Don't Worry, Be Joyful!

Good Thursday afternoon, my friends.

I apologize for the sparodic nature of my missives these days.  I am still settling in to the new job and it, as well as many other things, keeps me quite busy.

After my "Don't Worry, Be Happy" post the other day a few of you, including my lovely wife, pointed out that Jesus wasn't necessarily promising us a life of "happiness".  After all He spoke these words: "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword" (Matthew 10:34).  That does not sound like a happy place to be!  Perhaps "Don't Worry, Be Joyful' would be a better way to put it, understanding that happiness is based on circumstances and joy is deeper, something that comes from within us.

The prayer below will bring not likely bring you happiness either, but by submitting to its challenge God will bring (more) joy to your life.  (After reading it you will probably understand why the author chose not to sign it!)

Have a wonderful Canada Day Weekend!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, superficial relationships, so that you will live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people so that you will work for justice, equality and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that you will reach out your hand to comfort them and change their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with the foolishness to think that you can make a difference in the world, so that you will do the things which others tell you cannot be done.

Author Unknown

(http://www.inspirationpeak.com/prayers.html)

 

 

 

Bruce MacPherson

macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821

You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material.

 

If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address.

Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.

Don't Worry, Be Happy!

Good Tuesday afternoon, my friends.

I am sure many of you will remember Bobby McFerrin's (somewhat anoying) pop hit - Don't Worry, Be Happy!  But how many of you realize that it is Biblical?  They are practically a direct translation of the words of Jesus in Matthew 14:27:

"Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid."

Jesus actually repeats both of these phrases "Be of good cheer" and "Do not be afraid" over and over again in the New Testament.  Why all the repitition? Well, why do parents tend to drill things into their children, telling them again and again until they "get it"?  Let's be honest - we, Chrstians, are a little thick.  So stop for a few minutes and let it sink in .... don't worry - be happy!

Grace and peace and good cheer be yours in abundance,

Bruce

Father, I thank you that I have been delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of Your dear Son. I commit to live free from worry in the name of Jesus, for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

I humble myself under your mighty hand that in due time You may exalt me. I cast the whole of my cares (name them)–all my anxieties, all my worries, all my concerns, once and for all–on You. You care for me affectionately and care about me watchfully. You sustain me. You will never allow the consistently righteous to be moved–made to slip, fall, or fail!

Father, I delight myself in you and you perfect that which concerns me.

I cast down imaginations (reasoning's) and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of You, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.  I lay aside every weight and the sin of worry which does try so easily to beset me.  I run with patience the race that is set before me, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith.

I thank you father, that You are able to keep that which I have committed unto You.  I think on (fix my mind on) those things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and deserving of praise.  I let not my heart be troubled.  I abide in Your words, and Your Words abide in me.  Therefore, Father, I do not forget what manner of person I am.  I look into the perfect law of liberty and continue therein, being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the Word and thus blessed in my doing!

Thank you, Father.  I am carefree.  I walk in that peace which passes all understanding in Jesus' name!

(http://www.prayerflowers.com/prayergarden/index.php?topic=129.0)

 

 

Bruce MacPherson

macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821

You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material.

 

If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address.

Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.

Sinners only this Sunday!

Good Monday morning, my friends.

I am going to steal, ahem, I mean borrow some ideas from an article John Fischer wrote last week.  (Sorry, I don't have a link to the original article, but if I find it I will post it on the blog).

We have all seen the church signs with pithy sayings such as:

"NO JESUS, NO PEACE

KNOW JESUS, KNOW PEACE".

But how about this one:

"WHAT WOULD THIS SIGN NEED TO SAY FOR YOU TO BE HERE SUNDAY?"

And how about this for an answer?

"SINNERS ONLY THIS SUNDAY"

If that is what the sign read, would we feel comfortable attending?  The longer I am in the Church, and surrounded by other church people, the easier it is for me to forget that I am just another sinner who found the incredible gift of salvation.  Like a hungry beggar who finds a free banquet, our response should be to go back where we came from and invite as many people as we see to join us.  But instead we tend to get comfortable with the people already at the table and forget about those we used to hang around with.  Those who are hungry like we once were. 

We have some incredible food.  Who do you want to share it with?

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce

Come, Holy Spirit, fill our hearts with your love.

Set our lives aflame with your gifts.

Grant us wisdom to choose what is good and true;

understanding to embrace your plan of salvation;

right judgment to act according to your will;

courage to share our faith with others;

knowledge to live as disciples of Jesus Christ;

reverence to respond faithfully to your grace each day;

and wonder and awe in your presence.

Inspire us with enthusiasm for our faith.

Grant us boldness to proclaim the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ,

and help us to bring the transforming power of the gospel to our world.

We make this prayer through Christ, our Lord.

Amen

(adapted from stumblingtowardheaven.blogspot.com/)

 

 

 

Bruce MacPherson

macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821

You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material.

 

If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address.

Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.

What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?

Good Friday afternoon, my friends.

This morning in my bedroom I listened to part of an interview Rumana Monzur gave to the CBC.  She is the BC student from Bangladesh who was attacked and blinded by her husband on a trip home to visit her daughter.  I have no personal experience that could compare to the pain and suffering, physical and mental, that she is enduring, so please do not think I am judging her or anyone else who has dealt with (or is dealing with) similar circumstances.  But it was her words that struck me.  She said something to the effect that she had wanted to do something with her life, that she wanted to accomplish something.  The implication is that she will no longer be able to do that. As I went down stairs immediately after hearing this, I walked into the kitchen and the radio there was playing Laura Story's song "Blessings" (if you are not familiar with it, I highly recommend you listen to it - just click on the link).  I use the lyics below as our prayer today.  I find the difference between these two outlooks really define what it is to trust in God. (Laura Story has faced some adversity too, which you can read about here.)

I think Ms Monzur's response is a very normal, human response, particularly "under the sun" which is a phrase Solomon uses in Ecclesiastes to mean "without God".  With God, we can (hopefully always) see there is a bigger picture; that we know these words are true: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11).

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce

We pray for blessings

We pray for peace

Comfort for family, protection while we sleep

We pray for healing, for prosperity

We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering

All the while, You hear each spoken need

Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears

What if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You're near

What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom

Your voice to hear

And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near

We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love

As if every promise from Your Word is not enough

All the while, You hear each desperate plea

And long that we'd have faith to believe

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears

What if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You're near

And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us

When darkness seems to win

We know the pain reminds this heart

That this is not, this is not our home

It's not our home

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears

And what if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You're near

What if my greatest disappointments

Or the achings of this life

Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy

And what if trials of this life

The rain, the storms, the hardest nights

Are Your mercies in disguise

Laura Story

 

 

Bruce MacPherson

macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821

You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material.

 

If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address.

Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.

Make us into a people with one heart and one voice,forever singing your praise.

Good Thursday afternoon, my friends.

I stumbled upon this wonderful prayer today. "Make us into a people with one heart and one voice,forever singing your praise."  What a great petition, and one that our Lord is certainly pleased to hear.  Please pause and meditate on these words for the next few minutes.

Amazing Grace and Eternal Peace be yours,

Bruce

God Almighty,

let your love and mercy embrace everyone.

In the death and resurrection of Christ

let us place our faith, hope and love.

Call us to the wonderful light of your presence that,

now enlightened, we may call others to the light of Christ:

an easy burden, a light yoke, a beautiful obedience.

Dispel the darkness around us.

Make us into a people with one heart and one voice,

forever singing your praise.

Amen.

The last lines of this prayer are from the Glenstal Book of Prayer (Sunday Morning).

(http://everydayliturgy.com/prayer-for-the-fifth-week-of-easter/)

 

 

 

Bruce MacPherson

macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821

You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material.

 

If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address.

Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.

You're amazing, God

Good Tuesday afternoon, my friends.

Sorry for the missed days - I started a new job (new contract) this week and things are somewhat hectic.  As with any new job there is lots of background to catch up on, lots of reading to do.  A bit of information overload - like trying to drink from a firehose!

As I wade through this river of material, enjoy some time with God by sharing this prayer with Him.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce

You're amazing, God,

     The way you paint the sky with endless combinations of colours,

     The way you fill the world with countless creatures,

          all so different, all so unique.

  

You're amazing, God,

     The way you hide in the faces of people,

     How, if we look long enough and carefully enough,

          we see you in the plump smile of the newborn, 

               and the loose skin of the elderly,

          the shocking challenge of those who seem so strange to us,

               and the comforting familiarity of those who seem so normal.

You're amazing, God, 

     The way you never stop finding ways to remind us of you,

     How, if we will only let you,

          you take our hand and lead us into life,

          vibrant and rich and overflowing.

Isn't strange how we so easily choose to listen 

          to voices other than yours?

          to follow guides that lead us away from you?

     Isn't it strange how often we search for life apart from you,

          and then wonder why we never find it?

Forgive us our foolishness, 

     and please don't ever stop whispering to us of your love.

In Jesus' Name.

Amen.

Bruce MacPherson  macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821 You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address.  Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.

My Reedemer lives!

Good Friday morning, my friends.

Have you ever been in a dysfunctional small group or Bible study?  I have been listening to the book of Job on my audio Bible in the car.  He and his friends Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite (I love those names) are just such a group.  Here is Job, suffering through losses and plagues of Biblical proportions (if you will forgive the expression) and his friends come by to "comfort" him.  They jump to the incorrect conclusion that he is to blame for his problems, and proceed to accuse, correct and berate him.  This is their way of supporting him. But don't we do the same thing sometimes?  We see someone with a problem and immediately assume we know how to fix it.  We give them all of our profound wisdom and it doesn't solve the issue.  Then we get frustrated and upset because they won't listen to our wise words.  Maybe we need to do more listening and praying and less talking.  James James 1:19 says "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry".  Even if the person is at fault, we need to correct in love.  Galatians 6:1 says "Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently."

In one of his responses to his friends, Job says these beautiful words:

I know that my redeemer lives, 

   and that in the end he will stand on the earth. 

And after my skin has been destroyed, 

   yet in my flesh I will see God; 

I myself will see him 

   with my own eyes—I, and not another. 

   How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:25-27)

My redeemer lives!  And only He can solve all of our problems.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce

Who taught the sun where to stand in the morning? 

And who told the ocean you can only come this far? 

And who showed the moon where to hide till evening? 

Whose words alone can catch a falling star? 

Well I know my Redeemer lives

I know my Redeemer lives

All of creation testifies

This life within me cries

I know my Redeemer lives

The very same God

That spins things in orbit

Runs to the weary, the worn and the weak

And the same gentle hands that hold me when I'm broken

They conquered death to bring me victory

He lives

To take away my shame

And He lives

Forever I'll proclaim

That the payment for my sins

Was the precious life He gave

And now He's alive and

There's an empty

Grave! 

Because He lives I can face tomorrow

I spoke with Him this morning!

The tomb is empty

He Lives! I'm going to tell everybody!!

Nicole C. Mullins

(Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/n/nicole_c_mullins/my_redeemer_lives.html)

Bruce MacPherson  macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821 You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address. Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.

Well done, good and faithful servant!

Good Wednesday morning, my friends.

Everyone loves to hear words of affirmation.  Whether it be from a parent, spouse, boss or whomever, we long for and drink in those words.  Perhaps the ultimate praise we want to hear is from God as He welcomes us into heaven.  We often associate this with the words of Jesus in the parable of the talents:

"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'" (Matthew 25:21)

Come and share in your master's happiness.  Just reading those words takes the tension out of my body.

This morning as I listened to my Bible on the way to work I came across another wonderful passage like this.  Somewhat surprisingly it comes from the book of Job.  His friend Eliphaz the Temanite says these words to Job:

Think how you have instructed many, 

   how you have strengthened feeble hands. 

Your words have supported those who stumbled; 

   you have strengthened faltering knees. (Job 4:3-4)

In the words of Henri Nouwen (priest, writer) "the spiritual life is a life in which you gradually learn to listen to a voice that … says, "You are the beloved .…" It is not a very loud voice. … It is soft and gentle."

Let's listen for that voice today - the voice of God telling us how much He loves you.  We do not need to wait for heaven to hear it.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce

I pray, Father, that out of your glorious riches you may strengthen me with power through your Spirit in my inner being, so that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith. 

And I pray that I, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that I may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all I ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within me, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! 

Amen. [Adapted from Ephesians 3:16-21]

(http://www.dougbrittonbooks.com/onlinebiblestudies-selfworthandrespect/godsloveforusandgodsloveforme.php)

Bruce MacPherson  macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821 You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address. Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.

Make me a fork

Good Tuesday morning, my friends.

I have often prayed to be placed in someones path so that I could help guide them along the way that leads to salvation.  This simple, challenging prayer puts a different twist on that thought.  Make me a fork.

Amazing Grace and Eternal Peace be yours,

Bruce

Father make me a crisis man. 

Bring those I contact to a decision. 

Let me not be a mile post on a single road. 

Make me a fork, that men must turn one way or another on facing Christ in me. 

a prayer of Jim Elliot

(http://bobhostetler.blogspot.com/2011/06/make-me-fork.html)

Bruce MacPherson  macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821 You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address. Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.

Jesus sought me when a stranger

Good Monday morning, my friends.

My family and I had the great privilege of witnessing the baptism of four wonderful friends yesterday.  We heard four very different and amazing stories about how God reached out to each of them and how He revealed Himself to them over a period of time.  I was reminded of something William Paul Young, author of The Shack, said in reply to an interviewer's question.  Young was asked if he believed that all roads (i.e. all belief systems) lead to God.  He replied that he did not believe that all roads led to God, but that God would go down any road to find us.  I really like that.  I think of my own journey and how lost I was on the "backroads" of life, and how God came to me where I was and let me back to the Path.  To quote a line from the beautiful hymn "Come, Thou Fount of every blessing":

Jesus sought me when a stranger,

Wandering from the fold of God

And even now, when I am "prone to wander" as this same hymn goes on to speak of, God never tires of chasing after me and bringing me back.  We are truly, truly blessed to have this wonderful Saviour, this Font of every blessing.  

Thank you to the friends who allowed us to share in their special day, and for sharing your great stories of God's love and "streams of mercy".

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;

Streams of mercy, never ceasing,

Call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet,

Sung by flaming tongues above.

Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,

Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,

Till released from flesh and sin,

Yet from what I do inherit,

Here Thy praises I'll begin;

Here I raise my Ebenezer;

Here by Thy great help I've come;

And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,

Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,

Wandering from the fold of God;

He, to rescue me from danger,

Interposed His precious blood;

How His kindness yet pursues me

Mortal tongue can never tell,

Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me

I cannot proclaim it well.

O to grace how great a debtor

Daily I'm constrained to be!

Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,

Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

Prone to leave the God I love;

Here's my heart, O take and seal it,

Seal it for Thy courts above.

O that day when freed from sinning,

I shall see Thy lovely face;

Clothed then in blood washed linen

How I'll sing Thy sovereign grace;

Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,

Take my ransomed soul away;

Send thine angels now to carry

Me to realms of endless day.

Robert Robinson

(http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/c/o/comethou.htm)

Bruce MacPherson  macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821 You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address. Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.

Are you guilty?

Good Wednesday morning, my friends.

When something challenges me, I like to share it with others - namely you guys!  This morning a good friend of mine sent me a question that was discussed in his weekly men's group.  The question is this:

If today you were accused of being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you?

Now before you jump into answering this based on your own perspective remember this: you are not the one who is judging, but rather a jury of your "peers".  

Family. 

Co-workers. 

Service staff at local restaurants. 

People you take the bus with.

The slow cashier at the checkout.

The guy who just cut you off in traffic.

Would they have seen enough of your behavior and/or heard enough of your words to say with certainty "Yes - he/she is a Christ follower".  

Jesus said "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35)

So...  Are you guilty?

Amazing grace and eternal peace be yours,

Bruce

And now I pray for you, the reader, that the LORD Himself may make your love to increase and abound towards all in the Christian community, and also to overflow to those outside the Christian community. 

By doing so may this also affect your hearts such that you would desire that which is excellent and result in a blameless behavior devoid of hypocrisy.

(http://www.bcbsr.com/topics/pray1.html)

But wait!  There's more!!  For another great prayer on "Loving one another" click here.

Bruce MacPherson  macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821 You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address. Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.

Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?

Good Tuesday morning, my friends.

In the book of James we read:

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. (James 3:9-12)

This should not be.  But it is. And it is something I (and perhaps a few others here?) need to work on.  Our loving Father wants us to come to Him when we desire something.  This prayer asks for His help in this matter: "Form within me the habit of praying for help in overcoming those faults" and so will be pleasing to Him.  Lift this prayer with me today.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce

God of mercy and truth, 

You gave us the ability to speak 

so that we might glorify You and 

encourage our brothers and sisters. 

Help me to overcome my tendency to

speak unkindly about others

and to criticize those around me.

Teach me instead to praise, to encourage, to defend,

and to say only those things I myself would

want to hear from someone else.

Form within me the habit of praying for help

in overcoming those faults I observe and of

speaking respectfully to those with whom I disagree.

Please give me also the courage to accept criticism 

from others by responding calmly, 

while honestly considering whether their remarks

contain wisdom and truth.

May all my words be pleasing to You

and beneficial to those who hear them. 

Amen. 

(from the book Saintly Solutions to Life's Common Problems, by Fr. Joseph Esper)

(http://bobhostetler.blogspot.com/2011/06/all-my-words.html)

Bruce MacPherson  macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821 You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address. Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.

The LORD your God is gracious and compassionate

Good Monday morning, my friends.

I picked up a Bible this weekend, flipped it open to a random location and read the account of King Hezekiah in the book of Chronicles.  It is a fascinating story of a king who "did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father David had done".  If you have time, I recommend reading it (2 Chronicles 29-32).

One verse that caught my eye was this:

If you return to the LORD, then your fellow Israelites and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will return to this land, for the LORD your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him. (2 Chronicles 30:9)

Do you have friends and family members you would like to see brought (back) into the Kingdom?  Have you fully returned to Him?  Have you given Him your all, your everything?  The rewards here are staggering both for us and for those around us.  God promises to allow others to return to Him when we give Him our lives.  He is indeed gracious and compassionate.

Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.,

Bruce

Father, in the name of Jesus, 

I continue to place my body, my soul, my spirit and my entire life in Your hands. 

I am now choosing to stay fully surrendered to You all the days of my life and I ask that You continue to keep me in Your perfect will for my life.

Thank you Father.

Thank you Jesus.

(http://www.bible-knowledge.com/full-surrender-prayer/)

Bruce MacPherson  macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821 You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address. Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.

A prayer of thanksgiving

Good Friday afternoon, my friends.

We feel particularly blessed in my family this week.  God provides for all our needs, and most of our wants.  I want to honour Him today with a prayer of thanksgiving.  You may also feel gratitude for His provision this week, but even if your heart isn't quite there right now please offer up this prayer as a means of being thankful regardless of your circumstances.

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." (Philippians 4:6)

"And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." (Colossians 3:17)

"Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'" (Hebrews 13:5)

Have a wonderful weekend.

Grace and peace to you be multiplied,

Bruce

Lord God, you have provided, 

you are providing, 

and you will provide: 

I believe, 

help my unbelief! 

From unexpected places, 

in unmistakeable ways, 

with gracious generosity 

and gratifying regularity 

you have provided for the needs

of me and my family, 

and graciously kept our stores 

of oil and flour 

from running out.

I thank you, Sovereign Lord, 

with my whole heart, 

and ask you to please 

continue. 

Amen.

(http://bobhostetler.blogspot.com/2011/05/zarephath-prayer-6.html)

Bruce MacPherson  macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821 You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address. Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.