Category: appreciate

How can I keep from singing

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I have always been move by music. The words of this hymn have always meant a lot to me and the music is fun to sing.

My life flows on in endless song;

Above earth’s lamentation,
I hear the sweetdagger, tho’ far-off hymn

That hails a new creation;
Thro’ all the tumult and the strife

I hear the music ringing;
It finds an echo in my soul—

How can I keep from singing?
What tho’ my joys and comforts die?

The Lord my Saviour liveth;
What tho’ the darkness gather round?

Songs in the night he giveth.
No storm can shake my inmost calm

While to that refuge clinging;
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,

How can I keep from singing?
I lift my eyes; the cloud grows thin;

I see the blue above it;
And day by day this pathway smooths,

Since first I learned to love it,
The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,

A fountain ever springing;
All things are mine since I am his—

How can I keep from singing?

from Wikepedia

 

 

Saved by grace through faith

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saved-by-grace-through-faithEphesians 2:7-10 —definition of grace

7 that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God— 9 not because of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

We can’t earn our way with God. We have been granted grace through the sacrifice of Christ. None of us can say we are better than another. We are the same…god’s creation.

We were created to do good works. Not to win any awards or make ourselves noticed but to follow God’s plan for us.

Grace is a gift.  Accept it.

Trust

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The new year is on its way. As you are thinking about what it will be like forget about making resolutions. Just keep in mind that God loves and trusts you. He believes in you. There is nothing more important than that. There is nothing more that you need. Believe in yourself. Move forward with confidence knowing that you are safe in His hands.

 

Present in the ordinary

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Great Smokey Mountains 2012We keep searching for God. we spend most of the time wanting him to be in the spectacular. We forget that God is always present and can be found in the ordinary. He can be seen in the dinner we cook for our family, in the beds we make, the work we do and the times we play. He is present. Celebrate that!

The whole thing

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Since this is Advent what are we looking forward to….the birth of a baby….not just an ordinary baby but the most amazing gift from God…Himself. He was willing to come to earth and live among us. For me this is amazing. Who would give up heaven? This is as incredible as the resurrection. Some theologians are Resurrection Theologians. They feel that the resurrection is the most important part of Christ’s coming. Some are Incarnational Theologians. They see God coming to earth as the most important. I see it as a whole thing. His coming to earth, his ministry, his death, his resurrection are a whole. In my mind you can’t separate it out. It is indivisible.

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Time for patience

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Advent is here and the theme of the thoughts for this season.

patience advent

We are not good a waiting. Really, that is an understatement. We have a society of instant gratification. We want it and we want it now! When I worked for a group of pediatricians one of them said people expected a drive-by window where he would reach out and putting hands on the child say “heal.”

Advent is a time of waiting….waiting for the greatest gift mankind has ever had. Waiting for a baby. Expecting.

We must appreciate this time and use it. It is a time to ready ourselves for the gift!

Loving God, we wait. Help us to curb our impatience and use this time to think about the gift to come. AMEN

Seek forgiveness

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Psalm 32:3-5

3 While I kept silence, my body wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
    my strength was dried up[a] as by the heat of summer. 

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
    and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
    and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

seek forgiveness

We cannot hide from God. When we do the burden of our sins can overcome us. We have to confess the sins that God already knows. Then the weight of them can be lifted away. Our sins can be forgiven. Thank God!

Compassionate God, we are so blessed that your son died for our sins. We can be forgiven. AMEN

Set me high upon a rock

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Psalm 27:4-5

4 One thing I asked of the Lord,
    that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,
    and to inquire in his temple.

5 For he will hide me in his shelter
    in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
    he will set me high on a rock.

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I love this Psalm. How I would love to live in the house of the Lord. How comforting it is to know that he will shelter me and set me high on a rock. Living in a hurricane zone on an island makes this promise important to me. I can see the water rising in my yard. I can feel safe knowing that I can be higher than the water for God is with me.

Caring God, thank you for your promises. AMEN

God’s wisdom

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Psalm 19:7-10

7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
    reviving the soul;
the decrees of the Lord are sure,
    making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
    rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is clear,
    enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is pure,
    enduring forever;
the ordinances of the Lord are true
    and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
    even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey,
    and drippings of the honeycomb.

God’s desires for us have always been there. Here they are in David’s words.We are so blind that we don’t see the truth. We don’t see how to live a life of love. Finally he sent us an example whose life we are to emulate. Do we get it yet?

Lord, open the eyes of our hearts. AMEN