Author: Kenneth

Trusting and not Forsaking

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Psalm 9 New International Version 

Psalm 9

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.

1 I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;
    I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
    I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.

3 My enemies turn back;
    they stumble and perish before you.
4 For you have upheld my right and my cause,
    sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.
5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
    you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
6 Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies,
    you have uprooted their cities;
    even the memory of them has perished.

7 The Lord reigns forever;
    he has established his throne for judgement.
8 He rules the world in righteousness
    and judges the peoples with equity.
9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
    a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name trust in you,
    for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

11 Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion;
    proclaim among the nations what he has done.
12 For he who avenges blood remembers;
    he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.

13 Lord, see how my enemies persecute me!
    Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,
14 that I may declare your praises
    in the gates of Daughter Zion,
    and there rejoice in your salvation.

15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;
    their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
16 The Lord is known by his acts of justice;
    the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.[c]
17 The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,
    all the nations that forget God.
18 But God will never forget the needy;
    the hope of the afflicted will never perish.

19 Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph;
    let the nations be judged in your presence.
20 Strike them with terror, Lord;
    let the nations know they are only mortal.

Giving God the Glory

Psalm 126 New International Version

Psalm 126

A song of ascents.

1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of[a] Zion,
    we were like those who dreamed.[b]
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter,
    our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
    “The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us,
    and we are filled with joy.

4 Restore our fortunes,[c] Lord,
    like streams in the Negev.
5 Those who sow with tears
    will reap with songs of joy.
6 Those who go out weeping,
    carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
    carrying sheaves with them.

Repentance of Sins

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Hosea 2 New Living Translation

2 [a]“In that day you will call your brothers Ammi—‘My people.’ And you will call your sisters Ruhamah—‘The ones I love.’

Charges against an Unfaithful Wife

2 “But now bring charges against Israel—your mother—
    for she is no longer my wife,
    and I am no longer her husband.
Tell her to remove the prostitute’s makeup from her face
    and the clothing that exposes her breasts.
3 Otherwise, I will strip her as naked
    as she was on the day she was born.
I will leave her to die of thirst,
    as in a dry and barren wilderness.
4 And I will not love her children,
    for they were conceived in prostitution.
5 Their mother is a shameless prostitute
    and became pregnant in a shameful way.
She said, ‘I’ll run after other lovers
    and sell myself to them for food and water,
for clothing of wool and linen,
    and for olive oil and drinks.’

Here in Hosea 2 we are told what God will do with an unfaithful wife because of the life she chose to lead. We are all sinners until we repent and come to God.

Stuart Townend

Stuart Townend is one of today’s leading worship songwriters. Hymns such as “In Christ alone”, “How deep the Father’s love” and “The power of the cross” are sung in churches around the world, while the skill and depth of his lyric writing has drawn some to compare his contribution to hymnody to that of Watts and Wesley.

Aside from writing, Stuart travels around the UK and abroad, leading worship at events and performing concerts on his own or with his band. An accomplished musician, arranger and producer, he also has years of experience in teaching and training musicians who serve in local church worship.

Stuart has featured on numerous live albums, and to date has recorded ten solo albums. He appears regularly on the BBC’s immensely popular Songs of Praise Programme. In June 2017 Stuart was delighted to receive from the Archbishop of Canterbury The Thomas Cranmer Award for Worship “for his outstanding contribution to contemporary worship music.”

Stuart’s most recent album, “Courage” (2018), includes some powerful personal songs, including “Keep you here”, an honest and moving response to his brother’s recent journey with cancer; and “I am here for you” (co-written with his daughter), exploring issues of mental health.

Stuart is married with three grown up children, and lives in Brighton, UK.

Stuart Townend has to be one of my favourites for Contempory Christian Music

True Friends

Proverbs 18 The Message

Words Kill, Words Give Life

Jesus says' can we be Friends again?

18 Loners who care only for themselves
    spit on the common good.

2 Fools care nothing for thoughtful discourse;
    all they do is run off at the mouth.

3 When wickedness arrives, shame’s not far behind;
    contempt for life is contemptible.

4 Many words rush along like rivers in flood,
    but deep wisdom flows up from artesian springs.

5 It’s not right to go easy on the guilty,
    or come down hard on the innocent.

6 The words of a fool start fights;
    do him a favor and gag him.

7 Fools are undone by their big mouths;
    their souls are crushed by their words.

8 Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy;
    do you really want junk like that in your belly?

9 Slack habits and sloppy work
    are as bad as vandalism.

10 God’s name is a place of protection—
    good people can run there and be safe.

11 The rich think their wealth protects them;
    they imagine themselves safe behind it.

12 Pride first, then the crash,
    but humility is precursor to honour.

13 Answering before listening
    is both stupid and rude.

14 A healthy spirit conquers adversity,
    but what can you do when the spirit is crushed?

15 Wise men and women are always learning,
    always listening for fresh insights.

16 A gift gets attention;
    it buys the attention of eminent people.

17 The first speech in a court case is always convincing—
    until the cross-examination starts!

18 You may have to draw straws
    when faced with a tough decision.

19 Do a favour and win a friend forever;
    nothing can untie that bond.

20 Words satisfy the mind as much as fruit does the stomach;
    good talk is as gratifying as a good harvest.

21 Words kill, words give life;
    they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.

22 Find a good spouse, you find a good life—
    and even more: the favor of God!

23 The poor speak in soft supplications;
    the rich bark out answers.

24 Friends come and friends go,
    but a true friend sticks by you like family.

(WOMEN) What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! (ALL) O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. (MEN) Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer. (ALL) Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer. (ALL) Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care? Precious Saviour, still our refuge; take it to the Lord in prayer. Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer! In his arms he’ll take and shield thee; thou shalt find a solace there.

The Gingerbread House

Object Relations's avatarObject relations

1 Room Gingerbread House

550 Pinstripe lane

Bangor, ME

Enjoy a safe distance away from the bustling streets of downtown Bangor with the perfect home. This cozy studio-cottage has all the charm of Christmas. All year round. Located near the Blueberry School for Boys, this district is highly coveted for its snow removal program.

Pinstripe is a friendly neighborhood. Although the area is not currently on the Bangor power grid, this means little to the community. Many houses are connected by an old-fasioned “string and dixie” line. This fascinating form of antique communication involves only two cups and a long string to attach to other houses of your choice. Since most communication is nonverbal, many neighbors still prefer to nod or wave from their own property. Either style creates a socializing haven for those outside Bangor.

Speaking of property, this gingerbread house has one of the best lots in the…

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Monday’s Verse, 1/4/21

Monday’s Verse, 1/4/21

Cindy Dawson's avatarReal Christian Women

“Do everything without complaining or arguing 15 so that you will be blameless and pure, children of God without any fault. But you are living with evil people all around you, who have lost their sense of what is right. Among those people you shine like lights in a dark world, 16 and you offer them the teaching that gives life. So I can be proud of you when Christ comes again. You will show that my work was not wasted—that I ran in the race and won.” Philippians 2:14-16 ERV

With Love,

Cindy

My Journey Unscripted

Click this link to learn more about Jesus: Who Is Jesus?

Photo by Marcus Wallis on Unsplash

realchristianwomen.blog

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The Future

James 4 13-17

 

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

I,m sure you’ve heard of the saying ‘ Don’t worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself’ because as it implies we don’t know what tomorrow will bring.

What does the future hold for you this year? I look forward with anticipation in what the future has in store for me both in my spiritual life and family life.

Finally let us not forget that Jesus is our ‘Future and our Past’

Walking in the Light

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Matthew 4 New International Version

Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness

4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a]by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[b]”

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    and they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[c]”

7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[d]”

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’[e]”

11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Jesus Begins to Preach

12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
    the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,
    Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people living in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
    a light has dawned.”[f]

17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Jesus Calls His First Disciples

18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.

21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Jesus Heals the Sick

23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues,proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria,and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. 25 Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis,[g] Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.