At the Cross

 
Baby leaves coming soon to a town near you!

“At the Cross”

Refrain:

“At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light,

And the burden of my heart rolled away,

It was there by faith I received my sight,

And now I am happy all the day!”

Do you remember the moment you first saw the light? Was it during a church service and the words spoken became real? Maybe it was while you were reading the Bible and all at once you knew. Or did someone speak with you and in your heart believed?

A great and heavy burden was lifted. You believed at that moment and suddenly your eyes were opened. You haven’t been able to contain your joy since that moment.

Psalm 146:8

“The Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous.”

Godsbless.ing: This declaration speaks to the divine power and compassion of God to bring sight to those who are physically blind but also metaphorically blind to the ways of God. This act of opening eyes is not just about physical sight but also about spiritual enlightenment and understanding. Throughout the Bible, sight is often used as a metaphor for understanding and perceiving God’s truth.

Psalm 68:19

“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.”

Godsbless.ing: This verse beautifully reminds us of the constant presence and care of the Lord in our lives. When we feel weighed down by the challenges and worries of the world, we can find refuge in the knowledge that God is carrying our burdens for us each day. It emphasizes that we are not alone in our struggles, and that the Almighty God is there to support and uplift us. Isn’t it comforting to know that we have a divine source of strength to lean on during difficult times?

At the cross, where it all began.

By His Grace . . .

"Lord, I Lift Your Name On High"

 ““Lord, I lift Your name on high.

Lord, I love to sing Your praises.

I'm so glad You're in my life.

I'm so glad You came to save us.”

I’m so glad the Lord is in my life. I always have a feeling of HOPE; a knowing that He is with me, and the confidence of His presence to see me through each day.

I am glad because I’m never without HOPE. HOPE always abides inside of me. Whether I am happy or sad, His HOPE outweighs all feelings. It covers me with a protective shield and carries me through each day.

Psalm 42:8

By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.”

Christianitypath.com: “Psalms 42:8 teaches us about the unwavering presence and faithfulness of God in our lives. This verse highlights how the Lord commands His lovingkindness during the day, surrounding us with His grace and mercy. In the moments when darkness falls, it reminds us of the comfort that comes from His song in our hearts, guiding us through the night. Here we can see that God is both a keeper of promises and a provider of solace. We are invited to bring our prayers and concerns to God, who is our life source . . . The verse invites a picture of hope and reassurance—it reminds us that no matter how dark our circumstances seem, we are never alone, for God walks with us every moment.”

The writer of this song, Rick Founds, provided these words to its writing: “One particular day, during my devotional period, the Lord impressed on my heart that Jesus' work on our behalf was a cycle of events. Christ came from heaven to earth, to show us his way to the heavenly Father. He went from the cross to the grave, and by doing so paid our debt to God - in full. He rose from the dead three days later and shortly after that occasion went from the earth to the sky, making the cycle and our salvation complete. That, essentially, is the message of the song."

The opening lines of this praise and worship song above are followed with this message:

“You came from heaven to earth to show the way;

From the earth to the cross, my debt to pay;

From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky,

Lord I lift Your name on high.”

This praise and worship song has a lovely melody that perfectly weaves the words together, and it is a joy to sing.

I'm so glad You're in my life, Jesus. 

By His Grace . . .

"O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go"

 

“O Joy that seekest me thru' pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee;
I trace the rainbow thru' the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.”

During our most difficult times of pain and sorrow, Jesus helps us. Just the thought of Him brings peace. We open our hearts for Him to enter and He replaces our pain with His calm.

It’s hard. Pain, whether for an hour or years, is difficult to live through each day. It hurts. It steals happiness. It closes us up.

Yet the mysterious presence of Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, comes and brings peace to our mind and heart. If your heart is living with Him, He will always fill you with His joy and His peace.

Even when you cry, calling out to Him secures His presence in your mind and helps you deal with what you are going through. If you are depressed, just knowing that Jesus cares and works in you, makes the days go by easier.

You must have deep-settled confidence in Him to realize His presence in your life.

A rainbow can be found through pain. The colors are there if you open your eyes and believe. Sorrow may not go away. Pain may continue to hurt. But confidence in your loving God makes a path for you to walk. It’s real. Faith makes it visible.

Psalm 126:5

“Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.”

Enduringword.com: “With wisdom the psalmist reminded himself and all of us that great joy is often preceded by a season of tears, as if they are seeds we sow that will bring a crop of joy to be later reaped . . . Tears truly sown in faith will bring in time a true harvest of rejoicing, as if the reapers held heavy sheaves of grain. This is a powerful and great promise that our tears and sorrows need not be wasted but can be sown for a joyful harvest received in a better season.”

Godsbless.ing: “The phrase ‘Those who sow in tears’ acknowledges the harsh realities of suffering and adversity, recognizing the existence of profound sorrow and anguish in life. It symbolizes enduring hardships while clinging to faith and hope amidst trials. Conversely, ‘Shall reap with shouts of joy’ promises a future metamorphosis where sorrow is transmuted into exultation, signifying that our struggles will pave the way for a brighter, joy-filled tomorrow. The vivid imagery of ‘shouts of joy’ underscores the magnitude of the happiness and relief that awaits us.”

“O Joy that seekest me thru' pain, I cannot close my heart to Thee." Our God is the one we turn to in every circumstance of our life. Sometimes He is all we have. The good news is, He is all we need.

By His Grace . . .

"To God Be the Glory"

 

“Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the earth hear His voice!

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the people rejoice!

O come to the Father, thro’ Jesus the Son,

And give Him the glory, great things He hath done.”

A rousing and enthusiastic chorus and music to sing to our God. Praising His name. Rejoicing in who He is. He deserves all glory and singing this chorus shouts that out!

We are to rejoice when we praise the Lord. We should be filled with joy and delight, flowing from our very being, praising God with open hearts.

Acts 2:26

“Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope.”

Godsbless.ing: “The verse includes the phrase, ‘my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices.’ Here, ‘heart’ signifies the innermost being, the core of one’s emotions and will. David, and Peter by extension, expresses a profound joy that stems from a deep, spiritual assurance. This isn’t mere happiness but a profound gladness rooted in the knowledge of God’s promises. The “tongue rejoices” indicates that this joy is so overwhelming it must be expressed verbally, symbolizing the outward manifestation of inner peace and contentment.”

I think we rejoice best when we are singing and proclaiming our heartfelt joy of the Lord. We can certainly praise His name and rejoice in Him through daily conversation and in devotion times, but there is just something about singing His praises that seems to express so much more. Whether with a group or by yourself, singing His praises fills you with delight.

Psalm 103:1

“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.”

Enduringword.com: “David called upon his soul to bless Yahweh. It was as if David looked at his soul and understood that it was not praising God enough. He called upon his soul to do more . . . David understood that true worship was something deeply inward, of the soul. It is not just about outward forms or expressions, but also about something real from the soul.”

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the people rejoice! May your voice be lifted in praise and your spirit filled with rejoicing for our Lord!

"To give glory to God should be the greatest desire of every Christian. Not only should this be the supreme goal for our individual lives, but it should also be true whenever we gather in our local churches." Kenneth W. Osbeck, Amazing Grace

 By His Grace . . . 

10,000 Reasons

 

Chorus

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul, Worship His holy name.

Sing like never before, O my soul, I'll worship Your holy name.”

This praise and worship song is based upon Psalm 103:1-5. It explores how we can never run out of reasons to worship and praise God. The first five verses say:

 “Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all His benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

G. Campbell Morgan: “It is perhaps the most perfect song of pure praise [Psalm 103] to be found in the Bible . . . Through centuries it has been sung by glad hearts and today is as fresh and full of beauty as ever.”

The writers of 10,000 Reasons, Matt Redman and Jonas Myrin, made a list of their own reasons to worship and praise God, noting they were barely scratching the surface of God’s worth. Redman said: “If you wake up one morning and you cannot think of a reason to bring God some kind of offering of thanks or praise, then you can be sure there's something wrong at your end of the pipeline, and not His. We live beneath an unceasing flow of goodness, kindness, greatness, and holiness, and every day we're given reason after reason why Jesus is so completely and utterly worthy of our highest and best devotion."

He says it well. The second verse of this praise song says:

"You're rich in love and You're slow to anger,

Your name is great and Your heart is kind.

For all Your goodness, I will keep on singing.

Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find.”

BlueletterBible.org: “David called upon his soul to bless Yahweh. It was as if David looked at his soul and understood that it was not praising God enough. He called upon his soul to do more . . . David understood that true worship was something deeply inward of the soul. It is not just about outward forms or expressions, but also about something real from the soul."

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul, Worship His holy name." I encourage you to rise each day and bless the Lord, remembering all the goodness that comes from Him. There are 10,000 reasons and more!

By His Grace . . .

Take Time to Be Holy

 “Be calm in Thy soul; Each tho’t and each motive Beneath His control”

Time. It’s something we all treasure. Time to do what we want. Time to spend with loved ones. Time to enjoy our life.

Our time, though, is really in God’s Hands. He’s the one who controls how much time we have here on earth. He provides enough time to do all we need to do. Not necessarily want to do. But what we need to do.

He’s given us gifts to use for Him. He’s given us minds to understand. He’s given us guidance and direction to accomplish all He wants us to do in our life.

We are, indeed, beneath His control, and every thought and motive we have should be guided by our faith in His ability to direct us in the ways we should go. What we should do.

When we are considering something, one of our thoughts should be what does God thinks of it and what does He want us to do about it. He is our second nature. All our thoughts should fall under His domain. His guidance should be ingrained upon us, firmly fixed so that we always desire it.

You will be calm in your soul if all your thoughts and motives are under the Mighty Hand of God.

Philippians 3:20-21: “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.”

Godsbless.ing: "The phrase 'who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control,' underscores Jesus’ supreme authority over all creation. This power reveals His sovereignty in creating and sustaining the universe, emphasizing His preeminence in all things."

“Each tho’t and each motive Beneath His control” is knowing your life is under the control of the One who knows everything.

By His Grace . . . 

"Another Year is Dawning"

 

Verse Three

“Another year of service, of witness for Thy love;

Another year of training for holier work above.

Another year of dawning, Dear Father, let it be,

On earth, or else in heaven, another year for Thee.”

 It really doesn’t matter whether we’re here on earth with God or in heaven with God. We just want to be with God. In this new year and the rest of the time we are here on earth. And in heaven where we’ll be for eternity. We want to be with God.

“He doesn’t just give us life; He is our life.” Chris Tiegreen, "Walk With God"

For a Christian there isn’t life without Him. We may go through our days and do what is before us, but if God isn’t with us there is an empty vacuum that hasn’t been filled. We can feel it. We know it’s there. It’s only filled by God.

A child of God cannot imagine a life without Him. We serve Him. We are witnesses of His love. He is everything to us.

Acts 5:20

“Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.”

Studylight.org, Coffman’s Commentaries: “The ‘life in Christ’ which the apostles preach is that eternal life which consists in knowing God (John 17:1), and in which the angels are sharers."

Godsbless.ing: “This verse from the Bible, Acts 5:20, is powerful and calls for action. Here, an angel instructs the apostles to boldly go to the temple courts and share the message of the new life found in Jesus Christ. It highlights the importance of spreading the word of God and the transformative power of embracing a life centered around faith and belief in Jesus.”

Romans 6:4

“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

Enduringword.com: “Paul’s point is clear: something dramatic and life changing happened in the life of the believer. You can’t die and rise again without it changing your life. The believer has a real (although spiritual) death and resurrection with Jesus Christ.”

Scripturesavvy.com: “We celebrate the fact that, just as Christ rose from the dead, we too are brought to life spiritually. The same divine power that raised Christ from the grave now empowers us to live victoriously over sin. Thus, we are invited not just into a belief system but into a transformative relationship with God through Jesus Christ.”

“On earth, or else in heaven, another year for Thee.” He is our life! Live it! Hallelujah!

By His Grace . . .