Posted on

You are the God

You are the God who reveals your plan and will and love and future. I will read my Bible.

You are the God who hears your people and answers prayer. I will pray without ceasing.

You are the God who does not tire in doing good. I will devote myself to good works.

You are the God who saves forevermore by the blood of Christ. I will confess his name.

You are the God who scans the horizon for your prodigal children. I will seek them out.

You are the God who sends a message of reconciliation to the world. I will go and speak.

You are the God who fulfills every promise and does not change. I will rest in your faithfulness.

Praise is yours, O Lord, and honor and glory! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Posted on

In the Patter of the Rain

In the patter of the rain,
The even morning light,
And the quiet of wet leaves,
I worship you, O God Creator
And Sustainer of all that is.

Before you are my worries,
My cares of life and fears,
My whispered pleas I speak
Only in your gracious ear,
The Receiver of human sighs.

What good I hold in my heart,
Unselfish love unequalled,
Desire to welcome and cherish!
Praise is yours, O Beginner
Of worlds and Lover of man.

Posted on

Send Forth Your Truth and Light

Psalm 43.3-5 NIV (1984)

Send forth and guide me your truth and light
To your holy mountain where you dwell;
I then will worship in joyful delight,
With praise, O God, my heart will swell.

Why, my soul, be so downcast?
Why in your heart be so distraught?
Put hope in God, to faith hold fast;
Yet will I praise him for all he’s wrought.

Posted on

Deserving Father

Our Father, you deserve
at all times to be praised
by happy voices raising
to the heaven of heavens.

Be glorified, O Son,
who gives eternal life,
through all the world of man,
to every distant isle.

What Spirit now abides
in hearts that hear your Word,
transforming earthly souls,
preparing them for you!

Among your joyful people,
we serve and speak and sing,
en route to enter your gates,
with praises on our tongues.

Posted on

Wisdom Beckons

Wisdom beckons each new day,
The rising sun enlightens;
If only knowledge held its sway
For when the darkness threatens.

Each morning calls to shine anew,
With fresh and vibrant colors,
To ponder life in changing hue,
And all of God’s vast wonders.

Creator God, with power alive,
Shine on us with your mercy;
May we in light of blessing thrive
And praise your Name right early.

Posted on

Where Must We Start?

Where must we start if not with praise
and gratitude for all good gifts
and all good saints whose faith,
strong motivation, work of love,
and patience in hope, show their election
as your chosen people? God are you,
the Father of all who answer your call,
of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior,
the true and living God, who raised
your Son from death and liberates
from coming wrath. Like Paul’s long sentence
in Ephesians One — he cannot stop,
but lists your many benefits,
all spiritual blessings in Christ the Lord —
we, too, go on and on, remembering
your mercy renewed every morning.
Dear God of heaven and earth, who looks
upon his people from glory’s throne —
again this day send down your kindness:
redeem, restore, enlighten, refresh.
Your power we need, your deep compassion,
your very presence is our desire;
with you we find contented peace,
eternal purpose in every hour,
unquenchable joy in deepest pain.
We turn to you, Creator of stars
and molecules, of body and soul —
all else we gladly leave behind.

Posted on

My Prayers Are Full of Pleas

My prayers, O Lord, are full of pleas,
You told me to ask, so I do;
But let me more be full of praise,
While my complaints be few.

Let not my words be thoughtless or rote,
But true and most sincere;
Naught but your Reign may prayers promote,
And Jesus soon appear.

Before you, comes your humble child,
Desiring your gloried Name;
With thanks I’m fully reconciled:
To me my Jesus came.

Let breath be prayer and eyes be filled
With Calvary’s joy and call;
Let heart be whole and mind be thrilled
With pardon and peace for all.

Posted on

The Promise of All Promises

God the consummate Planner,

Eternal life is the promise of all promises,
From eternity you planned it for us in Christ,
A life of quantity and quality, of length and depth,
Of love and joy and all that is good in you.

What wonderful life to have you reigning over us,
Living in us, and working effectively through us,
And giving us usefulness and purpose and worthy goal,
Something greater than the world and outlasting time itself!

Praise and power belong to you, and we give you thanks,
Father of lights, from whom all good things flow,
And none better than the fullness of life everlasting,
This treasure of all treasure, this gift of all gifts.

From Christ and in him, amen.

Posted on

This, I know, is grace

Thank you, Eternal Father, for each precious gift you give — life itself and all that is necessary to sustain it.

The most precious of all, of course, is that of eternal salvation. In comparison, this present life is less than a drop of water in all the oceans of earth.

And everything else besides eternal life is icing on the cake. If the present is sweet, what must heaven be like?

How is it that I was blessed with all this, when so many go wanting? How was I shown the path to freedom when billions are enslaved by sin?

This, I know, is grace, and I am humbled before you.

You deserve all praise and glory for your wisdom.

Posted on

Proper Words

O God! Before your face we search
for proper words and lovely lines,
To bless our Lord and the only church
And all your mercy’s grand designs.

Our minds are small to well extol
Your plan before the world began,
To make from dust a living soul,
To love and bless intelligent man.

But in the Book are words possessed,
From glory to glory, to loudly praise:
In Christ we know your purpose best,
We love your grace in all its ways.