In Christ alone..

A couple of years back I brought a new song worship CD. Rather than rush to put on the CD, I thought I would take a wee look a the words to see if any of the songs stuck me as one I wanted to learn. At this point I had never heard of the song In Christ Alone but the words of the song struck me. It speaks to us about Christ, his life and death and ressurection. It has spoken to many folks as they have gone through difficulty. In recent iraq war, it spoke to a soldier who was going through the pain, emotion of the war. As I have written these posts over these past days, the final verse of this song kept coming to mind. I have underlined a phrase here.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, No scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from his hand;
Til he returns or calls me home.
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand!

Stuart Townend & Keith Getty, 2001

Wow these are amazing words and worth remembering! Lets turn back to praise!

A Beautiful Transformation is coming soon!

This headline from a interflora junk email subject line! They had emailed to let me know that they were under going a beautiful transformation in their range of gifts etc and that they would keep me informed in a hope that I might order!!!!!!!!!
Anyway when we come to God, boldy approaching that throne room - I know that I am under construction - I am being changed being made ready for glory - God is working a beautiful transformation.

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Thank God for Creation

A way back we had a wee series of pictures entitled God's creation. What can we Jot down as a promise? Our God is the creator God and if you look out and around at all creation God is the creater. This time the picture is from Italy and it is the Dolomites which are in the North Italy. Morven, Catriona & I will be somewhere near when we go to Italy in October. There will probably be more pictures from italy later on in October so you will have to wait a wee while.

Isaiah 40:27-31
Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God"? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

JOT-A-PROMISE

Just as I posted the last post - I had a thought - Why not JOT-A-PROMISE? What do I mean by this? Write down on a "sticky" or a scribble pad something about who God is and stick it somewhere you might see it! So whenever you see this promise you can turn back to praise......

Has God Forgotten You?

Sometimes we get that feeling when we come to him in prayer. The young women in Philip yancey quote had a wee niggle I wonder if God is really hearing me? She was resassured that God hadnt forgotten. Came across these couples of verses:

Isaiah 49:14-16

But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me." "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.

The baby is so dependent on her mother for that loving care in those early days. NO matter where that mother is she cannot forget him/her even long after the baby begins to get independent and having to make their own choices. They call it "mother instinct". For some this verse is difficult to handle for they know that their own mother has seemed to forget about them and neglected them. But take encouragement from this verse Gods compassion for you remains the same! He will never forget about you!
Did you ever get in trouble for writing on your hand? Well it is still something I do. For some it serves as a reminder. Again we see that zions name is engraven on his hands. It cannot be removed.

In the difficult times remind yourself afresh God is interested in you. He is a good and faithful God. Lets turn back to praise...........

Just be yoursel in prayer

Are you yourself in your daily communication with God? A couple of things have reminded me about this recently. Heard a sermon recently on Psalm 42. Preacher suggested that it was important that we are honest with God - if we are feeling good we should say we are feeling good and if we are feeling bad again we should Lord I'm feeling bad about a particular situation. I have been reading Philip Yancey's Prayer Does it make any difference?

Philip Yancey brings to us a story about a young women and honesty:


"I was teaching a class at a church in chicago when a young woman raised her hand witha question. I knew her as a shy, conscientious student who attended faithfully but never spoke. The rest of the class seemed surprised as well, and listened attentively. ' I'm not always sincere when I pray,' She began. 'Sometimes it seems forced more like a ritual. I'm just repeating words. Does God repeat those prayers? Should I keep going even though I have no confidence I have no confidence I'm doing right?'
I let the silence hang around the room for a moment before attempting an answer. 'Do you notice how quiet around it is in here?' I said. 'We all sense your honestly. It took courage for you to be vulnerable and you touched a nerve with the others of us in the room. You seemed sincere, unlike a salesman, say who gets paid to give a spiel. We tuned in, listening, respectful, becuase you are authentic. And I imagine it's the same with God God wants your authentic self'"
Taken from Philip Yancey Prayer: Does it make a difference, chapter 3, p31

William Sinclair's Baptists

At the end of the last month had a post entitled Small beginnings and on there was a picture of Keiss Baptist Church. This work was started by the landowner William Sinclair and Brian has posted a post on Sir William Sinclair on Highland Praise. You can also view more pictures on http://www.caithness.org/atoz/churches/photogallery/thumbs.htm?0?0 (copy & paste into browser)

Nooma's "Noise"

Hi guys,
have been aware of this series entitled Nooma for a while but not had the opportunity to see one. It is a ten minute devotional presentation whichs speaks into a particular life issue. The speaker on each is Rob Bell, the founding pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church. About three months ago I had a post which was entitled God Speaks Through Silence . The Nooma entitled Noise addresses this issue precisely. At beginning of the presentation you get a short talk on Noise and how it is a part of our everyday life. Silence isnt something we can easily deal with but this is where God speaks often. Rob appeals to Elijah - God didnt speak to him through the things he expected but God was in the silence - He spoke through the silence. The rest of time, there is no sound and the message comes up on type on the screen. I thought it helped teach on silence but not only that with it being demonstrated on the DVD, I felt it would help to put it into action.

The Assurance ~ 1 John 5:14-15

This is a new verses for this week or so. What does these verses say to you? what do they mean for your daily communication with God.

1 John 5:14-15

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us-- whatever we ask-- we know that we have what we asked of him.

Pray for Scotland's connecting Scotland

Scotland as ever needs prayer! Pray for Scotland, a national prayer network are planning a National prayer walk in 2007 running from the 8th April to the 27th April. They have just recently launched their website & have entitled this initative "Connecting Scotland"
To find out more about it & how you can get involved click here

PrayerFirst

A new blog started in June 2006 which has an emphasis on prayer hence the name Prayer First. To discover for yourself click here

What are the wicked & evil man to do?

What does the following verse say to you?

Isaiah 55:7
Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD and he will have mercy on him, and to our God for he will freely pardon.

Seeking & Calling

What does the following Verse say to you? (please reply with your comments)

Isaiah 55:6
Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.