Nursing Home Hymns

Kept in God’s Pocket

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV

After a brief bout of sickness, it was great being back with my friends at Life Care Center this Friday. After we sang the hymn, “Take my life and let it be” I shared about what it means to be “Consecrated, Lord to Thee.” Religious sounding words like consecration, or as the New Testament calls it, sanctification, may make us think of some special ceremony. But the wonderful reality behind consecration is far more personal than some formal ritual. When Jesus died on the cross and shed His blood, He paid the price for us to belong personally to Him. Another way of looking at is is that, just as my car keys are kept in my pocket, because that Red Kia you see parked outside is mine (or actually mine and Nancy’s!), God puts us in His pocket. I keep my keys safe, because they are precious and of great value to our family. In that same way, when God receives from us the key to our hearts, He takes us and puts us in His pocket. There He keeps us safe, because from that moment on we are His! Have you surrendered the keys of your heart to Jesus? There is no experience more personal, than for Him to receive you into His family and to be exclusively be set apart for Him!

No More Regrets!

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For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 2 Corinthians 7:10 ESV

As I have grown older, one battle I often find myself in, is with letting go of regrets. Oh, I am fully convinced that Jesus has paid the price for my sins, and for reasons beyond my understanding has chosen to include me in His family. But when I look back at parts of my life, that were dominated by selfish actions and choices, I am filled with regret and shame. A few years ago, I turned down the invitation to my 50th class reunion, mostly because of regrets. But God has been working in my heart over this issue, and I thought I would share the hope I am finding with others who struggle with this issue. In today’s verse, the Apostle Paul speaks directly to our problem of regret and makes a differentiation between, godly grief and worldly grief. He says that our grief over our sins cannot be avoided. We must come to recognize that it was our sins that drove Jesus to the cross. Our wicked actions meant His beating, mocking, cruel crown of thorns and nails through His hands and feet. Anyone who simply thinks they may dance into God’s kingdom without passing through repentance, has entirely missed the gospel message. The grief that God intends will bring us to the cross, but it does not leave us there. God does not want us to live our entire lives engulfed by shame, instead He wants us to look up to the face of Jesus and listen to His voice, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Jesus has forgiven all our sins and with them, every regret. God’s will is not for us to live consumed by regrets, but instead filled with praise, both in Heaven, and on earth. We will be far more effective witnesses of His love, forgiveness, and compassion if we release those regrets to God and show others that true repentance is God’s chosen pathway to life, not the place where He wishes for us to pitch our tents. How wonderful the depth, breadth, and height of the love of Jesus Christ! How beyond our understanding is His release from regrets and the loving purpose of His heart!

Sweet Hour of Prayer

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 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 
Romans 8:26 KJV

When we bow our heads to pray at the table before dinner we are apt to recite the same words night after night. But when we are shaken to the core by, an attack, whether spiritual or physical, then we cry out to the Lord in a completely different way. That groaning which the verse speaks of is poured out in our hearts with the Holy Spirit’s help. He not only knows the mind of the Father, but He also knows our deepest hurts and needs. I hope you will listen to the brief testimony which I share about a dear friend’s ultimate test of faith and how she found grace to help in time of need in her own “Sweet Hour of Prayer. “