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Psalm 95 with Gospel Power!
Play the song from this Soundcloud link and read along with the lyrics:
You will begin to learn and sing Psalm 95 and remember the gospel message as well.
Psalm 95 with Gospel Power
Oh come, let us sing for joy to the Lord
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
For the Lord is the great God,
And the great King above all gods.
In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
The heights of the hills are His also.
The sea is His, for He made it;
And His hands formed the dry land.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For He is our God . . .
(for He is our God)
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you will hear His voice:
“Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion . . .
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16,17).
For the Lord came down from heaven to earth for us.
He laid down His life, that we might have new birth.
The Babe in the manger, He is Creator of the earth.
The Babe in the manger, He is . . . that we might have new birth.
come, let us sing for joy to the Lord
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
For the Lord is the great God,
And the great King above all gods.
In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
The heights of the hills are His also.
The sea is His, for He made it;
And His hands formed the dry land.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For He is our God . . .
For the Lord came down from heaven to earth for us.
He laid down His life, that we might have new birth.
The Babe in the manger, He is Creator of the earth.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For He is our God !
Can We Simply Let 9/11 Pass By?
As on 9/11—We are in a war. Can we not see the urgency?
Can we simply let 9/11 pass by? And live life back to normal?
We are not “back to normal” today. We must open our eyes and acknowledge, we are in a war. Do we need more evidence of heat, flame, and fires in families, public schools, city streets, and lands?
I share my 9/11 hero story.
Alfred J. Braca went to work on September 11, 2001, in the North Tower of the World Trade Center, on the 100th floor, as any other workday.
I knew Al Braca, from our church in New Jersey. Our sons enjoyed Boy Scouts together back then.
His life stirs in me the courage to make a difference this day. With all the confusion about what love is, Al Braca exemplified true love on the dreadful day of 9/11.
Do I, you, have the courage to love as he did?
A dedicated dad, husband, granddaddy, and loyal bond trader at Cantor Fitzgerald, Al set out to live a “Godly lifestyle” as a faithful follower of Jesus Christ. He turned down invites to go out for drinks and carousing and often shared how Jesus changed his life. Consistently, a target of jeers by his colleagues, they referred to him as the “Rev.”
Aware of the marriage troubles, affairs, addictions, brokenness, and pain in his colleagues’ lives, Al often prayed with his wife, Jeanie, that they would come to faith in Jesus.
This day, in a moment, at 8:46 a.m., great confusion exploded all around them as a Boeing 767 flew into the building between floors 93-99.
No warning. Just bang!
Everyone ran to the windows to see what happened. Fire, smoke, chaos, confusion.
Heat rose from below them.
No information. No exit. Then, another explosion. The second tower was hit and caught fire. No one understood what happened.
Men and women on those upper floors discovered there was no way down. Desperation. Fear. Panic ensued.
The story is told, Al went up to one of the big conference rooms on the 104th top floor and told everyone to come to the room.
“I’m going to heaven. Who’s going with me?”
Approximately fifty of his co-workers came into the conference room.
Al wasn’t worried about offending anyone. He had hope.
Al stood up on a conference table and gave them the invitation for life—eternal life.
He was going to heaven. Al shared the Way with those who knew no way.
Al laid it all out as he stood on the table. They had to know. Without receiving Jesus in their lives, there was no hope for heaven. Only death and an eternity separated from God.
Perhaps he shared,
For God so loves you, He gave His Son Jesus to die that you might live.
He suffered and bled on the cross to cleanse all your sins.
Believe in Him right now. Accept Jesus in your life and you will be saved.” (John 3:16, John 6:35.)
Al was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. He knew it was the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes (Acts 16:31).
There wasn’t time to trust in bank accounts, jobs—nothing.
Al shared Jesus. He knew He was their only hope.
He loved them enough to give them the truth.
“Who wants to receive Jesus and live?” he probably asked. We don’t know his exact words, but we know he prayed for them, right then.
How do we know?
Many of the men and women that met in that conference room that morning, made phone calls to their families.
They said, “Goodbye, I love you,” but they also said, “I will see you again. I just received Jesus. The “Rev” prayed with me to receive Jesus in my life.”
Others said, “Al stood on the conference table and told us how to be saved. I’m going to heaven. I have Jesus now. I’ll be waiting for you there. I love you. ”
These were Al’s comrades. They made fun of him in the past, but no one was jeering now. He gave them an invitation to receive the Lord and He had prayed for them.
Al laid out the truth. The only way to heaven. Jesus. They received the invitation and were saved from death. They had eternal life.
Maybe Al comforted himself and the others in those desperate moments with scriptures he had hidden in his heart:
Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you (John 14:1,2). Fear not; for I am with you, (Isaiah 41:10).
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).
Al Braca lives today in my life. I hope in yours as well. He didn’t want his colleagues to be separated from God for all eternity.
He had faith and courage to witness to them. The Holy Spirit moved him to tell the people the truth about Jesus, so they might receive His amazing grace, forgiveness, love, and eternal life.
Thank you Alfred J. Braca.
At the World Trade Center Memorial, look for this name: Alfred J. Braca.
Take notice of the names surrounding his name. These were his colleagues. Many joined him on that day to go to heaven.
Tragedy came unexpected: “I’m Going to Heaven. Who’s Going with Me?”
Will we live our day, ready to love others into the kingdom of heaven?
People in this day need hope. They need truth. They need to know the way.
There is no time for debate. Time is short. Will we tell others what Jesus said:
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6) —before it’s too late?
-tonirypkema.com
(To read Jean Braca’s story, look for Christmas Beeler’s book, Beauty from Ashes. Walking in New Life with God After Loss. The Journey of 9/11 Widow Jean Braca.)
Picture: Courtesy of Calvary Chapel Magazine. (Leading Souls to Christ as the Towers Burned.)
Praise + Prayer = Faith to Conquer Any Foe
Most days, I wake up with praise to God on my lips, but as the evening comes, I often am tempted to grow weary and discouraged.
When I say, “praise on my lips,” this means a “thank You” song or a psalm, hymn, or God’s Word on my mind, instead of situations, lack, or loss.
But when my body grows fatigued, my mind begins to dwell on the happenings of this world and life circumstances, faith flies away like a bird disrupted by a loud noise.
How we need reminders of good things and words of direction and help. God’s Word is our safe place to run. I often have kid’s voices in the back of my mind, singing the Bible songs God gave me, to help me throughout my day:
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him Hebrews 11:6, NIV.
In the Book of 2 Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat, king of Judah became informed of a huge army coming against them. Circumstances hit us like this.
Jehoshaphat . . . prayed to the Lord. He sought the Lord for His instruction, just as in Isaiah 55:6: 8&9:
Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call on him while he is near Isaiah 55:6.
Jehoshaphat gathered the people. Then, he proclaimed a fast for all of Judah (2 Chronicles 20:3).
Then Jehoshaphat stood up . . . at the temple of the Lord . . . and he prayed with all the people:
“Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations.
Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you . . .
If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us” (2 Chronicles 20: 6-9).
We must, I must do the same. I must remind myself of who God is and cry out to Him in faith. The time is now.
Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel . . . as he stood in the assembly.
He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you:
‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.
God’s Word reminds us of truth, when we often believe we must work it out with our own thoughts, as the kids sing the verses:
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,
declares the Lord.
As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts Isaiah 55:6,8-9.
Tomorrow march down against them . . .
You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem.
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”
Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord” (2 Chronicles 20: 17-19).
Early in the morning . . . Jehoshaphat stood and said,
“Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem!
Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.”
After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:
“Give thanks to the Lord,
for his love endures forever.”
As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated” (2 Chronicles 20:20-22).
The battle you and I face today is not our battle. It’s the Lord’s battle.
Let’s continue to infuse our minds and spirit with God’s truth. May kids from Toni & Kids Sing Bible restore faith, bring joy, and help us keep a song of truth in our hearts and minds today:
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him Hebrews 11:6, NIV.
Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,
declares the Lord.
As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts Isaiah 55:6,8-9.
Continually, Our Eyes Look to the LORD Our God (Psalm 123)
If 2023 has welcomed new trials and storms, join me to take a step on the Rock, the foundation of hope, and think on a good theme:
God is all He said He is in His Word. We can stand on His Rock of truth.
Jesus told us ahead of time, in His Word, there would be trouble:
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” John 16:33, NKJV.
Have I “built my house on the foundation of the Lord?” I can’t hide anything from God, Creator of heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them. He knows everything. He told us this story:
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock” Matthew 7:24,25.
“Yes, Lord! By faith, I’ve built my house on You, the Rock, the salvation of our souls.
My eyes, our eyes are on You, the Lord:
“Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he has mercy upon us.
Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt.
Our soul has had more than enough of the scorn of those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud” Psalm 123.
Why should I feel discouraged
Why should the shadows come
Why should my heart feel lonely
And long for heaven and home
When Jesus is my portion
A constant friend is He
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches over me
Cevilla D Martin, His Eye is on the Sparrow
The foundation of God is the love of Christ who paid all my debt of sin, as He willingly died on the cross for me. He rose to victory for me. For you. For all who would believe.
Let’s not feel discouraged. Because “Jesus is my portion, a constant friend is He. His eye is on this sparrow.”
Let’s pray together,
Dear Lord, we seek You. Help us believe You and Your Word. Heal our unbelief. We cry “Mercy Lord.”
Heal.
Renew.
Restore.
We walk with expectant eyes to see Your glory and power at work.
Our ears are open to hear Your Word above our fear and unknown future.
Keep us, Lord, growing in Your grace and understanding of all You are. Help us
” meditates day and night” in Your law. That we might be “like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper . . .” Psalm 1:1,2,3.
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish Psalm 1:6.
Oh, dear God, You are the Rock in which we stand. You alone are our hope and defense.
I cry out for a miracle of healing.
Together we cast our heavy burdens of care on You. Many of us cry out for “grace to help in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
Help us receive Your grace towards each of us, as we “all have sinned,”(Romans 3:23), yet, Your Word tells us, “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
Give us an understanding of Your merciful loving-kindness, unearned, yet received by faith in Your Son, Jesus.
We receive from You today, Your love and healing. We are new in You and through You.
“Nothing is impossible,” in You, (Luke 1:37).
and “All things are possible through You,” (Matthew 19:26).
I believe.
We believe.
Together, we praise and pray,
In Jesus’ name, amen.”
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” Ephesians 3:20,21, NKJV.
___________________________________________
Share your “storm of trial,” and I will join in to pray with you. We can lift each other up together.
Be blessed, along with me, to remember to keep standing on the Rock!
-Toni
(January 2023.)
Need joy? God Knows What we Need. Put yourself in God’s presence with Psalm 95:
It was a day, years ago, touched by the ever-living power of the Word of God, Psalm 95 had me pick up a pen and my slightly twangy guitar to put down a song.
The Lord put the gospel message on my heart as I meditated on His exhortation, “Come let us worship and bow down.
“Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker” Psalm 95:6.
We all are created by God. And His greatest gift to us, He lets us decide whether to believe or not.
He desires we all “talk to Him,” seek His Word and spend time with Him. His love is so great. He is love.
Love came down.
Joy? It’s a gift of His Holy Spirit. When we turn our hearts to Him and call on Him (for who He is, the Savior of the world), we receive (His) love. His Spirit comes and washes our sins. He makes us a new creation, today, in Him.
God the Father gives us His love through His Son who paid our debt in full and gave us His Spirit as a guarantee.
We bow down, He turns the “light on” in our souls. He breathes in us His breath of life. We become whole, filled with joy.
And we must not forget, peace. Jesus takes all our garbage and sin and gives us new birth.
“In Christ,” we become new creations. Born a second time into life, here and now, and for all eternity.
His Spirit calls . . .
“Come, let us worship.”
Talk to the Lord, not half-hearted but with all your heart.
Is it time to make Him your God, who lives and dwells with you?
A Call to Worship and Obedience
Psalm 95 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
3 For the Lord is the great God,
And the great King above all gods.
4 In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
The heights of the hills are His also.
5 The sea is His, for He made it;
And His hands formed the dry land.
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you will hear His voice:
8 “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion,
As in the day of trial in the wilderness,
9 When your fathers tested Me;
They tried Me, though they saw My work.
10 For forty years I was grieved with that generation,
And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts,
And they do not know My ways.’
11 So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”
Make today, your day of salvation. Enter into the “joy” of the Lord!
And make sure you tell someone about your new-birth in Christ.
Mysterious Trials? Let’s Praise Through the Battle with Psalm 139:
When the kids were young, we set out to memorize Psalm 139. Many years have passed and this Psalm is a continual “present help” to me in times of trial.
So, I wrote a song to sing in my heart when life seemed cloudy and dark. It’s called for now, “My Psalm 139 Song.” My in the title was to imply a personal connection for anyone who “sings” this song in heart and mind, or aloud with voice.
Do you have a mysterious trial you are walking through? Are you suffering from a physical ailment? Are you suffering loss and pain?
If I say, “Surely, the darkness shall fall on me, even the night will shine as day around me. The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
On You, I wait and pray. Your Word I hear and Praise . . . “
The Kanagy kids challenged themselves to learn My Psalm 139 Song, (and what a great job they did. Thank you, girls!)
If you need a song of comfort and hope from the Lord, pray this in your heart and mind. And better yet, play it so much you can sing it through your day!
Let me know if the truths from God’s Word ministered to you today:
Psalm 139, NKJV:
God’s Perfect Knowledge of Man
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
139 O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
2 You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
3 You [a]comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
5 You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book, they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.
19 Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
Depart from me, therefore, you [i]bloodthirsty men.
20 For they speak against You wickedly;
Your enemies take Your name in vain.
21 Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
A New Attitude as a Tuned-up Instrument to Sing a New Song to the LORD
My heartstrings become “out of tune,” immediately when they’re hit with news of the world today.
So, I fight to think of something good. This hymn always rescues me:
Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise, (Come Thou Fount, Robert Robinson, 1758).
This is the prayer I can’t find to pray when I’m hit with sudden heaviness. I need a heart tune-up.
“Come thou Fount of every blessing!”
So, I talk to the Lord,
“Jesus, Your greatest work is You died on the cross, for me. For the “sins of the world, You are the Lamb of God.”
I think of the two guilty men on either side of You, each on a cross. You were innocent, without guilt, shame, or sin.
Yet, one of the guilty men was changed in an instant. He watched You, listened to You, and he believed. And he rebuked the other criminal.”
So, I opened God’s Word to read the account.
Everything became crystal clear to him:
One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!”
But the other responded, and rebuking him, said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our crimes; but this man has done nothing wrong.”
And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise”
(Luke 23: 39-43).
This thief and liar was instantly changed. In the presence of the Lord, He watched. he heard. He believed. That’s what the Lord is showing me I must do. Everyday.
My heaviness and attitude are lifted and softened. I look at Jesus in His Word and hear what He says.
The hymn reminds me: I need continual reminders of the power of God, whom I believe.
I’ve got to fight the fight of faith all day long with praise and prayer:
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount I’m fixed upon it
mount of God’s redeeming love (Come Thou Fount, Robinson).
I went to a “melodious sonnet,” in Psalm 98. I discover again, my heavy heart becomes hopeful, with faith, to believe God is great again. I have thankfulness again.
God’s Word is living:
“Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
The Lord has made his salvation known
and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
He has remembered his love
and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God” Psalm 98: 1-3.
God’s reminding me, “Keep your eyes on My marvelous works and pray to Me. Ask of Me!
“Do you love My ocean? The sound of My rivers? My sunrises, My sunsets?
Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing together for joy;
let them sing before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples with equity. Psalm 98:7-9.
God is Big. There’s nothing our God can’t do!
There is power in the name of Jesus. There’s life in His Word. This is my safe place.
Today, will you join me to lift our eyes, and, yes, even our hands in faith and praise the Lord, together? Today,
Here I raise my Ebenezer
Here by Thy great help, I’ve come
And I hope by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wandering from the fold of God
He to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood.
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, oh take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above (Come Thou Fount, Robinson).
As an orchestra, with eyes up, yes, and even arms raised, let’s be changed in an instant in faith of God through Jesus, His Son:
Here’s my heart
Oh take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above.
Tell someone of your heart change, your new attitude. And let a child keep our faith on track with this:
Who Can We Believe? Only God’s Word is Truth!
God cannot lie. The Bible is the only truth to stand on. (For all eternity, to be exact.)
If you have a Bible on your shelf or can open an app on your device, it’s time to hear God’s voice instead of man’s highest wisdom.
I sound so dramatic, don’t I? And I’m a nobody. I have no large platform. “Oh, Toni’s always telling us to read our Bibles. Isn’t that just like her?”
NO! I’m not just talking flowery, or “religious” words! I’m talking about truth with a capital T and life, hope, and the only Love out there:
“For God so loved, “me,” . . .
Stop a minute and speak this aloud.
“He gave His only Son,. . . “
But God isn’t only Love, He’s just! He’s holy. Jesus came. He died on the cross, as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world,” John 1:29.
His blood was shed to wash our lies, our impatience, our envy, our pride, our anger, our hate . . . all our sin away.
It’s time to believe in Him, the Rock of our salvation, and stop building our “houses” of our souls on fear and unstable foundations that continue to change, crumble, and fall.
It’s time to humble ourselves and agree with God, “whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” John 3:16.
The endless lies and “new” definitions about Jesus, family, humankind, marriage, babies, freedoms, justice . . . the Bible speaks on all of this in Genesis, Revelation, the Book of John, the Book of Proverbs, in all of the 66 Books of the Bible. Open The Book and hear it for yourself, not “hearsay!”
I spent my whole summer meeting up with children and bringing them the story of Noah in Genesis 6-8.
Can you believe, for 120 years Noah worshiped God, built an ark for a huge rain that no one believed would come, and told the people, “Come through this door and you will be saved from the destruction!”
No one listened. Everyone laughed and mocked, except his immediate family.
Noah wasn’t talking about the “end of the world,” he was talking about a saved life in a new earth. Noah was inviting people for safety, security, provision, protection, covering—
Year after year, month after month, day after day. Noah loved and obeyed the Lord.
The worldwide flood did come. We can go to the zoo and thank Noah he obeyed God and remained faithful to build the ark with the help of God’s Spirit and instruction. (Genesis 6-8).
As in the days of Noah, Satan is working overtime. Are there lies? Is there violence, stealing, and hatred in our world? What does the Bible have to say about Satan:
“. . . He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” John 8:44.
What did Jesus have to say?
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” John 10:10.
Jesus told us He is life. We can read it ourselves when we spend time individually, intentionally, and whole-heartedly with Him.
As Noah, we are to “build each other up,” (not be tearing each other apart,) and talk of the wonderful works of God.
Today, I talk about God’s greatest work. His gift of Jesus. He is the “Door,” to deliverance from evil, salvation, and life. He is the Good Shepherd. He is our only hope:
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
I and My Father are one” John 10:27-30.
Do you feel the Lord tug on your heart? Is your soul thirsty for Living Water? Do you feel the need to turn around to the Lord of love?
We are at the last hour. There was a day when God said, “Noah, get on the ark.” And only days later, God shut them in. The time is short.
Do it today. Make today the first day of the rest of your “eternal life,” and pray to Jesus,
“Dear Lord, You have touched my heart. I need a Savior. I need to turn back to you. You alone can help me. Take my anger, my critical spirit, my hurts, my pains, my brokenness. Heal me, Jesus.
Take my life and come in to make me new. I need “new.” Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name,
Amen.”
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Please tell someone if you have asked the Lord in your life. Pick up a Bible and make it yours. If you don’t have a Bible, ask the church if they have one for you.
Look up John 3:16,17 and yellow it in!
For God so loves . . . you!
Take a moment to let the sound of kids sing God’s Greatest Gift Song: John 3:16 & 17 to fill your heart with the joy of the Lord as you rejoice in His great love:
Rain Down on us Good Words for some Son-shine!
Art by G of Legacy Studio & Co
“Anxiety in a person’s heart weighs it down, But a good word makes it glad” Proverbs 12:25.
Oh yeah, good words make a person’s heart glad.
God knows best. His Word is a rock. His Word is a rose. His Word to those who believe and receive Him is as a Coach, coming alongside,
to give a high-five. To say, “Come on, you can do this with Me. Let’s go!”
And God’s Word to a kid’s song is “just” plain fun and can move us forward when we feel stuck!
I wrote this song with a special needs child I had the privilege to teach and work with for many years. A few strums of the ukulele and a few Bible verses to focus on would be our delight for many days together.
For this combination of Philippians 1:6 and 1 John 4:4 we were “changed.”
God’s Word is powerful and can be loads of fun with a ukulele or a guitar. And God gave every human being alive a set of “strings.” So, even if you’re not a kid, find one and start singing some Bible, to increase in faith,
or come to faith for the first time. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” Romans 10:17.
There is only one answer to the dark day we live in, Jesus.
He alone is able to change a heart. His Word is powerful and opens a door of faith in us to hear and receive.
An open, soft heart, is suddenly changed to belief. There is hope as the sun shines through the clouds.
Because faith chases away fear. God loves you. God loves me.
He is there for any who calls on His name. God is able to accomplish all that concerns you today. He is God Almighty.
And, He is love, (1 John 4:7-21*)
He paid your debt in full on the cross. And mine, and the debt of sin of the entire human race.
We can’t save ourselves. (We all need saving.) (Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23. )
Jesus came to save us and to finish the work He has for us. He gives us His Holy Spirit when we receive Him. He is our help. We can be confident in this.
I share this today with anyone who needs a song of truth and hope in Jesus to help chase the dark clouds away and bring a ray of Son-shine, (no matter what is going on!)
If you haven’t opened your heart to Jesus, do it today:
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother 1 John 4: 7-21.
(My song words are slightly paraphrased,) “Being confident of this very thing that he who has begun a good work in you will perform it ’till the day of Jesus Christ” Philippians 1:6.
Being confident in this.
“For He who is in you is greater than he that is in the world.”
“For He who is in you is greater than he that is in the world” 1 John 4:4. (I’m just waiting to record some happy kids with this song.)
Let me know if you are blessed. And “like” the SoundCloud too if you do!
-Toni
“Make me sing!” Kids can help!
As a children’s worship leader for many years, I’ve experienced the arms crossed, “Make me sing,” attitude at the start of a children’s church hour.
Oh, yeah. Children are our best teachers. They are a picture of our own hearts at times.
“It’s not a good time to sing,” we convince ourselves, “there’s too much to worry, I mean, be concerned about right now!”
God is good to keep me in a place to keep a song in the hearts of kids. He knows, this “older kid” needs to keep a “good song” on my mind at all times. I can go out of tune mighty quick.
The Lord tells us to pray and not lose heart. But there are times we would rather cross our arms in the front of our chest than pray!
Jesus helped us with our prayers by giving us, what we call, the Lord’s Prayer.
I wrote a Lord’s prayer with a bit of a Lalala of the struggle to keep praising in my Lalala Lord’s Prayer. Kids sing this and make my heart pray and hope and remember the “Lalala” through the “dum dum dum” of the day!
Who’s struggling to find the song today? Give these kids a 2-minute listen. To meditate on the deep truths in the Lord’s prayer brings healing and hope.
Let me know if you did. I hope you have a hope-filled prayer song on your heart for the day:
International Day of Prayer
Calligraphy by tonirypkema.com
Does nature speak louder these days? Loud thunder, close crashes of lightning? Outrageous sunsets and glorious sunrises? Do the birds sing in multitudes of praises in the morning?
As millions of people are displaced and “not at home,” and noises of confusion are all around,
God is God. And He speaks.
Today, for this ‘national” day of prayer, let’s pray internationally and wholeheartedly.
God has a plan. He’s on the throne.
“Our help is in the name of the LORD who made heaven and earth” Psalm 124.
Here are some more scriptures to encourage us in our prayers:
“Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up” Luke 18:1.
Jesus then told a story of an unjust judge who cared not—for God or man. A widow “kept coming,” time and time again, “Grant me justice against my adversary!”
Over and over again, the widow would come, to plead with the judge for justice. Exasperated by her persistence, the judge granted her request so she wouldn’t “bother” and come back to “attack” him.
And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?
Will he keep putting them off?
I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18: 7-9.
Will Jesus find me with faith on this earth, today?
Also, God has told us in His Word:
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure.
May there be peace within your walls . . .
For the sake of my family and friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your prosperity, Psalm 122: 6-9.
My attitude towards Israel matters to God, (period.)
Is our faith in God genuine? Let’s pray we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, who laid down His life for His friends.
Today, let’s become “friends” with Jesus, spend time with Him, and His Word, and agree with the Lord and His Word.
If today is the day you choose to receive His forgiveness and salvation, pray He come to dwell in the rooms of your heart and make you a new creation in Christ:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17.
Finally, I share the voices of children singing the Lord’s Prayer. Upbeat and sparkling as the stars in the night sky. Let’s pray with hope and joy because Jesus loves all the little children—
and all the children of the world. He promises salvation and life to all who call and believe in His name, . . . today.
If this is you, please tell me or someone close to you, today is the “first day of the rest of your life,” in Christ!
“The Lord bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you and give you peace,” Doxology. (Amen, amen.)
Rejoice in the Lord always . . .
A “Still Small Voice” in the Garden Today
Snapshots of life, hope, rest, and peace.
“Glory to God!” Speak these flowers in silence and beauty.
Soon, actually, in two short weeks, they’ll be brown and dried up.
Their “still small voice” speaks to me from their beauty.
“Today Toni. Stay in the present. Don’t waste time in a fret. Look up.”
My flowers remind me, God is greater than anything going on.
They trust, they wait, they shine. Flowers speak:
“Slow down and enjoy the LORD. Think on His Word and not the headlines of the day. Take delight in His creation. Be kind and listen to others’ stories. Let His glory shine through you.”
I need this reminder from my flowers. I get ahead of myself. I forget what’s important . . . people, this moment, the Word of God, (not in that order, however).
God created us for . . . do we know? The Bible tells us, our purpose is . . . His glory.
God’s Word reminds us that “whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
I will think of this snapshot of my vibrant, colorful flowers today to remember to look up and think up. The flowers speak:
“The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever” Isaiah 40:8.
“So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom” Psalm 90:12 NKJV.
And, “whether you (or I) eat or drink or whatever you (we) do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31, NIV.)
Where is the still small voice in the Bible? God’s Revelation to Elijah, 1 Kings 19:11-13 New King James Version:
Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.
So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Prayer huddle: Dear Lord, Give us hunger in Your Word that we might know You more. Give us understanding. Fill us with wisdom. But most of all dear Jesus, fill us with Your love that we might glorify You today as the flowers of the field. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Stay Safe? I will Hide in Thee!
Lyrics by William Cushing, melody by Ira D. Sankey 1876.
“Be safe.”
Do we hear this often?
The hard part is, our physical is not all that we human beings are. What about the spiritual, emotional? How can we be safe in this day?
Charles Spurgeon wrote devotions in “Beside Still Waters,” to minister in all trials of this day:
“The mind can descend far lower than the body, for in it there are bottomless pits. The flesh can bear only a certain number of wounds and no more, but the soul can bleed in ten thousand ways, and die over and over again each hour.”
C. H. Spurgeon was a man of God’s Word and ended many a devotion with the words, “Increase my faith dear Lord.” What a great encouragement he is to us today.
We live with an overload of stress, change, uncertainties, crisis, and loss. As the power of God’s Word through the void and darkness, “Let there be light,” hymns of old minister power and light when we read them aloud and link our heart to their chorus:
O safe to the Rock that is higher than I,
My soul in its conflicts and sorrows would fly;
Alone I would perish, undone would I be;
Thou blest “Rock of Ages,” I’m hiding in Thee.
Chorus:
Hiding in Thee, hiding in Thee,
Thou blest “Rock of Ages,” I’m hiding in Thee.
In the calm of the noontide, in sorrow’s lone hour,
In times when temptation casts o’er me its pow’r;
In the tempests of life, on its wide, heaving sea,
Thou blest “Rock of Ages,” I’m hiding in Thee. Hymn by William Cushing , 1876.
There is solid and sure refuge when we run to the Lord in His Word. Sixty-six Books of life and repose with one common thread, the Lord Jesus Christ.
We must make it a pattern in our lives in these last days. A pattern of faith to run to this Rock that is higher than ourselves.
Oh, to know His Word in our heart, to sing His glory and might. There is no one like our God. He is our refuge. We must cling to Him like never before.
“Today.”
“Today.”
Do we hear the Lord’s call?
How oft in the conflict, when pressed by the foe,
I have fled to my Refuge and breathed out my woe;
How often, when trials like sea billows roll,
Have I hidden in Thee, O Thou Rock of my soul.
Is this the choice we make it the hardest of times? Faith in God.
Today, yes, let’s choose to hide in our refuge of truth and power and
“look forward to and await the coming of His Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead, Jesus Who personally rescues and delivers us out of and from the wrath . . . which is coming . . . and draws us to Himself [that is invests us with all the privileges and rewards of the new life in Christ, the Messiah]” 1 Thessalonians 1:10, Amplified.
We can trust our Lord and Savior, the Messiah of the world.
Let us abide in His love, right now, this hour:
Hiding in Thee, hiding in Thee,
Thou blest “Rock of Ages,” I’m hiding in Thee.
Our trials will prove fruitful with purpose as we cling to the Rock. May this be our story:
“Brethren, for this reason, in [spite of all] our stress and crushing difficulties we have been filled with comfort and cheer about you [because of] your faith—
the leaning of your whole personality on God in complete trust and confidence. Because now we [really] live, if you stand [firm] in the Lord” 1 Thessalonians 3: 7,8.
Hiding in Thee, hiding in Thee,
Thou blest “Rock of Ages,” I’m hiding in Thee.