Nursing Home Hymns

Living Water

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But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14 ESV

The first stanza of the hymn “Springs of Living Water,” begins with the words, “I thirsted in the barren land of sin and shame.” Now, certainly every one of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus have been there at one time or another. The worst part of that time in the desert was that we were dying of thirst with no idea that we needed water. But our barren lands are not always limited to sin and shame. This morning some of us are wandering in the barren land of grief, a failed marriage or a life changing health issue. And just like the woman in today’s verse, we are trying to fill our thirst at a well that is filled with only a temporary solution. The good news is that Jesus is sitting by our well of temporary solutions and He offers us His gift of Living Water. The difference between His gift and what is in our well, is that while our water quenches thirst, it lasts only for a moment. The water that Jesus offers will become a well inside of us that will flow out to others. By grace His Living Water can pour out through us to others who are grieving, to people sitting alone or abandoned. The gift that Jesus gives, becomes Living Water not only to us, but through us for others and where “thirsting spirits can be satisfied” God will get all the glory!

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. Isaiah 44:3 ESV

From the Rising of the Sun

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

Years ago, we had a chorus that used this Psalm. I never stopped to think much about what this meant when we sang the words. I had always just thought that we simply needed to praise God all day long, every day. Then the Holy Spirit began to show me a picture of my life. God has given each of us an amazing chance in life, no matter how long or how short it is to be. From our earliest days when we just begin to speak, we can begin to praise the name of the Lord. He can be precious to us, or we can choose to neglect him. Jesus continues calling us, as our sun rises and strengthens to noonday and even to the evening shadows. Some of us come in the morning; some come in the early afternoon and some not until our sun is starting to set. God is always looking for the opportunity to enter into our life. He wants to come and give us life for however many moments we have.His name is still to be praised wherever we are. God is delighted with early morning praise formed on the lips of children. God is honored by praise that rises from excited young people and God is lovingly receives quieter praise from the hearts of runners with tired legs, who are nearing the end of the race. God’s name is always to be praised. From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the Name of the Lord is to be praised!

Written in Heaven

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 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice 
that your names are written in heaven. Luke 10:20 ESV

There are a great many things most of us would like to do or have in life. Many of these things are good and right, such as getting married, getting a job and having a decent home for our family. Each time we reach one of these accomplishments we feel a bit of satisfaction and joy. When it comes to whatever ministry that God has placed us in, the same holds true. Sunday school teachers love nothing better than praying with a child to receive Christ, worship leaders love seeing people raising their hands and singing along and pastors get excited when the altar is filled with people praying. Now, don’t get me wrong, these are all great, but when the disciples came back super enthusiastic from a bang-up mission’s trip Jesus cautioned them to focus elsewhere. He pointed to a day when all our life is over, and our doing is done. The only thing that will matter for us then is if we find that our names are written in Heaven. One way to be sure about if our names are written in Heaven is to search our hearts and ask a simple question: “Where is our greatest treasure?” Jesus told us that where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also. If we have made Jesus, the treasure of our heart. If we have asked Him to be Lord of our life and to forgive our sins, then we can rejoice not just in Heaven, but here and now. Our greatest joy must always be, not that others praise us or think we are important: not that we have a stack of money in the safe or the latest model car. The greatest joy must be that we have been found by the Good Shepherd and that our lives belong to Him!

Today’s song was recorded this past Sunday at Discovery Villages, where my friends in long-term care loved singing this song. If you listen carefully, you will hear more and more voices as the hymn goes along. That is because they were still coming into the room and towards the end you will also hear some clapping joining the voices. I believe that the joy they are experiencing is because they have realized more than most of us, that none of the things of this world really count for much, but the promises of God will last forever!