Seize the Moment – Day 550
Today’s hymn focus will be
“The Bond of Love”
1 John 3:18-19(NLT)
“ Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.”
Otis Skillings grew up playing the piano in his father’s church. But his life was changed when he was asked to play for the Dayton Youth for Christ gatherings. He would go on to write thousands of songs during his lifetime and travel the world as a music missionary. But this simple hymn was the one he was best known for, expressing our oneness in Christ in such a unique way that is so compelling and timeless. During his travels, he would often find people in other countries singing this song in their native language.
We need to wake up, church, and remember that the world will know that we are Christians by our love. Our actions speak so much louder than our words!
YOUTUBE:
The Bond of Love
Verse 1
Love thro’ Christ has brought us together,
Making our hearts as one.
By God’s Spirit we are united,
One thro’ His blessed Son.
Chorus
We are one in the bond of love,
We are one in the bond of love,
We have joined our spirit with the Spirit of God,
We are one in the bond of love.
Verse 2
Now, dear Lord, we join in worship;
Thank you for all you’ve done.
Thank You for this love You gave us;
Thank you for making us one.
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Seize the Moment – Day 543
Today’s hymn focus will be
“Leaning on the Everlasting Arms”
Deuteronomy 33:27(NLT)
“The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you;”
Anthony Showalter of Dalton, GA was a Presbyterian elder that was well-known for being an advocate of gospel music. He published over 130 music books and became known in the South for his singing schools in local churches.
He was a very relational teacher, taking interest in his students’ lives even after they had finished his school. After finishing a class one night, he returned to his room to find two letters from two former students, both sharing the news that they had lost their wives. He went to the scriptures to find words to comfort them and found this verse in Deuteronomy. As he pondered on the scripture, these words came to mind:
Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.
After writing this chorus, he sent the words to his friend, hymnist Elisha Hoffman, saying “I can’t come up with any verses” After writing three stanzas, Elisha sent it back to him and he set it to music, giving us these words to cheer us up in our times of trouble.
We need to wake up and sing this song loud and with faith proclaim:
What have I to dread, what have I to fear? Leaning on the everlasting arms
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near. Leaning on the everlasting arms
YOUTUBE:
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
Safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.
O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
O how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
I have peace complete with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
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Seize the Moment – Day 536
Today’s hymn focus will be
“Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus”
Psalm 56:11-12(NLT)
I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?
What can mere mortals do to me?
I will fulfill my vows to you, O God,
and will offer a sacrifice of thanks for your help.”
Born in Dover, England in 1850, Louisa M.R. Stead became a Christian at the age of 9. She felt the call to be a missionary in her teenage years. At the age of 21 she migrated to the United States and while attending a revival service in Urbana, Ohio, she felt the Lord affirm that missionary call. She wanted to go to China, but her health proved to be too frail for the climate there. She married and had a child, but during a family vacation to Long Island beach, her husband drowned after saving a child.
She and her daughter went to South Africa as missionaries for 15 years, and it was there that she wrote this hymn:
Jesus, Jesus how I trust Him! How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er.
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! O for grace to trust Him more!
She is quoted as saying, “One cannot in the face of peculiar difficulties help saying, ‘Who is sufficient for these things?’ but with simple confidence and trust we may and do say ‘Our sufficiency is of God.’”
We need to wake up with that same confidence that Jesus is our Savior friend and will always be with us to the end.
YOUTUBE:
Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus
’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His word;
Just to rest upon His promise;
Just to know, Thus saith the Lord.
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him,
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er,
Jesus, Jesus, Precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more.
O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
Just in simple faith to plunge me,
’Neath the healing, cleansing flood.
Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life, and rest, and joy, and peace.
I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.
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Seize the Moment – Day 529
Today’s hymn focus will be “Precious Lord, Take My Hand”
Isaiah 41:13(NLT)
“For I hold you by your right hand— I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.”
Thomas A Dorsey wrote this song out of his brokenness after losing his wife and newborn son. He wrote the song while at Ebenezer Baptist Church in South Chicago, and had the choir sing it on Sunday. He was quoted as saying “It tore up the church!”
Through the storm, through the night, Lead me on to the light
Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.
Dorsey said “My business is to try to bring people to Christ instead of leaving them where they are…What I share with people is love. I try to lift their spirits and let them know that God still loves them, still saving and giving them that power.”
YOUTUBE:
Precious Lord, take my hand
Lead me on, let me stand
I’m tired, I’m weak, I’m worn
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home
When my light is almost gone
Hear my cry, hear my call
Hold my hand lest I fall
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home
And the day is past and gone
At the river I stand
Guide my feet, hold my hand
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home
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Seize the Moment – Day 522
“Lord, I Need You”
Psalm 40:17(NLT)
“ As for me, since I am poor and needy, let the Lord keep me in his thoughts.
You are my helper and my savior. O my God, do not delay.”
This modern-day hymn was written by the collaboration of four songwriters-Kristian Stanfill, Christy Nockles, Jesse Reeves and Daniel Carson and was sung by Matt Maher at the Passion 2011 Conference. One person would write a line then send it to the group, then someone would add to that line and send it on.
Half-way through, Jesse said it reminded him of the hymn “I Need Thee Every Hour”, so they paid homage to that song by including part of it in their hymn.
But Maher remembers the big moment when they wrote the lyrics “Where You are, I am free, holiness is Christ in me!” This was the songs declaration of the powerful Truth that when God looks at us, since we have been redeemed by Jesus, He sees His Son.
Lord, I need You, Oh, I need You. Every hour I need You.
My one defense, my righteousness, Oh God, how I need You.
The challenge of this hymn is to think about whether or not you believe every word when you sing along!
We need to wake up and acknowledge the fact that we need God every moment of every day and lean into Him.
YOUTUBE:
Lord, I Need You
Bowing here, I find my rest
Without You, I fall apart
You’re the one that guides my heart
Every hour, I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You
Where grace is found is where You are
And where You are, Lord I am free
Holiness is Christ in me
Every hour, I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You
When temptation comes my way
And when I cannot stand, I’ll fall on You
Jesus, You’re my hope and stay
Every hour, I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You
You’re my one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You
Oh God, how I need You
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Seize the Moment – Day 515
Today’s hymn focus will be “I Am Thine O Lord”
Hebrews 10:22(NLT)
“ let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.”
Each day requires that we make a fresh connection with Jesus, renewing our dedication to Him. We are all faced with daily challenges that could make even the strongest of Christians be weak in their faith. That is why we have to make sure that God has His rightful place on the throne of our hearts.
In 1875, Fanny Crosby was visiting the home of William H. Doane in Cincinnati, Ohio when she wrote this hymn. The family had been discussing the blessedness of enjoying the nearness of God. Fanny was so moved that she suddenly started giving the words to this hymn, verse by verse and then the chorus, to which Doane soon provided the music.
“I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice, and it told Thy love to me; But I long to rise in the arms of faith, and be closer drawn to Thee.”
We need to wake up and begin the new day, with all of its unknown pressures and temptations, with this musical prayer on our lips “Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord, to Thy precious bleeding side.”
YOUTUBE:
Have Thine Own Way, Lord
I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith,
And be closer drawn to Thee.
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the pow’r of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine.
O the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God,
I commune as friend with friend!
There are depths of love that I yet may know
Ere Thee face to face I see;
There are heights of joy that I yet may reach
Ere I rest in peace with Thee.
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Seize the Moment – Day 508
Today’s hymn focus will be “Have Thine Own Way, Lord”
Jeremiah 18:6(NLT)
“O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.”
Written in 1902, Adelaide A. Pollard was a teacher in a Chicago girls’ school and had a fine reputation as a Bible study teacher. She had a strong desire to be a missionary and was trying to raise funds to make a trip to Africa, and she was not being very successful. Because of this, she was experiencing a ‘distress of the soul”.
The words of a simple prayer by an elderly woman provided her with the setting of a personal reflection on the will of God for her life. The prayer was “It really doesn’t matter what you do with us, Lord…just have Your way in our lives.” She went home from that prayer meeting and wrote the hymn as we sing it today.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Thou art the Potter,
I am the clay. Mold me and make me after Thy will, while I am waiting, yielded and still.
We need to wake up each morning with this type of attitude. Not my will, but Your will, Lord, be done in my life, so that I will be filled with the Spirit till all they see is Christ living in me.
YOUTUBE:
Have Thine Own Way, Lord
Have thine own way!
Thou art the potter,
I am the clay.
Mold me and make me
after thy will,
while I am waiting,
yielded and still.
Have thine own way!
Search me and try me,
Savior today!
Wash me just now, Lord,
wash me just now,
as in thy presence
humbly I bow.
Have thine own way!
Wounded and weary,
help me I pray!
Power, all power,
surely is thine!
Touch me and heal me,
Savior divine!
Have thine own way!
Hold o’er my being
absolute sway.
Fill with thy Spirit
till all shall see
Christ only, always,
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Seize the Moment – Day 501
Today’s hymn focus will be “I’ll Fly Away”
2 Corinthians 5:8 (NLT)
“Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.”
I’ll fly away, o glory, I’ll fly away. When I die, hallelujah, by and by, I’ll fly away
Wake up with this song in your heart and on your lips as you prepare for your day!
YOUTUBE:
I’ll Fly Away
I’ll fly away
To a home on God’s celestial shore
I’ll fly away
I’ll fly away
When I die, Hallelujah, by and by
I’ll fly away
I’ll fly away
To a land where joy shall never end
I’ll fly away
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Live Like a Champion – Week 30
“The Promise of a Teacher”
Memory Verse: Luke 12:12
“If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.7 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you… I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you..”
John 14:15-17, 25-26
Miriam/Webster defines the word ‘teach’ as
“to show or explain how to do something; give information about or instruction in a subject or skill; encourage some to accept as fact or principle.”
And then they were instructed to teach their children in Deuteronomy 11:19
“Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.”
I. God will provide an Advocate (Comforter, Encourager, Counselor)
He was telling them that, just like God, the Holy Spirit will never leave you. And while Jesus was going to physically leave this earth, He was assuring them that they would not be alone.
How do we find this truth? Jesus once again reminds them of what He told them earlier.
“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32
We are once again shown that the Holy Spirit will lead us and guide us and point us to Jesus the Son, and He, in everything He ever said or did, points us to God the Father. The Father speaks to us through the Holy Spirit, who leads us into all truth, which are the words and ways of Jesus, who brings glory to God…see the cycle?
“If you love me, obey my commandments.” John 14:15 (you will)
“Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me….” John 14:21a
II. The Holy Spirit will be our Teacher
“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” John 14:26
“will be to “lead” them into the full comprehension of all he wants them to know. The Spirit will not present an independent message, differing from what they had already learned from him. Rather, they will be led further into the realization of his person and into the development of the principles he has already laid down. They will also be enlightened about coming events.”
John 16:13-14 states:
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.”
Yes, we have pastors, elders, bible study leaders, discipleship group leaders, small group leaders and accountability partners, but they are all subject to the Holy Spirit teaching the wisdom of God.
Let’s read 1 Corinthians 2:10-12
“For it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.”
The Spirit searches the depths of God and reveals God’s plans for us, showing us the joy of living a spirit filled life in contrast to the folly of the plans of this world.
- Points on a compass “Never East Sour Watermelon
- Names of notes on a staff: (spaces) FACE
- (Lines) Every Good Boy Does Fine
- Planets: My Very Educated Mother Just Served Is Noodles
The ESV version says “He will teach you all things and bring back to your remembrance…”
Solomon was a great wise king who’s wisdom was given to him by God. He wrote in Proverbs 3:5-6:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”
So we have to ask ourselves:
- Am I willing to be a student of the Holy Spirit?
- Am I willing to submit my own ideas to that which the Holy Spirit reveals?
- Am I willing to choose to live this life in the Light of eternity?
“ …for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said.”
Luke 12:12
You can listen to Ken’s message here:
You can watch this message by clicking HERE.
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Seize the Moment – Day 494
Today’s hymn focus will be “The Heart of Worship”
John 4:24 (ESV)
“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
This modern-day hymn was written by Matt Redman in 1999. While his worship band was impacting churches around the world, worship in his home church had a missing dynamic. His pastor asked the congregation what they were bringing to God in worship, or if they were just soaking in the music as consumers. He decided to strip away every diversion and distraction and stopped using the musicians and the sound & light systems.
At first it was awkward, but eventually they rediscovered their own voices being raised in worship, unaccompanied, offering up prayers from their hearts and experiencing God in a fresh way.
I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about You,
it’s all about You, Jesus. I’m sorry, Lord, for the things I’ve made it,
when it’s all about You, it’s all about You, Jesus.
We need to wake up and ask ourselves “What are we bringing as our offering to God in our services at FBC?” …For true worship demands a response from the heart!
YOUTUBE:
The Heart of Worship
All is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that’s of worth
That will bless your heart
I’ll bring you more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what you have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You’re looking into my heart
And it’s all about you
It’s all about you, Jesus
I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it
When it’s all about you
It’s all about you, Jesus
No one could express
How much you deserve
Though I’m weak and poor
All I have is yours
Every single breath
I’ll bring you more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what you have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You’re looking into my heart
And it’s all about you
It’s all about you, Jesus
I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it
When it’s all about you
It’s all about you, Jesus
‘Cause it’s all about you
It’s all about you, Jesus
I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it
‘Cause it’s all about you
It’s all about You, Jesus
I’ll bring you more than a song
More than a song
I’ll bring you more than a song (than a song)
Looking into my heart
Into my heart
I’ll bring you more than a song
I’ll bring you more than a song
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