Jesu, Our Hope, Our Heart’s Desire ~ Hymn

Jesu, Our Hope, Our Heart’s Desire

Jesu, our Hope, our heart’s Desire,
Thy work of grace we sing;
Redeemer of the world art Thou,
Its Maker and its King.

How vast the mercy and the love,
Which laid our sins on Thee,
And led Thee to a cruel death,
To set Thy people free!

But now the bonds of death are burst;
The ransom has been paid;
And Thou art on Thy Father’s throne,
In glorious robes arrayed.

O may Thy mighty love prevail
Our sinful souls to spare!
O may we stand around Thy throne,
And see Thy glory there!

Jesu, our only Joy be Thou,
As Thou our Prize wilt be;
In Thee be all our glory now
And through eternity.

All praise to Thee Who art gone up
Triumphantly to Heav’n;
All praise to God the Father’s Name
And Holy Ghost be given.

Words: Un­known au­thor, 7th or 8th Cen­tu­ry (Je­su nos­tra re­demp­tio, Amor et de­sid­er­i­um); trans­lat­ed from La­tin to Eng­lish by John Chand­ler (Hymns of the Prim­i­tive Church, 1837) and the com­pil­ers of Hymns An­cient and Mo­dern, 1861.

Truth for Today #3

Thursday January 20th

On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s dig deep in God’s Truth this year!

I read this prayer from Alistair Begg in his new devotional called Truth for Life and wanted to share it with you. If you are looking for a good devotional to guide your reading this year I can recommend it. His prayer is an encouragement to read God’s Word, the Bible.

“Lord Jesus, help me to become a student of the Book, to no longer live with confusion or uneasiness but to be filled with Your knowledge as one who resides in Your company, that I might live and grieve with hope.” 

My verses this week are from the Apostle Paul telling of his conversion story to King Agrippa.

Acts 26:15-18

And I said, ‘Who are you Lord,?’ and the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles-to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

From Vera:

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:28‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

From Leonard:

Matthew 14:27

“But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

From Patricia:

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness and self-control. Against such things is no law. 

Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice.

From Karen:

Matthew 6:33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

From Cindy:

Samuel 22:2

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer.

What Makes you Smile?

Sunflowers make me smile.

Birds flitting around the yard make me smile.

Wild bunnies eating my clover make me smile.

Seeing my children blessing their friends and each other makes me smile.

Seeing good times that my nieces and nephews are having on Facebook makes me smile.

Completing my to-do lists makes me smile.

Enjoying a good meal with friends makes me smile.

Seeing someone smile at me makes me smile right back!

Seeing God’s mercy and grace in my life and in other lives makes me smile.

Hearing about answered prayers makes me smile.

What makes you smile?

Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute! Philippians 4: 4-5 (The Message)

Marching to Zion ~ Hymn

Marching to Zion

Come, we that love the Lord,
And let our joys be known;
Join in a song with sweet accord,
Join in a song with sweet accord
And thus surround the throne,
And thus surround the throne.

Refrain

We’re marching to Zion,
Beautiful, beautiful Zion;
We’re marching upward to Zion,
The beautiful city of God.

The sorrows of the mind
Be banished from the place;
Religion never was designed
Religion never was designed,
To make our pleasures less,
To make our pleasures less.

Refrain

Let those refuse to sing,
Who never knew our God;
But favorites of the heavenly King,
But favorites of the heavenly King
May speak their joys abroad,
May speak their joys abroad.

Refrain

The God that rules on high,
And thunders when He please,
Who rides upon the stormy sky,
Who rides upon the stormy sky,
And manages the seas,
And manages the seas.

Refrain

This awful God is ours,
Our Father and our Love;
He will send down his heav’nly powers,
He will send down his heav’nly powers,
To carry us above,
To carry us above.

Refrain

There we shall see His face,
And never, never sin!
There, from the rivers of His grace,
There, from the rivers of His grace,
Drink endless pleasures in,
Drink endless pleasures in.

Refrain

Yea, and before we rise,
To that immortal state,
The thoughts of such amazing bliss,
The thoughts of such amazing bliss,
Should constant joys create,
Should constant joys create.

Refrain

The men of grace have found,
Glory begun below.
Celestial fruits on earthly ground
Celestial fruits on earthly ground
From faith and hope may grow,
From faith and hope may grow.

Refrain

The hill of Zion yields
A thousand sacred sweets
Before we reach the heav’nly fields,
Before we reach the heav’nly fields,
Or walk the golden streets,
Or walk the golden streets.

Refrain

Then let our songs abound,
And every tear be dry;
We’re marching through Immanuel’s ground,
We’re marching through Immanuel’s ground,
To fairer worlds on high,
To fairer worlds on high.

Refrain

Words: Isaac Watts, 1707.