Knowing You

All I once held dear, built my life upon
All this world reveres, and wars to own
All I once thought gain I have counted loss
Spent and worthless now, compared to this

Knowing you, Jesus
Knowing you, there is no greater thing
You're my all, you're the best
You're my joy, my righteousness
And I love you, Lord

Now my heart's desire is to know you more
To be found in you and known as yours
To possess by faith what I could not earn
All-surpassing gift of righteousness

Oh, to know the power of your risen life
And to know You in Your sufferings
To become like you in your death, my Lord
So with you to live and never die

Graham Kendrick

Interesting Truth for All of Us

Two donkeys were in the field nearby Jerusalem.

One said; "I don't understand it, just a day before yesterday everyone was throwing their clothes and palms on the road when I was carrying Jesus on my back but since yesterday I'm back to being nothing. Those people don't even see it's me who was carrying Jesus."

The other donkey said: "It works like that, without Jesus you are nothing in this world!"

The same is true for all of us.

God Is...

He is the First and Last, the Beginning and the End!
He is the Creator of all creation and the Keeper of all he created!
He is the Architect of the universe and the Manager of all times.
He always was, He always is, and He always will be...
Unmoved, Unchanged, Undefeated, and never Undone!

He was bruised and brought healing!
He was pierced and eased pain!
He was persecuted and brought freedom!
He was dead and brought life!
He is risen and brings power!
He reigns and brings Peace!

The world can't understand him,
The armies can't defeat Him,
The schools can't explain Him, and
The leaders can't ignore Him.

Herod couldn't kill Him,
The Pharisees couldn't confuse Him, and
The People couldn't hold Him!

Nero couldn't crush Him,
Hitler couldn't silence Him,
The New Age can't replace Him, and
Oprah can't explain Him away!

He is light, love, longevity, and Lord.
He is goodness, Kindness, Gentleness, and God.

He is Holy, Righteous, mighty, powerful, and pure.
His ways are right, His word is eternal,
His will is unchanging, and His mind is on me.

He is my Redeemer, He is my Savior,
He is my guide, and He is my peace!
He is my Joy, He is my comfort,
He is my Lord, and He rules my life!

I serve Him because...
His bond is love,
His burden is light, and
His goal for me is abundant life.

I follow Him because He is...
the wisdom of the wise,
the power of the powerful,
the ancient of days,
the ruler of rulers,
the leader of leaders,
the overseer of the overcomers and the sovereign Lord of all that was and is and is to come.

And if that seems impressive to you, try this on for size...
His goal is a relationship with ME!
He will never leave me,
Never forsake me,
Never mislead me,
Never forget me,
Never overlook me, and
Never cancel my appointment in His appointment book!

When I fall, He lifts me up!
When I fail, He forgives!
When I am weak, He is strong!
When I am lost, He is the way!
When I am afraid, He is my courage!
When I stumble, He steadies me!
When I am hurt, He heals me!
When I am broken, He mends me!
When I am blind, He leads me!
When I am hungry, He feeds me!
When I face trials, He is with me!
When I face persecution, He shields me!
When I face problems, He comforts me!
When I face loss, He provides for me!
When I face Death, He carries me Home!

He is everything for everybody, everywhere, every time, and every way.

He is God,
He is faithful.
I am His, and He is mine!

My Father in heaven can defeat the father of this world.
So, if you're wondering why I feel so secure, understand this...
He said it and that settles it.
God is in control,
I am on His side, and that means all is well with my soul.

Every day is a blessing - for GOD Is!

"That's My King!"

"That's My King!"

The late Dr. S. M. Lockridge, a pastor from San Diego, California said these words in a sermon in Detroit in 1976:

My King was born King. The Bible says He's a Seven Way King. He's the King of the Jews - that's an Ethnic King. He's the King of Israel - that's a National King. He's the King of righteousness. He's the King of the ages. He's the King of Heaven. He's the King of glory. He's the King of kings and He is the Lord of lords. Now that's my King.

Well, I wonder if you know Him. Do you know Him? Don't try to mislead me. Do you know my King? David said the Heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork. My King is the only one of whom there are no means of measure that can define His limitless love. No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of the shore of His supplies. No barriers can hinder Him from pouring out His blessing.

He's enduringly strong. He's entirely sincere. He's eternally steadfast. He's immortally graceful. He's imperially powerful. He's impartially merciful. That's my King. He's God's Son. He's the sinner's saviour. He's the centerpiece of civilization. He stands alone in Himself. He's honest. He's unique. He's unparalleled. He's unprecedented. He's supreme. He's pre-eminent. He's the grandest idea in literature. He's the highest personality in philosophy. He's the supreme problem in higher criticism. He's the fundamental doctrine of historic theology. He's the carnal necessity of spiritual religion. That's my King.

He's the miracle of the age. He's the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him. He's the only one able to supply all our needs simultaneously. He supplies strength for the weak. He's available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and He saves. He's the Almighty God who guides and keeps all his people. He heals the sick. He cleanses the lepers. He forgives sinners. He discharged debtors. He delivers the captives. He defends the feeble. He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regards the aged. He rewards the diligent and He beautifies the meek. That's my King.

Do you know Him? Well, my King is a King of knowledge. He's the wellspring of wisdom. He's the doorway of deliverance. He's the pathway of peace. He's the roadway of righteousness. He's the highway of holiness. He's the gateway of glory. He's the master of the mighty. He's the captain of the conquerors. He's the head of the heroes. He's the leader of the legislatures. He's the overseer of the overcomers. He's the governor of governors. He's the prince of princes. He's the King of kings and He's the Lord of lords. That's my King.

His office is manifold. His promise is sure. His light is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His Word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteous. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. I wish I could describe Him to you... but He's indescribable. That's my King. He's incomprehensible, He's invincible, and He is irresistible.

I'm coming to tell you this, that the heavens of heavens can't contain Him, let alone some man explain Him. You can't get Him out of your mind. You can't get Him off of your hands. You can't outlive Him and you can't live without Him. The Pharisees couldn't stand Him, but they found out they couldn't stop Him. Pilate couldn't find any fault in Him. The witnesses couldn't get their testimonies to agree about Him. Herod couldn't kill Him. Death couldn't handle Him and the grave couldn't hold Him. That's my King.

He always has been and He always will be. I'm talking about the fact that He had no predecessor and He'll have no successor. There's nobody before Him and there'll be nobody after Him. You can't impeach Him and He's not going to resign. That's my King! That's my King!

Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory. Well, all the power belongs to my King. We're around here talking about black power and white power and green power, but in the end all that matters is God's power. Thine is the power. Yeah. And the glory. We try to get prestige and honor and glory for ourselves, but the glory is all His. Yes. Thine is the Kingdom and the power and glory, forever and ever and ever and ever. How long is that? Forever and ever and ever and ever... And when you get through with all of the ever's, then... Amen!

Critism

In her book, "A Closer Walk", Catherine Marshall writes: "One morning last week He gave me an assignment - for one day I was to go on a 'fast' from criticism. I was not to criticize anybody about anything. For the first half of the day, I simply felt a void, almost as if I had been wiped out as a person.

This was especially true at lunch... I listened to the others and kept silent... In our talkative family no one seemed to notice. Bemused, I noticed that my comments were not missed. The federal government, the judicial system, and the institutional church could apparently get along fine without my penetrating
observations.

But still I didn't see what this fast on criticism was accomplishing until mid-afternoon. That afternoon, a specific, positive vision for this life was dropped into my mind with God's unmistakable hallmark on it - joy! Ideas began to flow in a way I had not experienced in years. Now it was apparent what the Lord wanted me to see. My critical nature had not corrected a single one of the multitudinous things I found fault with. What it had done was to stifle my own creativity.

Criticism is a poison that infiltrates friendships, relationships in our businesses, and even our own families. Like a wrecking ball to a condemned building, our criticism destroys the spirit of those who are scrutinized. It has been said, "A statue has never been set up in honor of a critic." The apostle Paul recognized that criticism stings. He faced it throughout his ministry. Maybe it was after hearing criticism of others that he wrote: "Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling-block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way."(Romans 14:13 [kjv)

Why don't you join me in a 'fast' from criticizing others and let's see what our Father teaches us!"

Life’s stages

Life really moves fast, you know! I hear it has stages, only you never realize when one ends and then you get into another (like when travelling, one bus/train/flight into another). One day you are so little, so dependent on your folks for every tiny thing. Next you are busy trying to act ‘Mr/Miss Independent’, because you think you are all adult, cant they see it? Well, we choose not to judge you because ‘it’s only a stage in life’, and you’ll get over it very soon anyway.

Then you get all adult (like you had always wished), and you start to wish that you were still younger. The responsibilities that come with it, the expectations... You start making statements like, “Aren’t kids just lucky, they’ve got someone to worry about them all the time. They don’t have to think about where to get the next meal, or how to get it ready, what to wear, where they’ll sleep… someone is always concerned about that”. Shut up! You had your chance too! (You can tell that to me too).

Sometime last year, I overheard two of my sisters having this ‘stages of life’ conversation. Owing to their professions, there was a lot of jargon I could hardly pick. (There was nothing about debit-credit, time value of money, taxes… Instead I heard words like Oral, Phallic, Latency stages… what!?) So, despite how interesting the conversation seemed to be, my mind had soon wondered to other things and that was it.

For some strange reason today, I found myself busy on Google trying to find out what the girls were talking about. To my disappointment, there are so many theories, named after so many people…

Well, I must be at some stage, or in between stages. Definitely not any of those I remember from that conversation. I am at a stage whereby I have to work hard in order to get any material thing I need. I have this drive to progress in my career and so I find myself sometimes pushing myself beyond the limit. I sometimes have sleepless nights trying to figure out how I’ll deal with certain things, sometimes out of so much joy and other times there is simply no sleep. At this stage, I also have to worry on behalf of some young one, why is she coughing. Oh, she fell, did she hurt herself?School fees is due. That hair needs attention. No, she didn’t just use that word! Did she feed well? Does she feel loved? And then, thankfully my ‘curious mind’ is still at work, I find myself peeping into books to ensure that I don’t forget everything I once knew in this mad rush… And still, take care of me!

I choose not to start envying the young one; didn’t I have my chance too?

But wait! There is one who keeps on reminding me that whatever stage of life I think I am in, whoever grown up I want to feel, I will always be a child to Him. That he constantly and continuously spends His days and nights caring about me.And that I have nothing to fear. And that’s my Creator. And so suddenly, anything and everything heavy that I would otherwise want to attribute to a ‘stage of life’ feels so much lighter… To top it up, He has given me the gift of wonderful friends and family, who love me and make this life just wonderful! Isn't God just great?