Days in Thy Presence

As you press onward to a new year in Christ, be intentional. Seek His will; praise His name; spread His message.

O Lord,

Length of days does not profit me
except the days are passed in Thy presence,
in Thy service, to Thy glory.

Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides,
sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour,
that I may not be one moment apart from Thee,

But may rely on Thy Spirit
to supply every thought,
speak in every word,
direct every step,
prosper every work,
build up every mote of faith,

And give me a desire
to show forth Thy praise;
testify Thy love,
advance Thy kingdom.

~ from Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions

Adore Him

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come,
With all creation I sing:

Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And I will adore You!

He IS the Light

If you worshiped with us yesterday, you’ll remember our focus was on the light of God.

Keep the thought burning--meditate on the passages; sing through the songs; continue to praise our Savior for the illumination of His glory, even in what we call our darkest times. As Stuart pointed out from Psalm 139, our ‘darkness’ is only so because we perceive it to be. In God’s presence, all is light!

What I want for Christmas...

A Christmas List

What I want for Christmas...
I’d like a CD, some clothes, a pair of shoes, maybe a book or two, and a few surprises.

More specifically,
CD of Paul and Silas’ Greatest Hits sung from a Philippian prison cell (Acts 16). What were the words? Psalms I have in my own Old Testament, perhaps? What were the tunes? Did any other prisoners know the words and join in?

Clothes: how about a Clorox-white robe washed in red blood? I want to stay clothed in Christ’s righteousness now and always (Revelation 7). There’s no garment more precious.

Shoes: some hiking boots would come in handy as we travel the mountains carrying good news of peace and happiness and salvation, saying “Our God reigns!” (Isaiah 52).

Book: Maybe a prayer book with the words Daniel prayed as he looked out his window every day, wondering if he was being spied on, but kept on praying anyway (Daniel 6)?

Surprises:
Wouldn’t it be nice to receive the PEACE that Mary felt once she committed to following through with God’s will to carry His Son in her womb (Luke 1)?

And the JOY that the shepherds felt when they heard the good news on that angel-lit night (Luke 2)?

And the LOVE that came wrapped up in a sweet baby’s face that God hand-delivers to us (Luke 2)?

That would make a very Merry Christmas indeed!