A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Faith

Not What My Hands Have Done

By 2 Comments

Do you remember the song I did last week?  It was also written by Horatius Bonar!   Wow!   So I guess I don’t have to write a whole about him eh?  Anyways, Not What My Hands Have Done reminds us that it’s God’s action not ours which is our salvation.

Not what my hands have done

Horatius Bonar was called Horace by his friends. A Scottish pastor who wrote many songs. He passed away in 1889. He preached with fervor, starting his ministry in Kelso and finishing his pastorate at the Chalmers Memorial Free Church.

Lyrics

Not what my hands have done
Can save my guilty soul;
Not what my toiling flesh has borne
Can make my spirit whole.
Not what I feel or do
Can give me peace with God;
Not all my prayers and sighs and tears
Can bear my awful load.

Thy work alone, O Christ,
Can ease this weight of sin;
Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God,
Can give me peace within.
Thy love to me, O God,
Not mine, O Lord, to Thee,
Can rid me of this dark unrest,
And set my spirit free.

Thy grace alone, O God,
To me can pardon speak;
Thy power alone, O Son of God,
Can this sore bondage break.
No other work, save Thine,
No meaner blood will do;
No strength, save that which is divine,
Can bear me safely through.

I bless the Christ of God;
I rest on love divine;
And with unfaltering lip and heart
I call this Savior mine.
His cross dispels each doubt;
I bury in His tomb
Each thought of unbelief and fear,
Each lingering shade of gloom.

I praise the God of grace;
I trust His truth and might;
He calls me His, I call Him mine,
My God, my joy and light.
In Him is only good,
In me is only ill;
My ill but draws His goodness forth,
And me He loveth still.

’Tis He who saveth me,
And freely pardon gives;
I love because He loveth me,
I live because He lives.
My life with Him is hid,
My death has passed away,
My clouds have melted into light,
My midnight into day.

Daughter of Jerusalem Rescued

By 2 Comments

I know it’s been a while, honestly my thoughts have been elsewhere.  Gardens, schooling, and more.  I’ve been busy and rather tired and falling asleep in the evening when I would normally be blogging.  Last time we might we discussed The Mountain of the Lord. 

In that day, declares the Lord,
    I will assemble the lame
and gather those who have been driven away
    and those whom I have afflicted;
7 and the lame I will make the remnant,
    and those who were cast off, a strong nation;
and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion
    from this time forth and forevermore.

8 And you, O tower of the flock,
    hill of the daughter of Zion,
to you shall it come,
    the former dominion shall come,
    kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem.

9 Now why do you cry aloud?
    Is there no king in you?
Has your counselor perished,
    that pain seized you like a woman in labor?
10 Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion,
    like a woman in labor,
for now you shall go out from the city
    and dwell in the open country;
    you shall go to Babylon.
There you shall be rescued;
    there the Lord will redeem you
    from the hand of your enemies.

11 Now many nations
    are assembled against you,
saying, “Let her be defiled,
    and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.”
12 But they do not know
    the thoughts of the Lord;
they do not understand his plan,
    that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor.
13 Arise and thresh,
    O daughter of Zion,
for I will make your horn iron,
    and I will make your hoofs bronze;
you shall beat in pieces many peoples;
    and shall devote their gain to the Lord,
    their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth.

Micah 4:6-13

Scripture Speaks

 

Look at the people The Lord God will gather together: the lame, the driven away, and the afflicted.    God will make the lame a remnant and the cast off into a strong nation. 

In that day, declares the Lord,
    I will assemble the lame
and gather those who have been driven away
    and those whom I have afflicted;
7 and the lame I will make the remnant,
    and those who were cast off, a strong nation;

Not only that, the Lord God will reign over in Zion for ever. 

and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion
    from this time forth and forevermore.

Tower of Flock

There is some discussion about what tower of flock means.  Some thinks it means Jerusalem, some think it’s an actual tower, and yet others think it’s a gateway that Christ will come through.  But whomever it is, whatever the tower of the flock is, kingship will come.  It doesn’t make sense that it is Jerusalem, but she can’t be her own daughter. Figurative language not withstanding. 🙂

8 And you, O tower of the flock,
    hill of the daughter of Zion,
to you shall it come,
    the former dominion shall come,
    kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem.

The questions come:

9 Now why do you cry aloud?

    Is there no king in you?
Has your counselor perished,
    that pain seized you like a woman in labor?

With no answers given to the questions, the daughter of Zion that rescue is coming.  But rescue will come after struggle.  Struggle as if in labour pains, leave the city, dwell in the open, go down to Babylon and wait.  Rescue happens in Babylon.  Rescue by the Lord, the one who redeems her from the enemies. 
10 Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion,
    like a woman in labor,
for now you shall go out from the city
    and dwell in the open country;
    you shall go to Babylon.
There you shall be rescued;
    there the Lord will redeem you
    from the hand of your enemies.

Rescue will happen

In Babylon the daughter waits, the nations around mock. 

Now many nations
    are assembled against you,
saying, “Let her be defiled,
    and let our eyes gaze upon Zion.”

But you know what?  These nations don’t understand the thoughts of God.  They have no clue what he plan is. 
12 But they do not know
    the thoughts of the Lord;
they do not understand his plan,

These nations don’t know that they are about to be put to the threshing floor.  They will be beaten and the goods gathered from them, devoted to God. 
   
you shall beat in pieces many peoples;
    and shall devote their gain to the Lord,
    their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth.

Micah 4:6-13

Thinking a bit

I think about those words “they do not know
    the thoughts of the Lord; they do not understand his plan”

Ruminating on those words one can find comfort.  Comfort that the enemy of the Lord doesn’t know God’s plans. He doesn’t know the end run.  He see the long term goals.  For all he knows, what he sees is the immediate and thinks a winning hand is there. 

I recall how they mocked the daughter of Jerusalem, showing no pity, but wanting her to be defiled.   They only saw her struggle, they didn’t see the end that God had in store.  

Isn’t it just like it is in our lives?   So easy to kick the person that is down, or helpless, or in a hard place.  The daughter of Jerusalem was in a hard place and had no one coming to her aid.   Imagine being alone in childbirth and how hard that would be.   So hard and alone eh?

But they don’t know.  They don’t.  Rescue is on the way and God told the daughter of Jerusalem that it would be so.  She knows better, but her nay-sayers don’t.  I do hope she listens!

 

Divergent Culture

By 12 Comments

It’s another five minute Friday word prompt! Do join in won’t you? Miss Kate has chosen the word Culture this week.

Divergent Culture

Day by Day I see it
The people walking by
Day by day I read it
The stories, oh they fly.

Right now it seems that Facebook
Is full of anger see
My thought is right, Yours is wrong
Why can’t you let it be!

Trump is horrid
Trump is good
Trudeau is silly
Trudeau does what he could.

Pro-choice is the only way
Women’s lives to meet.
Pro-life is what is good and right
It’s what makes life so sweet!

Christians are bad
Their mindset is wrong
Care for the orphans
OH they cannot belong!

Their faith a reason
The orphans to care
Sometimes the rejection
Seems too much to bear.

Opinions run rampant
In this culture you see
Divergent opinions
Disagreements must be.

How do we meet
Is there a middle ground
I really don’t think there is
There isn’t one to be found.

So how do we show grace to those
Who fervently can’t see
That God indeed has a better plan
Which he can guarantee.

There’s not an easy way I know
When so easy tempers flare
Digging in “mine’s the way!”
Many do not see the care.

But try we must to show
That there’s another way
To hold our faith, and steadfast be
And face another day.


Covenant with Noah

By 4 Comments

We have talked about covenant of creation, and God’s covenants.  Today we talk about the covenant with Noah.  Sin had kept increasing in the world, to the point of murder.  People were still calling upon the name of the Lord, so the worship of God was still happening.   But more and more, as the generations passed, people were doing their own thing and boasting about their sinfulness. 

Then there is Noah.  We are told that he is a righteous man, in Genesis 6:9 “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.”  He had that kind of relationship with God, a close personal relationship where it can be said that he walked with God.

covenant with Noah

God comes to Noah, tells him his plan.  Gives Noah a commission.  Build me a boat, a big boat.   And Noah, being the man that he was, a faithful righteous man, accepted that commission and stood by it.  Nay-sayers, mockers and all, he kept his word to the Lord and built it. 

This commission was a covenant between Noah and God.  God made his promises…he would save the animals of the world and Noah and his whole family. Noah in response, would build the ark, working to complete it before it was needed. 

At the end of the flood, God remembered the people, opened up the ark and let them out.  Noah offered a sacrifice “And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.“

God promises not to do this again because… man’s heart is evil from his youth.   You know something, I KNOW the story of Noah but this verse is a revelation to me tonight.  God destroyed the people because of their evil hearts, but it didn’t work you know?  Man’s heart continues to be evil so God knows another way must be found to turn men’s hearts away from evil.   He knows it, so using a flood to enact judgement isn’t the answer. 

In Genesis 9 we learn the following from God

  • Man is made in God’s image and therefore is precious.
  • Mankind is to procreate, to fill the earth.
  • God won’t destroy mankind like this again. In fact he built in ways for them to be fed and sustained.

Then we get the rainbow, a highly recognizable promise from God.  We see it and remember God’s promise.  God sees it and remembers his covenant with us. 

covenant with Noah

Blessing and Honor and Glory and Power

By 2 Comments

I actually can’t recall ever singing this song, but noticed it in my hymnbook and thought, I like the words of this song.  It’s simple and yet deep.  A good song to read over. 

Blessing and Honor and Glory and Power

Horatius Bonar is the author is this song. He lived in the 1800’s. A Scotsman pastor he lived to point people to Christ. Music was just one part of his methodology. He sought not to make the most converts, but to always just point people to Christ. He became part of the Free Church when it started. Bonar was known as a man of prayer and song. Sorrow was part of his life in the losing of five of his children, but a widowed daughter bringing her five children to live with him was cause for rejoicing.

Lyrics

Blessing and honor and glory and power,
Wisdom and riches and strength evermore
Give ye to Him who our battle hath won
Whose are the kingdom, the crown, and the throne.

Into the heav’n of the heav’ns hath He gone,
Sitteth He now in the joy of the throne,
Weareth He now of the kingdom the crown,
Singeth He now the new song with His own.

Soundeth the heaven of the heavens with His name;
Ringeth the earth with His glory and fame;
Ocean and mountain, stream, forest, and flower
Echo His praises and tell of His power.

Past are the darkness, the storm, and the war,
Come is the radiance, that sparkles afar,
Breaketh the gleam of the day without end,
Riseth the Sun that shall never descend.

Ever ascendeth the song and the joy;
Ever descendeth the love from on high;
Blessing and honor and glory and praise,
This is the theme of the hymns that we raise.

Life of all life, and true Light of all light,
Star of the dawning unchangingly bright,
Sun of the Salem whose light is the Lamb,
Theme of the ever new, ever glad psalm!

Give we the glory and praise to the Lamb;
Take we the robe and the harp and the palm;
Sing we the song of the Lamb that was slain,
Dying in weakness, but rising to reign.

Promise

By 5 Comments

I am currently going through a small book entitled “Learning about the Old Testament”. Allan Harman is walking me through different important parts of the Old Testament, helping me see the importance of different sections.   

I recently finished reading about the Covenant of Creation. I was reminded of the promise God made.

promise, a poem.

A promise made
Eons ago
God to man

Once a happy, easy relationship
Now one fraught with trouble.
Listen as she did.

Eve tempted.
Looked and listened.
Ate and offered.

Adam accepted.
The shame, the need
Clothing offered.

Care by God,
Sacrifice made.
An animal given.

Banishment,
Toil, trouble,
Babies will be hard.

But God will help.
His love to show
but stop. Listen.

A promise made
he shall bruise your head,
    and you shall bruise his heel.

Head bruised.
Pain on heel.
One more risky than the other.

This promise by God.
To a people in
Relationship fractured.

Care continues.
Promise covers
The Future.

Believe it.

Join us won’t you? Miss Kate lists a word prompt every Friday. We are a nice community full of encouragement for all different writers. Come on! 🙂

The Covenant of Creation

By 2 Comments

Have you ever noticed that the Bible starts with a bang? God comes out of nowhere and makes everything. He speaks and things happen! It is simply amazing what the Lord God puts into place. This Covenant of Creation is how the bible begins.

God looked upon the world and said “it was good”. Did you know that it doesn’t mean good as opposed to bad. But Good as in a job well done, a job that meets the purpose for which it was intended. The work of God making creation resulted in a world with all it’s inhabitants that meant the purpose for which he intended it to.

Covenant of Creation

The Creation of Man

God created the world in a specific order. The end result, the culmination of his creation, was man. Man and woman, made in the likeness of God, remarkably different than the rest of creation. The only part of God’s creation meant to be in relationship with God.

Man, created in God’s likeness, given authority over the rest of creation. Able to name everything, Able to care for everything… in a manner that God would want them to care for it. Everything was good, working just the way it was intended. Adam and Eve tending the garden, minding the animals, and talking with God.

Trouble

Then trouble happened. A tempter shows up. God’s design allowed for this. God wasn’t surprised.

Satan had bad designs in mind. He wants to be first in the lives of God’s imagebearers. He starts with Eve, and then used Eve to reel in Adam. The consequences were immediate.

Consequences

Consequences happened all round. Adam and Eve lost their happy relationship with God. Not only that they were kicked out of the garden for their own good, but still kicked out. Relationship between each other was fractured as well. Work became harder, and child-birth more difficult.

Satan himself was cursed. He would now meet with degradation crawling on his belly.

These negative consequences, the judgement of God, didn’t change the positives though. Even in his judgement God left room for hope. He clothed them, helped them and promised to crush the head of the serpent (Satan).

The whole of the Old Testament in built upon the opening chapters. God’s relationship with man broken and a promise of a Serpent defeated. We can’t skim over them. We need to see God’s purpose and the on-going nature of what he created. It’s an integral part of the Old Testament.