Blessed

A prayer at Easter for the healing of sectarianism.

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Is that a shadow on your brow of tears and deep regret?

Does the thought of Unity bring harm and disrespect?

And oh the games we Children played

just wasting precious hours

when we were close with high ideals

of hunting games and prowess

How can a Faith so clean and pure

divide us into camps?

the Love for you, my brother still,

burns deeply in my heart.

With every wound and bound you gave

My body battered sore

For they taught me God’s great Love

and how to love Him more.

Now we as men in later years look back and question why..we put before us men’s ideals while looking to the sky

A lifetime fuelled with bitterness,of labels, names and fights,

Of all the tears with passing years, please let us find the Light.

Surrendering to His great plan

In every waiting hour

Oh the Joy, the Peace and Love

Oh gentle present Power.

With our different words and creeds there lies a sense of Love. Let us catch those Higher thoughts descending from above.

Joseph McTaggart.

Mothers

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Proverbs 31:25-30 25

She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. 26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. 27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 29″Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” 30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

I thought I would share something on mother’s today (as it is Mother’s day in the UK yesterday).

The bond between a daughter/son is very special, she is there for us when we need someone to talk to she speaks to us with wise words, She is also there when we need to be loved and comforted. The words of the song ‘When Mothers of Salem’ come to mind.

When mothers of Salem their children brought to Jesus,
The stern disciples drove them back and bade them to depart:
But Jesus saw them ere they fled and sweetly smiled and kindly said,
“Suffer little children to come unto Me.”

See the source image

“For I will receive them and fold them to My bosom:
I’ll be a shepherd to these lambs, O drive them not away;
For if their hearts to Me they give, they shall with Me in glory live:
Suffer little children to come unto Me.”

How kind was our Saviour to bid these children welcome!
But there are many thousands who have never heard His Name;
The Bible they have never read, they know not that the Saviour said,
“Suffer little children to come unto Me.”

O soon may the heathen of every tribe and nation
Fulfil Thy blessed Word and cast their idols all away!
O shine upon them from above and show Thyself a God of love,
Teach the little children to come unto Thee!

Trust in God

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Psalm 146 New International Version

Psalm 146

1 Praise the Lord.[a]

Praise the Lord, my soul.

2 I will praise the Lord all my life;
    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your trust in princes,
    in human beings, who cannot save.
4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
    on that very day their plans come to nothing.
5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the Lord their God.

6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
    the sea, and everything in them—
    he remains faithful forever.
7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed
    and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
8     the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
    the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the foreigner
    and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
    but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

10 The Lord reigns forever,
    your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the Lord.

Love and Respect

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Image result for proverbs 20 v 29

Proverbs 20 New International Version 

19 A gossip betrays a confidence;
    so avoid anyone who talks too much.

20 If someone curses their father or mother,
    their lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness.

21 An inheritance claimed too soon
    will not be blessed at the end.

22 Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!”
    Wait for the Lord, and he will avenge you.

23 The Lord detests differing weights,
    and dishonest scales do not please him.

24 A person’s steps are directed by the Lord.
    How then can anyone understand their own way?

25 It is a trap to dedicate something rashly
    and only later to consider one’s vows.

26 A wise king winnows out the wicked;
    he drives the threshing wheel over them.

27 The human spirit is[a] the lamp of the Lord
    that sheds light on one’s inmost being.

28 Love and faithfulness keep a king safe;
    through love his throne is made secure.

29 The glory of young men is their strength,
    grey hair the splendour of the old.

30 Blows and wounds scrub away evil,
    and beatings purge the inmost being.

More Than Conquerors

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Romans 8 New International Version

More Than Conquerors

31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[j]

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I would love to read your comments on all posts, so feel free to comment.

Precious Jewels

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Malachi 3 New International Version 

Israel Speaks Arrogantly Against God

13 “You have spoken arrogantly against me,” says the Lord.

“Yet you ask, ‘What have we said against you?’

14 “You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? 15 But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly evil doers prosper, and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it.’”

The Faithful RemnantImage result for malachi 3 v17

16 Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honoured his name.

17 “On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. 18 And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.

A favourite children’s hymn to a tune some of you may not recognise played by David Daws on Euphonium and accompanied by Regent Hall Band of The Salvation Army.

  1. When He cometh, when He cometh,
    To make up His jewels,
    All His jewels, precious jewels,
    His loved and His own.

    • Refrain:
      Like the stars of the morning,
      His bright crown adorning,
      They shall shine in their beauty,
      Bright gems for His crown.
  2. He will gather, He will gather
    The gems for His kingdom,
    All the pure ones, all the bright ones,
    His loved and His own.
  3. Little children, little children,
    Who love their Redeemer,
    Are the jewels, precious jewels,
    His loved and His own.

Children of Jesus

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Mark 10 New International Version

The Little Children and Jesus

13 People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

The Story Behind Jesus Loves Me

“Jesus Loves Me” is one of the most popular Christian hymns around the world, especially among children. The hymn was first written by Anna B. Warner as a poem. Anna’s sister Susan requested a poem for a dying child and Anna wrote the wonderful words of Jesus Loves Me to bring comfort and peace.

Anna’s poem appeared in a novel, Say and Seal, and was composed by William Bradbury in 1862.

“Jesus Loves Me” with its simple, direct message, is one of the first hymns missionaries teach to new converts. It was the favourite hymn of Francis Schaeffer, who recognised that ultimately what intellectuals and children alike need is the simple message of Jesus. Amy Carmichael, the Irish missionary to India, was converted after hearing this hymn at a children’s mission in Yorkshire, England.

Jesus loves me! This I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong;
They are weak, but He is strong.
Refrain:

Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! This I know,
As He loved so long ago,
Taking children on His knee,
Saying, “Let them come to Me.

”Jesus loves me still today,
Walking with me on my way,
Wanting as a friend to give
Light and love to all who live.

Jesus loves me! He who died
Heaven’s gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.

Jesus loves me! He will stay
Close beside me all the way;
Thou hast bled and died for me,
I will henceforth live for Thee.

Listen to Jesus

Kenneth1 Comment

Proverbs 8 New International Version

Photo by Luis Quintero on Pexels.com

32 “Now then, my children, listen to me;
    blessed are those who keep my ways.
33 Listen to my instruction and be wise;
    do not disregard it.
34 Blessed are those who listen to me,
    watching daily at my doors,
    waiting at my doorway.
35 For those who find me find life
    and receive favour from the Lord.
36 But those who fail to find me harm themselves;
    all who hate me love death.”

Although this passage of scripture indicates that Jesus is talking to children, the passage really refers to us all. We must keep listening because it is only by listening we become wise and are blessed

Clean hands and a Pure Heart

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Psalm 24 New International Version

Psalm 24

Of David. A psalm.

Photo by Samad Deldar on Pexels.com

1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
    the world, and all who live in it;
2 for he founded it on the seas
    and established it on the waters.

3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
    Who may stand in his holy place?
4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
    who does not trust in an idol
    or swear by a false god.[a]

5 They will receive blessing from the Lord
    and vindication from God their Saviour.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
    who seek your face, God of Jacob.[b][c]

Photo by pixel2013 ~ Silvia & Frank on Pexels.com

7 Lift up your heads, you gates;
    be lifted up, you ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord strong and mighty,
    the Lord mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, you gates;
    lift them up, you ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is he, this King of glory?
    The Lord Almighty—
    he is the King of glory.

Redemption through Christ

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Ephesians 1 New International Version 

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To God’s holy people in Ephesus,[a] the faithful in Christ Jesus:

2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he[b] predestined us for adoption to son-ship[c] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he[d] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfilment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.