I am Thine!

I love the beautiful verse in I Chronicles 29:11:
     "Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty:  for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as head above all."  This beautiful verse has been called one of the great doxologies of Scripture, and it is a part of King David's thanksgiving and prayer when Solomon, his son, was being made king.  David and Solomon were the greatest kings of Israel, but David knew and rightly acknowledged that the Lord, Himself, was the true King -- not only of Israel, but of all heaven and earth!  How wonderful and comforting it is to know that God is the head---the supreme ruler over all.

This testimony of worship occurs throughout God's Holy Word, and in Revelation 4:11, we read:
     "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created."
                  The Psalmist said:  "Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion . . . Be wise now  therefore, O ye Kings:  be instructed, ye judges of the earth . . . Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him."

Someday, (perhaps much sooner than we think) every knee will bow and every tongue shall confess Him as King of kings and Lord of lords!   
     Let us keep running the race with patience, always looking unto Jesus--the author and finisher of our  faith!

On The Mountain!

I was raised in Kansas and had never seen a mountain until after I was married.  So it was quite exciting to view the mountains in Colorado for the first time!  Maybe it was kind of like the time when Peter, James and John were up on the mountain with Jesus!  When Jesus was transfigured before them, and they saw His glory, they didn't want to leave.  Peter said, ""Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias."  But they had to come down from that blessed mountain top experience, and immediately many people met them wanting the attention of Jesus for various needs!
And so it is with us today -- we want to stay on the mountaintop and revel in the glories and beauties up there, but Jesus calls us to come back down to where we are needed to labor for the upbuilding of His Kingdom before the night cometh when no man can work!

I like this little quote by Oswald Chambers:
     "We have all experienced times of exaltation on the mountain, when we have seen things from God's perspective and have wanted to stay there.  But God will never allow us to stay there.  The true test of our spiritual life is in exhibiting the power to descend from the mountain".

May God bless you as you begin a new week of living for Jesus -- Mountain or Valley -- "Where Jesus is, it's heaven there!"

Psalm 96

The wonderful Book of Psalms is sometimes described as the inspired "Prayer and Praise book of Israel."  So let us look a little into Psalm 96 today.  In the first two verses, three times we are admonished to "Sing unto the Lord"!  In verse three, we are told to "Declare His glory!"  After singing to the Lord and worshiping Him, I am quite sure we will be so blessed that we want to declare His glory!

Then, three times in verses 7 and 8, we are told to "Give unto the Lord."  We are to give the Lord the glory due unto His Name, and then we are to worship!  Verse 9 says:
     "O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before Him, all the earth."  Then, in verse 10, he tells us to testify:
     "Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth."  Now, during this "testimony time",  the Psalmist declares further -- 

     "Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.  Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord: for He cometh, for He cometh to judge the earth:  He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with His truth."  Praise the Lord for this beautiful little Psalm from the Praise book of Israel.

May God bless you as you Sing, and Give, and Worship, and Testify!  It will help prepare your heart and mind for the coming Lord's Day!
   

   

"Somebody Touched the Lord"

A few weeks ago, my grandson's wife, Brittney,  was experiencing a great deal of suffering from an injury to her eye (we thank the Lord that it is much, much better)!  She told me there were times when she was in so much pain, she would pray and ask the Lord to help her, and she could feel people praying for her!!  That touched this Grammy's heart, and I thought of this song by Sandy Knight that I haven't heard for years, but is so needed today!

     "My soul was sick and dying, bound in sin and shame,
Somebody called upon the Lord until sweet redemption came;
      Somebody held me up to God when I was feeling down;
I'm so glad somebody prayed so I can sing it now.

      So when I needed healing, felt too low to pray,
Somebody interceded, and soon my healing came;
      Now help me, Lord, to pray for those who stand in need of prayer,
And let it be said, yes, once more: Somebody touched the Lord!

      Somebody got another prayer through, somebody touched the Lord!
Somebody just touched heaven for another need once more;
      Somebody prayed until the Spirit came; somebody called on Jesus' name,
Somebody knocked upon Heaven's door; somebody touched the Lord!"  

"I wonder, dear Jesus, if someone is counting on me to touch heaven for them today?"

Deeper --

Praise the Lord for this beautiful Monday morning!  I am reminded of the admonition of the Psalmist, "Let everything that hath breath, praise the Lord."
A few days ago, the words of this beautiful song interrupted my thoughts as I was going about my work, and they filled my soul with glory and praise!  It is my testimony this morning!

     "Dark the stain that soiled man's nature --
Long the distance that he fell.
      Far removed from earth and heaven,
Down to deep despair and hell.

      But there was a fountain opened,
And the blood of God's own Son,
      Purifies the soul and reaches --
Deeper than the stain has gone!

      Praise the Lord for full salvation!
God still lives upon His Throne!
      And I know the blood still reaches --
Deeper than the stain has gone!"

Praise the Lord for this wonderful song!  I wish I could print it all here, but I can't seem to locate the song in my music and this seems to be all I can remember!  But I am so very thankful for the precious blood of Jesus that still cleanses from all sin!
Jesus said, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled."

Are you hungry and thirsty today?  Don't stop short of the victory!

"Two Temples!"

Last Wednesday evening during our mid-week service at Church, several people had stood and testified when my little great granddaughter, who is 3 years old, suddenly stood and said in a clear, sweet voice - "I love Jesus" - and sat down.  It warmed and blessed this Grammy's heart, and I am so thankful that our little ones can sense God's presence and want to give praise to Him!!
I thought of what a great responsibility we have as "the family of God" to walk in the Beautiful Light of God", living a life of holiness, that these little ones, at the earliest possible age,
 will come to know Jesus as their very own personal Saviour!

I like this beautiful poem by Hattie Hall which you have probably read several times, but I think it bears reading again.

     "A builder builded a temple.  He wrought it with grace and skill;
Pillars and groins and arches all fashioned to work his will.
      Men said, as they saw its beauty, 'It shall never know decay:
Great is thy skill, O builder!  Thy fame shall endure for aye.'

      A mother (and father) builded a temple with loving and infinite care;
Planning each arch with patience, laying each stone with prayer.
      None praised their unceasing efforts.  None knew of their wondrous plan,
For the temple the parents builded was unseen by the eyes of man.

      Gone is the builder's temple, crumpled into the dust;
Low lies each stately pillar, food for consuming rust.
      But the temple the parents builded will last while the ages roll,
For that beautiful unseen temple was a child's immortal soul."

 


   
  

Father Knows!

     "A gentleman was one day opening a box of goods.  His little son was standing near; and as the father took the packages from the box, he laid them on the arm of the boy.  A young playmate was standing nearby and looking on.  As parcel after parcel was laid on the arm of the boy, his friend began to fear that the load was becoming too heavy, and said, 'Don't you think you have as much as you can carry?'  'Never mind,' said the boy in a happy tone.  'Father knows how much I can carry.'
      It is such a spirit of loving trust in Him that God desires all His children to possess."

This little story is so very true!  Jesus never fails -- never gives us more than we can carry -- and what a blessed and glorious privilege it is to love and trust Him!  We can trust Him for the future---He already knoweth all the way!  We can trust Him when the tests come and when the burdens grow greater!  If you want to keep happy in Jesus -- just Trust and Obey!

And, maybe, throughout the day, you might want to join me in singing --

     "I'm so happy!  I'm so happy!  I'm so happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy!
I'm so happy!  I'm so happy!  For Jesus is a Friend of mine!"

God Knows -- We Don't!

Today is Monday, and probably most of us have our week pretty well planned!  But sometimes it is good for us to pause and remember that we are "frail as dust" -- we cannot see ahead to the next second, much less the entire week!  How wonderful it is to be a child of the King and be led by the Master's hand! 
God sees what we cannot see, and He knows what we don't know!  Therefore, we can "know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."  What a comforting verse and glorious promise!  We must remember that every thing, in itself, is not good, but our Heavenly Father will have a way of working it for our good when we belong to Him!  Praise the Lord! 

Remember that God knows the end from the beginning!  Let us Trust and Obey, for that is the way to keep happy in Jesus!  And until He comes --
          "My heart will go on singing!  Until then, with joy I'll carry on!
            Until the day mine eyes behold that city --
            Until the day God calls me home!"

Freedom!

Our nation just finished celebrating our freedom in what the song-writer called the "sweet land of liberty"!  But we must not forget that freedom is never "free".  Our forefathers obtained it for us at a great cost, and we have the responsibility to preserve it. 
The Apostle Peter said in I Peter 2:16 -- "As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God."
So even though we are free and have liberty, we are still the servants of God!

Romans 6:18 says:  "Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness."  Praise the Lord!  Jeremiah 4:2 says:  "The Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in Him, and in Him shall they glory."  I love this beautiful scripture!

"Thank you, Heavenly Father, for the glorious freedom we have in Christ, our blessed Redeemer and soon-coming King"!!

"Independence Bell -- July 4, 1776"

     "There was a tumult in the city in the quaint old Quaker town,
And the streets were rife with people pacing, restless, up and down --
      People gathering at corners where they whispered each to each,
And the sweat stood on their temples with the earnestness of speech.

      As the bleak Atlantic currents lashed the wild Newfoundland shore,
So they beat against the State House; so they surged against the door;
      And the mingling of their voices made the harmony profound,
Till the quiet street of Chestnut was all turbulent with sound.

      'Will they do it?'  'Dare they do it?'  'Who is speaking?'  'What's the news?'
'What of Adams?'  'What of Sherman?'  'Oh--God grant they won't refuse.'
      'Make some way there!'  'Let me nearer!'  'I am stifling!'  'Stifle, then!
When a nation's life's at hazard, we've no time to think of men!'

      So they surged against the State House -- while all solemnly inside
Sat the Continental Congress---Truth and reason for their guide---
      O'er a simple scroll debating which, though simple it might be,
Yet should shake the cliffs of England with the thunders of the free.

      Far aloft in that high steeple sat the bellman, old and gray --
He was weary of the tyrant and his iron-sceptered sway;
      So he sat, with one hand ready on the clapper of the bell,
When his eye could catch the signal, the long-expected news to tell.
  
      See!  See!  The dense crowd quivers through all its lengthy line,
As the boy beneath the portal hastens forth to give the sign!
      With his little hands uplifted -- breezes dallying with his hair --
Hark!  with deep, clear intonation breaks his young voice on the air.

      Hushed, the people's swelling murmur whilst the boy cries joyously,
'Ring!'  he shouts, 'Ring, Grandpapa, Ring!  oh, Ring for Liberty!'
      Quickly, at the given signal, the old bellman lifts his hand --
Forth he sends the good news, making iron music through the land.

      How they shouted!  What rejoicing!  How the old bell shook the air,
Till the clang of Freedom muffled the calmly gliding Delaware!
      How the bonfires and the torches lighted up the night's repose,
And from the flames, like fabled Phoenix, our glorious Liberty arose!

      That old State House bell is silent --hushed is now its clamorous tongue;
But the spirit it awakened still is living--ever young;
      And when we greet the smiling sunlight on the Fourth of each July
We shall ne'er forget the bellman who, betwixt the earth and sky,
      Rang out, loudly, 'INDEPENDENCE'; which, please God, shall never die!"

What a wonderful day this is as we take time to reflect upon our founding fathers who paid a tremendous price to give us the freedoms we enjoy today!  When we return to our homes tonight after a wonderful day of food, fellowship, fireworks and family, may we pause again and praise our wonderful Lord for the freedoms we enjoy today, never forgetting -- "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, but sin is a reproach to any people"!

     

God Bless America!

This morning my heart is full of praise and thanksgiving to my Heavenly Father as I think of His great mercies and kindness extended to our beloved nation, and I want to sing --
       "God bless America!  Land that I love!  Stand beside her, and guide her; through the night with a light from above" --
And then, maybe you would like to join me in singing:
       "O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain!
        America!  America!  God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea!"

And as we go through the day, let us meditate on these "Three Things" by an unknown author:
       "I know three things must ever be, to keep a nation strong and free.
One is a hearthstone, bright and clear with busy, happy loved ones near.
One is a ready heart and hand to love and serve and keep the land.
One is a worn and beaten way to where the people go to pray.
        So long as these are kept alive, nation and people will survive.
Dear God, keep them always everywhere --
        The hearth, the flag, the place of prayer!"  Amen!