God's Word For Every Day

Here's a poem which can be sung to the tune, Leoni. This poem / hymn was written by D. Murray, Springburn, Glasgow. Here's a link to the tune - so that you can sing the hymn as well as reading the poem.   (1) Praise to the Living God (Leoni) - YouTube The Enthroned One He left His throne above To show us His great love And then upon the cross of shame He died for us; So now we can draw near, True love has cast out fear For Jesus met the claims of God To free us thus The King is on the throne, He has the triumph won We shall in glory praise His name When time has run; The blood has now been shed, The price has now been paid, A greater ransom ne'er was given Beneath the sun! He sits upon the throne To reign as Lord of all The Father's well beloved Son Enthroned on high; Soon He will come again To take His loved ones home, Then Christ and His redeemed shall be forever nigh. ----- Following a comment about the name of the tune, Leoni, I have...

“You have learned the truth that is in Jesus” (Ephesians 4:21). The truth that is in Jesus – this is what changes everything. Jesus changes us. He changes our way of thinking. He changes our way of living. At the heart of this change, there is love. His love reaches us – and changes us: “Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32). “Make me a channel of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me bring Your love …” (Francis of Assisi). Here’s  a link to the hymn, “Make me a channel of Your peace – sung by a school choir.

"For  He (God the Father) made Him (Jesus Christ) who knew no sin  to be  sin for us, that we might become  the righteousness of God in Him (Christ)" (2 Corinthians 5:21). These words are too much for the mind to take in - but they bring joy to the heart. What joy comes to us when we think of how wonderful a Saviour we have! Praise arises in the heart when we look, with faith, at Jesus Christ, crucified for us. From the Cross, we hear His words, "It is finished!" - and we rejoice that our Saviour has done what needed to be done for us to be saved. "Hallelujah! What a Saviour!" --- The words "Hallelujah! What a Saviour!" are taken from the hymn, "Man of Sorrows." Here's a link to the words and music -  Hymn: Man of Sorrows, what a name .

REVIVE US AGAIN - Contemporary Hymns - YouTube .

When We All Get to Heaven (Hymns with Lyrics) - YouTube

We sing the words, "Lost in wonder, love and praise" (from the hymn, "Love divine, all loves excelling"). Would it not be appropriate to say that we are saved in wonder, love and praise? We are not lost. We are saved. We are lost to the world. Now, we belong to Jesus. We have been saved by the Lord. We look forward to his "great salvation" - saved in wonder, love and praise. Here's a link to a hymn that will help you to look to Jesus, and say, "Hallelujah! What a Saviour!": Man of Sorrows (What a Name) - YouTube

What am I to do? How am I to live? - There are always two ways of looking at these questions.  We can ask, "What harm is there ... ?" or We can ask, "What glory to the Lord is there ... ?" These are two very different approaches - the one, beginning with "what harm", and the other, beginning with "what glory"; the one, concerned with pleasing ourselves,  and the other, concerned with pleasing God. Jesus had something to say about this: " How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God ?" (John 5:44). What is Jesus saying to us here? - Real faith changes the way we live. There will be less "what harm is there?" and more "what glory to the Lord is there?" May there be less trying to get our own way and more walking in the Lord's way. Here's a hymn that help you to choose the Lord's way rather than your own way: HAVE THINE OWN WAY, L...

"Though your sins are like scarlet,  they shall be as white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18). As I was thinking about the wonder of God's forgiveness, my thoughts turned to the gospel song, "What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus." We ask our question - "What can wash away my sin?" God gives his answer - "Nothing but the blood of Jesus." Here's a link to it:  ▶ Nothing but the Blood of Jesus with Lyrics - Robert Lowry YouTube 360p - YouTube May God bless you as you listen to and sing along to this great hymn of salvation.

"For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by  one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous" (Romans 5:19). Go back to the beginning. It's the story of sin. Move forward, from there, to the Cross. It's the story of salvation. There are two stories in the Bible. There's the story of sin, and there's the story of salvation - the story of tragedy and the story of triumph. There's bad news, and there's Good News. Thank God that sin has not and will not triumph over salvation. As I was thinking about the triumph of our Saviour and His salvation, I began to think a hymn that proclaims of the Lord and His love - "Come and see the shining hope." It's sung to the tune, "Marching Through Georgia." Here's a link to the words and music -  Come and see the shining hope that Christ's apostle saw - Jubilate . Each of the three verses and three choruses ends with the words, "Love has the victory for e...

" ... not having  my own righteousness, which  is  from the law, but  that which  is   through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith" (Philippians 3:9). What a difference there is between "my own righteousness" and "the righteousness which is from God"! When we "stand amazed in the presence of Jesus", we realize that "all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags" (Isaiah 54:6). All our attempts to please God end in failure. None of us can reach the standard He has set for us. We fail  miserably - again and again and again ...  Our situation is not, however, hopeless. God has done something about it. He has provided, for us, His perfect righteousness. We cannot earn His righteousness. We can only receive it as His gift. Trying to keep "the law" will get us nowhere. There is, however, another way of receiving God's righteousness. We receive it "by faith." In faith, we look away from ours...

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:13). We were "far off." Now, we have been "brought near." " This is the  Lord's  doing; and it is  marvelous in our eyes" (Psalm 118:23). Each and every one of us were like the prodigal son - "far" from our loving Father (Luke  15:13). Jesus Christ has come to us. He has closed the distance between sinners and the God of perfect holiness. In Jesus Christ, the grace of God reaches out to us. In Him, we see the perfect love of our Heavenly Father. From the Cross, our Saviour is calling out to us. It is the call of His love. He says to us, 'This is what I have done for you.' His love draws us to Him:  "Love so amazing, so divine" - We are "loved with everlasting love", and we are "led by grace that love to know." --- Here are links to the two hymns I've quoted. Listen to thes...

"Or  do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit  who is  in you, whom you have from God,  and you are not your own?  20  For  you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) These verses speak to us of our great privilege and our great responsibility. We have been called by grace - and we have been called to holiness. What a great privilege is ours - the Holy Spirit has been given to us. He lives in our hearts. What a great responsibility is ours! We are to "be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18), and we are to "walk in the Spirit" (Galatians 5:16) - and may we never forget this: "you were bought at a price" - we have been "redeemed ... with the precious blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:18-19). --- Here's a link to a song that reminds us of how much our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us -  Nothing but the Blood of Jesus ( moder...

  " Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit  has made you overseers, to shepherd the church  of God  which He purchased  with His own blood" (Acts 20:28). As you read this verse from God's Word, note its last few words: " ... which He purchased with His own blood." This is something we must never forget. Again and again, we need to be reminded of this: " ... which He purchased with His own blood." There's nothing special about us. There's something very special about Jesus Christ, our Saviour: "There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin. He,  only, could unlock the gate of heaven and let us in." In all the service we offer to the Lord, we must never lose sight of this: He has done more for us than we could ever do for Him.  We are called to be His faithful servants, but may we never forget this: our faithfulness can never begin to compare to the greater faithfulness of Jesus ...

"For the wonders that astound us, for the truths that still confound us; most of all, that love has found us, thanks be to God!" - These great words of praise to God are taken from Fred Pratt Green's hymn, "For the fruits of His creation ... Thanks be to God!" These words came to me, as I was preparing to preach on Psalm 19. They provide us with a good summary of the message of this great Psalm. First , we have the wonders that astound us.   The wonders of creation proclaim to us the greatness of God. They declare his glory. This is the message of the first part of Psalm 19. Second , we have the truths that confound us.  From the wonders of God's world, in the first part of Psalm 19, we move on, in the second part of the psalm, to the truths of God's Word. God is not only calling us to be impressed by the wonder of his world. He's calling us to listen to the truths of his Word. Third , we have the love that found us.     Psalm 19 en...

"Salvation is of the Lord" (Jonah 2:9). Jonah found himself in what seemed like a hopeless situation. He had been swallowed by a great fish. It seemed like the end for Jonah. Then, into the darkness came a bright shining light - the light of salvation. The testimony of Jonah is a testimony concerning salvation Jonah was saved by the Lord. Like Jonah, we are in the dark - until the light of salvation shines into our hearts. We cannot create this salvation. We cannot even find it. We need to be re-created by the Lord. We need to be found. by Him. When we are found by the Lord, we have this joyful testimony: "Hallelujah! He has found me." He  has found me - We must never forget this. We didn't find Him. He found us. Let's rejoice in Jesus He "came to save and seek the lost" (Luke 19:10). Lost - that's all that can be said about us. Without Jesus, we're wandering , going round in circles, getting nowhere - until Jesus finds us. --- ...

Enthusiastic and energetic - sometimes, these are the words churches use to describe the minister they're looking for. Enthusiastic and energetic - these are words that could be used to describe the crowd at a sports event or music concert. Is there anything inherently spiritual about looking for a minister who is enthusiastic and energetic? It's good to be enthusiastic and energetic - but we must ask where does the enthusiasm and the energy come from? Does it come from ourselves - from an extrovert personality? or Does it come from the Lord - from believing in the Saviour and being committed to serving him? I would suggest that, when we're speaking about the Lord's servants, we should use two other words - also beginning with the letter "E" - Evangelical and Evangelistic.  Evangelical and Evangelistic - Committed to the Saviour and Committed to winning others for him: These words sum up Jesus' call to His first disciples - "Follow me" - and h...

"He who glories, let him glory in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:31). Salvation is never something that we earn. It's always God's gift. When He saves us, He doesn't reward us for our good works. He saves us - despite our persistent failure to live the kind of life that pleases Him. He saves us because He loves us. His love is stronger than our sin. His love breaks the chains of our sin. He saves us because Jesus died for us. We look at Jesus Christ, crucified for us, and we know, in our hearts, that we have a great Saviour, who "is able to save to the uttermost all who come to God through Him" (Hebrews 7:25). "To God be the glory! Great things He has done, so loved He the world that He gave us His Son ... " - Here's a link to that great hymn:  To God be the glory - YouTube  - May your heart be blessed as you listen to it and sing along with it.

The Bible tells us about our wonderful Saviour. As I was thinking about the Bible - God's written Word - and Jesus - God's living Word, my heart rejoiced in the Lord. How great is our Saviour! We thank God for Him - and we thank God that the Bible tells us the Good News that we have such a wonderful Saviour. --- Here's a link to the hymn, "Jesus loves me" -  Jesus Loves Me Lyrics ( Yes Jesus Loves Me with Lyrics ) - YouTube . May your heart rejoice as you listen to and sing along with this lovely hymn of thanksgiving for Jesus, our wonderful Saviour. Here's another link which will help you to worship the Lord Jesus -  Sing to Jesus - Fernando Ortega - YouTube

"You will show me the  path of life; i n Your presence  is  fullness of joy; a t Your right hand  are  pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11). I was about to set out on a life of ministry. It was a "path of life" that had been chosen for me by God. At the beginning of this life of ministry, I received a card with this verse from Psalm 16:11, written inside it. They came to me from the previous minister of my first congregation. Many years have come and gone since I set out on that first ministry. These words meant a lot to me then. They mean a lot to me now. The "path of life" that God chose for me was not one that I would have chosen for myself. Even when some other people were suggesting to me that this might be the way in which the Lord was leading me, I remained unconvinced - until God called me. He made His way clear to me. This was the way that He had chosen for me. It wasn't something that I was choosing for myself. It would be a way of life ....

"N ow there was  a famine in the land, and Abram  went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine  was   severe in the land" (Genesis 12:10). There was a famine in the land - When we are walking with God, we don't always walk straight into favourable circumstances. For Abram, going down to Egypt was the beginning of a downward slope. Egypt was a place of testing - and he failed the test. He lied, and he brought himself - and his God - into disrepute.  Abram failed God, but God didn't fail Abram. The Lord brought him back to the place of worship -  back to the place where he had been before he had gone down to Egypt:  "H e went on his journey  from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,  4  to the  place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram  called on the name of the Lord" (Genesis 13:3-4). As we read about Abram in Egyp...