All Hail the Power:

One of my all time favorite hymns is All Hail the Power of Jesus Name. In fact every wedding I’ve attended in Ukraine this hymn has been sung by the congregation.

This hymn has been called the National Anthem of Christianity. There are three hymn-tunes that are used in singing this hymn. My favourite is Diadem although Miles Lane and Coronation are also powerful tunes.

If you had to name a song that would be the anthem for Christianity what would it be? Where do these words fall in your describing Christianity?

All hail the power of Jesus’ name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown Him Lord of all.

Ye chosen seed of Israel’s race,
ye ransomed from the Fall,
hail Him who saves you by His grace,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Hail Him who saves you by His grace,
and crown Him Lord of all.

Sinners, whose love can ne’er forget
the wormwood and the gall,
go spread your trophies at His feet,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Go spread your trophies at His feet,
and crown Him Lord of all.

Let every kindred, every tribe
on this terrestrial ball,
to Him all majesty ascribe,
and crown Him Lord of all.
To Him all majesty ascribe,
and crown Him Lord of all.

(Alternate wording to the above verse)
Let every tribe and every tongue
before Him prostrate fall
And shout in universal song
the crownèd Lord of all.
And shout in universal song
the crownèd Lord of all.

O that with yonder sacred throng
we at His feet may fall!
We’ll join the everlasting song,
and crown Him Lord of all.
We’ll join the everlasting song,
and crown Him Lord of all.

Distracted By The Waves:

Today I posted the following on the 66books in a year blog I’ve mentioned so many times.

As you read it think of the following:

What waves do you encounter where you need to remember Jesus?

What can you do to keep Jesus in your consciousness more often?

Scripture:

Matthew 14:28-33, 28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”29 He said, ”Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.30 But when he saw the wind,t he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.”31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ”O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (ESV)

Observation:

This is one of the most known stories in the Gospels. Peter walking on water. What do we know about the situation? First, Peter was the only one that volunteered to walk on water. There is a film entitled In Remembrance. It’s about the last supper. In one portion it has several disciples discussing who was the greatest, who was first. Finally in exasperation Peter pulls the trump card and asks, “Who else has walked on water?” Second, Peter became afraid when he “saw” the wind. How do you see the wind? Well you don’t. You see the effects of the wind. What would those have been? Most likely very high waves. There were times he probably lost sight of Jesus because of their height. Third, Peter had little faith. How can that be when he started out walking on water? Probably because he had lost sight of Jesus and so thought he couldn’t be helped by him if he did start to sink.

Application:

It is really easy to criticize Peter and think we would never lose faith as he did. But don’t we, don’t I do it on a regular basis? When I forget to look for Jesus in a situation, or to realize he is in every situation of my life, I am losing faith aren’t I? And believe me I’ve done it a lot in my life! Let’s look for Jesus behind every “wave” we encounter today. Let’s not be distracted by the waves, but keep our eyes focused on the one who gives us the faith in the first place.

Prayer:

Father God thank you for always being with us. Help us to look for you today in all we do. Help us not to take our eyes off of you even when it’s hard to see you in an overwhelming wave we may encounter later today. Thank you for your presence always! In Jesus strong and protective Name we pray, Amen.

dmbaldwin

A Snapshot of the American Male:

Hi Guys,

As I have said before I am starting to be a sub-blog for Frugal Dad (http://frugaldad.com/average-man/). He posted something today that relates directly to A Leader’s View. Our leadership can be determined by what shape we are in. Bad shape challenged leadership, good shape unleashed leadership.

After browsing through the graphic below you may want to ask yourself the following quesitons:

• Where am I in good shape financially & physically?
• What areas of my life do I need to work on to get into shape?
• What aspects of my leadership are depending on getting into shape?

God’s Provision:

I write for 66books. It’s a blog that works through the Bible in a year. The post below also appears on 66books today. I would encourage you to check it out. It’s a great way to stay in God’s Word this year.

Genesis 20, 21, 22, Matthew 6:19-34

Scripture:

Genesis 20

Abraham and Abimelech

1 From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar.2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.”4 Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people?5 Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.”6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her.7 Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”(NASB)

Observation:

Is this a coincidence or the Holy Spirit’s timing. Really all these passages point to God’s provision in our lives. Whether it’s the passage above or the Matthew passage it all has to do with trusting God’s provision for us. It’s a theme that runs throughout the Bible. Here Abraham is caught lying about his relationship with Sarah. His personal safety isn’t found in human design, but in a relationship with the living God of the universe. It’s simple and profound and yet so many in the Bible missed it. In the following chapters we see Abraham understanding this truth of God’s provision when he takes Isaac to the mountain top for sacrifice. God will provide was his comfort. And God did provide.

Application:

As mentioned above the lessons of God’s provision are laced throughout the Bible. We all understand this concept in our heads, but those truths don’t make it to our hearts or actions. I’m in that number. My first reaction when I hit trouble in my life is to worry not trust. Then my worry turns to scheming. I think of ways I can extricate myself from the circumstances at hand. By starting with God rather than self is what He is longing for us to do. Those times when I do that the rewards are generous and lasting. Let’s try to apply that lesson every time we read about God’s provision in the Bible during this new year of 2012.

Prayer:

Father God I confess that I am far from where you long for me to be. I worry, scheme and talk my way out of life’s scrapes. I seldom look to you first for your provision. I pray that 2012 will be a year of trust instead of worry, a year of prayer not scheming. Thank you now for the provision that will come because of this act of faithfulness. I pray these things in Jesus Name, Amen.

dmbaldwin

Some Turkey Things to Think about This Thanksgiving:

Greetings Everyone, and Happy Thanksgiving. I’m starting to feel like an annex for the Frugal Dad Blog, but this guy comes up with some very interesting stats. Here’s one on our turkey consumption on this day as well as correlated stats. Let me know what you think!

Before The Throne Of God Above

We have an awesome coffee account in Emmitsburg, MD. The Holy Grounds Cafe sells a lot of our Furnace Hills Coffee and they know how to brew it just right. And they are Christ followers to boot! The twenty-two mile drive to Emmitsburg is beautiful, especially in the early morning. I take these drives to listen to worship and praise music I have on my iPhone. This morning I made a coffee run to Holy Grounds Cafe. One song sung by Selah and the Sovereign Grace Men’s Worship (okay you know one of my secrets, I download multiple arrangements of songs I really like. I have thirteen arrangements of Waters of March by Antonio Carlos Jobim.) The song is Before the Throne of God Above. What awesome words and what a beautiful setting as I drove through the rolling hills of Maryland this morning thanking God and being humbled by His care for me. The lyrics are shown below:

Lyrics to Before The Throne Of God Above :

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!

I am overwhelmed by God’s grace and love for me. What part of this song speaks most to you?  For me it’s his provision for me when Satan tempts me to despair. What a glorious thought. 

Well that’s this Leader’s View.

Blessings,

Dave

Who Controls What You Read and Watch in the News:

I came across this telling graphic from FrugalDad.com. It’s worth the read:

So what do you think about these stats? Are we really getting accurate information or are there a few that control what we know about what’s happening in the world? How can we be more discriminating? 

World of Texts:

So what do you think of this data? What implications does this have for how you communicate in the world today?

The Power of the Forgotten:

Greetings Everyone,

It has been a busy time in the Baldwin household and ministry. As I have stated many times before I periodically write posts for 66Books In a Year blog. Today is one of those days. Below you’ll see the post I wrote today on 2 Kings 22.

Blessings,

Dave

Scripture: 2 Kings 22: 8-13

8 And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.9 And Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord.”10 Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.

11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes.12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king’s servant, saying,13 ”Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.” (ESV)

Observation:

What an awesome passage of Scripture. Josiah, the child king, orders the temple to be remodeled. In the process the Book of the Law is found. And in the process of reading it they find out they are in deep trouble. Josiah realized how he and the people had sinned against God and that forgiveness needed to be asked to God for how the people had strayed from what was written. Imagine this book being lost for many years and here Josiah comes face to face with his own sin and that of his people. So forgiveness is asked for and the day is saved.

Application:

I don’t know about you, but there are times when I read a passage from the Bible and it’s like I’m reading it for the first time. Not in a real sense like with Josiah, but in a figurative sense it has been neglected or forgotten. Then we read precious words and our hearts are filled with the beautiful message of the Gospel afresh and we are ready and renewed to serve God with more fervor and zeal. I love those times when I sit stunned in my “quiet time” chair and let the forgotten verses saturate my very being. What great times of love for Jesus and his word come my way in those moments.

Prayer:

Father God we stand in awe of your Word and how it speaks to us. It is too immense to comprehend all at once and we forget portions of it. Thank you that it is alive and powerful and changes us when we let the verity of it soak our souls. I pray these things in the wonderful, living and strong Name of Jesus, Amen!

dmbaldwin

What (Who) Are You Rooted In:

Greetings All. As I have said many times before I write for another blog titled 66Books In A Year. I recommend it to you. Below you’ll find the post I wrote for today.

Scripture:

Colossians 2:6&7, 6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving (ESV).

Observation & Application (these two seemed to intertwined to separate today):

Walking in Christ Jesus. How do we do that? Well first we do what we are doing right now. We spend time in his Word. You spend time in prayer with the God of the universe. When I’m walking with God I work at obeying even the small whispers from him that come my way. I think about what is written in his Word and what he has been teaching me. And, you know what happens? We are rooted in him. And when we are rooted in him we can withstand the storms of life because our roots go deep in Jesus. In times of spiritual drought when we seem to have lost our way, we still have roots that go deep in Jesus. We have spent time nourishing and feeding our relationship with him so our roots go deep in him. Paul writes to Timothy that physical training profits a little (1 Timothy 4:8), not true with spiritual disciplines. Without them we are not driving our roots deep into Christ. Why does it surprise us when we see a “strong rooted” believer fall? It’s because we can all talk the talk and seem to walk the walk. Our root system is hidden. All the trees in your yard look the same, but when the storm brings one down we see the lack of roots. Don’t be like those trees looking like the rest of us, but there is no root system. Grow your roots deep into Christ.

Prayer:

Father God thank you for how you give us the resources that help root us in Christ. Help us to take advantage of it all. We love you and want your best in our lives. We pray these things in Jesus Name, Amen!

dmbaldwin

What have you found that helps drive your roots deep in Christ Jesus? I’d like to read about your growth strategy.