Thank you, Lord Almighty, for your daily blessings!
Praise is yours for giving wise and spiritual lessons!
For the kingdom’s progress, make us selfless servants,
Save our peaceful spirits from Satan’s sly disturbance.
‘Surprises in the kingdom of God’
There is a story of a woman who had been used to every luxury and to all respect. She died, and when she arrived in heaven, an angel was sent to conduct her to her house. They passed many a lovely mansion and the woman thought that each one, as they came to it, must be the one allotted to her. When they had passed through the main streets they came to the outskirts where the houses were much smaller; and on the very fringe they came to a house which was little more than a hut. “That is your house,” said the conducting angel. “What,” said the woman, “that! I cannot live in that.” “I am sorry,” said the angel, “but that is all we could build for you with the materials you sent up.”
Within Us Reign
Give us peace, O God, in life and death,
In work and rest, among the frenzied crowds;
Within us reign, our Lord, while we have breath,
While we await your coming in the clouds.
Your Circle of Calm
Sweep me into your circle of calm,
Your listening silence, far from the storm,
Beneath the whispering tree of life,
That gently sways in the Spirit’s breath,
And cools my flushed and fevered face,
While turning me toward your fullest grace.
Stop me from running with pagan feet,
Behind false hopes and devilish bait,
To rest and seek your blest retreat
From future worries and troubled fate —
What righteous reign to us come down,
That we by the Lord of heaven be owned!
How to make every effort to enter through the narrow door
Lk 13.24: “Exert every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to” (NET).
Let us exert every effort:
- In knowledge, Prov 2.1-5.
- In prayer, Col 4.12.
- In meeting together, Heb 10.25; 12.1.
- In the gospel, Phil 1.30.
True to your kingdom
Let your Kingdom, Lord, assume in my mind and heart its rightful proportions. May your rule over all be theme of my tongue and reality in my life.
You, O God, are the sovereign whose word creates and destroys, whose hand raises up the righteous and throws down the evil, whose eye watches over the saints for blessing and protection. Continue reading “True to your kingdom”
To touch a soul today
Give me the grace to touch a soul today,
A single soul, or if by mercy’s kind embrace,
Might I save two? One to take my place,
Another to extend the Kingdom’s sway.
Refusing to leave this world the same
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”
In me make others see the steps to enter
Good Lord above, let me not venture out today without a word of peace on my lips and a motive for thanksgiving in my heart.
Keep falsehood far away from me; bring truth near as my friend and guide, the cement of good relations.
Move me toward the center of faith, where Christ abides, in the vortex of love, the pull upon all those around me.
In me make others see the steps to enter the kingdom. Amen.
Lord, thank you that your kingdom is here
Lord, thank you that your kingdom is here, with us now, in Jesus as king who reigns over his people. We hail his rule as righteous, good, and pleasant. Give us strength to suffer with joy, give us wisdom to ply our task, give us grace for every need and hour.