One Day! O Glorious Day!

One Day! (old hymn lyrics)

 

One day when heaven was filled with His praises,

One day when sin was as black as could be,

Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin-

Dwelt among men, my example is He!

 

Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me;

Buried, He carried my sins far away;

Rising, He justified freely forever:

One day He's coming-O glorious day!

 

One day they led Him up Calvary's mountain,

One day they nailed Him to die on the tree;

Suffering anguish, despised and rejected;

Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He.

 

Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me;

Buried, He carried my sins far away;

Rising, He justified freely forever:

One day He's coming—O glorious day!

 

One day they left Him alone in the garden,

One day He rested, from suffering free;

Angels came down o'er His tomb to keep vigil;

Hope of the hopeless, my Savior is He.

 

Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me;

Buried, He carried my sins far away;

Rising, He justified freely forever:

One day He's coming—O glorious day!

 

One day the grave could conceal Him no longer,

One day the stone rolled away from the door;

Then He arose, over death He had conquered;

Now is ascended, my Lord evermore.

 

Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me;

Buried, He carried my sins far away;

Rising, He justified freely forever:

One day He's coming—O glorious day!

 

One day the trumpet will sound for His coming,

One day the skies with His glory will shine;

Wonderful day, my beloved ones bringing;

Glorious Savior, this Jesus is mine!

 

Room at the Cross for You

Room at the Cross for You

an old hymn

 

The cross upon which Jesus died Is a shelter in which we can hide; and its grace so free is sufficient for me, and deep is its fountain as wide as the sea.

There’s room at the cross for you, There’s room at the cross from you; Tho millions have come, There’s still room for one—Yes, there’s room at the cross for you.

Tho millions have found Him a friend and have turned from the sins they have sinned, the Savior still waits to open the gates and welcome a sinner before it’s too late.

There’s room at the cross for you, There’s room at the cross from you; Tho millions have come, There’s still room for one—Yes, there’s room at the cross for you.

The hand of my Savior is strong, and the love of my Savior is long; though sunshine or rain, through loss or in gain, the blood flows from Calvary to cleanse ev’ry stain.

There’s room at the cross for you, There’s room at the cross from you; Tho millions have come, There’s still room for one—Yes, there’s room at the cross for you.

We Gather Together

We Gather Together--an old hymn

We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing; he chastens His will to make known; the wicked oppressing now cease from distressing, Sing praises to his Name: He forgets not His own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining, ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine; so from the beginning the fight we are winning: Thou, Lord, wast at our side, all glory be Thine!

We all do extol Thee, Thou Leader triumphant, and pray that Thou still our Defender wilt be. Let Thy congregation escape tribulation: Thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

A Life In Sync With the Spirit

A Life In Sync With the Spirit

 

O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill

Psalms 43:3 (KJV)

 

     O that we would submit to God and let Him guide us with the illumination of His Spirit (light) that is always in line with His Word (Truth). Let God have all of you. Don’t try to figure everything out, just trust the Lord. It is much better to have a relationship with the Lord where you hear His voice than a head knowledge of the entire Bible. Heart knowledge always produces more change than sheer willpower based on head knowledge.

    Today, depend on the Lord and rest in Christ. Listen for the Holy Spirit, ask Him for direction and obey. Stop worrying and stressing about living a perfect Christian life and simply follow the convictions and guidance of the Spirit. You will be amazed how God protects us, warns us, empowers us, and uses us for His glory when we live this way.

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. ¹⁴ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Romans 8:1-9,14 (KJV)

Thought 255: A Royal Priesthood, a holy People from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 255

A Royal Priesthood, a holy People

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Colossians 3:12-15 KJV

Thought 216: Faster, Faster, 'Cram-it-all-in' from Ryan's devotional book series Thougths

Thought 216

Faster, Faster, ‘Cram-it-all-in’

     Have you ever found yourself in the mindset of having to go faster and cram more in? Sometimes I don’t feel like I am ever going to accomplish this book and then I sit down, be still, and write and God has helped me to finish five or seven devotions in an hour! At times, it even feels like my personal ministry is too much for my schedule; but I have discovered that God never asks us to do more than we can do–He will make a way. But we do have the responsibility to choose what we spend our time doing. If we choose to sit and read or play video games instead of getting done what we need to or  don’t set aside a day for the Lord, we will find ourselves worn out, depressed, discouraged, doubting, tempted, and battling against the Devil more than we would be if we were living as we should. 

     We cannot run around in busyness forever; if we try, we will fail and wither away. Only running the race that God has ordained us to run will bring peace and joy. Yet, many times the way to go fast with the Lord is to go slow. As we sit and listen to what the Lord has to say, whether literally sitting and communing, reading the Scripture and allowing God to reveal truths to us, or reading great Christian books that encourage us to live for God, grow, and examine ourselves, sitting before the Lord has to be a part of our time budget.

        You can lay your head down, dear Christians, without wandering where you will go if you die, but O the horror for the unbeliever! He does not have that assurance. Christians, if we can lay down are heads assured of our relationship with Christ, why do we get up and run around living like we don’t have Christ with us? The Lord has ordained that we live this way:

LIVE QUIET AND PEACEABLE LIVES (1 Thess. 4:11, 1 Tim. 2:2)

Thought 198: Praise from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 198

Praise

 “O God, whom I praise…”  Psalm 109:1 NIV1984

Quick Fact

Ø Based on www.scripturektext.com the word praise occurs 594 times in the Bible.

     God desires our praise, but praise isn’t just worshiping or singing to Him. God is praised when we pay the tithe that He commanded us to pay. God is praised when we are obedient. God is praised when we proclaim His name as the source of our strength, our comfort, and our strong tower.

Praise an action not a feeling. Praise is a choice. Keep these two in mind as you read.

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”   John 21:15-22 NIV1984

     From this passage we see the same principle reflected above about praise. Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him and two times Peter responded that he loved the Lord as a friend, but the  last time Peter responded that he loved the Lord undeservedly. What came to mind as I was writing this is that Jesus was trying to get Peter to make a choice to love Him. The love Jesus wants is our choice to love Him, He isn’t trying to force love on us. It is the same with praise. We should love God unreservedly and should praise Him, both are a choice.

Worship the Lord. Praise Him. Love Him.

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks's devotional series: Thoughts

Thought 152

Strengthening

     For the past several months I hadn’t really heard from the Lord or felt anything from Him. I don’t know why.  I did not have the joy and the excitement of praising God that I had experienced so vividly in the past. But today God brought me to a certain place in Scripture, and after I read those passages and prayed, thanked, and worshiped God from my heart I experienced His joy again. My very inmost being was strengthened as I felt that God had come near again.

      The Bible says, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 (KJV) Wow!  If you feel distant from God or discouraged, seek Him and patiently wait. Strengthening will come; either from the Holy Spirit directly or through people, circumstances, and many other things.

      Emotional experiences alone are not anything in comparison to the times that God touches your heart, your soul, and your life! No relationship, other than one with the Triune God of the universe, the CREATOR of Heaven and earth can give greater satisfaction, fulfillment, and assurance of purpose. Let’s praise Him right now!

I sing a psalm to God from my heart and I bid you to do the same:

O Lord hide not Your face from me again!

Strengthen me in the light of Your glory all my days.

May my strength and assurance rest in You and not the wisdom of myself or men.

O God of my fathers, O Lord God of the Founding Fathers,

Come heal the land I live in.

USE me as a beacon in this dry and thirsty land.

I need you Lord, do not depart from me. Always show Your faithfulness to me.

Guide me to teach and to reach people for You, O Lord.

Let You be my focus! May Your power spill out of my life.

Amen and I say it again, Lord, Amen. May the world rejoice in you.

Amen.

       Take a moment and sing or write a personal song of praise to the Lord. When I praise God, I have the strength to continue. If there was a key to the Christian lifes’ success, I believe it would be true worship (prayer and worship from the heart in song, thought, word, and deed), because the joy and strengthening that you then receive no man can take from you.