Tag Archive for Hymn

Forever Faithful

2014-06-10 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Jesus, I know You are here with me.
I know I can pray anytime.
I know that life’s purest joy and peace are only a breath away.

But I forget.
I get wrapped up in my own little world.

Still, You keep coming to me.
You prompt me through a need or a crisis,
through some anxiety or
through my own inner neediness.
You prompt me through a blessing,
then You remind me to thank You for it.

Through my busyness,
my worry,
my weakness, and
my foolish pride,
You keep calling me,
drawing me, and
welcoming me to You.

Thank You, Jesus.
You are forever faithful!
You are forever with me.

Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: Almighty God Is Near!
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Knowing Jesus Better

2014-06-08 Devotional with Hymn No comments

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ…
may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,
so that you may know him better.
(Ephesians 1:17, NIV)

If being a Christian is knowing You, Jesus,
then growing spiritually is knowing You better.

I don’t want to just know about You, my Lord.
I want to know You.
I want to know You as You really are—
as You really are right now, here with me.

Saul turned from killing Christians
to vigorously arguing for You in just a few days (Acts 9:1-22).
The difference wasn’t additional study.
The difference was meeting You.
He saw You as You are,
and it changed him radically, forever.

Jesus, my Lord God, I want to know You.

Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: Come and Follow Me
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Flavored with Love

2014-06-03 Devotional No comments

[Jesus said:] Love each other as I have loved you. (John 15:12, NIV)

Jesus, You were never unkind.
You were never rushed.
You gladly took time with people.
They were Your agenda.

Jesus,
in my thinking,
in my speaking,
in the decisions I make,
in my reactions to others,
when I am inconvenienced,
when I am under pressure,
flavor my life with Your love.

Keep me in You, and at peace in You.

Jesus,
flavor my life with Your love.

Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: As You Love
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Knowing the Unknowable

2014-06-01 Devotional with Hymn No comments

 “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever–the Spirit of truth. 

“I am in the Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:15-17a, 20, 23, NIV)

Who completely understands the Trinity, how Three Persons can be One Being and One Being can be Three Persons?

Yet all who receive God’s Spirit experience the Trinity. We share in their love and unity. We taste their oneness and their individuality.

The Father showed His heart, His mind, and His deep love for us beautifully and completely in Christ. The Holy Spirit speaks this revelation to individuals all over the world. He makes the truth in Christ universal, constant, and personal.

The Father made Himself human in Jesus. He became small, earthly, and touchable. The Holy Spirit takes Jesus beyond the limits of a physical body and breathes Him all around us and within us.

God has wrapped us in Himself—
Father Creator,
Human Son,
Universal Spirit.

The life of God the Father is breathing through us. The Word that spoke all worlds into existence is recreating us. The Spirit that brooded over the waters is reshaping us. We share the love and unity of the Father, Son, and Spirit, becoming one with them and, in the process, one with each other. We are becoming more like Christ yet more truly ourselves, more individuals yet more one.

Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: One with God
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The Gift of God’s Spirit

2014-05-25 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Acts 2

Jesus spent many of His precious final hours here on earth teaching His disciples about the coming of His Holy Spirit. And looking at the early Church through the book of Acts, one can understand why. The gift of God’s indwelling Spirit changed the Church from timid, self-centered individuals to a bold and loving body of disciples. They left their fearful hiding and became effective witnesses to the Living Christ.

As we trust Him, God’s Spirit becomes one with our spirit, planting within us His life, His love, His power, His holiness, and the inexpressible loveliness of His presence.

Look at the difference this Gift has made in our world, in the Church, and in our lives. Then ask yourself what untapped potential is still there. How could God’s Spirit glorify the Living Christ through us if we trusted Him more simply and constantly? How would He transform us if we focused our desires on hearing and following Him? Where would He lead us? How would He use us?

What beautiful oneness would we enjoy if each of us only wanted what He wants?

Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: Pentecost Hymn
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Prepare Yourself for Praise

2014-05-22 Congregational Song, Devotional with Hymn, Hymns No comments

This is the 17th in a series of Friday posts on congregational song.

We had a new minister of music, and changes inevitable. What kind of leader would he be? Would I enjoy his songs? What styles would he choose? Would the service be exciting?

But then I realized:

What we get out of corporate worship depends less on the worship leader, less on the level of excitement, and more on what we bring into the service.

We need to prepare our minds and hearts for worship. Without that, focus is missing. Our thoughts wander. Our hearts are far away. We get distracted. We become critical.

Lord, You have invited us to come before You together, as a people. Help us to come prepared, focused, longing, and expecting. Help us to come seeking You. You, Holy Lord.

Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: We Come Seeking You
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Jesus Walks among Us

2014-05-18 Devotional with Hymn No comments

I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me…and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in the furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters…His face was like the sun shining in its brilliance. 

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”
(Revelation 1:12-18, NIV)

This is John’s vision of the Christ that walks among us now. He is not the Galilean carpenter, but the risen, ascended, glorified Christ in all His splendor.

His eyes are like blazing fire. He sees reality. He sees everything as it truly is: this world…the Church…our lives and hearts.

His voice is like the roar of a mighty waterfall. He speaks from absolute authority and wisdom. He speaks from pure love.

He is walking among us. He sees. He is speaking. Father, help us to turn to Him often, listen, and obey.

Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: The Glorified Christ
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Daily Love

2014-05-13 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Owe no one anything, except to love one another.
(Romans 13:8, NRSV)

Did you know you are in debt to everyone around you?
You owe each person this:
to love them as you love yourself.

We have so many grand goals.
We get wrapped up in so many worthy
desires,
ambitions, and
ministries.

But Jesus said that the most important thing in all the world,
next to loving God completely,
is to love those around us as much as we love ourselves.

God is love.
Turn to Him.
Talk to Him.
As you walk with Him,
He will lead you into a life of love.

Jesus, help me love others
as I love myself.

Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: I Look to You, and You Are Love
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At Home with the Father

2014-05-11 Devotional with Hymn No comments

“If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23, NIV)

Earlier in this same chapter, in John 14:1-3, Jesus said that the Father’s house has many “dwelling places” and that He will come again and take us to live with Him forever.

But then He says, in v.23, above, that if we love the Father, He will love us and come to us and make His “dwelling place” with us here and now. It’s the same word for “dwelling place” in both verses.

Here in this world, God is glad to make His home with us, humble and human as we are. He knows us, flaw by flaw, yet He gladly joins His life to ours. We share His love…His peace…His joy. We breathe His breath. He lives in us, and we in Him. His holy life is a growing part of our own.

Our togetherness has a beautiful beginning now and a glorious completion hereafter. Our satisfaction in God and our rest in Him are not limited by time or place. They are not just someday. They are here and now and forever as we simply trust Him.

Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: Your Love, Holy Father
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As I Want to Be Treated

2014-05-06 Devotional with Hymn No comments

In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.
(Matthew 7:12, NIV)

Relationships can be so complex and puzzling.
How do we know how to handle
the many situations and personalities that come our way?

Jesus has given us one simple rule.
It’s easy to remember and easy to understand:
Treat other people the way you want to be treated.
This single command sums up all God has to teach us about
living in harmony with each other.

Try it!
And ask Him for help.
He’s glad to give it.

Lord, help me
treat each person
as I want to be treated. 

Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: Live in Love
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