Lord, Have I Forgotten?

 This weekend, the Lord has wrecked my heart once again with the Gospel. It was much needed too.
This writing, or poem if you will, has been birthed tonight poured out from a heart that's been wrecked and overcome by the Gospel of the grace of God. Hope ya'll are immensely encouraged by it, as was I as I wrote it! Grace & peace!

Lord, have I forgotten
The Gospel?
That once being
A child of wrath
Am now Your son
Adopted in
By the blood of Christ?
That now
Because of the cross
I can call you Father
And You call me son?
That when darkness & chaos
Surround me
You are still with me?
That when  all seems lost
You still remain?

Have I forgotten
That You are the Shepherd
Leading Your flock
Beside quiet streams?
That You are ever faithful
To Your people?
That You give comfort
To Your chosen
When their afflicted?
That you sustain & give strength
When Your beloved
As weak & weary?

Have I forgotten
That You are
Not only the Promise Make
But also the Promise Keeper?
That the future glory
Prepared for us
Is infinitely greater
Than this present suffering?
That You work all things out
For my good & Your glory?
That is you are for us
Who can be against us?
And that nothing
Can separate Your Children
From Your love for us?

Forgive me Lord
For my unbelief, for I believe!
Forgive my God,
For my doubt!
Remind me
That You are good
And do good
With Your thoughts
Are higher than mine
And Your ways
Are greater than my ways
That I'm like a child
Always in His Father's arms
That You sustain me
By your grace
That You have
Sought me and bought me
And I'm Yours!
Forever in Your grace!
Forever in Your love!
Amen!

Do Not Fear, Take Heart!

A little something I wrote today. This I hope will encourage you, my brother or sister in the Lord, to stand firm in the faith and be salt and light in a dark world. Remembering that we are sojourners, citizens of God's kingdom. Also that victory, in the end, is certain and promised!

Brothers & sisters
Why worry
And why freak out?
Why dread
And be concerned?
Who would dare
Come against us
If God is for us?
When the storms
Of trouble come
We will take refuge
In our God
For He is
Our hiding place
When terror & danger
Surround us
We find safety
In Him alone
When overwhelmed
By the fear of uncertainty
Let us remember
That we are His people
And He is our God
He is our Shepherd
And we are the sheep
Of His pasture
So do not fear
Take heart
Cherish the Gospel
Remembering whose hands
Our names are engraved on!

I'm Not, He Is

Wednesday night...the Lord dealt with me. He caused me to take a step back and take a look at myself. To search my heart diligently to see if there be any offensive way in me. Oh, my am I thankful that He revealed and exposed sin that I've been blind to. Thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus that these sins (complacency, selfishness, lack of discipline, and lack of humility) are not held to my account. Yes, my debt has been paid in full at Calvary! So that....exchange, if I may, with the Lord that night led to this.....



Don't look at me
Nor speak
Highly of me
I am not
To be esteemed
Nor my name
Made known to others
I'm deserve to be heard
Nor worthy of your time
I'm not some one
Who is great
I'm not significant
Nor important
I'm not worthy
Of attention
Or of praise
But I do know
Of One who is
Who is worthy
Of glory and honor
To be exalted
And made much of
"The Lord Most High"
Is His name
King of glory
And Lord of creation
Is He
There are no rivals
Nor any that compare
To Him
So again I say
I'm not worthy
And I'm not great
Yet my Lord and God
He is

What the Gospel Does For Me

 Yesterday I went on a walk through the neighborhood meditating on the Gospel. Of how Jesus came into the world to save sinners (of whom I'm the worst); by His life, death, and resurrection. Meditating on this rich and glorious news led me to marvel at it. A bit later, this is what I wrote:


To meditate on
And marvel at the Gospel
Is rich goodness
For my soul
It's relieving
And freeing
It brings comfort
And restores joy
It humbles me
And causes me
To forget myself
It causes me to rejoice
And drives me
To greater worship
It reminds me
Of where my identity is
And of the hope
Of future glory
It exalts
And points me to
It's Author
So that I
I may behold
And marvel at Him


Yes! For that is what the Gospel does for me, as a child of the Most High God!

No Better Place



This is what has been on my mind and heart as of late. Hope you're encouraged and blessed by it!

 

 There is no better place to be

Than to be caught up within

The beauty and glory

Of the person of Jesus

To be enraptued

By majesty and splendor

In the light of His face

All things fade

All things grow strangely dim

Sin becomes grotesque and vile

Worries and anxieties

Will disappear

Dreams, goals, and aspirations

Won't matter

Oh yes

To chase after

Look to

Delight in

And marvel at Christ

Is the best place to be

For I'd rather be

Nowhere else

 

 

Stellar Global 3

Just thought I'd share 3 messages on missions! Three killer messages at that by John Piper, David Sitton, and David Platt! Whether you aim to be a missionary overseas on not, I encourage you to check out these messages; and I pray that he will stir your hearts for His glory to be displayed to the ends of the earth!

David Sitton

http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/conference-messages/missionary-martyrs-fools-for-jesus-for-the-nations#.TmzkJ-6hdfU.facebook

John Piper

http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/conference-messages/doing-missions-when-dying-is-gain

David Platt

http://t4g.org/media/2012/05/divine-sovereignty-the-fuel-of-death-defying-missions-2/



 I do hope that these messages are a blessing and encouragement to you my brothers & sisters!
May His glory be displayed through His people to the ends of the earth!

grace & peace,
Joshua A. Taylor

Oh How I Abhor Sin!

 Enter Cathy, a lady in her mid to late 60's and her 7 year old granddaughter Ariana from Missouri, who me and a friend talked and shared Christ with while down in Florida last week. Our conversation with Cathy was about 2 hours long, and it mainly her sharing about her life story. She shared about her rough upbringing of abuse and such....in detail. Then she proceeded to share with us how she's seeing history repeat itself with her granddaughter. I dare not even share in detail what Ariana has to and is going through; all I can say that pierced my heart. It just absolutely to hear about what both Cathy and Ariana have to and still are going through. My heart aches for them.

 Then there's been a recent tradgey. A family friend (especially one to my 20 yr old brother) took his own life. I won't share his name in order to respect and honor his family. I didn't know the kid all too well, but well enough for his death to prick my heart. My heart goes out to his family & friends.

 My heart is torn over these 2 instances. Seeing the pain, sorrow, animosity, hate, bitterness, brokenness, and so on has led me to just burn with anger. Yes, my heart burn with a righteous anger over sin; over all that is evil and wicked! I state with sincereity from my heart along with the apostle Paul," Abhor what is evil;" (Romans 12:9). The things that I listed above are of the effects of sin; either from yourself or from others. I've been burning and disgusted with sin and the way it perverts, destroys, and kills! Oh, how I just want this world to rid of sin, and of all that is evil and wicked!
  Yet, there is a light at the end of the tunnel! There is a hope that I hold onto! Oh, yes there will be an end to pain, suffering, brokenness, evil, and sin! That because Christ Jesus who came to crush the curse of sin and power of the grave by the substitutionary death at Calvary is coming again to bring utter restoration. To right what has be wronged; do away with Satan, His angels, sin, and death once and for all! This familiar passage in Revelation 21 gives comfort, hope, and a glimpse of that day.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,"Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." ~Revelation 21:3-4

 Thanks be to God through Christ Jesus our Lord! Yes, let us praise God for the perfect life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ who has set in motion, with a bang, the restoration of all things! So we cry out along with the apostle John,"Come, Lord Jesus!" (Rev 22:20).