O Give Thanks to the Lord

O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
for His steadfast love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
those He redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south. . . .

For He satisfies the thirsty,
and the hungry he fills with good things. . . .

He brought them out of darkness and gloom,
and He saved them from their distress. . . .

He sent out His word and healed them,
and delivered them from destruction. . . .

Let those who are wise give heed to these things,
and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

(Excerpted from Psalm 107, NRSV)

A Child's Prayer

God make my life a little light,
Within the world to glow;
A tiny flame that burneth bright
Wherever I may go.
God make my life a little flower,
That giveth joy to all,
Content to bloom in native bower,
Although its place be small.
God make my life a little song,
That comforteth the sad;
That helpeth others to be strong,
And makes the singer glad.
God make my life a little staff,
Whereon the weak may rest,
That so what health and strength I have
May serve my neighbors best.

(M. Bentham-Edwards)

Three Things

I know three things must always be
To keep a nation strong and free
One is a hearthstone bright and dear
With busy, happy loved ones near
One is a ready heart and hand
To love and serve and keep the land
One is a worn and beaten way
To where the people go to pray
So long as these are kept alive
Nation and people will survive
God keep them always everywhere
The home, the heart, the place of prayer

Author Unknown

The prayer of Psalm 84

How lovely is your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young--
even Your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in Your house;
they will still be prising You.
Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a spring;
the rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
each one appears before God in Zion.
O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob.
O God, behold our shield, and look upon the face of your annointed.
For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord will give grace and glory;
no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts, blessed in the man who trusts in You!

King James Version

We plow the fields and scatter
the good seed on the land,
but it is fed and watered
by God's almighty hand.
He sends the snow in the winter,
the warmth to swell the grains,
the breeze and the sunshine,
and soft refreshing rain.
He only is the Maker
of all things near and far.
He paints the wayside flowers,
He lights the evening star.
The winds and waves obey Him;
by Him the birds are fed;
much more to us, His children,
He gives our daily bread.
We thank Thee, then, O Father,
for all things bright and good,
the seed time and the harvest,
our life, our health, our food.
Accept the gifts we offer,
for all Thy love imparts,
and, what Thous most desirest,
our humble, thankful hearts.

Author Unknown

Columnist Herb Caen wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle: "Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle; when the sun comes up, you'd better be running."

Charles Spurgeon writes likewise, "If you are not seeking the Lord, the Devil is seeking you. If you are not seeking the Lord, judgment is at your heels."

In the Christian life, it's not enough to simply wake up. We are called to run, to become more like Christ, to press ahead in godliness.

Author Unknown

When the promises of love
are first made to us,
Our hearts overflow
with ecstasy.
We never dreamed such happiness
could ever be ours--
the love,
the warmth,
the acceptance,
The promise of a future
alive with excitement
and joy.
But when the promises are broken,
the love vanishes,
the hope disappears,
And we feel so empty
and alone.

And we wonder in despair,
'What did I say
to bring about such change?
What did I do
to turn away such love?
Am I not worthy
of another's love?
Am I no good at all?"

God hears those cries
of our broken hearts.
He promises to stay
especially close to us
Until our hearts are mended
and our wounds
are healed.

Author Unknown

Cast your cares on the Lord
and he will sustain you;
He will never let the righteous fall.
Psalm 55.22

Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Psalm 43.5

I will exalt you, O Lord,
for you lifted me out of the depths. . . .
O Lord my God,
I called to you for help
and you healed me.
Psalm 30.1-2

The Lord delights in the way of man
whose steps he has made firm;
Though he stumble,
he will not fall,
For the Lord upholds him
with his hand.
Psalm 37.23-24

Everyone hurts
at one time
or another.
Sometimes the hurts
are relatively minor
and tend to go away
by themselves,
but at other times
the hurts
are so intense
that we wonder
whether they will
ever go away.
God does not promise
that his children
will have no hurts
in this life,
but God wants you to know
that every hurt of yours
is of concern
to him,
and he graciously
invites you
to cast all your cares
on him,
because HE cares
about YOU.

Author Unknown

If you put a buzzard in a pen eight feet square and entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason: a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of ten to twelve feet. Without space to run, as is his habit, he will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no ceiling.

The ordinary bat, a remarkably nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessle and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself up into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.

A bumblebee, if dropped into a open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.

In many ways, there are lots of people like the buzzard, the bat, and the bee. They are struggling with all their problems and frustrations, not realizing that the answer is righ there above them.

May we always look up and put our trust in the Lord.

Author Unknown