Because

Because of Your love, I will love.
Because of my love, I’ll obey.

I feel You by my side
When troubles come to call.
You guide me through the pains of life,
And hold me, lest I fall.
It wasn’t always thus.
For I ignored Your aid.
I wadded deeply into sin,
And stumbled on the way.

You came to where I lay,
A filthy, mucked-up life,
Held our Your hand, and pulled me up.
“My child,” You said. “My love.”
“How could You love,” I asked,
“when I’ve ignored You so?”
You held me close, and smiled at me.
“I died for you, you know.

So now my way is clear,
For You have shown the way.
You’ve taught me how to love You more,
You taught me to obey.
I’m more free than before.
You’ve brought me to Your light
When I am puzzled, or confused,
You show what’s wrong, what’s right.

Because of Your love, I will love.
Because of my love, I’ll obey.

Bring Glory

May what I speak be filtered through Your grace;
May what I do show Your unfailing love.
May words and actions both satisfy Truth;
May mercy become my reason for life.
Not only hearing, but doing Your will
Allows Your Spirit to guide us through life.
All blessings of God are ours, forever,
More numerous than the sands on the beach.
To You alone be all glory, O Lord!
To You alone will we give accolades,
For You alone can claim to be worthy
And You, Lord, are faithfulness incarnate.
Because of Your faithfulness, truth, and love
It’s only fitting that we’d at least try
To live according to Your will, O Lord;
Through our minor struggles, bring You glory.

With Grateful Hearts

With grateful hearts, we come, O Lord,
With praises on our lips.
When listening ears
Erase our fears,
We'll hear Your voice of calm.

Oh, may we sit with You awhile
To gain serenity
Before we go
Into the world
To live our inner dreams.

End? Or Beginning?

Each “ending” is also a “beginning.”
Changing from old to the new grows our faith.
Clothed in His presence, to witness for Christ,
Brings His powerful mercy to others.

When something is ending, open your eyes.
Don’t be discouraged if you do not see.
Whatever your doubt, stand up to your fears;
When fears fall away, true faith can begin.

Pray

When God said we should pray
For those who persecute us,
He did not explain.
He could not have meant
That we should bless them.

But, God said we should pray,
Ask Him to bless offenders.
OK, LORD, I’ll ask
That You bless them all!
But, must I mean it?

Talk With Him

Do we only pray when things go wrong?
When disturbances darken our soul?
We must learn to praise when things are right,
When questions rise,
When answers come,
When day begins,
When night’s begun.
Pray, without ceasing. Just--Talk with Him.

Walk in the way that Jesus once walked;
That must be the way He lives in you.
He often went out alone to pray,
Never for show
But from His love.
Always from grace
That He provides,
Pray, without ending. Just--Talk with Him.

We’re not here to prove God answers prayer,
(He may not answer as we desire.)
We’re to be living pictures of grace.
God answers prayer
By helping us
Be in complete
Oneness with God!
Pray, unceasingly--Talk with Him.

               from The Promise, from Advent to Today

I Will Continue

“Blessed is the nation
 Whose God is the Lord.”
In but a breath of time,
Our nation has gone
 From seeking freedom of religion
 To screams of freedom from religion!
We are no longer “One nation, under God.”
We are divided
 Between those who believe God
  And those who slam all Christians;
 Between those who have, but want more;
  And those who have not, and want what others work for;
 And those between these extremes.

I will not hide!
I believe in God, the Almighty!
I believe He has a purpose for all..
 Even for the “godless.”
I am not privy to His “Big Picture,”
 I am but one tiny speck
 In the far left corner, under a thorny rosebush.
But, I know my part.
I will continue to believe,
 To serve my Savior by serving others.
I will continue to believe,
 To pray for my nation to return “under God.”
I will continue to believe,
 And to understand,
 That God is always in control.

I -- Will -- Continue - To - Believe !

From The Promise (from Advent to Today), published by Tate Publishers (page. 222)