Archive for April 2021

You Are God

2021-04-30 Devotional with Hymn, Magnificent God No comments

God,
You whom I see so dimly and
trust so haltingly,
trust so haltingly,
You are GOD.
I look up and around me,
backward, then forward,
as far as my imagination can stretch,
and You are there.

Creator God,
You greet me when I rise in the morning.
God of Goliath and Jericho,
You invite me to trust You
when life seems impossible.
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
You will introduce yourself
to my great-great-grandchildren.
You will be God for them as well.
You wrap each of us,
with all time and space,
in Yourself.
And when You speak Your name,
it is Compassion,
it is Faithfulness,
it is Father.

O Lord, my Lord,
how excellent is Your name in all the earth!
Let me hope in nothing else,
let me long for nothing else,
let me worship nothing and no one else
but You,
Everlasting Father,
my God.

We fail to fully grasp the
wonderful reality of God because
in our small and self-centered hearts,
we cannot conceive any Being
so much greater than ourselves.

Hymn: All-in-all

Christ in Psalm 30

2021-04-28 Hymns No comments

Psalm 30; Luke 22:53; John 17:3; Hebrews 2:11

In the light of Christ,
Psalm 30 becomes a
celebration of His glorious resurrection.
This hymn captures that celebration,
to a familiar tune.

Recording
Printed Music

Praise to You, O glorious Brother,
Humbled, now exalted high.
Once, like You, condemned and dying,
Now we breathe Your risen life.

Darkness ruled for but an hour,
Weeping lasted for a night.
Now the dawn, and what rejoicing!
Now the day of endless light!

Lord, Your favor lasts forever;
Pain and pleasure come and go.
Life in You is life eternal,
Heaven’s peace begun below.

All our grief is turned to dancing,
All is joy each moment new,
Praising, living, loving, sharing
Ever, only, all in You!

by Ken Bible, © 2018 LNWhymns.com.

One Thing I Seek

2021-04-23 Devotional with Hymn, Magnificent God No comments

Whom have I in heaven but you? . . .
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:25-26, NIV)

When I can finally see God for all He is to me –
            all that He always has been and always will be –
            so that anxiety and fear are lost in total trust;
When I have truly grasped His love,
            so that joy, rest, and belonging
            are deep and rich and constant;
When I am filled and dominated and totally led by His Spirit
            so that every desire, every thought,
            every motion of my being
            is in Him and prompted by Him;
What hunger will be left?

Psalm 27 expresses it this way:

One thing I ask of the Lord,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the Lord and to seek him. (v.4, NIV)

When I see Him fully and trust Him completely, the only thing I will still hunger for is Him. All the beauty, glory, and abundance of heaven will come from one Source: God himself. We will never be anything but completely dependent on Him – not on His gifts, but on Him.

Revelation 21:22-23 says that in His immediate presence, we will need no sun, moon, or temple. He himself is our warmth and our light. Our worship is face-to-face.

In His personal presence, Jesus’ simple statements about himself become personal truth:

I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35, NIV)

I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness. (John 8:12, NIV)

I am the resurrection and the life . . . Whoever lives and believes in me will never die (John 11:25-26, NIV).

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. (Revelation 21:6, NIV)

Your heart can be captured by the living beauty and simplicity of the personal Christ. That beauty holds a bonding that grows stronger and stronger, prayer by prayer. As we trust Him and love Him, we find our needs and hungers met in Him. Every lesser desire gradually disappears into Him.

And in knowing and interacting with such a wonderful, infinite God, we never get to the point of feeling, “OK, that’s enough.” Even in our joyful satisfaction, the hunger remains, continuing to draw us into fuller friendship with Him.

All of history, all the vast universe – seen and unseen – and all the desires and hopes of humanity are summed up in Christ (Ephesians 1:9-10). That summing up is also an individual process. Let Him start it in you now. Let Him begin it in your heart, and He will spread it throughout your thoughts and feelings, your attitudes and lifestyle.

He has not put eternity’s best blessings out of your reach. They are as near as His presence, as near as looking to Him in simple faith.

Father,
I look forward to the day when we
see You,
know You, and
respond to You for
all You are.
That will be heaven!

Hymn: Psalm 84

Display Your Splendor in Me

2021-04-21 Hymns No comments

Ask God to glorify Himself,
not only through
your strengths and
successes,
but through
your weaknesses,
struggles, and
suffering.

Recording
Printed Music

Display Your splendor in me,
Through my weaknesses and needs.
In my shadows, be a Shining Light.
In my weakness, show Your holy might.
Display Your splendor in me.
Display Your splendor in me.

Display Your splendor in me.
Be the Lord of every need.
In my coldness, be a Living Flame.
In my suffering, glorify Your name.
Display Your splendor in me.
Display Your splendor in me.

by Ken Bible, © 2000 LNWhymns.com.

Praying for Others

2021-04-19 Fresh Views of Timeless Truths No comments

Fresh Views of Timeless Truths

For the next two weeks, reflect on Praying for Others. This free pdf is full of scriptural wisdom on how to intercede for those you love. It consists of scripture, prayers, reflections, and 12 new hymns for public and personal worship.

It is part of the new series, Fresh Views of Timeless Truth, focused reflections on key topics.

LINKS:
Free pdf of Praying for Others
Complete list of available volumes in Fresh Views of Timeless Truths

Fearing Change

2021-04-16 Devotional with Hymn, Magnificent God No comments

“Listen to Me…
You who have been borne by Me from birth
And have been carried from the womb;
Even to your old age I will be the same,
And even to your graying years I will bear you!
I have done it, and I will carry you;
I will bear you and I will deliver you.”
“I, the Lord, do not change.”
(Isaiah 46:3-4; Malachi 3:6, NASB)

God of unfailing, unrestrainable love,
how often do I
resent and
resist
the blessings You send me!
I hide.
I argue.
I lash out.
I whine and complain like a child,
fearful of change.
I cling to my poverty because it is
familiar and
safe.

O Father, forgive me!
Forgive me for mistrusting Your love!
You are the unchanging God,
always only wisdom,
always only good,
always only bringing our best.
Through all the changes and seasons of life,
I will look to You.
I will bring my concerns to You.
I will trust You.
And then, even in my ignorance,
I will rejoice in what
Your omniscient love is doing for me.

You are good, Father!
You are always good, and
Your love endures forever!

Wars,
betrayal,
persecution,
deception,
disasters, and
death
are part of the inevitable course of this world.
But stay confident:
God is still in control of the outcome.
All will serve His loving purpose.

Hymn: Unchanging Father

Almighty Life

2021-04-14 Hymns No comments

The Holy Spirit in Acts

This hymn paints a panorama of
the Holy Spirit
in the book of Acts.
It is a joyful picture of
the Spirit’s ministry
in and among us.
The tune is familiar.

Recording
Printed Music

Almighty the life of our risen Redeemer!
Almighty the Spirit of Jesus outpoured!
The wind and the fire are the fruit of His promise,
The sign, the assurance, the proof He is Lord.

Refrain:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Fill every person with all that You are!

Your glory, Your presence, Your power for service,
Your confident boldness through life and through death,
Your love and Your gladness, Your wide-open giving,
The wonder, the beauty of breathing Your breath –

You call and equip us, You grow us together,
Now leading, now teaching, now forming each one.
You help us to know what is far beyond knowing:
The life and the love of the Father and Son.

by Ken Bible, © 2000, 2019 LNWhymns.com.

Dangling Threads

2021-04-09 Devotional with Hymn, Magnificent God No comments

As for me, I trust in You, O Lord,
I say, “You are my God.”
(Psalm 31:14, NASB)

Father, I bring You all the dangling threads of my life.

I bring you that annoying little task that has me stuck.
I can’t move forward, and
I can’t walk away.

I bring you that matter where all I can do is wait.
I am totally dependent on someone else, and
they are in no hurry.

I bring you that huge project that I’m just beginning.
I feel swamped with unknowns and
in over my head.

I bring You that threat hanging over me
that seeks to steal my peace.

I bring you that unique idea, that deep desire
that has long weighed on my heart.
It keeps calling me,
pulling me.
It has never gone away after all these years.
Father, I believe You have planted it in me.
I believe You have set aside this task for me.
I’m convinced it would glorify You and
draw other people to You.
But every time I try to press ahead,
You seem to check me.
I feel nine-months pregnant,
but I can’t give birth.

And Father, I bring You that person
whom I love with all my heart.
They are so painfully, tragically incomplete.
O Lord, You know.

Father, I bring You all these dangling threads.
They keep my life unsettled.
They daily, hourly make me feel
ill-at-ease and
out of control.

Maybe that’s one reason You allow them to stay.
They keep me turning to You,
depending on You,
crying out to You.
You are the First and the Last,
the Source and the Goal.
You not only see the end from the beginning,
You are the ending.
All things are flowing from You and to You.
All things are complete in You.
At the perfect time and
in the perfect way,
You will beautifully finish everything You have begun.

I am a small-minded,
anxious,
time-bound creature,
at sea in a world beyond my understanding and control.
You are sovereign, wise, loving, and just.
You always do what is good and right.

Father, I will wait on You.

Who are we that we should ask God,
“Why are you doing this?”
It is the Lord—
that is enough.
Let him do what seems good to Him.
Let Him wound or heal,
bring pleasure or pain,
give life or death.
He is always the Lord.”
(paraphrased from Francois Fenelon)

Hymn: I Cannot See the Light, My Lord

Clothe Me in Humility

2021-04-07 Hymns No comments

Humility is the sweetness of
a right relationship
with God and
others.
Humility is rightness and
rest.

Recording
Printed Music

Clothe me in humility,
Loving Lord, I pray.
You who’ve given all I am,
Take this pride away.
Free my thoughts to thankfulness,
And clothe me in Your praise.
Free my thoughts to thankfulness,
And clothe me, Lord,
Clothe me in Your praise.

Clothe me in humility;
Help me not to judge.
You would understand them, Lord.
You would lift them up.
Let me speak as You would speak,
And clothe me in Your love.
Let me speak as You would speak,
And clothe me, Lord,
Clothe me in Your love.

Clothe me in humility
With this simple truth:
You are every breath I breathe;
You alone are good.
Every moment come in love
And clothe me, Lord, in You.
Every moment come in love
And clothe me, Lord,
Clothe me, Lord, in You.


by Ken Bible, © 2000 LNWhymns.com.

Psalms of Lament

2021-04-05 Fresh Views of Timeless Truths No comments

Fresh Views of Timeless Truths

For the next two weeks, reflect on twelve Psalms of Lament. Let them help you come to God honestly, in simple faith. This free pdf consists of scripture, prayers, reflections, and new hymns for public and personal worship.

It is part of the new series, Fresh Views of Timeless Truth, focused reflections on key topics.

LINKS:
Free pdf of Psalms of Lament
Complete list of available volumes in Fresh Views of Timeless Truths

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