Hymns to Love: A Mighty Fortress is Our God

by | Jun 13, 2014 | Blog, Daily Word | 1 comment

Chateau de Ducs de Bretagne in France

Chateau de Ducs de Bretagne in France

A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD

 

1.
A mighty Fortress is our God,
A Bulwark never failing;
Our Helper He amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great,
And, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

2.
Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side,
The Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth His Name,
From age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

3.
And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim,
We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
For lo! his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

4.
That word above all earthly powers,
No thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
Through Him who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also;
The body they may kill:
God’s truth abideth still,
His Kingdom is forever.

Hymn Source: Hymnal.net

Picture Source: Flickr

There is Joy in Praising and Worshiping God

by | Jun 12, 2014 | Blog, Daily Word

Keep Calm and Worship God

 

Beloved, we continue today with Psalm 89 verses 15-18, which says:

 

Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.
16 They rejoice in your name all day long;
they celebrate your righteousness.
17 For you are their glory and strength,
and by your favor you exalt our horn.[a]
18 Indeed, our shield[b] belongs to the Lord,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.

 

As we can see from these verses, it is indeed a joyful thing to praise The Lord. The Bible encourages us to “make a joyful noise to The Lord.”

Come to think of it, singing praises to God is always a pleasurable experience. Praising God makes you feel happy and you feel lighter in your spirit.

Also, when you look at how other gods or deities are worshiped, it is done with so much violence and aggression. Sometimes, worship of these small gods involves shedding of blood or animal sacrifice. These small gods take a lot from their followers because they set conditions that are very exacting and their followers dare not disobey them because of the terrible consequences they will suffer.

For us followers of Jesus Christ, it is a pleasure to worship him. He does not set impossible conditions for us, but looks upon us with love. He gently calls us to him, and every worship experience is beautiful.

God loves us unconditionally and he wants the best for us. He satisfies our souls with gladness and our joy and pleasure are his utmost delight.

 

*Image Source

Hymns to Love: To God Who Makes All Lovely Things

by | Jun 11, 2014 | Blog, Daily Word

Elm Trees

Elm Trees (See Verse 3)

 

Today, I would like to share this hymn with you. It’s one of my favorite hymns:

 

TO GOD WHO MAKES ALL LOVELY THINGS

J. M. C. Crum, 1872-1958

 

1. To God who makes all lovely things
How happy must our praises be!
Each day a new surprise he brings
To make us glad his world to see.

2. How plentiful must be the mines
From which he gives his gold away;
In March he gives us celandines,
He gives us buttercups in May.

3. He grows the wheat and never stops;
There’s none can count the blades of green;
And up among the elm-tree tops
As many thousand leaves are seen.

4. And when the wheat is bound in sheaves
He sends his wind among the trees,
And down come all the merry leaves
In yellow-twinkling companies.

5. On winter nights his quiet flakes
Come falling, falling all the night,
And when the world next morning wakes
It finds itself all shining white.

6. He makes the sea that shines afar
With waves that dance unceasingly;
And every single little star
That twinkles in the evening sky.

7. He made the people that I meet,
The many people, great and small,
In home and school, and down the street,
And he made me to love them all.

 

Hymn Source
Picture Source