OzThoughts – Monday 27th August, 2009

OzThoughts – Monday 27th August, 2009

As God fills us with the Holy Spirit, our life is changed. God does so much for us. There is a phrase in one song we sometimes sing that speaks about God’s giving to us and speaks of his continued giving.

The line is from the third verse of “Joyful, joyful we adore Thee.” It says simply but so profoundly “Thou art giving and forgiving” then it goes onto talk about God’s “ever” blessing us and God being the source of the joy of our living. I love the way the song writer gives us a picture and we can fill in the details. As I read these words I went off think how much we rely on God and his generous nature for the good things in life.

Then comes the last two lines of the song which are a lovely prayer that we might respond to the example of Christ our brother “Teach us how to love each other,
lift us to the joy divine”.

Psalm 37 is another favourite of mine. In it there are a number of references to generosity of righteous people in this Psalm and God giving them many blessings.
(I have printed all 40 verses. Read a few and think a while…then come back and read more if you have time. Maybe select a key verse or two to print out and carry with you or put in a key place in your home or office or even your school desk).

PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, I thank you for the fullness of your love and your forgiving and giving to me. I pray that each day I might continue in the joy of living for you. Help me to be giving in my love for others. Amen.

MEDITATION:

[Listen: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_388.mp3 ]

Joyful, joyful, we adore thee,
God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before thee,
Hail thee as the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness,
Drive the clouds of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness,
Fill us with the light of day.

2.
All thy works with joy surround thee,
Earth and heaven reflect thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around thee,
Center of unbroken praise;
Field and forest, vale and mountain,
Bloss'ming meadow, flashing sea,
Chanting bird and flowing fountain
Call us to rejoice in thee.

3.
Thou art giving and forgiving,
Ever blessing, ever blest,
Wellspring of the joy of living,
Ocean-depth of happy rest.
Thou the Father, Christ our brother--
All who live in love are thine;
Teach us how to love each other,
Lift us to the joy divine.

4.
Mortals, join the mighty chorus
Which the morning stars began;
Father-love is reigning o'er us,
Brother-love binds man to man.
Ever singing, march we onward,
Victors in the midst of strife;
Joyful music lifts us sunward
In the triumph song of life.
Author: Henry van Dyke (1852-1933)
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 10

Psalm 37


1Don't bother your head with braggarts
or wish you could succeed like the wicked.
2In no time they'll shrivel like grass clippings
and wilt like cut flowers in the sun.

3Get insurance with GOD and do a good deed,
settle down and stick to your last.
4Keep company with GOD,
get in on the best.

5Open up before GOD, keep nothing back;
he'll do whatever needs to be done:
6He'll validate your life in the clear light of day
and stamp you with approval at high noon.

7Quiet down before GOD,
be prayerful before him.
Don't bother with those who climb the ladder,
who elbow their way to the top.

8Bridle your anger, trash your wrath,
cool your pipes--it only makes things worse.
9Before long the crooks will be bankrupt;
GOD-investors will soon own the store.

10Before you know it, the wicked will have had it;
you'll stare at his once famous place and--nothing!
11Down-to-earth people will move in and take over,
relishing a huge bonanza.

12Bad guys have it in for the good guys,
obsessed with doing them in.
13But GOD isn't losing any sleep; to him
they're a joke with no punch line.

14Bullies brandish their swords,
pull back on their bows with a flourish.
They're out to beat up on the harmless,
or mug that nice man out walking his dog.
15A banana peel lands them flat on their faces--
slapstick figures in a moral circus.

16Less is more and more is less.
One righteous will outclass fifty wicked,
17For the wicked are moral weaklings
but the righteous are GOD-strong.

18GOD keeps track of the decent folk;
what they do won't soon be forgotten.
19In hard times, they'll hold their heads high;
when the shelves are bare, they'll be full.

20God--despisers have had it;
GOD's enemies are finished--
Stripped bare like vineyards at harvest time,
vanished like smoke in thin air.

21Wicked borrows and never returns;
Righteous gives and gives.
22Generous gets it all in the end;
Stingy is cut off at the pass.

23Stalwart walks in step with GOD;
his path blazed by GOD, he's happy.
24If he stumbles, he's not down for long;
GOD has a grip on his hand.

25I once was young, now I'm a graybeard--
not once have I seen an abandoned believer,
or his kids out roaming the streets.
26Every day he's out giving and lending,
his children making him proud.

27Turn your back on evil,
work for the good and don't quit.
28GOD loves this kind of thing,
never turns away from his friends.

Live this way and you've got it made,
but bad eggs will be tossed out.
29The good get planted on good land
and put down healthy roots.

30Righteous chews on wisdom like a dog on a bone,
rolls virtue around on his tongue.
31His heart pumps God's Word like blood through his veins;
his feet are as sure as a cat's.

32Wicked sets a watch for Righteous,
he's out for the kill.
33GOD, alert, is also on watch--
Wicked won't hurt a hair of his head.

34Wait passionately for GOD,
don't leave the path.
He'll give you your place in the sun
while you watch the wicked lose it.

35I saw Wicked bloated like a toad,
croaking pretentious nonsense.
36The next time I looked there was nothing--
a punctured bladder, vapid and limp.

37Keep your eye on the healthy soul,
scrutinize the straight life;
There's a future
in strenuous wholeness.
38But the willful will soon be discarded;
insolent souls are on a dead-end street.

39The spacious, free life is from GOD,
it's also protected and safe.
40GOD-strengthened, we're delivered from evil--
when we run to him, he saves us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for your prayers and support for OzThoughts Internet Ministry.

If you invite friends to subscribe they do it by sending an email (without a message) to :
OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au (Tell them to check their junk box for the reply if it does not seem to come).


`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
You can also receive OzThoughts from the following group which you are welcome to join:

SalvationArmy3: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/salvationarmy3/

SALVATIONARMY3 was born in August 2004 because it was felt that there was a need for a place on the Internet where Salvationists and Christian Friends could come together and talk about things concerning The Salvation Army, their Faith, and all that is involved within it.

We are now the largest and most active Salvation Army Group on the Internet with over 870 members.

We wanted a place where we could discuss how we can be better people in this world because of …
• Our belief and trust in God the Father.
• Our love for Jesus and all that He means to us day by day.
• Our experience of The Holy Spirit in our everyday lives.

As the founder of SALVATIONARMY3 wrote when we first came into being ...“It is my Prayer that this group stays a Holy place, where JESUS is the Focus of every Conversation, and "OTHERS" is the reason we meet.
I Love JESUS and THE SALVATION ARMY and want a great place to meet others who feel the same”...

If you feel you would like to be part of a vibrant and active Salvation Army group, please come in and join us. A welcome awaits you.

This is an unofficial website and does not necessarily reflect the position of "The Salvation Army"



Subscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au

Unsubscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.au

OzThoughts
Writer (Only): OzThoughts@yahoo.com.au