The purpose of God for our life on earth by J.R. Miller

We should get it settled in our minds, that the purpose of God for our life on earth, is to have us grow into Christ's image. We are not in this world merely to accomplish a certain amount of work--but to be fashioned into strength and beauty of character. If we would always remember this, we would not be perplexed so often by the mysteries of our lives.

If joy is ours--it is to make us better and a greater blessing to others.

If sorrow is ours--it is to purify us and bring out some line of Christ's image in us more clearly.

If our hopes are disappointed--it is because God has some better things for us, than that which we so earnestly desired.

If we are called to endure pain--it is because the best in us can be called out only by pain.

If bereavement comes and we are left without the strong human arm we have leaned upon heretofore--it is because there are elements of strength in our life, which never could be developed unless the human supports were taken away.

If our burdens are heavy--it is because we grow best under burdens.

If we are wronged by others--it is to teach us better, the great lessons of patience and sweet temper.

If our circumstances are uncongenial and our condition hard--it is that we may be disciplined into self-control, and may learn to be content in whatever state we are in.

The Master is always teaching us new lessons, making us into the beauty of the pattern He has set for us, and preparing us for greater usefulness and better service.

When God Dwelt Alone by Arthur Pink

Before the mountains were born, before You
gave birth to the earth and the world, from
eternity to eternity, You are God!" Psalm 90:2

There was a time, if 'time' it could be called,
when God dwelt all alone. There was no
heaven, where His glory is now particularly
manifested. There was no earth to engage
His attention. There were no angels to hymn
His praises. There was no universe to be
upheld by the word of His power. There was
nothing, no one, but God; and that, not for
a day, a year, or an age--but "from eternity."

During eternity past, God was alone:
self-contained,
self-sufficient,
self-satisfied;
in need of nothing.
Had a universe, had angels, had human beings
been necessary to Him in any way--they would
have been called into existence from all eternity.
The creating of them when He did, added nothing
to God essentially. He does not change (Mal. 3:6),
therefore His essential glory can be neither
augmented nor diminished.

"Before Him all the nations are as nothing; they
are regarded by Him as worthless and less than
nothing." Isaiah 40:17

Order in Music

By definition order is:

a methodical
arrangement
of things.

It could also be defined as a proper arrangement.
You could also say that it is similar to harmony
or symmetry.




"Good order is the foundation of all good things"
Burke

We can see that order is something God takes very seriously. We can see that from the story of Nadab and Abihu. We can also see order in God's creation or from His commands for order in His church. Order is something that is pleasing to God and is good. If we want our worship to be pleasing to God, then order should be a part of it.

2 Chronicles 5:13 says:
"Indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord saying:

'For He is good For His mercy endures forever'

that the house the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud"

Notice, the trumpeters and singers were as one and made one sound. Also, the word voice is singular not plural. This verse is a clear example of order in thanking and praising God. To have multiple voices as one, takes a great deal of order and effort. The singers and trumpeters desire was for God to be glorified through their worship.

Psalm 92:3 says:
"On an instrument of ten strings,
On the lute,
And on the harp,
With harmonious sound."

How do you make harmonious sound? By being unskilled and putting no effort into it?
Of course you wouldn't. That would make some type of sound but I doubt it would be harmonious. In order to make a harmonious sound, order and effort would be involved. That would be expressed in practicing with the goal of glorifying God. As well as having everything properly arranged.

Let's think about this. Worship is an act of reverence. If worship to God is not done well, then obviously no effort was put into it. If no effort was involved, then the person who offered the worship does not show reverence for Whom the worship was offered to. What a terrifying thought!!!

I'll end with this verse and thought.

1 Chronicles 25:7
"So the number of them, with their
brethren who were instructed in the songs
of the Lord, all who were skillful, was
two hundred and eighty-eight."

Music being done by skillful musicians was and still is very important in worship. So important, that 288 musicians were trained just for that purpose. It seems to me that if it was that important to the Israelites, then it should be just as or even more important for us now.

Saved for Good Works

I am going to be working on a more substantial post for tomorrow. But for today, I am posting an excerpt from A Gospel Primer for Christians by Milton Vincent.

Saved for Good Works

Through the gospel I learn not only of the saving works
of God on my behalf,but I also learn that one of God's key
purposes in doing these works is to put me to work myself.

The Bible tells me that when Christ redeemed me,
He did so in order that I might now be "zealous for good works." [1]
When God "works" in me day by day, He does so in order to
produce in me the desire and the power to "work for His good pleasure."[2]
Indeed, though I am saved by grace and not by works,
I am God's "workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for
good works, which God prepared beforehand so that [I] would walk in them."[3]

Being naturally lazy, I do not normally thrill at the
prospect of work; but the more I embrace the saving work
of God on my behalf, the more I find myself embracing the
works for which God saved me. And as I am "working hard"
at doing these works for the good of others, I experience the
truth of Jesus' words: "It is more blessed to give than to receive."[4]
I also find myself saying with Christ, " My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work."[5]
Indeed, gospel-motivated works do for the soul what food does for
the body. They bring refreshment, enjoyment, blessing, and
strengthening to the doer of the deeds, even more so than to the receiver.
Hence, the fact that God has prepared such works for me to do becomes
a part of what makes the gospel such great news to me.

Preaching the gospel to myself each day not only reminds
me of the love of God for me, but it also reminds me of the
love of God for the works that He has saved me to perform.
When I see the Cross, I see the premium that God places on
the works that He has prepared for me. How valuable all
of these must be if Christ would die so that I might
now perform them! And how precious are those for whom
these works are done if Christ would die that they might be served!

1.Titus 2:14 "who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless
deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds"

2. Philippians 2 "{12} So then, my beloved, just as you have always
obeyed,... work out your salvation with fear and trembling {13} for it is God who
is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.")

3. Ephesians 2:10 " For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."

4. Acts 20 "{34} You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my
own needs and to the men who were with me. {35} In everything I showed you
that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the
words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to
receive.'"

5. John 4 "{32} But He said to them, ' I have food to eat that you do not know about.'
{33} So the disciples were saying to one another,
' No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?'
{34} Jesus said to them, " My food is to do the will of
Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.'"

A Book for the Unsuccessful by J.R. Miller

The Bible is indeed a book for the unsuccessful. Its sweetest messages are to those who have fallen. It is the book of love and sympathy. It is like a mother's bosom to lay one's head upon--in the time of distress or pain. Its pages teem with cheer for those who are discouraged. It sets its lamps of hope to shine in darkened chambers. It reaches out its hands of help to the fainting, and to those who have fallen. It is full of comfort for those who are in sorrow. It has its many special promises for the needy, the poor, and the bereft. It is a book for those who have failed, for the disappointed, the defeated, and the discouraged.

It is this quality in the Bible, which makes it so dear to the heart of humanity. If it were a book only for the strong, the successful, the victorious, the unfallen, those who have no sorrow, who never fail, the whole, the happy--it would not find such a welcome wherever it goes in the world. So long as there are tears and sorrows, and broken hearts, and crushed hopes, and human failures, and lives burdened and bowed down, and spirits sad and despairing--so long will the Bible be full of inspiration, light, help, and strength--for earth's weary ones.


The God of the Bible is the God of those who have not succeeded. Wherever there is a weak, stumbling Christian, unable to walk alone--to him the divine heart goes out in tender thought and sympathy; and the divine hand is extended to support him, and keep him from falling. Whenever a Christian has fallen, and lies in defeat or failure--over him bends the heavenly Father in kindly pity, to raise him up and to help him to begin again. The God of the Bible is the God of the weak, the unsheltered. Their very helplessness of His children, is their strongest plea to the divine heart.

The Importance of Order in Worship

Leviticus 10:1-3

"Now Nadab and Abihu , the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said to Aaron, "It is what the Lord spoke, saying, 'By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, and before all the people I will be honored" So Aaron, therefore, kept silent.

In this passage we see two sons of Aaron being immolated for not obeying God’s instruction for offering incense. Verse one says they offered “strange fire before the Lord.” The fire that they offered was not permitted by God and it was offensive to God. It was offensive to Him because they did not regard Him as holy and obey His commands. In verse three God commands that He be regarded as holy and glorified before all people.

I believe that we can use this brief narrative as a reference to see how serious we should take worshiping God. Nadab and Abihu did not take it seriously enough and were punished severely for it. By definition, worship is an act of reverence. So when we worship God with music, we should do so with reverence. In order for our worship to be pleasing to God it must have the following three characteristics. It must be done orderly, specifically, and harmoniously. I will go deeper into each subject in following posts, but for now I would like to just do an introduction to the “orderly” aspect.

If we worship God using music and put relatively no effort into it, would it be pleasing to God? OF COURSE NOT! It would be like telling a king that you would make him a beautiful crown, and throw it together the night before and then hand him a paper hat! The king would be disgusted with it. That is similar to putting no effort into worship for God. God would be displeased with it.

Let’s go back to the king analogy for a minute. Now, if you promised the king a beautiful crown and put all your possible effort into it and then gave it to him. And he knew the amount of effort involved, and then he would be more pleased than with the paper hat. That is the same as if we put all of our effort into music for God.

When all three of the characteristics are present and we have put all of our effort into it. Then it would be pleasing to God. The music with no effort would be like the “strange fire” that Nadab and Abihu offered to God. So now I ask this. What kind of fire do you want to present before the Lord? A “strange fire” or a pleasing one?