Psalm 121 - Rest in the LORD

Psalm 121
By Matthew , 3/11/06

I feel my weakness;
I seek for help.
Rest in the Lord

The Lord made heaven;
The Lord made earth.
Rest in the Lord

He holds me steadfast;
He does not sleep.
Rest in the Lord.

He watches Israel;
He does not sleep.
Rest in the Lord.

He is my Keeper!
He is my Shade.
Rest in the Lord.

The sun is harmless;
The moon so weak.
Rest in the Lord.

He keeps from evil;
He keeps my soul.
Rest in the Lord.

A thought from a friend:

"If God is love, He is something more then mere kidness. Someone kind to animals will kill an animal to keep them from suffering."

Does this affect our concept of true love?

Why did He love me?

Here is a poem that I wrote this week. The first one is the original, but I decided to write it in contemporary English as well. - MC


For what?
2/22, 25/06 – Jn. 17:23, 26; I Cor. 9:24-27
Matthew

For what didst Thou love me? To honor Thy name
And why hast Thou given? To cover my shame
And now, as Thou callest, “Love them for me.”
I answer, “My Lord, empower Thou me.”

For what didst Thou call me? To love Thee each day
And why then redeemed me? To walk in Thy way
And now, through Thy power, receiving great grace,
I hunger, my Lord, to win in Thy race.

For what wast Thou offered? to blot out my sin
And why didst Thou suffer? To sanctify men
And now, as Thou showest, Give all for men;
I follow; “My Lord, take me to them.”




(revised) For what?
2/25/06 – Jn. 17:23, 26; I Cor. 9:24-27
Matthew

For what did You love me? To honor Your name
And why have You given? To cover my shame
And now, as You called, “Love them for me.”
I answer, “My Lord, empower now me.”

For what did You call me? To love You each day
And why then redeemed me? To walk in Your way
And now, through Your power, receiving great grace
I hunger, my Lord, to win in Your race.

For what were You offered? To blot out my sins
And why did You suffer? To sanctify men
And now, as You showed, Give all for men;
I follow; “My Lord, take me to them.”

Who's happy?

Here's some interesting stats I found at Turkish Daily News.
Turkey is the third most unhappy country in the world; the USA is the second happiest country in the world. Have fun, amusing yourself with pondering why different countries are happy or unhappy. (Why is France unhappy, but the UK and US are happy?)...

Top 10 'happy' countries: Country percentage claiming to be 'very happy':

Australia -- 46

U.S. -- 40

Egypt -- 36

India -- 34

UK -- 32

Canada -- 32

Mexico -- 31

Sweden -- 30

Brazil -- 29

Saudi Arabia -- 28


Top 10 'unhappy' countries: Country percentage claiming to be 'very unhappy' or 'disappointed':

Hungary -- 35

Russia -- 30

Turkey -- 28

South Africa -- 25

Poland -- 24

Philippines -- 23

Japan -- 21

Taiwan -- 19

France -- 18

Hong Kong -- 17

I am an over-reactionary doofus!

I just wanted you all to know that I, Matthew, am an over-reactionary doofus. Every time my friends do something mildly annoying to me, I overreact and hurt them severely.
(Like this post on this blog for instance, I'll probably overreact severely and hurt someone for it!)

Closed countries???

I'd seen this quote before, but it struck me anew today.

There are no closed countries if you do not expect to come back. 

- Larry Poston

Massive Toad

This is a picture that my family sent to me. It is my dad holding a large toad (not frog) on a regular 10-inch paper plate. He does this whenever he finds a big one. :)

What is true Love?

This is an old definition of love that I've heard for years but can never remember, so I decided to post it, thus giving me a way to reivew it.

"Love is a desire for and a delight in the well being of the one loved, leading to active and a self sacrificing effort of their behalf."

Worshiping while sacrificing

I was reading Gen. 22, Abraham sacrificing Isaac today; I was struck again by Abraham's saying "we will go and WORSHIP and then we will come again." He was going to sacrifice his son. So I was reminded of the song that I heard a while back: When praise demands a sacrifice. Ponder the words.

The call to go to Mount Moriah came to Abraham
But the offering placed before the Lord was not a lamb
He bound His only son and when the knife was raised
A sacrifice became the price of praise.

CHORUS
When praise demands a sacrifice, I'll worship even then
Surrendering the dearest things in life
And if devotion costs me all He'll find me faithful to His call
When praise demands a sacrifice.

The call to go to Calvary came to God's own son.
An altar waited for the lamb He would become
His hands reached up to Heaven as the cross was raised
And with His life He paid the price of praise

REPEAT CHORUS

God hears the words of praise we lift, yet I have found.
He's honored more by what I am willing to lay down.

REPEAT CHORUS

Christian leadership tainted by politics?

  It's a good thing that most Christian leaders aren't scrutinized by the media for what they do and their connections as much as Republican politicians. If they were, we would be able to look forward to the fall of several prominent evangelical leaders in the next few months for association with Mr. Jack Abramoff, that person who is presently making so many Congressional politicians squeamish as he prepares to testify in court. Those Christian leaders who would be indicted for indirect, but guiltful, association would include such people as James Dobson of Focus on the Family, Phyllis Schlafly, and American Family Association head Don Wildmon. If you are interested in the whole story check it out here. Basically, these are people who got used for political purposes without their knowledge, intriguing eh. And yet, one wonders if those mighty politicians in Washington ever find they have been used inadvertently but get knocked down by the media anyways. Ah well, what goes around, comes around.