Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of God.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn— shout for joy before the Lord, the King.
Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the people with equity” (Psalm 98).
Prayer
A love song to Jesus
I chose to dedicate this song to Jesus because the lyrics explain exactly how I feel. I do not know about anybody else, but I honestly do not feel this way every day. Some days I get overwhelmed with daily activities that I have to dig deep to come up with a “praise”. However, over the past three weeks I have this renewed vigor and vitality for Jesus, and I am not ashamed to express it
This new thing that has come over me is hard to put into words. It reminds me of a famous quote from a famous song: “When I think of the goodness of Jesus and what He has done for me, my soul cries out hallelujah thank God for saving me”. It is like an Epiphany. It brings joy, peace and happiness to my soul.
Folks this man Jesus is real. This is not a joke. When we surrender all to Him, exciting things will happen in our lives. In the book of Matthew chapter 11:29-30 Jesus entreat us: “Take my Yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. Yes! My Yoke is easy, and my burden is light”. Knowing what we know about Jesus, how can anyone continue to resist such an offer.
I dare anyone to do what I did. I shed the cares and burdens of this world and took the Yoke of Jesus upon myself. Today, I can see and feel the results. “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man who trust in him” (Psalm 107:1).
God is standing by
It is almost certain that the country will go over the so-called fiscal cliff. Should that happens, many of us will experience significant hardship, especially the poor and the unemployed. Interestingly, this so-called fiscal cliff which everyone is going berserk over, is a list of austerity measures that was meticulously prepared and voted on overwhelmingly by the House and Senate. It is what they wanted all along for the American people. Now, either side is trying to save face by pretending that going over the cliff will be unsuitable for America.
Whatever happens, my friends, I would like to reassure everyone that God is standing near. He promises that He will never leave us nor forsake us. He is the same yesterday today and forever. Therefore, if He is the God who provided for the children of Israel in the wilderness for forty years, He will provide for us too.
The Lord is my Good Shepherd (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Psalm 23:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not require anything.
He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil;
For Thou art with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Thou prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies; Thou anoints my head with oil; My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever
Related articles
- What Does The Future Hold? – Seek The Mind of God (holyspiritcomfort.com)
- after the storm: my shepherd I shall not want (christiannoob.wordpress.com)
- Lesson 11 – Knowing And Doing The Will Of God – Lesson (christiansareus.wordpress.com)
To Have and Have Not
I have adopted the title for this post– “To Have and Have Not” from a 1944 
romance-war-adventure film. This Howard Hawks directed classic stars Humphrey Bogart, Walter Brennan, and the young and beautiful Lauren Bacall in her first film. By all accounts, the movie is a thriller and was a tremendous success. I have never seen the movie, but I have heard and read a lot about it.
However, recently while I was watching the Turner Classic Movies channel, I got a peek at a promo for “To Have and Have Not”. The title grabbed me violently, and I impetuously thought about Mark 8:36: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” This scripture suddenly came alive, and I was force to ask myself, “What good is it to have all the riches this world has to offer; including its glitz and its glamour if I do not have Jesus?”.
Rest assured my friends the things of this world are temporary. Most of us will get to that dreaded point in life when things become meaningless, and we become dependent. At that point, nothing matters–only Jesus and your salvation. I have seen many people in this state over the years. Some were miserable; trying to relive the past. Others were cheerful and optimistic.
The optimistic ones remind me of the apostle Paul, who, at the end of his life and in his last letter to young Timothy, writes: “I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is waiting for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day, but not to me only, but unto all that love his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8). There is a tremendous amount of optimism, and joy, and hope, and cheerfulness in those words. Sadly, not all of us will have that end of life experience. Some of us will be miserable.
Some years ago I asked a man who was supposedly at the end of his life, if his current situation upsets him at all. He said, “No! It is part of the life cycle”. To him, one lives and one dies and that is it. He believes that death is final. He is wrong. The Bible says, “And just as man can only die once, after death comes the Judgment, ” (Hebrews 9:27). For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to what he has done, whether virtuous or sinful. Further, “The Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works”. (Matthew 16:27).
What did I do wrong?
English: Saint paul arrested (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
My failures and disappointments often move me to question God. Nevertheless, I never do. I am a man of faith and I have learned not to blame or question God. I heed the advice of the apostle Paul instead: “Count it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when face with trials of various kinds. Take comfort that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. So let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach. However, let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that the wind drives and tosses. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (James 1:2-8).
Still, when I am face with disappointments, I engulf myself in the mire of my failures and short comings. I keep asking myself, “What did I do wrong?” I have dotted all my I’s, and crossed all my T’s, yet there are times when I feel hopeless and incompetent and unworthy. Even a sense of emptiness creeps up on me when I least expect. What did I do wrong? Could it be that the old cliché, “What goes around comes around,” is catching up to me?
I need answers and fast. So I fall on my knees before the throne of grace and have a little talk with Jesus. He turned to me and said. “Son, I know why you have come”. You need to make peace with your guilty conscience. “For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger, and you did not invite me in your house. I needed clothes, and you did not clothe me. I was sick, and in prison and you did not look after me”.
“Then I say to Him, ‘Lord, when did I see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me’. (Matthew 25:42-45)
Do you neglect the poor and needy? If you do, the Bible says in Matthew 25:46 you will go away in everlasting punishment.
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