HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST

See How Your King Comes

 ^12-15The next day the huge crowd that had arrived for the Feast heard that Jesus was entering Jerusalem. They broke off palm branches and went out to meet him. And they cheered:

   Hosanna!

   Blessed is he who comes in God's name!

    Yes! The King of Israel!
Jesus got a young donkey and rode it, just as the Scripture has it:

   No fear, Daughter Zion:
      See how your king comes,
      riding a donkey's colt.

 ¹⁶The disciples didn't notice the fulfillment of many Scriptures at the time, but after Jesus was glorified, they remembered that what was written about him matched what was done to him.

Lyrics | Hillsong United lyrics - Hosanna lyrics

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DARE TO ASK

KATE SMITH 1909-1986

Perhaps you have never heard of Kate Smith, but I suspect most of you have even if you are too young to remember when she actually performed. She was a great singer. I recently read a story about her faith and I want to share it today.

Kate was asked to describe her philosophy of living. She said it had been the same since she was a little girl and could be stated in just three words: "Try asking God." Then she told the story of the beginning of that faith for her.

Once she was out in a rowboat on the Chesapeake Bay with two other girls. All three were in their early teens. They did not notice that the outgoing tide had swept them far out from the shore and that it was nearly dark. They suddenly became filled with fear. They cried for help but no one could hear. Then Kate Smith remembered a statement in the Bible that if two or three are gathered together in His name, He is in the midst of them.

"We have the limit," she said to her friends. "The Bible says 'two or three' and we have three. God will save us if we ask Him." They prayed. And out of the gathering darkness became the lines of a boat. They were taken aboard and carried back to safety. From that time on, in trouble, in need, in disappointment, in every circumstance of life, her philosophy was simply, "Try asking God."

I found this information about Kate Smith in Charles Allen's book entitled All Things Are Possible Through Prayer.

I am notorious for trying to fix or put  things together without reading the instructions. After I've tried and tried and failed, then I read the instructions. How many times has my hubby reminded me when I'm frustrated about assembling something or trying to figure out how something works, that I need to read the instructions. And boy, does that help. God has given us instructions for everything in life, but the world keeps trying to figure out things on their own and neglect the instructions. Many times in our society, they even make fun of and scoff at His instructions. I'm so happy that we have them written in His book. Let's not forget to read and follow them. It does no good to know the instructions if we don't follow them.

Spiritual Sundays is a blog where you will find links to many inspiring posts. Please click HERE to go there. 

St. Patrick

Since Saturday is St. Patrick's Day, I decided to see what information I could find about it online. Here's a portion of what I found. Some of it was contradictory. This is not surprising since he lived so long ago.

St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is one of Christianity's most widely known figures. But for all his celebrity, his life remains somewhat of a mystery. Many of the stories traditionally associated with St. Patrick, including the famous account of his banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are false, the products of hundreds of years of exaggerated storytelling.

Saint Patrick, who lived during the fifth century, is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. Born in Roman Britain, he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland as a slave at the age of 16. He later escaped, but returned to Ireland and was credited with bringing Christianity to its people. In the centuries following Patrick's death (believed to have been on March 17, 461), the mythology surrounding his life became ever more ingrained in the Irish culture: Perhaps the most well known legend is that he explained the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) using the three leaves of a native Irish clover, the shamrock.Since around the ninth or 10th century, people in Ireland have been observing the Roman Catholic feast day of on March 17.

Patrick Guided by Visions:
After more than six years as a prisoner, Patrick escaped. According to his writing, a voice-which he believed to be God's-spoke to him in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland.

To do so, Patrick walked nearly 200 miles from County Mayo, where it is believed he was held, to the Irish coast. After escaping to Britain, Patrick reported that he experienced a second revelation-an angel in a dream tells him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Soon after, Patrick began religious training, a course of study that lasted more than fifteen years. After his ordination as a priest, he was sent to Ireland with a dual mission-to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to begin to convert the Irish. (Interestingly, this mission contradicts the widely held notion that Patrick introduced Christianity to Ireland.)

The beautiful prayer of St. Patrick, popularly known as "St. Patrick's Breast-Plate", is supposed to have been composed by him in preparation for this victory over Paganism. The following is a literal translation from the old Irish text:

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.

I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.

I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.

Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the poop [deck],
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.

I'm always inspired by people like St. Patrick. He made such an impact on Ireland and Christianity that we're still celebrating his life after all these years. Wow 461 was a long long time ago. I like the explanation of the meaning of the shamrock. Thank you St. Patrick for your faithfulness. I will be wearing green in your honor even though green is not my color.

Please visit our Spiritual Sundays blog for links to lots of inspirational posts. Just click HERE to go there.

God's Love Endures Forever

Another dear friend in his 90s went home to be with the Lord this week. I'm sharing the following poem by Helen Steiner Rice in memory of him.

God's Love Endures Forever

God's love endureth forever ―

    What a wonderful thing to know.

When the tides of life turn against you

     and your spirit is downcast and low.

God's kindness is ever around you,

     always ready to freely impart

Strength to your faltering spirit,

     cheer to your lonely heart.

God's presence is ever beside you,

     as near as the reach of your hand.

You have but to tell Him your troubles,

     there is nothing He won't understand.

And knowing God's love is unfailing,

     and His mercy unending and great,

You have but to trust in His promise ―

     God comes not too soon or too late.

So wait with a heart that is patient

     for the goodness of God to prevail.

For never do prayers go unanswered,

     and His mercy and love never fail.

And the following quote by HSR

God never said die not, sorrow not, or suffer not, but He did say, 'Fear not!' And when you take the fear out of life, then all the terrible experiences ― all the trials and all the suffering ― become bearable.

I hope you will visit Spiritual Sundays. So many wonderful inspirational posts are shared there each week. Here is the url:  http://bloggerspirit.blogspot.com/

LIFT UP YOUR EYES

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
He it is who reduces rulers to nothing.
Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.
Scarcely have they been planted,
Scarcely have they been sown,
Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,
But, He merely blows on them and they wither.
And the storm carries them away like stubble.
"To whom then will you liken me
That I would be his equal?" says the Holy One
Lift up your eyes on high
And see who has created these stars
The one who leads forth their host by number
He calls them all by name
Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power
not one of them is missing ...
Do not fear for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 40:21-26; 41:10   

Wow. I don't know about you, but these scriptures give me great hope. Even though it seems like everything is going wrong in our world, He is still in control and it is so true. Nothing takes Him by surprise and do you suppose He is worried about anything that is going on here? And if you are still worried, I suggest you read the above scriptures again.

And did you notice the statement about the circle of the earth? Until recently people thought the earth was flat. How do you suppose Isaiah knew about the circle of the earth so many centuries ago? To me this is just another proof that Scripture is inspired by God.

Another thank you to everyone who shares on Spiritual Sundays. Here is the link to that blog. New people are always encouraged to join us there. http://bloggerspirit.blogspot.com/