In Christ Alone

"In Christ Alone"
Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2001 Kingsway Thankyou Music

In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

To Dive or Dabble?

"This is my endlessly recurrent temptation: to go down to that Sea (God) and there neither dive nor swim nor float, but only to dabble and splash, careful not to get out of my depth and holding on to the lifeline which connects me with my things temporal."
C.S. Lewis

All Things Serve Thee

The Lord's decrees (his promises, his plans, his every word) stand fast, no matter what news we receive. A child has run away. A mother has cancer. A business has failed. The events in our private lives and the great catastrophes in the world do not budge the solid ground on which the Christian takes his position. How can this be? Are there not conditions which harm and hinder and destroy? Not in the end. There is nothing, on earth or in hell or heaven, in time or in eternity, which can alter in any final sense what God has promised--because all things serve Him.

A word in the Book of the Revelation shows this truth most gloriously. Ten great kings will join their powers with an enormously powerful beast to wage war on the Lamb. God does not intervene to prevent that war.
"But the Lamb will defeat them, for He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings, and his victory will be shared by His followers, called and chosen and faithful" (Rv 17:14 NEB).

All things serve Him. That is, everything will at last be seen to be under his control, contributing to his eternal purposes--and (here is another marvel) the Lamb's victory will be ours as well.
Lord, who has called and chosen us--make us faithful. Enable us to keep our eyes on the final victory