Good intentions

I found a quote some time ago, but I can't remember where it came from:

Service:
I have never told anyone that it is the easiest, In fact, it is the hardest.
The willingness to serve is not sitting home and saying, "Call me."  The willingness to serve is going, and saying, "Is there something here I can do to assist you?"
That is willingness to serve.
It is not just clear intention.  It is intention made clear by going and presenting yourself where the service is needed.

I like it!

I think we all have good intentions - to get up an do something - especially in the "Service for God".  As for physically getting up - out of our comfort zone - and doing it, is another story.

I have finished week 3 of my Salvation Army - Public Relations (Wills and Bequests) role, and I am loving every minute.

The stories of how people have had contact with the "Salvo's" over many, many years is a humbling experience - people are thanking ME for this!  People are happy to give, either regularly, annually or by bequest, because the Salvo's have the reputation of serving the needs of others - without discrimination.  What a privilege to be part of this organisation.

I thank God for those who have heard the call to serve others daily - as part of their day to day "job".  I know it wouldn't be an easy task, and probably a thankless one, but one with it's own reward some day.

Matthew 25 (NIV).

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.
32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,
43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”


I was reminded of the song we used to sing (and play) a few years ago that speaks about how God knows our thoughts and intentions - and our depth of devotion too.

Lord you know that we love you
You know our thoughts and intentions
Know the depth of devotion
Found in our lives today
If our love has weakened
If our fervour has waned
Turn us lord by your spirit
Let us love with love unfeigned

Lord you know that we love
Help that love to be true
Fill our lives your spirits power
Lord of love make us strong
We who to Christ belong

Lord you know that we failed you
Our sins how sorely the grieve you
Many times have we fallen
Lord lift us up again
May we walk to be worthy
On the call that is ours
May your will and your purpose
Claim our undivided hours

Lord you know that we love
Help that love to be true
Fill our lives your spirits power
Lord of love make us strong
We who to Christ belong


I'll leave you with another quote;

"'Not called!' did you say? 'Not heard the call,' I think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father's house and bid their brothers and sisters, and servants and masters not to come there. And then look Christ in the face, whose mercy you have professed to obey, and tell him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish his mercy to the world."
William Booth

Refresh & Renewal

Psalm 51:10
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me

Psalm 119:34
Give me understanding and I will obey your instructions; I will put them into practice with all my heart.
35 Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found.
37 Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word
40 I long to obey your commandments! Renew my life with your goodness.

Ephesians 4:22
Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life,
23 a life renewed from the inside
24 and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.

Today I was reminded that we are all in need of refreshment and renewal.  No matter where we are in our journey, sometimes we must realise it's time to stop and reflect, take some time to be refreshed and ask God to renew our body, mind, soul, spirit - and everything else that make us who we are today.
 
Refresh my heart, Lord,
Renew my love,
Pour Your Spirit into my soul,
Refresh my heart.
You set me apart, Lord,
To make me new,
By Your Spirit,
Lift me up, Lord,
Refresh my heart.

And I will worship You, Lord,
With all of my heart,
And I will follow You, Lord,
Refresh my heart.

Refresh my heart, Lord,
Renew my love,
Pour Your Spirit into my soul,
Refresh my heart.
You set me apart, Lord,
To make me new,
By Your Spirit,
Lift me up, oh Lord,
Refresh my heart.

And I will worship you, Lord,
With all of my heart,
And I will follow You, Lord,
Refresh my heart.

Again, it's about asking God how we can be better servants for him - to do His will in this place, and to have some positive impact on others.

We need to understand that we cannot do this on our own, we need Gods help, strength and influence in our (daily) lives to enable us to continue on the road that leads us (and others) to Him.

I think that we often forget to rely on Him and only turn to Him when we are on the downward "slide" or we've hit rock-bottom.  It's easy to forget, and try to do things on our own terms and in our own time.  Our busy schedules don't often allow us to spend time in reflection, refreshment and renewal (isn't that what Sunday's are for ??  Some would say so!), but I would encourage you each to make time in our "busy-ness" to ask God to refresh our hearts, so that we can be used for Him in our "everyday" circumstances.

SACB95 (Tune - Troyte)
Renew my will from day to day;
Blend it with thine and take away
All that now makes it hard to say;
Thy will be done.

Imitating Christ's Humility

Philippians 2:1-11 (NIV).
1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,2 then make my joy complete by being like‑minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, Taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross!  9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

What a great church service we had at Preston Salvation Army on Sunday.

I found the subject of "Humility - A Kingdom Value" very challenging, and again, a much needed reminder for today and for my daily walk in this journey of life.

I read the above passage and highlighted verse 4 and 5.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

The band played the simple Chorus Arrangement of Lord Make Me Like You, which highlights that others are more important than ourselves.  It's not easy to sing - "O Lord I am willing, Do what you must do", but I think we need to seriously consider what we as Christians (Salvo's) portray in our lives - not just on Sunday's, but the rest of the week too.

Lord make me like you,
Please make me like you.
You are a servant, make me one too.
O Lord I am willing,
Do what you must do,
To make me like you Lord,
Please make me like you.

I wrote down a quote which I'd never heard of before;
"Being humble is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less"

How great is that! 

Being humble and having the mind of Christ are 2 things that are not easy to take on board, but it is certainly 2 areas of my life I'm working on.

I have previously blogged on putting Jesus first, Yourself last and Others in between (J O Y, J O Y) but the thought - to be humble whilst doing it - is a timely reminder.

If we are so full of our own self importance, it is near impossible to put others before us, let alone putting God in His rightful place.

My prayer for today:

I am praying, blessed Saviour,
To be more and more like thee;
I am praying that thy spirit
Like a dove may rest on me.

Thou who knowest all my weakness,
Thou who knowest all my care,
While I please each precious promise,
Hear, O hear, and answer prayer!

I am praying to be humbled
By the power of grace divine;
To be clothed upon with meekness
And to have no will but thine.

I am praying, blessed Saviour,
And my constant prayer shall be
For a perfect consecration
That shall make me more like thee.
Fanny Crosby (1820-1915)
SASB584

Launceston Citadel

I was feeling a little nostalgic today whilst listening to music and the March - Launceston Citadel (Noel Jones) played loudly in my ears.

It brought back many memories of my "growing up" days - serving God in that place - although my service was limited to music.

Over the events of the past few weeks, I thought it good to share the words to the tunes featured in the music.

We'll never let the old flag fall,
For we love it best of all;
We've taken the field for God and right,
We're in this war to fight! fight! fight!
We'll march to victory while we sing
The praises of our Lord and King;
To the end of the world our flag unfurled,
We'll never let the old flag fall.

I've put my feet on the highway,
Parted with all that's wrong,
Facing the sun, my journey's begun
And in my heart there's the burden of a song!

"Oldies but goodies".

I remember the days when we would regularly march in the streets of Launceston - unfortunately we don't do this much these days.

A "March Of Witness" is what we used to call it.  We were Loud and Proud as we stopped traffic and pedestrians alike.

I wonder if our urge to fight! fight! fight! as waned somewhat over the years.

Where is our Journey heading?  In what direction?  In whose direction?  Are we willing to sing praises to our Lord and King, or are we happy with self praise and recognition?

Psalm 16:11 (The Message)
Now you’ve got my feet on the life path, all radiant from the shining of your face. Ever since you took my hand, I’m on the right way.

Isaiah 58:11 (The Message)
I will always show you where to go.  I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places - firm muscles, strong bones.  You’ll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry.

Romans 8:14 (The Message)
God’s Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!

Stop, Look And Listen.

God is with us when we go, when we respond, when we hear, when we listen.
From the book :  Jesus Wants To Save Christians (Rob Bell and Don Golden)

I have been contemplating this quote again this week as I have completed week 2 of my new role.  Next week I go it alone - well sort of - I have the support of my team, my department and Line Manager.

I take comfort, too, in the fact that I have asked God to be in the centre of this role and I have the confidence in Him for future.

Early on this year, I heard a great prayer song that I used as part of my daily devotions - This was used extensively as I "pleaded" with God to find the right path for me (and my family).  It is simple in its words but a powerful prayer (plea) none the less.

I knew I couldn't do anything alone, and I needed God to take control of my circumstances - and I thank Him for when I finally stopped asking and spent some time listening, he promised to go with me - in whatever circumstances life "threw" at me.

Lead me on Holy Spirit.
Fill my heart - come flood my soul.
Lead me on into your presence,
Touch me Lord Jesus I need you.
Cause I can't live without you,
I can't walk this road alone.
In my heart I need you,
Holy one come take my hand.

I can't live without you,
I can't walk this road alone.
In my heart I need you,
Holy one come take my hand.


I would also encourage anyone else who may be reading this today, that it maybe time to spend some time with God - Asking him to take control of your life / circumstances and not be afraid to let God take control and lead you into His presence and accept the truth - God is with us when we go, when we respond, when we hear, when we listen.

SASB 482
Dear Lord, I do surrender
Myself, my all, to thee;
My time, my store, my talents,
So long withheld by me.
I've heard the call for workers,
The world's great need I see,
O send me to the rescue,
I'm here, my Lord, send me!

Here am I , my Lord, send me,
Here am I, my Lord, send me.
I surrender all to obey thy call,
Here am I, my Lord, send me.

It's Still The Cross.

Thanks to another Blogger and friend (Ian R @ http://21stcenturysoap.blogger.com/), I read and was challenged by his latest Blog - and, I was reminded of a song that speaks of the cross on which Jesus died for us all.

Take a look at the link above for the whole story.

The extract reads:

Just before the president (George W Bush) left, I introduced him to Al Lawrence, a member of our staff. I told the president that I had met Al more than twenty years ago in a prison. Jesus had got hold of Al’s life, and he’s been working for us ever since. Then I told the president that Al’s son was now a freshman at Yale. At that point the president stopped, exclaimed, "We’re both Yale parents," and threw his arms around Al Lawrence—an African-American ex-offender being embraced by the president of the United States in a church basement.
The ground is indeed level at the foot of the cross."
Charles Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship and former aide to President Nixon.

I have listen to this song many times (Sydney Staff Songsters of The Salvation Army) and yet the simple message continues to amaze me.

It's not conservative or liberal, however they're defined
It's not about interpretations or the judgement of the mind
It's the opposite of politics, power or prestige
It's about a simple message and whether we believe

It's still the cross - It's still the blood of Calvary that cleanses sin and sets the captives free
It's still the name - the name of Jesus that has power to save the lost,
It's still the cross.

It doesn't matter who you are, the message is simple.  His blood cleanses sin and sets us free.  The name of Jesus has power for President and Prisoner alike.

The challenge for me is - what am I (or what are we) doing to get this message out to those who need it the most.

CHORUS:
Keep me near the cross,
Near the cross,
May I never stray so far,
That I cannot see,
What flowed down for me,
At the foot of the cross.

They were watching from a distance,
And they could not take their eyes from You.
You were bleeding, they were weeping,
Faithful sisters, they had followed you.
They did not understand, they could not see
They were mourning their loss
As the sky turned black
And the Earth turned red
At the foot of the cross

He was standing near your mother
They were so close
They could hear you sighing
All around them angry voices
Pierced the darkness
And you were dying
But they would not leave
They lingered there
No matter the cost
They were staying
And they were praying
At the foot of the cross

CHORUS:
Keep me near the cross
Near the cross
May I never stray so far
That I cannot see
What flowed down for me
At the foot of the cross

Now I'm standing in your presence
And I cannot take my eyes from you
You have risen I'm forgiven
Precious Saviour, oh I worship you
No I'm not looking back
I've heard your voice
And I'm staying here
I've made my choice
For now it's real, now I kneel
At the foot of the cross

God Will Make A Way.

Ephesians 3:20 (The Message).
God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

I am constantly reminded that God has a plan for us.  He has our best interests at heart and has everything under control.

This week I have been at the receiving end of God's providential care and I feel so warm and fuzzy inside that I can't wait to share some of my experience with others.

I have seen God's hand in my life and that of my family and as I can see some good times ahead.  I can't thank God enough for his love, power and strength - It was this that helped me get through each day - even when I could see no way forward.

God will make a way,
Where there seems to be no way.
He works in ways we cannot see,
He will make a way for me.
He will be my guide,
Hold me closely to His side.
With love and strength for each new day,
He will make a way, He will make a way.

This journey is far from over (I hope) - Lord help me to rely more deeply on you.  I ask for guidance, strength and patience.  Lord continue your work in and through me - make me all I can be - for you.
Amen.