Don’t go into battle alone

“Jerry, what should I do?” The voice of the young man was on the edge of desperation, facing a world that has no clear path.  I offered my ear, shared advice, and encouraged him to take life one day at a time. And, I invited him to renew his faith, trusting God to guide. The conversation reminded me that whether 13, 30, or 73 … we all have battles in life. Some all-consuming warfare, life and death on the line. Others are ordinary struggles, like those persistent weeds in the lawn.  Are you doing battle today – with the world, or the flesh, or the devil?

I learned a story in Sunday School that still speaks to my heart. A teenager’s faith is at the center of a story of conflict. Jesse of Bethlehem woke up his young son and told him to take bread and cheese down to his three older brothers in the army. He arrived just as the army was assembling on the lines. He heard voice roaring a challenge. There stood the Philistine ‘champion’ named, Goliath, on the far side of the valley, bellowing his defiance of Israel’s God and armies.

Goliath was a giant in his time, towering over others. He carried a spear that was 12 feet long with an iron tip weighing 15 lbs. He wore armor and appeared invincible! When he lumbered out each day to hurl his challenge at the army of Israel, they quaked with fear. “I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose one man to come down here and fight me! If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves!" (1 Samuel 17:8-9, NLT)

Who could meet such a freak of nature on the field of battle and succeed? It was an impossibility, or so it appeared to every reasonable man with military experience!

That day faith rose up in David and he started asking questions. "Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?" (1 Samuel 17:26, NLT) His oldest brother, Eliab, tried to silence him, calling him an arrogant pup, a know-nothing kid. The teenager’s faith was contagious and King Saul agreed to send him out to meet Goliath. The experienced champion of Philistia, with a hundred victories in his record, mocked the shepherd boy. 

To human eyes, David stood on the field of battle all alone. But, he was surrounded by the Presence of God and he knew it!  As Goliath threatened to feed his carcass to the birds, we read that "David shouted in reply, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord Almighty—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." (1 Samuel 17:45, NLT)   

You know the rest of the story. David did kill the champion and started his life as a leader of Israel.

Does life meet you with a challenge that taunts and tests your faith?  We are not alone. Later in his life, David wrote the beautiful Shepherd’s Psalm in which he praises God for His care. "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." (Psalm 23:4-5, NIV)

Is your vision limited by the possible as natural life defines it? Pray often, "Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions." (Psalm 119:18, NLT)

When we live in His Presence, we are never alone in the battles of life.

Here’s a word from the Word. I pray it will bring faith to you so that you will be prepared to meet the Goliath in your life with supernatural sight!

"Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God”?
Do you not know? Have you not heard?

The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:27-31, NIV)

_______________

There Was Jesus
(Zac Williams and Dolly Parton remind us of His grace!)

Every time I tried to make it on my own

Every time I tried to stand and start to fall

All those lonely roads that I have traveled on

There was Jesus

 

When the life I built came crashing to the ground

When the friends I had were nowhere to be found

I couldn't see it then but I can see it now

There was Jesus

 

In the waiting in the searching

In the healing and the hurting

Like a blessing buried in the broken pieces

Every minute every moment

Of where I been or where I'm going

Even when I didn't know it

Or couldn't see it

(There was Jesus)

 

For this man who needs amazing kind of grace

For forgiveness at a price I couldn't pay

I'm not perfect so I thank God every day

There was Jesus (There was Jesus)

 

There was Jesus on the mountain in the valleys

(There was Jesus) in the shadows of the alleys

(There was Jesus) in the fire in the flood

(There was Jesus) always is and always was

 

No I never walk alone You are always there

(Never walk alone)

 

There was Jesus (There was Jesus)

(There was Jesus)

 

Casey Beathard | Jonathan Smith | Zach Williams

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Accepting life as it is

 

The people who are the most well-adjusted, who enjoy the most productive lives, are those who are able to accept life as it is. Did you think I just advised you to ‘give up’ on making life better? I did not. Acceptance allows us to stop pretending, excusing, living in fantasy so that we will deal with life as it is in reality!   

There is a kind of Christianity out there that turns life inside out. The power of God is turned into a tool that we use to make life what we believe it ought to be. God exists, in that mistaken view, to serve us, to ‘fix’ life.

A subtle conceit is taught that hides inside of the language of ‘faith’ that suggests that if we learn the ‘right’ prayers, if we do the ‘right’ things, if ‘know God’ intimately, then we can master our universe and turn life into a perpetual experience of happiness, untroubled by sickness, disappointment, or death. 

So many Christians who have been taught to think in this way live without the peace of God and often feel ashamed of their prayers that go ‘unanswered’ because they conclude that they must be doing something wrong.  

Consider this challenging, inspired passage, that Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers.  Speaking of his ‘thorn in the flesh,’ something that caused him pain, he says "Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."  (2 Corinthians 12:8-10, NIV) 

That is acceptance!  “This is the reality of my life,” he says, “and I will not pretend it is better than it is, try to make it into something it is not. In fact, I will DELIGHT in the very things others despise.”

He knew that when he accepted life’s reality, he was in a position to be used of God as He desired. Those who live there experience great serenity. The grand paradox is this:  the person who knows his own inability to ‘fix’ the world and rests in the Lord is the one who brings about the most lasting transformation in the world. That person who knows that they are held in the hands of God, who access His Presence with faith, discover a quality of spiritual power unequaled by those who constantly demand that God act, heal, save, or change their situation.

Ben Patterson, campus pastor at Westmont College, wrote transparently about his journey of faith in a time of suffering that uncovered his desire to control his own life. "For 6 weeks I was totally out of commission. During that time I crossed a frontier in my prayer life... toward the end of my convalescence, I had a conversation with the Lord that went something like this: 'These times of prayer have been sweet. I've actually had time to pray for every single person in this congregation, every day. It's too bad I won't have time to do this when I get back to work.' The Lord's reply was quick and blunt. 'Stupid, you have the same 24 hours when you're well as when you are sick. The trouble with you, Ben, is that when you're well, you think you're in charge; when you're sick you know you're not.' "

When we adopt the idea that God is just a part of our equipment to deal with life, that we can ‘use Him’ to make our plans work out, our faith becomes religion, our submission to Him lost. In that place we risk turning into one of those Christians who is disillusioned, ill-tempered, and ineffective. Though we would not likely say it out loud, in our heart we wonder “Why doesn’t God do what I ask of Him?”  We may even conclude that He is cruel or unkind, a kind of abusive Father.  Conversely when life is going well we will conclude we must be living right, earning His favor, and in that spiritual pride become an ugly, judgmental person of those who are hurting.

God works with people who have come to the end of Self, who are ready to ‘get real’ about themselves and life.  He is the Friend of Sinners.  Consider the life of Moses. The man had great abilities and was trained in the school of Pharoah. But, he became a failed prince and a fugitive murderer. He had 40 years in the desert tending a flock of sheep becoming nobody.  Then, he met God who handed him a tough assignment!  Moses’ knew his limitations and even tried to sidestep the call of God at first. He wondered, “How will I inspire a people enslaved by a powerful nation to leave behind the lives they have known for centuries? How will I get the Pharaoh to let the people go?”

God’s answer was a focus on HIMSELF, not on the prayers or personality of Moses. "Who should I tell these people has sent me? What's your Name?" The LORD reveals His majesty saying, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ (Exodus 3:14, NKJV)

Are you struggling to make sense of life today?  Pray to learn the gift of acceptance, to ‘be’ where you are, fully present to yourself, your family, your circumstances AND at rest in the Presence of the Spirit of God. There in the hand of the One who is the great 'I AM'  we find the great faith that makes us useful to Him. “His grace is sufficient!”

The word from the Word is that passage I quoted earlier. Meditate on it, prayerfully asking the Spirit to settle your soul today. "Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."  (2 Corinthians 12:8-10, NIV)

_____________

Hold On To Me
(Lauren Daigle sings a prayer!)

When the best of me is barely breathin'
When I’m not somebody I believe in
Hold on to me
When I miss the light the night has stolen
When I’m slammin' all the doors You’ve opened
Hold on to me hold on to me

Hold on to me when it’s too dark to see You
When I am sure I have reached the end
Hold on to me when I forget I need You
When I let go hold me again

When I don’t feel like I’m worth defending
When I’m tired of all my pretending
Hold on to me
When I start to break in desperation
Underneath the weight of expectation
Hold on to me hold on to me

I could rest here in Your arms forever
'Cause I know nobody loves me better
Hold on to me hold on to me

Lauren Daigle | Paul Duncan | Paul Mabury

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Believe Him, not Fate!

 

We wake up to find ourselves living through hardship that found us unexpectedly, don’t we?  I am ministering to a grieving family, remembering a good man, a friend to me, whose life ended too soon by my estimation. Given our limited knowledge we simply cannot sort out all the reasons for his death.  Joe was a kind of ‘walking miracle’ for the last decade, having come through some serious health challenges but this time he died days after entering the hospital.

I am no fatalist so I will not just say, “Everything happens for a reason.” 
But, I do say, “I believe God and He will make a way for us.”

After Jesus’ Resurrection, one of His disciples found the idea that He was alive too much to believe even when his friends insisted that they had seen Jesus! Thomas dismissed their words. “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:25-29, NIV)

Jesus tells us that we can choose faith. “Stop doubting and believe.”  Faith is not just something that springs up in us. Yes, it is a gift of God and our faith is a work of the Spirit, but we must feed our faith, live in ways that strengthen our faith, and pray for greater faith.

When Paul wrote to the church in Philippi from a prison, his words are marked by assurance. He demonstrates faith in a situation that he might have seen only in despair. After preaching the Gospel of Christ across the Empire for 20 years, here he was in prison. His work for the Lord met resistance.  Even Christians criticized him. He was thrown out of cities more than once. Yet, he is joyful and hopeful. Why?  He looked at his life from a perspective of faith!

"Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly. It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached.

And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:12-21, NIV)

Paul’s faith is not simplistic. He does not insist that everything is wonderful, nor does he dismiss the hardship with fatalistic resignation. He knew that choices, those others made and he made, had consequences. He was completely aware that evil was actively causing pain and suffering. But, Paul also understood that while God allows all things, knows all things, and is omnipotent;  He not the author of evil!  He never suggested that God put him in prison. 

But, he had full confidence that God would use his situation to bring about Kingdom results, IF he continued to live in faith.   He pointed out that he was guarded by the elite soldiers of Caesar’s guard, an audience he could not have reached for Christ outside of prison. And, He knew that if he was faithful despite his problems, others would be encouraged to remain faithful, too. Paul’s faith encompasses death itself!  “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”   Dead or alive, Paul belonged to Jesus Christ. It’s a win-win situation! Alive, he continues to advance the Kingdom. Dead, he goes home to the Father. 

Circumstances will challenge our faith!  We can choose to be like Thomas, insisting on proof, demanding answers; or we can be like Paul who courageously said “I rejoice!”  We do this, not because we are naïve or simple-minded, but because we choose faith and hope. Today, your life may look nothing like you think it should. Will you kick and scream or invite Him to be at work, in you and through you, to take those things that others, that the Devil, meant for your destruction and to shape them into a means of displaying His grace and awesome power?  Let’s go steady on, patiently, in faith.

Here is a word from the Word, one that feeds my faith. "If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us." (Romans 8:30-34, NLT)

 Abba, increase my faith.
Turn my fears into courageous hope,
My struggles into a display of Your grace and mercy.
Whisper of Your power to save to me,
convince me that You secure my future, straight into Eternity.

Jesus, may You shine most brightly in me when the skies are dark.
Spirit of God, lead me on, through the storm, through the uncertainties,
Into the glorious Will of the Father.  Amen

________________

The Solid Rock

(take a few moments to worship with a great hymn!)

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus' blood and righteousness

I dare not trust the sweetest frame

But wholly lean on Jesus' name

 

On Christ the solid Rock I stand

All other ground is sinking sand

All other ground is sinking sand

 

When darkness seems to hide His face

I rest on His unchanging grace

In ev'ry high and stormy gale

My anchor holds within the veil

 

His oath His covenant His blood

Support me in the ‘whelming flood

When all around my soul gives way

He then is all my hope and stay

 

When He shall come with trumpet sound

O may I then in Him be found

Dressed in His righteousness alone

Faultless to stand before the throne

 

Edward Mote | William Batchelder Bradbury

© Words: Public Domain

Certain Uncertainty

How do you deal with things that are uncertain? Life works best for me when I know the what, the why, the where, the way.  I am not very good at just ‘letting it happen.’  I value results and when I start a project, I tend to push hard to complete it as quickly as possible.  Maturity (some call it ‘old age’) has brought me the understanding that much of living is the process, with joy to be found on the journey as much as at the destination.

In 2010, Bev and I helped one of our adult children do a cross-country move, driving from California to Maryland, in a rental truck. Sound awful to you? It wasn’t!  We drove about 400 miles each day, just enjoying the trip, pulling over occasionally to take in the views of our beautiful country, eating at little local restaurants, living without hurry. Moments from that journey are etched into my memory including one of my beautiful wife standing in a mountain meadow high in the Rocky Mountains just west of Denver, CO.

The last 12 months in our world were full of uncertainty.  We could not predict the way ahead and it is still unclear. It is not my intent to minimize the pain or difficulty of life in our time, but I do believe that God invites us to walk it out, to appreciate His Presence in this moment. 

Jesus told us something that I am understanding in a new way these days. "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:28-33, NIV)

He invites us to enjoy the trip, to stop obsessing about the future so we can appreciate what God provides for this day!  Yes, friend, He has provision made for you, right now, where you are. The Israelites who were journeying from Egypt to Canaan knew God’s provision of manna. Remember that story? Everyday God fed them with a miraculous food that appears in the morning. He forbade them from collecting more than they could use for the day. If they tried to store it, it spoiled quickly, except on the Sabbath! 

There’s a lesson for us in that story. We cannot borrow tomorrow’s blessings today and we are fools to let the worries of next year rob us of our present reality.

Are you wrestling with fear or doubt, unsure of how to proceed?  I understand! I tend to awaken in the small hours of the morning concerned about the challenges that I know are coming my way. While preparation and planning are a good thing, Christians need not live in a state of worry or fear.  If we are walking with the Lord, He will make a way.  A half-century of pilgrimage has taught me many things including the fact that no matter how much I think I know about the future, it is a certain uncertainty!

Love God. Love others. Leave space for the Spirit to accomplish His will. Trust God with the ambiguities of life. They are many, dear friend.  He is a patient God, as Peter says, One for Whom a ‘day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day.’ We need not jump at the idea that comes our way, fearing that unless we do, life will pass us by! 

We cannot allow the rapid pace of living create the illusion in us that we can become super-saints overnight.  God will not drop us and move on if faith slips from our grasp from time to time. He is full of grace, His desire to transform us, day by day, into the likeness of His Son. “When God is personally present, a living Spirit, … we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like Him.” (The Message 2 Cor. 3:17-18)

Today, even if the way is murky, if questions far outnumber answers, be content to ask for ever-increasing faith!  If prayers come hard, then just wait in silence before Him.  Hold onto this - "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9, NIV)  Yes, we can enjoy the journey.

Here is a word from the Word for our meditation today.  "I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:18-21, NIV)

_____________

Good, Good Father
(a prayer song!)

I've heard a thousand stories
Of what they think You’re like
But I've heard the tender whisper
Of love in the dead of night
You tell me that You’re pleased
And that I'm never alone

You're a Good Good Father
It's who You are, It's who You are
It's who You are
And I'm loved by You
It's who I am, It's who I am
It's who I am 

I've seen many searching for answers
Far and wide
But I know we're all searching for answers
Only You provide
Because You know just what we need
Before we say a word

You are perfect in all of Your ways
You are perfect in all of Your ways
You are perfect in all of Your ways to us

Love so undeniable I can hardly speak
Peace so unexplainable I can hardly think
As You call me deeper still
As You call me deeper still
As You call me deeper still
Into love love love

Anthony Brown | Pat Barrett © 2014 Capitol CMG Paragon (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

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You are Free to live!

 

History has some dark chapters doesn’t it? Hate, cruelty, selfishness, murder, war, bloodshed are too much a part of the record. What about your history?  Are there chapters you would like to erase?  I look back and remember, with a sigh, days for which I would love a ‘do over,’ but reality tells me that even with a second chance at it, I would never get it exactly right.  Why? Because in my humanity, I am prone to sin. And, so are you. We may avoid murder and mayhem, but Self is never far away.

Never the less, I do not live in guilt or condemnation. I am well aware of my yet to be perfected life. I am also confident in the gift of God’s grace, provided to us by the Savior. He invites us to live in the ‘glorious freedom of the children of God.’  (Romans 8.21)  I am realistic about the temptation around me and conscious of my failure but I know that Someone greater is at work in me, that because of Christ Jesus, I need no longer exist with fear or regret. This is the truth in which I live, by faith. “God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, and now you can call God your dear Father. (Abba) Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child.” (Galatians 4:6 NLT).  

 Those who are alive in the Spirit, through faith in Christ Jesus, can speak of sinfulness in the past tense. No, we are not yet perfected. But, the guilt of sin is removed completely!  "There was a time when some of you were just like that, but now your sins have been washed away, and you have been set apart for God. You have been made right with God because of what the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God have done for you." (1 Corinthians 6:11, NLT)

Because of Jesus, we are able to choose to live nobly, to serve God, and to defeat dark depravity.  “But, I am tempted and I fail,” you say. I do, too. The conflict of Self and the Spirit is very much alive in us even after coming to faith in Christ. However, unlike our “Before Christ” days, now we know what is right and good.  We can choose to grow in grace, becoming useful to God.

We are, by His declaration, no longer slaves to sin but rather servants of God privileged to know and live in the power of the Spirit. What a difference! All the church work and religious effort in the world can replace the amazing joy of sharing in God’s glory, released from shame and guilt to live freely.  In the century that followed Jesus’ time here on the earth, Christians traveled to the far corners of the depraved, cruel, ugly world that was the Roman Empire. They met prostitution, slavery, injustice, and poverty with acts of love. They served the least, the lost, the broken, the powerless.  The Spirit working through them brought light and life, hope and joy, to millions.  They were known for their compassion.  Were they applauded and admired? Not by those in power!  The sinful recognized the threat of the Gospel of Christ and killed Christians by the thousands in a vain attempt to put out the Light. But, history testifies to the power of the Jesus message.  Christians who were free to serve changed the world.

Christian, our world waits for the beautiful message of freedom from sin. 

Let’s not just tell, let’s show the way to be free to love, free to serve, free from slavery to sin, Self, and Satan.

Will you reach out to our Abba, take your freedom, and then pray for the power to live in a way that you bring liberty and life to others? 

Like Jesus you will encounter evil and those enslaved will hate you just as they hated Him. But remember, “if we share in His suffering… we will also share in His glory.”   Let’s go change the world, one life at a time.

 Here is a word from the Word …  "So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law." (Galatians 5:1, NLT)  "For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love." (Galatians 5:13, NLT)  "So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves." (Galatians 5:16, NLT)  "But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!" (Galatians 5:22-23, NLT)

 

Oh, the glorious freedom of the children of God.
__________

And Can It Be (Amazing Love How Can It Be)

And can it be that I should gain

An interest in the Savior's blood

Died He for me who caused His pain

For me who Him to death pursued

Amazing love how can it be

That Thou my God shouldst die for me

Amazing love how can it be

That Thou my God shouldst die for me

 

He left His Father's throne above

So free so infinite His grace

Emptied Himself of all but love

And bled for Adam's helpless race

'Tis mercy all immense and free

For O my God it found out me

'Tis mercy all immense and free

For O my God it found out me

 

No condemnation now I dread

Jesus and all in Him is mine

Alive in Him my living Head

And clothed in righteousness divine

Bold I approach th'eternal throne

And claim the crown through Christ my own

Bold I approach th'eternal throne

And claim the crown through Christ my own

 

 

Charles Wesley

© Words: Public Domain