Letters to My Brothers

O church, arise and put your armor on;
Hear the call of Christ our captain;
For now the weak can say that they are strong
In the strength that God has given.
With shield of faith and belt of truth
We’ll stand against the devil’s lies;
An army bold whose battle cry is “Love!”
Reaching out to those in darkness.

Our call to war, to love the captive soul,
But to rage against the captor;
And with the sword that makes the wounded whole
We will fight with faith and valor.
When faced with trials on ev’ry side,
We know the outcome is secure,
And Christ will have the prize for which He died—
An inheritance of nations.

Come, see the cross where love and mercy meet,
As the Son of God is stricken;
Then see His foes lie crushed beneath His feet,
For the Conqueror has risen!
And as the stone is rolled away,
And Christ emerges from the grave,
This vict’ry march continues till the day
Ev’ry eye and heart shall see Him.

So Spirit, come, put strength in ev’ry stride,
Give grace for ev’ry hurdle,
That we may run with faith to win the prize
Of a servant good and faithful.
As saints of old still line the way,
Retelling triumphs of His grace,
We hear their calls and hunger for the day
When, with Christ, we stand in glory.

“O Church, Arise”
Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music

Watch a video of  this song being performed live at Shadow Mountain Church

My Brothers,

I have attempted to write this post many times and it seems that the words keep getting in the way. So let me be straight forward in asking you, which will you be; someone who stores up the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ or someone who pours out what that knowledge has done in your life? Will we be an encyclopedia of theology or a fountain of water that the Lord has poured out into the lives of others for His name’s sake?

Brothers, knowledge will pass away but love never ends. (1 Corinthians 13:8) If we are storing up instead of pouring out, we are not loving.

Dear Brothers,

Tonight I am reminded of two people that the Lord spoke of and how they were described by their prayer.

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’

Too often I fear I would be grouped with the Pharisee. You see my critical attitude finds all to many opportunities to express itself. Sometimes it is simply my judgement of others (as if I could see their hearts). Other times it is my declaration of how “I am not as bad as…” (this is usually done secretly to myself so as not to be seen as self-righteous to others.) Still other times it is opening my mouth in prayer as if heaven is “waiting to hear” what I have to offer. Yes… if truth be told I would be found in this sad state and decived that I am “okay with God”.

Notice the posture; the Pharisee standing by himself but the tax collector standing away from those who might see or notice him . The Pharisee boldly proclaiming his worth, the tax collector not daring to look up and beating his chest in deepest regret and sorrow.

The Lord Himself declared the final standing of these two men:

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Still, I must caution myself not to fall into the trap of false humility. Though I desire to be counted among the second group, a sinner, I must check and recheck my heart to make certain I am desiring this because I truly know my need for God’s mercy and not just to avoid being seen as a Pharisee.

Should there be a word of hope in this post, let it be that Jesus came to seek and save sinners not the righteous. He chose us not because of our worth but solely upon His mercy and grace.

Where is our trust my brothers? Is it in our own righteousness? If yes, then stand with the Pharisee. Is it in God’s mercy alone? Then know your true need, humble yourself and join me and the tax collector as we beat our chest in regret and seek the mercy of God which knows no end.