Fellowship of the Saints

First, that You save sinners like us is a wonder.
Wretched, rebellious, having hearts as hard as stone and loving sin.
Yet, in a miraculous way that only You can do
You take the wretched, rebellious, hard-hearted, sin-lover
And turn that person into a new creation.

You make a once heart of stone, into a heart of flesh.
A once lover of sin, into a lover of righteousness,
a lover of Jesus Christ.
You become his/her Father for all eternity
and place him/her in a family of now believers
who once were like him/her.
Now, a new creation, this person is called a saint.

With a new family, not perfect, but striving to be holy
as our heavenly Father is holy.
We have a special bond with people that when we meet for the first time, we are drawn together because we have the same Father.
We have the same Savior and are knit together by the same Spirit.

The fellowship of the saints is so much stronger
than that of a natural family.
The fellowship of the saints is held together tightly because of the blood that binds us together.
That blood…the one that flowed from Calvary, through the pierced hands and feet and the blood that flowed from the side
of our precious Savior, Jesus Christ.

The fellowship of the saints with direct access to the throne of God made possible by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
His resurrection that defeated death and by which if it were not so, our faith would be in vain.
The fellowship of the saints drawn by a Father who loves; kept by a Savior who died and rose; and living in power (although not without struggles of the sinful flesh) through the Holy Spirit.

The fellowship of the saints encouraging one another.
The fellowship of the saints holding one another up through prayer.
The fellowship of the saints not constrained by time or place.
The fellowship of the saints that spands from the U.S. to Asia to Latin America to the Middle East and beyond.
The fellowship of the saints fighting and battling on our knees.
The fellowship of the saints, oh how precious.
The fellowship of the saints, all the work of our Lord.
The fellowship of the saints…Thank You Lord!

Lord, Help Me

Lord, help me to be more like my Savior.

Lord, help me to be more broken.

Lord, help me to be filled with more compassion.

Lord, help me to be more bold in my witness of Jesus Christ.

Lord, help me to be able to give an account of the hope that is within me at any moment, no matter the situation.

Lord, help me to speak the truth in love but with much boldness.

Lord, help me to give glory, honor and praise to You in all things.

Lord, help me to love You more.

Lord, help me to know You more through Your words.

Lord, help me to hide more of Your words in my heart.

Lord, help me to be a faithful slave unto You.

Lord, help me to do everything as unto You and not man.

Lord, help me so that I will be more concerned with pleasing You and not man.

Lord, help me to decrease and You increase.

Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight.

My Heart Bursts

Lord,

My heart bursts out in glorious song because of who You are; because of Your goodness, Your mercy, Your loving-kindness, Your grace, Your faithfulness, Your discipline, Your provision, Your constant care…

Even with all that is going on in the world, all its evil, You, God, are on the throne and in control. Your plans will be carried out, for no one and nothing can thwart Your plans that have been from the foundation of the world.

My heart bursts out in glorious song because I have been saved; Because I serve the Creator of all things. I serve a Mighty, Holy, Righteous, Consuming Fire! I’ve been bought with the precious, most precious blood of my God, my Savior Jesus Christ!

My heart bursts out in glorious song:
Praise be to my Lord God and Savior
The Great I AM
Who was and is and is to come
Praise be to the Perfect, Spotless Lamb
Who took my sins away.
The Great Redeemer,
Mediator of the New Covenant

My heart bursts out in glorious praise:
“To Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory
And dominion forever and ever.” Revelation 5:13b

Amen.

Hymn of Praise

All praise be to Jesus
who has eternally existed.
All praise be to Jesus
who is God.
All praise be to Jesus
who laid aside His privileges and
took on human likeness.
All praise be to Jesus
who lived as a man.
All praise be to Jesus
who was willingly led
like a lamb to slaughter.
All praise be to Jesus
who laid down His life.
All praise be to Jesus
who said, “It is finished.”
All praise be to Jesus
who knew no sin
yet was made to be sin on our behalf.
All praise be to Jesus
who has made us become
the righteousness of God in Him.
All praise be to Jesus
who arose from the grave.
All praise be to Jesus
who defeated death.
All praise be to Jesus
the perfect, spotless Lamb.
All praise be to Jesus
the resurrection and the life.
All praise be to Jesus
the one mediator between God and man.
All praise be to Jesus
the Lord of lords.
All praise be to Jesus
the King of kings.
All praise be to Jesus
the Great, I AM
All praise be to Jesus
eternally existent One
All praise be to Jesus
God.