Archive for Devotional with Hymn

Make Me Whole in You

2016-09-13 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Father, I am from You.
I am not simply created by You.
I am Your offspring,
Your own child.

What is more, I
live and
move and
exist entirely in You.

Today, Father,
my imperfect body is in Your hands.
My imperfect thoughts and actions are in Your hands.
By Your Spirit,
in Your mercy and love,
make me more and more like
Your holy Son,
my glorious Brother,
Jesus Christ.
Make me whole,
complete, and
pleasing in Him.

I love You, Father, and
I trust You.
I am in Your hands,
body,
mind, and
spirit.
You are my Shepherd,
my Father,
my breath,
my existence.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: God Alone
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Content

2016-09-11 Devotional with Hymn No comments

I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:11-13, NASB)

We spend much of our lives restless and dissatisfied, wanting something we don’t have. Sometimes it’s material things. Sometimes a relationship or respect or some accomplishment. We want and want, and when we get what we want, we want something else.

Recently the Lord put His finger on this passage and challenged me to always be content in Him.

He is always with me. Simply turning to Him during the day reminds me that God is God, that His will will be done, and that it is always good. Looking to Him for a moment, I find peace and joy in His presence, and life is OK again.

The real riches of life is Christ in us.

Jesus, I will always be content in You.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Content in You
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No Fear, No Bitterness

2016-09-06 Devotional with Hymn No comments

God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7, NIV)

No matter how the present situation seems,
remember:
God has not given us a spirit of fear.
Do not let appearances intimidate you.

No matter what others have done to you,
remember:
God has not given us a spirit of bitterness,
but of forgiveness, love, and peace in Him.

Fear and bitterness are Satan’s deceptions.
Resist them.
Renounce them, and
embrace love.
Embrace faith.
Embrace Jesus.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: One in Purpose, One in Passion
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The Circle of Love

2016-09-04 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of your service, men will praise God for your obedience and generosity. (2 Corinthians 9:6-8, 10-13, NIV adapted)

All giving begins with God. He is the source of all good things. He is full and overflows in love to all He has created.

He gives to us and urges us to share His joy by giving to others. He frees us to give generously, promising that He will supply everything we need.

When we give to others, they respond by giving thanks to God. They complete the circle of love that God began when He gave: God, to us, to others, and back to God. Everyone is enriched. Everyone experiences the joys of receiving and giving. We are drawn closer to God and to each other.

If we grow too fearful to take what God gives us and share it with others, we break the circle. Others are left in need, and we cause separation between each other and God.

God is offering us the joy of giving. Receive it! Be part of the circle of love!

Listen and sing:
Hymn: The Circle of Love
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Worshiping the Father

2016-09-01 Devotional with Hymn, One with Our Father No comments

from the book, ONE WITH OUR FATHER 

John 4:16-24

“An hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24, NASB)

To truly worship God, look to Jesus.
Watch Him,
listen to Him, and
worship as He worshiped.

God our Father is a Spirit.
The worship that pleases Him is
from our spirit to His.

Worshiping God does not depend on
ceremony or style.
The motions are irrelevant to Him.
He wants worship that is honest and unhypocritical,
with no gap between our words and our actions.
True worship rises from our hearts and our lives,
not just from our lips.

Worship God in spirit and in truth.
That is how Jesus worshiped His Father.
That is how He pleased His Father.

The purest prayer and the truest worship
are not expressed in words
but in being and doing.
They are expressed in the faithfulness of
God’s Spirit-filled people,
living from Him and through Him and to Him,
day after day,
age after age.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Father, Help Me Worship You
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Blessed by Problems

2016-08-30 Devotional with Hymn No comments

A small computer problem evolved into a massive computer problem. It dragged on for a week, absorbing much of my time and attention, before finally sending my faithful old computer to an unexpected grave. Then came the transition time as I waited on my new computer to arrive, then worked with my programmer-daughter to get set up and operational.

During this painful time when my routines were totally disrupted, the Lord taught me several valuable lessons.

Prayer

My work as a writer involves transitional times – brief periods when I decompress and prepare my mind to move from one task to another. Normally such transitional times are filled with diversions, like Facebook or computer games. They absorb my attention without taxing my mind, so I find them helpful. But without my computer, I turned my spare moments more often to prayer. Such “simple prayer” throughout the day helps me fellowship with God more naturally and constantly. God used my computer problems to draw me closer to Himself.

Thank You, Father. Continue to draw me and teach me.

Productivity

As a writer, I definitely missed my computer as a work tool. But the Lord kept me productive without it. He led me to write a hymn, Our God Came to Visit. Hymn-writing is less computer-dependent than other types of writing.

He also led me to do even more Bible study than usual. A meditative study of Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12 was particularly meaningful and refreshing.

God uses our human tools but is never dependent on them.

Patient Endurance

Patient endurance is one of the most precious but least sought Biblical virtues. When our discomfort absolutely MUST stop but doesn’t, we patiently endure. My computer situation exercised this valuable quality.

Father, You are good. You bless us in unexpected ways, even through our suffering.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Good Gifts
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One by One

2016-08-28 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Our magnificent God created the entire physical universe with a word. His sovereignty is so complete that He simply expresses His will, and matter obeys.

When Jesus came, surely He could have healed the same way. With just a word He could have healed an entire village, an entire nation, the whole world. But He did not. He healed personally, individually, one by one.

He healed in many different ways. Healing was not a technique but a personal exchange. He always established personal contact with the one requesting the healing, whether with the needy person or their representative (sick people often can’t speak for themselves). From the petitioner, there was an expression of faith. Then from Jesus, a word…a look…sometimes a touch…and a changed life.

Jesus shared the Father’s love person to person, face to face. How else could you fully express such a deep, personal, intimate love?

He calls us, His servants and friends, to express God’s love the same way to each of His loved ones all around us: person to person, one by one. 

Listen and sing:
Hymn: One by One
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Do You Want to Make a Difference?

2016-08-23 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Years ago I went to a prayer seminar taught by my mentor and close friend, Dr. Morris Weigelt. He asked the group of us to recall the people in our lives who had influenced us the most. Names filled the chalkboard as we fondly recalled a wide range of people who had made a lasting impact on our lives.

Then he asked us why these people had been so influential. What was it about them that left such a deep and permanent effect on us? Again, the chalkboard was filled with reasons.

When they had all had been listed, we looked at them as a whole. To my surprise, there was not a single “professional” ability on the board. No one had been considered influential because they were intelligent or talented or specially capable in some way.

Why had the long and varied list of people been so influential in our lives? All the reasons boiled down to only one: we had each been the most deeply influenced by the persons who had cared about us, who had taken a personal interest in us. The people who changed us most profoundly were those who made us feel valued, respected, and loved. It was the people who had cared about us, not just in word, but by giving of themselves actively, personally, individually, unselfishly. They had said to us by their actions, “You are special! I believe in You!” And because they said it with their actions, we believed them.

Do you want to make a difference? Do you want to have a lasting impact on some person’s life, and therefore on our world as a whole? Go out of your way to give someone your personal attention. Love – active, sincere, sacrificial love – is still the greatest force for bringing change, blessing, joy, and new life to our world. If you want to make an investment that will pay off, invest yourself in people. Invest yourself in love.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God…God is love. (1 John 4:7-8, NASB) 

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Touch a Life through Me
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In Me You Have Peace

2016-08-21 Devotional with Hymn No comments

John 16:29-33

Jesus Christ speaks the truth completely and openly.
He is honest with us about
our weaknesses and
the trouble that life in this world will bring.
But He forcefully teaches us and constantly reminds us
that we should always be joyful because of
the blessings and resources that are ours in Him.

“In the world you have tribulation.”
Pressure will come.
The world will squeeze us.

“In Me you have peace.”
We have wholeness, harmony, and well-being
by trusting Christ need by need.

“Take courage. I have overcome the world.”
We will never encounter any trouble or opposition
that Christ hasn’t already overcome. 

Listen and sing:
Hymn: We Are in Christ Jesus
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Personal Service to Jesus

2016-08-14 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine,
you did for me. (Matthew 25:40, NIV)

Imagine: you come home weary from a long day at work. You’re settling into your recliner, and just then the doorbell rings. It’s Jesus. There He stands, tired and hungry.

Wouldn’t it be great to serve Him? Get Him something to drink; prop up His feet; fix Him supper. Your tiredness would be gone. Those simple services would be the greatest joys of your entire life.

Jesus isn’t likely to show up at our door. But we’re surrounded by needy people. Jesus says that whatever we do for them, we’re doing for Him. So:

Whatever you do,
do it as for the Lord,
not for people.
It is Jesus Christ you are serving.
(Colossians 3:23-24, para.)

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Listen to Love
Recording
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