Est.

 I suppose one might almost expect it of Charles Wesley; apparently he wrote a few poems or hymns on the occasions of his birthday (one for his wife's birthday too!)  1 Away with our fears, The glad morning appears, When an heir of salvation was born! From Jehovah I came, For his glory I am, And to him I with singing return. 2 Thee, Jesus, alone, The fountain I own Of my life and felicity here: And cheerfully sing My Redeemer and King, Till his signs in the heav'ns appear. 3 With thanks I rejoice In thy fatherly choice Of my state and condition below; If of parents I came Who honour'd thy name, 'Twas thy wisdom appointed it so. 4 I sing of thy grace, From my earliest days, Ever near to allure and defend; Hitherto thou hast been My preserver from sin, And I trust thou wilt save to the end. 5 O the infinite cares And temptations and snares Thy hand hath conducted me through! O the blessings bestow'd By a bountiful God, And the mercies eternally new! 6 What a mercy is ...

 I wonder if you've ever felt like this? I think it's probably that way for all believers at some point... I find it encouraging anyway. I hope you do too.   by James Smith  "I am cast down!" And why are you cast down? "My heart is burdened with a sense of my short-comings! Every duty I perform is so imperfect. Every purpose I form is so soon frustrated. Every hope of seeing better days is so soon beclouded. My heart is so fearfully depraved. My life is so unlike the life of Jesus. My temper is so unholy. My prayers are so brief and heartless. My praises are so feeble and fitful. I do so little good. I live to so little purpose. My evidences are so dim. My prospects are so overcast. I am harassed sometimes with the fear of death. I cannot realize the glories of Heaven. I am dissatisfied with the world — and yet glued to it! I hate sin — and yet fall into it! I am a riddle, a mystery, a mass of inconsistency! Is it, then, any wonder that I am cast down?" No, ...

 Men are deficient in mercy — but God, our God in Jesus, will display the greatest kindness and compassion to His children. This renders Him so amiable, suitable, and glorious in the estimation of His people. Mercy is God's sweetest attribute . . .   as beautiful as the morning light,   as measureless as the waters of the ocean,   as boundless as illimitable space,   as refreshing as the early dew,   as glorious as the noon-day sun! God's mercy is like His nature — pure, lovely, and eternal. His mercy is suited to all the needs of His children — it is free, full, and meets every case! Christian, the Lord assures you that He has mercy for you! He has pardoning mercy — which will suit your sinfulness; mercy which will blot out your sins, and remove them from you as far as the east is from the west! He has delivering mercy — which will meet your misery; mercy which will deliver you from . . .    the power of sin,    the bondage of Satan, ...

  https://youtu.be/krA83x6jGng Here's the latest song I wrote and recorded, stemming from a few conversations and sermon snippets... As the days are getting darker, we need to be reminded to look up for our Redeemer is coming quickly!  Thank You Heavenly Father for the blessed hope!! I hope you are blessed and encouraged.  

Reading through the book of Matthew this morning, I came across this little phrase that struck me...  "But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?”"  The Lord looked with love on the one who was betraying Him.  Obviously we cannot hear the tone in which the Lord spoke it but what tender compassion He displayed for the man who was by that time personally indwelt by the enemy. How amazing that our Saviour would condescend to call any human "friend" but at that moment in those circumstances is past comprehension! He knew the depths of depravity and He still chose such a gracious loving response!!  I don't think I've ever suffered betrayal, but knowing our human nature I would imagine I would not feel at all kindly towards a betrayer. Only recorded in Matthew's account, Mark and John say nothing of Jesus's words to Judas in the garden of Gethsemane, while Luke recorded another equally challenging sentence, "But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are ...

I searched some sites and found all these quotes from Alan Redpath. I know very little about him but nearly all of these greatly encouraged me in some way.  I hope you are also blessed, challenged and encouraged.  (This first one is abridged to make it more personal.)  "God expects nothing from (insert your name here) but failure. We are no different today from the day before we were converted. We would be capable of committing any sin imaginable but for the grace of God. We are no different as people from what we were as youngsters. And the sins that beset us then beset us now, were it not for a constant, continual dependence upon the blood of Jesus, and the grace of God, and the power of the Holy Ghost to keep us.  As long as I seek by His grace to maintain the attitude of committal and surrender to Him, then every demand, however unexpected or grim, hard, tough; every decision, however difficult; every temptation, every fierce dart of the Enemy of my soul is an at...

 Abundant mercy, praise His Name, For His gift we don't deserve. Glorious salvation, through His blood. God has been so good to us! Obey His statutes, keep His Word, In your life, He'll be glorified. Choose to walk His way, He will give you strength,  Rejoice in Him all your days.  Beloved, accepted, child of God, By His Grace, He has set you free So be diligent to be found in peace By the Lord Who reigns over all. Reserved in Heaven, kept for us; An inheritance undefiled. He has granted us this living hope. Blessed be our Heavenly King!

 "Heaven is a wonderful place Filled with Glory and Grace I want to see my Saviour's face Heaven is a wonderful place." (written by Debby Kerner & Ernie Rettino)  I remember hearing this chorus as a child and singing along.  I think it means more to me now than it did then.  I'm also looking forward to seeing again the faces of the dear saints I knew and loved who are already experiencing the joy of seeing the Lord Jesus Christ face to face.  As I looked through many references about Heaven, I was encouraged.  He is the One who keeps us and has reserved a place for us.  (I had only heard this partially quoted previously; I'm glad I found the fuller version as I find it encouraging and hope you do too.)  There are many things we don't know, but we do know that Heaven is wonderful. How could it not be when we remember Who created it? His Name is Wonderful so everything He does must also be wonderful! (even though it might not always feel like th...

 For many, 2021 has not been a happy year, but rather an extremely difficult one. While there are no guarantees 2022 will be any happier, we who have trusted in the LORD Jesus Christ have the assurance that our life and times are in His hands, and that is the safest place for everything.  We can rest in His faithfulness and rejoice that our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. We can remember how He has shown us His goodness numerous times and we should always praise Him for His great mercy and grace, as without these, we would not have survived.   At the beginning of 2021, I did something  silly (I'll spare you the details so none of you are tempted to try it yourself 😉) which gave me the idea that I might not still be around in 2022. Yet we've reached the final day of 2021 and I'm still here. Yet, none of us know how soon our life may be taken. I hope that I will learn not to take anything for granted, but to be grateful to the Lord for every day He sees ...

Hi! My Dad was trying to remember the words to this hymn last night. I only knew different words to the same tune. I thought he was humming Fairest Lord Jesus! I may have glanced at this hymn before but I didn't know it. I found 5 verses in the Methodist hymnbook and the Redemption hymnal. I found 9 online at hymnary.org, and that had a link to page scans of "A Choice Selection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs. From this I learned that there are 21 verses recorded! “A Sacred Poem by Benjamin Rhodes (born in Mexborough, Yorkshire, in 1743, died 1815. (Part 1) "My heart and voice I raise, To spread Messiah’s praise: Messiah’s praise – let all repeat: The Universal Lord, by whose prolific word Creation rose in form complete! Let there be light – he said- then sullen darkness fled, Obedient to his high command! And massy orbs above Began to shine- and move- Sustained by His Almighty hand. Creation’s utmost bound, (how high, or how profound) Declares his Majesty divi...

" The LORD is on high forevermore ."  In another place we read, " He is highly exalted ."  He is still sustaining all things. He has shown us wonderful things and we should praise Him for them.  I think these verses are a great reminder of how faithful the LORD is to His promises.  Is your heart heavy, troubled by life's circumstances?  Look up friend; our Heavenly Father is still on His throne. He is on high forevermore . I'm not saying life won't be tough, but if we keep looking to Jesus and continually remember our blessed hope of eternity with Jesus, He will strengthen us to be able to bear the troubles that will come. Because He is faithful and has shown such great lovingkindness to us, we can choose to sing His praise with glad hearts. He has been very good to me.  I will choose to remember His mercies;  I will sing praises to the LORD who reigns on high forever. 

Echoes of the Aaronic blessing here. I don't recall ever giving much thought to what it means to have His face shine upon one, but what an amazing thing it must be. I'm reminded by this verse that He doesn't save us for any reason other than because He is merciful and gracious. We certainly can't earn salvation; it's a gift that cost the Lord Jesus Christ His very life! Because He gave everything for us, we should certainly be willing to be His servants. As Romans 12 puts it, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." I've always found these verses a great challenge.

"For I AM the LORD, I change not." Malachi 3:6 ..."let this be our ceaseless joy: that God is ever with us. Always the same Gospel. He, who year in, year out, sends the shower and the sunbeam, dresses highway and byway with beauty... will not forget the least of us. His goodness is ever new; His kindness always outpoured, His tenderness greater than our uttermost demand, and the same springtime over and over is sent by the same dear Lord and Father." It was these three phrases that caught my attention: "His goodness is ever new, His kindness always outpoured, His tenderness greater than our uttermost demand." Will you join me in praising Abba Father today for His amazing mercy and faithfulness to His children? None of us deserve any of it.

Don't you just love the Psalms? I usually find them very comforting and encouraging. How about you?

Aren't you glad that the earth is full of His mercy?  and that His words give light (and life!) and that His righteousness is everlasting! Who knows which Psalm these are from? (No prizes, just curious.)

Nothing Can Change His Tender Mercies If we could remember that the divine mercy is not a temporary mood but an attribute of God's eternal being, we would no longer fear that it will someday cease to be. Mercy never began to be, but from eternity was; so it will never cease to be. It will never be more since it is in itself infinite; and it will never be less because the infinite cannot suffer diminution. Nothing that has occurred or will occur in heaven or earth or hell can change the tender mercies of our God. Forever His mercy stands, a boundless, overwhelming immensity of divine pity and compassion. As judgment is God's justice confronting moral inequity, so mercy is the goodness of God confronting human suffering and guilt. Were there no guilt in the world, no pain and no tears, God would yet be infinitely merciful; but His mercy might well remain hidden in His heart, unknown to the created universe. No voice would be raised to celebrate the mercy of which none fe...

I'm just processing this out loud... This tells us that our faith is most holy, we should build ourselves up on it. It would seem to be a command, along with praying in the Holy Spirit,  and keeping ourselves in God's love, and looking for mercy from our Lord Jesus Christ. As we keep doing these things, Jesus gives us eternal life. How amazing is that!

Aren't you glad that the Lord is so merciful?