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Rejoice in the Lord (Video with lyrics)
God never moves without purpose or plan
When trying His servant and molding a man.
Give thanks to the LORD though your testing seems long;
In darkness He giveth a song.
I could not see through the shadows ahead;
So I looked at the cross of my Savior instead.
I bowed to the will of the Master that day;
Then peace came and tears fled away.
Now I can see testing comes from above;
God strengthens His children and purges in love.
My Father knows best, and I trust in His care;
Through purging more fruit I will bear.
O Rejoice in the LORD
He makes no mistake,
He knoweth the end of each path that I take,
For when I am tried
And purified,
I shall come forth as gold.
(The above lyrics are by Ron Hamilton)
Be available to Jesus the Lord
Be available to Jesus the Lord,
Unto him be of one true accord.
Don’t waiver to the left or right,
But love Christ with all your might.
Be available to the Spirit of God,
And don’t stay in the Babel of Nimrod.
Think of only what is holy, pure and just,
Refrain from all earthly, sensual and demonic lust.
Be available to God our creator,
Don’t worship false gods nor impersonators.
Know that the Lord God does exist,
Believe the Gospel and in his kingdom enlist.
9 Lessons From God Concerning Sickness
Sickness is meant…
1. To make us think, to remind us that we have a soul as well as a body – an immortal soul, a soul that will live forever in happiness or in misery – and that if this soul is not saved we had better never have been born.
2. To teach us that there is a world beyond the grave, and that the world we now live in is only a training place for another dwelling, where there will be no decay, no sorrow, no tears, no misery, and no sin.
3. To make us look at our past lives honestly, fairly, and conscientiously. Am I ready for my great change if I should not get better? Do I repent truly of my sins? Are my sins forgiven and washed away in Christ’s blood? Am I prepared to meet God?
4. To make us see the emptiness of the world and its utter inability to satisfy the highest and deepest needs of the soul.
5. To send us to our Bibles. That blessed Book, in the days of health, is too often left on the shelf, becomes the safest place in which to put a bank-note, and is never opened from January to December. But sickness often brings it down from the shelf and throws new light on its pages.
6. To make us pray. Too many, I fear, never pray at all, or they only rattle over a few hurried words morning and evening without thinking what they do. But prayer often becomes a reality when the valley of the shadow of death is in sight.
7. To make us repent and break off our sins. If we will not hear the voice of mercies, God sometimes makes us “hear the rod.”
8. To draw us to Christ. Naturally we do not see the full value of that blessed Savior. We secretly imagine that our prayers, good deeds, and sacrament-receiving will save our souls. But when flesh begins to fail, the absolute necessity of a Redeemer, a Mediator, and an Advocate with the Father, stands out before men’s eyes like fire, and makes them understand those words, “Simply to Your cross I cling,” as they never did before. Sickness has done this for many – they have found Christ in the sick room.
9. To make us feeling and sympathizing towards others. By nature we are all far below our blessed Master’s example, who had not only a hand to help all, but a heart to feel for all. None, I suspect, are so unable to sympathize as those who have never had trouble themselves – and none are so able to feel as those who have drunk most deeply the cup of pain and sorrow.
Summary: Beware of fretting, murmuring, complaining, and giving way to an impatient spirit. Regard your sickness as a blessing in disguise – a good and not an evil – a friend and not an enemy. No doubt we should all prefer to learn spiritual lessons in the school of ease and not under the rod. But rest assured that God knows better than we do how to teach us. The light of the last day will show you that there was a meaning and a “need be” in all your bodily ailments. The lessons that we learn on a sick-bed, when we are shut out from the world, are often lessons which we should never learn elsewhere.
~ J.C. Ryle
Prayers leading to Christmas – 16
O God the Almighty One I give you the glory and praise, for your miracles in my life and in those who believe in you. No one can do miracles greater than you. I thank you for the greatest miracle of all, which is salvation by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, for those who believe. I pray for great and greater miracles, to be done all over the world, so that your Holy Name is glorified. By your Holy Spirit, lead your worshipper’s all over the world, to follow your Son Jesus Christ, in both word and action so they reach the fullness of the faith. I plead that you rescue and protect, my brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, all around the world from all dangers both seen and unseen at all times. I pray especially for those in the Christian faith, who are actively targeted for their trust in Jesus, so that you give them hope and courage and relief, and by that they adore you even more. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen
