Man's image of the Angelic
Seems almost Demonic
Our perspective Imperfect
Our heavenward onlook
Cannot but attain heaven's reject
It seems when we
see beauty
we see imperfectly
all that is ugly
and call it beauty
Let us look and see
What is beauty truly
Hear me, look ye, see He
We the craven fallen
The Cross to look on
On Him risen thereon
Now Risen for to see
Christ enthroned Heavenly
We slaves He to free.
(c) 2009 James Marikle & Patrick Eklektos
Soli Deo Gloria
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Oh God have mercy on my soul!
2 Kings 22:8-20
1 Corinthians 6:18-20
I am grieved at this moment. My life does not reflect God as it should, and as I think on these things... My mind wanders back to that event in the life of King Josiah:
A book that was found in the house of the LORD, long lost amongst the alters and idols that had filled the house of the LORD during the idolatrous reign of those wicked kings. All those detestable things had filled this the holy abode of the highest and most glorious Being in all the Universe. For years these lifeless idols mocked the God of all things, the LORD, yet by God's grace this precious revelation of the nature of God was preserved in the recesses of the temple. Long had the these detestable things hidden that book when it should have been read to all the people every year to keep them from evil. Ah! But this day of all days it has come to light! The book of the LORD God of Israel was read to the king!
Oh, the remorse of sin that has festered for so long. Oh, the remorse of time lost not spent in worship of the King of kings! King Josiah new the words to be true. God had opened his eyes and shown him the evil state of this rebellious nation. "Great is the wrath of the LORD that burns against us" was what he saw. Gracious as God is, He heard Josiah. Oh divine repentance! There is no sweeter sound! God who is rich in mercy is able yet to forgive!
Repentance, what a sweet sweet sound. Oh, that I may have true, Godly sorrow and the gracious gift of repentance! For even as the temple was so is my heart.
Oh, Lord God have mercy on my soul! It is as defiled as that temple with every care of the world and the desire for sin! God have mercy on my soul! God grant me repentance! That is my prayer.
And you, dear reader. Never take sin lightly for the very simple reason that God doesn't.
God is righteous and He cannot stand sin. He hates it utterly. Sin clings closely to my heart! Yet God is also merciful beyond comprehension!
He is rich in mercy and love! Oh, God grant me true repentance that I might yet serve You!
1 Corinthians 6:18-20
I am grieved at this moment. My life does not reflect God as it should, and as I think on these things... My mind wanders back to that event in the life of King Josiah:
"Hilkiah the priest has given me a book."
A book that was found in the house of the LORD, long lost amongst the alters and idols that had filled the house of the LORD during the idolatrous reign of those wicked kings. All those detestable things had filled this the holy abode of the highest and most glorious Being in all the Universe. For years these lifeless idols mocked the God of all things, the LORD, yet by God's grace this precious revelation of the nature of God was preserved in the recesses of the temple. Long had the these detestable things hidden that book when it should have been read to all the people every year to keep them from evil. Ah! But this day of all days it has come to light! The book of the LORD God of Israel was read to the king!
"When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes."
Oh, the remorse of sin that has festered for so long. Oh, the remorse of time lost not spent in worship of the King of kings! King Josiah new the words to be true. God had opened his eyes and shown him the evil state of this rebellious nation. "Great is the wrath of the LORD that burns against us" was what he saw. Gracious as God is, He heard Josiah. Oh divine repentance! There is no sweeter sound! God who is rich in mercy is able yet to forgive!
"'... because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,' declares the LORD."
Repentance, what a sweet sweet sound. Oh, that I may have true, Godly sorrow and the gracious gift of repentance! For even as the temple was so is my heart.
"Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body."
Oh, Lord God have mercy on my soul! It is as defiled as that temple with every care of the world and the desire for sin! God have mercy on my soul! God grant me repentance! That is my prayer.
And you, dear reader. Never take sin lightly for the very simple reason that God doesn't.
"... thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I bring evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read. "Because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods that they might provoke Me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore My wrath burns against this place, and it shall not be quenched.'"
God is righteous and He cannot stand sin. He hates it utterly. Sin clings closely to my heart! Yet God is also merciful beyond comprehension!
"... I truly have heard you"
He is rich in mercy and love! Oh, God grant me true repentance that I might yet serve You!
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Putting Things In Perspective.
This post in a way goes with the last blog post. Yet, though I was only going to comment on the previous post, I instead ventured to post a completely different blog entry. Daring, I know. ;-)
I've been dwelling alot lately on the whole question of "what really matters?". I've been trying hard to keep things in perspective, and remain focused on the Lord and let all things fade in the distance.
With Christmas just past, I had spent time thinking hard on the meaning of Christmas, and thinking of all the stock put into "things" that really have no value at all.
I've enjoyed reading through the epistles and seeing how the focus is Christ crucified, God being glorified always, the Gospel of our Lord preached in every situation.
Those of you who follow my Facebook, would have seen a note that I had posted, sharing two families testimonies to the Lord's hand in their lives. These two stories made a big impact on my life as I've been focusing on focusing on important things. lol One couple lost their baby boy after only being able to hold him for 99 days. Another family deals with the Father/Husband in the family battling with Cancer. Both families focused on God's Sovereignty and glorifying Him through their situations, not in spite of.
I heard shortly after posting the note, a paper read, which was written by Pastor John Piper, titled "Don't Waste Your Cancer". He talked of serving God through it all, and not hoping for a cure, but hoping for God to be glorified through this trial.
And as always, things seem to just keep coming, for don't they say "when it rains, it pours"? I've been going through the book of James these past few weeks for school. And I've spent time focusing on the part in James 1 when he talks and explains the difference between being tested of God and falling into temptation. I won't go into detail for this post is already growing long. :-)
Anyways, I've been focusing on putting things in perspective and also focusing on God through every trial, glorifying and praising Him through it and not falling into temptation because of evil desires.
So... I've been praying alot over all of these things, and wouldn't you know it, this morning I was in a car wreck. I had gone off the side of the road, totaled the front of the car, took out a sign post completely, left quite an impact I daresay. It was a very tense time.And I will add it's also been a humbling time. After I had pulled over and made the necessary phone calls, I sat in the car and prayed and read my bible. I started to put things in perspective, I did not want to pass up the opportunity to learn through this. I had been praying the past couple days to become more focused on God, that He would humble me, and now it seemed this was one time I could put it into practice. I was thankful no one else was involved, I was thankful no one (including myself) was harmed. I was thankful I even had a car to wreck. I am thankful for the timing of it all. I was thankful for a dad who remained quite calm through it all. By the time my Dad made it to where I was, I was amazingly calm, and enjoying reading my Bible and focusing on more important things.
I know a man who's son passed away yesterday morning, he was only 16 years old. It is a tragic story. I know there are souls perishing everyday. I know there are people freezing, starving, being tortured for the gospel, etc. My car wreck meant nothing at that moment. Even if I was laid up in a hospital right now suffering from traumatic injuries, I would still have to think that in perspective, in light of God and all He is, it would be of no importance.
I know this all might sound radical to some, and maybe it is. I don't know. I'll say one thing, my mother was not thrilled in the least when, after she asked me why I was home so early, I responded lightly with "I wrecked the car". It took awhile to calm her down. Thankfully, she now agrees, it means little in comparison. :-)
I've been dwelling alot lately on the whole question of "what really matters?". I've been trying hard to keep things in perspective, and remain focused on the Lord and let all things fade in the distance.
With Christmas just past, I had spent time thinking hard on the meaning of Christmas, and thinking of all the stock put into "things" that really have no value at all.
I've enjoyed reading through the epistles and seeing how the focus is Christ crucified, God being glorified always, the Gospel of our Lord preached in every situation.
Those of you who follow my Facebook, would have seen a note that I had posted, sharing two families testimonies to the Lord's hand in their lives. These two stories made a big impact on my life as I've been focusing on focusing on important things. lol One couple lost their baby boy after only being able to hold him for 99 days. Another family deals with the Father/Husband in the family battling with Cancer. Both families focused on God's Sovereignty and glorifying Him through their situations, not in spite of.
I heard shortly after posting the note, a paper read, which was written by Pastor John Piper, titled "Don't Waste Your Cancer". He talked of serving God through it all, and not hoping for a cure, but hoping for God to be glorified through this trial.
And as always, things seem to just keep coming, for don't they say "when it rains, it pours"? I've been going through the book of James these past few weeks for school. And I've spent time focusing on the part in James 1 when he talks and explains the difference between being tested of God and falling into temptation. I won't go into detail for this post is already growing long. :-)
Anyways, I've been focusing on putting things in perspective and also focusing on God through every trial, glorifying and praising Him through it and not falling into temptation because of evil desires.
So... I've been praying alot over all of these things, and wouldn't you know it, this morning I was in a car wreck. I had gone off the side of the road, totaled the front of the car, took out a sign post completely, left quite an impact I daresay. It was a very tense time.And I will add it's also been a humbling time. After I had pulled over and made the necessary phone calls, I sat in the car and prayed and read my bible. I started to put things in perspective, I did not want to pass up the opportunity to learn through this. I had been praying the past couple days to become more focused on God, that He would humble me, and now it seemed this was one time I could put it into practice. I was thankful no one else was involved, I was thankful no one (including myself) was harmed. I was thankful I even had a car to wreck. I am thankful for the timing of it all. I was thankful for a dad who remained quite calm through it all. By the time my Dad made it to where I was, I was amazingly calm, and enjoying reading my Bible and focusing on more important things.
I know a man who's son passed away yesterday morning, he was only 16 years old. It is a tragic story. I know there are souls perishing everyday. I know there are people freezing, starving, being tortured for the gospel, etc. My car wreck meant nothing at that moment. Even if I was laid up in a hospital right now suffering from traumatic injuries, I would still have to think that in perspective, in light of God and all He is, it would be of no importance.
I know this all might sound radical to some, and maybe it is. I don't know. I'll say one thing, my mother was not thrilled in the least when, after she asked me why I was home so early, I responded lightly with "I wrecked the car". It took awhile to calm her down. Thankfully, she now agrees, it means little in comparison. :-)
The brevity of life
Psalm 144:4
Just a while ago I had the misfortune of viewing a car commercial on TV. What caught my eye was that it advertised with pride the statement "60 day satisfaction guaranteed". My immediate thought was that they must not have much confidence in their product if they are only willing to guarantee 60 days of satisfaction from it. If I was looking for a vehicle I would want to be satisfied with it for, I don't know... life. It only then dawned on me that they can't guarantee satisfaction for life because the things of this life are not satisfying. Everything is s a vapor and true satisfaction cannot be realized in this life at all. We are either warring with God or (as in the case of believers) warring with our flesh. However, as believers, we have the blessed hope in that which is not seen but which is to come, when our Lord will wipe away every tear. There is no satisfaction in this life as long as our sinful flesh binds us. It is to Christ in heaven that we should look and to the true satisfaction of worshipping Him in truth and perfection in the life after this.
M.L.
Just a while ago I had the misfortune of viewing a car commercial on TV. What caught my eye was that it advertised with pride the statement "60 day satisfaction guaranteed". My immediate thought was that they must not have much confidence in their product if they are only willing to guarantee 60 days of satisfaction from it. If I was looking for a vehicle I would want to be satisfied with it for, I don't know... life. It only then dawned on me that they can't guarantee satisfaction for life because the things of this life are not satisfying. Everything is s a vapor and true satisfaction cannot be realized in this life at all. We are either warring with God or (as in the case of believers) warring with our flesh. However, as believers, we have the blessed hope in that which is not seen but which is to come, when our Lord will wipe away every tear. There is no satisfaction in this life as long as our sinful flesh binds us. It is to Christ in heaven that we should look and to the true satisfaction of worshipping Him in truth and perfection in the life after this.
M.L.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Remember the Cross this Christmas
Forget ye not the Cross this Christmas. Though wonderful the hours are that draw nigh to the fifth and twentieth of December, let us not get lost in the cradle and let us remember why Christ came. Even now, as I write this, I am listening to a Christmas performance the which sees Christ as the blessed babe but ne'er once mentions the Cross for which He came.
Lo, Christmas is a time of Joy but also of sorrow. Let us remember the Birth of Christ was that a humble one. He descended from His throne of glory to lay his head in a feeding trough; a manger. He stripped himself of His robes of glory to adorn himself in mortal flesh. He departed from a retinue of angels to be surrounded by the beasts of the earth. Look ye for whence He came; to suffer and die on the Cross. He humbled Himself that that we might live. Let us remember this cold December and glorify Him! Praises on High to Christ who came as a babe in the manger to pay our penalty on the Cross! Let us now worship and glorify Him, our Savior!
Soli Deo Gloria
Patrick Eklektos
Lo, Christmas is a time of Joy but also of sorrow. Let us remember the Birth of Christ was that a humble one. He descended from His throne of glory to lay his head in a feeding trough; a manger. He stripped himself of His robes of glory to adorn himself in mortal flesh. He departed from a retinue of angels to be surrounded by the beasts of the earth. Look ye for whence He came; to suffer and die on the Cross. He humbled Himself that that we might live. Let us remember this cold December and glorify Him! Praises on High to Christ who came as a babe in the manger to pay our penalty on the Cross! Let us now worship and glorify Him, our Savior!
Soli Deo Gloria
Patrick Eklektos
Monday, December 7, 2009
Creedo: The Meaning of i:21
It would no doubt be best to begin this intrepid crusade for truth and the glory of Christ with a creed, a definition, a thesis, a purpose, a mission. Who am I? Many of you don't know... many never will, and, for all intents and purposes, it is of no consequence. Call me Eklektos, for I was chosen before the foundations of the World and Christ knew me in my mother's womb. Know that it is not for my glory that I write, I write for the glory of Him only who deserves all glory! I write for the glory of Christ and to Him are all mine words devoted.
My mission is to proclaim Christ to the uttermost reaches. I take up this blog to cry Christ and Him crucified! May He be glorified and may He bless the work of my hands to His glory. This is my mission. But my creed may be found in the meaning of i:21. This is my motto, by this do I live, Philippians 1:21, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Heretofore, my prayer is that the words of this blog will praise my Beloved Sovereign, Christ Jesus.
Patrick Eklektos:
Amateur Writer, Poet, Philosopher, and Theologist
Soli Deo Gloria
My mission is to proclaim Christ to the uttermost reaches. I take up this blog to cry Christ and Him crucified! May He be glorified and may He bless the work of my hands to His glory. This is my mission. But my creed may be found in the meaning of i:21. This is my motto, by this do I live, Philippians 1:21, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Heretofore, my prayer is that the words of this blog will praise my Beloved Sovereign, Christ Jesus.
Patrick Eklektos:
Amateur Writer, Poet, Philosopher, and Theologist
Soli Deo Gloria
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