O Church Arise!

The body of Christ is an awesome thing. Sometimes, I just get so excited when I think about a universal body of believers who are all waging war against sin and the Devil.

Life in the body is hardly easy, though. I can think of multiple, multiple times where I have encountered painful strife in the body. It shouldn't be that way and it hurts me so much that there are divisions in the church. I see them all the time. I see them at my school, and I even see them in my church.

I Corinthians 1:10-13

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, "I follow Paul," or "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Cephas," or "I follow Christ." Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

It grieves me to see these divisions over petty arguments and un-Christlike behavior. The great consolation I have is this...Heaven will be perfect and not one relationship in heaven will be flawed. I will be with Christ Jesus and with His perfect church.

O Church Arise!

O church, arise and put your armor on;
Hear the call of Christ our captain;
For now the weak can say that they are strong
In the strength that God has given.
With shield of faith and belt of truth
We'll stand against the devil's lies;
An army bold whose battle cry is "Love!"
Reaching out to those in darkness.

Our call to war, to love the captive soul,But to rage against the captor;
And with the sword that makes the wounded whole
We will fight with faith and valor.
When faced with trials on ev'ry side,
We know the outcome is secure,
And Christ will have the prize for which He died—An inheritance of nations.

Come, see the cross where love and mercy meet,As the Son of God is stricken;
Then see His foes lie crushed beneath His feet,
For the Conqueror has risen!
And as the stone is rolled away,
And Christ emerges from the grave,
This vict'ry march continues till the day
Ev'ry eye and heart shall see Him.

So Spirit, come, put strength in ev'ry stride,Give grace for ev'ry hurdle,
That we may run with faith to win the prize
Of a servant good and faithful.
As saints of old still line the way,
Retelling triumphs of His grace,
We hear their calls and hunger for the day
When, with Christ, we stand in glory.

The Mercy of God

Have you ever wondered why God is so merciful to His children? As I grow older, I understand better how our sinful race didn't deserve God's grace, but He extended it anyway! I am so self-seeking. Why would God want to save me?! It cost Him so much! It cost Him His Son. He had to abandon His Son, who is perfectly His equal in the God-head, to save a wretched girl like me! Humanly, it doesn't make any sense. God didn't need to make a propitiation for our sins. He could have condemned every one of us to hell. Why didn't He? I can't for the life of me understand. All I know is that God is loving and gracious and He wanted to restore fellowship between Himself and His people, even though He knew full well that every single one of His followers would turn His or Her back on Him.

Wonderful, Merciful Savior:

Wonderful, merciful Savior, precious Redeemer and Friend;
Who would have thought that a Lamb could rescue the souls of men?
Oh, You rescue the souls of men.

You are the One that we praise, Your are the One we adore.
You give the healing and grace our hearts always hunger for,
Oh, our hearts always hunger for.

Counselor, Comforter, Keeper, Spirit we long to embrace;
You offer hope when our hearts have hopelessly lost the way,
Oh, we hopelessly lost the way.

Almighty, infinite Father, faithfully loving Your own;
Here in our weakness You find us falling before Your throne,
Oh, we’re falling before Your throne.