****HOLY, HOLY, HOLY

If the Bible is hard for you to understand, you are not alone. But don’t be confused; there are many who might try to convince you of all kinds of philosophies and beliefs that are NOT validated in Scripture. And there are many others who will twist Scripture to their own likings. Be not deceived by them. When the plain sense of God’s Word makes sense, seek no other sense.  

In a sermon, a few years ago, my pastor summarized all biblical theology in these two statements: 

1. GOD IS. That fact is declared in the first four words of the Bible (Genesis 1:1) “In the beginning GOD.” 

2. HE HAS REVEALED HIMSELF. And that is the rest of the Bible in its entirety. It is all about Him. It is His revelation of and about Himself to His creation. Everything we need to know for faith and practice, God has revealed in His written Word.  

If we could get these two statements firmly embedded in our minds, everything else falls into place. 

And frankly, I think it is enough. Most of us have a hard enough time understanding, believing, and obeying what He has revealed. We don’t need new or more revelation; we just need to believe what He has already revealed to us. 

And He has given us all we need to know about Him. So, when it comes to hard truths that are beyond our human ability to understand, like the tri-unity of God, we don’t have the prerogative to decide, redefine, or create new explanations for it. According to God’s revelation, the Father, the Word, and the Spirit-- these three are co-equal and coexistent. 

Churches and denominations divide over this doctrine because they try to explain it in terms that make sense in our own human dimension and with our finite understanding. It is possible that many (or all) of them can be WRONG, but one thing is certain; THEY CAN'T ALL BE RIGHT.  

And any attempts to deny God’s triune nature or to explain it with foolish analogies (like water or eggs or…) are ludicrous; in fact, analogies are probably heretical, idolatrous, or blasphemous. 

God’s ways are not our ways; His thoughts are higher than our thoughts; He is the creator, and we are the creatures; He is eternal, and we are finite; He is spirit, and we are flesh, and He exists in dimensions that we cannot conceive. And He has not seen fit to reveal to us how that can be, nor has He ordained that we should understand it. He has just declared it and our responsibility is to believe it. Apparently, that's all we need to know, or He would have revealed more. 

It may seem over-simplified to just state that the One True, Eternal, Living God coexists in three distinct persons. But it is true; The Father is God. The Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, is God. And the Holy Spirit, (the Spirit of the Father and the Son) is God. And yet these three are co-equal in glory, and power. But that is about as reverently and scripturally accurate as we can get when describing the Trinity.  

Remember - God is and He has revealed Himself. As for me, I will just accept, as truth, what He has declared. To disbelieve His Word is to deny Him. 

The greatest and most accurate hymn about the Trinity is HOLY, HOLY, HOLY. It clearly declares that our God is ONE God who manifests Himself in Three Persons. The hymn was written in 1783 by Reginald Heber, a young man who had translated a Latin classic into English verse by the time he was seven. He entered Oxford at the age of 17 and won two awards for his poetry during his time there. After his graduation, he became rector of his father's church where he remained for 16 years. He was appointed Bishop of Calcutta in 1823. He died of a stroke three years later. 

****WHITER THAN SNOW revised

 

WHITER THAN SNOW

Redemption is a “once for all” transaction where a sinner is washed in the blood of the Lamb of God who was slain for our sins. But in this world, we will do things and go places that will stain our hands and feet, so we need regular and frequent cleansing to keep us in fellowship with the Lord. He is holy and He commands us to be holy.

If you were a child in the mid-1900s, you probably remember Fizzies. They were little, colored seltzer tablets that we would drop into a glass of water and then watch them fizz up. When the tablets were completely dissolved, they turned plain tap water into tasty, carbonated soft drinks. They came in seven flavors: grape, orange, cherry, lemon-lime, strawberry, cola, and my favorite, root beer. By the early 1960s, Fizzies were more popular than Kool-Aid®.

One day, when I was about eight years old, my Mom left me at home with my grandfather. It was a summer day, and I wanted a Fizzie soft drink so I asked him if I could go to the market and get some. He said no!

Well, I pouted about that for a while until I found some coins on my mom’s nightstand. So, I took a quarter (that was equivalent to about $2.50 today). I sneaked off down the street to the market and I bought some root beer Fizzies. They sure tasted good.

When my mother got home from work, she found the Fizzies wrappers in the trash can and asked me how I got them. I told her Grandpa gave me the money. She didn’t question me anymore and I thought I got away with that, but I really didn’t. She knew that I lied to her. Even though she never said anything else about it, I knew she was disappointed with me (I could tell by the silent treatment) and I carried the guilt of that sin for a long time.

Finally, after several days, I confessed; I lied to her, I took her money, and I disobeyed my Grandfather. That’s when she forgave me, she smiled and hugged me, she told me she loved me, and our relationship was restored.

That heavy, guilty feeling I had, is called conviction. That’s the way the Spirit of God works in our lives. He is like a mother with eyes in the back of her head; she sees everything, and she knows what you did, and she will make your life miserable until you are sorry and corrected.

When we sin, the Holy Spirit relentlessly chases and chastens us until we are grieved so much that we are brought to a place of confession and repentance.

And that work of the Spirit, in us, is evidence of true salvation. It is one way a believer can know that he is saved. If you are not miserable about your sin; if you can ignore the pleas from other Christians, to stop, and if you can quench or silence the Spirit and continue to sin, it is possible that you may not have the Spirit of God in you and there is good reason to question the reality of your salvation.

When David sinned, he felt that same guilty feeling of conviction and he recorded his confession and repentance for us in Psalm 51 which was the inspiration for James Nicholson’s hymn, WHITER THAN SNOW.

In the Psalm, we see that David is deeply troubled by his sin. He knew that there would be no forgiveness from God without his confession and so, he is pleading with the Lord, “Have mercy upon me, O God, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, and You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight.”

Then, after admitting his sin, David asked God for His forgiveness and a restoration of their fellowship; Wash me, and I shall be WHITER THAN SNOW.

****THE SOLID ROCK revised

****THE SOLID ROCK 

Edward Mote was not raised in a godly home. He didn’t have the advantage of an early exposure to the Word of God. His parents, who managed a pub in London, often neglected their son who spent most of his Sundays on the streets of the city.

About his own childhood, he said: “So ignorant was I that I didn’t even know there was a God.”

But, eventually, Edward heard the Good News of the Gospel. He believed and was baptized at the age of 18 years. That’s grace! And that’s the only basis for our Salvation.

Edward worked as a cabinetmaker for 37 years but it wasn’t until after his 55th birthday, that he became the pastor of a Baptist church in Horsham, Sussex. And for the next 21 years, Edward did not miss a single Sunday preaching the Word of God.

He was so well-loved by his congregation that they offered him the title deed to the church building. But, to that, he said: “I do not want the chapel, I only want the pulpit; and when I cease to preach Christ, then turn me out of that.” 

I am amazed at that statement. It was profound. Edward Mote understood that the church is not about a building; it’s about the pulpit. It’s about the preaching of the Written Word of God which is inseparable from the Living Word of God.

I once had a pastor who referred to his pulpit as the SACRED DESK. He placed a small, engraved plaque on the top. For anyone who ever stood behind it, the engraving was a simple reminder from the pages of scripture that said, “Sirs, we would see Jesus.” 

There is a good reason that so many churches place the pulpit right up front in the center of a raised platform. It is there to expose, elevate, and expound the Word of God so that the people can clearly see Jesus.

Edward Mote wrote the hymn, “THE SOLID ROCK,” at the age of 37. It is listed among the greatest hymns of the Christian faith. It reminds us that our salvation, our only Hope, is in the shed blood of Jesus (a sacrifice for our sin), and His righteousness is imputed to us.

Simply put, “I owed a debt I could not pay; Jesus paid a debt He did not owe.”

PUBLISHED

HYMN NOTES

Published

1.    1-17-20         THE SOLID ROCK

2.    1-22-20         REDEEMED

3.    1-31-20         I HAVE DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS

4.    2-7-20           THE CHURCH'S ONE FOUNDATION

5.    2-14-20         DOXOLOGY/WE GIVE THEE BUT THINE OWN

6.    2-28-20         THANKS TO GOD WHOSE WORD WAS SPOKEN

7.    3-13-20         WE ARE AN OFFERING

8.    3-20-20         WHITER THAN SNOW

9.    7-1-20           MY COUNTRY TIS OF THEE

10.  7-10-20         O FOR A THOUSAND TONGUES TO SING

11.  7-17-20         BIND US TOGETHER / BLEST BE THE TIE THAT BINDS   

12.  7-24-20         MY SAVIOR'S LOVE

13.  7-29-20         IN CHRIST ALONE

14.  8-13-20         Ebenezer's, Wretches, and Worms

15.  8-21-20         SAVIOR, LIKE A SHEPHERD, LEAD US

16.  8-29-20         AT CALVARY

17   9-9-20           What A Day That Will Be
18.  9-13-20         SOLDIERS OF CHRIST, ARISE  

19.  9-18-20         My Job Description

20.  9-26-20         A TRIBUTE TO THE MUSIC OF THOMAS CHISHOLM 

21.  10-3-20         All Hail The Power Of Jesus' Name

22.  10-17-20       Worthy Of Worship

23.  10-25-20       IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL

24.  10-31-20       The Beginning of the Holiday Season   

25.  11-7-20         How Firm A Foundation

26.  11-14-20       Ask Ye What Great Thing I Know 

27.  11-28-20       Take My Life And Let It Be  

28.  12-12-20       Be Still My Soul

29.  12-19-20       Angels We Have Heard On High

30.  12-26-20       What Child Is This?

31.  1-2-21           We Three Kings

32.  1-9-21           Wonderful Peace

33.  1-16-21         My Religion's Not Old Fashioned

34.  1-23-21         My Heavenly Father Watches Over Me

35.  1-27-21         Jesus Saves

36.  2-5-21           O WORD OF GOD INCARNATE

37.  2-11-21         How Deep The Father's Love For Us

38.  2-20-21         To Be Used Of God

39.  3-3-21           Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

40.  3-12-21         I Sing the Mighty Power of God

41.  5-1-21           LOVE LIFTED ME

42.  5-8-21           Count Your Blessings 

43.  5-15-21         HE GIVETH MORE GRACE                        

44.  5-22-21         BEAUTIFUL SAVIOR (Fairest Lord Jesus)

45.   5-29-21        GOD OF OUR FATHERS

46    6-5-21          A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD

47.   6-12-21        I WILL SING OF MY REDEEMER

48.   6-19-21        A TRIBUTE TO PHILIP BLISS

49.   6-26-21        THE OLD RUGGED CROSS

50.   7-3-21          MY COUNTRY TIS OF THEE

51.   7-10-21        COME THOU FOUNT OF EVERY BLESSING

52.   7-18-21        IMMORTAL, INVISIBLE GOD ONLY WISE

53.   7-24-21        THE SOLID ROCK (2)

54.   7-30-21        JESUS IS ALL THE WORLD TO ME 

55.   8-7- 21         GOD OF OUR FATHERS

55.   8-14-21        SO SEND I YOU

56.   8-21-21        STANDING ON THE PROMISES

57.   8-28-21        MY HOPE IS IN THE LORD

58.   9-4-21          IMMORTAL, INVISIBLE, GOD ONLY WISE

59.   9-11-21        AM I A SOLDIER OF THE CROSS

60.   9-18-21        GOD LEADS  HIS DEAR CHILDREN ALONG

61.   9-23-21       JESUS THOU JOY OF LOVING HEARTS      

62.  10-2-21        PRECIOUS LORD, TAKE MY HAND

63.  10-9-21        WHAT A WONDERFUL SAVIOR

64.  10-16-21      NOW I BELONG TO JESUS   

65.  10-23-21      ONE DAY (GLORIOUS DAY)

66.  11-13-21      TAKE THE WORLD BUT GIVE ME JESUS

67.  11-20-21      WE PRAISE THEE, O GOD, OUR REDEEMER

68.  11-27-21      THANKS TO GOD WHOSE WORD WAS SPOKEN

69.  12- 4- 21      HAVE THINE OWN WAY, LORD

70.  12-11-21      AS WITH GLADNESS, MEN OF OLD 

71.  12-18-21     MARY DID YOU KNOW?

72.  12-25-21     DOWN FROM HIS GLORY

73.  1-8-22         LET THERE BE PEACE ON EARTH

74.  1-15-22       ROCK OF AGES

75.  1-22-22      ALL CREATURES OF OUR GOD AND KING

76.  1-29-22      GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

77.  2-5-22        WE'RE MARCHING TO ZION

78.  2-11-22      HALLELUJAH! WHAT A SAVIOR

79.  2-18-22      CONGREGATIONAL SINGING

80.  2-26-22      I GAVE MY LIFE FOR THEE

81.  3-4-22        THIS OLD HOUSE

82.  3-11-22      PSALMS, HYMNS, AND SPIRITUAL SONGS

83.  3-18-22      SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER

84.  3-25-22      AND CAN IT BE

85.  4-2-22        JESUS, LOVER OF MY SOUL

86.  4-9-22        MY JESUS, I LOVE THEE

87.  4-16-22      THERE IS A REDEEMER

88.  4-23-22      GUIDE ME, O THOU GREAT JEHOVAH

89.  4-30-22      MORE ABOUT JESUS

90.  5-7-22        AT THE CROSS

91.  5-14-22      HOLY, HOLY

92.  5-21-22     ALAS! AND DID MY SAVIOR BLEED 

93.  5-28-22     THERE IS A FOUNTAIN

94.  6-4-22      SING PRAISE TO GOD WHO REIGNS ON HIGH

95.  6-11-22     ABIDE WITH ME

96.  6-18-22     HE KNOWS MY NAME

97.  6-25-22    A CHRISTIAN HOME

98.  7-2-22      ONCE FOR ALL (Free From The Law)

99.  7-10-22    TRUSTING JESUS

99.  7-21-22    TRUST AND OBEY

100. 7-30-22   NO ONE EVER CARED FOR ME LIKE JESUS

101. 8-7-22     COME CHRISTIANS, JOIN TO SING

102. 8-14-22   NEAR TO THE HEART OF GOD

103. 8-21-22  PRAISE TO THE LORD, THE ALMIGHTY

104. 8-26-22  DAY BY DAY

105. 9-4-22    LO, HE COMES WITH CLOUDS DESCENDING

106. 9-10-22  WHAT WONDROUS LOVE IS THIS

107, 9-17-22  I CANNOT TELL

108. 9-24-22  CHILDREN'S HYMNS

109. 10-1-22 WHEN I SURVEY THE WONDROUS CROSS

100. 10-8-22  PRAISE MY SOUL, THE KING OF HEAVEN

111. 10-16-22 CALVARY COVERS IT ALL

112. 5-12-23 BREAK THOU, THE BREAD OF LIFE

113. 5-7-23  NAME OF ALL MAJESTY

114. 4-16 23 PRAISE THE LORD YE HEAVENS ADORE HIM

115. 4-12-23 O THE DEEP, DEEP LOVE OF JESUS

116. 4-5-23 WHEN I SURVEY THE WONDROUS CROSS

117. 

ON CHRIST, THE SOLID ROCK, I STAND

STAND UP AND BLESS THE LORD

Ready for publication

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

         

 

ABIDE WITH ME  6-12-22

A CHRISTIAN HOME   6-26-22

ALAS! AND DID MY SAVIOR BLEED (1)   5-21-22

ALAS! AND DID MY SAVIOR BLEED (2)  8-18-23

ALL CREATURES OF OUR GOD AND KING  1-22-22     

ALL HAIL THE POWER OF JESUS’ NAME  10-3-20        

AM I A SOLDIER OF THE CROSS    9-11-21       

A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD   6-5-21         

AND CAN IT BE   3-25-22  

AMAZING GRACE 4-30-23  

ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH   12-19-20      

ASK YE WHAT GREAT THING I KNOW    11-14-20      

AS WITH GLADNESS, MEN OF OLD   12-11-21     

AT CALVARY    8-29-20        

AT THE CROSS    5-7-22

A TRIBUTE TO PHILIP BLISS   6-19-21       

A TRIBUTE TO THE MUSIC OF THOMAS CHISHOLM  9-26-20        

 

BEAUTIFUL SAVIOR (FAIREST LORD JESUS)  5-22-21        

BE STILL MY SOUL   12-12-20      

BIND US TOGETHER / BLEST BE THE TIE THAT BINDS  7-17-20  

BREAK THOU THE BREAD OF LIFE  5-12-23

BRETHREN, WE HAVE MET TO WORSHIP  7-16-23

CALVARY COVERS IT ALL 10-16-22 

CHILDREN'S HYMNS  9-24-22

CHRIST AROSE 3-27-23

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS    5-8-21 

COME CHRISTIANS, JOIN TO SING  8-7-22         

COME THOU FOUNT OF EVERY BLESSING   7-10-21       

CONGREGATIONAL SINGING   2-18-22    

 

DAY BY DAY  8-26-22

DOWN FROM HIS GLORY   12-25-21    

DOXOLOGY/WE GIVE THEE BUT THINE OWN   2-14-20        

 

EBENEZERS, WRETCHES, and WORMS    8-13-20        

 

FAIREST LORD JESUS (BEAUTIFUL SAVIOR)   5-22-21 

 

GOD LEADS HIS DEAR CHILDREN ALONG   9-18-21       

GOD OF OUR FATHERS    5-29-21     8-7- 21       

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS    1-29-22     

GUIDE ME, O THOU GREAT JEHOVAH   4-23-22

 

HALLELUJAH! WHAT A SAVIOR    2-11-22    

HAVE THINE OWN WAY, LORD    12- 4- 21 

HE GIVETH MORE GRACE       5-15-21

HE KNOWS MY NAME  6-19-22    

HOLY, HOLY    5-15-22 

HOLY, HOLY, HOLY 7-23-23

HOW DEEP THE FATHER'S LOVE FOR US   2-11-21        

HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION    11-7-20        

HYMN TO A GRACIOUS SOVEREIGN 

I CANNOT TELL   9-17-22

I GAVE MY LIFE FOR THEE   2-26-22    

I HAVE DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS   1-31-20        

IMMORTAL, INVISIBLE, GOD ONLY WISE 7-18-21 / 9-4-21         

IN CHRIST ALONE    7-29-20           

I SING THE MIGHTY POWER OF GOD   3-12-21

IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL    10-25-20

I WILL SING OF MY REDEEMER    6-12-21

I'D RATHER HAVE JESUS

 

JESUS IS ALL THE WORLD TO ME  7-30-21  

JESUS CALLS US  6-25-23      

JESUS, LOVER OF MY SOUL  4-2-22     

JESUS SAVES   1-27-21        

JESUS THOU JOY OF LOVING HEARTS     9-23-21      

 LET THERE BE PEACE ON EARTH  1-8-22

LO, HE COMES WITH CLOUDS DESCENDING 9-4-22         

LOVE LIFTED ME  5-1-21          

 

MARY DID YOU KNOW?  12-18-21    

MORE ABOUT JESUS  4-30-22   

MY COUNTRY TIS OF THEE  7-1-20 /   7-3-21         

My Heavenly Father Watches Over Me  1-23-21        

MY HOPE IS IN THE LORD   8-28-21       

MY JESUS, I LOVE THEE  4-9-22     

My Job Description  9-18-20        

MY RELIGION'S NOT OLD FASHIONED  1-16-21        

MY SAVIOR'S LOVE   7-24-20        

 

NAME OF ALL MAJESTY 5-7-23

NEAR TO THE HEART OF GOD 8-14-22

NOW I BELONG TO JESUS    10-16-21 

NO ONE EVER CARED FOR ME LIKE JESUS 7-30-22     

O FOR A THOUSAND TONGUES TO SING  7-10-20 

O THE DEEP, DEEP LOVE OF JESUS 4-12-23        

O WORD OF GOD INCARNATE  2-5-21 

ONCE FOR ALL  7-3-22          

ONE DAY (GLORIOUS DAY)  10-23-21     

 

PRAISE MY SOUL, THE KING OF HEAVEN 10-8-22

PRAISE THE LORD YE HEAVENS ADORE HIM 4-16-23

PRAISE TO THE LORD, THE ALMIGHTY 8-21-22

PRECIOUS LORD, TAKE MY HAND  10-2-21       

PSALMS, HYMNS, AND SPIRITUAL SONGS  3-11-22   

 

REDEEMED   1-22-20        

ROCK OF AGES   1-15-22      

 

SAVIOR, LIKE A SHEPHERD, LEAD US  8-21-20 

SING PRAISE TO GOD WHO REIGNS ABOVE  6-4-22  

SOLDIERS OF CHRIST, ARISE  9-13-20        

SO SEND I YOU  8-14-21       

STANDING ON THE PROMISES  8-21-21       

SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER  3-18-22   

 

TAKE MY LIFE AND LET IT BE   11-28-20       

TAKE THE WORLD BUT GIVE ME JESUS   11-13-21     

THANKS TO GOD WHOSE WORD WAS SPOKEN 11-27-21/ 2-28-20  

The Beginning of the Holiday Season   10-31-20      

THE CHURCH'S ONE FOUNDATION  2-7-20          

THE OLD RUGGED CROSS  6-26-21       

THERE IS A FOUNTAIN  5-28-22  

THERE IS A REDEEMER   4-16-22      

THE SOLID ROCK  1-17-20        

THE SOLID ROCK (2)   7-24-21       

THIS OLD HOUSE  3-4-22     

TO BE USED OF GOD  2-20-21        

TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS   3-3-21 

TRUST AND OBEY 7-21-22

TRUSTING JESUS  7-10-22           

 

WE ARE AN OFFERING    3-13-20

WE PRAISE THEE, O GOD, OUR REDEEMER    11-20-21     

WE'RE MARCHING TO ZION     2-5-22 

WERE YOU THERE?          

WE THREE KINGS   1-2-21  

WHAT A DAY THAT WILL BE    9-9-20          

WHAT A WONDERFUL SAVIOR   10-9-21       

WHAT CHILD IS THIS?   12-26-20 

WHAT WONDROUS LOVE IS THIS   9-10-22

WHEN I SURVEY THE WONDROUS CROSS 10-1-22      

WHITER THAN SNOW   3-20-20        

WONDERFUL PEACE   1-9-21     

WORTHY OF WORSHIP   10-17-20      

 

 

****TO BE USED OF GOD

Years ago, as a plastering contractor, I had a unique tool that I favored above all the others. It was my finishing trowel. When it was new, it was just like any other trowel but it got better with age. Through years of use, the once squared sides had worn down until the front was considerably narrower than the back.  

The rough unfinished wooden handle had been worn to a polished, bone-like finish from rubbing against my gloved hand and the edge was honed razor-sharp from use.

The old-timers used to tell me how their trowels would "sing" on the hard plastered walls. I never knew what that meant until my own trowel became well worn and I could hear the distinct ringing sound of a fine tool against the hardening plaster surfaces.

I loved that trowel. One day, I set my tools on the ground while I moved my mortarboard. When I turned back, I found that a large tractor had run over my tools.

My trowel was broken into pieces. The handle was split into fractions, the shaft was snapped off and the steel blade was cracked and popped off its rivets. My favorite tool was useless junk.

I knelt down and carefully gathered up all the broken pieces. I carried them back to my truck and gently placed them in my toolbox. After a few sad moments of mournful silence, I picked up another trowel and returned to finish my work.

I learned a few things that day about tools in the hands of the Master Craftsman.  God is at work in this world and nothing can thwart His purposes. In Matt. 16:18, Jesus said, “I will build My Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” 

That verse is clear; Jesus affirms that the Church is HIS and HE is the builder and protector. 

In Eph. 2:10 we learn that “…we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works…”

The subject, here, is the Church and God is the Designer, Creator, and the Master Craftsman. He uses His people to do His work. If we become useless or unavailable, He will still finish His work according to His plan.  

This is important to remember lest we "think more highly of ourselves than we ought." None of us is indispensable in God’s work and He is not dependent on any one of us, in particular, to get the job done. We are only His tools. And like a Master craftsman, God has special tools for specific jobs. In verses 6-7, Paul explains, that, for God to make the gentiles part of that “building,” he, Paul was “made a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effectual working of His power.”

So, the Craftsman has the right to decide which tools to use and how He uses them.

Have you ever deliberately ruined a perfectly good tool for a reason?  I have. There was a time that I needed a special tool for a particular, one -time, purpose. There was nothing suitable for the job except the shank of a good trowel so I broke off the blade to create the custom tool I needed to complete the job.

Sometimes God takes a perfectly good tool and destroys it for His purpose. And people will ask, “How could a loving God do that?” Fanny Crosby comes to mind. Had she not been made blind, she might never have had the spiritual sight that inspired her great hymns of Faith.

God knows precisely what tools He needs to accomplish His purpose. There is a similar example in Scripture- “…as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from his birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, 'Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?' Jesus answered, ‘Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.' ” Jn. 9:1-3

Some tools, like my trowel, get better when they are “broken in.” In God’s hand, we become honed and polished, through trials and hardships in our lives, to make us useful and favored tools of His choice.  In Eph. 2:22-3:1 Paul introduces himself as a prisoner for “this cause…” 

What cause was that? God was building His Church and, in His sovereign plan, He needed His servant to be imprisoned.

Tools can do nothing apart from the skill and ability of the craftsman and a skilled craftsman can accomplish very fine work with just mediocre tools. God is sovereign and all-powerful. He will accomplish His work completely and with excellence and He does it with imperfect tools.

Elijah was a prophet of God. His story reminds me of my trowel. Through his many years of service, he had been honed and polished to the point that he was a favored tool of choice in God’s hands. And I can imagine how Elijah must have been “singing” the praises of God as he personally experienced God’s mighty work through him.

But the time came when Elijah became unusable. When he looked around at his circumstances, he began to lose faith, he became fearful, and he ran away to hide. God came looking for him and demonstrated His power and provision but Elijah was still fearful.  It was like that tractor driver had run over him. Elijah had become unusable.

So God picked up another tool, Elisha, to complete His work.  Did God still love Elijah? Of course, He did and He swept him up in a whirlwind and carried him off to Heaven in a chariot of fire.

Remember, God is the Master craftsman and He has many tools at His disposal. Should we become unusable, He may lovingly take us up and carry us home.

Now, that brings me to an important point for our local congregations. About 60 years ago, my church family was devastated.  We had lost our pastor, our pianist, our choir director, and a couple deacons and Sunday school teachers all within a few short weeks.

I was fearful and uncertain about our future. I asked a long-time member, a godly elderly woman, “What is going to happen to our church?” 

She was quick with a comforting answer.

“You don’t need to worry about that,” she said, “This is God’s church and He is at work to accomplish His will for our good and His glory.” 

She was right; in just a few months God had raised up new people to serve in our church.

My question to that woman came back to me recently when we announced our move away from our church. Someone asked me,  “What are we going to do without you and your family?” 

And I had the answer – “This is God’s church. He is in control and He will raise up people to continue His work.”

Our responsibility is to be ready, available, and willing, to be useful tools in the Hands of the Master. And whenever we feel like we are not good enough, smart enough, or skilled enough to be of any use to God, we should think again about this passage in 1 Cor. 1:27-29;  "But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God."

Did you catch that?  NO ONE can boast; God gets all the glory.

The great hymn, TO BE USED OF GOD, was written by Audrey Meier and it expresses her desire “to sing, to speak, to pray, to lead, or TO BE USED  by God” in whatever capacity He deems fit. 

And that should be the desire of every Christian.