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.