Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages,

Constant You remain;

Yesterday, today and forever the same! (chorus)

Saints and angels Your praises sing;

Through countless eons their voices ring!

Your steadfastness not eroded by time,

Creator of the worlds sublime!

You are the Rock which is higher than me,

I will forever run to thee!

In Your secret pavilion I will be,

Forever sheltered by Your mercy…

You are my strength when all falls apart;

Though the earth crumble, constant thou art!

Show me Your way, help me decide

When I am faced with the crossroads of life…

When no knight in shining armour

Rides to my rescue;

I am content because I have You!

Rock of Ages, bulwark of time;

You are strong forever, forever  mine!

I will trust in Your everlasting love

As revealed in  the Son who came from above…

This poem/song was inspired by: Ex 33:22,  Num 24:21,  Deut 32:4,  1 Sam 2:2,  2  Sam 22:2-3, 32,47,  Ps 18:2, 46, Ps 27:5, Ps 31:2-3, Ps 28:1,  Ps 40:2,  Ps 61:2, Ps 62:2, 6-7, Ps 71:3,  Ps 78:35, Ps 89:26, Ps 92:15,  Ps 94:22, Ps 95:1,  Is 8:14, Is 32:2, Matt 7:24-25, Matt 16:18, Rom 9:33, 1 Cor 10:4,  Rev 19:11-16

A Mystery so Great

I will never understand a mystery so great

You gave everything to save me;

You gave your life…

Each drop of blood you shed

From Your broken heart,

Was the terrible price You paid

For my brand new start…

You conquered my demons;

You paid the price

You are my Redeemer!

You gave me back my life…

Satan held me captive

In his dungeon of sin;

You were the Ransom

For my everlasting Freedom…

Now I walk in Liberty,

In the Light of Your Law;

No longer condemned,

I am Yours forevermore!

I will serve You always;

Help me in love to obey

Give me Power to resist evil,

So I may teach others Your way!

I will praise You forever

For all You have done ,

You are marvelous, majestic

God’s Conquering Son!

Revival and Reformation P7 - With God ALL things are Possible!

We have finally come to the last instalment in our Revival and Reformation series; how apt that it is the seventh instalment! In the Scriptures, seven is a very significant number which is often used in connection with God’s Church. I apologise for having delayed this message due to unforeseen circumstances which resulted in me going off on a bit of a “writing detour.”

Our previous message in this series was about being transformed by God’s Spirit. I have often heard people make excuses for why they behave a certain way. One of the most common excuses is : “I am sorry, but that’s just who I am. I am made that way and I can’t change.” To those who believe this, I pose a question to you. Why believe in a God who can’t change you? Once again, we try to put limitations on God.

In the Gospel of Mark, we find recorded three times Jesus’ words regarding what God can do. To the father of the boy possessed by a demon that His disciples could not cast out, He said: “If thou can believe, ALL things are possible to him that believeth.”  When the disciples thought that salvation was unattainable after the rich man had walked away from Jesus, they said among themselves: “Who then can be saved?” “If it is so hard for the rich among us to be saved, is there any hope for us?”, they must have pondered. Jesus replied to them: “With men, it is impossible but not with God for with God, ALL things are possible.” Faced with His imminent death on the Cross Jesus ,in praying to the Father, said “Abba Father, all things are possible unto thee…” (Mk 9:23, Mk 10:27, Mk 14:36)

It is abundantly clear from the Scriptures that when  we have done all we can and are at our wits end, frustrated and faced with failure, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD! Garbed in human frailty, you may not possess the strength to change yourself. The good news is that God is not asking you to change yourself! Don’t give up; you don’t have to accept second best for yourself or those around you who have to tolerate your character flaws. God can change you if you will just surrender to Him and ask Him to work in your life. Believe that He will complete the good work He has begun in your life, and WORK with His Spirit every day. The vicious cycle of shame and guilt, of hurting others and yourself doesn’t have to continue. You can end it by submitting to God’s authority today and He will grow His fruit in You. The world will see it and marvel at the power of God to transform lives. In this way, you can be a catalyst for revival in someone else’s life by testifying about how God changed you for the better.

You don’t have to give up in utter defeat. You are more than a conqueror in Christ. Let’s not blame God for the flaws in our character and our failure to deal with them appropriately. When God looked upon His Creation, He declared that it was “very good”. An unknown writer expressed it perfectly: “God does not make junk.”Like that demon possessed boy, God will help you face down the demons in your life if you engage actively with Him and work with Him in the process. 

 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Gen 1:31)

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:37-39)

Jesus Christ-Saviour, Priest and soon-coming King

Beautiful Saviour died on a tree;

Heaven’s perfect Ransom

For sinners like me…

Grace so strong,

Love so free;

Lion of Judah, Lamb of Mercy…

As you hung on Calvary’s Cross

My sins to bear;

Not nails of steel, but Love kept You there…

Rising triumphant;

You won the victor’s crown

The grave could not hold the Matchless One!

Ever-living Conquering Son!

Eternal salvation for faithful believers won;

Interceding for us, Oh Perfect High Priest,

Preparing our place at the Heavenly Feast…

Soon to return as Reigning King,

The faithful will joyfully shout and sing!

From the clouds of glory, on a white steed you ride

Coming to claim Your waiting Bride…

Mansions of glory for the saints prepared;

For those You have loved

From the foundation of the world…

I love You Jesus!

Can’t wait to see You return…

This poem was inspired by Rev 19:11-16

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." -Rev 19:11-16