“Mercy, mere mercy, is that which we must flee to for refuge, and rely upon as our only plea. He does not say, Remember our merit, but, Lord, remember thy own mercy.” –Matthew Henry, commenting on Habakkuk 3:2

You’re invited to contribute to the digital scrapbook that will share our church family’s love and appreciation for the Matthews family. Share your sentiments in an audio recording by calling (352) 641-0058. Drop a line before noon on Tuesday.

May the Mind

Words: Kate Wilkinson, alt. Brittany French. Music: A. Cyril Barham-Gould, alt. Brittany French, Tamara Johnston, Chris Hiatt

May the mind of Christ, my Savior, live in me from day to day

By His love and power controlling, all I do and say

May the Word of God dwell richly, in my heart from hour to hour

So that all may see I triumph, only through His power

Refrain

Nothing in life is more precious to me

Than to finish the course that I have received

I’ll testify to the gospel of grace

I’ll live my life to run God’s race

May I run the race before me, Strong and brave to face the foe,

Looking only unto Jesus as I onward go.
May the love of Jesus fill me, as the waters fill the sea
Him exalting, self abasing, this is victory

Refrain

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;

Read the rest of this great hymn HERE

One key to living by faith is to realize that faith laments.

Lament is ultimately hopeful.  Seems paradoxical, doesn’t it?  The person sitting before you is weeping and wailing about his pain, and it is supposed to produce hope?  There, of course, is a fine line between complaining and lamenting, but too often we dismiss the baby with the bath water.  Dan Allender says that one who laments often looks like a grumbler or complainer, but that biblical lament is nothing of the sort.  Instead, lament contains in itself the possibility of extraordinary hope, restored desire, a changed heart.  Lament is, at its core, a search for  God.  It is not a search for answers.  It is not an invitation to fix an ailment.  Rather, lament enters the agony with the recognition that it might not go away for days, months, even years.  And yet, the lament carries with it the hope that God will eventually show.  Dan Allender puts it this way:  “Lament is a search – a declaration of desire that will neither rest with a pious refusal to ache, nor an arrogant self-reliance that is a hardened refusal to search.”