Unlimited Grace

 Unlimited Grace

Unlimited grace.

Not a measured portion,not a carefully rationed tide,

But an ocean without shore,where all my fears subside.

Not a reward for goodness I could never quite attain,

But the free,pursuing love that washes out my stain.

Where sin increased, grace increased all the more. (Romans 5:20)

It is the voice that called me when I had no song to sing.

It is the strength within me when I have no strength to bring.

It is the endless pardon when my failures multiply,

The dawn that greets me after every faithless night.

It outruns my rebellion, it out-loves my doubt,

It digs me out from under every shame I’ve brought about.

It is the gift that keeps on giving,the well that will not dry,

The kindness of the Savior who for my sake chose to die.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Unlimited grace for the moment I am in,

For the hidden,secret battle with the tempter’s voice and din.

Grace for the weary traveler,grace for the stumbling saint,

Grace that says“I love you” when my own heart would complain.

So let me dive headlong into this bottomless, boundless sea,

And find that in its depths is where You’re making me truly free.

No longer counting merits,no longer keeping score,

But resting in the grace that is,and ever shall be, more.

Unlimited grace.

My story.My hope. My eternal place.

Amen.

Ensure us in the Book of Life.

 Written in the Book

Lord, before the world was formed, You knew our name.

Your gaze of love beheld us,in the eternal flame.

And in Your sovereign knowledge,a record You began—

The ledger of the living,the census of Your clan.

The Book of Life.

We ask not from presumption, nor from our works’ account,

But from the crimson fountain of mercy’s endless count.

We plead the righteous credit of Christ,and Christ alone,

The Lamb who was forsaken to claim us as His own.

Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women… whose names are in the book of life. (Philippians 4:3)

This is the quiet confidence, the blessed, settled peace:

That from our warring chaos,our faithless, weak decrease,

You transfer us to kingdom,to sonship, and to grace,

And in that holy volume,we find a listing-place.

Ensure us there. Let no accusation stand.

Let every charge be answered by Your nail-pierced hand.

When the enemy recounts our failures,sin, and strife,

Let heaven’s only answer be:“Their name is written in Life.”

The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. (Revelation 3:5)

So hold our names secure, O God, beyond all mortal skill,

Beyond the power of hell to alter or to kill.

Let this assurance steady us through every trial and test,

Until we see the City,and enter into rest.

For the promise is to the overcomer, clothed in white,

Who holds to Christ,the Truth, the Way, the Life, the Light.

We overcome by trusting in the victory He won.

Our life is hid with Christ in God. Our place is with the Son.

Amen.

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The Assurance of the Book

This prayer touches the heart of eternal security, grounded entirely in God’s grace:

· God's Sovereign Record: Scripture speaks of a "book of life" belonging to the Lamb (Philippians 4:3, Revelation 13:8, 21:27). It symbolizes God's intimate knowledge and gracious choice of His own.

· The Ground of Assurance: Our names are written there not by our merit, but through faith in Christ's finished work. He is the guarantor (Hebrews 7:22).

· The Promise to Hold Fast: The call to the believer is to "hold fast" to Christ in faithful endurance (Revelation 3:5, 21:7). Our perseverance is evidence of the genuine life He has given.

· The Ultimate Confidence: True assurance comes from looking to Christ, our Mediator, who promises that no one can snatch us from His hand (John 10:28-29) and that He will confess our names before the Father.

To pray "ensure us" is to express both our deepest dependence on His keeping power and our active trust in His promise. It is to rest in the finished work of the One who said, "It is finished."

Protect us from Evil.

 Protect Us From Evil

Our Father… deliver us from evil.

Not with a frail and hesitant request,

But with the confidence of children,deeply blessed,

Who know the One they ask is strong to save,

Mighty to rescue from the shadowed grave.

Protect us from the evil that assails without—

The prowling lion’s fury,the enemy’s dark shout.

Be our shield and rampart,our fortress and our tower,

Our hiding place of power in the threatening hour.

But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. (2 Thessalonians 3:3)

Protect us from the evil that arises from within—

The subtle,silent whisper that beckons us to sin.

Guard the gates of thought,the wellspring of desire;

By Your Holy Spirit,purge the smoldering fire.

Protect us in our going out, our coming in.

On the open road,in the quiet place where dreams begin.

In the clash of conflict,in the lull of peace,

Let Your guardian grace and mighty power never cease.

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. (John 17:15)

For You have overcome. The victory is won.

By the blood of the Lamb,the battle’s fight is done.

We stand now in the triumph of the cross,of love, of grace,

And claim Your covering for our spirit,soul, and pace.

So we ask, our Father, in the name above all names—

Jesus Christ,the Lord, who hell’s own power disarms and maims.

Deliver us. Protect us. Be our sovereign, holy shield.

To You alone,our safety, our future, we now yield.

Amen.

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The Shield of Faith

This prayer echoes the heart of the Lord’s Prayer and the whole counsel of Scripture on divine protection:

· A Foundational Plea: Jesus taught us to pray explicitly, “Deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13), acknowledging our need for God’s intervention in a fallen world.

· The Nature of Protection: God’s protection is often a matter of strengthening and guarding (2 Thessalonians 3:3) rather than removing all difficulty. It is spiritual armor for the battle (Ephesians 6:10-18).

· The Ground of Our Confidence: Our assurance lies in Christ’s victory. He has “disarmed the powers and authorities” (Colossians 2:15), and “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

· The Scope of the Request: We seek protection for our whole being—from external attacks and internal temptations—and for our entire journey.

To pray this is to actively “take up the shield of faith” (Ephesians 6:16), trusting not in our own vigilance but in the faithful might of our delivering God.

Make us your children.

 Make Us Your Children

Not by our birthright, not by blood or line,

But by Your Spirit’s breath,Your purpose and design.

Not by our merit,but by mercy’s call—

O God,our Father, gather us, and make us Your children all.

Make us Your children.

To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12)

Unbind us from the orphan’s lonely dread,

The spirit of a slave,in fear and bondage bred.

Break every chain of that old,distant story,

And write us in the family book of glory.

Send forth Your Spirit of adoption, now,

To teach our trembling hearts to speak the word,

To cry with confidence we never knew—

“Abba! Father!”—and to know it’s true.

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:14-15)

Let the family likeness settle on our face,

Your eyes of grace within,Your hands of mercy trace

The shape of our living,until all can see

A growing,true resemblance to our Brother, Christ, in me.

And as Your children, heirs with Christ, we stand,

To inherit what our minds can’t understand—

Not just a future glory,but a present, loving hold,

A place within Your house,a story to be told.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1)

So hold us close, correct us, shape us for Your own.

Let this truth define us:we are known.

No longer strangers,but the daughters and the sons

Of the everlasting Father,the Holy One.

Make us, keep us, seal us as Your children,

Loved, secure, and free.

Our Father.

Amen.

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The Miracle of Adoption

This prayer reflects the heart of the Gospel:

· A Gift, Not a Right: We become children of God not by natural descent or human decision, but by receiving Christ and believing in His name (John 1:12-13).

· The Spirit's Role: The Holy Spirit actively accomplishes this adoption, placing within us the familial cry of "Abba, Father" and confirming our status as heirs (Romans 8:15-17, Galatians 4:4-7).

· A Present Reality and Future Hope: We are called God's children now (1 John 3:2). This identity transforms how we live and gives us confident hope for the full revelation of our likeness to Christ when He appears.

To ask God to "make us Your children" is to ask for the fullness of this grace—to be brought from the isolation of sin into the security, intimacy, and inheritance of His family through Jesus Christ.

Bless us to your Holy Ground.

 To Your Holy Ground

Bless us, O Lord, not merely to stand near,

But to cross over,to draw close, to hear

The voice that speaks from the midst of the flame,

To know the weight and the sound of Your name.

Bless us to Your holy ground.

Where the bush burned with You, yet was not consumed,

Where common sight is by Your presence illumed.

Command us here to remove from our feet

The dust of the world,the familiar street—

All casual tread,all our hurry and pride,

For this is a place where the sacred must bide.

“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:5)

Let this ground be Bethel—the house of God, the gate

Where heaven stoops low and our futures await.

A pillow of stone turned to pillar of praise,

A marker of mercy for all of our days.

Let this ground be Horeb—the cleft in the rock,

Where we are hidden while Your glory walks by.

Where after the fire comes the whisper,so clear,

Directing the next step,dissolving all fear.

Bless us to stand, trembling, alive in this space,

Overwhelmed and enveloped by holiness and grace.

Here,let our questions find rest in Your will,

Our ambitions grow quiet,our longings grow still.

For the holy ground is wherever You are.

It is not a location,but the nearing of God.

It is the altar we build when we finally see

That the Lord was in this place,and we did not know—until we.

In him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2:22)

So bless us to journey, to seek and to find

The ground made holy to heart and to mind.

And there,as Your temple, Your Spirit-filled place,

We’ll stand on the holy ground ofYour grace.

Amen.

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Stepping Onto Holy Ground

In Scripture, "holy ground" is not just a location, but a revelation of God's nearness and call:

· An Invitation to Encounter: It begins with God's initiative—He reveals Himself and calls us near, as He did with Moses (Exodus 3).

· A Posture of Reverence: It requires a response of humility, reverence, and readiness to be changed ("remove your sandals").

· A Place of Commissioning: Holy ground is often where God reveals His purpose and sends His people out, equipped with a new identity (Exodus 3:10, Genesis 28:15).

· Now in Christ: For the believer, the ultimate "holy ground" is found in Christ Himself. Through Him, we have continual access to God's presence (Hebrews 10:19-22), and we become the dwelling place of God (1 Corinthians 3:16).

May you be blessed with a profound awareness of His nearness, making every place of yieldedness a holy ground for His glory.

Clean hands, Pure Heart.

 Here is a poem on the theme of purity, drawing from the desire for clean hands and a pure heart as expressed in Scripture.

Clean Hands, Pure Heart

Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?

Who may stand within His holy place?

The one withclean hands and a pure heart,

Who does not lift the soul to what is base.

Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? That one shall receive blessing from the Lord. (Psalm 24:3-5)

Clean hands—from deeds that harm and cheat and lie,

From taking what was never mine to own.

A life of active mercy,reaching low,

By serving,making Your compassion known.

Pure heart—a wellspring guarded, deep within,

From idols subtle,selfishness, and pride.

A single,undivided loyalty,

Where only You,my God, reside.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10)

I cannot scrub these stains with my own strength,

Nor polish up this heart of stone to shine.

So come,O Refiner’s Fire, burn away

All but Your gold,Your righteousness divine.

For blessed are the pure in heart, for they

Shall see their God.This is the highest prize.

Not just to serve You from a distant place,

But meet the glory shining in Your eyes.

So wash me, Lord. Purge every hidden part.

Let grace accomplish what my striving fails.

That I might dwell with You,and You with me—

A life where clean hands and a pure heart prevails.

Amen.

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Reflections on the Path to Purity

The journey to "clean hands and a pure heart" involves both grace and response:

· A Work of Grace: True purity begins with God's cleansing work through Christ (Hebrews 10:22). We ask Him to create a pure heart in us, as David did (Psalm 51:10).

· A Life of Response: It is also lived out through our choices—turning from wrongdoing ("clean hands") and cultivating an undivided devotion to God ("pure heart").

· The Promise: Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God" (Matthew 5:8). This purity is the pathway to deeper intimacy with Him.

May this prayer be your heart's cry, trusting in His power to cleanse and keep you for His glory.

Holy Spirit, Make me a dwelling place.

 Make Me a Dwelling Place

Lord, make me a dwelling place—not made with hands of stone,

But with a yielded spirit,a heart that is Your own.

Not just a visitor’s room where You might briefly stay,

But a settled,permanent home. Lord, come, and do not delay.

Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16)

Prepare this place. Sweep clean the shadowed, dusty hall.

Where pride has built its towers,let humility stand tall.

Where fear has laid its flooring,let trust be set anew.

Let every hidden chamber be open,Lord, to You.

Let the foundation of my life be Your unchanging Word.

Let the walls be built with worship,in Spirit and in truth heard.

Let the windows be of faith,to see with heaven’s light.

Let the door be love,swung wide, both in the day and night.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. (Galatians 2:20)

Come, take Your rest here, Holy Spirit, gentle guest.

Be the fire on the hearth,the peace within my breast.

Be the master of this household,the ruler of each thought,

Until this heart—Your dwelling place—with Your own life is wrought.

Let there be no other altar, no idol in any space.

Let every breath be incense in this,Your holy place.

For You have promised:“We will come and make our home with you.”

This is the miracle:the God of glory, dwelling in my dust, so true.

So I surrender every key. I give You every room.

Dissolve the gloom with glory;let Your presence fill and bloom.

Make me a dwelling placewhere heaven’s joy is known—

A living temple,for Your glory alone.

Amen.

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This prayer echoes scriptural truth:

· God Desires to Dwell: From the Tabernacle to the incarnation, God's desire has always been to dwell with His people (Exodus 25:8, John 1:14, Revelation 21:3).

· We Are His Temple: Through Christ, believers individually and collectively become the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19, Ephesians 2:22).

· A Prepared Place: This dwelling requires our active surrender and sanctification, making room for His lordship (2 Corinthians 7:1, Ephesians 3:17).

To pray this is to offer every part of your life—mind, heart, will, and body—as a sacred space for His presence to rule, rest, and radiate.

God, I seek your face.

 I Seek Your Face

God, I seek Your face.

Not just Your hand,to know the gifts You give,

Not just Your will,to know the way to live,

ButYou—the source, the wellspring, and the end.

My soul’s one true desire,my everlasting Friend.

My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. (Psalm 27:8)

I turn from every distraction, every counterfeit of light,

From the noisy claims of daytime and the whispers of the night.

I still my soul and listen;I lift my eyes above.

I seek the radiant glory of Your everlasting love.

This is not a fleeting glance, a hurried, passing prayer,

But a staying,deep abiding, a releasing of all care.

To seek Your face is to be changed,unveiled before Your gaze,

Transformed from fading glory into everlasting praise.

Come near to God and he will come near to you. (James 4:8)

Let me find You, God, in the quiet of this hour.

Let me know Your presence,Your nearness, and Your power.

Let my seeking be my finding,my prayer be my home.

Let my restless heart find rest in You,and You alone.

I seek Your face, Lord.

The face of my Savior, Jesus Christ.

The brightness of Your glory, the expression of Your grace.

In seeking, I am found.

In looking, I see love.

Amen.

To seek God's face means to earnestly pursue His manifest presence, His character, and His intimate companionship—to know Him, not just about Him. Scripture promises that "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13). This holy pursuit is answered through prayer, worship, and attentiveness to His Spirit and His Word.

Encounter with the Holy Spirit.

 Encounter

Not with a spectacle of earthquake, wind, or flame—

though He is the essence of all from which these came—

but with a whisper that rearranges the soul’s deep grain,

a gentle pressure,a soft, insistent rain.

An encounter with the Holy Spirit.

It is the breath that hovered over creation’s deep,

the promise of the Father,a vow He swore to keep.

It is the rushing wind that filled the waiting room,

the tongue of fire dispelling every gloom.

And suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. (Acts 2:2)

He comes as Comforter—the Paraclete—to stand

beside us in the trial,to hold our trembling hand.

AsTeacher, bringing back to mind all Christ has said,

illuminating Truth,the Living Bread.

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26)

He is the seal, the guarantee, the down-payment divine,

marking us as God’s own,a sacred sign.

He is theriver flowing from the inner-most part,

flooding arid places of the doubting heart.

He convicts—not to shame, but to liberate and free,

unmasking hidden sickness for the Healer’s remedy.

Heprays within us with deep, wordless sighs,

when our own strength fails and our own language dies.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. (Romans 8:26)

This encounter changes everything. It turns the “ought” to “is,”

exchanges duty’s burden for the joy that’s truly His.

It turns the timid follower to a witness,bold and clear,

and makes the love of God an atmosphere.

So come, Holy Spirit. Not as a fleeting guest,

but as the Sovereign Lord of this,my yielded breast.

Breathe,fire, flow, teach, and intercede.

In this encounter,meet my deepest need.

Encounter me.

I am present.I am still.

Have Your way.Accomplish all Your will.

Amen.

Revival: Presence of God.

 The Presence of God

Not a distant force, a theory, or a clouded space,

But the very atmosphere of being,filled with grace.

Not a“somewhere out there,” but a “here and now within,”

The place where true existence and true healing both begin.

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? (Psalm 139:7)

Your presence is the fullness—joy’s unshakable domain.

It is the end of searching,the ceasing of all strain.

It is the fire that guided through the desert’s deepest night,

The whisper in the silence that turns terror to delight.

Your presence is the promise: “I will never leave your side.”

The rock-foundation certainty where trembling hearts abide.

It is the glory-cloud that filled the temple’s holy room,

And now,the living temple of a heart that breaks the tomb.

“Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

For in the mystery of mercy, by the work the cross achieved,

The unapproachable Light drew near,and we by faith received

Not just a visitation,but a permanent, indwelling Lord—

The Spirit of God Himself,our life, our crown, our cord.

So let my life be lived here, in this conscious, waking rest,

As one profoundly known,and held, and chosen, and possessed.

Let every breath acknowledge what Your word has made so clear:

The greatest of all blessings is thatYou are present here.

Holy, holy, holy—the whole earth is full of Your glory.

Amen.

Revival: Harden Heart, become Flesh.

 Hardened Heart, Becomes Flesh

Thus says the Lord God:

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”(Ezekiel 36:26)

This heart of mine was stone—a fortress cold and dead,

A weight within my chest where living words were left unsaid.

It could not bend;it would not break; it could not feel or bleed,

A sealed and selfish monument to my own brittle creed.

But You, O Sculptor of the soul, whose hands formed Adam’s dust,

You speak a promise that is both a mandate and a trust.

You said,“I will remove the stone. I’ll excavate the part

That has forgotten how to beat. I’ll give you a new heart.”

And with the chisel of Your law, You struck to break the shell.

With the hammer of Your mercy,You began the work to quell

The resistance of the rock.And in the dust and debris,

You did not leave a vacancy;You fashioned flesh for me.

A heart that can be wounded, that can tremble and can fear,

But also one that can receive,and love, and hold You near.

A heart that is impressionable to the moving of Your hand,

A heart that understands the vows on which Your kingdom stands.

This is the miracle: the unyielding made vulnerable and true.

The transaction of the ages:my stone for flesh in You.

No longer monument to self,but living, breathing shrine,

This hardened heart is now Your flesh, Your temple, Lord, in mine.

We… are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

So let it beat in rhythm with the suffering of the world,

Let it be a place where Your compassion is unfurled.

For what was dead and cold is now alive and warm and true—

My heart of stone became a heart of flesh, all made brand new in You.

Amen.

Revival: Dry bones, comes alive.

 Dry Bones Come Alive

Thus says the Lord God to these bones:

“Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.”(Ezekiel 37:5)

From the valley of dry bones, sun-bleached and sere,

A question from the Spirit:“Can these bones live, son of man?”

Not by human hoping,not by mortal plan,

But by the Word Almighty,spoken by His hand.

“Prophesy to the breath! Prophesy, O son of man!”

And the sound began—a rattling across the sand.

Bone to its bone,a knitting, a forming frame,

A mighty,waiting army, yet lifeless, just the same.

Then from the four winds, breath! O, rushing, living breath!

It entered them,and they lived, and stood upon their feet—

A vast and living army,complete.

This is the promise: what is dead in you and me—

The hope that faded,the joy that ceased to be,

The dream that turned to dust,the love that grew so cold—

Can live again by the Spirit’s breath,as the ancient tale foretold.

I will put my Spirit in you and you will live. (Ezekiel 37:14)

For He who woke the valley with a prophetic call,

Who breathed on dust and made the first man stand up tall,

Is He who said to Lazarus,“Come forth!” out of the grave,

And He who by His Spirit mighty power now gives

To every heart that calls on Him.

Dry bones, come alive.

Let sinew form,let breath now be applied.

Rise up,O sleeper, from your dusty bed,

For Christ,the Resurrection Life, has raised you from the dead.

Amen.

Blessed Assurance.

 Blessed Assurance

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

Oh,what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation,purchase of God,

Born of His Spirit,washed in His blood.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus... let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings. (Hebrews 10:19, 22)

This is my story, this is my song:

A perfect submission,all to Him I belong.

A watching and waiting,looking above,

Filled with His goodness,lost in His love.

It is not a feeling that shifts with the wind,

But the rock-solid promise of a covenant friend.

The Spirit Himself whispers deep to my soul:

“You are redeemed,and you are whole.”

The Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. (Romans 8:15-16)

Blessed assurance—cast out every fear!

For my name is written,my title is clear.

No power of hell,no scheme of man,

Can ever erase me from the palm of His hand.

So let the world bring its trouble and test,

In my Savior I’m perfecting,in His love I am blessed.

And when the last shadow before Him shall flee,

I shall see my Redeemer,and like Him I shall be.

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior all the day long.

Amen.

Oh! Lord, Our God.

 Oh Lord Our God

Oh Lord our God, how majestic and holy is Your name in all the earth!

From before the dawn of time,You are.

Before a single mountain was born,

Before the oceans learned their boundaries,

You were enthroned in everlasting light.

Maker of the mountains, Keeper of the sparrow’s fall,

The First, the Last, the Eternal, the All-in-All.

Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (Psalm 90:1-2)

You spoke—and chaos coiled into cosmos, singing.

You breathed—and dust became a living soul.

You called—and a people were formed for Your praise,

A story of redemption that the ages would retell.

And when that story reached its darkest, most desperate hour,

You did not watch from afar with dispassionate power.

You entered in.You wore our skin, our sorrow, and our shame.

Oh Lord our God—Emmanuel—You bore our blame.

Now, by the blood of the covenant, forever we are Yours.

No power in heaven or earth can break these doors.

You are our strength in weakness,our song in the night,

Our ever-present help,our everlasting light.

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come. (Revelation 4:8)

So hear the worship of Your people, gathered from every shore.

We are Your children,whom You love, whom You forevermore adore.

With every breath You give us,until time itself is done,

Oh Lord our God, our hearts are Yours, and Yours alone.

Let every heart proclaim:

Worthy is the Lord our God!

Amen.

Praise his name, forevermore

 Forevermore

From the stirring of the first light to the closing of the day,

From the fragile,fleeting present to the ages far away,

Let there be one constant,one truth our hearts adore:

We will praise His name forevermore.

From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised. (Psalm 113:3)

When the seasons of the spirit turn from triumph to the trial,

When the well of song seems empty,and the walk another mile,

Even there,a whispered hallelujah from a faith that's learning how—

We will praise His name forevermore.

When the voice of celebration lifts in chorus loud and strong,

When the rescued soul discovers its emancipating song,

With a joy that shakes the rafters,from the ceiling to the floor—

We will praise His name forevermore.

For His name is everlasting, when our earthly names grow dim.

His faithfulness the anthem that no silence can ever hymn.

When the stars themselves are silent,and the oceans cease to roar,

We will praise His name forevermore.

So let this life be just the prelude, the first note of the score,

In an endless,growing symphony on an everlasting shore.

With the angels and the elders,with the loved ones gone before,

We will praise His name forevermore.

Praise His name.

Now.

And forevermore.

Amen.

The Gifts of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ.

 The Gift

The gift of God is this: not silver, not of gold,

Not a fleeting treasure that the hand can barely hold,

Buteternal life—a breath that never ends,

A story that continues where time itself descends.

The gift is life.

And it is found in Him,and Him alone—

In Jesus Christ,the cornerstone,

The Lamb upon the throne.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

It is not earned by labor, by the striving of the soul,

Not a trophy for the perfect,not a prize for being whole.

It is poured from boundless mercy,it is grace and grace alone,

A life we could not conjure,a life we could not own.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

This life begins this moment, in the waking and the now,

A spring inside the spirit,a light upon the brow.

It is knowing the Eternal One,the Father, face to face,

And walking in the radiance of unmerited grace.

So let my heart receive it, this miracle so free,

This endless,vast inheritance You always meant for me.

No longer just existing,but alive in every part,

Eternal lifenow beating in this once-dead heart.

The gift of God—

Wrapped in a manger,sealed upon a cross,

Proven in an empty tomb,beyond all gain and loss.

Jesus,You are the Giver and the Gift itself to me.

I receive You,and with You, life eternally.

Amen.

Blood of Christ over our lives.

 The Blood of Christ Over Our Lives

The Blood of Christ over our lives—

A scarlet line of mercy where the judgment-knife

Was stayed,a final, full atonement given.

The mark upon the doorpost that turns back the death of heaven.

When I see the blood, I will pass over you. (Exodus 12:13)

Over our minds, a cleansing from the lies that twist and bind.

Over our hearts,a healing for the wounds we’ve left behind.

Over our past,a tide that washes every guilty stain,

Until not even memory can speak its shame again.

The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)

Over our homes, a sacred hedge, a shield against the night.

Over our going out,our coming in, a wall of light.

Over our weakness,a perfected and all-sufficient strength,

Covering our failings for the whole and final length.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. (Ephesians 1:7)

It speaks a better word than any condemnation’s cry.

It is the oath that seals the everlasting covenant,“My.”

The river from the side of Love,where thirsty souls may wade,

The purchase price that for a bride eternally was paid.

May the God of peace… through the blood of the eternal covenant… equip you with everything good for doing his will. (Hebrews 13:20-21)

So we apply it now, not by a physical command,

But by the Spirit’s faith,and with a trusting, open hand.

We claim its full protection,its cleansing and its plea,

And walk as ransomed children,forever and fully free.

The Blood of Christ—our shelter, our pardon, and our peace—

Over our lives, its conquering power shall never cease.

Amen.

---

In Scripture, the blood of Christ signifies:

· Redemption & Forgiveness: Purchasing our freedom and washing away sin (Ephesians 1:7, 1 John 1:7).

· Reconciliation: Making peace between God and humanity (Colossians 1:20).

· New Covenant: Sealing God's eternal promise of relationship with us (Hebrews 9:14-15, 13:20).

· Overcoming Power: The believer's testimony and victory are rooted in it (Revelation 12:11).

To declare it "over our lives" is a prayer of faith, applying His finished work for our ongoing protection, cleansing, and identity as His own.

Be with us.

 Be With Us

Be with us.

Not as a distant wish,a hope cast toward the sky,

But as the very breath we breathe,the ground on which we lie.

Be with us as You promised—ourEmmanuel—

Our strength within the struggle,our peace within the swell.

Be with us in the ordinary, in the daily bread and task,

In the quiet conversation,in the simple joy we ask.

Be with us in the planning,in the work our hands have found,

The sacred in the common,on the familiar ground.

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:20)

Be with us in the breaking, when the fabric tears apart,

When the diagnosis silences the beating of the heart.

Be the One who stands within the fire,who walks upon the wave,

The present,mighty Savior, whose one purpose is to save.

Be with us in the celebrating, in the laughter, in the feast,

That every joy may point to You,the Giver and the Priest.

Bind us closer to each other as You bind us close to You,

One family,one body, in everything we do.

For You are the God who dwells among us, who makes His home with men.

You have written“With Us” as the covenant again.

From the garden’s walk at evening to the city’s radiant light,

Your heart’s desire is presence,Your presence is our might.

The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)

So, we do not ask for merely a blessing from Your hand,

But forYou—our dearest portion in every shifting land.

Be the fire by our night,be the cloud by our day.

Be with us,Lord Jesus, we humbly pray.

Amen.

How Good you are, Lord.

 How Good You Are, Lord

How good You are, Lord.

Not as a concept,thin and theoretical,

But as the very essence of all that is beautiful.

The first taste of morning,the well in the wasteland,

The sure,holding kindness of a Father’s hand.

You are so good.

Your goodness is the canvas on which my story’s told,

More precious than silver,more enduring than gold.

It chases me down in mercy’s relentless race,

And meets me in the wilderness with welcome on Your face.

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. (Psalm 34:8)

I have seen it in provision, arriving just in time,

In the healing of old wounds,in the gift of peace sublime.

In the daily bread for body,and the manna for my soul,

In the gentle,patient making of my broken pieces whole.

Your goodness does not promise a path devoid of pain,

But a presence in the fire,and a purpose in the rain.

It is the rock-foundation when the shifting sands give way,

The dawning of new mercies with the breaking of each day.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. (1 Chronicles 16:34)

For even on the hill where hope itself seemed slain,

Your goodness,in its mystery, was working greater gain.

The cross,the darkest moment, became the brightest proof

Of a love-soaked,sacrificial, all-conquering goodness, rooted in truth.

So let my life be one long, grateful, echoing chord,

A testament to this one truth:How good You are, Lord.

From the first cry of my heart to eternity’s shore,

I will proclaim Your goodness forevermore.

Amen.

Praise the name of My God.

 Praise the Name of God

Praise the name of God!

Let it rise from the depths of the sea to the heights of the sky,

From the mouth of the infant to the sage’s final sigh.

Let every breath He fashioned find its purpose in this sound,

A single,holy anthem where His glory is renowned.

Praise His name!

Praise Him in the morning when the light first paints the hills.

Praise Him in the stillness,when the racing mind grows still.

Praise Him with the thunder,with the whirling storm and flame.

Praise Him with the whisper—every tongue declare His name.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord! (Psalm 150:6)

Praise the name that split the darkness, calling cosmos into place.

Praise the name that met our failure with the wonder of His grace.

Praise the name that walked among us,Jesus, Saviour, God-with-us,

The name that broke the prison and that shattered death for us.

For His name is power, shaking every chain we bear.

His name ismercy, healing every deep despair.

His name isfaithfulness, from age to age the same.

All blessing,honour, glory—let us praise His holy name.

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name. (Philippians 2:9)

So I will join the chorus of the saints and of the earth,

Declaring His great worth,from my moment of new birth.

With every beat of gratitude my ransomed heart can frame,

My life will be an offering of praise unto His name.

Praise the name of God—

Father,Spirit, Son.

The great I AM,the Holy One.

My All in All.

Amen.

Lord of Lord, King of King.

 Lord of Lords, King of Kings

You are Lord of lords, King of kings—

The Sovereign above all thrones that earthly power brings.

Before whom every scepter,crown, and rule must fall,

The Alpha and Omega,the first and last of all.

The supreme, unrivalled Sovereign.

Your majesty is not in jewels or gilded seat,

But in the nail-scarred hands that make the work complete.

For You achieved Your kingdom not by force of sword,

But by the whispered love of a suffering Lord.

...the Lord of lords and the King of kings... (Revelation 17:14)

...God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords...(1 Timothy 6:15)

The kings of earth will fade like shadows in the sun,

Their fleeting days of glory,one by one, are done.

But You,eternal Monarch, reign on heaven's throne,

Your government and peace shall never be overthrown.

You are the King who rides a donkey, meek and low,

Whose coronation crown was thorns,that we might know

The depth of royal love that conquers from the cross,

And counts the world's whole empire as worthless,total loss.

So let my heart be Your kingdom, my will Your humble land.

Rule over every passion by the grace of Your command.

For I own no other master;to You alone I sing:

My Lord of lords, my King of kings.

And on that final morning, when every eye shall see

The fullness of the glory that has always been,

A thunderous acclamation from all created things

Will shake the universe:“Lord of lords! King of kings!”

Worthy are You to take all power and praise.

Amen.

We are your People.

 We Are Your People

We are Your people.

Not by our merit,not by ancestral claim,

But called and claimed by mercy,in the power of Your name.

You sought us in our wandering,drew us from the dark,

And on our hearts You wrote Your own distinctive mark.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9)

We are the sheep who hear the Shepherd’s voice,

The ones who,by Your grace, made Your love our choice.

The called-out ones,the temple where Your Spirit dwells,

A story of redemption that Your faithfulness tells.

We are a people purchased, not with silver or with gold,

But by the precious blood that the sacred Lamb foretold.

A covenant community,a body, and a bride,

In You,O Lord, forever unified.

I will be your God, and you will be my people. (Leviticus 26:12)

So bind us to each other with the cord of perfect love,

And fix our gaze together on the promises above.

Make us a city shining on a hill for all to see,

A living testament of what Your boundless grace can be.

For we are not our own. Our lives are Yours to mold.

We are Your people now,and a story to be told.

From every tribe and nation,one chorus we shall raise—

An endless hymn of worship to the honor of Your name.

We are Your people.

Held.Forgiven. Called. Your own.

Amen.

How Great is your name.

 How Great Is Your Name

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!

It is not a mere sound,a title of birth,

But the full weight of glory,the sum of all You are—

A blazing,uncontained, celestial star.

How great is Your name.

Your name is the fortress where the righteous run and hide,

The banner lifted high where every promise does abide.

It is theshepherd’s call that stills the trembling soul,

The sovereign word that speaks and makes the shattered whole.

How majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. (Psalm 8:1)

Before a star was kindled, Your name was "I AM."

Before the world had form,before the fall of man.

It echoes through the ages,from Sinai’s smoking height

To a quiet Galilean hill in the soft,forgiving light.

Your name is power—it shatters every chain.

Your name ismercy—it washes every stain.

It is theonly name where hope and healing meet,

The signature of love,triumphant and complete.

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow... (Philippians 2:9-10)

So let the heavens thunder it. Let the rolling sea proclaim.

Let every heart in wonder confess its matchless fame.

For when the final chorus of all creation swells,

It will be the story that every story tells.

How great, O Lord, is Your name!

Beyond the highest praise our tongues can frame,

From everlasting unto everlasting,

You are the same.

And Your great name—Jesus—shall be forever on our lips,

The harbor of our souls on all our earthly trips.

Amen.

Your name is Jesus.

 Your Name Is Jesus

Your name is Jesus—the name the angel spoke

Before the world awoke to Mary’s“yes,”

The Word made flesh to dwell in our distress,

The only name in which our hopelessness is broke.

Jesus.

The sweetness of it calms the storm and stills the soul,

The power of it makes the broken sinner whole.

A name like no other,whispered at the start,

And shouted from the depths of every rescued heart.

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)

Your name is power. At its sound, the demons flee,

The fevered brow is cooled,the blind begin to see.

It is the key that turns the lock on death’s own door,

The name above all names,whom heaven and earth adore.

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow... (Philippians 2:9-10)

Your name is promise. Yahweh saves, the covenant kept.

The well of living water,from which all grace is swept.

The answer to the ache in every age and cry,

The bridge that spans the chasm between the Holy and the high.

Salvation is its meaning; Salvation is its call.

The hope of Adam’s offspring,the Savior for us all.

No other name is given beneath the boundless sky

By which we must be saved,or truly live, or die.

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

So let my life be an echo of this name so sweet and strong.

Let every act of love confess where I belong.

In trial or in triumph,in joy or in the test,

Your name,O Jesus, is my hiding place and rest.

Jesus.

My prayer.My song. My shield. My story.

My Redeemer in His glory.

The first and final word I’ll ever need to know.

Your name is Jesus.

And my heart will tell you so.

Amen.

Lion of Judah.

 The Lion of Judah

Behold the Lion of the Tribe of Judah,

The Root of David—ancient,strong, and true.

His roar is not of terror,but of triumph breaking through,

The sound that shatters chains and makes the heavens new.

The Lion of Judah.

He does not prowl in shadows, hunting for the weak,

But stands in regal power,the mighty One we seek.

His mane is like the radiance of the golden,coming dawn;

All enemies will scatter before Him,and be gone.

“See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed.” (Revelation 5:5)

Yet wonder at this mystery, and let your spirit kneel:

This conquering Lion is also the wounded Lamb who heals.

The victory He carries was won upon the cross;

His majesty was perfected in surrender and in loss.

For the roar that silences the foe is the voice that spoke, “Forgive.”

The claim that ends all conflict is the love that died to let us live.

He is the fierce Protector and the gentle,guiding King,

The source of every battle cry,the peace to which we cling.

So let the earth fall silent. Let every heart prepare.

The Lion-Lamb is moving on the winds of prayer.

He comes to claim His own,to finish what He swore—

The universe will echo with the Lion’s final roar.

All honour, strength, and glory to the One upon the throne,

The Lion of Judah, who claims us as His own.

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

How Great is your Way.

 How Great Is Your Way

How great is Your way—higher than the mind can chart,

A boundless,deep ocean beyond the shores of my heart.

It courses through the cosmos,yet finds the sparrow’s fall,

A mystery of wisdom that cradles,governs all.

How great is Your way.

It is not a path of mine, widened by my demand,

But a holy,unfolding work from an unseen Hand.

A tapestry where sorrow and joy are woven tight,

Where darkness serves the purpose of revealing greater light.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Your way led through the waters, a highway through the sea.

Your way was in a manger,for all the world to see.

Your way climbed up a hilltop,to a cruel and lonely cross,

To turn our greatest tragedy into eternal gain,not loss.

It is the narrow road that leads to life and peace,

Where striving finds its rest,and every craving finds release.

A way of perfect justice,clothed in mercy’s gentle sway,

A paradox of power that takes a servant’s shape to save.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

So I will not lean on the logic of my sight,

For Your great way is perfect,and Your burden is light.

I will walk by faith,not by the map I’d planned to keep,

For You go before me through valleys dark and deep.

How great, how glorious, how good is Your way—

From the dawn of creation to the end of days.

I surrender my own.Lead me, Lord, I pray.

Your way is love.Your way is life.

Your way is great.

Amen.

Mighty in Power.

 Mighty in Power

Mighty in power—the voice that spoke the dawn,

That hung the stars in place and taught the eagle’s brawn.

The strength that carved the canyons,poured the seven seas,

And rides the thundercloud with sovereign ease.

Mighty in power.

Yet not a force unfeeling, distant, cold, or grim,

But power with a purpose,vested wholly in Him—

To save,to break the chains no human hand could part,

To write His law of love on the yielded heart.

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary... He gives strength to the weary. (Isaiah 40:28-29)

Your might was in the whisper that stilled the raging storm,

In the hand that touched the leper,reshaping human form.

It blazed in silent triumph when,upon the tree,

Lovechose the way of weakness to forever set us free.

For Your greatest power was not in the earthquake’s rending sound,

But in the breath that whispered,“Father, forgive them,” from the ground.

And in the glorious morning when death itself was slain—

The might that rolled the stone is the might that now can reign.

That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead. (Ephesians 1:19-20)

So this is the might I cling to—not just for worlds above,

But for the daily courage,for the miracle of love.

The resurrection power that now lives inside of me,

My strength in every weakness,my certain victory.

Mighty in power to save, to keep, to mend,

My stronghold and my shepherd,my beginning and my end.

Let every heart proclaim it,let every tongue agree:

All honour to the Lamb, who is mighty in power for me.

Amen.

Honour to the Lamb

 Honour to the Lamb

All honour to the Lamb upon the throne!

The perfect sacrifice for sin,for us, alone.

The spotless One who took our guilty stain,

That we might live,and endless life obtain.

Honour to the Lamb!

Behold the One who was, and is, to come,

The Root of David,God’s own holy Son.

He stands as One who bears the marks of slaughter,

Our great Redeemer,by whose blood we’re bought.

“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

Honour for His silence, like a sheep before the shearer.

Honour for the anguish that drew heaven nearer.

Honour for the crimson tide from His own veins,

That broke the curse and shattered death’s cold chains.

Now crowned with glory, wielding Heaven’s scroll,

Worthy is the Lamb to make the wounded whole!

To every tribe and tongue,His grace extends—

The Lamb who was slain is now the King of friends.

Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise! (Revelation 5:12)

So let creation’s chorus swell and ring,

Let every breath and every living thing

Fall down before Him,cast their crowns in space,

And magnify the glory of His grace.

For He has conquered! Hell is overthrown!

His victory is ours,and His renown.

With angels,elders, creatures, and the saved,

We lift one cry,by endless love enslaved:

“Honour! Glory! Power! Blessing!

To the Lamb who gives us rest!

To the King of every kingdom—

All our worship, first and best!”

Amen. Hallelujah.

Every breath I will sing.

 Every Breath I Will Sing

From the waking sigh to the stillness of deep sleep,

A vow my soul must make,a promise I will keep.

Not just in chapel halls or when the sun is bright,

But in the weary watches of the longest night.

Every breath I will sing.

Let the rhythm of my lungs become a constant praise,

A ceaseless conversation through the changing days.

Let the inhale be wonder,the exhale a release,

A hymn without a ending,an unyielding peace.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. (Psalm 150:6)

When joy arrives unbidden, a flood of golden sound,

My song will be a trumpet,on holy ground.

And when the tune is mournful,a minor, trembling key,

My breath will trust the Composer of what I cannot see.

I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. (Psalm 34:1)

For You have given me this breath—a borrowed, sacred art.

So I will give it back to You,the worship of my heart.

With every gasp for air,a “Thank You,” a “You’re good,”

A declaration understood by heaven as it should.

And when my final breath prepares to leave this frame,

Let it not be a whimper,but a echo of Your name.

A seamless passing from a song on earth below

To the everlasting chorus where perfected praises flow.

For You alone are worthy. You are the Song, the Source.

The unending melody,the gravitational force

That pulls my breath from silence into a praising thing.

My Jesus, my Saviour, with every breath I’ll sing.

Amen.

Your Goodness is running after me.

 Your Goodness Is Running After Me

Your goodness is running after me—

Not a distant hope,a someday-promise on a shelf,

But a pursuing love,outpacing my own self.

With every step I take,forward or in flight,

It chases down my darkness with relentless light.

Your goodness runs.

It follows me through crowded streets and silent rooms,

Through every corridor where shame or sadness looms.

It is the constant whisper when the world is loud,

The breaking of the dawn behind the darkest cloud.

Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life. (Psalm 23:6, NLT)

When I turned my back, thinking I had fled Your gaze,

I found it was Your goodness that had marked my ways.

It was the arms of morning that I could not outrun,

The certain,steady heartbeat of a love I had not won.

It runs in forgiveness when I falter, fall, and fail.

It runs in provision—a ship with every sail

Filled by the wind of grace I did not earn or seek.

It runs in strength supplied to weary ones and weak.

And on the days I stand still, breathless, overcome,

Your pursuing goodness does not merely come—

Itcollides with grace, a tide that knows no shore,

And whispers,“Child, I have been here forevermore.”

So I will stop my striving. I will let myself be found,

Enfolded by a goodness that has my life surrounded.

For I cannot escape it,this love that will not cease,

Your goodness,in its running, has become my perfect peace.

All my life…

You have been faithful.

And Your goodness is running after me.

Before I was, You are.

Amen.

Goodness of God.

 The Goodness of God

I will sing of the goodness of God—

Not as a concept,distant, cold, or dim,

But as the very atmosphere that breathes within

The dawn’s first blush,the harvest’s golden rim.

Your goodness is the fabric of my days,

The thread of mercy woven through my ways.

It chased me down when I was running lost;

It paid the debt my failing could not cost.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life. (Psalm 23:6)

I see it in the colors of the fall,

In bread that feeds,in grace that covers all.

In laughter of a friend,in quiet peace,

In gentle vows that never,never cease.

It is the table spread in threat’s grim face,

The oil of joy,the sanctified space.

The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. (Psalm 145:9)

And when the road has led through shadowed vale,

Your goodness did not falter,did not fail.

It held me in the furnace,stayed the flame,

And in the breaking,hallowed my name.

For even there,Your heart was working deep—

A goodness that my sorrow cannot keep.

So let my life be one long, echoing proof,

One thankful heart,held tightly to this truth:

That from my first cry to my final breath,

Your goodness triumphs,even over death.

All my life, You have been faithful.

All my life, You have been so, so good.

Amen.

All my life.

 All My Life

All my life, You have been faithful.

Through the chapters I have named and known,

And the pages where Your hand was writing all alone.

All my life.

From my first breath—a gift I did not earn—

To every pathway where my will from Yours did turn,

Your faithfulness has been the ground beneath my feet,

The melody of grace,unwavering and sweet.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life. (Psalm 23:6)

In seasons of abundance, You were my increase.

In deserts of my soul,You were my peace.

When I was faithless,chasing my own way,

Your promises stood firm.You did not stray.

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

You were the constant in my every change,

The certain hope that nothing could estrange.

The dawn that broke through every longest night,

The truest friend who always fought my fight.

So let my remaining days, however few or long,

Be one continuing,surrendered song.

A testament to what I know is true:

All my life,my God, I have been held by You.

Amen.

I love you Lord.

 I Love You, Lord

I love You, Lord.

Not as a duty,or a doctrine on a page,

But as the only true response to all Your grace.

My rock,my fortress, my deliverer in the fray,

The first and final music of my day.

I love you, Lord, my strength. (Psalm 18:1)

I love You for the cross—the depth I cannot span,

The love that laid its life down for this broken man.

I love You for the dawn that follows every night,

For being my defense,my everlasting light.

I love You for the patience of Your guiding hand,

For making sunrise promises out of shifting sand.

For healing whispered into places torn apart,

For writing Your own poem on this grateful heart.

We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

Let this love be my action, not just a sentiment,

My truest,guiding motive, my complete intent.

Let it be my obedience,my willing, joyful “yes,”

My place of deepest stillness in the midst of stress.

So take this love, O Lord, however faint its spark,

And fan it to a flame that lights up all the dark.

Let it be the single,constant, beating of my soul,

Until Your love in me is perfect,whole.

I love You, Lord.

My strength.

My song.

My King.

My all in all.

Amen.

You healed my Heart.

 And here is a poem for your healed heart—a testimony set to verse, anchored in the scripture that made it whole.

You Healed My Heart

You healed my heart.

Not with a surgeon’s blade,so sharp and neat,

But with a love that made the brokenness complete,

A binding of the fragments with a golden thread,

A raising of the places I had left for dead.

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Psalm 147:3)

Where once a cavern, cold and echoing,

Now springs a well,a fresh, eternal singing.

You took the stone I carried in my chest

And gave it rest,and gave me back my breath.

You called me from the tomb of my own shame,

Where I had wrapped myself in my own name.

You said,“Come forth,” and shattered every chain;

You spoke the word that made me live again.

“Lord,” I said, “be merciful to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you.” (Psalm 41:4)

Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me.(Psalm 30:2)

You healed my heart for more than just my peace,

Not for the pain to finally cease,

But so this mended,mercy-tempered clay

Might beat with purpose for You,day by day.

So let it be a shelter for the weak,

A humble language that Your love can speak.

Let it be strong to bear another’s weight,

To love because You loved me first,and late.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

This heart—Your trophy of relentless grace—

Will seek Your face in every time and place.

And if it scars,let every scar recall

The Healer who is greatest over all.

So I will go, with this new rhythm’s start,

And carry with me Your now-healing art.

For You alone take shattered things apart

And make them whole.

You healed my heart.

Amen.

The Joy of the Lord is my strength.

 The Unbreakable Joy

"The joy of the Lord is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:10)

Not my joy—for that is a weathervane,

turning with every wind of circumstance.

It is frail,it is fleeting, a cup too soon drained.

But Your joy, Lord.

The deep,unshakable gladness of Heaven,

the delight of the Trinity in redemption’s design.

Thatjoy—Your joy—becomes mine.

And in its taking,it forges a strength not my own.

It is the joy that sang over chaos,

“Let there be light!”

The joy that set a rescue in motion in a garden’s dim night.

The joy“set before him” that made Christ endure the cross,

despising its shame.(Hebrews 12:2)

It is the joy of the Father welcoming the prodigal home,

of the Shepherd shouldering the found lamb.

It is joy with scars on its hands.

This joy is my citadel.

When my own happiness withers,

when my laughter grows thin and forced,

I retreat to the heart of this fortress.

I drink from a well that is not my own.

And there,in that communion—

tastingYour delight in being my God,

Yourpleasure in my being Your child—

my bones are renewed.

My knees cease their trembling.

A resilient,quiet power rises from a source

deeper than despair.

This joy is my weapon.

It is the song in the prison at midnight.(Acts 16:25)

It is the praise that routes armies.(2 Chronicles 20:21-22)

It is the“inexpressible and glorious joy” (1 Peter 1:8)

of a salvation unspeakable,

held in a cracked clay vessel.

It confuses the enemy,

for it shines brightest

when the battle is hottest.

This joy is my nourishment.

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you

and that your joy may be complete.”(John 15:11)

It is the fruit of abiding,not of striving.

It is the proof of connection to the Vine.

I do not manufacture it.

I receive it.

I choose it.

I stand upon it.

So today, I claim not a feeling,

but a fact.

I am weak.I am tired. I am frayed.

Butthe joy of the Lord—

Your everlasting,covenant-keeping,

grave-shattering,heart-restoring joy—

is my strength.

It is the iron in my spine.

It is the song in my silence.

It is the fuel for the next step.

I am strong, not because I am joyful,

but because I am held by the Joyful One.

And in His joy,I find my unshakable might.

Amen.

Meditate on the name of Jesus.

 Day and Night: A Meditation on the Name

(A Prayer of Remembrance)

In the Dawn,

When light first cracks the shell of night,

and shadows shrink from gold,

let my first thought beJESUS—

the Bright and Morning Star.(Revelation 22:16)

The Name above the rising sun,

the Word that spoke the day begun.

Before the busyness begins,

let this truth sink in:

“At the name of Jesus every knee should bow,”(Philippians 2:10)

including the knee of my anxious heart.

I bow it now.

In the Day,

Amidst the noise,the task, the fray,

the thousand things that pull and claim,

let my breath-prayer beJESUS.

A fortress for the mind assailed,

a compass when the map has failed.

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower;

the righteous run to it and are safe.”(Proverbs 18:10)

When frustration sparks,let Your name be water.

When confusion swirls,let Your name be order.

Jesus—the Way, the Truth, the Life.(John 14:6)

The pathway through the thickest strife.

In the Dusk,

As colors soften,edges blur,

and weight returns from the world incurred,

let my sigh beJESUS.

The Shepherd who calls the scattered sheep,

who gathers exhaustion,deep to deep.

“I am the good shepherd;

I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”(John 10:14)

In the letting go,the slowing beat,

Your name is rest for weary feet.

In the Night,

When thoughts race like wild horses,

or when silence grows too vast,

let my anchor-hold beJESUS.

The One who walked on midnight seas,

who speaks“Peace, be still” to frantic storms. (Mark 4:39)

When memories accuse or fears take shape,

Your name is the seal upon the cage.

“In the dark, You are my light.”

You are the Word in my endless night.

Emmanuel—God with me,here.

Dispelling every chilling fear.

In the Sleepless Watch,

In the ache,the lonely hour,

in the grip of a hidden pain,

let my chant,my rock, be JESUS.

Balm of Gilead for the soul,

the wounded healer who makes whole.

“There is no other name under heaven given to mankind

by which we must be saved.”(Acts 4:12)

Saved from despair,from hopeless end.

My Savior,Shepherd, Brother, Friend.

In Every Breath,

The inhale:JE- (Yahweh, I AM).

The exhale:-SUS (Savior, Lamb).

The pulse of heaven in my soul,

the truth that makes the fractured whole.

Day and night,a ceaseless stream,

the living water,the waking dream.

“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly.”(Colossians 3:16)

Let His Name be the air I breathe.

So I meditate. Not just with thought,

But with need,with trust, with desperate plea.

The name that is“Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”(Isaiah 9:6)

The name that holds my past,my now, my far horizon.

The name that is my plea,my pardon, and my paradise.

Jesus.

Jesus.

Jesus.

Amen.

A Bless 2026.

 Amen. Let this be a blessing over the year that is to come—a prayer for 2026.

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A Blessing for 2026

May it be a year of goodness—

not the absence of struggle,

but the profound presence of grace within it.

May you walk in 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)

May you trust the Architect, even when the blueprint is unclear.

May your burdens find lightness,

your grief find comfort,

and your joy find its voice.

May you “go out with joy and be led forth in peace.” (Isaiah 55:12)

May your work bear fruit,

your rest bring restoration,

and your relationships be deepened by kindness.

May you “bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)

May you know—deep in your bones—that you are never alone.

That “the Lord himself goes before you and will be with you;

he will never leave you nor forsake you.

Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 31:8)

And when the path turns, or the fog descends,

may you hear the gentle whisper:

“This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21)

May you be given the courage to follow.

May 2026 be a year of growing roots downward,

and bearing fruit upward.

A year of clearer vision, softer heart, stronger spirit.

A year where you learn a little more

what it means to be “held.”

And what it means to be “led.”

Above all,

may you know—more deeply with each passing day—

the love that will not let you go.

May you dwell in the blessing of being His.

In the mighty name of Jesus,

the Alpha and the Omega,

the One who holds all time—

and holds you—

Amen.