W. H. Davies

"Leisure"

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?—

No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Spiritual warfare

Sometimes life rolls on in a typical pattern - work, play, sleep, eat and so on. And then suddenly, something happens that reminds us that there is a whole invisible world out there of which we experience so little.

However, in the face of a spiritual attack, I can rely on God's army of angels being greater and mightier than those of the enemy.

2 Kings 6^:15-17
"When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.  “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. "

And God wins the war through untraditional methods:

Zechariah 4:6 " 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty."

Be the wind in these sails...

Just back from the Alpha Course Weekend when we have spent 24 hours talking about the Holy Spirit and have been watching Him at work in human lives. I spent a few minutes reflecting on what I saw and heard this weekend and the words of this song came bubbling up in me.

My prayer is that the Holy Spirit would be the wind in my sails. How often I get so busy that I forget to head my boat into the wind and let my life be moved along by Him, instead get tossed and turned by the currents beneath me.

Be the reason that I live....Jesus ... Be the centre ...

There is a day by PHATFISH

I love this video. It shows so clearly that the world we experience is a poor, sad, broken black and white copy of the vibrant, colourful, complete world that we are travelling to. "We will meet Him in the air and then we will be like Him."
Not wanting to be morbid, but ...if I die before He returns, I hope they sing this at my funeral....

There is a day
That all creation's waiting for,
A day of freedom and liberation for the earth.
And on that day
The Lord will come to meet His bride,

And when we see Him
In an instant we'll be changed
The trumpet sounds
And the dead will then be raised
By His power,
Never to perish again.
Once only flesh,
Now clothed with immortality,
Death has now been
Swallowed up in victory

We will meet Him in the air
And then we will be like Him
For we will see Him, as He is
Oh yeah!
Then all hurt and pain will cease
And we'lll be with Him forever
And in His glory we will live
Oh yeah! Oh yeah!

So lift your eyes
To the things as yet unseen,
That will remain now
For all eternity.
Though trouble's hard,
It's only momentary
And it's acheiving
Our future glory.

Tagxedo

Vision and Action

Twittered by Nicky Gumbel on 29 January 2012:

Vision without action is only a dream

Action without vision is a nightmare

Vision with action changes the world

1 Corinthians 1

⁵ For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— ⁶ God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. ⁷ Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. ⁸ He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
NIV

Ik geloof

Ik geloof dat ik op deze aarde ben
om iets moois, iets goeds
van mijn leven te maken

Ik geloof dat ik de verplichting heb
iets moois van de aarde te maken
speciaal ook voor anderen

Ik geloof, dat ik met volle teugen mag genieten
van alles wat deze aarde te bieden heeft
maar nooit ten koste van een ander

Ik geloof dat ik naar de geest van Christus
moet leven en mijn medemens
de hand moet reiken
door met hem mee te leven
en hem begrip en liefde te tonen

Ik geloof, dat ik door zó te leven
mijn leven zin geef; en dan
is het leven waard geleefd te worden

Amen

"Woorden van geloof, hoop en liefde" uitgegeven door de PKN www.pkn.nl/missionair

The River by Brian Doerksen

To the river I am going
Bringing sins I cannot bear
Come and cleanse me, come forgive me
Lord I need to meet you there

Precious Jesus, I am ready
To surrender every care
Take my hand now, lead me closer
Lord I need to meet you there

In these waters, healing mercy
Flows with freedom from despair
I am going, to that river
Lord I need to meet you there

Precious Jesus, I am ready
To surrender every care
Take my hand now, lead me closer
Lord I need to meet you there

Come and join us, in the river
Come find life beyond compare
He is calling, He is waiting
Jesus longs to meet you there

Precious Jesus, I am ready
To surrender every care
Take my hand now, lead me closer
Lord I need to meet you there

♫ MEDWYN GOODALL - Water Song (Music for Relaxation & Meditation)