Category: God

How Great Thou Art

The hymn “How Great Thou Art” has a fascinating origin! 

It was originally written in Swedish as “O Store Gud” by Carl Boberg in 1885. Boberg was inspired during a thunderstorm while walking home from church near Kronobäck, Sweden. The storm subsided, revealing a peaceful calm over Mönsterås Bay, and Boberg observed the beauty of nature—the song of a thrush, church bells tolling, and a rainbow. This series of sights and sounds inspired him to write the poem. Later, English missionary Stuart K. Hine translated it into English, and it became popularized during Billy Graham’s crusades. The hymn celebrates the greatness of God and His creation 12. Isn’t it amazing how inspiration can strike in the midst of nature’s wonders?

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

God is Amazing

Psalm 68 v35

O God, You are awesome from Your sanctuary The God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to the people Blessed be God!See the source image

Here we have a song that tells us off all the amazing things that God can do. Right through from a small seed till we get old, he even plans our future.

We are also reminded that Christ died at Calvary for our sins in the song.

We truly do have an Amazing God who loves, cares for each of us (believer or not). He not only loves & cares for us but he loves & Cares for the creatures of this earth and while we believe in him he is everything to us.

Is God calling you?

2 Peter 1 New International Version

1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Confirming One’s Calling and Election

3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters,[a] make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live, 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 power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

I will stand
I will stand, all other ground is sinking sand
All other ground, all other ground
Is sinking sand, is sinking sand
So I’ll stand

God and Spiritualism

Romans 8 New International Version

Life Through the Spirit

8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you[a] free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,[b] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.[c] And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life[d] because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of[e] his Spirit who lives in you.

Yesterday I shared this image on Facebook for what it says in the actual image. I read it and shared it in memory of my late father who died in 2011.

At the time of posting the image I never noticed where it came from.

It actually came from the Facebook page of Emma Ryder, Psychic medium and angel guide.

There was feedback on Facebook as I was asked “What was I doing posting an unchristian post on Facebook?” To which I gave the above answer.

God’s Holy Spirit

Acts 2:1-21.

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.

This is a verse of scripture and song mainly used at Pentecost came to me this morning and I thought it doesn’t have to be kept until then to be sung, you can sing it most of the year because it’s a song where we ask the Holy Spirit not only to heal us but to help us to understand God’s will and finally to cleanse our souls and make them anew.

1.
Spirit divine, come as of old
With healing in thy train;
Come, as thou did’st, to sanctify;See the source image
Let naught of sin remain.

Chorus
Come, great Spirit, come,
Make each heart thy home;
Enter every longing soul;
Come, great Spirit, come.

2.
Spirit divine, purge thou our hearts
Make us to understand
Thy blessed will concerning us,
And teach us love’s command.

3.
Spirit divine, cleanse thou our souls
With Pentecostal flood;
Breathe into us the life that shows
The Father-love of God.

Quietness comes

Quietness comes and all is well

Dispels the raging storms

Our minds find peace and gentleness

We feel His sense of warmth

As we wait with listening ear

For gentle thoughts to come

We kiss the Cross a world more bright

And surely “It Is Done”

Amidst our pains and sadness tears

A human world so cold

It leaves us inside Zion’s walls

A calmness, great, unfolds

In that place of God’s own hand

No human voice can stand

Peace and thoughts of Purity

Proclaimed across the land.

Joseph McTaggart

God is

A while ago I heard a song of the same title sung by Govan Salvation Army band, it was an old recording but non the less I loved the song and still do. Below is the words to the song.

Genesis 1:1-31

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. …

 

Have you ever wondered how the wold began

Have you wondered how the heavens came to be

Of the miracle of life and all creation?

Just look around and you will surely see

God is in the autumn leaves, God is in the chilling breeze,

God is in the rainbow rare, God is everywhere

God is in the falling snow, God is in the ember’s glow

God is in my earnest prayer.

Have you heard the silence of a sunset?

And then pondered on the uselessness of noise?

Have you thought of the Creator, where to find him?

It’s so simple, just consider all life’s joys

God is in the wind that blows, God is in each flower that grows,

God is in the tallest tree, God is in the sea,

God is in the darkest night, God created heaven’s light,

God is in the heart of me.

God knows us all

Matthew 10:29-31 29

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. 30And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

This song was written by Salvation Army musicians John Gowans and John Larsson. It is a popular song for school assemblies and Sunday schools. Although it is a light-hearted melody, the lyrics are a strong reminder that God knows each one of us personally and by name.

I remember singing this song as a Singing Company member (junior choir in Salvation Army) and that was many moons ago.  Here it is again rearranged for Senior choirs in The Salvation Army a catchy little tune with simple words Teaching us how God knows every bird, flower, planet and of course you and me

New Foundations

1 Peter 2 New International Version

The Living Stone and a Chosen People

4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house[a] to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
    a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
    will never be put to shame.”[b]

7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone,”[c]

8 and,

“A stone that causes people to stumble
    and a rock that makes them fall.”[d]

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.