Even when it's cloudy, the sun always abides Even when it's raining, the rainbow will shine When the thunder roars, the lightning will flash Winds may fiercely blow, but the storm will surely pass.
There's not a single moment my God is not with me Giving me the strength to face the storms with peace I have this great assurance the He will give me grace And guide me through the trials that I will surely face
That's why I live each day with optimism grand I know that I am settled in His almighty plan And when my time is over and heaven is my home I'll praise His name forever and dance around His throne
When I consider all that He has done for me
When I consider all the love that came from Calvary
When I consider that he died so I could be set free
I can't help but praise His name
When I look up to the heavens and see His majesty
When I see the trees to colors and the wind blow mightily
When I hear the bird sing sweetly as the sun dawns in the East
I can't help but praise His name
He is always there to guide me
Always right beside me
Always there to pick me up if I should start to fall
He is there to hear my prayers
He is there to dry my tears
That is why I praise His name
When I lie my body down, and try to go to sleep
I can hear His voice speak softly as the day fades quietly
He whispers in my ear "My Son I love you, Oh so dear
I can’t help but praise His name.
I pray a blessing on you today
May all your desires come your way
May you hear the sound of your spirit say
It is well with my soul
I pray that mercy will fill your heart
That grace may be what you always impart
That your song of life will always start
It is well with my soul
I pray that life brings you joy today
And that peace will follow you all the way
I pray that His love will cause you to say
It is well with my soul
Let your heart rejoice
Let your praise be heard
Lift your loudest voice
To our awesome Lord
Bringing honor and glory to God above
He’s the Savior of your soul
He will be with you each and every day
He will guide your life and show you the way
He died on a cross just to hear you say
It is well with my soul
Alive!
Breathing!!
Viewing His beautiful creation.
Smelling His glorious scents.
Hearing the wonder of nature.
Feeling the wind in my face.
Alive!
Breathing!
My mind is full of His word
My thoughts ever honor His name
My heart desires to praise Him
My soul longs to hear Him again
Alive!
Breathing!
What a joy that he gives me this day
To bask in the life He has blessed
To take in the whole of creation
To know I can lean on His breast
He gives me breath
He gives me sight
He gives me hearing
He gives me smell
He gives me touch
He gives me life
To enjoy His creation
To lift up His name
In praise.
Alive!
Breathing!
What a glorious day this will be!
I've never felt so much loneliness
When peace and joy seemed so far away
My heart is restless sitting in this place
I am broken and afraid I’ve lost my way
I try to stand but feel the weight of fear
I fall down on my knees in deep disgrace
I feel the tears well up in my eyes
My words come slowly as I start to pray
CHORUS
Lord I need you. Lord I’m desperate
Lord come quickly and mend my heart
Lord I need you more than ever
Come Lord Jesus. Please come now
I hear Him whisper gently in my ear
My child I have always been right here
Just call my name and I will come to you
In times of desperation I am yours
CHORUSBRIDGE
He is always near. He is always near.
He is always near. Right by my side
CHORUS
God's desire is always my freedom,
my deliverance,
my salvation from the pitfalls of this world.
He wants me to walk in health and in blessing.
I am the one who does not listen.
He always listens to me.
I am the one who doesn't spend time with Him.
He always wants to spend time with me.
I am the one who does not follow His word.
He always honors His word.
I am the one who walks away from His leading.
He is always walking beside me.
This sin that constantly invades my thoughts is not His fault,
it is mine because I do not let His thoughts invade my mind.
He wants me to think on those things in His word,
on blessing not just ordinary living,
on victory not defeat,
on health not sickness,
on joy not sorrow,
on peace not turmoil,
on faith not doubt.
It's time to harken to Him!
Honestly
I must admit that I fail woefully
But you still show me that your mercy’s free
Honestly
Honestly
I don’t deserve the grace you give to me
All around are blessings I can see
Honestly
Nothing before me. Nothing behind me
Nothing below or from above
No other power, strength or dominion
Can ever separate your love (from me)
I am so good at deceiving myself into thinking God doesn’t know that I am doing this thing or that. Or that He doesn’t care if I am disobeying one of those little Old Testament commands. After all,. Jesus paid for my sins when He died on the cross. I’m covered by grace, after all, and the Old testament law has been abolished. I’m under the New Covenant now, which means I am saved by grace and God has forgiven all my sins. Doesn’t that mean I can go about my own business and not worry about following ever command He gives? Doesn’t that mean if I do sin, He will forgive me readily and apply His grace once again?
The answer to the first question is no. Willful sin is not something we, as Christians, ought to be doing. When we accept Christ, we die to sin. In Galatians 2:20, Paul said he was crucified with Christ, and yet He lived. He died to the flesh just as Christ did, and he now lives in the Spirit, just as Christ does. He goes on to say that the life He now lives in the flesh is only by the grace of God. God’s grace keeps us from hell. It makes us a new creation, old things are supposed to be passed away! New things are supposed to come alive in us. When the enemy comes and tries to lure us back into our old ways, we musty stand against Him with the full armor of God! Walking into old sin willfully can be a serious offence, as we are commanded to walk in His word by the Spirit.
The answer to the second question is yes. He will forgive because His love never ends. It never dies. He always loves us and will always forgive us. But we have to come to Him and confess that sin and repent to go the other way. He does not forgive us so we can just go and sin again. he desires that we are clean and spotless, and we should do all we can to stay away from the dirtiness of sin. Nothing can separate us from His love!
Romans 8:38-39 King James Version (KJV) 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When I was a young lad I fell right through the ice
My friend was there to rescue after I had gone down twice
Today I would not be here if he had not saved my life
I look back and I see His mercy there
In my teens I wandered and I became a hippie child
I live a carefree life and was always much too wild
One time I flipped my car three times but injuries were mild
I look back and I see His mercy there
At a fifth high school reunion my friend was there again
He told me about Jesus but I turned my back on him
He persisted for I year until I gave my heart to Him
I look back and I see His mercy there
Then two years later traveled fifteen hundred miles
I met a gal who won me by her pretty little smile
God told me marry her after just a short while
I look back and I see His mercy there
After having three great children my pride got in the way
I looked to everyone a saint but I had gone astray
Sin had taken hold on me so I had to go away
I look back and I see His mercy there
So many more examples I could give to you today
I picked these five out because I had a lot say
But the point of all these stories is show you every day
If you look back you can see His mercy there
All of our lives we have been surrounded by His mercy. It has never left us just as he has never left us. His mercies are new every morning because He is faithful. He does not have to make the sun rise or bring the cooling breeze. He does not have to make the stars to shine or the moon to glow. He does not have to give us breath, or light, or anything else for that matter. After all, he is all powerful, and we are completely unworthy of anything he supplies. We have not earned any of the riches and blessings He gives us. We are only deserving of death because we all have sinned and come short of His glory. We sin when we disobey His commands. We are field with sin from our mothers womb and it manifests itself as we get older. We make a decision to disobey and sin is at the door. But God, in His great mercy, sent His Son to die for us and take away that sin. He had mercy on us then and he continues to have mercy on us today. What a glorious God we serve!
Lamentations 3:22-23 KJV It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
I cry out in the desert
I cry out in the valley
I cry out in the darkness
I cry out in the deep
I cry out when I’m lonely
I cry out when I’m sad
I cry out when in sorrow
I cry out when I’m bad
You incline your ear to me
When I’m filled with misery
You pour out your loving grace
When I cry out with my praise
Holy, holy Lord I love you
Holy, holy Lord I praise you
Holy, holy Lord I worship
All my heart I give to you
It may seem sometimes to the reader that I must have it all together. I read your comments on these words and I am humbled and blessed that they touch you the way they do. I give God glory for using me as a fountain to pour out these writings to you. But that is all I am. A vessel that is overflowing with praise so much that these words just spill out as I sit at my computer. When I went through my cancer battle I learned to listen to His voice, and He started giving me these words. They reflect my life though, my thoughts, my desires, my heart. Only God knows my heart. Only he can bring these things out of it. Only he can bring the truth out.
The truth is I am a sinner saved by grace, just like you. I have the same struggles and maybe more. The truth is I am not near as close to God as I would like to be. The truth is I cry out to Him often. Then I remember that the psalmist says God inclines His ear to me. Like a loving Father, He stoops down and outs His ear near my lips to make sure He can hear every syllable I speak. He cares so much for me that He wants me to come running to Him. He wants me to communicate my deepest fears and failures. Then he will lift me out of that place and pout me back on solid ground, back within the walls of His fortress. He loves me so much. He loves you so much!
Psalm 116:2 King James version Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.
My life has ups and downs
Like a yo-yo spins around
Falling closely to the ground
Then back into His hand
My life is like a boomerang
That flies by its own plan
The circles back again
Back into His hand
I have a tendency to wander
Every time I turn and stray
I yearn again to find my way
Back into His hand
When I seem so far away
I fall on my knees and pray
Father please bring me safely
Back into your hand
There’s no place I’d rather be
When my troubles surround me
Then returning home again
Back into His hand
The nation of Israel is an amazing story of a people who had plenty of ups and downs/ The were captive in Egypt for over 400 years, slave laborers to Pharaoh. Their burden was heavy. Then God called Moses to bring His people out of that bondage, a fulfillment of a prophecy given to Abraham 400 years earlier. Through a series of 10 miracles, God freed them from their slavery only to lead them into the wilderness. For 4 years He led them circling around the wilderness before they finally got to their destination. Once there, they faltered and wandered even more. Only this time it was their spiritual life that faltered. They forgot the God that saved them, freed them and delivered them. The forgot the God who fed them , protected them and fought for them. God assigned judges, then kings to guide the, but they never could be consistent. Up and down, close to God then far away.
I am too much like them, unfortunately. I have days when I feel real close to god and others I walk way from Him. It’s not that I want to be outside of His protection. I just find myself wandering there and then wishing I had not. I cry out to Him and every time He brings me back into His loving hands. What mercy He shows, what grace He bestows whenever I call on His name!
Matthew 14:31 King James Version 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
The Psalmist 