hour later, I arrived at work and turned on my computer to find an email from the real estate agent informing us that she knew about that home and that we might know the seller of that house.

Well...  

That house was Pastor La Tour's mother's house. She had passed away several years ago and his sister had contacted a real estate agent a week or two earlier to see if she would list the house at the end of the month. Yes, the very same real estate agent that Michael contacted on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving!

As we move forward, we are placing our trust in Him and will accept whatever His plan may be.  The passage that comes to mind from Proverbs 3:5-6 reads, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him,  and he will make straight your paths.

"The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps."  Proverbs 16:9

As we look back on the lines of Bob La Tour's poem, we are encouraged and inspired to see and trust God's providential workings in our lives.