Tag: Lord

To be filled with Radiance

Psalm 143 New International Version

Psalm 143

A psalm of David.

¹Lord, hear my prayer,
    listen to my cry for mercy;
in your faithfulness and righteousness
    come to my relief.
²Do not bring your servant into judgement,
    for no one living is righteous before you.
³The enemy pursues me,
    he crushes me to the ground;
he makes me dwell in the darkness
    like those long dead.
⁴So my spirit grows faint within me;
    my heart within me is dismayed.
⁵I remember the days of long ago;
    I meditate on all your works
    and consider what your hands have done.
⁶I spread out my hands to you;
    I thirst for you like a parched land.^[a]

⁷Answer me quickly, Lord;
    my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me
    or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
⁸Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
    for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
    for to you I entrust my life.
⁹Rescue me from my enemies, Lord,
    for I hide myself in you.
¹⁰Teach me to do your will,
    for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
    lead me on level ground.

¹¹For your name’s sake, Lord, preserve my life;
    in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.
¹²In your unfailing love, silence my enemies;
    destroy all my foes,
    for I am your servant.

1. O disclose thy lovely face,
Quicken all my drooping powers;
Gasps my fainting soul for grace,
As a thirsty land for showers:
Haste, my Lord, no more delay,
Come, my Saviour, come away.

2. Dark and cheerless is the morn,
Unaccompanied by thee:
Joyless is the day’s return,
Till thy mercy’s beams I see;
Till thou inward light impart,
Glad my eyes and warm my heart,

3. Visit, thou, this soul of mine,
Pierce the gloom of sin and grief;
Fill me, Radiancy Divine –
Scatter all my unbelief:
More and more thyself display,
Shining to the perfect day.

All we can be

Mark 12:38-44 New International Version

Warning Against the Teachers of the Law

³⁸As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, ³⁹and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets. ⁴⁰They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

The Widow’s Offering

⁴¹Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. ⁴²But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

⁴³Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ⁴⁴They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Seeing Jesus

John 16 New International Version

16 “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. ²They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. ³They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. ⁴I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, ⁵but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. ⁷But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹about sin, because people do not believe in me; ¹⁰about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ¹¹and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

¹²“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. ¹³But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. ¹⁴He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. ¹⁵All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

A Simple Question

Mark 8 New International Version

Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah

²⁷Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

²⁸They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”

²⁹“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

³⁰Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

Unfortunately I was unable to find the words written by Yvonne Field. It is in the UK Salvation Army song book No. 280 should you wish to look up the words.

No Turning Back

Matthew 16:24-25 New International Version (NIV)

²⁴Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ²⁵For whoever wants to save their life^[a] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.

A simple message this morning in this beautiful song written by General John Gowans I’ll not turn back

Godly Wisdom

Ecclesiastes 2:26

26 To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

There is a story in the Bible that speaks of Solomon, a young man who, after God offered him anything his heart desired, he requested wisdom. In response to his humble wish, God said to Solomon: … The Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary defines wisdom as “knowledge, and the capacity to make due use of it.”

Godly Wisdom For Our Decisions

When we’re facing a decision
And we’re feeling so unsure,
We need to pray for godly guidance
And the wisdom of the Lord

We need to wait with confidence
That God will show the way
And open doors we must go through, Image result for god's wisdom
Giving peace when we pray

Show us your ways, O Lord,
And where we need to walk
Guide us to where you want us,
Help us pray as we ought

Equip us with power and strength
To tread upon new ground,
To go where we’ve not been before
Where your blessings shall abound

For we shall never know how much
You long to bless our lives
Unless we take that step of faith
And follow the steps of Christ

To be where we can grow in you
And become more mature in faith,
To live in the wisdom that you’ve given,
To be immersed in your saving grace

To know your will for our lives,
We but only need to ask
You long to show us what to do,
All we need is obedient hearts

Let their be Light

John 8 New International Version

Dispute Over Jesus’ Testimony

¹²When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

¹³The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”

¹⁴Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. ¹⁵You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. ¹⁶But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. ¹⁷In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. ¹⁸I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.”

¹⁹Then they asked him, “Where is your father?”

“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” ²⁰He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come.

The Lord’s unfailing Love

Psalm 143 New International Version

Psalm 143

I bring to you this morning a blog of a difference, with two videos. In video one we hear Major Len Ballantine talk about how he came to compose the song ” Let the morning bring

Here is the finished article sung by The International Staff Songsters of The Salvation Army.

Pleasure in God’s sight

Psalm 149 New International Version

Psalm 149

¹Praise the Lord.^[a]

Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise in the assembly of his faithful people.

²Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
    let the people of Zion be glad in their King.
³Let them praise his name with dancing
    and make music to him with timbrel and harp.
⁴For the Lord takes delight in his people;
    he crowns the humble with victory.
⁵Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor
    and sing for joy on their beds.

⁶May the praise of God be in their mouths
    and a double-edged sword in their hands,
⁷to inflict vengeance on the nations
    and punishment on the peoples,
⁸to bind their kings with fetters,
    their nobles with shackles of iron,
⁹to carry out the sentence written against them—
    this is the glory of all his faithful people.

Praise the Lord.

1. Praise ye the Lord among His saints,
New songs of gladness sing;
Let Zion’s children praise and bless
Their Maker and their King.

2. Yea, let them praise His blessed Name
With all abounding joy,
The sounding timbrel and the harp
In songs of praise employ.

3. The Lord takes pleasure in His saints,
He is His people’s strength,
And He will glorify the meek
With victory at length.

4. Ye saints, by day and night rejoice,
Exult and joyful stand,
Jehovah’s praises in your mouth,
His sword within your hand.

5. This is the glorious judgment given:
His saints shall rule the earth;
Then bless the Lord, His glory tell,
And celebrate His worth.