Category: Lord

A Quiet time

Philippians 4 New International Version

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Final Exhortations

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

8 Finally, 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. 9 Whatever 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.

Fulilled promises

Luke 1:45New International Version

45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Elizabeth’s words to Mary highlight the importance of believing in God’s promises. As Christians we may encounter seasons of waiting and uncertainty. Elizabeth’s faith in God’s promise encourages us to trust in His timing and remain steadfast in our belief. Just as Mary’s faith was rewarded, we can find hope knowing that God is faithful to fulfil His promises with reliance on him

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your faithfulness in fulfilling your promises. As Christians help us to anchor your trust in you, especially during times of uncertainty. Strengthen our faith, O Lord and grant us the patience yo wait upon your perfect timing. May our lives be marked by unwavering trust in your promises, knowing that you are faithful to fulfil them. Amen

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!

2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 Yes, 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

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

8 Finally, 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. 9 Whatever 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.

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!

Rebuilding 

Isaiah 49 New International Version

Restoration of Israel

8 This is what the Lord says:

“In the time of my favour I will answer you,
    and in the day of salvation I will help you;
I will keep you and will make you
    to be a covenant for the people,
to restore the land
    and to reassign its desolate inheritances,
9 to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’
    and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’

“They will feed beside the roads
    and find pasture on every barren hill.
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,
    nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.
He who has compassion on them will guide them
    and lead them beside springs of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into roads,
    and my highways will be raised up.
12 See, they will come from afar—
    some from the north, some from the west,
    some from the region of Aswan.[b]”

13 Shout for joy, you heavens;
    rejoice, you earth;
    burst into song, you mountains!
For the Lord comforts his people
    and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.Image result for Restoration of Israel

14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,
    the Lord has forgotten me.”

15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
    and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
    I will not forget you!
16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls are ever before me.
17 Your children hasten back,
    and those who laid you waste depart from you.
18 Lift up your eyes and look around;
    all your children gather and come to you.
As surely as I live,” declares the Lord,
    “you will wear them all as ornaments;
    you will put them on, like a bride.

19 “Though you were ruined and made desolate
    and your land laid waste,
now you will be too small for your people,
    and those who devoured you will be far away.
20 The children born during your bereavement
    will yet say in your hearing,
‘This place is too small for us;
    give us more space to live in.’
21 Then you will say in your heart,
    ‘Who bore me these?
I was bereaved and barren;
    I was exiled and rejected.
    Who brought these up?
I was left all alone,
    but these—where have they come from?’”

22 This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“See, I will beckon to the nations,
    I will lift up my banner to the peoples;
they will bring your sons in their arms
    and carry your daughters on their hips.
23 Kings will be your foster fathers,
    and their queens your nursing mothers.
They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground;
    they will lick the dust at your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord;
    those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”

24 Can plunder be taken from warriors,
    or captives be rescued from the fierce[c]?

25 But this is what the Lord says:

“Yes, captives will be taken from warriors,
    and plunder retrieved from the fierce;
I will contend with those who contend with you,
    and your children I will save.
26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh;
    they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine.
Then all mankind will know
    that I, the Lord, am your Savior,
    your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Does a mother forget her baby?

Or a woman the child within her womb?

Yet even if these forget,

Yes, even if these forget,

I will never forget my own.

The dreams we share today

oh Lord are only a shadow of your dreams for us

Only a shadow of your dreams for us

if we but follow you.

The joy we feel today oh lord

Is only a shadow of your joys for us.

Only a shadow of your joys for us

when we meet face to face.

God Saves Israel

The following blog has been posted before and I thought it appropriate to post it again considering what’s happening in the Middle East.

Isaiah 43 New International Version

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Israel’s Only Saviour

43 But now, this is what the Lord says—
    he who created you, Jacob,
    he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
    I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
    you will not be burned;
    the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
    Cush[a] and Seba in your stead.
4 Since you are precious and honoured in my sight,
    and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
    nations in exchange for your life.
5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
    I will bring your children from the east
    and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
    and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
    and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
7 everyone who is called by my name,
    whom I created for my glory,
    whom I formed and made.”

8 Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,
    who have ears but are deaf.
9 All the nations gather together
    and the peoples assemble.
Which of their gods foretold this
    and proclaimed to us the former things?
Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,
    so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”
10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
    “and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
    and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
    nor will there be one after me.
11 I, even I, am the Lord,
    and apart from me there is no saviour.
12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
    I, and not some foreign god among you.
You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.
13     Yes, and from ancient days I am he.
No one can deliver out of my hand.
    When I act, who can reverse it?”

Unchanging Love

Image result for unchanging love

Psalm 103:13-22 New International Version – UK (NIVUK)

13 As a father has compassion on his children,
    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
    he remembers that we are dust.
15 The life of mortals is like grass,
    they flourish like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
    and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
    the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
    and his righteousness with their children’s children –
18 with those who keep his covenant
    and remember to obey his precepts.

19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
    and his kingdom rules over all.

20 Praise the Lord, you his angels,
    you mighty ones who do his bidding,
    who obey his word.
21 Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,
    you his servants who do his will.
22 Praise the Lord, all his works
    everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

Such love, pure as the whitest snow
Such love, weeps for the shame I know
Such love, paying the debt I owe
O Jesus, such love

Such love, stilling my restlessness
Such love, filling my emptiness
Such love, showing me holiness
O Jesus, such love

Such love, springs from eternity
Such love, streaming through history
Such love, fountain of life to me
O Jesus, such love

Being strong

Psalm 27 New International Version 

Psalm 27

Of David.

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
    of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When the wicked advance against me
    to devour[a] me,
it is my enemies and my foes
    who will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me,
    my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
    even then I will be confident.

4 One thing I ask from the Lord,
    this only do I seek:that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
    and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of troubleImage result for Bible images on being strong
    he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
    and set me high upon a rock.

6 Then my head will be exalted
    above the enemies who surround me;
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;
    I will sing and make music to the Lord.

7 Hear my voice when I call, Lord;
    be merciful to me and answer me.
8 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
    Your face, Lord, I will seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me,
    do not turn your servant away in anger;
    you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
    God my Savior.
10 Though my father and mother forsake me,
    the Lord will receive me.
11 Teach me your way, Lord;
    lead me in a straight path
    because of my oppressors.
12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
    for false witnesses rise up against me,
    spouting malicious accusations.

13 I remain confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.

 

 

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.

The ocean well is Deep

Oh the ocean well is deep

That God has made and God does keep

Eternal in His hands my heart

Was always known, no end, no start

So deep with God my life expands

To heavens heights, to love’s command

Unveil my eyes in currents strong

Your Face, my Lord, my heart so longs

Pour out Your love, yes bring a flood

Yes overflow Your wells of love

And wash away all not of You

My God, with love, my heart pursue

I cling to You when I can’t see

I turn again, with faith believe

I know My God, You will receive

This heart that longs with You to be

The weary eye, the war torn soul

Yes reaching out, will be made whole

Pour out Your love, this well so deep

Pour out Your love, with Jesus weep

Such Grace! Such Grace! At glory height!

Renew my strength, to rise and fight!

My feet upon the Rock to stand

Forgiven here within His hand.

So let the surge of Grace grow high

As love restores and draws me nigh

Stronger still for battles won

For all this world, He’s overcome.

By Lisa Lawlor