Category: The Lord Jesus

That Green Hill

Luke 23 New International Version

 

The Crucifixion of Jesus

26 As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27 A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. 28 Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 Then

“‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”
    and to the hills, “Cover us!”’[b]

31 For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”[c] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

38 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.

39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.[d]

43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Mother and child #WDYS

A hand, warm, a small, clinging thing. Eyes, searching, finding only her. A word, a clumsy sound, a world unfolding. The curve of a cheek, the scent of milk, the hum of a lullaby. Years melt, a river’s flow, yet the echo remains, of touch, of trust, of a love unwritten, unspoken, eternal. What do […]

Mother and child #WDYS

Following Jesus

Mathew 16:24

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me

A few months ago in our devotional period after Songster practice I based my thoughts on the song “I’ll follow Thee”

Bandmaster Richard Philips who plays the piano for The International Staff Songsters has a CD out with the original tune of ‘I’ll Follow Thee,

1.
I heard a voice so gently calling:See the source image
Take up thy cross and follow me.
A tempest on my heart was falling,
A living cross this was to be;
I struggled sore, I struggled vainly,
No other light my eyes could see.
Chorus
I’ll follow thee, of life the giver,
I’ll follow thee, suffering redeemer,
I’ll follow thee, deny thee never,
By thy grace I’ll follow thee.

2.
I heard his voice unto me saying:
Take up thy cross and follow me.
My heart is thine, now thee obeying,
Speak all thy will, dear Lord, to me.
Make weakness strength, thy power now give me,
And from this hour I’ll follow thee.

We are told in Mathew 16:24 that in order to be a follower of Jesus we must take up thy cross and it goes on to tell us in verse 2 that if we follow him he will give us strength and power.

Obedience

John 14:23

Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”

Yet again I was listening to a song of the same title on you tube last night which prompted me to write this blog.

It’s a song that invites us to listen and to respond to Jesus’s calling as he not only knocks at the door of our hearts and in doing so we may feel his presence, Help us to realise what you want us to be.See the source image

Here is the words for you to follow:

Lord I hear you knocking Hear your voice appealing Open the door of your heart Let me enter in and Take a centre of your life Controlling every part Come follow me on the way of the cross This is the moment you must start

Chorus: Lord I respond to your claims on my life With obedience to that you will ask

Lord, knowing you in the way of the cross This will be my task Lord I know you’re prompting Know your spirit surging Be my desire for today Make my will your choice and Meet no other voice That calls to walk another way Come follow me on the way of the cross This is the moment to obey

Lord, knowing you in the way of the cross This will be my task Lord I know your presence Be your call to service Be what you want me to be Serve and to your brothers Give your life for others As I do at Calvary Come follow me on the way of the cross This is the moment to be free

Chorus: Lord I respond to your claims on my life With obedience to that you will ask Lord, knowing you in the way of the cross This will be my task Your cross, my task

Jesus, our Forever Friend

John 15:12-15

12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

The first time I heard this song I got to admit I liked it, the laughable thing about it was it took me a few times to listen to it for the words to register with me.

Why I didn’t catch on the first time Heaven only knows. This is a brilliant testimony and invitation to get to know Christ

 

Everybody needs a little help sometime
No one stands alone
Makes no difference if you’re just a child like me
Or a king upon a throne
For there are no exceptionsSee the source image
We all stand in the line
Everybody needs a friend
Let me tell you of mine
——-
Chorus:
He’s my forever friend
My leave-me-never friend
From darkest night to rainbow’s end
He’s my forever friend
——-
Even when I turn away He cares for me
His love no one can shake
Even as I walk away He’s by my side
With every breath I take
And sometimes I forget Him
My halo fails to shine
Sometimes I’m not His friend
But He is always mine
——-
Repeat chorus:
If you still don’t know the one I’m talking of
I think it’s time you knew
Long ago and far away upon a cross
My friend died for you
So if you’d like to meet Him
And don’t know what to do
Ask my friend into you heart
And He’ll be your friend too

 

Reggae artist dies aged 65

Cocoa Tea, whose real name was Colvin George Scott, was a celebrated Jamaican reggae singer and songwriter. Born on September 3, 1959, in Clarendon Parish, Jamaica, he became one of the most popular reggae artists from the 1980s onwards. Known for his smooth vocals and socially conscious lyrics, he created timeless hits like “Rocking Dolly,” “I Lost My Sonia,” and “Rikers Island.”

Sadly, Cocoa Tea passed away on March 11, 2025, at the age of 65 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He had been battling lymphoma since 2019 and faced complications from pneumonia in the last six months of his life. Despite his health struggles, he remained positive and hopeful until the end

People who impacted my Faith

Matthew 21:28-32

The Parable of the Two Sons

28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ 
29 “ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. 
30“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”“The first,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 
32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.Image result for parable of the 2 sons
 
I can think of six people who had or still have an impact on my Faith the immediate ones obviously being my mother and late father and of course both sets of grandparents.
 
Apart from my Mother and Father, though I loved my Grandparents very much Faith wise there are two that stuck out and that was my father’s father and my mother’s mother who was a very wise woman.
 
I think it would be safe to say I got more advise than i did my father’s father as he died before 80 where as my mother’s mother lived passed 100 years old.