Category: Heart

A Quiet time

Philippians 4 New International Version

Final Exhortations

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Do you ever get those days where all you long for is a bit of ‘Me time or Quiet time’. I know I do.

In my case, on Saturday night we had my daughter, her husband and 2yr old granddaughter round for tea, and let me tell you granddaughter takes after her mum. (A real live wire).

Sunday we attended our local Salvation Army in the morning but managed to grab a bit of ‘ Me time or Quiet time’ before heading to mother in law’s for tea that night

Please listen to The International Staff Songsters and follow the words of In this Quiet moment

In this quiet moment, still, before your throne,
Conscious of your presence, knowing I am known,
In this quiet moment, set my spirit free,
In this quiet moment, make a better me.

Savior, while my heart is tender,

Savior, while my heart is tender,
I would yield that heart to Thee;
All my powers to Thee surrender,
Thine and only Thine to be.

Take me now, Lord Jesus, take me;
Let my youthful heart be Thine;
Thy devoted servant make me;
Fill my soul with love divine.

Send me, Lord, where Thou wilt send me,
Only do Thou guide my way;
May Thy grace through life attend me,
Gladly then shall I obey.

Let me do Thy will or bear it;
I would know no will but Thine;
Shouldst Thou take my life or spare it,
I that life to Thee resign.

May this solemn consecration
Never once forgotten be;
Let it know no revocation,
Registered and confirmed by Thee.

Thine I am, O Lord, for ever
To Thy service set apart;
Suffer me to leave Thee never,
Seal Thine image on my heart.

Giving Thanks

Philippians 4 New International Version

Closing Appeal for Steadfastness and Unity

4 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!

²I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. ³Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Final Exhortations

Whilst Sharing this reading with you I am reminded in verses 4 – 7 that thanksgiving in the USA is coming to an end, a time where the American’s give thanks for the harvest i’m told.

We must remember though that giving thanks to God doesn’t just apply to a certain time of the year, it applies all the year round. So today if you have something to thank God for, no matter what it is THANK HIM!

Praying Hands

Acts 9:40

But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up.

Praying hands (German: Betende Hände), also known as Study of the Hands of an Apostle (Studie zu den Händen eines Apostels), is a pen-and-ink drawing by the German printmaker, painter and theorist Albrecht Dürer. The work is today stored at the Albertina museum in Vienna, Austria. Dürer created the drawing using the technique of white heightening and black ink on (self-made) blue colored paper. The drawing shows a close up of two male hands clasped together praying. Also, the partly rolled up sleeves are seen.

The drawing is a sketch (study) for hands of an apostles who was planned to occupy the central panel of the triptych in installed in Frankfurt titled the Heller Altarpiece, which was later destroyed by a fire in 1729.^[1] The sketched hands appear on the triptych on the right side of the central panel, and although the detail appears very similar, it is smaller in size in the triptych.

The drawing also once contained a sketch of the apostle’s head, but the sheet with the head has been separated from it. Overall, Dürer made 18 sketches for the altarpiece.^[2] The first public recognition of the artwork was in 1871 when it was exhibited in Vienna, and the image is thought probably to depict Dürer’s own hands

Be Warned

1 Corinthians 10 New International Version

Warnings From Israel’s History

10 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. ²They were all baptised into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. ³They all ate the same spiritual food ⁴and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. ⁵Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

⁶Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. ⁷Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.”^[a] ⁸We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.⁹We should not test Christ,^[b] as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. ¹⁰And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.

¹¹These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.¹²So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!¹³No temptation^[c] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted^[d] beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,^[e] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

1 Yield not to temptation,
For yielding is sin;
Each vict’ry will help you,
Some other to win;
Fight valiantly onward,
Evil passions subdue;
Look ever to Jesus,
He will carry you through.

Refrain:
Ask the Saviour to help you,
Comfort, strengthen and keep you;
He is willing to aid you,
He will carry you through.

2 Shun evil companions,
Bad language disdain;
God’s name hold in rev’rence,
Nor take it in vain;
Be thoughtful and earnest,
Kindhearted and true;
Look ever to Jesus,
He will carry you through. [Refrain]

3 To him that o’ercometh,
God giveth a crown;
Through faith we will conquer,
Though often cast down;
He who is our Saviour,
Our strength will renew;
Look ever to Jesus,
He will carry you through. [Refrain]

A song of Testimony, and what a testimony we have in verse three. Tis true when we overcome sin we are rewarded by God and it is by faith we conquer that sin. Yes we as humans get knocked back from time to time, but it is through our strength and belief in God that as long as we look to Jesus he will carry us through

Divine Image

In realm divine, a quiet mirror stands,

Reflecting softly our Creator’s hands.

In gentle stillness, sacred silence bides,

Where God’s own heart with tender love abides.

Within this glass, the cosmos finely spun,

A reflection gleams—the holy, blessed Son.

Jesus, the mirror, vast Divine,

Where God’s own face in tender mercy shines.

A boundless Love, in earthly guise confined,

A mirror’s depth in human form we find.

His sacred heart, a reflection pure and true,

God’s loving gaze cast in a holy hue.

In every act, in every gracious word,

The Divine Image faithfully was heard.

His mercy’s mirror, held to fallen man,

Reflects redemption in salvation’s plan.

Amidst the mortal realm,

He walked upon our soil,

A Divine Reflection given

amidst the human toil.

Jesus, the glass,

in which God’s Light gleamed,

Invites our souls

In His reflection be redeemed.

So let us gaze, upon this sacred glass,

And see God’s love, His image, come to pass.

In Jesus’ face, the heart of God we find,

A loving Reflection, to the earthly blind.

Gifts

2 Corinthians 9 New International Version

Generosity Encouraged

⁶Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. ⁹As it is written:

“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever.”^[a]

¹⁰Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. ¹¹You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

¹²This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. ¹³Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. ¹⁴And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. ¹⁵Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

1 And is it so? A gift from me
Dost thou, dear Lord, request?
Then speak thy will, whate’er it be:
Obeying, I am blest.

Refrain:
I have not much to give thee, Lord,
For that great love which made thee mine:
I have not much to give thee, Lord,
But all I have is thine.

2 And dost thou ask a gift from me:
The talents I possess?
Such as I have I give to thee
That others I may bless.

3 And dost thou ask a gift from me:
The gift of passing time?
My hours I’ll give, not grudgingly,
I feel by right they’re thine.

4 And dost thou ask a gift from me:
A loving, faithful heart?
‘Tis thine, for thou on Calvary
For me with all didst part.

Video of the week – God’s World

To the Welsh tune Myfanwy

Jesus disciplines those he loves

Proverbs 3 New International Version

Wisdom Bestows Well-Being

3 My son, do not forget my teaching,
but keep my commands in your heart,
²for they will prolong your life many years
and bring you peace and prosperity.

³Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
    bind them around your neck,
    write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴Then you will win favor and a good name
    in the sight of God and man.

⁵Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.^[a]

⁷Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord and shun evil.
⁸This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.

⁹Honor the Lord with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;
¹⁰then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.

¹¹My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline,
and do not resent his rebuke,
¹²because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
as a father the son he delights in.

This seems to be a week for talking about Temptation & Discipline with a second reading on Temptation yesterday and today a second one on Discipline.

Lovest thou Me?

“Lovest thou Me?” is the poignant question Jesus asked Peter soon after His Resurrection. Ruth Tracy, this song’s author, seems to have felt the Lord was asking the same of her, and she was compelled to surrender everything in her life to Him. Note that she surrendered not only good “treasures”, but also her fear and weakness. Sometimes we hold onto our fear and other negative feelings because we are afraid, paradoxically, of letting go of something so familiar!

Ruth Tracy lived from 1870 to 1960 in England. She grew up in the Plymouth Brethren Church, but at the age of eighteen attended a Salvation Army meeting while visiting her cousin, and continued to do so after returning home. She soon began working at the Army’s International Headquarters and subsequently became an officer. She served in several corps appointments, followed by many years in the Editorial Department. Commissioner James Hay had encouraged her to write her first song for The War Cry and she eventually wrote over 100 songs for The Musical Salvationist and other publications.

Lord, Thou art questioning, “Lovest thou Me?”
Yea, Lord, Thou knowest, my answer must be;
But since love’s value is proved by love’s test,
Jesus, I’ll give Thee the dearest and best.

CHORUS:
All in my heart, Lord, Thou canst read;
Master, Thou knowest I love Thee indeed.
Ask what Thou wilt my devotion to test:
I will surrender the dearest and best.

How couldst Thou smile on me if, in my heart,
I were unwilling from treasures to part?
Since my redemption cost Thee such a price,
Utmost surrender alone will suffice.

Down at Thy feet all my fears I let go;
Back on Thy strength all my weakness I throw;
Lord, in my life Thou shalt have Thine own way;
Speak but the word, and Thy child will obey.