OzThoughts – Tuesday 1st September, 2009
One of the important lessons of Scripture is that God takes time to work his plans. Consider Abraham, Jacob, Joseph and Moses, then flip through the pages to David.
There are many other examples of God’s working in his time with the people of his choice. In the end God’s plan was not only evident but came to fruition.
So often I am impatient to get moving on things. People around me are wanting action. However, God calls me to trust him and all will be well. I need to wait patiently for him.
Psalm 37 (The Message)
A David Psalm
1-2 Don't bother your head with braggarts
or wish you could succeed like the wicked.
In no time they'll shrivel like grass clippings
and wilt like cut flowers in the sun.
3-4 Get insurance with God and do a good deed,
settle down and stick to your last.
Keep company with God,
get in on the best.
5-6 Open up before God, keep nothing back;
he'll do whatever needs to be done:
He'll validate your life in the clear light of day
and stamp you with approval at high noon.
7 Quiet down before God,
be prayerful before him.
Don't bother with those who climb the ladder,
who elbow their way to the top.
8-9 Bridle your anger, trash your wrath,
cool your pipes—it only makes things worse.
Before long the crooks will be bankrupt;
God-investors will soon own the store.
[Listen: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_1599.mp3 ]
Simply trusting every day.
Trusting through a stormy way,
Even when my faith is small,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.
Chorus
Trusting as the moments fly,
Trusting as the days go by,
Trusting him whate'er befall,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.
Brightly doth his Spirit shine
Into this poor heart of mine;
While he leads I need not fall,
Trusting Jesus, that is all.
Singing, if my way be clear,
Praying, if the path be drear,
If in danger, for him call;
Trusting Jesus, that is all.
Trusting him while life shall last,
Trusting him till earth be past,
Till within the jasper wall;
Trusting Jesus, that is all.
Author: Edgar Page Stites (1836-1921)
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 754
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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 :
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You can also receive OzThoughts from the following group which you are welcome to join:
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Writer (Only): OzThoughts@yahoo.com.au
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
OzThoughts – Monday 31st August, 2009
OzThoughts – Monday 31st August, 2009
There is a simple chorus we used to sing. “He will break every fetter…and He will set me (you) free!”
Now if you had asked me, I would have said this was a Salvation Army Chorus. It might be but I had to look in “Redemption Songs” to find the words. My hunt for the words began because I was thinking there must be more words and I could not remember them.
What I found in Redemption Songs (Chorus 28) were two choruses. A second variation (verse) to the chorus which says:
“He has broken every fetter…And has set me free”.
In simple words there is a reflection and a proclamation that Jesus can do it! And, not only can he do it but he has done it!
Sin binds one up. It is all controlling. It affects all our relationships. But Jesus by his death sets us all free from that.
It reminds me of words of a favourite song of mine:
He breaks the power of cancelled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood avails for me.
(For reference see below).
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, I thank you for Jesus and his salvation. I pray that as I go into this week, I will go with you and rejoice in the freedom Jesus gives. Help me to tell others of the joy there is in Jesus. Amen.
MEDITATION:
Romans 5 (The Message)
18Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life!
19One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right.
20All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn't, and doesn't, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it's sin versus grace, grace wins hands down.
21All sin can do is threaten us with death, and that's the end of it. Grace, because God is putting everything together again through the Messiah, invites us into life--a life that goes on and on and on, world without end.
````````````````````````````````````````````````
[Listen: (Richmond) http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music3/mus_4402.mp3
or (Nativity) : http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music3/mus_4233.mp3 ]
O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer's praise;
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of his grace!
2.
My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of thy name.
3.
Jesus! the name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease;
'Tis music in the sinner's ears;
'Tis life and health and peace.
4.
He breaks the power of cancelled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood avails for me.
Author: Charles Wesley (1707-88)
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 64
```````````````````````````````
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:
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Subscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
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Writer (Only): OzThoughts@yahoo.com.au
There is a simple chorus we used to sing. “He will break every fetter…and He will set me (you) free!”
Now if you had asked me, I would have said this was a Salvation Army Chorus. It might be but I had to look in “Redemption Songs” to find the words. My hunt for the words began because I was thinking there must be more words and I could not remember them.
What I found in Redemption Songs (Chorus 28) were two choruses. A second variation (verse) to the chorus which says:
“He has broken every fetter…And has set me free”.
In simple words there is a reflection and a proclamation that Jesus can do it! And, not only can he do it but he has done it!
Sin binds one up. It is all controlling. It affects all our relationships. But Jesus by his death sets us all free from that.
It reminds me of words of a favourite song of mine:
He breaks the power of cancelled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood avails for me.
(For reference see below).
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, I thank you for Jesus and his salvation. I pray that as I go into this week, I will go with you and rejoice in the freedom Jesus gives. Help me to tell others of the joy there is in Jesus. Amen.
MEDITATION:
Romans 5 (The Message)
18Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life!
19One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right.
20All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn't, and doesn't, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it's sin versus grace, grace wins hands down.
21All sin can do is threaten us with death, and that's the end of it. Grace, because God is putting everything together again through the Messiah, invites us into life--a life that goes on and on and on, world without end.
````````````````````````````````````````````````
[Listen: (Richmond) http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music3/mus_4402.mp3
or (Nativity) : http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music3/mus_4233.mp3 ]
O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer's praise;
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of his grace!
2.
My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of thy name.
3.
Jesus! the name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease;
'Tis music in the sinner's ears;
'Tis life and health and peace.
4.
He breaks the power of cancelled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood avails for me.
Author: Charles Wesley (1707-88)
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 64
```````````````````````````````
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/
Subscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
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Writer (Only): OzThoughts@yahoo.com.au
OzThoughts - Sunday Hymns and Psalms. Sunday 30th August 2009
OzThoughts - Sunday Hymns and Psalms. Sunday 30th August 2009
This day belongs to the LORD!
Let's celebrate
and be glad today.
(Psalm 118:24 Contemporary English Version)
Heavenly Father,
in you we live and move and have our being.
Guide us by your Holy Spirit,
that in all the cares and occupations of our life
we may not forget you,
but may remember that we always walk in your sight;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Psalm 45: 1-2; 6-9.
1 My heart bursts its banks, spilling beauty and goodness.
I pour it out in a poem to the king,
shaping the river into words:
2 "You're the handsomest of men;
every word from your lips is sheer grace,
and God has blessed you, blessed you so much.
6-7 "Your throne is God's throne,
ever and always;
The scepter of your royal rule
measures right living.
You love the right
and hate the wrong.
And that is why God, your very own God,
poured fragrant oil on your head,
Marking you out as king
from among your dear companions.
8-9 "Your ozone-drenched garments
are fragrant with mountain breeze.
Chamber music—from the throne room—
makes you want to dance.
Kings' daughters are maids in your court,
the Bride glittering with golden jewelry.
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: Song Number: 56
Authors: Edwards Perronet (1726-92), alt
[Listen: Festival Chorus and Band: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music3/mus_4082.mp3
or (better choice):
Piano: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_1786.mp3 ]
All hail the power of Jesus' name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem
And crown him Lord of all!
2.
Let every kindred, every tribe,
All nations great and small,
To him all majesty ascribe,
And crown him Lord of all!
3.
Ye sinners lost of Adam's race,
Partakers of the fall,
Come and be saved by Jesus' grace,
And crown him Lord of all!
4.
Crown him, ye martyrs of our God
Who from his altar call;
Extol the power of Jesus' blood,
And crown him Lord of all!
5.
O that with yonder sacred throng
We at his feet may fall,
Join in the everlasting song,
And crown him Lord of all!
Psalm 15 (The Message)
1 GOD, who gets invited to dinner at your place?
How do we get on your guest list?
2 "Walk straight,
act right,
tell the truth.
3-4 "Don't hurt your friend,
don't blame your neighbor;
despise the despicable.
5 "Keep your word even when it costs you,
make an honest living,
never take a bribe.
"You'll never get
blacklisted
if you live like this."
SongNumber: 298
Authors: William Booth (1829-1912)
[Listen: Band and Songsters: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_337.mp3
or
Congregation: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_1143.mp3]
O boundless salvation! deep ocean of love,
O fulness of mercy, Christ brought from above.
The whole world redeeming, so rich and so free,
Now flowing for all men, come, roll over me!
2.
My sins they are many, their stains are so deep.
And bitter the tears of remorse that I weep;
But useless is weeping; thou great crimson sea,
Thy waters can cleanse me, come, roll over me I
3.
My tempers are fitful, my passions are strong,
They bind my poor soul and they force me to wrong;
Beneath thy blest billows deliverance I see,
O come, mighty ocean, and roll over me!
4.
Now tossed with temptation, then haunted with fears,
My life has been joyless and useless for years;
I feel something better most surely would be
If once thy pure waters would roll over me.
5.
O ocean of mercy, oft longing I've stood
On the brink of thy wonderful, life-giving flood!
Once more I have reached this soul-cleansing sea,
I will not go back till it rolls over me.
6.
The tide is now flowing, I'm touching the wave,
I hear the loud call of the mighty to save;
My faith's growing bolder, delivered I'll be;
I plunge 'neath the waters, they roll over me.
7.
And now, hallelujah! the rest of my days
Shall gladly be spent in promoting his praise
Who opened his bosom to pour out this sea
Of boundless salvation for you and for me.
.
Prayer:
Eternal God and Father,
by whose power we are created,
and by whose love we are redeemed:
guide and strengthen us by your Spirit,
that we may give ourselves in love and service
to one another and to you;
through Jesus Christ our lord. Amen.
Meditation:
Listen: Tune: Repton: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_1143.mp3
SongNumber: 567
123; Rest, 124
Authors: John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-92)
Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways;
Reclothe us in our rightful mind;
In purer lives thy service find,
In deeper reverence, praise.
2.
In simple trust like theirs who heard,
Beside the Syrian sea,
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word
Rise up and follow thee.
3.
O Sabbath rest by Galilee!
O calm of hills above,
Where Jesus knelt to share with thee
The silence of eternity,
Interpreted by love!
4.
Drop thy still dews of quietness
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of thy peace.
5.
Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind and fire,
O still small voice of calm!
```````````````````````````````
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/
Subscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
Unsubscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
OzThoughts
Writer (Only): OzThoughts@yahoo.com.au
This day belongs to the LORD!
Let's celebrate
and be glad today.
(Psalm 118:24 Contemporary English Version)
Heavenly Father,
in you we live and move and have our being.
Guide us by your Holy Spirit,
that in all the cares and occupations of our life
we may not forget you,
but may remember that we always walk in your sight;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Psalm 45: 1-2; 6-9.
1 My heart bursts its banks, spilling beauty and goodness.
I pour it out in a poem to the king,
shaping the river into words:
2 "You're the handsomest of men;
every word from your lips is sheer grace,
and God has blessed you, blessed you so much.
6-7 "Your throne is God's throne,
ever and always;
The scepter of your royal rule
measures right living.
You love the right
and hate the wrong.
And that is why God, your very own God,
poured fragrant oil on your head,
Marking you out as king
from among your dear companions.
8-9 "Your ozone-drenched garments
are fragrant with mountain breeze.
Chamber music—from the throne room—
makes you want to dance.
Kings' daughters are maids in your court,
the Bride glittering with golden jewelry.
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: Song Number: 56
Authors: Edwards Perronet (1726-92), alt
[Listen: Festival Chorus and Band: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music3/mus_4082.mp3
or (better choice):
Piano: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_1786.mp3 ]
All hail the power of Jesus' name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem
And crown him Lord of all!
2.
Let every kindred, every tribe,
All nations great and small,
To him all majesty ascribe,
And crown him Lord of all!
3.
Ye sinners lost of Adam's race,
Partakers of the fall,
Come and be saved by Jesus' grace,
And crown him Lord of all!
4.
Crown him, ye martyrs of our God
Who from his altar call;
Extol the power of Jesus' blood,
And crown him Lord of all!
5.
O that with yonder sacred throng
We at his feet may fall,
Join in the everlasting song,
And crown him Lord of all!
Psalm 15 (The Message)
1 GOD, who gets invited to dinner at your place?
How do we get on your guest list?
2 "Walk straight,
act right,
tell the truth.
3-4 "Don't hurt your friend,
don't blame your neighbor;
despise the despicable.
5 "Keep your word even when it costs you,
make an honest living,
never take a bribe.
"You'll never get
blacklisted
if you live like this."
SongNumber: 298
Authors: William Booth (1829-1912)
[Listen: Band and Songsters: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_337.mp3
or
Congregation: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_1143.mp3]
O boundless salvation! deep ocean of love,
O fulness of mercy, Christ brought from above.
The whole world redeeming, so rich and so free,
Now flowing for all men, come, roll over me!
2.
My sins they are many, their stains are so deep.
And bitter the tears of remorse that I weep;
But useless is weeping; thou great crimson sea,
Thy waters can cleanse me, come, roll over me I
3.
My tempers are fitful, my passions are strong,
They bind my poor soul and they force me to wrong;
Beneath thy blest billows deliverance I see,
O come, mighty ocean, and roll over me!
4.
Now tossed with temptation, then haunted with fears,
My life has been joyless and useless for years;
I feel something better most surely would be
If once thy pure waters would roll over me.
5.
O ocean of mercy, oft longing I've stood
On the brink of thy wonderful, life-giving flood!
Once more I have reached this soul-cleansing sea,
I will not go back till it rolls over me.
6.
The tide is now flowing, I'm touching the wave,
I hear the loud call of the mighty to save;
My faith's growing bolder, delivered I'll be;
I plunge 'neath the waters, they roll over me.
7.
And now, hallelujah! the rest of my days
Shall gladly be spent in promoting his praise
Who opened his bosom to pour out this sea
Of boundless salvation for you and for me.
.
Prayer:
Eternal God and Father,
by whose power we are created,
and by whose love we are redeemed:
guide and strengthen us by your Spirit,
that we may give ourselves in love and service
to one another and to you;
through Jesus Christ our lord. Amen.
Meditation:
Listen: Tune: Repton: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_1143.mp3
SongNumber: 567
123; Rest, 124
Authors: John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-92)
Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways;
Reclothe us in our rightful mind;
In purer lives thy service find,
In deeper reverence, praise.
2.
In simple trust like theirs who heard,
Beside the Syrian sea,
The gracious calling of the Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word
Rise up and follow thee.
3.
O Sabbath rest by Galilee!
O calm of hills above,
Where Jesus knelt to share with thee
The silence of eternity,
Interpreted by love!
4.
Drop thy still dews of quietness
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of thy peace.
5.
Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind and fire,
O still small voice of calm!
```````````````````````````````
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/
Subscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
Unsubscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
OzThoughts
Writer (Only): OzThoughts@yahoo.com.au
Thursday, August 27, 2009
OzThoughts – Friday 28th August 2009
OzThoughts – Friday 28th August 2009
[Administration note: There will be no Australian Thoughts at the Weekend or Sunday Hymns and Psalms this weekend ( 29th and 30th August) as I will be away from my computer.]
After Isaiah had his lips cleansed by the hot coal carried by the six winged creatures, God called him to action. God asked “Who will I send as my messenger?” and immediately Isaiah answered “I will go! Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8).
The evidence of the Bible in so many places is that God forgives us and cleanses us then calls us to work for him in some way. It is not all dramatic or spectacular but God does use us all. Some of us it seems are not called to do very much. Others God requires a lot more of. It is something we need to work out with God. God will, I believe, direct us clearly in some way how we are to live for him. Sometimes, we have our ideas but God has other plans.
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, I pray that you will show me clearly how you would have me respond to your love and forgiveness. I pray that your Holy Spirit will be pleased to equip me and use me to day for your Kingdom’s sake. Amen.
MEDITATION:
Psalm 51 (The Message).
1 Generous in love--God, give grace!
Huge in mercy--wipe out my bad record.
2 Scrub away my guilt,
soak out my sins in your laundry.
3 I know how bad I've been;
my sins are staring me down.
4 You're the One I've violated, and you've seen
it all, seen the full extent of my evil.
You have all the facts before you;
whatever you decide about me is fair.
5 I've been out of step with you for a long time,
in the wrong since before I was born.
6 What you're after is truth from the inside out.
Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.
7 Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean,
scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life.
8 Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
set these once-broken bones to dancing.
9 Don't look too close for blemishes,
give me a clean bill of health.
10 God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
11 Don't throw me out with the trash,
or fail to breathe holiness in me.
12 Bring me back from grey exile,
put a fresh wind in my sails!
13 Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
so the lost can find their way home.
14 Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
and I'll sing anthems to your life--giving ways.
15 Unbutton my lips, dear God;
I'll let loose with your praise.
16 Going through the motions doesn't please you,
a flawless performance is nothing to you.
17 I learned God--worship
when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
don't for a moment escape God's notice.
18 Make Zion the place you delight in,
repair Jerusalem's broken-down walls.
19 Then you'll get real worship from us,
acts of worship small and large,
Including all the bulls
they can heave onto your altar!
[Listen: Piano: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music4/mus_7000.mp3 ]
How can I better serve thee, Lord,
Thou who hast done so much for me?
Faltering and weak my labour has been;
O that my life may tell for thee!
Chorus
Here at the cross in this sacred hour,
Here at the source of reviving power,
Helpless indeed, I come with my need;
Lord, for thy service, fit me I plead.
Dull are my ears to hear thy voice,
Slow are my hands to work for thee,
Loath are my feet to conquer the steeps
That lead me to my Calvary.
Strength for my weakness, Lord, impart;
Sight for my blindness give to me;
Faith for my doubtings, Lord, I would crave,
That I may serve thee worthily.
Author: Bramwell Coles (1887-1960)
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 488
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
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/
Subscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
Unsubscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
OzThoughts
Writer (Only): OzThoughts@yahoo.com.au
[Administration note: There will be no Australian Thoughts at the Weekend or Sunday Hymns and Psalms this weekend ( 29th and 30th August) as I will be away from my computer.]
After Isaiah had his lips cleansed by the hot coal carried by the six winged creatures, God called him to action. God asked “Who will I send as my messenger?” and immediately Isaiah answered “I will go! Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8).
The evidence of the Bible in so many places is that God forgives us and cleanses us then calls us to work for him in some way. It is not all dramatic or spectacular but God does use us all. Some of us it seems are not called to do very much. Others God requires a lot more of. It is something we need to work out with God. God will, I believe, direct us clearly in some way how we are to live for him. Sometimes, we have our ideas but God has other plans.
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, I pray that you will show me clearly how you would have me respond to your love and forgiveness. I pray that your Holy Spirit will be pleased to equip me and use me to day for your Kingdom’s sake. Amen.
MEDITATION:
Psalm 51 (The Message).
1 Generous in love--God, give grace!
Huge in mercy--wipe out my bad record.
2 Scrub away my guilt,
soak out my sins in your laundry.
3 I know how bad I've been;
my sins are staring me down.
4 You're the One I've violated, and you've seen
it all, seen the full extent of my evil.
You have all the facts before you;
whatever you decide about me is fair.
5 I've been out of step with you for a long time,
in the wrong since before I was born.
6 What you're after is truth from the inside out.
Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.
7 Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean,
scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life.
8 Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
set these once-broken bones to dancing.
9 Don't look too close for blemishes,
give me a clean bill of health.
10 God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
11 Don't throw me out with the trash,
or fail to breathe holiness in me.
12 Bring me back from grey exile,
put a fresh wind in my sails!
13 Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
so the lost can find their way home.
14 Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
and I'll sing anthems to your life--giving ways.
15 Unbutton my lips, dear God;
I'll let loose with your praise.
16 Going through the motions doesn't please you,
a flawless performance is nothing to you.
17 I learned God--worship
when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
don't for a moment escape God's notice.
18 Make Zion the place you delight in,
repair Jerusalem's broken-down walls.
19 Then you'll get real worship from us,
acts of worship small and large,
Including all the bulls
they can heave onto your altar!
[Listen: Piano: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music4/mus_7000.mp3 ]
How can I better serve thee, Lord,
Thou who hast done so much for me?
Faltering and weak my labour has been;
O that my life may tell for thee!
Chorus
Here at the cross in this sacred hour,
Here at the source of reviving power,
Helpless indeed, I come with my need;
Lord, for thy service, fit me I plead.
Dull are my ears to hear thy voice,
Slow are my hands to work for thee,
Loath are my feet to conquer the steeps
That lead me to my Calvary.
Strength for my weakness, Lord, impart;
Sight for my blindness give to me;
Faith for my doubtings, Lord, I would crave,
That I may serve thee worthily.
Author: Bramwell Coles (1887-1960)
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 488
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Wednesday, August 26, 2009
OzThoughts – Thursday 27th August 2009
OzThoughts – Thursday 27th August 2009
When we look at our relationship with God like Isaiah (Chapter 6) did, we can be overwhelmed by his holiness and in contrast we can see ourselves as so unworthy even to approach him. Isaiah found that God had a cleansing process. The application of hot coals to his unclean lips brought a cleansing process and he was ready to respond to the Holy God who spoke to him.
John in his letter (1 John 1) speaks in another way about the Holiness of God. He says simply there is no darkness at all in God. God is pure light. John then says that if we walk in the light of God then we have fellowship and the blood of Jesus, Gods son cleanses us from all sin. John then says we all have sin , if we say we haven’t any sin then we are lying. John says we need to confess our sinfulness to God then his cleansing blood will be applied to our lives and we will stand in God’s light.
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, I see your holiness and I find I am so unlike you. I pray that you will forgive my sinfulness and my failings that I might stand before you and have fellowship with you today. Amen.
Isaiah 6 (The Message)
1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Master sitting on a throne--high, exalted!-and the train of his robes filled the Temple.
2Angel-seraphs hovered above him, each with six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two their feet, and with two they flew."
3And they called back and forth one to the other,
Holy, Holy, Holy is GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies.
His bright glory fills the whole earth.
4The foundations trembled at the sound of the angel voices, and then the whole house filled with smoke.
5I said,
"Doom! It's Doomsday!
I'm as good as dead!
Every word I've ever spoken is tainted--
blasphemous even!
And the people I live with talk the same way,
using words that corrupt and desecrate.
And here I've looked God in the face!
The King! GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies!"
6Then one of the angel-seraphs flew to me. He held a live coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
7He touched my mouth with the coal and said,
"Look. This coal has touched your lips.
Gone your guilt,
your sins wiped out."
1 John 1 (The Message)
Walk in the Light
5This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there's not a trace of darkness in him.
6If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we're obviously lying through our teeth--we're not living what we claim. 7But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God's Son, purges all our sin.
8If we claim that we're free of sin, we're only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense.
9On the other hand, if we admit our sins--make a clean breast of them--he won't let us down; he'll be true to himself. He'll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. 10If we claim that we've never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God--make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God.
[Listen: Hymn Tune - Lloyd: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music3/mus_4388.mp3 ]
Walk in the light: so shalt thou know
That fellowship of love
His Spirit only can bestow,
Who reigns in light above.
Walk in the light: and thou shalt find
Thy heart made truly his
Who dwells in cloudless light enshrined,
In whom no darkness is.
Walk in the light: and thou shalt own
Thy darkness passed away,
Because that light hath on thee shone
In which is perfect day.
Walk in the light: and e'en the tomb
No fearful shade shall wear:
Glory shall chase away its gloom,
For Christ hath conquered there.
Walk in the light: and thine shall be
A path though thorny, bright;
For God, by grace, shall dwell in thee,
And God himself is light.
Author: Bernard Barton (1784-1849)
The Salvation Army Song book: Song Number: 465
```````````````````````````````````````````
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When we look at our relationship with God like Isaiah (Chapter 6) did, we can be overwhelmed by his holiness and in contrast we can see ourselves as so unworthy even to approach him. Isaiah found that God had a cleansing process. The application of hot coals to his unclean lips brought a cleansing process and he was ready to respond to the Holy God who spoke to him.
John in his letter (1 John 1) speaks in another way about the Holiness of God. He says simply there is no darkness at all in God. God is pure light. John then says that if we walk in the light of God then we have fellowship and the blood of Jesus, Gods son cleanses us from all sin. John then says we all have sin , if we say we haven’t any sin then we are lying. John says we need to confess our sinfulness to God then his cleansing blood will be applied to our lives and we will stand in God’s light.
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, I see your holiness and I find I am so unlike you. I pray that you will forgive my sinfulness and my failings that I might stand before you and have fellowship with you today. Amen.
Isaiah 6 (The Message)
1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Master sitting on a throne--high, exalted!-and the train of his robes filled the Temple.
2Angel-seraphs hovered above him, each with six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two their feet, and with two they flew."
3And they called back and forth one to the other,
Holy, Holy, Holy is GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies.
His bright glory fills the whole earth.
4The foundations trembled at the sound of the angel voices, and then the whole house filled with smoke.
5I said,
"Doom! It's Doomsday!
I'm as good as dead!
Every word I've ever spoken is tainted--
blasphemous even!
And the people I live with talk the same way,
using words that corrupt and desecrate.
And here I've looked God in the face!
The King! GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies!"
6Then one of the angel-seraphs flew to me. He held a live coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
7He touched my mouth with the coal and said,
"Look. This coal has touched your lips.
Gone your guilt,
your sins wiped out."
1 John 1 (The Message)
Walk in the Light
5This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there's not a trace of darkness in him.
6If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we're obviously lying through our teeth--we're not living what we claim. 7But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God's Son, purges all our sin.
8If we claim that we're free of sin, we're only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense.
9On the other hand, if we admit our sins--make a clean breast of them--he won't let us down; he'll be true to himself. He'll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. 10If we claim that we've never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God--make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God.
[Listen: Hymn Tune - Lloyd: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music3/mus_4388.mp3 ]
Walk in the light: so shalt thou know
That fellowship of love
His Spirit only can bestow,
Who reigns in light above.
Walk in the light: and thou shalt find
Thy heart made truly his
Who dwells in cloudless light enshrined,
In whom no darkness is.
Walk in the light: and thou shalt own
Thy darkness passed away,
Because that light hath on thee shone
In which is perfect day.
Walk in the light: and e'en the tomb
No fearful shade shall wear:
Glory shall chase away its gloom,
For Christ hath conquered there.
Walk in the light: and thine shall be
A path though thorny, bright;
For God, by grace, shall dwell in thee,
And God himself is light.
Author: Bernard Barton (1784-1849)
The Salvation Army Song book: Song Number: 465
```````````````````````````````````````````
Thank you for your prayers and support for OzThoughts Internet Ministry.
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Tuesday, August 25, 2009
OzThoughts – Wednesday 26th August 2009.
OzThoughts – Wednesday 26th August 2009.
General George Carpenter’s Preface to The Salvation Army Chorus Book published in November, 1945 is very interesting reading in light of developments in the music we use in worship today. George Carpenter was the first Australian General (Eva Burrows was the second) and led the Army through World War 2 and for almost a year after it ceased, retiring in June 1946. http://www.sacollectables.com/history_bios/bio_gcarpenter.htm
The General wrote in the Preface:
The Salvation Army chorus has long been as much a part of our procedure as the march along the street. People of every type who attend our meetings expect to hear the invitation, “Now we’ll sing a chorus. Join in heartily!” It would be a great loss if the custom declined, for which reason I am delighted to recommend for careful study and wide use this collection of choruses.
The appropriate refrain, expressing a clearly stated idea, helps us in prayer and in praise. Encourages our faith, increases our zeal, drives away doubt and adds to our spiritual vigour. The number of those who have surrendered to Christ while the believers around them have sung a chorus must run into many thousands.
Our meetings ought, therefore, to be graced often with chorus singing of one kind or another, and not only those which are for the moment in vogue.
This collection will do much to keep in use choruses which might otherwise be forgotten. Let us sing them, old and new, to the Glory of God.
Geo. L. Carpenter.
International Headquarters
London
November, 1945.
There is a lot in what the General says in those few words.
I wonder what the General would think of an Army that does not often sing these choruses and at the same time in many places has given up marching the streets. I trust he would be pleased with the way God has led us in these days.
PRAYER:
[Listen: Cornet Solo: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_598.mp3 ]
Teach me how to love Thee
Teach me how to pray,
Teach me how to serve Thee
Better ev’ry day;
Teach me how to serve Thee
Better ev’ry day.
(Chorus 179).
MEDITATION:
Psalm 149 (The Message)
1Hallelujah! Sing to GOD a brand-new song,
praise him in the company of all who love him.
2Let all Israel celebrate their Sovereign Creator,
Zion's children exult in their King.
3Let them praise his name in dance;
strike up the band and make great music!
4And why? Because GOD delights in his people,
festoons plain folk with salvation garlands!
5Let true lovers break out in praise,
sing out from wherever they're sitting,
6Shout the high praises of God,
brandish their swords in the wild sword--dance--
7A portent of vengeance on the God--defying nations,
a signal that punishment's coming,
8Their kings chained and hauled off to jail,
their leaders behind bars for good,
9The judgment on them carried out to the letter
-and all who love God in the seat of honor!
Hallelujah! Al
Psalm 150 (The Message)
1Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy house of worship,
praise him under the open skies;
2Praise him for his acts of power,
praise him for his magnificent greatness;
3Praise with a blast on the trumpet,
praise by strumming soft strings;
4Praise him with castanets and dance,
praise him with banjo and flute;
5Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum,
praise him with fiddles and mandolin.
6Let every living, breathing creature praise GOD!
Hallelujah!
```````````````````````````````````````````
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If you invite friends to subscribe they do it by sending an email (without a message) to :
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General George Carpenter’s Preface to The Salvation Army Chorus Book published in November, 1945 is very interesting reading in light of developments in the music we use in worship today. George Carpenter was the first Australian General (Eva Burrows was the second) and led the Army through World War 2 and for almost a year after it ceased, retiring in June 1946. http://www.sacollectables.com/history_bios/bio_gcarpenter.htm
The General wrote in the Preface:
The Salvation Army chorus has long been as much a part of our procedure as the march along the street. People of every type who attend our meetings expect to hear the invitation, “Now we’ll sing a chorus. Join in heartily!” It would be a great loss if the custom declined, for which reason I am delighted to recommend for careful study and wide use this collection of choruses.
The appropriate refrain, expressing a clearly stated idea, helps us in prayer and in praise. Encourages our faith, increases our zeal, drives away doubt and adds to our spiritual vigour. The number of those who have surrendered to Christ while the believers around them have sung a chorus must run into many thousands.
Our meetings ought, therefore, to be graced often with chorus singing of one kind or another, and not only those which are for the moment in vogue.
This collection will do much to keep in use choruses which might otherwise be forgotten. Let us sing them, old and new, to the Glory of God.
Geo. L. Carpenter.
International Headquarters
London
November, 1945.
There is a lot in what the General says in those few words.
I wonder what the General would think of an Army that does not often sing these choruses and at the same time in many places has given up marching the streets. I trust he would be pleased with the way God has led us in these days.
PRAYER:
[Listen: Cornet Solo: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_598.mp3 ]
Teach me how to love Thee
Teach me how to pray,
Teach me how to serve Thee
Better ev’ry day;
Teach me how to serve Thee
Better ev’ry day.
(Chorus 179).
MEDITATION:
Psalm 149 (The Message)
1Hallelujah! Sing to GOD a brand-new song,
praise him in the company of all who love him.
2Let all Israel celebrate their Sovereign Creator,
Zion's children exult in their King.
3Let them praise his name in dance;
strike up the band and make great music!
4And why? Because GOD delights in his people,
festoons plain folk with salvation garlands!
5Let true lovers break out in praise,
sing out from wherever they're sitting,
6Shout the high praises of God,
brandish their swords in the wild sword--dance--
7A portent of vengeance on the God--defying nations,
a signal that punishment's coming,
8Their kings chained and hauled off to jail,
their leaders behind bars for good,
9The judgment on them carried out to the letter
-and all who love God in the seat of honor!
Hallelujah! Al
Psalm 150 (The Message)
1Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy house of worship,
praise him under the open skies;
2Praise him for his acts of power,
praise him for his magnificent greatness;
3Praise with a blast on the trumpet,
praise by strumming soft strings;
4Praise him with castanets and dance,
praise him with banjo and flute;
5Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum,
praise him with fiddles and mandolin.
6Let every living, breathing creature praise GOD!
Hallelujah!
```````````````````````````````````````````
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 :
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Monday, August 24, 2009
OzThoughts Tuesday 25th August 2009
OzThoughts Tuesday 25th August 2009
Some years ago I had the misfortune of being at a Corps (church) with a man who, he said, had been commissioned by God to take a blessing to people by playing the violin. Now, don’t get me wrong I like violins and they make beautiful music. Well, they can. It depends on the skill of the player.
This man was judged by most as a terrible violin player. He had good intentions but even the best intentions do not render a good tune. Many tried to discourage him. I might say a badly tuned violin playing wrong notes is bad enough but when it is loudly amplified and played in the residential streets, it is quite something else. He called this noise ‘street evangelism’.
When people tried to discourage him, he took strength in the words of Jesus:
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5).
God had commissioned him and no one could stop him. He even shared with us once in church sharing time that he played his violin to his doctor and told him he had taught himself to play and the doctor told him “well, you have done a good job”. I think the implication was that if the doctor approved why should we discourage him. I don think he understood “irony” in the doctors statement.
The persecution Jesus spoke about was real. It wasn’t amplified violin. As the early church suffered persecution (Acts 5 to 7) it led to the death of Stephen. They had crucified Jesus now they were seeking to stop his followers in what ever way they could.
PRAYER:
My heavenly Father God, I pray for people who suffer persecution today. Across the world, people are losing their homes, families, jobs and even their freedom and life itself because of their active faith for you. I pray that you will be with them and give them courage and strength through your Holy Spirit. Help me to stand for you, whenever I am called to do so. Amen.
[Listen: Band: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_1600.mp3 ]
I bring to thee my heart to fill;
I feel how weak I am, but still
To thee for help I call.
In joy or grief, to live or die,
For earth or Heaven, this is my cry,
Be thou my all in all.
Chorus
Christ is all, yes, all in all.
My Christ is all in all.
Around me in the world I see
No joy that turns my soul from thee;
Its honours fade and fall;
But with thee, though I mount the cross,
I count it gain to suffer loss,
For thou art all in all.
I've little strength to call my own,
And what I've done, before thy throne
I here confess, is small;
But on thy strength. O God, I lean,
And through the blood that makes me clean,
Thou art my all in all.
No tempest can my courage shake,
My love from thee no pain can take,
No fear my heart appal;
And where I cannot see I'll trust,
For then I know thou surely must
Be still my all in all.
Authors: Herbert Howard Booth (1862-1926) (verses), W.H. Williams (chorus)
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 489
Psalm 37 (The Message – selected verses).
A David psalm
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.
````````
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.
```````````
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.
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You can also receive OzThoughts from the following group which you are welcome to join:
SalvationArmy3: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/salvationarmy3/
Subscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
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Writer (Only): OzThoughts@yahoo.com.au
Some years ago I had the misfortune of being at a Corps (church) with a man who, he said, had been commissioned by God to take a blessing to people by playing the violin. Now, don’t get me wrong I like violins and they make beautiful music. Well, they can. It depends on the skill of the player.
This man was judged by most as a terrible violin player. He had good intentions but even the best intentions do not render a good tune. Many tried to discourage him. I might say a badly tuned violin playing wrong notes is bad enough but when it is loudly amplified and played in the residential streets, it is quite something else. He called this noise ‘street evangelism’.
When people tried to discourage him, he took strength in the words of Jesus:
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5).
God had commissioned him and no one could stop him. He even shared with us once in church sharing time that he played his violin to his doctor and told him he had taught himself to play and the doctor told him “well, you have done a good job”. I think the implication was that if the doctor approved why should we discourage him. I don think he understood “irony” in the doctors statement.
The persecution Jesus spoke about was real. It wasn’t amplified violin. As the early church suffered persecution (Acts 5 to 7) it led to the death of Stephen. They had crucified Jesus now they were seeking to stop his followers in what ever way they could.
PRAYER:
My heavenly Father God, I pray for people who suffer persecution today. Across the world, people are losing their homes, families, jobs and even their freedom and life itself because of their active faith for you. I pray that you will be with them and give them courage and strength through your Holy Spirit. Help me to stand for you, whenever I am called to do so. Amen.
[Listen: Band: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_1600.mp3 ]
I bring to thee my heart to fill;
I feel how weak I am, but still
To thee for help I call.
In joy or grief, to live or die,
For earth or Heaven, this is my cry,
Be thou my all in all.
Chorus
Christ is all, yes, all in all.
My Christ is all in all.
Around me in the world I see
No joy that turns my soul from thee;
Its honours fade and fall;
But with thee, though I mount the cross,
I count it gain to suffer loss,
For thou art all in all.
I've little strength to call my own,
And what I've done, before thy throne
I here confess, is small;
But on thy strength. O God, I lean,
And through the blood that makes me clean,
Thou art my all in all.
No tempest can my courage shake,
My love from thee no pain can take,
No fear my heart appal;
And where I cannot see I'll trust,
For then I know thou surely must
Be still my all in all.
Authors: Herbert Howard Booth (1862-1926) (verses), W.H. Williams (chorus)
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 489
Psalm 37 (The Message – selected verses).
A David psalm
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.
````````
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.
```````````
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:
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Subscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
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Writer (Only): OzThoughts@yahoo.com.au
Sunday, August 23, 2009
OzThoughts Monday 24th August 2009
OzThoughts Monday 24th August 2009
Psalm 149 (The Message)
1 Hallelujah! Sing to GOD a brand-new song,
praise him in the company of all who love him.
2 Let all Israel celebrate their Sovereign Creator,
Zion's children exult in their King.
3 Let them praise his name in dance;
strike up the band and make great music!
4 And why? Because GOD delights in his people,
festoons plain folk with salvation garlands!
5 Let true lovers break out in praise,
sing out from wherever they're sitting,
6 Shout the high praises of God,
brandish their swords in the wild sword--dance--
7 A portent of vengeance on the God--defying nations,
a signal that punishment's coming,
8 Their kings chained and hauled off to jail,
their leaders behind bars for good,
9 The judgment on them carried out to the letter
-and all who love God in the seat of honor!
Hallelujah! Al
Sing to God a brand new song! I like the old songs from The Salvation Army Song Book. There is a depth about them that is wrung out of the experiences of many of the writers. Many of the writers in these experiences turn to God’s word and find an imagery there that suits their mood and expresses their heartfelt pleas for help and praise for a god who cares.
I remember one reader of OzThoughts who when he was a Cadet returned to the home Corps on leave and expressed his dislike of what he termed “7 – 11 choruses”. Seven words repeated 11 times. I guess we agreed many contemporary songs are like that.
I am not sure there is a fair comparison, the Song Books songs are the hymns and songs which have endured over time. Many are the songs our grandparents and our parents sang. Like them they have been the songs which have touched our life and are not only songs to sing but songs which have like mileposts or memorial stones marked the stages of our spiritual life.
The new songs can express our prayers and our praise they can be written by writers who also are wrestling out their faith. Many of them have still to be tested by time. Some will endure. Some may be 7- 11 songs. They may last 7 days or 11 months, others may endure for time.
Why will they endure? Can I suggest it will be because we find them useful in our worship of God. It will be because a tune or a phrase locks itself into our mind, our heart and our spiritual journey. It will be because God hears our song and blesses us with his love.
PRAYER:
Father, I pray that my life, my worship, my offerings of praise will be acceptable to you. Give me a new song. A song that is new every morning. May I experience a new depth of your love today. Amen.
MEDITATION:
(No recording of this song to the traditional tune -Tucker- could be found on line.
However, Kevin Norbury 's overture Truth takes themes from the traditional Edwardian and the modern musical settings of 'Thou Christ of burning cleansing flame, send the fire' in “Truth Aflame”: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_3301.mp3
The SA classic Cornet Solo “Tucker” is also based on this tune: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music2/mus_3572.mp3 )
Thou Christ of burning, cleansing flame,
Send the fire!
Thy blood-bought gift today we claim,
Send the fire!
Look down and see this waiting host,
Give us the promised Holy Ghost,
We want another Pentecost,
Send the fire!
God of Elijah, hear our cry:
Send the fire!
To make us fit to live or die,
Send the fire!
To burn up every trace of sin,
To bring the light and glory in,
The revolution now begin,
Send the fire!
'Tis fire we want, for fire we plead,
Send the fire!
The fire will meet our every need,
Send the fire!
For strength to ever do the right,
For grace to conquer in the fight.
For power to walk the world in white,
Send the fire!
To make our weak hearts strong and brave,
Send the fire!
To live a dying world to save,
Send the fire!
O see us on thy altar lay
Our lives, our all, this very day,
To crown the offering now we pray,
Send the fire!
Author: William Booth (1829-1912)
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 203
``````````````````````````````````````````````````
[Look and Listen (Contemporary version) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgHKKLopKik ]
FROM Website: http://www.christiangoth.com/fire.html
Send the Fire!
At the end of the last century there was a man who looked upon the moral
and spiritual decay of the world and the church and realized that something
radical needed to happen to bring his world back to God. His name was
William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army. With this realization
came fervent prayer and through prayer the lyrics to this song.
"O God of burning,
cleansing flames, Send the Fire.
Your blood-bought gift today we claim.
Send the Fire, to burn up every trace of sin,
to bring the light and glory in,
the revolution now begin."
As we come to the end of this century these words
have as much meaning as they did when they where first written. People have
lost their sense of moral urgency and spiritual fervency and only the
fire of God can burn away deception and cause the true light
of Jesus to be seen. ~ Lindell Cooley (Brownsville Revival Worship Leader)
SEND THE FIRE
O God of burning, cleansing flame, Send the fire
Your blood - bought gift today we claim, Send the fire today
God of Elijah, hear our cry, Send the fire
And make us fit to live or die, send the fire today
To burn up every trace of sin, to bring the light and glory in
The revolution now begins, Send the fire today
It's fire we want, for fire we plead, Send the fire
The fire will meet our every need, Send the fire today
Give us strength to always do what's right,
And grace to conquer in the fight
for power to walk this world in white, Send the fire today
Look down and see this waiting host
And send the promised Holy Ghost
We need another Pentecost, Send the fire today
To make our weak hearts strong and brave, Send the fire
To live a dying world to save, Send the fire
Lord, we're here tonight and we're on Your alter, Send the fire
We give our lives to You today, Send the fire
Send the fire today!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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/
Subscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
Unsubscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
OzThoughts
Writer (Only): OzThoughts@yahoo.com.au
Psalm 149 (The Message)
1 Hallelujah! Sing to GOD a brand-new song,
praise him in the company of all who love him.
2 Let all Israel celebrate their Sovereign Creator,
Zion's children exult in their King.
3 Let them praise his name in dance;
strike up the band and make great music!
4 And why? Because GOD delights in his people,
festoons plain folk with salvation garlands!
5 Let true lovers break out in praise,
sing out from wherever they're sitting,
6 Shout the high praises of God,
brandish their swords in the wild sword--dance--
7 A portent of vengeance on the God--defying nations,
a signal that punishment's coming,
8 Their kings chained and hauled off to jail,
their leaders behind bars for good,
9 The judgment on them carried out to the letter
-and all who love God in the seat of honor!
Hallelujah! Al
Sing to God a brand new song! I like the old songs from The Salvation Army Song Book. There is a depth about them that is wrung out of the experiences of many of the writers. Many of the writers in these experiences turn to God’s word and find an imagery there that suits their mood and expresses their heartfelt pleas for help and praise for a god who cares.
I remember one reader of OzThoughts who when he was a Cadet returned to the home Corps on leave and expressed his dislike of what he termed “7 – 11 choruses”. Seven words repeated 11 times. I guess we agreed many contemporary songs are like that.
I am not sure there is a fair comparison, the Song Books songs are the hymns and songs which have endured over time. Many are the songs our grandparents and our parents sang. Like them they have been the songs which have touched our life and are not only songs to sing but songs which have like mileposts or memorial stones marked the stages of our spiritual life.
The new songs can express our prayers and our praise they can be written by writers who also are wrestling out their faith. Many of them have still to be tested by time. Some will endure. Some may be 7- 11 songs. They may last 7 days or 11 months, others may endure for time.
Why will they endure? Can I suggest it will be because we find them useful in our worship of God. It will be because a tune or a phrase locks itself into our mind, our heart and our spiritual journey. It will be because God hears our song and blesses us with his love.
PRAYER:
Father, I pray that my life, my worship, my offerings of praise will be acceptable to you. Give me a new song. A song that is new every morning. May I experience a new depth of your love today. Amen.
MEDITATION:
(No recording of this song to the traditional tune -Tucker- could be found on line.
However, Kevin Norbury 's overture Truth takes themes from the traditional Edwardian and the modern musical settings of 'Thou Christ of burning cleansing flame, send the fire' in “Truth Aflame”: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_3301.mp3
The SA classic Cornet Solo “Tucker” is also based on this tune: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music2/mus_3572.mp3 )
Thou Christ of burning, cleansing flame,
Send the fire!
Thy blood-bought gift today we claim,
Send the fire!
Look down and see this waiting host,
Give us the promised Holy Ghost,
We want another Pentecost,
Send the fire!
God of Elijah, hear our cry:
Send the fire!
To make us fit to live or die,
Send the fire!
To burn up every trace of sin,
To bring the light and glory in,
The revolution now begin,
Send the fire!
'Tis fire we want, for fire we plead,
Send the fire!
The fire will meet our every need,
Send the fire!
For strength to ever do the right,
For grace to conquer in the fight.
For power to walk the world in white,
Send the fire!
To make our weak hearts strong and brave,
Send the fire!
To live a dying world to save,
Send the fire!
O see us on thy altar lay
Our lives, our all, this very day,
To crown the offering now we pray,
Send the fire!
Author: William Booth (1829-1912)
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 203
``````````````````````````````````````````````````
[Look and Listen (Contemporary version) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgHKKLopKik ]
FROM Website: http://www.christiangoth.com/fire.html
Send the Fire!
At the end of the last century there was a man who looked upon the moral
and spiritual decay of the world and the church and realized that something
radical needed to happen to bring his world back to God. His name was
William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army. With this realization
came fervent prayer and through prayer the lyrics to this song.
"O God of burning,
cleansing flames, Send the Fire.
Your blood-bought gift today we claim.
Send the Fire, to burn up every trace of sin,
to bring the light and glory in,
the revolution now begin."
As we come to the end of this century these words
have as much meaning as they did when they where first written. People have
lost their sense of moral urgency and spiritual fervency and only the
fire of God can burn away deception and cause the true light
of Jesus to be seen. ~ Lindell Cooley (Brownsville Revival Worship Leader)
SEND THE FIRE
O God of burning, cleansing flame, Send the fire
Your blood - bought gift today we claim, Send the fire today
God of Elijah, hear our cry, Send the fire
And make us fit to live or die, send the fire today
To burn up every trace of sin, to bring the light and glory in
The revolution now begins, Send the fire today
It's fire we want, for fire we plead, Send the fire
The fire will meet our every need, Send the fire today
Give us strength to always do what's right,
And grace to conquer in the fight
for power to walk this world in white, Send the fire today
Look down and see this waiting host
And send the promised Holy Ghost
We need another Pentecost, Send the fire today
To make our weak hearts strong and brave, Send the fire
To live a dying world to save, Send the fire
Lord, we're here tonight and we're on Your alter, Send the fire
We give our lives to You today, Send the fire
Send the fire today!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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/
Subscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
Unsubscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
OzThoughts
Writer (Only): OzThoughts@yahoo.com.au
Friday, August 21, 2009
OzThoughts - Sunday Hymns and Psalms. Sunday 23rd August 2009
OzThoughts - Sunday Hymns and Psalms. Sunday 23rd August 2009
This day belongs to the LORD!
Let's celebrate
and be glad today.
(Psalm 118:24 Contemporary English Version)
Heavenly Father,
in you we live and move and have our being.
Guide us by your Holy Spirit,
that in all the cares and occupations of our life
we may not forget you,
but may remember that we always walk in your sight;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Psalm 104:24-30 (The Message)
What a wildly wonderful world, GOD!
You made it all, with Wisdom at your side,
made earth overflow with your wonderful creations.
Oh, look—the deep, wide sea,
brimming with fish past counting,
sardines and sharks and salmon.
Ships plow those waters,
and Leviathan, your pet dragon, romps in them.
All the creatures look expectantly to you
to give them their meals on time.
You come, and they gather around;
you open your hand and they eat from it.
If you turned your back,
they'd die in a minute—
Take back your Spirit and they die,
revert to original mud;
Send out your Spirit and they spring to life—
the whole countryside in bloom and blossom.
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: Song Number: 203
[Look and Listen: http://www.salvoaudio.com/video/o_god_of_burning_cleansing_flame.wmv
or
Listen: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music2/mus_3706.mp3
or
Look and Listen: (different to “Look and Listen” above but same sound track as “Listen” http://www.salvoaudio.com/video/video_030.WMV ]
Thou Christ of burning, cleansing flame,
Send the fire!
Thy blood-bought gift today we claim,
Send the fire!
Look down and see this waiting host,
Give us the promised Holy Ghost,
We want another Pentecost,
Send the fire!
2.
God of Elijah, hear our cry:
Send the fire!
To make us fit to live or die,
Send the fire!
To burn up every trace of sin,
To bring the light and glory in,
The revolution now begin,
Send the fire!
3.
'Tis fire we want, for fire we plead,
Send the fire!
The fire will meet our every need,
Send the fire!
For strength to ever do the right,
For grace to conquer in the fight.
For power to walk the world in white,
Send the fire!
4.
To make our weak hearts strong and brave,
Send the fire!
To live a dying world to save,
Send the fire!
O see us on thy altar lay
Our lives, our all, this very day,
To crown the offering now we pray,
Send the fire!
Psalm 104:31-36 (The Message)
31-32 The glory of GOD—let it last forever!
Let GOD enjoy his creation!
He takes one look at earth and triggers an earthquake,
points a finger at the mountains, and volcanoes erupt.
33-35 Oh, let me sing to GOD all my life long,
sing hymns to my God as long as I live!
Oh, let my song please him;
I'm so pleased to be singing to GOD.
But clear the ground of sinners—
no more godless men and women!
O my soul, bless GOD!
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: Song Number: 192
Author: John Gowans
[ Listen: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/songs/songs_200.mp3 ]
For the mighty moving of thy Spirit
In our hearts and minds from day to day,
For the gentle soothing of thy Spirit,
When our fears had filled us with dismay:
Chorus
We adore thee, heavenly Father,
And we thank thee, heavenly Father,
And we praise thee, heavenly Father,
As we pray.
2.
For the kindly chiding of thy Spirit
When we thought to find an easier way,
For the gracious guiding of thy Spirit,
And the strength we needed to obey:
3.
For the tender stirring of thy Spirit
Who recalled us when we went astray,
The persistent spurring of thy Spirit,
When we hesitated on the way:
Prayer:
Eternal God and Father,
by whose power we are created,
and by whose love we are redeemed:
guide and strengthen us by your Spirit,
that we may give ourselves in love and service
to one another and to you;
through Jesus Christ our lord. Amen.
Listen: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_1399.mp3
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me.
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me.
Break me, melt me, mold me, fill me;
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me.
The Salvation Army Song Book: Chorus Number: 53
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
```````````````````````````````
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/
Subscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
Unsubscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
OzThoughts
Writer (Only): OzThoughts@yahoo.com.au
This day belongs to the LORD!
Let's celebrate
and be glad today.
(Psalm 118:24 Contemporary English Version)
Heavenly Father,
in you we live and move and have our being.
Guide us by your Holy Spirit,
that in all the cares and occupations of our life
we may not forget you,
but may remember that we always walk in your sight;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Psalm 104:24-30 (The Message)
What a wildly wonderful world, GOD!
You made it all, with Wisdom at your side,
made earth overflow with your wonderful creations.
Oh, look—the deep, wide sea,
brimming with fish past counting,
sardines and sharks and salmon.
Ships plow those waters,
and Leviathan, your pet dragon, romps in them.
All the creatures look expectantly to you
to give them their meals on time.
You come, and they gather around;
you open your hand and they eat from it.
If you turned your back,
they'd die in a minute—
Take back your Spirit and they die,
revert to original mud;
Send out your Spirit and they spring to life—
the whole countryside in bloom and blossom.
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: Song Number: 203
[Look and Listen: http://www.salvoaudio.com/video/o_god_of_burning_cleansing_flame.wmv
or
Listen: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music2/mus_3706.mp3
or
Look and Listen: (different to “Look and Listen” above but same sound track as “Listen” http://www.salvoaudio.com/video/video_030.WMV ]
Thou Christ of burning, cleansing flame,
Send the fire!
Thy blood-bought gift today we claim,
Send the fire!
Look down and see this waiting host,
Give us the promised Holy Ghost,
We want another Pentecost,
Send the fire!
2.
God of Elijah, hear our cry:
Send the fire!
To make us fit to live or die,
Send the fire!
To burn up every trace of sin,
To bring the light and glory in,
The revolution now begin,
Send the fire!
3.
'Tis fire we want, for fire we plead,
Send the fire!
The fire will meet our every need,
Send the fire!
For strength to ever do the right,
For grace to conquer in the fight.
For power to walk the world in white,
Send the fire!
4.
To make our weak hearts strong and brave,
Send the fire!
To live a dying world to save,
Send the fire!
O see us on thy altar lay
Our lives, our all, this very day,
To crown the offering now we pray,
Send the fire!
Psalm 104:31-36 (The Message)
31-32 The glory of GOD—let it last forever!
Let GOD enjoy his creation!
He takes one look at earth and triggers an earthquake,
points a finger at the mountains, and volcanoes erupt.
33-35 Oh, let me sing to GOD all my life long,
sing hymns to my God as long as I live!
Oh, let my song please him;
I'm so pleased to be singing to GOD.
But clear the ground of sinners—
no more godless men and women!
O my soul, bless GOD!
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: Song Number: 192
Author: John Gowans
[ Listen: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/songs/songs_200.mp3 ]
For the mighty moving of thy Spirit
In our hearts and minds from day to day,
For the gentle soothing of thy Spirit,
When our fears had filled us with dismay:
Chorus
We adore thee, heavenly Father,
And we thank thee, heavenly Father,
And we praise thee, heavenly Father,
As we pray.
2.
For the kindly chiding of thy Spirit
When we thought to find an easier way,
For the gracious guiding of thy Spirit,
And the strength we needed to obey:
3.
For the tender stirring of thy Spirit
Who recalled us when we went astray,
The persistent spurring of thy Spirit,
When we hesitated on the way:
Prayer:
Eternal God and Father,
by whose power we are created,
and by whose love we are redeemed:
guide and strengthen us by your Spirit,
that we may give ourselves in love and service
to one another and to you;
through Jesus Christ our lord. Amen.
Listen: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_1399.mp3
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me.
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me.
Break me, melt me, mold me, fill me;
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me.
The Salvation Army Song Book: Chorus Number: 53
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
```````````````````````````````
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/
Subscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
Unsubscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
OzThoughts
Writer (Only): OzThoughts@yahoo.com.au
OzThoughts - Sunday Hymns and Psalms. Sunday 23rd August 2009
OzThoughts - Sunday Hymns and Psalms. Sunday 23rd August 2009
This day belongs to the LORD!
Let's celebrate
and be glad today.
(Psalm 118:24 Contemporary English Version)
Heavenly Father,
in you we live and move and have our being.
Guide us by your Holy Spirit,
that in all the cares and occupations of our life
we may not forget you,
but may remember that we always walk in your sight;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Psalm 104:24-30 (The Message)
What a wildly wonderful world, GOD!
You made it all, with Wisdom at your side,
made earth overflow with your wonderful creations.
Oh, look—the deep, wide sea,
brimming with fish past counting,
sardines and sharks and salmon.
Ships plow those waters,
and Leviathan, your pet dragon, romps in them.
All the creatures look expectantly to you
to give them their meals on time.
You come, and they gather around;
you open your hand and they eat from it.
If you turned your back,
they'd die in a minute—
Take back your Spirit and they die,
revert to original mud;
Send out your Spirit and they spring to life—
the whole countryside in bloom and blossom.
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: Song Number: 203
[Look and Listen: http://www.salvoaudio.com/video/o_god_of_burning_cleansing_flame.wmv
or
Listen: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music2/mus_3706.mp3
or
Look and Listen: (different to “Look and Listen” above but same sound track as “Listen” http://www.salvoaudio.com/video/video_030.WMV ]
Thou Christ of burning, cleansing flame,
Send the fire!
Thy blood-bought gift today we claim,
Send the fire!
Look down and see this waiting host,
Give us the promised Holy Ghost,
We want another Pentecost,
Send the fire!
2.
God of Elijah, hear our cry:
Send the fire!
To make us fit to live or die,
Send the fire!
To burn up every trace of sin,
To bring the light and glory in,
The revolution now begin,
Send the fire!
3.
'Tis fire we want, for fire we plead,
Send the fire!
The fire will meet our every need,
Send the fire!
For strength to ever do the right,
For grace to conquer in the fight.
For power to walk the world in white,
Send the fire!
4.
To make our weak hearts strong and brave,
Send the fire!
To live a dying world to save,
Send the fire!
O see us on thy altar lay
Our lives, our all, this very day,
To crown the offering now we pray,
Send the fire!
Psalm 104:31-36 (The Message)
31-32 The glory of GOD—let it last forever!
Let GOD enjoy his creation!
He takes one look at earth and triggers an earthquake,
points a finger at the mountains, and volcanoes erupt.
33-35 Oh, let me sing to GOD all my life long,
sing hymns to my God as long as I live!
Oh, let my song please him;
I'm so pleased to be singing to GOD.
But clear the ground of sinners—
no more godless men and women!
O my soul, bless GOD!
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: Song Number: 192
Author: John Gowans
[ Listen: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/songs/songs_200.mp3 ]
For the mighty moving of thy Spirit
In our hearts and minds from day to day,
For the gentle soothing of thy Spirit,
When our fears had filled us with dismay:
Chorus
We adore thee, heavenly Father,
And we thank thee, heavenly Father,
And we praise thee, heavenly Father,
As we pray.
2.
For the kindly chiding of thy Spirit
When we thought to find an easier way,
For the gracious guiding of thy Spirit,
And the strength we needed to obey:
3.
For the tender stirring of thy Spirit
Who recalled us when we went astray,
The persistent spurring of thy Spirit,
When we hesitated on the way:
Prayer:
Eternal God and Father,
by whose power we are created,
and by whose love we are redeemed:
guide and strengthen us by your Spirit,
that we may give ourselves in love and service
to one another and to you;
through Jesus Christ our lord. Amen.
Listen: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_1399.mp3
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me.
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me.
Break me, melt me, mold me, fill me;
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me.
The Salvation Army Song Book: Chorus Number: 53
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
```````````````````````````````
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/
Subscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
Unsubscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
OzThoughts
Writer (Only): OzThoughts@yahoo.com.au
This day belongs to the LORD!
Let's celebrate
and be glad today.
(Psalm 118:24 Contemporary English Version)
Heavenly Father,
in you we live and move and have our being.
Guide us by your Holy Spirit,
that in all the cares and occupations of our life
we may not forget you,
but may remember that we always walk in your sight;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Psalm 104:24-30 (The Message)
What a wildly wonderful world, GOD!
You made it all, with Wisdom at your side,
made earth overflow with your wonderful creations.
Oh, look—the deep, wide sea,
brimming with fish past counting,
sardines and sharks and salmon.
Ships plow those waters,
and Leviathan, your pet dragon, romps in them.
All the creatures look expectantly to you
to give them their meals on time.
You come, and they gather around;
you open your hand and they eat from it.
If you turned your back,
they'd die in a minute—
Take back your Spirit and they die,
revert to original mud;
Send out your Spirit and they spring to life—
the whole countryside in bloom and blossom.
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: Song Number: 203
[Look and Listen: http://www.salvoaudio.com/video/o_god_of_burning_cleansing_flame.wmv
or
Listen: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music2/mus_3706.mp3
or
Look and Listen: (different to “Look and Listen” above but same sound track as “Listen” http://www.salvoaudio.com/video/video_030.WMV ]
Thou Christ of burning, cleansing flame,
Send the fire!
Thy blood-bought gift today we claim,
Send the fire!
Look down and see this waiting host,
Give us the promised Holy Ghost,
We want another Pentecost,
Send the fire!
2.
God of Elijah, hear our cry:
Send the fire!
To make us fit to live or die,
Send the fire!
To burn up every trace of sin,
To bring the light and glory in,
The revolution now begin,
Send the fire!
3.
'Tis fire we want, for fire we plead,
Send the fire!
The fire will meet our every need,
Send the fire!
For strength to ever do the right,
For grace to conquer in the fight.
For power to walk the world in white,
Send the fire!
4.
To make our weak hearts strong and brave,
Send the fire!
To live a dying world to save,
Send the fire!
O see us on thy altar lay
Our lives, our all, this very day,
To crown the offering now we pray,
Send the fire!
Psalm 104:31-36 (The Message)
31-32 The glory of GOD—let it last forever!
Let GOD enjoy his creation!
He takes one look at earth and triggers an earthquake,
points a finger at the mountains, and volcanoes erupt.
33-35 Oh, let me sing to GOD all my life long,
sing hymns to my God as long as I live!
Oh, let my song please him;
I'm so pleased to be singing to GOD.
But clear the ground of sinners—
no more godless men and women!
O my soul, bless GOD!
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: Song Number: 192
Author: John Gowans
[ Listen: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/songs/songs_200.mp3 ]
For the mighty moving of thy Spirit
In our hearts and minds from day to day,
For the gentle soothing of thy Spirit,
When our fears had filled us with dismay:
Chorus
We adore thee, heavenly Father,
And we thank thee, heavenly Father,
And we praise thee, heavenly Father,
As we pray.
2.
For the kindly chiding of thy Spirit
When we thought to find an easier way,
For the gracious guiding of thy Spirit,
And the strength we needed to obey:
3.
For the tender stirring of thy Spirit
Who recalled us when we went astray,
The persistent spurring of thy Spirit,
When we hesitated on the way:
Prayer:
Eternal God and Father,
by whose power we are created,
and by whose love we are redeemed:
guide and strengthen us by your Spirit,
that we may give ourselves in love and service
to one another and to you;
through Jesus Christ our lord. Amen.
Listen: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_1399.mp3
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me.
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me.
Break me, melt me, mold me, fill me;
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on me.
The Salvation Army Song Book: Chorus Number: 53
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
```````````````````````````````
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/
Subscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
Unsubscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
OzThoughts
Writer (Only): OzThoughts@yahoo.com.au
Australian Thoughts at the Weekend 22nd and 23rd August 2009.
Australian Thoughts at the Weekend 22nd and 23rd August 2009.
[ This is a busy weekend for the Gold Coast Temple Band who will be visiting Grafton about 3.5 hours away in northern New South Wales. The main events will be a program on Saturday night, a worship meeting on Sunday morning and an outdoor concert in a tourist park on Sunday afternoon. Therefore this email is a repeat of one first published in October 2004. For those interested in Ozzie rhyming slang our band is “hitting the frog and toad” – the road to Grafton. ]
Frogs and Toads
Early this morning I read an email about frogs. Since then as I have been working on chores around the house, I have been thinking about frogs. They are fascinating creatures.
I think I was about 4 and a half when I encountered my first frog. Yes, my early childhood was deprived of such wonders. I lived in Melbourne then so some might think that was normal. It was when I moved to Brisbane and lived at “Grandpop’s and Grandma’s” for a few months that I discovered frogs. Actually it was one frog. It was a big green treefrog which sat on Grandpop’s front steps each night and caught insects. I never saw it catch any insects but Grandpop said that was what they were doing.
My mother told me not to touch it or I would get warts. I remember one night when no one was looking, I picked it up. It was my first experience of loss of bladder control when frightened. The frog’s bladder, not mine. I was worried for a while but I never got warts where my hand was wet. I guess I was lucky. I also got to know the frog’s call it was a deep ‘crow-k’. It crow-ked a lot when it was raining. Dad told me it was telling other frogs it was happy it was raining. I wondered if that was the way frogs thanked God for rain.
I started school about a year after we moved to Brisbane. The school year starts at the end of January, and that is also the wettest time of the year. I learnt about walking to and from school in the heaviest of tropical downpours. It was also then that I learnt that the puddles contained tadpoles. Tadpoles, I learnt, grew legs, lost their tales and became frogs. We collected them and kept them in a lot of bottles on the windowsill. It was great to watch them swimming around. It was much more interesting than what the teacher wrote on the blackboard.
I learnt another lesson about the same time. That was my father had a very strict list of “appropriate pets”. It wasn’t a long list. It included canaries, one dog and chooks (chickens). That was it. Although there was talk of goldfinches, greenfinches and Gouldian finches from his days long past. I tested his list firstly with tadpoles. I had to take them back to where I got them from. Dad didn’t want the place infested with frogs. I tested the list at other times with pigeons, and lizards but they were definitely ‘out’. Budgerigars joined the list when I was older and finches and parrots when I could afford to keep them.
Anyway back to frogs. Another frog I learnt to love was a small flat brown one. It came wrapped in foil. Of, course it was a chocolate frog. I remember my sister and me getting a chocolate frog each on Saturday night after the Open Air Meeting. Mum and Dad shared a block of chocolate while we had the chocolate frogs.
I soon learnt there was a variety of frogs and toads that were native to our area. They were always good to bring to school for “news” and to add to the collection on display. We looked in books to try to see which ones we had but most of the books we had were English or American. So we just knew that John’s was the same as the one Kevin brought a few weeks ago.
I don’t know when I discovered my first cane toad. These were big brown warty toads. Common knowledge said that Australian Toads do not grow as big as they did. They were at 20cm (8 inches) about twice the size of my Grandpop’s green tree frog.
Common knowledge also said these cane toads were “badies”. Any living cane toad had to be sent to toad heaven by the quickest and sometimes cruellest way possible.
Cane toads love two things. Well, three but the third one comes naturally. The love insects and they have learnt that insects gathered under lights. So cane toads like Grandpop’s frog hunted insects wherever there was a light turned on. The other thing they like is water and even a dish of water, such as the pet’s dish will attract them. A cane toad will sit by a dish of water and call for its mates. It has in mind its third love and wants a mate to share the water where they can leave fertilised eggs.
Cane Toads (Giant American or Marine Toads) were introduced to Queensland in the mid 1930’s to eat beetles that were a pest for sugar cane farmers. The beetle’s larvae stopped the cane growing successfully. They soon spread across Queensland and became a noted pest. A cane toad has poison glands on the back of its head. Dogs and other domestic pets as well as native animals and birds have become very sick and died after consuming cane toads. A few birds, including crows seem to have learnt how to consume a cane toad while avoiding the poison glands. A crow will flip over a cane toad and consume it from the soft underbelly thus avoiding the poison glands.
Cane Toads continue to spread and there is a worry that they will reach Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory. There seems to be less concern that they will move much further south than there current range as it seems they cannot tolerate the colder weather.
There are two concerns today of nature lovers. Many people are breeding native frogs and toads in pools and ponds around their homes. Groups have been established in many areas to preserve them and they share methods as well as frogs and tadpoles. Dad would not be pleased.
On the other hand, other groups have been organised to have cane toad eradication parties where people with gather at a creek or parkland with ponds or lakes and armed with torches, gloves and plastic bags will see out the cane toads. Any toads thy find will be taken home and put to death by freezing. This is the suggested method which doesn’t have the cruelty of golf clubs, spades, axes or car wheels.
The story which commenced all these thoughts is worth sharing and I thank Elnora Lee who shared the story with us through the Salvation Army Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/salvationarmy3/.
There once was a bunch of tiny frogs,
...who arranged a running competition.
The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower.
A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants...
The race began...
Honestly...No one in the crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower.
You heard statements such as:
"Oh, WAY too difficult !!"
"They will NEVER make it to the top!!"
or:
"Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!!"
The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one...Except for those, who in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher...
The crowd continued to yell, "It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!!"
More tiny frogs got tired and gave up...But ONE continued higher and higher and higher...
This one wouldn't give up!
At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog who, after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top!
THEN all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it?
A contestant asked the tiny frog how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal?
It turned out...That the winner was DEAF!!!
The wisdom of this story is:
Never listen to other people's tendencies to be negative or pessimistic... Because they take your most wonderful dreams and wishes away from you...the ones you have in your heart!!!
Always think of the power words have. Because everything you hear and read will affect your actions!!!
Therefore:
ALWAYS be...POSITIVE!!!
And above all:
Be DEAF when people tell YOU that you can not fulfil your dreams!!!
Always think:
God and I can do this !
```````````````````````````````
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/
Subscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
Unsubscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
OzThoughts
Writer (Only): OzThoughts@yahoo.com.au
[ This is a busy weekend for the Gold Coast Temple Band who will be visiting Grafton about 3.5 hours away in northern New South Wales. The main events will be a program on Saturday night, a worship meeting on Sunday morning and an outdoor concert in a tourist park on Sunday afternoon. Therefore this email is a repeat of one first published in October 2004. For those interested in Ozzie rhyming slang our band is “hitting the frog and toad” – the road to Grafton. ]
Frogs and Toads
Early this morning I read an email about frogs. Since then as I have been working on chores around the house, I have been thinking about frogs. They are fascinating creatures.
I think I was about 4 and a half when I encountered my first frog. Yes, my early childhood was deprived of such wonders. I lived in Melbourne then so some might think that was normal. It was when I moved to Brisbane and lived at “Grandpop’s and Grandma’s” for a few months that I discovered frogs. Actually it was one frog. It was a big green treefrog which sat on Grandpop’s front steps each night and caught insects. I never saw it catch any insects but Grandpop said that was what they were doing.
My mother told me not to touch it or I would get warts. I remember one night when no one was looking, I picked it up. It was my first experience of loss of bladder control when frightened. The frog’s bladder, not mine. I was worried for a while but I never got warts where my hand was wet. I guess I was lucky. I also got to know the frog’s call it was a deep ‘crow-k’. It crow-ked a lot when it was raining. Dad told me it was telling other frogs it was happy it was raining. I wondered if that was the way frogs thanked God for rain.
I started school about a year after we moved to Brisbane. The school year starts at the end of January, and that is also the wettest time of the year. I learnt about walking to and from school in the heaviest of tropical downpours. It was also then that I learnt that the puddles contained tadpoles. Tadpoles, I learnt, grew legs, lost their tales and became frogs. We collected them and kept them in a lot of bottles on the windowsill. It was great to watch them swimming around. It was much more interesting than what the teacher wrote on the blackboard.
I learnt another lesson about the same time. That was my father had a very strict list of “appropriate pets”. It wasn’t a long list. It included canaries, one dog and chooks (chickens). That was it. Although there was talk of goldfinches, greenfinches and Gouldian finches from his days long past. I tested his list firstly with tadpoles. I had to take them back to where I got them from. Dad didn’t want the place infested with frogs. I tested the list at other times with pigeons, and lizards but they were definitely ‘out’. Budgerigars joined the list when I was older and finches and parrots when I could afford to keep them.
Anyway back to frogs. Another frog I learnt to love was a small flat brown one. It came wrapped in foil. Of, course it was a chocolate frog. I remember my sister and me getting a chocolate frog each on Saturday night after the Open Air Meeting. Mum and Dad shared a block of chocolate while we had the chocolate frogs.
I soon learnt there was a variety of frogs and toads that were native to our area. They were always good to bring to school for “news” and to add to the collection on display. We looked in books to try to see which ones we had but most of the books we had were English or American. So we just knew that John’s was the same as the one Kevin brought a few weeks ago.
I don’t know when I discovered my first cane toad. These were big brown warty toads. Common knowledge said that Australian Toads do not grow as big as they did. They were at 20cm (8 inches) about twice the size of my Grandpop’s green tree frog.
Common knowledge also said these cane toads were “badies”. Any living cane toad had to be sent to toad heaven by the quickest and sometimes cruellest way possible.
Cane toads love two things. Well, three but the third one comes naturally. The love insects and they have learnt that insects gathered under lights. So cane toads like Grandpop’s frog hunted insects wherever there was a light turned on. The other thing they like is water and even a dish of water, such as the pet’s dish will attract them. A cane toad will sit by a dish of water and call for its mates. It has in mind its third love and wants a mate to share the water where they can leave fertilised eggs.
Cane Toads (Giant American or Marine Toads) were introduced to Queensland in the mid 1930’s to eat beetles that were a pest for sugar cane farmers. The beetle’s larvae stopped the cane growing successfully. They soon spread across Queensland and became a noted pest. A cane toad has poison glands on the back of its head. Dogs and other domestic pets as well as native animals and birds have become very sick and died after consuming cane toads. A few birds, including crows seem to have learnt how to consume a cane toad while avoiding the poison glands. A crow will flip over a cane toad and consume it from the soft underbelly thus avoiding the poison glands.
Cane Toads continue to spread and there is a worry that they will reach Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory. There seems to be less concern that they will move much further south than there current range as it seems they cannot tolerate the colder weather.
There are two concerns today of nature lovers. Many people are breeding native frogs and toads in pools and ponds around their homes. Groups have been established in many areas to preserve them and they share methods as well as frogs and tadpoles. Dad would not be pleased.
On the other hand, other groups have been organised to have cane toad eradication parties where people with gather at a creek or parkland with ponds or lakes and armed with torches, gloves and plastic bags will see out the cane toads. Any toads thy find will be taken home and put to death by freezing. This is the suggested method which doesn’t have the cruelty of golf clubs, spades, axes or car wheels.
The story which commenced all these thoughts is worth sharing and I thank Elnora Lee who shared the story with us through the Salvation Army Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/salvationarmy3/.
There once was a bunch of tiny frogs,
...who arranged a running competition.
The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower.
A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants...
The race began...
Honestly...No one in the crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower.
You heard statements such as:
"Oh, WAY too difficult !!"
"They will NEVER make it to the top!!"
or:
"Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!!"
The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one...Except for those, who in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher...
The crowd continued to yell, "It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!!"
More tiny frogs got tired and gave up...But ONE continued higher and higher and higher...
This one wouldn't give up!
At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog who, after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top!
THEN all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it?
A contestant asked the tiny frog how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal?
It turned out...That the winner was DEAF!!!
The wisdom of this story is:
Never listen to other people's tendencies to be negative or pessimistic... Because they take your most wonderful dreams and wishes away from you...the ones you have in your heart!!!
Always think of the power words have. Because everything you hear and read will affect your actions!!!
Therefore:
ALWAYS be...POSITIVE!!!
And above all:
Be DEAF when people tell YOU that you can not fulfil your dreams!!!
Always think:
God and I can do this !
```````````````````````````````
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/
Subscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
Unsubscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
OzThoughts
Writer (Only): OzThoughts@yahoo.com.au
Thursday, August 20, 2009
OzThoughts – Friday 21st August 2009.
OzThoughts – Friday 21st August 2009.
There are times when friends are valued. I often speak to people who are without family, yet have valued friends who share the way with them. I remember one man who told me how he had no family but had some great friends he met to play golf with twice a week. He went on to share about others in his life he counted as friends. Some had started as business relationships but now he counted them as friends. His life sounded pretty good to me.
On the other hand I have met people with family yet through hurts, bumps and lasting bruises they have deliberately moved apart. It is great when there are times or reconciliation and the lost years are regretted but soon forgotten in the overwhelming joy of the new union.
Paul knew the value of friends. Throughout the Acts of the Apostles and particularly in his Letters to the Churches which make up a great part of the New Testament, we see the friends one after another, and group by group. He has no recorded family but he has many brothers and sisters in Christ and a spiritual son in young Timothy. Paul’s relationships, at times, were not without difficulty, but he accepted as brothers and sisters those who were in Christ and witnessed Christ was in them.
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, I thank you for this great world wide family I belong to through your son, Jesus. I pray for each one. Father, you know some are carrying heavy burdens,. Others are weighed down with grief. I pray that your Holy Spirit will be a comfort to each and bring us together in love through Jesus. Amen.
MEDITATION:
A friend of Jesus! O what bliss
That one, so vile as I,
Should ever have a friend like this
To lead me to the sky
Chorus
Friendship with Jesus, fellowship divine,
O what blessed sweet communion,
Jesus is a friend of mine!
A friend when other friendships cease,
A friend when others fail,
A friend who gives me joy and peace,
A friend who will prevail.
A friend when sickness lays me low,
A friend when death draws near,
A friend as through the vale I go,
A friend to help and cheer.
A friend when life’s short race is o'er,
A friend when earth is past,
A friend to meet on Heaven's shore,
A friend when home at last.
Author: Joseph C. Ludgate (d 1947)
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 709
Philemon 1 (The Message)
1I, Paul, am a prisoner for the sake of Christ, here with my brother Timothy. I write this letter to you, Philemon, my good friend and companion in this work—
2also to our sister Apphia, to Archippus, a real trooper, and to the church that meets in your house.
3God's best to you! Christ's blessings on you!
4Every time your name comes up in my prayers, I say, "Oh, thank you, God!
5" I keep hearing of the love and faith you have for the Master Jesus, which brims over to other Christians.
6And I keep praying that this faith we hold in common keeps showing up in the good things we do, and that people recognize Christ in all of it.
7Friend, you have no idea how good your love makes me feel, doubly so when I see your hospitality to fellow believers.
To Call the Slave Your Friend
8In line with all this I have a favor to ask of you. As Christ's ambassador and now a prisoner for him, I wouldn't hesitate to command this if I thought it necessary,
9but I'd rather make it a personal request.
10While here in jail, I've fathered a child, so to speak. And here he is, hand-carrying this letter--Onesimus!
11He was useless to you before; now he's useful to both of us. 12I'm sending him back to you, but it feels like I'm cutting off my right arm in doing so.
13I wanted in the worst way to keep him here as your stand-in to help out while I'm in jail for the Message.
14But I didn't want to do anything behind your back, make you do a good deed that you hadn't willingly agreed to.
15Maybe it's all for the best that you lost him for a while. You're getting him back now for good—
16and no mere slave this time, but a true Christian brother! That's what he was to me--he'll be even more than that to you.
17So if you still consider me a comrade-in-arms, welcome him back as you would me. 18If he damaged anything or owes you anything, chalk it up to my account.
19This is my personal signature--Paul-and I stand behind it. (I don't need to remind you, do I, that you owe your very life to me?)
20Do me this big favor, friend. You'll be doing it for Christ, but it will also do my heart good.
21I know you well enough to know you will. You'll probably go far beyond what I've written.
22And by the way, get a room ready for me. Because of your prayers, I fully expect to be your guest again.
23Epaphras, my cellmate in the cause of Christ, says hello. 24Also my coworkers Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke. 25All the best to you from the Master, Jesus Christ!
```````````````````````````````
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/
Subscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
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OzThoughts
Writer (Only): OzThoughts@yahoo.com.au
There are times when friends are valued. I often speak to people who are without family, yet have valued friends who share the way with them. I remember one man who told me how he had no family but had some great friends he met to play golf with twice a week. He went on to share about others in his life he counted as friends. Some had started as business relationships but now he counted them as friends. His life sounded pretty good to me.
On the other hand I have met people with family yet through hurts, bumps and lasting bruises they have deliberately moved apart. It is great when there are times or reconciliation and the lost years are regretted but soon forgotten in the overwhelming joy of the new union.
Paul knew the value of friends. Throughout the Acts of the Apostles and particularly in his Letters to the Churches which make up a great part of the New Testament, we see the friends one after another, and group by group. He has no recorded family but he has many brothers and sisters in Christ and a spiritual son in young Timothy. Paul’s relationships, at times, were not without difficulty, but he accepted as brothers and sisters those who were in Christ and witnessed Christ was in them.
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, I thank you for this great world wide family I belong to through your son, Jesus. I pray for each one. Father, you know some are carrying heavy burdens,. Others are weighed down with grief. I pray that your Holy Spirit will be a comfort to each and bring us together in love through Jesus. Amen.
MEDITATION:
A friend of Jesus! O what bliss
That one, so vile as I,
Should ever have a friend like this
To lead me to the sky
Chorus
Friendship with Jesus, fellowship divine,
O what blessed sweet communion,
Jesus is a friend of mine!
A friend when other friendships cease,
A friend when others fail,
A friend who gives me joy and peace,
A friend who will prevail.
A friend when sickness lays me low,
A friend when death draws near,
A friend as through the vale I go,
A friend to help and cheer.
A friend when life’s short race is o'er,
A friend when earth is past,
A friend to meet on Heaven's shore,
A friend when home at last.
Author: Joseph C. Ludgate (d 1947)
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 709
Philemon 1 (The Message)
1I, Paul, am a prisoner for the sake of Christ, here with my brother Timothy. I write this letter to you, Philemon, my good friend and companion in this work—
2also to our sister Apphia, to Archippus, a real trooper, and to the church that meets in your house.
3God's best to you! Christ's blessings on you!
4Every time your name comes up in my prayers, I say, "Oh, thank you, God!
5" I keep hearing of the love and faith you have for the Master Jesus, which brims over to other Christians.
6And I keep praying that this faith we hold in common keeps showing up in the good things we do, and that people recognize Christ in all of it.
7Friend, you have no idea how good your love makes me feel, doubly so when I see your hospitality to fellow believers.
To Call the Slave Your Friend
8In line with all this I have a favor to ask of you. As Christ's ambassador and now a prisoner for him, I wouldn't hesitate to command this if I thought it necessary,
9but I'd rather make it a personal request.
10While here in jail, I've fathered a child, so to speak. And here he is, hand-carrying this letter--Onesimus!
11He was useless to you before; now he's useful to both of us. 12I'm sending him back to you, but it feels like I'm cutting off my right arm in doing so.
13I wanted in the worst way to keep him here as your stand-in to help out while I'm in jail for the Message.
14But I didn't want to do anything behind your back, make you do a good deed that you hadn't willingly agreed to.
15Maybe it's all for the best that you lost him for a while. You're getting him back now for good—
16and no mere slave this time, but a true Christian brother! That's what he was to me--he'll be even more than that to you.
17So if you still consider me a comrade-in-arms, welcome him back as you would me. 18If he damaged anything or owes you anything, chalk it up to my account.
19This is my personal signature--Paul-and I stand behind it. (I don't need to remind you, do I, that you owe your very life to me?)
20Do me this big favor, friend. You'll be doing it for Christ, but it will also do my heart good.
21I know you well enough to know you will. You'll probably go far beyond what I've written.
22And by the way, get a room ready for me. Because of your prayers, I fully expect to be your guest again.
23Epaphras, my cellmate in the cause of Christ, says hello. 24Also my coworkers Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke. 25All the best to you from the Master, Jesus Christ!
```````````````````````````````
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/
Subscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
Unsubscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
OzThoughts
Writer (Only): OzThoughts@yahoo.com.au
OzThoughts –Thursday 20th August, 2009
OzThoughts –Thursday 20th August, 2009
For a long time the hymn “My Jesus, I love Thee” has been a favourite of mine. I particularly enjoy it sung to the tune “Flow gently Sweet Afton”.
The hymn writer has got it right in that our love for Jesus is a response to Jesus’ love for us:
I love thee because thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree;
I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow,
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now. (Verse 2).
How important are the words “tis now”? The writer marks the point that his love for Jesus is very current. These two simple words locate his passion right here in the present time. It is not a historical love, although its roots as indicated in verse 2 go way back.
It is a love with a hope. The writer expresses that hope in words of commitment. I notice that commitment is not only for this life but for eternity. Our hope is an eternal hope that is matched with eternal commitment.
However, that eternal commitment is current. At each stage the commitment is matched with the words “tis now”.
Who was the hymn writer? William Ralph Featherstone was just a 16 year old. It seems he was a new convert who expressed his new found love in these words. We don’t know much more about him. He was a Canadian Wesleyan Methodist and we know the names of his parents. Other than that little is known except he died aged only 27.
[Listen: Band: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_2110.mp3
or
Songsters (Tune: Flow Gently, Sweet Afton): http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_1001.mp3 ]
My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine,
For thee all the pleasures of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Saviour art thou,
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
I love thee because thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree;
I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow,
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
I will love thee in life, I will love thee in death,
And praise thee as long as thou lendest me breath;
And say, when the death-dew lies cold on my brow:
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
In mansions of Glory and endless delight,
I'll ever adore thee and dwell in thy sight;
I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow:
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
Author: William Ralph Featherstone (1846-73)
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 357
Romans 5:1-11 (The Message)
1-2 By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.
3-5 There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
6-8 Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.
9-11 Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way. If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we're at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life! Now that we have actually received this amazing friendship with God, we are no longer content to simply say it in plodding prose. We sing and shout our praises to God through Jesus, the Messiah!
For a long time the hymn “My Jesus, I love Thee” has been a favourite of mine. I particularly enjoy it sung to the tune “Flow gently Sweet Afton”.
The hymn writer has got it right in that our love for Jesus is a response to Jesus’ love for us:
I love thee because thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree;
I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow,
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now. (Verse 2).
How important are the words “tis now”? The writer marks the point that his love for Jesus is very current. These two simple words locate his passion right here in the present time. It is not a historical love, although its roots as indicated in verse 2 go way back.
It is a love with a hope. The writer expresses that hope in words of commitment. I notice that commitment is not only for this life but for eternity. Our hope is an eternal hope that is matched with eternal commitment.
However, that eternal commitment is current. At each stage the commitment is matched with the words “tis now”.
Who was the hymn writer? William Ralph Featherstone was just a 16 year old. It seems he was a new convert who expressed his new found love in these words. We don’t know much more about him. He was a Canadian Wesleyan Methodist and we know the names of his parents. Other than that little is known except he died aged only 27.
[Listen: Band: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_2110.mp3
or
Songsters (Tune: Flow Gently, Sweet Afton): http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_1001.mp3 ]
My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine,
For thee all the pleasures of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Saviour art thou,
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
I love thee because thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree;
I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow,
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
I will love thee in life, I will love thee in death,
And praise thee as long as thou lendest me breath;
And say, when the death-dew lies cold on my brow:
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
In mansions of Glory and endless delight,
I'll ever adore thee and dwell in thy sight;
I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow:
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
Author: William Ralph Featherstone (1846-73)
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 357
Romans 5:1-11 (The Message)
1-2 By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.
3-5 There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
6-8 Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.
9-11 Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way. If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we're at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life! Now that we have actually received this amazing friendship with God, we are no longer content to simply say it in plodding prose. We sing and shout our praises to God through Jesus, the Messiah!
OzThoughts –Thursday 20th August, 2009
OzThoughts –Thursday 20th August, 2009
For a long time the hymn “My Jesus, I love Thee” has been a favourite of mine. I particularly enjoy it sung to the tune “Flow gently Sweet Afton”.
The hymn writer has got it right in that our love for Jesus is a response to Jesus’ love for us:
I love thee because thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree;
I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow,
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now. (Verse 2).
How important are the words “tis now”? The writer marks the point that his love for Jesus is very current. These two simple words locate his passion right here in the present time. It is not a historical love, although its roots as indicated in verse 2 go way back.
It is a love with a hope. The writer expresses that hope in words of commitment. I notice that commitment is not only for this life but for eternity. Our hope is an eternal hope that is matched with eternal commitment.
However, that eternal commitment is current. At each stage the commitment is matched with the words “tis now”.
Who was the hymn writer? William Ralph Featherstone was just a 16 year old. It seems he was a new convert who expressed his new found love in these words. We don’t know much more about him. He was a Canadian Wesleyan Methodist and we know the names of his parents. Other than that little is known except he died aged only 27.
[Listen: Band: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_2110.mp3
or
Songsters (Tune: Flow Gently, Sweet Afton): http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_1001.mp3 ]
My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine,
For thee all the pleasures of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Saviour art thou,
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
I love thee because thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree;
I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow,
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
I will love thee in life, I will love thee in death,
And praise thee as long as thou lendest me breath;
And say, when the death-dew lies cold on my brow:
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
In mansions of Glory and endless delight,
I'll ever adore thee and dwell in thy sight;
I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow:
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
Author: William Ralph Featherstone (1846-73)
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 357
Romans 5:1-11 (The Message)
1-2 By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.
3-5 There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
6-8 Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.
9-11 Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way. If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we're at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life! Now that we have actually received this amazing friendship with God, we are no longer content to simply say it in plodding prose. We sing and shout our praises to God through Jesus, the Messiah!
For a long time the hymn “My Jesus, I love Thee” has been a favourite of mine. I particularly enjoy it sung to the tune “Flow gently Sweet Afton”.
The hymn writer has got it right in that our love for Jesus is a response to Jesus’ love for us:
I love thee because thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree;
I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow,
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now. (Verse 2).
How important are the words “tis now”? The writer marks the point that his love for Jesus is very current. These two simple words locate his passion right here in the present time. It is not a historical love, although its roots as indicated in verse 2 go way back.
It is a love with a hope. The writer expresses that hope in words of commitment. I notice that commitment is not only for this life but for eternity. Our hope is an eternal hope that is matched with eternal commitment.
However, that eternal commitment is current. At each stage the commitment is matched with the words “tis now”.
Who was the hymn writer? William Ralph Featherstone was just a 16 year old. It seems he was a new convert who expressed his new found love in these words. We don’t know much more about him. He was a Canadian Wesleyan Methodist and we know the names of his parents. Other than that little is known except he died aged only 27.
[Listen: Band: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_2110.mp3
or
Songsters (Tune: Flow Gently, Sweet Afton): http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_1001.mp3 ]
My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine,
For thee all the pleasures of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Saviour art thou,
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
I love thee because thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree;
I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow,
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
I will love thee in life, I will love thee in death,
And praise thee as long as thou lendest me breath;
And say, when the death-dew lies cold on my brow:
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
In mansions of Glory and endless delight,
I'll ever adore thee and dwell in thy sight;
I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow:
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.
Author: William Ralph Featherstone (1846-73)
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 357
Romans 5:1-11 (The Message)
1-2 By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.
3-5 There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
6-8 Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.
9-11 Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way. If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we're at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life! Now that we have actually received this amazing friendship with God, we are no longer content to simply say it in plodding prose. We sing and shout our praises to God through Jesus, the Messiah!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
OzThoughts - Wednesday 19th August 2009.
OzThoughts - Wednesday 19th August 2009.
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
13children born not of natural descent,[3] nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. (John 1: 12,13. New International Version).
Or as The Message has it:
But whoever did want him, who believed he was who he claimed and would do what he said, He made to be their true selves, their child-of-God selves.
13These are the God-begotten, not blood-begotten, not flesh-begotten, not sex-begotten. (John 1:12,13. The Message).
There is a wonder in all this. In the Old Testament times, the Children of Israel knew they were the chosen of God and they looked forward to His promise. They traced their special relationship back to their forefathers, who had entered into a Covenant with God. They knew God as the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob. They came to understand that this was the God who spoke to Moses and through Moses enabled them to be freed from slavery and move through the wilderness towards the land he had promised them.
So the story of the Old Testament continues of a struggle by God’s people to stay faithful to Him and to reap the benefits of this special relationship when it was going well and punishment when it went bad.
The writer to the Hebrews understands the new way of God. It is good to read the whole book to understand the new and living way better. However, the Hebrews begins:
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,
2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
3The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Hebrews 1: 1-3 NIV).
That’s the wonder of it all. God has given us his Son Jesus and through Jesus we are children of God. What a wonderful relationship that is.
PRAYER:
Thank you again, Father God for Jesus! I thank you for our wonderful new relationship through Him. It seems I am a Prince in your Household. Father, thanks again for all the good things you give to me. Help me to share all this with others, through Jesus. Amen.
MEDITATION:
[Listen: Piano (Anne Walker) : http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_245.mp3
My Father is rich in houses and lands,
He holdeth the wealth of the world in his hands;
Of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold,
His coffers are full, he has riches untold.
Chorus
I'm the child of a King;
I'm the child of a King;
With Jesus my Saviour,
I'm the child of a King!
My Father's own Son, the Saviour of men,
Once wandered on earth as the poorest of them,
But now he is reigning for ever on high
And will give me a home in Heaven by and by.
I once was an outcast, a stranger on earth.
A sinner by choice, and an alien by birth;
But I've been adopted, my name's written down
An heir to a mansion, a robe and a crown.
A tent or a cottage, why should I care'?
They're building a palace for me over there;
Though exiled from home, yet still I may sing:
All glory to God, I'm the child of a King.
Author: Harriet Eugenia Peck Buell (1834-1910)
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 354
1 John 3 (The Message)
1What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it--we're called children of God! That's who we really are. But that's also why the world doesn't recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he's up to.
2But friends, that's exactly who we are: children of God. And that's only the beginning. Who knows how we'll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we'll see him--and in seeing him, become like him.
3All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus' life as a model for our own.
4All who indulge in a sinful life are dangerously lawless, for sin is a major disruption of God's order.
5Surely you know that Christ showed up in order to get rid of sin. There is no sin in him, and sin is not part of his program.
6No one who lives deeply in Christ makes a practice of sin. None of those who do practice sin have taken a good look at Christ. They've got him all backwards.
7So, my dear children, don't let anyone divert you from the truth. It's the person who acts right who is right, just as we see it lived out in our righteous Messiah.
8Those who make a practice of sin are straight from the Devil, the pioneer in the practice of sin. The Son of God entered the scene to abolish the Devil's ways.
9People conceived and brought into life by God don't make a practice of sin. How could they? God's seed is deep within them, making them who they are. It's not in the nature of the God-begotten to practice and parade sin.
10Here's how you tell the difference between God's children and the Devil's children: The one who won't practice righteous ways isn't from God, nor is the one who won't love brother or sister. A simple test.
```````````````````````````````
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/
Subscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
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Writer (Only): OzThoughts@yahoo.com.au
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
13children born not of natural descent,[3] nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. (John 1: 12,13. New International Version).
Or as The Message has it:
But whoever did want him, who believed he was who he claimed and would do what he said, He made to be their true selves, their child-of-God selves.
13These are the God-begotten, not blood-begotten, not flesh-begotten, not sex-begotten. (John 1:12,13. The Message).
There is a wonder in all this. In the Old Testament times, the Children of Israel knew they were the chosen of God and they looked forward to His promise. They traced their special relationship back to their forefathers, who had entered into a Covenant with God. They knew God as the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob. They came to understand that this was the God who spoke to Moses and through Moses enabled them to be freed from slavery and move through the wilderness towards the land he had promised them.
So the story of the Old Testament continues of a struggle by God’s people to stay faithful to Him and to reap the benefits of this special relationship when it was going well and punishment when it went bad.
The writer to the Hebrews understands the new way of God. It is good to read the whole book to understand the new and living way better. However, the Hebrews begins:
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,
2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
3The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Hebrews 1: 1-3 NIV).
That’s the wonder of it all. God has given us his Son Jesus and through Jesus we are children of God. What a wonderful relationship that is.
PRAYER:
Thank you again, Father God for Jesus! I thank you for our wonderful new relationship through Him. It seems I am a Prince in your Household. Father, thanks again for all the good things you give to me. Help me to share all this with others, through Jesus. Amen.
MEDITATION:
[Listen: Piano (Anne Walker) : http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_245.mp3
My Father is rich in houses and lands,
He holdeth the wealth of the world in his hands;
Of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold,
His coffers are full, he has riches untold.
Chorus
I'm the child of a King;
I'm the child of a King;
With Jesus my Saviour,
I'm the child of a King!
My Father's own Son, the Saviour of men,
Once wandered on earth as the poorest of them,
But now he is reigning for ever on high
And will give me a home in Heaven by and by.
I once was an outcast, a stranger on earth.
A sinner by choice, and an alien by birth;
But I've been adopted, my name's written down
An heir to a mansion, a robe and a crown.
A tent or a cottage, why should I care'?
They're building a palace for me over there;
Though exiled from home, yet still I may sing:
All glory to God, I'm the child of a King.
Author: Harriet Eugenia Peck Buell (1834-1910)
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 354
1 John 3 (The Message)
1What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it--we're called children of God! That's who we really are. But that's also why the world doesn't recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he's up to.
2But friends, that's exactly who we are: children of God. And that's only the beginning. Who knows how we'll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we'll see him--and in seeing him, become like him.
3All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus' life as a model for our own.
4All who indulge in a sinful life are dangerously lawless, for sin is a major disruption of God's order.
5Surely you know that Christ showed up in order to get rid of sin. There is no sin in him, and sin is not part of his program.
6No one who lives deeply in Christ makes a practice of sin. None of those who do practice sin have taken a good look at Christ. They've got him all backwards.
7So, my dear children, don't let anyone divert you from the truth. It's the person who acts right who is right, just as we see it lived out in our righteous Messiah.
8Those who make a practice of sin are straight from the Devil, the pioneer in the practice of sin. The Son of God entered the scene to abolish the Devil's ways.
9People conceived and brought into life by God don't make a practice of sin. How could they? God's seed is deep within them, making them who they are. It's not in the nature of the God-begotten to practice and parade sin.
10Here's how you tell the difference between God's children and the Devil's children: The one who won't practice righteous ways isn't from God, nor is the one who won't love brother or sister. A simple test.
```````````````````````````````
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/
Subscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
Unsubscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
OzThoughts
Writer (Only): OzThoughts@yahoo.com.au
Monday, August 17, 2009
OzThoughts – Tuesday 18th August 2009.
OzThoughts – Tuesday 18th August 2009.
What does God want of us? We can see a great crowd of examples of God’s interaction with people in the Bible. God had individual missions for many. Some he had tests he put them to first.
Abraham was a good example. In such a long life we do not see many incidents and his story in Genesis is certainly not a biography. We do see the key points of his interaction with God. One of these surely is god commanding him to take his son, Isaac and offer him as a burnt sacrifice on an altar (Genesis 22). The passing of the test and God providing a ram for sacrifice comes as a challenge to us to explore our commitment to God.
Jesus challenged many to look at their relationship. I think of the rich young man who came. Jesus told him to sort out his priorities. He need to sell the things he trusteed in and give the money to the poor then come and follow him (Mark 10.22). I think of Nicodemus, a leader of the community, Jesus told him he must begin again (be born again) with a new faith in God that was conceived by God not man (John 3). To the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well, Jesus told her that there was more to life than the daily ritual of drawing water and seeking a fulfilment in human relationships and cultural spiritual comforts. Jesus told her to worship in spirit and in truth and she did ! (John 4).
PRAYER:
Heavenly father, may I know that I am in a right and truthful relationship with you. Help me to see today more clearly the path you would have me walk with you. Amen.
MEDITATION:
Come, Holy Spirit, thou guest of the soul,
Make thine abode in me;
Bring in the calm thy sweet presence bestows,
Let me thy temple be.
Come to my heart today,
Come to my heart today,
Rekindle the glow and the glory bestow,
Come to my heart today.
2.
Come, Holy Spirit, companion divine,
Walk with me in life's way;
By thy rich fellowship confidence give,
Walk thou with me today.
Walk thou with me today,
Walk thou with me today,
Rekindle the glow and the glory bestow,
Walk thou with me today.
3.
Come, Holy Spirit, thy guidance we crave;
Speak out thy will we pray;
We would be sensitive to thy control;
Speak to our hearts today.
Speak to our hearts today,
Speak to our hearts today,
Rekindle the glow and the glory bestow,
Speak to our hearts today.
Author: Albert E. Mingay
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 209
Hebrews 12 (The Message – Selected verses)
1Do you see what this means--all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running--and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins.
2Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed--that exhilarating finish in and with God--he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.
3When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
4In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through--all that bloodshed!
5So don't feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?
My dear child, don't shrug off God's discipline,
but don't be crushed by it either.
6It's the child he loves that he disciplines;
the child he embraces, he also corrects.
7God is educating you; that's why you must never drop out. He's treating you as dear children. This trouble you're in isn't punishment; it's training,
`````````````````````````````````
12So don't sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet!
13Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it!
14Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you'll never get so much as a glimpse of God.
15Make sure no one gets left out of God's generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time. 16Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God's lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite.
17You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God's blessing--but by then it was too late, tears or no tears.
An Unshakable Kingdom
18Unlike your ancestors, you didn't come to Mount Sinai--all that volcanic blaze and earthshaking rumble-- 19to hear God speak. The earsplitting words and soul-shaking message terrified them and they begged him to stop.
`````````````````````````````````````
22No, that's not your experience at all. You've come to Mount Zion, the city where the living God resides. The invisible Jerusalem is populated by throngs of festive angels 23and Christian citizens. It is the city where God is Judge, with judgments that make us just.
24You've come to Jesus, who presents us with a new covenant, a fresh charter from God. He is the Mediator of this covenant. The murder of Jesus, unlike Abel's--a homicide that cried out for vengeance--became a proclamation of grace.
25So don't turn a deaf ear to these gracious words. If those who ignored earthly warnings didn't get away with it, what will happen to us if we turn our backs on heavenly warnings?
26His voice that time shook the earth to its foundations; this time--he's told us this quite plainly--he'll also rock the heavens: "One last shaking, from top to bottom, stem to stern."
27The phrase "one last shaking" means a thorough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered.
28Do you see what we've got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander.
29He's actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won't quit until it's all cleansed. God himself is Fire!
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
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/
Subscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
Unsubscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
OzThoughts
Writer (Only): OzThoughts@yahoo.com.au
What does God want of us? We can see a great crowd of examples of God’s interaction with people in the Bible. God had individual missions for many. Some he had tests he put them to first.
Abraham was a good example. In such a long life we do not see many incidents and his story in Genesis is certainly not a biography. We do see the key points of his interaction with God. One of these surely is god commanding him to take his son, Isaac and offer him as a burnt sacrifice on an altar (Genesis 22). The passing of the test and God providing a ram for sacrifice comes as a challenge to us to explore our commitment to God.
Jesus challenged many to look at their relationship. I think of the rich young man who came. Jesus told him to sort out his priorities. He need to sell the things he trusteed in and give the money to the poor then come and follow him (Mark 10.22). I think of Nicodemus, a leader of the community, Jesus told him he must begin again (be born again) with a new faith in God that was conceived by God not man (John 3). To the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well, Jesus told her that there was more to life than the daily ritual of drawing water and seeking a fulfilment in human relationships and cultural spiritual comforts. Jesus told her to worship in spirit and in truth and she did ! (John 4).
PRAYER:
Heavenly father, may I know that I am in a right and truthful relationship with you. Help me to see today more clearly the path you would have me walk with you. Amen.
MEDITATION:
Come, Holy Spirit, thou guest of the soul,
Make thine abode in me;
Bring in the calm thy sweet presence bestows,
Let me thy temple be.
Come to my heart today,
Come to my heart today,
Rekindle the glow and the glory bestow,
Come to my heart today.
2.
Come, Holy Spirit, companion divine,
Walk with me in life's way;
By thy rich fellowship confidence give,
Walk thou with me today.
Walk thou with me today,
Walk thou with me today,
Rekindle the glow and the glory bestow,
Walk thou with me today.
3.
Come, Holy Spirit, thy guidance we crave;
Speak out thy will we pray;
We would be sensitive to thy control;
Speak to our hearts today.
Speak to our hearts today,
Speak to our hearts today,
Rekindle the glow and the glory bestow,
Speak to our hearts today.
Author: Albert E. Mingay
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: 209
Hebrews 12 (The Message – Selected verses)
1Do you see what this means--all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running--and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins.
2Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed--that exhilarating finish in and with God--he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.
3When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
4In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through--all that bloodshed!
5So don't feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?
My dear child, don't shrug off God's discipline,
but don't be crushed by it either.
6It's the child he loves that he disciplines;
the child he embraces, he also corrects.
7God is educating you; that's why you must never drop out. He's treating you as dear children. This trouble you're in isn't punishment; it's training,
`````````````````````````````````
12So don't sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet!
13Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it!
14Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you'll never get so much as a glimpse of God.
15Make sure no one gets left out of God's generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time. 16Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God's lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite.
17You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God's blessing--but by then it was too late, tears or no tears.
An Unshakable Kingdom
18Unlike your ancestors, you didn't come to Mount Sinai--all that volcanic blaze and earthshaking rumble-- 19to hear God speak. The earsplitting words and soul-shaking message terrified them and they begged him to stop.
`````````````````````````````````````
22No, that's not your experience at all. You've come to Mount Zion, the city where the living God resides. The invisible Jerusalem is populated by throngs of festive angels 23and Christian citizens. It is the city where God is Judge, with judgments that make us just.
24You've come to Jesus, who presents us with a new covenant, a fresh charter from God. He is the Mediator of this covenant. The murder of Jesus, unlike Abel's--a homicide that cried out for vengeance--became a proclamation of grace.
25So don't turn a deaf ear to these gracious words. If those who ignored earthly warnings didn't get away with it, what will happen to us if we turn our backs on heavenly warnings?
26His voice that time shook the earth to its foundations; this time--he's told us this quite plainly--he'll also rock the heavens: "One last shaking, from top to bottom, stem to stern."
27The phrase "one last shaking" means a thorough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered.
28Do you see what we've got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander.
29He's actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won't quit until it's all cleansed. God himself is Fire!
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
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/
Subscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
Unsubscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
OzThoughts
Writer (Only): OzThoughts@yahoo.com.au
Saturday, August 15, 2009
OzThoughts - Sunday Hymns and Psalms. Sunday 16th August 2009
OzThoughts - Sunday Hymns and Psalms. Sunday 16th August 2009
This day belongs to the LORD!
Let's celebrate
and be glad today.
(Psalm 118:24 Contemporary English Version)
Psalm 1 (The Message)
1How well God must like you— you don't hang out at Sin Saloon,
You don't slink along Dead-End Road,
you don't go to Smart-Mouth College.
2-3 Instead you thrill to GOD's Word,
you chew on Scripture day and night.
You're a tree replanted in Eden,
bearing fresh fruit every month,
Never dropping a leaf,
always in blossom.
4-5 You're not at all like the wicked,
who are mere windblown dust—
Without defense in court,
unfit company for innocent people.
6 GOD charts the road you take.
The road they take is Skid Row.
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: Song Number: 656
Authors: Will J. Brand (1889-1977)
[Listen: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_1595.mp3
Note: The band music (St Catherine) concludes with the tune of the chorus: “Yes, Jesus loves me: The Bible tells me so”.
Set forth within the sacred word
The path of life is plainly shown;
The ways of God its lines record,
For every soul of man made known.
The truth, of all our hopes the ground,
Is here within its pages found.
God's ample grace for fallen man,
His care for our eternal good,
The depth of his salvation plan,
The doctrine of atoning blood,
The Scriptures' living words express
And point the way to holiness.
But how shall we that truth declare,
Thy grace, thy love, thy beauty show?
Only as we thy nature wear
Shall men that nature truly know;
And as we walk with thee abroad
They shall perceive the mind of God.
So teach us, Lord, to use each power
As we the doctrine shall adorn,
That truth and grace shall spring to flower
In lives renewed and souls reborn;
As we to all the world unfold
The glory of the faith we hold.
Psalm 24 (The Message)
A David Psalm
1-2 GOD claims Earth and everything in it,
GOD claims World and all who live on it.
He built it on Ocean foundations,
laid it out on River girders.
3-4 Who can climb Mount GOD?
Who can scale the holy north-face?
Only the clean-handed,
only the pure-hearted;
Men who won't cheat,
women who won't seduce.
5-6 GOD is at their side;
with GOD's help they make it.
This, Jacob, is what happens
to God-seekers, God-questers.
7 Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
King-Glory is ready to enter.
8 Who is this King-Glory?
GOD, armed
and battle-ready.
9 Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
King-Glory is ready to enter.
10 Who is this King-Glory?
GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies:
he is King-Glory.
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: Song Number: 529
Authors: Arch R. Wiggins (1893-1976)
[ Listen: Male Voice: (Tune: Finlandia - http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_1594.mp3
Band (Tune Finlandia ) : http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_592.mp3 ]
Thou art the way, none other dare I follow;
Thou art the truth, and thou hast made me free;
Thou art the life, the hope of my tomorrow;
Thou art the Christ who died for me.
This is my creed, that 'mid earth's sin and sorrow,
My life may guide men unto thee.
2.
Hold thou my feet, let there be no returning
Along the path which thou hast bid me tread;
Train thou my mind, I would be ever learning
The better way thy fame to spread;
Keep thou my heart ablaze with holy burning
That love for souls may ne'er be dead.
3.
I would bring peace to lives now torn asunder,
Ease aching hearts with words that soothe and heal;
I would bring peace when, breaking like the thunder,
Men rise in war, and hatred feel.
Peacemaker, Lord! Now I am stirred to wonder;
O take me, and my calling seal!
Prayer:
May God, who puts all things together,
makes all things whole,
Who made a lasting mark through the sacrifice of Jesus,
the sacrifice of blood that sealed the eternal covenant,
Who led Jesus, our Great Shepherd,
up and alive from the dead,
Now put you together, provide you
with everything you need to please him,
Make us into what gives him most pleasure,
by means of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Messiah.
All glory to Jesus forever and always!
Oh, yes, yes, yes. (Hebrews 13:20-21 The Message)
Listen for enjoyment and inspiration : Band and Songsters:
“How great Thou art !”
http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_321.mp3
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OzThoughtsInternetMinistry@yahoogroups.com.au; salvationarmy3@yahoogroups.com; phantomfan46@hotmail.com, robyn.collins@aue.salvationarmy.org; Vicki.Clarke@aue.salvationarmy.org, heidinordhagen@hotmail.com; dgodby@tpg.com.au; gahworks@tpg.com.au; lyall.reese@aue.salvationarmy.org, vicwarren@optusnet.com.au; a.bentham@bigpond.com; pengellyjr@optusnet.com.au; Yvonne.henderson@aue.salvationarmy.org; baileysm@bigpond.com; cfagence@bigpond.net.au; scotte@au.ibm.com; tord4@smartchat.net.au; kevdigrice@aol.com; russell.grice@aue.salvationarmy.org; june.grice@aue.salvationarmy.org; skgrice@bigpond.com; dgutteridge@goldcoast.qld.gov.au; sandra@patchworkeasyas.com; jorgos5@bigpond.net.au; jeandhdl@onthenet.com.au; randcluhrs@yahoo.com.au; juliemccorriston@hotmail.com; maureenmac@gcmanors.com; rohannancarrow@hotmail.com; nelly1947@yahoo.com.au; kay.nelson@aue.salvationarmy.org; william.nutter@bigpond.com; bjp@swiftdsl.com.au; margaretpotter51@hotmail.com; shane.robb@aep.salvationarmy.org; sjrobb@austarnet.com.au; cats4ever7@bigpond.com; saunders_janice@hotmail.com; rodnree@dodo.com.au; ronjudy2@bigpond.net.au; brian.surch@aue.salvationarmy.org; brian.murl@hotmail.com; surchus@yahoo.com.au; lyndel.surch@nrm.qld.gov.au; suesurch@hotmail.com; surcham@yahoo.com.au; r.tomlinson@griffith.edu.au; tom_chelle@hotmail.com; rhonavel@yahoo.com.au; tracey.schutz@aue.salvationarmy.org; gfy@aapt.net.au; nicole_moroney@yahoo.com.au; angela.marston@aue.salvationarmy.org; narelle.packer@sunwater.com.au; lauriee.arthur@aue.salvationarmy.org; paul.arthur@aue.salvationarmy.org; debbieanderson@aapt.net.au; gordon.shaw@live.com; robthomas31@aapt.net.au; vicki.whybird@deewr.gov.au; mountnathan@bigpond.com; daburno@gotalk.net.au; gillypops40@hotmail.co.au
Thank you for your prayers and support for OzThoughts Internet Ministry.
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This day belongs to the LORD!
Let's celebrate
and be glad today.
(Psalm 118:24 Contemporary English Version)
Psalm 1 (The Message)
1How well God must like you— you don't hang out at Sin Saloon,
You don't slink along Dead-End Road,
you don't go to Smart-Mouth College.
2-3 Instead you thrill to GOD's Word,
you chew on Scripture day and night.
You're a tree replanted in Eden,
bearing fresh fruit every month,
Never dropping a leaf,
always in blossom.
4-5 You're not at all like the wicked,
who are mere windblown dust—
Without defense in court,
unfit company for innocent people.
6 GOD charts the road you take.
The road they take is Skid Row.
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: Song Number: 656
Authors: Will J. Brand (1889-1977)
[Listen: http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_1595.mp3
Note: The band music (St Catherine) concludes with the tune of the chorus: “Yes, Jesus loves me: The Bible tells me so”.
Set forth within the sacred word
The path of life is plainly shown;
The ways of God its lines record,
For every soul of man made known.
The truth, of all our hopes the ground,
Is here within its pages found.
God's ample grace for fallen man,
His care for our eternal good,
The depth of his salvation plan,
The doctrine of atoning blood,
The Scriptures' living words express
And point the way to holiness.
But how shall we that truth declare,
Thy grace, thy love, thy beauty show?
Only as we thy nature wear
Shall men that nature truly know;
And as we walk with thee abroad
They shall perceive the mind of God.
So teach us, Lord, to use each power
As we the doctrine shall adorn,
That truth and grace shall spring to flower
In lives renewed and souls reborn;
As we to all the world unfold
The glory of the faith we hold.
Psalm 24 (The Message)
A David Psalm
1-2 GOD claims Earth and everything in it,
GOD claims World and all who live on it.
He built it on Ocean foundations,
laid it out on River girders.
3-4 Who can climb Mount GOD?
Who can scale the holy north-face?
Only the clean-handed,
only the pure-hearted;
Men who won't cheat,
women who won't seduce.
5-6 GOD is at their side;
with GOD's help they make it.
This, Jacob, is what happens
to God-seekers, God-questers.
7 Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
King-Glory is ready to enter.
8 Who is this King-Glory?
GOD, armed
and battle-ready.
9 Wake up, you sleepyhead city!
Wake up, you sleepyhead people!
King-Glory is ready to enter.
10 Who is this King-Glory?
GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies:
he is King-Glory.
The Salvation Army Song Book: Song Number: Song Number: 529
Authors: Arch R. Wiggins (1893-1976)
[ Listen: Male Voice: (Tune: Finlandia - http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_1594.mp3
Band (Tune Finlandia ) : http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_592.mp3 ]
Thou art the way, none other dare I follow;
Thou art the truth, and thou hast made me free;
Thou art the life, the hope of my tomorrow;
Thou art the Christ who died for me.
This is my creed, that 'mid earth's sin and sorrow,
My life may guide men unto thee.
2.
Hold thou my feet, let there be no returning
Along the path which thou hast bid me tread;
Train thou my mind, I would be ever learning
The better way thy fame to spread;
Keep thou my heart ablaze with holy burning
That love for souls may ne'er be dead.
3.
I would bring peace to lives now torn asunder,
Ease aching hearts with words that soothe and heal;
I would bring peace when, breaking like the thunder,
Men rise in war, and hatred feel.
Peacemaker, Lord! Now I am stirred to wonder;
O take me, and my calling seal!
Prayer:
May God, who puts all things together,
makes all things whole,
Who made a lasting mark through the sacrifice of Jesus,
the sacrifice of blood that sealed the eternal covenant,
Who led Jesus, our Great Shepherd,
up and alive from the dead,
Now put you together, provide you
with everything you need to please him,
Make us into what gives him most pleasure,
by means of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Messiah.
All glory to Jesus forever and always!
Oh, yes, yes, yes. (Hebrews 13:20-21 The Message)
Listen for enjoyment and inspiration : Band and Songsters:
“How great Thou art !”
http://www.salvoaudio.com/audio/music/mus_321.mp3
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OzThoughtsInternetMinistry@yahoogroups.com.au; salvationarmy3@yahoogroups.com; phantomfan46@hotmail.com, robyn.collins@aue.salvationarmy.org; Vicki.Clarke@aue.salvationarmy.org, heidinordhagen@hotmail.com; dgodby@tpg.com.au; gahworks@tpg.com.au; lyall.reese@aue.salvationarmy.org, vicwarren@optusnet.com.au; a.bentham@bigpond.com; pengellyjr@optusnet.com.au; Yvonne.henderson@aue.salvationarmy.org; baileysm@bigpond.com; cfagence@bigpond.net.au; scotte@au.ibm.com; tord4@smartchat.net.au; kevdigrice@aol.com; russell.grice@aue.salvationarmy.org; june.grice@aue.salvationarmy.org; skgrice@bigpond.com; dgutteridge@goldcoast.qld.gov.au; sandra@patchworkeasyas.com; jorgos5@bigpond.net.au; jeandhdl@onthenet.com.au; randcluhrs@yahoo.com.au; juliemccorriston@hotmail.com; maureenmac@gcmanors.com; rohannancarrow@hotmail.com; nelly1947@yahoo.com.au; kay.nelson@aue.salvationarmy.org; william.nutter@bigpond.com; bjp@swiftdsl.com.au; margaretpotter51@hotmail.com; shane.robb@aep.salvationarmy.org; sjrobb@austarnet.com.au; cats4ever7@bigpond.com; saunders_janice@hotmail.com; rodnree@dodo.com.au; ronjudy2@bigpond.net.au; brian.surch@aue.salvationarmy.org; brian.murl@hotmail.com; surchus@yahoo.com.au; lyndel.surch@nrm.qld.gov.au; suesurch@hotmail.com; surcham@yahoo.com.au; r.tomlinson@griffith.edu.au; tom_chelle@hotmail.com; rhonavel@yahoo.com.au; tracey.schutz@aue.salvationarmy.org; gfy@aapt.net.au; nicole_moroney@yahoo.com.au; angela.marston@aue.salvationarmy.org; narelle.packer@sunwater.com.au; lauriee.arthur@aue.salvationarmy.org; paul.arthur@aue.salvationarmy.org; debbieanderson@aapt.net.au; gordon.shaw@live.com; robthomas31@aapt.net.au; vicki.whybird@deewr.gov.au; mountnathan@bigpond.com; daburno@gotalk.net.au; gillypops40@hotmail.co.au
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).
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You can also receive OzThoughts from the following group which you are welcome to join:
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Subscribe: OzThoughtsInternetMinistry-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au
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