Always With Us

A most wonderful devotional by Charles Spurgeon ~

Matthew 28:20
Lo, I am with you alway.

The Lord Jesus is in the midst of His church; He walketh among the golden candlesticks; His promise is, "Lo, I am with you alway." He is as surely with us now as He was with the disciples at the lake, when they saw coals of fire, and fish laid thereon and bread. Not carnally, but still in real truth, Jesus is with us. And a blessed truth it is, for where Jesus is, love becomes inflamed. Of all the things in the world that can set the heart burning, there is nothing like the presence of Jesus! A glimpse of Him so overcomes us, that we are ready to say, "Turn away Thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me." Even the smell of the aloes, and the myrrh, and the cassia, which drop from His perfumed garments, causes the sick and the faint to grow strong. Let there be but a moment's leaning of the head upon that gracious bosom, and a reception of His divine love into our poor cold hearts, and we are cold no longer, but glow like seraphs, equal to every labour, and capable of every suffering. If we know that Jesus is with us, every power will be developed, and every grace will be strengthened, and we shall cast ourselves into the Lord's service with heart, and soul, and strength; therefore is the presence of Christ to be desired above all things. His presence will be most realized by those who are most like Him. If you desire to see Christ, you must grow in conformity to Him. Bring yourself, by the power of the Spirit, into union with Christ's desires, and motives, and plans of action, and you are likely to be favoured with His company. Remember His presence may be had. His promise is as true as ever. He delights to be with us. If He doth not come, it is because we hinder Him by our indifference. He will reveal Himself to our earnest prayers, and graciously suffer Himself to be detained by our entreaties, and by our tears, for these are the golden chains which bind Jesus to His people.

"Go to Dark Gethsemane"

This is another hymn from the Moravian hymnal sung during Passion Week.

Thy Will be Done

Go to dark Gethsemane, ye who feel the tempt-er's power;
Your Re-deem-er's con-flict see, Watch with Him one bit-ter hour.
Turn not from His griefs a-way; Learn of Je-sus Christ to pray.


Pilate Offers Jesus to the Crowd But They Prefer Barabbas

Follow to the judg-ment-hall, View the Lord of life ar-raigned;
O the worm-wood and the gall! O the pangs His soul sus-stained!
Shun not suf-fering, shame or loss; Learn of Him to bear the Cross.


Jesus on Cross

Cal-vary's mourn-ful moun-tain climb, There, a-dor-ing at His feet,
Mark that mir-a-cle of time, God's own Sac-ri-fice com-plete.
"It is fin-ished!" hear Him cry; Learn of Je-sus Christ to die.


The Holy Women at Christ's Tomb, circa 1597-8

Ear-ly has-ten to the tomb, Where they laid His breath-less clay;
All is sol-i-tude and gloom; Who hath ta-ken Him a-way?
Christ is risen -- He meets our eyes! Sav-iour, teach us so to rise.

Lyrics: James Montgomery (1820)
Music: Christian Ignatius La Trobe (c.1790)

Listen to the tune here.

There is a different tune at Cyber Hymnal here.

Images courtesy of All Posters

Patchwork of Posts

Betty's Country Charm ~ Helpful Tips

GuppyStorm's Garden ~ a gorgeous Gladiola

LET ME WALK WITH YOU JESUS ~ I Believe in Miracles

Terri McPherson Buckley ~ flash movie ~ You Are A Miracle
Image courtesy of All Posters

Moravian Band

I found this neat video of the Moravian Band celebrating their 550th anniversary at Wake Forest University Wait Chapel. I wanted to show it to you, because I am posting some of their beautiful Easter hymns. The joyous last song is "Sing Hallelujah, Praise the Lord!"

Loving God

A lovely devotional by Charles Spurgeon ~

Psalm 45:8
Whereby they have made Thee glad.

And who are thus privileged to make the Saviour glad? His church-His people. But is it possible? He makes us glad, but how can we make Him glad? By our love. Ah! we think it so cold, so faint; and so, indeed, we must sorrowfully confess it to be, but it is very sweet to Christ. Hear His own eulogy of that love in the golden Canticle: "How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine!" See, loving heart, how He delights in you. When you lean your head on His bosom, you not only receive, but you give Him joy; when you gaze with love upon His all-glorious face, you not only obtain comfort, but impart delight. Our praise, too gives Him joy-not the song of the lips alone, but the melody of the heart's deep gratitude. Our gifts, too, are very pleasant to Him; He loves to see us lay our time, our talents, our substance upon the altar, not for the value of what we give, but for the sake of the motive from which the gift springs. To Him the lowly offerings of His saints are more acceptable than the thousands of gold and silver. Holiness is like frankincense and myrrh to Him. Forgive your enemy, and you make Christ glad; distribute of your substance to the poor, and He rejoices; be the means of saving souls, and you give Him to see of the travail of His soul; proclaim His gospel, and you are a sweet savour unto Him; go among the ignorant and lift up the cross, and you have given Him honour. It is in your power even now to break the alabaster box, and pour the precious oil of joy upon His head, as did the woman of old, whose memorial is to this day set forth wherever the gospel is preached. Will you be backward then? Will you not perfume your beloved Lord with the myrrh and aloes, and cassis, of your heart's praise? Yes, ye ivory palaces, ye shall hear the songs of the saints!

A sweet surprise

Betty at Country Charm has given me this sweet award ~



Thank you so much, Betty, for your kindness.
I am passing it along to:

Deby
Nancy
Sharon
Karen
Mimi
Haus Frau
Beka
Maxine
Patricia
Jodi
Saija
Barbara

"O, Sacred Head, Now Wounded"

This is a beautiful hymn,sung by Moravians, during Passion Week. I love the verse that begins "What language shall I borrow." You can read more about the hymn here and listen to the mp3, where the hymn is sung. The sheet music is also available.


O Sa-cred Head, now wound-ed,
With grief and shame weighed down,
Now scourn-ful-ly sur-round-ed With thorns, thine on-ly crown!
O sa-cred Head, what glo-ry, What bliss, till now was Thine!
Yet though de-spised and gor-y, I joy to call Thee mine.

What lan-guage shall I bor-row To thank Thee, dear-est Friend,
For all Thy dy-ing sor-row, Thy pit-y with-out end?
O make me Thine for-ev-er, And should I faint-ing be,
Lord, let me nev-er, ne-ver Out-live my love to Thee!

I give Thee thanks un-feign-ed, O Je-sus, Friend in need,
For what Thy soul sus-tain-ed, When Thou for me didst bleed;
Grant me to lean un-shak-en Up-on Thy faith-ful-ness,
Un-til I hence am tak-en To see Thee face to face.

You can also listen to the Moravian band playing the hymn here. Just click on the black and white notes to the left of Harmony and others.

Music: Hans Leo Hassler (1601)
Words: Bernard of Clairvaux (1153)

Image Courtesy of All Posters

Neat Links

Barbara @ Tidbits and Treasures ~ Have fun helping the needy ~ here

Karen @ Nannykarens Korner told me about a Precious Panda website ~ here

A marine in Iraq and a dog story ~ here

Mimi @ Listen to Your Grammie ~ an excellent post ~ Don't Bother Me

Image courtesy of All Posters

God's Glory

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to
present you faultless before the presence of his glory with
exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and
majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
-- Jude 1:24-25

Matthew 25:31 -
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him,
then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory

John 1:14 -
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John 17:22 -
And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

Ephesians 1:17 -
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

Philippians 4:20 -
Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Jude 1:25 -
To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

On Valentine's Day

Wishing You ~

Sweet Treats ~



Fragrant Flowers ~



Hearts Full of Love ~

Sweet Companionship ~


Blessings ~ Love ~ Hugs and Kisses on Valentine's Day

Images courtesy of All Posters

Father's love letter

Valentine

Silhouetted Crosses Against Star-Filled Sky

I received this email. I could not get it to display the way it looked, lined up with the red color in the word VALENTINE.


For God so loV ed the world,

That He gA ve

his onL y

BegottE n

SoN

T hat whosoever

Believeth I n Him

Should N ot perish,

But have E verlasting life."

John 3:16

image courtesy of All Posters

The Love of the Lord

Hosea 3:1
The love of the Lord.


Believer, look back through all thine experience, and think of the way whereby the Lord thy God has led thee in the wilderness, and how He hath fed and clothed thee every day-how He hath borne with thine ill manners-how He hath put up with all thy murmurings, and all thy longings after the flesh-pots of Egypt-how He has opened the rock to supply thee, and fed thee with manna that came down from heaven. Think of how His grace has been sufficient for thee in all thy troubles-how His blood has been a pardon to thee in all thy sins-how His rod and His staff have comforted thee. When thou hast thus looked back upon the love of the Lord, then let faith survey His love in the future, for remember that Christ's covenant and blood have something more in them than the past. He who has loved thee and pardoned thee, shall never cease to love and pardon. He is Alpha, and He shall be Omega also: He is first, and He shall be last. Therefore, bethink thee, when thou shalt pass through the valley of the shadow of death, thou needest fear no evil, for He is with thee. When thou shalt stand in the cold floods of Jordan, thou needest not fear, for death cannot separate thee from His love; and when thou shalt come into the mysteries of eternity thou needest not tremble, "For I am persuaded, that neither death; nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Now, soul, is not thy love refreshed? Does not this make thee love Jesus? Doth not a flight through illimitable plains of the ether of love inflame thy heart and compel thee to delight thyself in the Lord thy God? Surely as we meditate on "the love of the Lord," our hearts burn within us, and we long to love Him more.

Devotional by Charles Spurgeon

Sing this beautiful hymn here.

Inspirational Posts

I have to refer to Kim at Daisy Cottage again for a lovely post ~ Morning Has Broken. When she posted it, she had beautiful instrumental music of the hymn playing.

Beka at More Love to Thee wrote this beautiful post ~ My Little Yard

Lovely thoughts are found at Lula's Hardt ~ quietly and thoughtfully

Adrienne at With A Grateful Heart shared a lovely song ~ Seekers Of Your Heart

A great hymn by Fanny Cosby ~ He Hideth My Soul

Image by All Posters

Fear Not

This is a meaningful email I had saved and thought it would be good to share on my blog.


AND THE LORD, HE IS THE ONE WHO GOES BEFORE
YOU. HE WILL NOT LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU;
DO NOT FEAR NOR BE DISMAYED.
( DEUTERONOMY 31:8 *NKJV )

There are times when we are fearful of current events or
even the future. For fear is a tool that satan uses to attack
our faith in our Heavenly Father. After all fear causes worry,
and what is fear anyway, but the opposite of faith!

Now it is important for a Child of God to remember that;
GOD HAS NOT GIVEN US A SPIRIT OF FEAR, BUT OF
POWER AND OF LOVE AND OF A SOUND MIND.
( 2 TIMOTHY 1:7 ) And God has made us this promise;
FOR I, THE LORD YOUR GOD, WILL HOLD YOUR RIGHT
HAND, SAYING TO YOU, "FEAR NOT, I WILL HELP YOU."
( ISAIAH 41:13 )

So the next time that fear strikes you remember to
hold fast to your faith! After all you can always; CAST ALL
YOUR BURDEN ON THE LORD, AND HE SHALL SUSTAIN
YOU; HE SHALL NEVER PERMIT THE RIGHTEOUS TO BE
MOVED. ( PSALM 55:22 )

FINALLY, BRETHREN, FAREWELL. BECOME
COMPLETE. BE OF GOOD COMFORT, BE OF ONE MIND,
LIVE IN PEACE; AND THE GOD OF LOVE AND PEACE
WILL BE WITH YOU. ( 2 CORINTHIANS 13:11 )

Therefore have a great day today, filled with
peace, and remember that "worry is the darkroom in which
negatives are developed." Amen.

Sing Frances J. Crosby's wonderful hymn "Pass Me Not" here.

Image courtesy of All Posters

Nicole C. Mullen - One Touch

Recently I heard this beautiful song, written by Nicole from the Bible story.

Sing and Bless the Lord

A beautiful devotional from Charles Spurgeon ~
Psalm 138:5
They shall sing in the ways of the Lord.


The time when Christians begin to sing in the ways of the Lord is when they first lose their burden at the foot of the Cross. Not even the songs of the angels seem so sweet as the first song of rapture which gushes from the inmost soul of the forgiven child of God. You know how John Bunyan describes it. He says when poor Pilgrim lost his burden at the Cross, he gave three great leaps, and went on his way singing-
"Blest Cross! blest Sepulchre! blest rather be
The Man that there was put to shame for me!"
Believer, do you recollect the day when your fetters fell off? Do you remember the place when Jesus met you, and said, "I have loved thee with an everlasting love; I have blotted out as a cloud thy transgressions, and as a thick cloud thy sins; they shall not be mentioned against thee any more for ever." Oh! what a sweet season is that when Jesus takes away the pain of sin. When the Lord first pardoned my sin, I was so joyous that I could scarce refrain from dancing. I thought on my road home from the house where I had been set at liberty, that I must tell the stones in the street the story of my deliverance. So full was my soul of joy, that I wanted to tell every snow-flake that was falling from heaven of the wondrous love of Jesus, who had blotted out the sins of one of the chief of rebels. But it is not only at the commencement of the Christian life that believers have reason for song; as long as they live they discover cause to sing in the ways of the Lord, and their experience of His constant lovingkindness leads them to say, "I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth." See to it, brother, that thou magnifiest the Lord this day.
"Long as we tread this desert land,
New mercies shall new songs demand."


Here is another little song I wrote:

Click here for the music.

Lord, You are Merciful

Lord, you are merciful, Oh Lord, God, so merciful.
You are filled with tender love and compassion.
Father of mercies, great is your faithfulness,
Great is your lovingkindness unto us.
You are so good and your mercy endures
Forever and ever, and ever Amen.
Lord, you are merciful, Lord, so gracious.
Your love endures forever more.

Text and Music Cathy L. Simpson
© Copyright 1995 by Cathy L. Simpson
"Wordsong Collection". All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Used by Permission.

He Will Be

Behold the Lamb

I have seen this lovely video before, but was reminded of it again in Peggy's Fun 'n Faith Newsletter ~ "He Will Be" ~ instrumental at Andie's Isle.

Image courtesy of All Posters