Thursday, February 22, 2007

Go to God first

"Dear Lord, I don't know why I'm coming to you now, but there is no other hope in my life, and I thought maybe if I talked to You, You might hear my pleas of help and do something to change my life. I've gotten myself into a lot of trouble, Lord, and I don't know what to do. My children are angry with me, my spouse wants a divorce, our house is near foreclosure, and I just don't know what to do with my life. I think I'm going to lose my job and then what will I do? We can barely support ourselves today with 2 incomes, much less 1. Lord, help me. I don't know how to do this prayer thing, but I'm asking for Your help now. Please, I beg of you, help me..."

Have you found yourself or know of someone, that turns to God as a last resort? Instead of going to Him first, they think they can handle everything by themselves and work out their problems on their own. That's just NOT the case! God is there for us anytime we call. He may not always answer you with words you want to hear, or at the moment you think you need it most, but He will answer you. He hears your cries for help. He hears your despair, feels your joy and collects your tears. Don't go to God when all the chips are down, GO TO GOD FIRST and share with Him all your feelings - happiness and sorrow, RIGHT NOW. Don't wait, don't hold back. God should be the first priority in your life, not the last resort.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Amazing Grace

Ten Amazing Facts about Amazing Grace

1) The words were written by a reformed British slave trader turned Anglican minister, John Newton, who wrote it to accompany a New Year’s Day church service in 1773.

2) Amazing Grace is the most covered song in history. Over 3200 different recordings exist.

3) The tune we now associate with Amazing Grace wasn’t matched to the words until 1835 in William Walker’s Southern Harmony. Until then it was set to a variety of tunes.

4) The final stanza—‘When we’ve been there ten thousand years’—was added by Edwin Othello Excell in 1909 and was taken from another hymn.

5) Amazing Grace is considered to be the anthem of the Cherokee Nation because the song was sung on the Trail of Tears during 1838-39.

6) The first gospel recording of Amazing Grace was made in 1926 by Rev. H. R. Tomlin.

7) Most of the recordings of Amazing Grace have been made since Judy Collins had a surprise pop hit with the song in 1971.

8) A survey of British teenagers in the mid-1970s found that the majority thought that Amazing Grace was a love song about a girl named Grace.

9) The popular bagpipe version recorded by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards was based on the hit version by Judy Collins and was only added to an album as an afterthought. Later released as a single, it became a huge international hit.

10) Amazing Grace was sung as the funerals of Richard Nixon, Sonny Bono, Barry Goldwater, Joe DiMaggio and John Kennedy Jr.

This is Amazing Grace Sunday and on this day, we are reminded to:
** praise God for the abolition of the slave trade 200 years ago
** pray for the remaining work of racial healing and equality
** pledge to free the men, women, and children still enslaved today

Thursday, February 8, 2007

It's all about LOVE

How many LOVE letters have you received in your life? How many LOVE letters have you written? Have you ever received a letter from God? Have you felt His presence surrounding you when you're feeling down? Have you felt His arms wrap around you in the highlights of your life, saying, "You are Worthy of this and so much more"? Have you sat down to read His word, and feel the LOVE in the words that are before you? Do you know that God LOVES you? Do you know how much God LOVES you? Do you know that you are WORTHY of God's LOVE every day of your life? When you're feeling down, take a moment to tell yourself that God LOVES you and you are WORTHY of His LOVE and grace. Your life has WORTH, your LOVE has meaning, and giving yourself to God is such a small thing to do to show your LOVE for HIM.