Father, Lead Me

Father, lead me day by day,

Ever in Thine own sweet way;

Teach me to be pure and true;

Show me what I ought to do.

When in danger, make me brave,

Make me know that Thou canst save;

Keep me safely by Thy dear side;

Let me in Thy love abide.

When I'm tempted to do wrong,

Make me steadfast, wise and strong;

And when all alone I stand,

Shield me with Thy mighty hand.

When my heart is full of glee,

Help me to remember Thee,

Happy most of all to know,

That my Father loves me so.

~~*John Hopps*~~

I Sing the Mighty Power of God!

Most of my life whenever I have heard this song I have instantly thought of my cousins Greg and Chris Seftick, mainly because I knew that they personally saw so much of God's amazing creation first hand.

Jesus Paid it All

Last night my church had a communion service. I was asked to play my cello during this solemn remembrence of our Lord's death and resurrection. One of the hymns I played was "Jesus Paid it All," by Elvina M. Hall. Before I played I read over the words several times and they spoke to me in many ways.

I hear the Savior say,

"Thy strength indeed is small;

Child of weakness watch and pray,

Find in Me thy all in all."

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

For nothing good have I

Whereby Thy grace to claim;

I'll wash my garments white

In the blood of Cal'vry's Lamb.

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

And now complete in Him,

My robe, His righteousness,

Close sheltered 'neath His side,

I am divinely blessed.

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

Lord, now indeed I find

Thy power and Thine alone,

Can change the leper's spots

And melt a heart of stone.

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

When from my dying bed

My ransomed soul shall rise,

"Jesus died my soul to save,"

Shall rend the vaulted skies.

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

And when before the throne

I stand in Him complete,

I'll lay my trophies down,

All down at Jesus' feet.

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

What a wonderful Savior I have to have come to this earth to pay a price for me -- a price so high that it required Him to die on a cruel cross. The most amazing thing to me is that Jesus loved me so much that He not only went, but He went willingly. I truly have nothing good to give in order to claim His grace, but that is the most wonderful of all, He did it for me for free. He paid it all, who am I to not willingly give Him my life, my love, my all?

Panoply

Tonight at church we sang the old Charles Wesley hymn, Soldiers of Christ, Arise. The second verse contained a word that I did not know, "panoply." This word bugged me during the entire service (for those of you who don't know me very well, when I come across something I don't know I instinctively look it up out of utter curiosity.) So, when I got home I Googled it. The first entry that came up defined it as "A complete and impressive array." Scrolling down a little further I found the Miriam Webster Dictionary, it defined panoply as "a full suite of armor," and "something forming a protective covering." It is from the Greek word "panoplia," meaning "all arms."

The second verse of Soldiers of Christ, Arise reads, "Stand then in His great might, with all His strength endued; but take, to arm you for the fight, the panoply of God. Leave no unguarded place, no weakness of the soul; take every virtue, every grace, and fortify the whole." This entire song, and more specifically this stanza Wesley is talking about the Armor of God found in Ephesians 6:10-20; in fact the entire hymn is a beautiful paraphrase of this passage.

Personally, I was reminded of how important it is to daily put on the armor of God, and not only a piece or two, but the full array, or all arms. As Christians we are daily in a battle against the world and the devil, if we allow one tiny area to slip our entire protection will be at a high risk. However, if we do as God commands, in His strength with His complete armor the chances of falling will be much slimmer.

Soldiers of Christ, arise,

And put your armor on,

Strong in the strength

Which God supplies

Through his eternal Son.

Strong in the Lord of Hosts,

And in his mighty pow’r,

Who in the strength of Jesus trusts

Is more than conqueror.

Stand then in his great might,

With all his strength endued;

But take, to arm you for the fight,

The panoply of God.

Leave no unguarded place,

No weakness of the soul;

Take ev’ry virtue, ev’ry grace,

And fortify the whole.

To keep your armor bright,

Attend with constant care;

Still walking in your Captain’s sight,

And watching unto prayer.

From strength to strength go on;

Wrestle and fight and pray;

Tread all the pow’rs of darkness down,

And win the well-fought day.

Be Still, My Soul

The other night my cousin, Megan, and I went to a praise and worship service. One of the songs we sang is a hymn that used to be one of my favorites...I haven't sung it in ages, and then while singing it tonight I remembered why I loved it so much. I actually broke down crying in the middle of it, so I thought I'd share...(I switched the order of some of the verses to the way I would sing them if it were up to me).

Be Still, My Soul

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.

Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.

Leave to thy God to order and provide;

In every change, He faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend

Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,

And all is darkened in the vale of tears,

Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,

Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.

Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay

From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake

To guide the future, as He has the past.

Thy hope, they confidence let nothing shake;

All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know

His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on

When we shall be forever with the Lord.

When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,

Sorrow forgot, loves purest joys restored.

Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past

All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise

On earth, be leaving, to Thy Lord on high;

Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,

So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.

Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine

Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.

~Katherina von Schlegel

Often in the rush of life I forget to be still and listen to God. I find myself trying to fix my own problems and figuring out my life my way. It is only when I quite my soul and turn to God that I realize He is on my side and He can fight my battles for me so much better than I ever could on my own, and He alone is faithful through everything.

The second verse I had never heard before, but as we sang it, I broke down crying. I think the hardest thing ever is to lose a good and dear friend. Whether it be through death, over a specific issue or two, or just a gradual drifting apart, it's never easy and tears are a natural part of grieving. However, I know from personal experience, that when I watch a friend leave God proves to me every time that He is there to comfort me. In fact, John 14:18 says it best, "I [Jesus] will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." I guess the biggest part of the song to me is the last phrase, "Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay from His own fullness he can repay." His repayment is so much more than I ever deserved, and I've found it to be beyond my wildest imaginations. One of my friends recently put it to me this way: "Life is like a puzzle, we only see the mixed up pieces, but God has the box and He alone knows how everything is going to turn into a beautiful picture."

"Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah." -Psalm 46:10-11

In the Valley

When I'm low in spirit, I cry, "Lord, lift me up,
I want to go higher with Thee!"
But nothing grows high on a mountain,
So He picked out a valley for me.

And He leads me beside still waters
Somewhere in the valley below.
And He draws me aside to be tested and tried,
But in the valley, He restoreth my soul.

It's dark as a dungeon, and the sun seldom shines,
And I question, "Lord, why must this be?"
Then He tells me there's strength in my sorrow,
And there's victory in trials for me!

Then He leads me beside still waters
Somewhere in the valley below.
And He draws me aside to be tested and tried,
But in the valley, He restoreth my soul.

I Lean Upon No Broken Reed

I lean upon no broken reed,

Nor trust an untried guide;

I know Him and He knoweth me,

He walketh by my side.

I hold His hand as on we walk,

And still He holdeth mine;

It is a human hand I hold,

Also a hand Divine

"Hold Thou me up" is still my cry,

As o'er the rugged road

Of this my pilgrimage I move,

That leads me nearer God.

Lord Jesus, Thou the first and last,

Oh, when willt Thou appear?

And bring the long, long looked for dawn

Of the eternal year.

~Horatius Bonar

I found this song 2 years ago during a difficult time in my life, and ever since I have loved it a LOT! He is there with us, and will guide us in the way that is best for us.

The Eternal God is Thy Refuge

Are the waves of trouble overwhelming?

Is the sky with tempest overcast?

Flee to God a never failing Refuge,

He will shield thee till the storm is past.

He will hear and heed thy cry appealing,

He will turn no burdened soul away;

Whatsoe'er thy trouble He can help thee,

Wilt thou trust His mighty arm today?

There is balm for every earthly sorrow

In this wondrous Refuge of the soul,

And a hiding place from ev'ry tempest,

Where no swelling tide of woe can roll.

The eternal God is thy Refuge,

The eternal God is thy Refuge,

And underneath are the everlasting arms,

The everlasting arms

~Flora Kirkland

Resurrection!

As I think about Easter and what it really is, the celebration of my Savior's resurrection, my heart is overwhelmed with gratitude to Jesus for all that He has done for me. He took my sin on Himself and for me He died so that I might live eternally with Him. I think of the pain of betrayal, I know how I feel when a friend has betrayed me, yet Jesus had the ultimate betrayal. His suffering through illegal trials, being falsely accused and yet did not defend Himself. The beatings, the mocking, the long walk up to Golgotha, the nails being driven one by one into His hands and feet. As He hangs on the cross Jesus endured more mocking and utter rejection by the very people for whom He is dying, yet He pleads with His Father to forgive His scorners. The sky grew dark and there was a great earthquake, as Jesus, the Lamb of God, the perfect sacrifice, takes on all the sin of the world, past, present, and future. He took on my sin and yours. After three long hours He said, "It is finished," and died. Not believing that He was dead, a soldier stabs Jesus in the side and out of it flowed water, a wonderful symbol of living water, water that you and I may drink of and live eternally. They took His body from the cross and buried it in a sepulchre, sealed His tomb, and placed guards around it to keep His body from being stolen. For three long days and nights Jesus' body lay in that tomb. But on Sunday morning Christ arose! He now lives so that you and I may live forever!

Why Should He Love Me So?

Love sent my savior to die in my stead;
Why should He love me so?
Meekly to Calvary's cross He was led;
Why should He love me so?

Nails pierced His hands and His feet for my sin;
Why should He love me so?
He suffered sore my salvation to win;
Why should He love me so?

O how He agonized there in my place;
Why should He love me so?
Nothing withholding my sin to efface;
Why should He love me so?

Why should He love me so?
Why should He love me so?
Why should my Savior to Calvary go?
Why should He love me so?

-Crystal Lewis

The Way of the Cross Leads Home

I must needs go home by the way of the cross,
There’s no other way but this;
I shall ne’er get sight of the gates of light,
If the way of the cross I miss.

I must needs go on in the blood sprinkled way,
The path that the Savior trod,
If I ever climb to the heights sublime,
Where the soul is at home with God.

Then I bid farewell to the way of the world,
To walk in it never more;
For the Lord says, “Come,” and I seek my home,
Where He waits at the open door.

The way of the cross leads home,
The way of the cross leads home,
It is sweet to know as I onward go,
The way of the cross leads home.

~Jessie Pounds

I have no idea why, but for some reason this hymn has been running through my head all day long, so I though I would post it for all to read. The words and message are wonderful!