Category: Christian Life

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I’d rather have Jesus

This worship song has touched my heart recently. ‘I’d rather have Jesus”
Here are the lyrics
I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold
I’d rather be His than have riches untold
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or land
I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand
Than to be the king of a vast domain
And be held in sin’s dread sway
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today
I’d rather have Jesus than worldly applause
I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause
I’d rather have Jesus than worldwide fame
Yes, I’d rather be true to His holy name
Than to be the king of a vast domain
And be held in sin’s dread sway
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today

The riches and treasures of heaven far surpass anything that this world has to offer.
Knowing Jesus died for you, will never leave or forsake you, that he has clothed you in his robes of righteousness, he’s given you eternal life through his sacrifice on the cross, that he is my shepherd leading me and protecting me far outweighs any sights that dazzle in the world.
‘To be a king of a vast domain and be held in sins dread way” remind me of our king, politicians and those all over the world may have power but without Jesus to lead them they have empty lives and no eternity. We better pray ? for them.
This is a beautiful rendition of the hymn plus video has scenes from the Christian film the firing squad

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Why is singing hymns/worship songs so important?

Singing hymns and worship songs gives the opportunity for all the congregation of a church to be active participants of any sort of church gathering.

Singing together blows away differences and produces a feeling of unity and harmony.

In these trying times because of the pandemic when we are often prevented from meeting each other in the flesh, we can still feel that oneness as we are led by a worship team on an online service.

As we spend time with God at home during our personal devotions, these spiritual songs can bring us into his presence even enhancing our prayer life as they focus our minds on the Lord.

The apostle Paul said in Colossians 3 v 16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing each other in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
Singing with grace in your heart to the lord.

Hymn/worship song singing teaches us and encourages us to follow the bibles teaching as they are very often based on bible verses and acts as a mirror measuring our faith and actions.  

Hence when we sing them we are constantly reminding ourselves of Gods teachings and to know whether we having been walking on the correct path God wants us to tread.

They are just like sermons accompanied to music.

It has been found that people can only remember about twenty per cent of what they hear in a spoken sermon but hymns/worship song as they have a melody with words stick in the memory, especially as we have sung them many times in our lives and certain lyrics of hymns we can relate to our own lives, experiences and memories.

Singing them is also an act of thanks giving to God which is very important as God is just like us He likes us to express appreciation for acts of kindness and provision. 

The book of Psalms is full of thanksgiving for example Psalm 69 v 30 
I will praise the name of God with a song and will magnify Him with thanksgiving.

Psalm 147 v 1 
Praise the Lord.  How good it is to sing praises to our God, and pleasant and fitting to praise Him.

God isn’t interested in whether we have a tuneful beautiful voice but is interested in whether we are singing from the heart.

 Also in Ephesians 5 v 19- singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

It is also a well-known fact that singing is good for us- it releases a feel good chemical to our brain called endorphins, it lifts depression and makes us feel brighter.

Let us consider some hymns/worship songs and see if we can link their lyrics to the Word of God.

One very popular song is Way maker. I was extremely moved when in March I saw on a you tube video, a group of medics standing socially distanced upon the roof of their hospital singing way maker in faith as a prayer.

Let us link the lyrics of Way maker scripture

Lyric -You are here moving in our midst

Zephaniah 3 v 17 
The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save, He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you by His love, He will exult over you with loud singing.

Lyric – You are here working in this place, you never stop working, even when I don’t see it your working.

John 5 v 17
But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working”

Lyric – You are way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper

Isaiah 43 v 16 
Thus says the Lord who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters.

John 14 v 6 
Jesus said to him “I am the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the Father except by me”.

Acts 19 v 11 
And God was doing extraordinary miracles, through the hands of Paul

Titus 1 v 2
In hope of eternal life, which God who never lies, promised before the ages began.

Lyric – Light in the darkness, My God that is who you are.

John 12 v 46
I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me will not remain in darkness.

Lyric -You are here touching every heart

Ezekiel 36 v 26
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.  I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh, and give you a heart of flesh.

Psalm 73 v 26
My flesh and heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Lyric – You are here mending every heart, his name is above depression

Psalm 147 v 3
He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds.

Lyric – You are here turning lives around.

2 Corinthians 5 v 17
If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, the old has passed away, behold the new has come.

Lyric – even when I don’t see it you’re working

Genesis 50 v 20
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring about that many lives may be kept alive, as they are today.

Proverbs 3 v 5 – 6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will make your paths straight.

Lyric – His name is above loneliness

John 14 v 18
“I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you”.

Proverbs 18 v 24
A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Revelation 3 v 20
Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and eat with him and he with me.

Lyric – His name is above cancer

Psalm 41 v 3 
The Lord sustains him on his sickbed, in his illness you restore him to full health.

Psalm 107 v 20
He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.

Lyric – His name is above all names

Philippians 2 v 9 – 10
Therefore God has exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.  So at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, in heaven and earth and under the earth.

I must say as I have been researching how the song way maker would link into bible verses I never realised I would find so many.  It will make me enjoy singing the song even more and bring me closer to God as I sing it.

Philippians 2 v 9 – 10 reminds me of my school assemblies where I would enjoy the hymn At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, every tongue confess him King of glory now, ‘tis the Fathers pleasure we should call him Lord who from the beginning was the mighty Word.

Although at that young and tender age I had no idea that this hymn I was singing was based upon words in the bible.  

A popular hymn is Great is thy faithfulness which was written by Thomas Chisholm and he wrote it basing it on Lamentations 3 v 22 – 23. 

It is of the Lords mercies, we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not, they are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness

Lyrics

Great is thy faithfulness, great is thy faithfulness, morning by morning new mercies I see, 

I hope that this article will bless you. I have learnt a lot of new scriptures as I have written it and I think that I may again look into some other of my favourite worship songs and see what scriptures link to them. I feel that I will be singing them with a bit more gusto from now on!!!

Dear Lord

Thank you for all the things you do for us.

Thank you for all the lovely hymns and worship songs that have been written over the years. We thank you for those who have written them, for bringing your words to our lips.  As we sing them please use the words to encourage us in walking closer to you and following your ways and may the words remind us of all your goodness to us, plus please also may they lift our spirits so we have joy in our hearts.

We ask this in your name Lord Jesus

Amen.

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Thank God it’s Christmas

My husband Steve and I really love the Christmas hit – thank God it’s Christmas – by Queen. The song is by Queen but it is actually about the King of Kings. I very rarely hear it played on the radio or on the music channels on tv.

Is this because the word God is mentioned in the song I wonder- and many in the world do not want to consider the true meaning behind the celebration of Christmas?

Two lines of the song, that through the years have really resonated with Steve and me are ”my love it’s been a long hard year”- for many years Steve and I worked full time at a boarding school.  I was in the laundry and Steve in the catering department.  Our annual leave allowance was 28 days which included bank holidays.  The Michaelmas term was the longest four months and very busy with extra chores for both the departments due to all the Christmas parties that were held in the school. By the time we got to mid-December we were feeling pretty jaded and counting the days off to Christmas Eve when we would break up.

The good thing though was that both departments closed for the Christmas holidays so it was a break that we could really enjoy with our friends and families.  We had many get togethers and parties. 

The other line that spoke to us is ”my love we’ve lived in troubled times.”  Well every year that comes along has its fair share of challenges and troubles on a personal level, a national level plus also on a worldwide level and as we sang that line we would often reflect on the truth of the statement. 

This year has for the majority of us been one of the most challenging we have ever experienced but for Steve and I, our testimony is with God’s help we have managed to endure and keep our spirits up. In both lock downs I asked God to help me get through it and He did.  Philippians 4 v 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  Until the day arrives that we get our vaccinations I will stand on his promise for the strength to keep going.

Also God promises that He works for the good in all things – Romans 8 v 28 and that He has good plans for us, plans to prosper us and give us a good future; Jeremiah 29:11 gave me hope that all would be well and the ability to focus on the good around me rather than the bad.

I also found the promise of God’s protection in Psalm 91 v 5 – 6  reassuring- you will not fear the terror of the night, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.

Somehow thank God it’s Christmas used to really express how we felt, it had been a long hard year of working and we had experienced challenges but now thank God it was Christmas. Yay time to chill and time to enjoy home. Definitely the song to sing on Christmas eve at the start of the holiday. 

So let’s spend a moment to ask ourselves- why should we thank God it’s Christmas?

I am grateful that God creator of the universe chose to leave the beauty, peace and tranquillity of heaven to come down to earth to live amongst us in a frail human body.  He suffered all the trails and joys that we face.  

He was born to a mother, He was acquainted with physical pain, He enjoyed a good party, He was rejected by friends, unfairly accused, He loved stories, He reluctantly paid taxes, He sang, He was turned off by greedy religion, He felt sorry for the lonely, He was unappreciated by His siblings, He wept at the death of a friend, He stood up for the underdog, He was kept awake at night by concerns, He dozed off in the midst of trips, He was accused of being too rowdy, and He was afraid of death.

And although He was without sin, He became sin and died on the cross for me so I may be forgiven by our Father God and be adopted into His family. 

What good news- God so loved the world that He gave his one and only son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life – John 3 v 16.

Thank you God that you came on that first Christmas time. That you dedicated your life to showing us the glory of Your father, healing the sick and bringing news of hope for the future so thank you God it’s Christmas time. Amen.

Here are the lyrics of thank God it’s Christmas

Oh my love, we’ve had our share of tears,
Oh my love we’ve had our hopes and fears,
Oh my friends it’s been a long hard year
But now it’s Christmas, yes it’s Christmas, thank God it’s Christmas
Oh my love, we’ve lived in troubled days,
Oh my friend we have the strangest ways,
All my friends, on this one day of days,
Thank God it’s Christmas,
Let it be Christmas every day.

One last thought many people who are dreading Christmas and feel they have nothing to thank God for – those whom have lost loved ones, those who will spend Christmas alone, those who are anxious about losing their jobs or homes.

Please lift them up in prayer that they will feel the comfort and strength of God at this time.

God bless you all – merry Christmas.

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Pray without ceasing

Gosh it sounds hard work doesn’t it – the instruction in 1 Thessalonians 5 v 16-18, to pray without ceasing.

After all we have so much to do- go to work, look after the kids, get the shopping done, cook the meals, see family and friends, attend church services which quite often during these present times take place on zoom.  Well the list is endless!!!

We are all different as to the times we feel it is best to get our daily prayer and bible study done.

I myself like to do it in the morning but quite often it means it can be a bit of a rush if I need to get out before lunch or I have to go to work. 

Do you have a list of people that you are praying for? I have quite a long list of family, friends, work colleagues, neighbours, brothers and sisters in Christ, let alone praying for the church to grow or for wisdom for the leaders of our land. 

My list is in a journal which has a great title on the cover “let your dreams blossom”.

I didn’t plan for this book to be my prayer list and jot book for Bible verses that I wish to remember and pray about. It was a gift from a friend but what a great title for a prayer list book-“let your dreams blossom”. 

 It makes me think of the verse Psalm 37 v 4 – take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

I think praying is delighting in the Lord because as you are praying you are talking to him, thanking him for all the good things in your life- telling him your troubles and thanking him that he is going to help you to sort out your problems plus help your friends and family.  

Part of the delighting in Him is to be quiet and hear Him speak to you through the Holy Spirit – a word of encouragement perhaps from a Bible verse or a reminder of what He has done for you already, to make faith rise in your heart that He will help you again.

Now back to my long list of people to pray for, I shouldn’t really say it but now and again it can feel like a chore to work through a list of names but on the other hand I think God also likes disciplined routines in our lives as well.

I came across an article the other day about how to pray without ceasing and it gives some excellent tips on how we can fit prayer into our busy everyday lives.

I would like to share them with you.

  1. Begin with gratitude- Psalm 100 v 4 says – Enter His gates with thanksgiving and courts with praise, give thanks to Him and praise His name.   Prayer doesn’t have to be asking for something, it can be thanking Him for something he has already done.
  2. We don’t need to make our prayers stiff and formal like we are speaking with our headmaster!!  Prayer is simply a conversation. Talk to Him like you would a friend.  Sit down with a cup of coffee and just let the words pour out, casually, simply.  Just be real.
  3. Let your everyday chores become an act of worship for example as you fold your laundry pray for every member of your house as you fold their item of clothing or as you iron them.  As you dust photos of your friends and family lift them up in prayer.  Well I’m sure you can think of many chores where you could fit in a prayer or two whilst you are doing them. How about the washing up? Thank God for the food He has provided for you – pray for those who are in want.
  4. Tell Him what he already knows.  When my child was first in kindergarten, I realised that although I had a pretty good idea of what she did at school, I didn’t need to know the details.  But when she told me how she and Jacob had played at recess, or laughed as she tried to tell me the story that her teacher had read to her that day, it deepened the connection with my daughter.  I got to see her life through her eyes and I revelled in her unique perspective.  Of course God already knows what is in our hearts, but when we offer our thoughts to Him, it turns what may be a solitary life into a richer more meaningful relationship.  And I think God delights in this. 
  5. Pray while you wait.  A quick online research reveals that we each average two years of our lives waiting in line, and the average commuter spends 38 hours a year in traffic. Turn your car into a prayer closet – on the funny side better to be praying than swearing and cursing the folks in the car in front!!!! Or whisper prayers to God as you wait in the long line at the supermarket checkout instead of huffing and puffing about there aren’t enough tills open or someone with a trolley stacked high with groceries got ahead of you when you only have one or two items!!!
  6. Sing a song of praise- James 5 v 16 – Is anyone among you in trouble? Then let him pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.  Often we think of prayer as something to do when we want God to fix something, or when we are unhappy.  But the Bible encourages us to pray at all times.  Remember the idea of praying being like a radio playing in the background at all times? Make that literal by listening to worship music.  As you sing along offer it to God as your prayer. Recently we had prayer for the nation. We enjoyed singing the words of ‘Heal our nation’ as a prayer- Lord heal our nation – pour out Your Spirit on this land. Nobody is listening except Him so don’t worry if you’re out of tune!!
  7. When you mess up, admit it.  I don’t know about you but I could spend most of my praying without ceasing time bringing up all my failures.  Luckily when we confess, God forgives us so we don’t need to dwell there. Another reason to praise Him. 
  8. Give up worrying.  Philippians 4 v 6 says – Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  Next time something weighs heavily on your heart, envisage yourself extending it up to God and letting Him hold it for you.  Ask Him what your role is and if there is something you need to do. If so do it; but don’t take back the weight of the worry.  Then start thanking God for who He is and what He has already done for you and you will feel the weight lifting up as the words come.  
  9. Stop talking once in a while and just listen.  Matthew 6 v 7 – and when you pray, do not keep babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.  The number or quality of the words you use does not matter, because prayer is about God not us.  Allow yourself to feel the nearness of God.  Trust that He is your constant companion.  Don’t monopolise the dialogue, but just spend your time at His feet listening to him and enjoying His company. The best conversations are two sided but you won’t hear anything if you don’t stop to listen.

In 1968 Aretha Franklin had a hit record with the song “I say a little prayer for you”.

Aretha definitely had got the idea of how to fit prayer into her busy day. I will leave you with the lyrics of her song.

The moment I wake up, before I put on my makeup, I say a little prayer for you.
While combing my hair now and wondering what dress to wear now, I say a little prayer for you.
I run for the bus dear, while riding I think of us dear, I say a little prayer for you.
At work I just take time and all through my coffee break time, I say a little prayer for you.

Thank you for taking the time to read.

 My wish is that this article will bless you.

 Have a good day.