(photo by mac8oppo via pixabay.com)
For My Needs
(photo by mac8oppo via pixabay.com)
To God My Help
O God, my help in ages past,
My hope for years to come,
My shelter from the stormy blast,
And my eternal home.
Under the shadow of Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And my defense is sure.
Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.
A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.
O God, my help in ages past,
My hope for years to come,
My shelter from the stormy blast,
And my eternal home.
Travelers
Father God,
please grant me and the lovely Robin
safe and successful travel today.
Make smooth paths
(and flight schedules) for our feet.
Grant safe and timely travel to the airport.
Help us to make our flights
safely reach our destination.
Protect us from coach cabin infections.
Guide our steps,
guard our thoughts,
and give us sweet communion with you
pleasant interactions with others,
and a joyful reunion with our kids and grandkids.
Make us alert to any opportunity to be the means of blessing
to our fellow travelers,
or those who serve them,
in Jesus' name, amen.
Saturday Psalm #102
Can you hear me?
Please bend your ear
and come to me
in my great need.
Tune to my wavelength,
and answer me asap.
For my days pass far too fast
and I'm feeling mighty old these days.
I've lost a step--or twenty!
But worse than my age these days
are my unreliable moods.
I stress too easily.
I get discouraged much too often.
I deprive myself of sleep
and my Enemy steals my peace.
And my joy.
I care far too much what people think.
And I've almost forgotten what joy feels like.
What's the deal?
What's wrong with me?
I tell myself it's part of the aging process.
But I know there's more to it than that.
Help me figure it out, Lord.
Speak to me through your Word,
through wise counselors,
and through my loving wife and kids and friends.
Until then, I know this:
You are still in control.
You are still worthy of praise.
You will arise and have mercy on me and mine.
You will send help in time of need.
You will never abandon your people.
You will be glorified among the nations.
Your radiance will awe the kings of the earth.
You will rebuild all the Enemy tears down,
you will restore all he steals.
You hear the prayers of the most needy.
You will not reject their pleas.
When I am tempted to be discouraged
or to indulge in self pity,
I will remember that you have looked down on me
from your holy heights
and blessed me beyond my wildest imagining!
You hear the groans of the prisoners,
You free those condemned to die.
Your fame is rightly celebrated in Zion,
and by your grace I will yet sing your praises in Jerusalem,
both in this life and the next.
So what if I'm old?
So what if I could be healthier and more vigorous?
My God, who lives forever,
has granted me a long and wonderful life!
More importantly, you who laid the foundation of the earth
and made the heavens with your hands
will be mine forever!
This body of mine will wear out like old clothing.
You will someday even discard the heavens and the earth
and replace them like an outdated suit of clothes.
But you are always the same;
you will live forever.
And you are mine forever.
And all me and mine--we are yours.
Thank you!
Hallelujah!
Amen.
(photo art via pixabay.com)
Outdo
God, I fear
You’ve made the World too beautiful this year.
(a prayer by Edna St. Vincent Millay; photo by Lynn McCane)
You Lead Me
O words with heavenly comfort fraught!
Whate'er I do, where'er I be,
Still it's Your hand that leads me.
You lead me, You lead me;
By Your own hand You lead me:
Your faithful follower I will be,
As by Your hand You lead me.
Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom,
Sometimes where Eden's flowers bloom,
By waters calm, o'er troubled sea,
Still it's Your hand that leads me.
Lord, I would clasp Your hand in mine,
And never murmur nor repine;
Content, whatever lot I see,
Since I know my God is leading me.
And when my task on earth is done,
When, by Your grace, the victory's won,
Even death's cold wave I will not flee,
Since You through Jordan are leading me.
(a hymn by Joseph Gilmore, slightly revised; photo via pixabay.com)
Saturday Psalm #101
Lord, let the soundtrack of my lifebe filled with songs about your love and justice;
let my theme song be filled with your praise.
By your grace, make me careful to lead a blameless life.
Make me patient in waiting for you to show yourself.
Let my housecoat be a blameless heart.
By your grace, help me shield my eyes from anything vile.
Help me steer clear of faithless friends
and corrupting companions.
By your grace, I will have nothing to do with evil.
I will not listen to gossip and slander;
I will not excuse arrogance.
By your grace, I will look for godly companions and counselors
to walk with me
and minister to me.
By your grace, I will learn to recognize
and avoid all those who traffic in lies
and stir up conflict and dissension.
By your grace, I will turn a deaf ear to wickedness
and live and lead without their interference.
(based on Psalm 101; the illustration is Psalms 101 and 102 from a 13th century Psalter created by monks in France)
A Good Prayer
My Master, I have sinned before You.
May it be Your will, O Lord my God, to grant me a good heart, a good portion, a good inclination, a good friend, a good name, a good eye, a good soul, a lowly disposition, and a humble spirit.
(A prayer from the Talmud, Tractate Berakhot; photo by Bubamara via everystockphoto.com).
Rest and Rule
let your Spirit,
who rested on Jesus the Branch—
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord—
rest on me and rule in my life today,
in Jesus' name, amen.
(based on Isaiah 11:1-2; photo by "hickory hardscrabble" via everystockphoto.com)
A Variation on a Hymn
We’re in your hands,
Whate’er the future holds,
We’re in your hands.
The days we cannot see
Are not a mystery;
You’ve planned them perfectly.
We’re in
your
hands.
(variation on a hymn by Stanley Ditmer; pronouns and lines 5-7 revised; photo by comfreak via pixabay.com)
On Our Anniversary
how can I possibly thank you
for my bride,
my wife,
and these forty-two years of marriage,
and forty-five years of love
you have given me
with the lovely Robin?
Thank you for yet another year of life together.
Thank you for her faithful,
giving,
loving,
kind,
passionate,
sweet,
constant heart.
Thank you for all
the happiness we have known together;
the sorrows we have faced together;
the children we have raised
and the grandchildren we have been given.
Thank you for our home,
our health,
our laughter,
our hopes and dreams,
our unfinished plans,
and our small accomplishments.
Thank you that she has stuck with me, never wavering in her support.
Thank you that she still laughs at (some of) my jokes.
Thank you that she grows more beautiful every day.
Thank you for all her perfections,
and all my improvements.
Spare us another year to walk together,
and grant that for us it may be true
that the best is yet to be,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saturday Psalm #100
I'm so happy to be your child.
I'm so happy to worship you;
I'm delighted to sing songs to you.
I'm thrilled to know and say that you are God,
you are my Creator, and I am yours.
I'm happy to be your child, the sheep of your pasture.
I'm grateful to enter your gates,
it is my privilege to come into your courts with praise;
I am honored to give thanks to you and praise your name.
For you, LORD, are good,
and your love endures forever;
your faithfulness never ends.
Amen.
(photo by paularps via everystockphoto.com)
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