Archive for Devotional with Hymn

Have You Lost Your First Love?

2018-03-01 Devotional Companion to Revelation, Devotional with Hymn No comments

A reflection on Revelation 2:4-7,
Christ’s letter to the church in Ephesus.

Nothing is as vital as having
a warm, active, loving, self-giving relationship
with God and
with His children.
Nothing!

Has your relationship cooled?
Have you lost your first love?
Is your love for God and for others as
warm,
natural, and
joyful
as it was at the beginning?

If not, follow Christ’s own words for restoring your love:

Remember the way your love was at the beginning.
Realize how you’ve changed,
and not for the better.
Realize what you’ve lost.

Repent.
Admit that you have been wrong.
Focus on what you have done wrong,
not on what they have done wrong.
Ask forgiveness,
from God and from the other people involved.
Commit to change, with God’s help.

Do the loving deeds you did at first.
Love is not an emotion,
to be chased like the wind.
Love is a decision.
Love is a commitment.
Love is action.
Do the loving deeds you did at the beginning, and
the emotion will return in its own time.

Love is the most excellent way to live.
Never let it slip away.
Treasure love.
Pursue love.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Daily Confession
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A Glance Backward

2018-02-25 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Have I not commanded you?
Be strong and courageous.
Do not be terrified;
do not be discouraged,
for the Lord your God
will be with you wherever you go.
(Joshua 1:9, NIV)

Faithful, Faithful, Faithful.
I look back over my life, and
I am startled by the love I thought I knew.
You pursued me when I couldn’t see You in my darkness.
You whispered in my ear,
You clutched my heart,
then stood in front of me and declared that
YOU were God.
I knew it was true.
As I bowed, You gave me new life—
Your life.
I was warmed by the fire of Your love,
and in its light, I saw Your glory all around me,
leading me on.

You’ve taught me that
Your deliverance, Your forgiveness,
are daily gifts,
flowing from the fountain of Your eternal love.
Viewing my past journey,
I see only Your hand
guiding, teaching, holding me,
giving my life a consistency that is Yours, not mine.
The power of Your presence has
always, always, always been there,
though I only glimpse it now and again.

Father,
Eternally Faithful One,
make our bond of love and trust
as iron.
Make it a living cord from Your heart to mine.
Draw my eyes constantly to You,
making simple faith my every breath.
Great God of power and tireless love,
in every situation,
with every desire,
with all my energies,
be my God.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Your Ceaseless, Unexhausted Love
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Pursue Love

2018-02-22 Devotional Companion to Revelation, Devotional with Hymn No comments

A reflection on Revelation 2:1-4,
Christ’s letter to the church in Ephesus,
based on 1 Corinthians 12:31 – 13:3; 14:1

God is love, and
the surest mark of His children is love:
true,
active,
self-sacrificing love.

Without love, the greatest spiritual gifts are meaningless.
Pursue love.

Without love, wisdom and knowledge are worthless.
Pursue love.

Without love, all our efforts, all our accomplishments are empty noise.
Pursue love.

Love is the most excellent way to live.
As we grasp for all the best of life,
we too often ignore its most precious possibility: a
constant,
personal,
interactive,
loving,
transforming relationship with the Living God.
As we humbly receive His love,
we love Him in return.
As we love Him,
we grow in our love for His children.

In the beautiful, perfect Kingdom of our Father,
love is the coin of the realm,
not money.
Love will never lose its value.
Pursue love.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Ever Full and Overflowing
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Listen for His Word

2018-02-18 Devotional with Hymn No comments

The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders…
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is majestic.
The voice of the Lord twists the oaks
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
(Psalm 29:3-4, 9, NIV)

God spoke, and the universe came into being.
He didn’t need to shape it by His hands.
He is completely sovereign.
When He expresses His will, matter obeys.
He is the Lord of all reality.

Yet we seldom listen for His Word to us.
We rarely hunger for His perfect wisdom
or trust His unfailing love.
We chase what is too petty to satisfy us.
We seek security in what is weak and small and sure to pass away.
We refuse to fully face His greatness
and our utter helplessness.

Show me your ways, O Lord,
teach me your paths;
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long. (Psalm 25:4-5, NIV)

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Is There Any Word from the Lord?
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Centered on Jesus

2018-02-15 Devotional Companion to Revelation, Devotional with Hymn No comments

A prayer response to Revelation 2 & 3,
the letters to the seven churches.

Father, examine my desires.
Examine my hopes.
Examine my thoughts.
Examine my words.
Examine my habits and
all my actions.
Examine each of my relationships.

Father, I long for You to find
Your holy Son Jesus
at the center of all these.

Examine our family.
Examine our Sunday School class.
Examine our local church.
Examine our association of churches.
Examine Your universal Church,
for we are to be
His Body and
His Bride.

Merciful Father, may Jesus Christ be at the heart of
all we are and
all we do.
When the world listens to us,
may they hear Jesus.
When they look at us,
may they see Your holy, loving, energetic, self-sacrificing Son,
Jesus Christ.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: One in Purpose, One in Passion
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Grasping for Greatness

2018-02-11 Devotional with Hymn No comments

They came to Capernaum. When [Jesus] was in the house, he asked [his disciples], “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” (Mark 9:33-37, NIV)

Jesus, You had set Your face to go to Jerusalem. You had explained to Your disciples that You would be handed over to Your enemies to suffer and die. You called them to take up their own crosses and follow You there.

And in the next breath, what are they doing? Arguing among themselves about who would be the greatest. You had called them to suffer. All they could think about was basking in glory. You had called them to be servants. They still dreamed of being prime minister.

Lord, too often I’m as dull as they. I dream of greatness, not service.

Such foolish pride is so persistent. But I find it melts away as I look to You and love others.

Lord Jesus, fill my life with those. Teach me to look to You constantly through the day. Help me to forget about doing “great things” and instead simply show love to those around me.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Not Greatness, but Sacrifice
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Christ Walks among Us

2018-02-08 Devotional Companion to Revelation, Devotional with Hymn No comments

A reflection on Revelation 1:9-20,
John’s vision of the glorified Christ, walking among the churches.

Jesus Christ is no longer the Galilean peasant,
the homeless teacher
wandering a small corner of the Roman empire.
He is the risen, ascended, glorified Christ
in all His natural splendor,
with all the radiance of the only-begotten Son of God.

He is robed as our Great High Priest.
His hair is gleaming white.
His eyes are like a blazing fire.
He sees everything as it truly is:
this world,
the Church,
our lives,
our desires.
He stands with feet like glowing bronze,
unshakable,
unstoppable.
His voice is like the thunder of a mighty waterfall.
He speaks with absolute, unquestionable authority.
His entire being radiates the splendor and power of heaven.

Right now this Christ is walking among us,
His Church.
He is seeing.
He is judging.
He is encouraging.
He is warning.
As He speaks,
I am comforted.
I am challenged.
I am humbled.
I am called.

I begin to see the Church…His Church…in a whole new light.
What is critical for us is not
our size,
our finances, or
our techniques for growth.
What is critical is our living relationship with Him:
our love for Him,
our obedience to Him,
our faithfulness to Him,
our living, holy sacrifice to Him,
our incarnation of Him.

Speak, Lord Jesus.
We are listening.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: The Glorified Christ
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Your Glory, Lord

2018-02-04 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Creator,
Sovereign Lord,
Fountain of all goodness and beauty,
You are perfect wisdom.
You are perfect love.
What else could I want but
Your will?
What else matters?

Knowing You, my Father,
what could I desire but
to glorify You?
What other ambition could
fill my heart and
fire my imagination?
You are
good and
great, and
You are always with us
right here,
right now.
Everyone needs to know You!
Everyone!
Help me glorify You, Father.
This is the high privilege for which
You created me.
This is the purpose for which
You saved me at such a precious price.

You are my master.
I am Your joyful servant.
Exalt Yourself through me.
Use me as pleases You.
Use my weaknesses.
May they make it plain that
You deserve all the glory,
not me.
Use my ignorance.
Lift Yourself through my failures.
Lead me through
sickness,
suffering, or
grief.
Humble me in any way You choose
if it will show the world just how
radiantly wonderful You are!

I am Your servant.
I cannot choose my path.
You choose, my Lord.
Just help me fulfill
this one goal,
this one desire:
to stay faithful to You. 

Listen and sing:
Hymn: A Servant’s Prayer (BINNEY)
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Jesus Died, Risen, Lord of All

2018-02-01 Devotional Companion to Revelation, Devotional with Hymn No comments

A reflection on Revelation 1:5-8,
“Grace and peace to you…from Jesus Christ”. 

In my weakness,
in my ignorance,
through all my struggles and failures,
who always loves me?
Jesus died,
Jesus risen,
Jesus Lord of all.

Who eagerly, completely, forever forgives me
for all the awful things I have ever been and done?
Jesus died,
Jesus risen,
Jesus Lord of all.

Who delivers me from
everything that oppresses and threatens me?
Jesus died,
Jesus risen,
Jesus Lord of all.

Who pours out on me and into me
all the fullness of the Father,
from whom all blessings flow?
Jesus died,
Jesus risen,
Jesus Lord of all.

Who leads me through all the unknowns of
this world and the next?
Jesus died,
Jesus risen,
Jesus Lord of all.

Who encompasses in Himself
all time,
all the past, present, and future?
Jesus died,
Jesus risen,
Jesus Lord of all.

Whom will I joyfully follow and trust,
love and worship
no matter what comes,
every day and forever?
Jesus died,
Jesus risen,
Jesus Lord of all.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Jesus, Living God!
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Begin with God

2018-01-30 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Father, I look to You.
All that is began with You.
All that is flows from You –
all truth,
all beauty,
all goodness.
So I begin this day with You.

Father, how much truer,
how much clearer,
how much more loving
would my thoughts and desires be
if they always, only began with You?

Today, my Lord, may
every word and
every action
arise only from
love for You and
a longing for Your glory alone.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Lord, May Our Thoughts Begin with You
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