SETBACKS
In our lives we will have setbacks –
Know rejection, failure, pain.
Yet our Lord, Saviour and Helper
Picks us up to start again.
Spending time with God, His Spirit
Fills us, shows to us God’s love.
As we read the holy Scriptures
God will speak words from above.
With the powers God has given –
Common-sense in His control,
We receive His blessed guidance;
He can cleanse and make us whole.
God – our hiding-place, our shelter
Gives protection, sets us free;
Gives direction, leads us onward
That His servants we may be.
Resting in His holy presence
We find strength to face the day.
As we wait on Him and listen
He will lead us on the way.
He will take our fears and worries,
Filling us with His own peace.
He’ll embrace us, comfort, quiet us
With a love that will not cease.
~~~~~
SEASONS
Lord, I thank You for the seasons,
All essential to Your plan:
Winter – time of rest and darkness;
Spring shows life which You began;
Summer, time of growth and beauty;
Autumn – harvest, time to reap;
Then the earth returns to winter,
When all nature seems asleep.
In our lives we, too, have seasons.
May we see and move with You –
Time to rest, reflect and ponder;
Time when life springs up anew;
Time of joy and time of reaping;
Time when leaves begin to fall,
Forming mulch – protecting, keeping
’Til again to life You call.
Sometimes seasons may bring turmoil -
Make us open to Your voice.
Sometimes we are filled with wonder
And our hearts in You rejoice.
Sometimes seasons come for resting,
Then the seasons come to do.
All YOUR seasons, all Your rhythms
Ever old, yet ever new.
~~~~~
RESPONSIBILITY
I can hold the key of life
And of death.
I have the power to heal
Millions of hurts,
And yet I have the power
To destroy – to end lives.
I have the power to bring peace
Yet I can start the greatest wars.
I have the power to build up, encourage,
Make another a better, happier person.
Yet I have the power to tear down reputations;
To break down lives and families
And ultimately to drive to suicide.
Yet I have the power
To point others to the Saviour,
To bring wholeness, joy, growth.
I have the power to make the weakest feel strong,
And yet to discourage completely
And end a work of God
What am I?
I am a WORD.
I am the TONGUE.
If this is the power of a word, Lord,
May my tongue – and my keyboard –
Be under Your control.
May my life be so closely entwined with Yours
That others may know me as “Barnabas, the Encourager”,
Not “Ann – the terminator”.
Lord, take my mind – give me wisdom;
Lord, fill me with Your love, Your peace, Your joy
So that this is what comes out under pressure,
And words and actions glorify You.
For those who have been severely wounded by my words
Or the words of others
May my words now be a healing balm.
I think of three people and ask for special wisdom.
I think of others who are in a valley of doubt
Or who have rejected You totally.
Though I may only know their screen names,
Lord, take them, surround them in my love
And give me the words to heal hearts
And heal fellowship.
Take my WORDS, Lord, now, today
And every day.
~~~~~
HAGAR’S PRAYER
You are within my heart, You hear and see my inward pain –
The hurts, the feelings I must face, the daily stress and strain.
You see my puzzlement and doubt. You see my feepest fears.
You see my loneliness, and how life still so dark appears.
You saw how Sarah had her way and Ishmael was born –
Another nation, great and strong, in Israel’s side a thorn.
For her impatience for Your time I now must dearly pay.
Protect and guide me, mighty God, and keep me safe I pray.
Give me the comfort that I need, give strength to meet my need
And guide me in the future days – my fainting spirit feed.
~~~~~
“I AM”
God was – God is and God will be –
Beyond all time and space.
God – ever present here with us
Surrounding us with grace.
Not just ‘I was’ – God of the past;
The God of history;
Not just ‘I am’ – God of the now,
But God will always be.
And so we can most truly know
He’ll never let us down.
Through birth, through life, through death until
We wear the victor’s crown.
~~~~~
A PRE-SERVICE MEDITATION
(When the CD stuck!)
God is here.
God is here.
In the silence
God is here.
God dwells here.
In His temple
God dwells here.
Christ is Lord.
Christ is Lord
In our spirits
Christ is Lord.
He will cleanse.
He will heal.
Lord and Master –
He will heal.
Touch us now.
Touch us now.
Make us whole, Lord,
Touch us now.
~~~~~
Psalm 27:13 (NIV)
I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
Sometimes I think it is harder for Christians, who have the hope and assurance of a better life with Christ after death, to cope with depression and pain than those who have no hope. We find ourselves longing to expedite the process and move out of God’s timing into our own, believing that, as it is part of our disease, God will forgive us and we will be with Him, where there is no depression, pain, sin or sickness. I find myself challenged by the words in Stuart Townend’s “In Christ alone” – where he writes: “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!” Years before this, John Newton wrote, in one of the less well-known verses of” Amazing Grace” – “The Lord has promised good to me, His word my hope assure. He will my shield and portion be AS LONG AS LIFE ENDURES.” Last night the words of the Psalm, used in the canticle, hit me like a thunderbolt – then at 3.30 am the Lord decided to wake me up with this!
IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING
(Crugybar)
It’s easy to look towards heaven –
The place Christ has gone to prepare
Where there is no sin, pain or sorrow
And think how we long to be there
To think of ‘Promotion to Glory’
Where there is pure wholeness and peace;
To share with Christ’s saints in His triumph
And from this dark earth find release.
There is no depression in heaven
For Jesus is there the true Light
His face will be our constant vision,
His voice be our constant delight.
And yet IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING
He says we His goodness shall see.
Amid all earth’s mess and its trials
He says that we still may be free.
Oh yes - IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING
He’s promised to show us His grace.
He’s sharing and bearing our burdens
When turmoil and suffering we face.
He says not that all will be easy
But strength for the day He’ll provide
And we have His presence within us –
His Spirit, our Guard and our Guide.
So yes, IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING
I’ll stay – until, in His great plan
He’ll call me to Him, then completing
The work that in me He began.
He’ll use me down here with the living
His message of life here to tell –
And for every day, in His purpose
I know that all things shall be well.
Ann S Clifton © 2nd November 2012 (3.30am!)
~~~~~
In our lives we will have setbacks –
Know rejection, failure, pain.
Yet our Lord, Saviour and Helper
Picks us up to start again.
Spending time with God, His Spirit
Fills us, shows to us God’s love.
As we read the holy Scriptures
God will speak words from above.
With the powers God has given –
Common-sense in His control,
We receive His blessed guidance;
He can cleanse and make us whole.
God – our hiding-place, our shelter
Gives protection, sets us free;
Gives direction, leads us onward
That His servants we may be.
Resting in His holy presence
We find strength to face the day.
As we wait on Him and listen
He will lead us on the way.
He will take our fears and worries,
Filling us with His own peace.
He’ll embrace us, comfort, quiet us
With a love that will not cease.
~~~~~
SEASONS
Lord, I thank You for the seasons,
All essential to Your plan:
Winter – time of rest and darkness;
Spring shows life which You began;
Summer, time of growth and beauty;
Autumn – harvest, time to reap;
Then the earth returns to winter,
When all nature seems asleep.
In our lives we, too, have seasons.
May we see and move with You –
Time to rest, reflect and ponder;
Time when life springs up anew;
Time of joy and time of reaping;
Time when leaves begin to fall,
Forming mulch – protecting, keeping
’Til again to life You call.
Sometimes seasons may bring turmoil -
Make us open to Your voice.
Sometimes we are filled with wonder
And our hearts in You rejoice.
Sometimes seasons come for resting,
Then the seasons come to do.
All YOUR seasons, all Your rhythms
Ever old, yet ever new.
~~~~~
RESPONSIBILITY
I can hold the key of life
And of death.
I have the power to heal
Millions of hurts,
And yet I have the power
To destroy – to end lives.
I have the power to bring peace
Yet I can start the greatest wars.
I have the power to build up, encourage,
Make another a better, happier person.
Yet I have the power to tear down reputations;
To break down lives and families
And ultimately to drive to suicide.
Yet I have the power
To point others to the Saviour,
To bring wholeness, joy, growth.
I have the power to make the weakest feel strong,
And yet to discourage completely
And end a work of God
What am I?
I am a WORD.
I am the TONGUE.
If this is the power of a word, Lord,
May my tongue – and my keyboard –
Be under Your control.
May my life be so closely entwined with Yours
That others may know me as “Barnabas, the Encourager”,
Not “Ann – the terminator”.
Lord, take my mind – give me wisdom;
Lord, fill me with Your love, Your peace, Your joy
So that this is what comes out under pressure,
And words and actions glorify You.
For those who have been severely wounded by my words
Or the words of others
May my words now be a healing balm.
I think of three people and ask for special wisdom.
I think of others who are in a valley of doubt
Or who have rejected You totally.
Though I may only know their screen names,
Lord, take them, surround them in my love
And give me the words to heal hearts
And heal fellowship.
Take my WORDS, Lord, now, today
And every day.
~~~~~
HAGAR’S PRAYER
You are within my heart, You hear and see my inward pain –
The hurts, the feelings I must face, the daily stress and strain.
You see my puzzlement and doubt. You see my feepest fears.
You see my loneliness, and how life still so dark appears.
You saw how Sarah had her way and Ishmael was born –
Another nation, great and strong, in Israel’s side a thorn.
For her impatience for Your time I now must dearly pay.
Protect and guide me, mighty God, and keep me safe I pray.
Give me the comfort that I need, give strength to meet my need
And guide me in the future days – my fainting spirit feed.
~~~~~
“I AM”
God was – God is and God will be –
Beyond all time and space.
God – ever present here with us
Surrounding us with grace.
Not just ‘I was’ – God of the past;
The God of history;
Not just ‘I am’ – God of the now,
But God will always be.
And so we can most truly know
He’ll never let us down.
Through birth, through life, through death until
We wear the victor’s crown.
~~~~~
A PRE-SERVICE MEDITATION
(When the CD stuck!)
God is here.
God is here.
In the silence
God is here.
God dwells here.
In His temple
God dwells here.
Christ is Lord.
Christ is Lord
In our spirits
Christ is Lord.
He will cleanse.
He will heal.
Lord and Master –
He will heal.
Touch us now.
Touch us now.
Make us whole, Lord,
Touch us now.
~~~~~
Psalm 27:13 (NIV)
I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
Sometimes I think it is harder for Christians, who have the hope and assurance of a better life with Christ after death, to cope with depression and pain than those who have no hope. We find ourselves longing to expedite the process and move out of God’s timing into our own, believing that, as it is part of our disease, God will forgive us and we will be with Him, where there is no depression, pain, sin or sickness. I find myself challenged by the words in Stuart Townend’s “In Christ alone” – where he writes: “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!” Years before this, John Newton wrote, in one of the less well-known verses of” Amazing Grace” – “The Lord has promised good to me, His word my hope assure. He will my shield and portion be AS LONG AS LIFE ENDURES.” Last night the words of the Psalm, used in the canticle, hit me like a thunderbolt – then at 3.30 am the Lord decided to wake me up with this!
IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING
(Crugybar)
It’s easy to look towards heaven –
The place Christ has gone to prepare
Where there is no sin, pain or sorrow
And think how we long to be there
To think of ‘Promotion to Glory’
Where there is pure wholeness and peace;
To share with Christ’s saints in His triumph
And from this dark earth find release.
There is no depression in heaven
For Jesus is there the true Light
His face will be our constant vision,
His voice be our constant delight.
And yet IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING
He says we His goodness shall see.
Amid all earth’s mess and its trials
He says that we still may be free.
Oh yes - IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING
He’s promised to show us His grace.
He’s sharing and bearing our burdens
When turmoil and suffering we face.
He says not that all will be easy
But strength for the day He’ll provide
And we have His presence within us –
His Spirit, our Guard and our Guide.
So yes, IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING
I’ll stay – until, in His great plan
He’ll call me to Him, then completing
The work that in me He began.
He’ll use me down here with the living
His message of life here to tell –
And for every day, in His purpose
I know that all things shall be well.
Ann S Clifton © 2nd November 2012 (3.30am!)
~~~~~