The good news of Christ
The gospel brings salvation for mankind,
The only power to save the maimed and blind;
O Lord, keep me from ever feeling shame,
But always offer to all the blessed Name.
For saving grace obedient faith’s required;
By Christ confessed is righteousness acquired.
In him, O God, resides my glorious hope —
Preserve me from the evil slippery slope.
Grace is such an easy word to say,
And with it, love and peace and joy and faith.
Such grand expressions! Cosmic truths that sway
The open mind! In them I’d daily bathe.
Lead me in the practice of the truth,
Your tender mercy ever my guiding light,
The blessed News of Christ my narrow path,
Where words have meaning, and faith becomes our sight.
Open my ears, O God, to hear you.
Move me close, for me to be near you.
Every thought and action please you,
Faithful till my spirit sees you.
Christ is Lord! Help me to obey him.
Never may my heart betray him,
No excuse to fail or fault him.
Make my life and words exalt him.
To joy in Christ, let run no undertone
Of sadness, heavy heart or grief;
Let fullest comfort flow from Jesus’ throne,
Whose river holds no hidden reef.
Let heavenly peace completely rule the mind,
Unmixed with cares and low concerns;
Blow gently in my soul the Spirit’s wind,
From which no worldly fear returns.
Ephesians 3.14-21
Father, go beyond my puny prayers —
Your power is able, far above my thoughts,
To accomplish more that I could ever imagine —
All praise is yours and glory in the church!
You act behind the scenes that we can see,
Providing from your glorious, boundless riches
For inner strength, for Christ to dwell in us —
His home in our hearts — what greater thing to ask?!
How wide! How long! How high! How deep his love!
Send down our roots in him to keep us strong.
What we sorely lacked he makes complete —
My joy to know he hears and cures and cares!
Oh, Lord, I want to change, but then again I don’t want to, either. I’d rather remain in my self-centered ways. I’d rather blame someone else for my lack of success, for my stunted spiritual growth, for my coasting through life without significant goals.
I’d rather inhabit my small world than create an ever-expanding universe of love and brotherhood.
Father, I confess my contentment with mediocrity, my truce with the world, my complacency over eternity.
Chip away, O God, at the hardness of my heart.
Lord of all, you love in spite of mood —
What joy to know that what I feel —
With constant ups and downs — my attitude
Does not reflect your mind — your love is real.
Your mercy cheers me — grace, that daily morsel —
I, like the sparrow hopping on the ground,
With beak dipping here and there for his portion —
What wells of peace and strength in Christ I’ve found!
So raise me up from little dips of sorrow —
This foolish heart so heavy with its burden —
For Jesus is the same today, tomorrow!
Remind me of the Savior’s blessed mountain!
What power your word contains,
And ours in prayer!
No greater work than this,
That supplicants dare.
No stronger love to show
Than save a soul —
Our thanks, O God, to play
This vital role.
Let joy be multiplied,
Removed our shame —
In us be glorified
The blessed Name.
To awake to joy unmixed with pain,
Eternal life unmarred by death,
Communion free of hurtful sin —
O God, secure me on this path!
Father in Heaven, with the new year advancing quickly, time rushing by, life speeding on, let me live in the oasis of your peace.
Help me to be before I do.
Sanctify our people. Purify our motives and actions. Redeem us each day in our straying thoughts and wandering feet.
Bring our friends and family members to the truth. Convert them to Christ, away from sin and deceit. Rescue them from their doom.
Lead us to fight against our self-love and narrow interest, against the evil within and the wicked who would drown the righteous with their wrongdoing. Continue reading “Oasis of peace”