The good news of Christ
Remove from me the bitter root,
Let selfless love hold sway;
Within, produce the Spirit’s fruit,
Keep Satan’s wiles at bay.
The Liar tempts at every turn,
No place where I can flee;
But teach me, Lord, and I will learn,
That Christ can set me free.
Descend to depths no man can sound,
To cleanse and draw me near;
O Lord, let grace and peace abound,
Make your full glory appear.
Help me prepare, O Lord, for famine,
When times are hard; help me examine
This generation; the days are evil,
This earth and nations in upheaval. Continue reading “When times are hard”
What honor, Lord, that in your plan,
You made us part of the rescue of man!
Through us, your saints, you chose to save
And publish news of the Son you gave. Continue reading “Shall we rob God of his joy?”
Chuck Webster wrote yesterday about the power in prayer and our need to trust in God to answer:
Ever prayed a prayer you didn’t really think God would answer?
Why do we do that?
Maybe it’s because we’ve focused so much on what God doesn’t do that we forget about what he does.
“Well,” we think, “I know he created the world and parted the Red Sea and raised Jesus from the grave, but now . . .”
I’m not suggesting God is still resurrecting people, but I wonder if perhaps we ought to focus more on his might and power and less on all the reasons why he won’t do something.
Please be sure to read his whole devotional article.
Father, send the workers in!
The fields are ripe, the ranks are thin,
The labor’s great, to save from sin
A holy people to praise your Name. Continue reading “Refusing to leave this world the same”
Larry Miles gives as one of the five reasons that the church grew in the first century: The Early Church was a Praying Church:
After Peter and John had been released by the Sanhedrin they went back to the rest of the apostles and fellow believers to give a report o what had transpired. Verse 24-31 record that the early Church was a praying church. In Acts 4:29 we read: “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,” They believed in the power of prayer and also of answered prayer. Many of the great figures of the Old and New Testament were people of prayer. God has told us to pray. If we pray, knowing that God hears, and expecting that God will answer in a way that will bring glory to His Name, we can have a victorious prayer life. Remember, it is our Creator that we are talking to. If we can recapture the prayer life of the early church we can better stimulate church growth.
—Larry Miles, “Five Reasons the Early Church Grew (Acts 4)”
We’ve left father, mother, children, lands,
To lose our life for Christ in time’s quick sands,
To gain a hundredfold upon the earth,
And heaven’s streets of gold by spiritual birth. Continue reading “We’ve left father, mother, children, lands”
Are we alone, Lord, just you and me?
Did no one else, Lord, refuse to flee?
Do none remain, Lord, who still are true?
Though all turn back I still will walk with you. Continue reading “Are we alone, Lord, just you and me?”
If we face a furnace of fire,
Or stand before a shower of stones,
If live we’re thrown upon a pyre,
Denied a burial of flesh and bones,
Then make us strong, our tongues confess
Our Lord’s dear name, Emmanuel;
Let enemies hear us pray and bless,
May we to them the gospel tell.
I believe — help my unbelief!
Without faith, my life will come to grief;
O God Almighty, power is yours, and might,
To you I turn, who dwells in purest light; Continue reading “I believe”