Category: Song
Immortal, Invisible
govmikehuckabee.substack.com/p/hymn-of-the-day-immortal-invisible
I get Ambassador Huckabee’s Prayer Tree each day in my Messenger and it really is worth the subscription. Uplifting and powerful words, plus prayer requests that keep us in touch with other hurting siblings in Christ. Remember to keep Mr. Huckabee and his wife in your prayers. They plan to be in Israel to start their service to our nation by this Thursday. May God bless Him and keep him and his wife safe in that war-torn nation that is still God’s chosen people.
Palm Sunday
This day is also called the day of Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. I can only imagine what our Lord was thinking or feeling as He entered the city for the last time, welcomed by crowds of cheering people. Some of those same people will be in the crowd that in about a week insist that He be crucified even though He is totally innocent of any sin or crime. Let us ponder this Palm Sunday if we have put aside all of our doubts about who He is and worship Him in spirit and in truth. This is a day of celebration but there is somber spirit, too, because we know, just as Jesus knew, what awaits Him. Yet He willingly went to the cross for each of us so that we could be reconciled to the Father. He knew, yet He went to Jerusalem. He knew what would happen to Him there, but He went anyway. As you think about Jesus’s sacrifice, spend some time today thinking about areas in which you struggle and know that Jesus set the example for us and followed God’s will, even to the point of death. Problems with repetitive sins? Jesus understands. Problems with moving past your sin and forgiving yourself? Jesus knows your heart and loves you. Problems with forgiving others? There is not one single person in all the earth then or now that Jesus was not willing to die for. Be thankful and thoughtful today. Meditate, ponder, appreciate.
Psalm 23
What does it mean for the Lord to be our shepherd? This video explains well and I hope it blesses your heart to know all the ways God is your shepherd.
I particularly enjoyed the part about God’s being there in the valleys. We seem to have a lot of challenges in this life, but God is right there, leading us and keeping us safe. I also liked the part about God’s preparing a table for us before our enemies, teaching us to rely on His protection. The Psalm is from the beginning of the video until about the four minute mark and the other seven plus minutes are a prayer based on the psalm. It was very relaxing and uplifting for me to start my day with this today.
Then I followed this scripture and prayer with this song from Phil Wickham. I hope you have a blessed day, knowing that God is with you always and you will be with Him for eternity.
Real Peace
I never really understood what God’s peace means in my life until I started having one health problem after another. My natural tendency would be to rail against the unfairness of life and to give God a stern talking to about the fact that my life was not being blessed as He promised and I expected. The problem was that I was blessed, He kept His promises, but it was my expectations that were wrong.
This quotation from C.S. Lewis explains what I discovered is absolute truth. No matter how many problems I faced, I still had God on my side, in my corner, watching my back. All of those things and more! The circumstances didn’t change, but my attitude toward them did. What could be so wrong, you may ask? I was born with asthma, a single kidney that started failing about fifteen years ago and I had a massive stroke in 2015. So, in short, I have had and still have a lot of health problems, but there has not been a single problem that I have had that God has not helped me through it. He didn’t leave me floundering after the doctors pronounced their words of wisdom over me about my conditions. Rather, God comforted me and kept whispering to me that He was right there with me.
How do I find God’s peace in the middle of my tumultuous life? I spend time in God’s Word, daily, consistently and faithfully. His promises are there, including the ones about peace. I say them over and over until they go from my mind to my heart. Then, I accept that God is in control and move on to the next thing that I have to do, with my hand in His and my life submitted to Him.
Could I choose to be bitter and angry? Of course, because we all have that choice. Instead, I choose to be thankful for each day God gives me and each new thing He shows me in His Word. Some people look at the silver lining and proclaim loudly that they see a cloud. Rather, I look at the silver lining and I am thankful for it, no matter what may follow.
Yield means to let go, to slow down and be aware but you don’t just stop living. I have peace because I have chosen to yield to God. My number of days is in His hands. He is the One who gives me peace and He hasn’t let me down, even when I have disappointed Him with my initial reaction of rebellious demands.
I leave you with this old hymn that means a lot to me and I hope that you will listen and enjoy the lyrics and the meaning behind the words.
Peace Like a River-Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Have a blessed and peace-filled day!
Hymn: “Because He Lives”
This is one of the first songs that I learned as a new Christian over five decades ago. To this day, the song brings back wonderful memories of all of the people I met in the first little church I attended and then the small country church in South Carolina. I hope you enjoy this stroll down memory lane and that this song brings you the hope that is so evident in its verses.
Lyrics
God sent His son, they called Him Jesus
He came to love, heal, and forgive.
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.
How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives.
But greater still the calm assurance,
This child can face uncertain days because He lives.
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.
And then one day I’ll cross the river,
I’ll fight life’s final war with pain.
And then as death gives way to victory,
I’ll see the lights of glory and I’ll know He lives.
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone!
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living just because He lives!
Words: Bill & Gloria Gaither
(https://www.hymnlyrics.org/mostpopularhymns/because_he_lives.html)
And now the song performed by the Gaithers:
Favorite Hymns: Spotlight on “It Is Well With My Soul” Lyrics by Horatio Gates Spafford, Music by Phillip Bliss
The story behind this hymn may be familiar to you. I heard it once many years ago and had to look it up to remind myself of what happened to inspire such a heartfelt song. Here is where you can find the story:
I have sung this song for years, especially when times are hard for me. The last month has been a real trial with my health. Hospitalized twice, once for a bacterial infection and the second time for blood pressure so high that I was in danger of having another stroke. Those incidents were closely followed by bronchitis and a secondary lung infection. I have been taking so many medicines that I had to write them down to make sure I took them as prescribed. One evening, as I was exhausted from coughing and lack of sleep, God reminded me of this song. No matter what is happening in my body, “it is well with my soul.” And that is what truly matters.
Here are the lyrics:
It Is Well With My Soul – Lyrics
When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
It is well, (it is well),
With my soul, (with my soul)
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
It is well, (it is well),
With my soul, (with my soul)
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
It is well, (it is well),
With my soul, (with my soul)
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life,
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
It is well, (it is well),
With my soul, (with my soul)
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
But Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul.
It is well, (it is well),
With my soul, (with my soul)
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
A song in the night, oh my soul!
It is well, (it is well),
With my soul, (with my soul)
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Note that the bold print was added by me to the verses that mean most to me. What verse(s) resonate with you today?
(From Lyrics, “It Is Well with my Soul”)
And now the hymn for you to enjoy, or at least part of it.
“It Is Well With My Soul” by Audrey Assad
Omnipresent God
God’s attribute of omnipresence means that there is no where I am that He is not already there. I can’t run from God, hide from Him are escape Him. I don’t recall ever really wanting to be away from God, but I do recall times when I thought He was far away and not listening to my pleas for help or safety. But that is a lie from Satan, the one who does not have the powers of God and envies God, so much so that he tries to get us to believe lies in order to turn us away from God.
With grandchildren getting ready to graduate from college and high school this year, I am looking at the world and thinking what a scary time it is for them to live. But God has assured me and continues to let me know that He is watching out for them and He is there, right where they are. He was with Tyler on his trip to Europe, even while protests were happening in Germany. He was with Isaac when he had to have cancer tests again, the kind that make him nauseous. God is there because He chooses to be right there with us. He created us and loves us enough that He won’t step away and leave us on our own.
It has taken me a long time to come to the realization that God does not just take off when the going gets tough. He is right there, walking alongside me in the hard times as well as in the times of rejoicing. He comforts me so that I can comfort others.
As a finite being who can occupy one space at a time, it is hard for me to comprehend that the God of the Universe can see all of His creation and be present with every one of us all the time. That is part of the mystery that is God and knowing that He is God allows me to accept and just know in my heart that He is there, all the time.
Grace and Being Gracious
Watchman Nee (1903-1972)
Watchman Nee became a Christian in mainland China in 1920 at the age of seventeen and began writing in the same year. Throughout the nearly thirty years of his ministry, Watchman Nee was clearly manifested as a unique gift from the Lord to His Body for His move in this age. In 1952 he was imprisoned for his faith; he remained in prison until his death in 1972. His words remain an abundant source of spiritual revelation and supply to Christians throughout the world. (From Watchmannee.org)
Watchman need had a lot to say about many Christian topics, including grace. He was wise in saying that those who have received grace, which is all of us who proclaim to be Christians, should learn to be gracious to others. What is grace and what is being gracious?
According to Christianity.com, “grace can be defined as ‘God’s favor toward the unworthy’ or ‘God’s benevolence on the undeserving.’ In His grace, God is willing to forgive us and bless us, even though we fall short of living righteously.” Grace is God’s forgiveness and love for us even though we don’t deserve it.
Grace is a free gift from God. We are forgiven by the grace of God, not because we have arrived at righteousness, but because He gives us the righteousness of His Son. We are not worthy, but God calls us worthy and forgiven.
So, how do we show grace to others, i.e. how are we gracious? We must show the love, mercy, compassion and forgiveness that God has shown to us. Judging others, declaring our hatred for certain groups, turning away from people in need and holding grudges or bitterness are all the opposite of grace. We have been shown grace by a compassionate and loving God, so how can we do any less than extend grace to others? In so doing, we show the world who Jesus is inside of us and how Jesus would treat them if He were meeting them.
I don’t know about you, but I often fall short of being gracious to others. I get impatient and short-tempered about the same people wanting the same help all the time. Sometimes, it is hard for me to let go of offenses. I say I hate the sin and love the sinner, but sometimes, I am not really sure that’s true since I don’t want to be around the sinners. I am particularly offended by all of this transgender foolishness, but I have to keep reminding myself that they are sinners to whom God offers grace and I should do nothing less.
My word study today has brought me full circle, It starts with God who shows grace to us and then I am supposed to show grace to others in the hope that they, too, will get to know God and His grace.
God’s Plan
Have you ever thought about the fact that sometimes things don’t work out the way we had expected? But it all turns out okay in the end because God is right there.
I read in my devotional today that Abram turned aside from the promised land to go to Egypt because there was a famine in the land that God was sending him to. What? In Egypt, Abram got a little off the path of faith because instead of trusting God to take care of him and Sarai, he told her to tell Pharoah that she was his sister. Read Genesis 12 for the entire story.
Sometimes we are a lot like Abram. We expect one thing, get another, and then we try to help God by taking matters into our own hands. Believe me when I say that is never a good idea. I haven’t read a single scripture in which God tells man that He could really use his help. Actually, God is generally waiting for us to call on Him for help and then to be patient as we wait for His answer.
The “they” in these verses refers to Paul and Barnabas, the missionary duo in the book of Acts. Notice the last part of the verse. If these two men who had been imprisoned, beaten and cast out of cities because of their witness recognize that entering the kingdom of God is not a stroll in the park, then who are we to expect that?
God promises that in spite of our wandering off the path (also known as His best plan for us) and in spite of our insisting on going our own way, He does not abandon us. That is quite a promise to hold on to. Neither does God abandon His plan for us. He has a plan and He will fulfill it; we just need to be so in tune with God that we trust His plan to unfold, in His time, not ours.
Our response is to speak with a confident testimony to all of the scoffers and doubters around us. We don’t need to be afraid of them because God is still helping us, sometimes out of the mess that we got ourselves into.
I found this song to apply to my post today and hope that you enjoy it as much as I have. It speaks to the scriptures above and trusting God for all things in all times.
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 