All Eternity We'll Sing!

While contemplating the faith that is ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ, of His divine power, and the divine nature that we have been made partakers of according to His excellent glory, as spoken of through the apostle Peter by the Spirit of God, I came to verse 16 of the first chapter of 2nd Peter, as he says, "we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ".

As I thought of his eyewitness account, my mind returned to the incident in which Jesus said to Thomas, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." And thus the following words came to mind;

Oh see by faith the coming of
The power of His Majesty,
Jesus Christ, the King of kings,
The Lord of all eternity.
For He has granted unto us
The gift of His True nature,
As we in Him, are blessed to be,
As sons, a brand new creature.

All things of life and godliness,
He's given us to grow
That more like Him, on earth we'll be
As more of Him we know.
As we partake of promises
So precious and so great,
We overcome corruption of
The sins that we now hate.

Oh take the time to contemplate
All He holds now in store
For those of us He carried to
The cross, His body bore
Our sins, and all that does
Offend the holiness of God.
No words can tell the horror then,
When crushed before the rod

Of all the law, no mortal man
Could ever hope to fill,
As He in all perfection
Yielded to the Father's will.
What excellence and glory
Have we through Him received,
Increasing by His righteousness,
As by Him we believed.

So add to faith with virtue,
And with knowledge, self control,
With steadfastness and godliness
Our brothers we behold.
And do for them in love with God,
For all that truly matters
Is that His glory be displayed
And will o'er all that shatters,

Before the voice of Him Who comes
And every eye will see,
Him who comes to make His bride
More beautiful like He.
And though this simple song falls short
Of all of His perfection,
My prayer is that You'll look to Him
Who Is my hearts direction.

For Jesus gave a heart of flesh,
For that which was of stone,
And more than I can now perceive
He made me all His Own.
Now through His Word I dimly see
His face and know in part,
But then I shall know, as He's known
Me fully from the start.

And though we taste of glory now,
We trust in His good pleasure
To fill up all that we now lack,
The fullness of the measure,
The gift of Christ that all will see
The wonder of His glory,
And all eternity we'll sing
The splendor of His story.

Michael E. Wood
April 30, 2010

Let Us Rejoice and be Glad in HIM

How often have some of us been in a service in which we have sung the song of praise which begins with the words, "This is the day that the LORD has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it", taken from Psalm 118:24? Perhaps it has been but my own ignorance, but until recently my own thoughts had always been focused on the twenty-four hour period of the particular day of which I had been given the grace to live in, but as my beloved Dianna and I read this passage together I was reminded that "THE DAY" which is referred to in this passage is THE DAY our Saviour went to the cross and paid for the sins of His people.(see Psalm 118:14-27 for the context) Oh, how lofty our praise then must be unto our God for THE DAY THAT HE HAS MADE; LET US REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN HIM!

While reading Psalm 143, and coming to the words, "I remember the days of old; I meditate on all You have done", the preceding text came to mind and the following words came to mind;

Thank You O LORD, for the day of the cross,
For on that day, Christ redeemed me from loss.
As we are now the work of Your Hand
We thirst for You as in a parched land.

Oh hear my pleas for mercy and answer (143:1)
Your righteousness, the cure for my cancer
Oh answer me quickly and make my soul fit
Lest I be like those who go down to the pit. (143:7)

Your faithfulness hide not now from me (143:7,9)
The face of Christ to Whom I will flee.
May Your Spirit lead me on level ground (143:10)
That all may know the Sweet Joyful sound,

As for Your Name's sake, my life You preserve, (143:11)
O LORD, from all my sin doth deserve.
Your righteousness, my soul out of trouble,
You bring by Your love and give me the double

Cure for my sin, and cure for my soul,
That all may see Your glory the goal,
As now, I Your servant will look unto You (143:12)
As You will destroy all my enemies too.

For You are my Rock, and my hands for the war
You train and You keep for all that's in store (144:1,2)
For You are my Refuge to Whom I now yield,
My Fortress, my Comfort, my Stronghold, my Shield!

Michael E. Wood
April 29, 2010

Jesus IS our Jubilee!

While contemplating Psalm 139, I came to verses 17,18,23-24, which read, "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would out number the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you. " " Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting", the following thoughts came to mind:

How precious are Your thoughts, O God
Secured for us by Jesse's rod.
How vast they are as You display
Your work of grace in us of clay.

For by Your Word You now impart
To every simple broken heart
Of which You choose in Christ to mend
To sing Your praise, world without end.

All things You spoke to be and wrought
By Him Who once stood then and taught
Beside the shores of Galilee,
Now Jesus Is our Jubilee!

Oh what delight to know You know
Our every need that we may grow.
Oh search in us now every part,
That we may know how great Thou Art!

We thank You for the grace of asking.
The way You lead now everlasting
Until we meet on heaven's shore
And see You Jesus, Whom we adore.

Michael E. Wood
April 28, 2010

After writing the final line, the Spirit of God brought 2nd Cor.10:3-5. Praise God for the obedience of Christ working in us both to will and to do of the good pleasure of God!


"For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ..."

The Blossoms of the One True Vine

Psalm 128, Which begins with, "A Song Of Ascents. Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in His ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table", caused me to ponder the Majesty and Love of our Lord for His church, and the blessing of the LORD; Who has blessed us with every Spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ for His Own glory.

Typically, as it is our nature, to view the scriptures in relation to our own benefit of which some are quite obvious in this passage, I found myself asking the LORD to show me Christ in this passage, for He is in every line, and it is He Who opens our eyes to see His beauty by His Sweet Holy Spirit. Thus I was led to research a number of sources for information and after reading Hosea chapter 14 along with the introductory remarks from the ESV, which speaks of how we, the Israel of God, were depicted as unfaithful: promiscuous, indifferent, illegitimate, ungrateful, and stubborn; I was left in awe of the love of God which far exceeds our ability to comprehend as He through Christ has redeemed us from all our iniquity, and thus these words came forth:

Are we left in humble awe
As the blood of Christ doth call,
Expressing love without pretension,
The purchase of His apprehension.

As God ordained by hands of men
That Christ would pay for all our sin.
For it was through His agony,
He heals from all apostasy.

He loved us freely from that hill
And turned God's wrath by Sovereign will.
Now on our head, He is the dew
Which brings forth fruit to honor You,

For Jesus is The Root of all
Your shoots, O God, spread out to call
Upon the beauty of the Lord,
Whose fragrance fills with one accord,

Beneath Your shadow as we dwell
And flourish as our praise doth swell,
To spread Your fame like best of wine,
The blossoms of the One True Vine.

And all our fruit will come from Him,
Who like the cypress, our Diadem,
Gives to all what He deems right
To see the glory of His might!

Michael E. Wood
April 26, 2010

Your Testimonies Rejoice My Heart

While contemplating Psalm 119, it occurred to me that this Psalm though filled with instruction, is also a continual prayer with praise unto our God for His Unspeakable Gift, imparted by His Word into our hearts as we are made acceptable in His sight through our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ unto the glory of God both now and forevermore. Amen!

As I arrived at verse 111 in this Psalm, "Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart", the following words came to mind;

Your testimonies rejoice my heart
For by Your Word You now impart
The Beauty of my God and King,
Lord Jesus Christ, to you I sing!

You've blessed me with this life's afflictions,
And bring deliverance from all addictions,
Of which my flesh so strongly clings
And blinds my eyes to heavenly things.

Oh, help me daily rise above
All vanities by Your steadfast love.
According to Your Promise give,
True Light to my eyes that I may live,

In such a way that pleases You
As You unfold Your Words so True, (119:130)
Appointed by Your Sovereign grace
That we may see Your smiling face,

Upon our lives to honor You (119:135)
In all we think, and say, and do.
We Your servants in Your Word delight
For it is tried, and true, and right! (119:140)

And though we tremble and tend to faint,
You hear the cry of every saint,
Which ascends as sweet perfume,
The smell of which You brought to bloom,

That we may know how near You Are,
Ever present, and never far (119:151)
From all that You would choose to give,
The grace of life, for Your glory live.

Michael E. Wood
April 24, 2010

O' Let it Be Known

While sitting under a willow tree at Kingsdown Commons and meditating upon 1st John 2:1-8 the passage from the Gospel according to John was brought to mind, " If ye abide in Me and My Words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you." Then as my mind thought of the many splendid temporal blessings of which we have seen come from the hand of the Lord in recent days, in preparation for our union together for the glory of God, the following words came to mind:

Oh Father we ask, not for temporal things
For those are not what our hearts now most crave,
But that You will bless and Your Spirit may come
And brake o're dark hearts like a great mighty wave.

The Light of Your Presence, Oh may it be known
That others, the Truth, they may clearly see.
The glory of God in the face of our Lord,
Jesus, Who came and made our hearts free.

May Your Light be so bright, and we are then hidden
By the cross of which we were bought,
That all of the glory will be only Yours
Seen by all those You have then sought,

To bring to Yourself, Oh let it be known
That this is the purpose You gave
By making us one, to rejoice in Your Son
And by Him alone You will then save.

All praise be to You, for the beauty we have,
Embraced by Your love and affection,
To make us like Jesus in all of our ways,
Til with You we see all Perfection.

Michael E. Wood
April 22, 2010 (1:10-1:43 pm)

P.S. Part of what also came to mind, which influenced the words of this poem, was the fact that earlier in the day I had walked into Cracker Barrel to get a To Go order of food to take with me and a couple I knew was coming out to the cash register and the gentleman and myself exchanged hello's and the lady said, "the sun was so bright I couldn't see you". Of which I responded with a smile, "Oh, that would be my desire more and more as the days go by."

Marks of Conversion...

While listening to the message entitled, "Marks of Conversion", a sermon preached by Gregory N. Barkman from John 8:30-47, which helps to distinguish the difference between a spurious faith from the true faith that comes as the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast; (which can be found by clicking here......., ) the initial words of this poem came to mind. Corresponding then with the daily passage read together with my beloved Dianna in 2nd Corinthians 13:5-14, the following thoughts were written:

What makes you think that you are now saved
When you to your sin are yet still enslaved?
No love for God's Word, nor yet for His glory.
Are your thoughts not bound up in your own selfish story?

Examine yourselves by His Word if you dare,
For that is the main way, God speaks of His care,
To all of His children, redeemed in Christ Jesus,
The True Revelation of just how God sees us.

For Almighty God by His Spirit revealed
The Truth through the prophets, that the nations be healed.
But only those called will stand up to the test,
To follow the Saviour, through faith in Him rest,

In all He accomplished as He hung on the tree
And paid for the sins of all He would set free,
To walk in His Spirit of which He imparts
To show forth the face of His love in the hearts,

Of all who would bow, confess Jesus as Lord,
Repenting from sins, by His grace they're restored,
Because of the pleasure that God chose to give
To the praise of His glory, as for Him they live.

Friend, the Revelation of Jesus Christ is not just the name of a book in the Bible, but the reality of the only way of salvation to the glory of God, for there is no other name under heaven, given among men by which we must be saved. His name is Jesus, and He came to save His people from their sins!

Michael E. Wood
April 18, 2010