Tag: Love

Standing, Knocking, Pleading

Revelation 3 New International Version

To the Church in Laodicea

¹⁴“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. ¹⁵I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. ¹⁸I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

¹⁹Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. ²⁰Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

²¹To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. ²²Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Verse 20 of the above reading connects with the following hymn;

O Jesus, thou art standing,
outside the fast closed door,
in lowly patience waiting
to pass the threshold o’er:
shame on us, Christian brothers,
his Name and sign who bear,
O shame, thrice shame upon us,
to keep him standing there!

O Jesus, thou art knocking;
and lo, that hand is scarred,
and thorns thy brow encircle,
and tears thy face have marred:
O love that passeth knowledge,
so patiently to wait!
O sin that hath no equal,
so fast to bar the gate!

O Jesus, thou art pleading
in accents meek and low,
“I died for you, my children,
and will you treat me so?”
O Lord, with shame and sorrow
we open now the door;
dear Savior, enter, enter,
and leave us never more.

Year in review. Hope in trial.

Though the battles, have been rough,

Our eyes they see, our eyes look up!

The glinting on horizon stands,

Our faith to see, unfolding plans.

No matter what we must endure,

Our hope in trial, is destined sure;

Amoung the crash catastrophe,

God’s Hand of work, we clearly see!

The prophet’s eye, zoom far to see,’

Cross centuries, God’s tapestry!

Each moment, details very small,

Was in His plan, was at His call.

The insignificant, was grand!

The harvest mighty in His plan!

The ordinary plain to see,

Holds wonders in eternity!

But oh! The sacrificial love!

The greatest plan, of heaven above!

With buff and heat and pain below,

So love of huge proportions grows!

The gem our God creates right here,

Exceptional in beauty dear,

Is clothed in rags, and pain, and tears,

Yet inward shines increasing clear!

So lift your eyes, above bleak doubt,

And in His mighty love, now shout!

He’ll finish what began in you,

A perfect work, of love that’s true.

By Lisa Lawlor

The Christ in Christmas

I wonder how many of us will get Christmas cards with the two different terms on them 1. Merry Christmas and 2. Happy Xmas.

According to the dictionary the meaning of Merry Christmas is: The real meaning of “Merry Christmas” is, to be full of absolute joy because God Himself, knowing none of us could *ever* get free of sin ourselves, provided the way for our salvation. It is only through God that we can obtain Holiness because none of us are able to cleanse ourselves to the point of pleasing God.

Whereas Xmas (also X-mas) is a common abbreviation of the word Christmas. It is sometimes pronounced, but Xmas, and variants such as Xtemass, originated as handwriting abbreviations for the typical pronunciation. The “X” comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Christós (Χριστός), which became Christ in English. The suffix -mas is from the Latin-derived Old English word for Mass.

Personally I prefer the first one of the two

A lot of kids these days are brought up to believe that Santa and toys are ” The reason for the season” We must remember as Christians that Jesus is ” The reason for the season”

Stress

Romans 10 New International Version – UK

¹¹As Scripture says, ‘Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.’^[^e] ¹²For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’^[f]

Or as The Message translates it,

Romans 10 The Message (MSG)

^11-13Scripture reassures us, “No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it.” It’s exactly the same no matter what a person’s religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help. “Everyone who calls, ‘Help, God!’ gets help.”

I have a question for you. Can you honestly say you have had a ‘Stress free’ live? I know I haven’t. Something I’ve always tried to bare in mind when stressed or worried is the old saying ‘It’ll all work out in the end’ and it usually does.

Of course as we all know some of the more common stress factors are Marriage, Divorce and financial problems and that’s only the tip of the iceberg as they say.

As Christians dealing with stress we must trust in God because as The Message puts it ‘He’s the same God for all, a generous God who can help.

You were the Word at the beginning
One With God the Lord Most High
Your hidden glory in creation
Now revealed in You our Christ

What a beautiful Name it is
What a beautiful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King

What a beautiful Name it is
Nothing compares to this
What a beautiful Name it is
The Name of Jesus

You didn’t want heaven without us
So Jesus, You brought heaven down
My sin was great, Your love was greater
What could separate us now

What a wonderful Name it is
What a wonderful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King

What a wonderful Name it is
Nothing compares to this
What a wonderful Name it is
The Name of Jesus
What a wonderful Name it is
The Name of Jesus

How sweet is your name, Lord, how good You are
Love to sing in the name of the Lord, love to sing for you all?
Death could not hold You, the veil tore before You
You silenced the boast, of sin and grave
The heavens are roaring, the praise of Your glory
For You are raised to life again

You have no rival, You have no equal
Now and forever, Our God reigns
Yours is the Kingdom, Yours is the glory
Yours is the Name, above all names

What a powerful Name it is
What a powerful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King

What a powerful Name it is
Nothing can stand against
What a powerful Name it is
The Name of Jesus

You have no rival, You have no equal
Now and forever, Our God reigns
Yours is the Kingdom, Yours is the glory
Yours is the Name, above all names

What a powerful Name it is
What a powerful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ my King

What a powerful Name it is
Nothing can stand against
What a powerful Name it is
The Name of Jesus

What a powerful Name it is
The Name of Jesus
What a powerful Name it is
The Name of Jesus

Thankyou for the Cross

Photo by Aslak Su00f8nderland on Pexels.com

Thank You, for the cross I bear

This yoke, I bend beneath;

The Master’s bond, I gladly share,

So with Him, I may be.

The Carpenter, has fitted me,

The steely yoke, exchanged;

In it’s place, the yoke of ease,

In sharing with His pain.

Though heavy, it may seem to all,

To share His crux akin;

The weight more true, of higher toll:

The yoke of death and sin.

So gladly do I let Him break,

The weight that had me blind;

And with Him, bend and shoulder take,

His yoke, now by His side.

And so His joy, so fills my soul,

And love binds me to bear,

This burdened joy, with zeal to hold,

In Christ’s love, do I share.

By Lisa Lawlor

Learning to Trust

Matthew 6:25-34 New International Version – UK (NIVUK)

Do not worry

²⁵‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[a]?

²⁸‘And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. ²⁹Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. ³⁰If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith? ³¹So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” ³²For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

As the varied way of life we journey,
Come the plains and then the mountainside,
Come the days of joy when birds are singing,
And the world is fair and sweet and wide;
Then a deeper joy comes, overfilling,
From the everlasting throne of love,
And all other joy is but an echo
From the ever-blessèd heights above.

There are shadows on the earthly pathway
Where, at times uncertainly, we tread;
In perplexity we halt and linger
Till our faith again is upward led.
For the heights of truth are ever calling,
And celestial radiance from afar
On our pilgrim way is gently falling
For our comfort where the shadows are.

In the days of peace and golden sunshine,
In the days of joy, or days of woe,
There is confidence in Him who holds us;
There is light to guide us here below.
And beyond await the heights of rapture,
Where all earthly joys, transcended, fade
In the glory of the Saviour’s presence,
In the Home eternal He has made.

Listen to Jesus

Proverbs 8 New International Version

³²“Now then, my children, listen to me;
    blessed are those who keep my ways.
³³Listen to my instruction and be wise;
    do not disregard it.
³⁴Blessed are those who listen to me,
    watching daily at my doors,
    waiting at my doorway.
³⁵For those who find me find life
    and receive favour from the Lord.
³⁶But those who fail to find me harm themselves;
    all who hate me love death.”

Although this passage of scripture indicates that Jesus is talking to children, the passage really refers to us all. We must keep listening because it is only by listening we become wise and are blessed

Grudges

I heard a conversation a few days ago. One person felt the other had upset them and had held on
to this grudge for two weeks, before venting their anger. If they had just turned round and said
something at the time, the matter would have been settled. No, they had turned it over and over in
their mind for days. It’s so easy to feel slighted, simply by taking what someone has said, in all
innocence, the wrong way. The perceived hurt, anger and bitterness had festered inside, causing
pain and anger. My challenge for you today, is, if you feel someone has hurt you, done something
you do not agree with, said something that has caused you to take offence, then make today the
day you get in touch with them, talk to them. Explain how you feel, and stop that annoyance
causing you to feel stressed.

Leviticus 19:17-19
Don’t hold grudges. On the other hand, it’s wrong not to correct someone who needs correcting.
Stop being angry and don’t try to take revenge. I am the Lord, and I command you to love others
as much as you love yourself

In God’s Hands

Isaiah 41:10-12 New International Version

¹⁰So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

¹¹“All who rage against you
    will surely be ashamed and disgraced;
those who oppose you
    will be as nothing and perish.
¹²Though you search for your enemies,
    you will not find them.
Those who wage war against you
    will be as nothing at all.

It’s probably a good job we don’t know what’s ahead of us for example we didn’t know Covid – 19 was going to raise it’s ugly head towards 2019. A couple of lockdowns on with vaccinations in September 2021 we’re still fighting the virus.

Meanwhile things have been happening else where.

Recently America has pulled their troops out of Afghanistan because of the troubles there, and on top of that New Orleans has been hit by a tornado

I shall not fear though darkened clouds may gather round me;
The God I serve is one who cares and understands;
Although the storms I face would threaten to confound me,
Of this I am assured: I’m in His hands.

I’m in His hands, I’m in His hands;
Whate’er the future holds, I’m in His hands;
The days I cannot see have all been planned for me;
His way is best, you see; I’m in His hands.

What though I cannot know the way that lies before me,
I still can trust and freely follow His commands;
My faith is firm since He it is who watches o’er me;
Of this I’m confident: I’m in His hands.

In days gone by my Lord has always proved sufficient,
When I have yielded to the law of love’s demands;
Why should I doubt that He would evermore be present
To make His will my own? I’m in His hands!

Sharing

2 Corinthians 9:13 13

Photo by Victoria Borodinova on Pexels.com

Because 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.

It’s true what this video says We do have gift to share to everyone. The beauty of it is that everyone’s gift is different from the person next to you.

In the reading above we are reminded that Paul tells the people of Corinth because you have proved yourselves others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ,

Whilst sharing things puts us in Gods favour, we mustn’t forget the most important thing to share is the Gospel.