Standing Firm (DaleTedder.com)

Every few years I fool myself into thinking that I can successfully manage more than one website and blog at a time. The short answer is… I can’t. One would think I would have learned my lesson by now, but I am apparently stubborn, forgetful, delusional, or a combination of all three.

Anyway, my oldest and dearest website, which allows me to add multiple blogs, is my longtime site, DaleTedder.com. I love WordPress because it makes following a blog really easy and helps the creator get their content out there on social media really easily. I have never been able to do that very well on my website, but it’s still the one I’m going to stick with.

So thanks for following here at A Far Green Country. A version of it will continue at DaleTedder.com. You’ll just have to visit me there to keep up with it… until I finally figure out how to successfully add a “subscriber widget.” So, please, by all means, stop by there and say hello.

Thanks again
Dale

Knowledge of Sin and Misery

The Heidelberg Catechism: Lord’s Day 2

3.Question: From where do you know your sins and misery?

Answer: From the law of God.[1]

[1] Rom. 3: 20;

4. Question: What does God’s law require of us?

Answer: Christ teaches us this in a summary in Matthew 22: You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.[1] This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.[2]

[1] Deut. 6:5. [2] Lev. 19:18.

5. Question: Can you keep all this perfectly?

Answer: No,[1] I am inclined by nature to hate God and my neighbor.[2]

[1] Rom. 3:10, 23; I John 1:8, 10. [2] Gen. 6:5; 8:21; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 7:23; 8:7; Eph. 2:3; Tit. 3:3.

Prayer Journal: Week 2

Lord, we beseech thee, give ear to our prayers, and by thy gracious visitation lighten the darkness of our heart, by our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (Thomas Cranmer)

This Week’s Scripture

·         Jeremiah 8:18 – 9:1
·         Psalm 79:1-9 or Psalm 4
·         1 Timothy 2:1-7
·         Luke 16:1-13

Adoration

Psalm 79:9

Help us, O God of our salvation,
    for the glory of your name;
deliver us, and atone for our sins,
    for your name’s sake!

Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise (verse 1)

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.
(Walter Chalmers Smith)

(Take time now to offer God your praise and worship.)


Confession

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. (1 Timothy 2:5-6)

Loving and devoted God, we confess that, more often than not, we act like rebellious children in the face of your unconditional love, and fail miserably to treat you as the loving Father that you are. Forgive us, we pray, and make us sensitive and responsive at long last to your gracious initiatives. Make us worthy recipients and channels of love, and thus true brothers and sisters of Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen. (Paul A. Laughlin)

(Ask the Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness. Ken Boa)


Thanksgiving

O Thou, Who art the hope of all the ends of the earth, and on Whom the eyes of all do wait, Who crownest the year with Thy goodness, and openest Thine hand and fillest all things living with plenteousness: every day we give thanks unto Thee, and praise Thy Name for ever and ever; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (William A. Knight)

(Ask the Spirit to search your heart and mind and then spend some time thanking God for who he is and the many ways he has poured out his goodness and grace in your life.)


Supplication (Petitions – prayers for yourself)

·         Growth in Wisdom
o   Developing an eternal perspective
o   Renewing my mind with truth
o   Greater skill in each area of my life
·         My activities for this day
·         Special concerns

(From Ken Boa’s Handbook to Prayer)


Supplication (Intercession – prayers for others)

·         My Family
o   My immediate family
o   My relatives
o   Spiritual concerns
o   Emotional and physical concerns
o   Other concerns

(From Ken Boa’s Handbook to Prayer)


O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth: for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth. (Psalm 96:1, 13)

Ten Commandments, Lesson 8: You Shall Not Commit Adultery

Introduction
 
As the commandments we have looked at before, there is much more to this commandment than meets the eye. You can see why the Pharisees had an inflated view of their standing before God. They believed they were fulfilling the commandments because they had not killed anyone, robbed a bank, or run off with a neighbor’s wife.
 
Missing from their understanding were the issues of the heart that God cares much about. In fact, in 1 Samuel, God revealed that humans look at the outside things that characterize a person, while God cares more about the heart. It’s not just the Pharisees who were guilty of this. Christians too, to use Jesus’ satiric imagery, strain out gnats and swallow camels. Christians may think that because they have outwardly behaved themselves by not having sexual intercourse with another person, yet the epidemic of Christians (men especially) who watch pornography is shameful and astounding. If this isn’t a lustful desire of the heart, it’s hard to imagine what is.

CLICK HERE to read the whole post.

Praying for Forgiveness

The Heidelberg Catechism: Lord’s Day 51

Question 126: What does the fifth request mean?

 Answer: Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors means, Because of Christ’s blood, do not hold against us, poor sinners that we are, any of the sins we do or the evil that constantly clings to us. [1]

 Forgive us just as we are fully determined, as evidence of your grace in us, to forgive our neighbors. [2]

[1] Ps. 51:1-7; 143:2; Rom. 8:1; 1 John 2:1-2; [2] Matt. 6:14-15; 18:21-35

Prayer Journal: Week 51

He who labors as he prays, lifts his heart to God with his hands. (Bernard of Clairvaux)

This Week’s Scripture

·         Exodus 3:1-15
·         Psalm 105
·         Romans 12:9-21
·         Matthew 16:21-28

Adoration

Psalm 105:1
Oh give thanks to the LORD;
call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!

O Happy Day, That Fixed My Choice (verse 1)
O happy day, that fixed my choice on thee, my Savior and my God!
Well may this glowing heart rejoice, and tell its raptures all abroad.
Happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away!
He taught me how to watch and pray, and live rejoicing every day.
(Philip Doddridge)

Take time now to offer God your praise and worship.

Confession

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. (Romans 12:9-10)

Righteous Father, I have acted as if I hated thee, although thou art love itself; have contrived to tempt thee to the uttermost, to wear out thy patience; have lived evilly in word and action. Had I been a prince I would have long ago crushed such a rebel; Had I been a father I would long since have rejected my child. O, thou Father of my spirit, thou King of my life, cast me not into destruction, drive me not from thy presence, but wound my heart that it may be healed; break it that thine own hand may make it whole. In Christ I pray. Amen. (The Valley of Vision)

As David did in Psalm 139, ask the Lord to search you and know you through and through. Confess the sins God brings to mind, knowing you are forgiven and that He will cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Thanksgiving

All-wise Lord of heaven and earth, I am grateful for the direction you give me for my life. I am humbled and thankful that you have not left me to grope in darkness to search in vain for the right path, but your Spirit has provided a light for me so I may follow the same road as my Savior. I pray Father, in your power, give me strength to follow your will for my life. Enable me to let my love be genuine and to abhor what is evil. Help me love others with a brotherly affection and continually and consistently show them honor. May I never be slothful in my zeal, but fervent in spirit, always serving you. Let me faithfully rejoice in hope, show patience in tribulation, and be constant in prayer. And may I think of others before myself by contributing to their needs and showing hospitality to them. Then, gracious God, when people see my life, let it point to you so that you, and you alone, receive all the praise and glory. In Christ’s name I pray. Amen. (based on Romans 12:9-13)

Spend some time reflecting on the prayer of thanksgiving above and then thank God for who he is and the many ways he has poured out his goodness and grace in your life.

Supplication (Petitions – prayers for yourself)

·         Help me to grow in wisdom and become who you created and redeemed me to be.
·         Renew my mind and enable me to cultivate a godly perspective and attitude regarding the various spheres and circumstances of my life.
·         Today’s events and interactions with others, planned and unplanned
·         Other needs

Supplication (Intercession – prayers for others)

·         My family, immediate and extended
·         Those struggling with sin, illness, or difficulties in their workplace
·         Other needs


God wants to get us out of the love of virtue and in love with the God of virtue – stripped of all possessions but our knowledge of him. (Oswald Chambers)

Praying for God’s Provision

The Heidelberg Catechism: Lord’s Day 50

125. Question: What is the fourth petition?

Answer: Give us this day our daily bread. That is: Provide us with all our bodily needs[1] so that we may acknowledge that Thou art the only fountain of all good,[2] and that our care and labor, and also Thy gifts, cannot do us any good without Thy blessing.[3] Grant therefore that we may withdraw our trust from all creatures, and place it only in Thee.[4]

[1] Ps. 104:27-30; 145:15, 16; Matt. 6:25-34. [2] Acts 14:17; 17:25; James 1:17. [3] Deut. 8:3; Ps. 37:16; 127:1, 2; I Cor. 15:58. [4] Ps. 55:22; 62; 146; Jer. 17:5-8; Heb. 13:5, 6.