When Jesus Looks ... my daily resurrection truth

When Jesus Looks

When Jesus looks upon my life, what picture does He see?

Does He see His own reflection, or does He see selfish me?

Does He see His likeness, the product of His hand.

Or just another Christian, who avoids taking a stand.

Does He see a child of God, a child that He set free.

Living life to honor Him, or does He see the selfish me.

What about the other folks, I meet along the way.

Do I show them Jesus, Who enlightens all their day.

When someone looks into my eyes, can they truly see.

That calm and gentle peace of Christ, that’s been given me.

When I reach out and shake a hand, is He right there in my grip.

Can they sense the strength from God, that steadies when I slip.

When folks are in my presence, do they know His Spirit's there?

Can they see that He's the one, Who guides me everywhere.

When other people think of me, what is on their mind?

Do they think of Jesus Christ, so gentle and so kind.

I ought be like Jesus, every single day.

Spreading love and kindness, all along my way.

Yet in truth I know, I’ve failed this holy test.

Deep inside my heart I know, I haven't done the best.

I’ve fought with my flesh, since in baptism I was reborn.

It's always causing trouble, and being such a thorn.

That's why His Spirit dwells in me, He's helping me to learn.

In every situation, where I need to turn.

He knew I'd never pass the test, that's why He took my place.

He gave His life to save my soul, He suffered my disgrace.

Now I live in His saving grace, in Him by faith do well.

So other folks will want His gift, and turn their backs on hell.

Other folks need to see the joy, that Christ has given me.

They should want to have it too, especially since it's free.

May they begin to ask me, what is it they must do.

Just how it is they go about, getting my Jesus too.

Then I get to tell them, its free to all who do believe.

This gift is freely given, to the faith that does receive.

Someday when I'm face to face, with the Lord who set me free.

I’ll Him Who gives to me, His reflection living in me.

By Chick Velasco; Edited by Pastor Mark Love 

because it is a time for God and faith in Him.

The silence of the tomb is the tomb’s victory,

Says my sin, O my soul.

Surely, my sinful nature misread the silence of Christ’s tomb

as the tombs victory. 

Ah, my sinful nature seeks to deny the reality of Christ’s victory in death for me,

So that I might doubt Christ’s victory over death for me.

Hear the word of God in this silence, O my soul!

For God alone my soul waits in silence;

from him comes my salvation.

 He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress;

I shall not be greatly shaken.

For God alone, O my soul,

wait in silence,

for my hope is from him.

On God rests my salvation and my glory;

my mighty rock, my refuge is God.  Ps 62:1-2; 5; 7 (ESV)

These words of reality interpret Jesus’ silence in the tomb. 

Having suffered through the silence of God’s wrath for me

and finished it,

Jesus’ last word on the cross was a word of faith

with which He commended Himself

into His Father’s keeping. 

Jesus’ silence while in the tomb,

speaks not of the grave’s power,

but of His faith and confidence in His Father’s power

to keep and deliver Him from the grave and its power. 

Jesus could be silent because it was a time 

to let His Father, Father Him.  

So Jesus is silent in the tomb

because it is a time for God and faith in Him.

Having God’s ever speaking Word, I hear Him, O my soul,

and by my hearing, I receive faith and the work His speaks to me.

I am left to suffer no silence of God. 

Surely I must go through many adversities in this world,

For the Lord promises that it is through much tribulation that I shall enter the kingdom of heaven. (Acts 14:22).

Others may see my quiet silence as my surrender to these adversities.  What they do not know, O my soul,

Is that for me, as a believer, it is a time for the Lord. 

Living by faith in Christ, O my soul,

I walk, I run, I travel on my course in the silence of a sure hope,

allowing my heavenly Father, to Father me as He did His Son,

which can only mean resurrection for me. 

- pmwl

Seven Abominations in my heart

As I come to the Cross this Good Friday, I come confessing these truths from which I must daily be saved:

"I find seven abominations in my heart:

1. An inclination to unbelief.
2. Suddenly to forget the love and mercy of Christ manifested for me.
3. A leaning on works of the Law rather than the grace of God.
4. Wanderings and coldness in prayer.
5. To forget to watch for what I pray for.
6. An apt to murmur because I do not have more, yet ready to abuse what I have.
7. I can do none of those things which the Lord commands me, but my corruptions thrust themselves in upon me. When I want to do good, evil is right there with me."

Lord have mercy on me, 

and grant that I would wholly believe the word of Christ on the Cross, "It is finished!" 

As I leave the Cross and make my way on to the resurrection of the Lord, I go with this truth enlightening my way: 

"These things I continually see and feel and am afflicted and oppressed with,
but the wisdom of God works and orders all these for my good.
1. They make me abhor myself.
2. They keep me from trusting my own heart.
3. They convince me of the insufficiency of my own righteousness.
4. They show me my need to constantly flee to Jesus.
5. They press me to pray to the Lord.
6. They show me my need to watch and be sober.
7. They so provoke me to pray to God through Jesus Christ to help me, and carry me through this world."

- Grace Abounding  - John Bunyan

Lord have mercy on me, 

and grant that I may be still and know that You are God. 

- pwml 

Exercising myself in faith has two disciplines,

And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” Lk 9:35 (ESV)

The growth of my spiritual life, O my soul,

Is impossible without the disciplined practice of faith.

For such discipline in faith,

is the hidden side of faithful discipleship. 

Exercising myself in faith has two disciplines,

The first of which is the receiving of the Lord through His Word,

And the second, is responding according to that Word I have received from Him.

This alone, serves to make me even more sensitive

to the seemingly small, soft voice of the Lord.

Elijah did not meet the Lord in the mighty wind,

in the earthquake or in the fire,

but in the still small voice. (I Kings 19:9--13) 

Practice faith’s two disciplines, O my soul,

Do not seek to comprehend the Word of the Lord,

Do not seek to apply the Word the Lord speaks,

But listen, O my soul,

listen to His voice, listen to His Word,

For it is in His voice, His word,

That He gives You His Holy Spirit.  

And it is His Spirit alone,

Who shall comprehend His Word for you,

His Spirit alone

Who shall apply and work His Word in you,

So that you shall have ears to hear

and a heart to believe in Him.

For faith comes from hearing,

and hearing from the Word of Christ. (Rm 10:17)  

- pmwl

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My Daily Prayer in Ministry

How I should act and walk in the house of God,

in the congregation of the living God,

this I now know.

But You, O Lord, have mercy upon me,

and forgive all the sins and transgressions

by which I have sinned against You and Your holy Word and ministry.

But grant unto me and all Your servants great power,

and strengthen You life within me,

that being readied with the preparation of the Gospel of peace,

I may go forward in patience,

sowing the seed,

and working and waiting

for the precious fruit of the earth. Amen.

- Wilhelm Lohe 

Rays you got but glimpses of,

let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith ...      Heb 12:1-2 (ESV)

Go now, O beloved one of the Lord,

run the race He has laid out for you.

Take each step deliberately on the path He’s laid for you.

Prayerfully and cheerfully look to the end of the road,

fixing your eyes of faith on what the Lord is doing

and what He will bring to sight come the end of your race.

There you shall find those bright rays of eternal joy,

rays you got but glimpses of,

flickering through the trees upon your way,

shining unshaded upon you 

in His eternal day. 

- pmwl

So inclined is my heart to evil, that out of it ...

Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!  Ps 119:36 (ESV)

Know my heart, O my soul,

To petition the Lord to incline my heart to His Word,

Is to confess that my heart is inclined elsewhere.

As surely as the Lord testifies that my tongue is a restless evil, (Ja 3:8)

How much more so my heart, the master of my tongue.

Such restless evil inclines my heart to evil,

To all that is turned away from the Lord.

So inclined is my heart to evil, that out of it,

my thoughts are filled with all kinds of covetousness, sensuality, and foolishness. (Mk 7:21-23)

How is it that I do the very thing that I hate,

In deference to the good thing I want to do,

If my heart were not so filled with sin and its inclination to sin. (Rm 7:15-16)

O my soul, see your desperate need for the Lord

to incline my heart to His testimonies.

For I know that nothing good dwells in me,

That is in my flesh, my heart,

As I have the desire to incline myself to do what is right,

Yet I have not the ability in me or my heart to carry it out.(Rm 7:18)

As the inclination of my heart to selfish ends,

draws me away from the Lord’s testimonies,

So that I am drawn away from the living God.

Call on the Lord, O my soul, that He might incline my heart.

For my flesh and my heart my fail me,

But the Lord is the strength of my heart,

And He is my portion that satisfies all my longings. (Ps 73:26)

Create in me a clean heart O God,

And renew a steadfast spirit within me, (Ps 51:10)

Lest I cast You away from my presence,

For the sake of selfish gain.

For You have sprinkled me with clean water.

You have cleansed me of all my uncleannesses.

You have cleansed me of the idols I am inclined to.

You have given me a new heart.

You have put a new spirit within me.

You make me to walk carefully in Your testimonies. (Ez 36:25-27).

Rejoice, O my soul,

For when the cares of my heart are many,

The Lord’s consolations cheer my soul. (Ps 94:19)

-pwml

if the way of my temptations be not deceptive,

Hold me up, that I may be safe …  Ps 119:117 (ESV)

See my condition, O my soul, in my petition.

I am not safe, O my soul,

I cannot hold myself up,

I cannot even stand me up.

Temptations are so many,

And my weakness before them is much.

Temptations come to me from within,

Temptations come to me from without,

And if the way of my temptations be not deceptive,

Their way with me is to overwhelm me.

So strong are the desires of my sin for me,

So weak and unwatchful am I, in my sin,

That I would surely fall before them,

Unless the Lord lift me up,

And secure me, safe away, O my soul.  

Lift me up, O Lord, God of my salvation,

And hide me safe in the shadow of Your wing. (Ps 17:8)

Lift me above the littleness I have chosen in my sin,

And hide me safe in Your shelter. (Ps 27:5)

Lift me up out of the littleness I have made of myself in my sin,

And in the cover of Your presence,

hide me from my sins that I may be safe.

Be gracious to me, O Lord!

See my affliction,

O You who lift me up from the gates of death, (Ps 9:13)

For You are He who sets on high,

Those who are lowly.

You alone are He who lifts to safety,

Those who humbly seek You. (Job 5:11)

- pmwl

Gone must be the disguises I have used to hide myself.

O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?

He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart. 

Ps 15:1-2 (ESV)

God is truth, O my soul,

and He knows the truth of me.

If I would enter into His tent, O my soul,

Then I must enter into the depths of my heart to own my truth.

If I would dwell with Him on His holy hill,

Then I must dwell in the knowledge of myself as I really am in His eyes.

Gone must be the disguises I have used to hide myself.

Gone from me must be the artificiality that I have trusted so much in.

Truth must come to me in all it fullness,

That I might fully embrace and own,

not only my truths that please and pleasure me,

But also my truths that are quick to pain and pierce my sinful pride,

revealing my faults, my failings, my sin and sinfulness.

Close not my eyes to these, O my soul,

Even though they be humiliating to me,

Even though they leave me with nothing,

It is a far better thing to look upon these and own them,

Than to possess the illusions that flatter me,

And keep me in prides sinful errors.

Take courage, O my soul,

own my truth and confess it,

Confess it to Him who walks blamelessly for me,

Confess my truth to Him who does what is right for me,

Confess the sin within my heart to Him who speaks truth in His heart for me.

For it is He alone, even Jesus Christ,

Who made Himself nothing, (Ph 2:7)

to meet me in my truth,

to dwell with me in the sinful tent of my nothingness,

So that I might sojourn, I might rest in Him.

He is God’s grace and truth,

And in Him,

through faith in Him,

He walks me blamelessly,

He does what is right in me,

And He speaks the truth of His heart in me,

That I might sojourn now and forever in His tent

And dwell on His holy hill.

- pmwl 

leaving what it beyond to the Lord,

When the difficulties and challenges within you or without,

Seem only to grow and increase, becoming to you, as mighty mountains,

When behind you there is a path littered with failures and defeats,

When to your right or to your left, you behold even greater troubles,

And when even the next step seems filled with failure,

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. Ps 37:5

Then,

Do what is given you in that moment,

Do what is at hand to do,

Do not look for the outcome,

In this moment, you are a doer of what is to be done,

leaving what it beyond to the Lord,

For the outcome belongs to Him.

If you can but do one thing in faith,

Even if you do this one thing repeatedly,

Though it be too simple, too insignificant, to be noticed,

Be assured that heaven rejoices,

For the glory of God has been done in you and shown through you.

It is not the ability to do great things that brings true glory to God,

But doing the simplest of things in faith,

For faith looks not to the size of what is to be done,

Nor the outcome of doing it,

But to the Lord,

For apart from Him, I can do nothing,

And with Him, all things are possible. (Lk 1:37)

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. Ps 37:5

- pmwl 

Bring to mind, O my soul, that whatever it be that bows me down,

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. Ps 42:5-6 (ESV)

Bring to mind, O my soul, that whatever it be that bows me down,

it comes only by the loving wisdom of the God who has redeemed you,

And it cannot escape His grasp to make it work for my good. (Rm 8:28).

Be mindful, O my soul, in all that makes for turmoil within me,

Even though it omes beyond my grasp, both it and I, are within His grasp,

And neither it, nor anything else can take me from His grasp. (Jn 10:28).

Bring to mind, O my soul, that whatever it be that bows me down,

it comes only in proportion to your ability,

And He is faithful an shall provide the way of escape,

That I may endure it. (1Co 10:13).

Be mindful, O my soul, in all that makes for turmoil within me,

It is the Lord who is my portion, not my turmoil,

And He is good to the soul who seek Him

To those who wait for Him. (La 3:25)

Bring to mind, O my soul, that whatever it be that bows me down,

My Lord was bowed down under it and my sin that ought rightly to bow me even into death.

Be mindful, O my soul, in all that makes for turmoil within me,

My Lord was in such turmoil within Himself for me and my sin,

That His soul was sorrowful, even unto death for me. (Mt 26:28)

Yes, hope in the Lord, because I shall again praise,

Again, this is my hope, again,

It is God who justifies, who or what is there to condemn me. (Rm 8:33).

Who shall separate me from the love of Christ?

Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? (Rm 8:36)

No, in all these things I am more than conquerors through him who loved me.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers,

nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,

nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,

will be able to separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rm 8:37-39)

Hope in God, O my soul; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

- pmwl

How shriveled and dry must my soul be in sin,

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Ps 42:2 (ESV)

Yes, my soul, I thirst for that which my sin denies me:

The living God who created me,

The living God who is my purpose,

The living God who is my destination.

If He were not denied to me by my sinfulness,

Surely I have refused the quenching of my thirst,

As I have chosen to quench my sinful thirst with sin.

How vast, how infinite must the thirst of my soul be,

That only the living God can quench it.

How shriveled and dry must my soul be in sin,

For in my sin, I am without Him who fills all in all. (Ep 1:23)

Rejoice, O my soul, for the living God bids me to come,

To come with my thirsting soul, come to the waters,

Though I have no means to buy,

He bids me come and drink without money or price. (Is 55:1).

Rejoice, O my soul, for the living God promises that

That when the poor and needy seek the living water,

And there is none,

And their tongue is parched with thirst,

He will quench their thirst,

He will not forsake them (Is 41:17).

As you thirst in your sin for the living God, O my soul,

The Lord met me in my sin, and owned my thirst,

And having drank the cup of God’s wrath,

To satisfy the thirst of my sin,

the thirst of my soul,

He says, “I thirst.” (Jn 19:28)

And to satisfy the thirst of my soul,

He is pierced and makes Himself,

a well even in death,

pouring forth living water from His side. (Jn 19:34)

And it is He alone who has met me in that same water in Holy Baptism,

And there He gives me to drink of His living waters,

To drink of the resurrected and living God.

And now out of my new heart,

He makes to flow rivers of living water, (Jn 7:38)

And I shall thirst no more for the living God, O my soul.

-pmwl

The Lord shall not stifle the flow of His mercy to me,

As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain your mercy from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!  Ps 40:11 (ESV)

Such is my confidence, O my soul,

For though in my sin, I be truly a poor miserable sinner,

Truly so wretched as to deserve nothing,

The Lord shall not restrain His mercy from me,

The Lord shall not hold up His mercy from descending upon me,

The Lord shall not stifle the flow of His mercy to me,

The Lord shall not keep the greatness of His mercy from giving me life (Ps 119:156).

In His mercy, His steadfast love preserves me.

The Lord’s steadfast love saves me (Ps 31:16).

The Lord’s steadfast love surrounds me (Ps32:10).

The Lord’s steadfast love rises up, comes to my help and redeems me (Ps 44:26).

The Lord’s steadfast love blots out my transgressions (Ps 51:1).

The Lord’s steadfast love satisfies me in the mourning 

that I may rejoice and be glad all my days (Ps 90:14).

The Lord’s steadfast love held me up when I thought, “My foot slips” (Ps94:18).

The Lord’s steadfast love comforts me according to His promise (Ps 119:76).

The Lord’s steadfast love gives me life that I may keep His testimonies (Ps 119:88)..

And because the Lord’s steadfast love endures forever, 

He will fulfill His purpose for me (Ps 138:8).

So give thanks to the Lord, O my soul,

for His steadfast love,

for His wondrous work to me, a child of man (Ps 107:8, 15, 21, 31). 

In His mercy, His faithfulness preserves me.

The Lord’s faithfulness is the way of all His works for me (Ps 33:4).

The Lord’s faithfulness watches over me (Ps 61:7).

The Lord’s faithfulness answers me at an acceptable time (Ps 69:13).

The Lord’s faithfulness is a shield and bucker for me (Ps 91:4).

The Lord’s faithfulness brings affliction to me that I might learn His Word (Ps 119:75).

The Lord’s faithfulness answers me in His righteousness (Ps 143:1).

And in the Lord’s great faithfulness, 

His mercies are new to me every morning (Lam 3:23).

The Lord is my portion, O my soul,

Therefore I will hope in Him (Lam 3:24).

- pmwl 

even deeper were my feet secured in the mire of my miserableness.

 He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. Ps 40:2 (ESV)

Rejoice, O my soul, and give thanks to the Lord.

For He has seen me in the place of my making,

He has descended to the depths that my sinful desires have dug,

He has brought Himself down into the midst of my destruction,

He has laid hold of me in the hole of have hollowed in my unholiness,

And here, the Lord did for me what I could never do for myself.

He lifted me up from where I had descended.

As deep as my pit was, even deeper were my feet secured in the mire of my miserableness.

Yet the Lord in love came to me,

Came and placed Himself in my place,

Came and put His feet in the place of my feet,

And there He drew me up to Himself.

Bearing me up in His own body,

And He brought me forth from my pit, my grave.

Having set me upon Himself, my Rock and my Redeemer,

He has made my steps secure,

that my way through this world might be secure in Him.

Rejoice, O my soul, and give thanks to the Lord.

- pmwl 

A litany in my temptation

O Lord, have mercy upon me.
O Christ, have mercy upon me.
O Lord, have mercy upon me. 

Lord God, Limiter of temptations beyond my abilities,
Lord God, Provider of a way out of temptations, 
For the sake of Jesus Christ, hear my prayer. 

From all thoughts and thinking that would lead to temptation; 
From all desires that lead into temptation;
From all wants that give rise to any temptation; 
From all temptation to please and pleasure my sinful nature;
From my weakness of flesh before all temptation; 
From all bondage that sin and its temptation have on me; and
From all justifications to give into any temptation,
Lord have mercy, deliver, defend and protect me. 

From all images that would tempt me;
From all words that would tempt me;
From all places where I would be most tempted, and 
From all persons would tempt me, 
Lord have mercy, deliver, defend and protect me. 

Blessed Lord Jesus Christ,
Sympathetic Savior and Champion over all temptation,
For the sake of Your victory over all temptation, hear my prayer. 

By Your suffering temptation from Satan;
By Your suffering temptation from those You love;
By Your suffering temptation in all the walks and ways of Your life;
By Your suffering temptation in the hour of death; and 
By Your suffering temptation in every way I am tempted,
Lord have mercy upon me in all times of temptation.

By Your victory over every temptation with which I am tempted;
By Your faithfulness to God and to me over every temptation;
By Your suffering and death for all my succumbing to temptation; and
By Your sympathizing with me in all temptation, 
Lord have mercy upon me and gracious to me.

Gracious God our heavenly Father, 
Sender of Your Son into all temptations with which I am tempted, 
Have mercy upon me and hear my prayer.

In all forms of my temptation;
In all conditions of my temptation;
In all degrees of my temptation; 
In all times of my doubts that give rise to temptation;
In all times of my fear in the face of temptation;
In all times of my want to give into temptation; 
In all times of my apathy in the face of temptation; 
In all times of my frustration because of constant temptation; 
In all times of my selfishness that leads me into temptation; and 
In all times of my trouble because we have given into temptation,
Have mercy upon me, grant me Your aid and lead me not into temptation.

Gracious God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Knower of all my temptations and Limiter of them, 
Have mercy upon me and hear my prayer. 

For ears to hear Your Word in the face of all temptation;
For a heart to believe Your Word in face of all temptation;
For the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit to move me into Your will in every temptation, 
For the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to what is godly in all my thoughts, words, desires and deeds;
For the Holy Spirit’s intercession in all my feeble prayers in the face of every temptation;
For the Holy Spirit to renew my strength that I may not grow weary in the face of constant temptation; 
For the Holy Spirit to enlighten me that the victory over every temptation is found in Jesus Christ alone; 
And that I may be forgiven for all my times of entertaining temptations and my surrendering to them into sin,
I implore You to have mercy and help me, Good Lord.

O God the Father, Blessed Creator, 
Have mercy upon me and hear my prayer.
O God the Son, Jesus Christ, Blessed Redeemer,
Have mercy upon me and hear my prayer.
O God the Holy Spirit, blessed Sanctifier,
Have mercy upon me and hear my prayer. 
Amen. 

- pmwl

My accusers are many for my sins are many

I have become like a man who does not hear, and in whose mouth are no rebukes.

But for you, O Lord, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.  Ps 38:14 -15 (ESV)

There is a case against me, O my soul.

My accusers are many for my sins are many,

And the weight of their charges is as great as the weight of my guilt.

They demand that I justify myself.

My own sinful nature burns within me to attack and destroy those who accuse me,

But if they were silenced, Satan the great accuser

Whispers in the ears of my sinful nature,

Frightening me, terrifying me

so that I might answer for my sins,

and defend myself against my guilt.

I must be as one who is deaf to the voices of my accusers,

Not because I have no sin, nor any guilt,

But because I cannot answer for my sin,

I cannot defend myself from my guilt.

For me to answer for my sins

Is for me to receive the full consequences of my sins.

For me to defend myself against my guilt,

Is for me to be defeated by my guilt.

Put nothing in my mouth, O my soul,

Save cries that the Lord have mercy on me, a sinner.

Wait, wait for the Lord, O my soul,

To Him alone would I commit my cause (Jb 5:8).

For it is He who has taken up my cause,

That He might redeem my life (Lam 3:58).

He will plead my cause,

He will redeem me,

He will give my life according to His promise (Ps 119:154).

Look to the Lord, O my soul,

He is the God of my salvation,

He will hear me when I cry to Him.

Rejoice not over me, my enemies,

when I fall, I shall rise,

when I sit in darkness,

the Lord shall be a light to me.

I will bear the indignation of the Lord,

For I have sinned against Him,

And I shall wait in silence, O my soul,

Until He shall plead my cause for me,

Until He executes judgment for me,

For He shall bring me out into the light,

And I shall look upon His vindication (Mi 7:7-9).

Who is the Lord that answers me, O my soul,

He is my advocate with the Father.

He is the propitiation for my sins,

And not only for my sins, but for the sins of the whole world.

He is Jesus Christ the righteous (1 Jn 2:1-2).

He has ascended to the right hand of God

And is interceding for me,

And for all who believe in Him (Rm 8:34).

- pmwl

Surely I have tested the Most High God,

 O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath!  Ps 38:1 (ESV)

Note well, O my soul,

That I cannot plead that the Lord would not rebuke me,

Nor can I ask He not discipline me.

For I have rebelled against the command of the Lord my God,

And I have murmured against Him (Dt 1:26-27).

Surely I have tested the Most High God,

Refusing to keep His testimonies,

I have turned away and acted treacherously (Ps 78:56-57).

How often have I rebelled against the words of God,

Spurning His counsel (Ps 107:11),

Scattering my favors among those not given to me (Jr 3:12),

Grieving His Holy Spirit (Is 63:10).

O blessed Lord, who’s anger cannot shut up Your compassion (Ps 77:9),

You have provided a path for Your anger against me, You forgives the iniquity of Your people,

You who covers all their sin,

You who withdraws all Your anger,

Put away your indignation toward me,

And restore me again, O God of my salvation (Ps 85:2-4).

I will give thanks to You, O Lord,

For though You were angry with me,

Your anger turned away,

That You might comfort me (Is 12:1).

You have given my sin to Your Son,

And You wrapped Yourself Your anger,

To rebuking me in Him.

You made Your Son to see my affliction under the rod of Your wrath,

You have brought Him into my darkness,

And turned Your hand against Him for me (La 3:1-3).

Restore me, O Lord!

Let Your face shine, that I may be saved! (Ps 80:19)

Rebuke me in Christ alone

that I may be forgiven amidst my rebellion,

Discipline me in my Savior,

That I may live the new life He has given me.

Even in the midst of my old and sinful life.

-pmwl 

to act as if these areas of our lives are free from sin ...

Without faith it is impossible to please Him. Hebrews 11:6

The understanding of saving faith which the Scriptures set forth 
is that it must embrace or consume the whole person. 
Faith is not one faculty or ability among the many we have, 
faith is the whole person – man, woman, or child – rightly related to God by the power of the Holy Spirit in Jesus Christ.
To often we relegate and apply faith to certain areas of our lives, 
i.e. – we use faith when we ask for forgiveness, 
we use faith when we need his help, 
we use faith when were depressed, 
but we trust something other than the Lord Jesus in the actual details of our lives. 
To live this way is to act as if these areas of our lives are free from sin and thus don’t need the sanctifying power of Jesus.
Oswald Chambers wrote that “Faith claims the whole person and all that God’s grace can make him, just as it claimed the whole of our Lord Jesus’ life.” 
Our Lord Jesus was the “normal” man, 
not just the “average” man, 
but the man according to God’s norm. 
His life was not cut up into compartments, 
one part spiritual/sacred 
and the other part earthly/secular; 
it was not in any way a divided life. 
Jesus focused every aspect of his life, the “norm” for all lives on the will of God for us.
Through baptism, each believer has been given a faith which lives focused on Christ. 
To live by faith is to exercise faith in every aspect of our living. 
May God grant it to be so.

- pmwl