Inspirational Thoughts and Meditations
“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” ~Matthew 5:8
Prayer For a Pure and Humble Heart
© 2014 Suzanne Davis Harden (Prayer Poem)
Lord, I pray for a heart that’s pure,
One that trembles at Thy word,
A heart that loves You more and more,
A heart that looks like Yours, oh Lord.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen
Prayer Poem for a Pure and Humble Heart © 2014 Suzanne Davis Harden All Rights Reserved. Photo via Pinterest. Angel Song © 2014 All Rights Reserved.
The River
© 2014 S.D. Harden
Life is a River, deep and wide,
Sometimes filled with peace,
Sometimes filled with joyous songs,
Sometimes unfilled needs.
Sometimes its waters overflow
With endless health and strength
That dwindle to a narrow creek
Of weakness and decay.
Sometimes the waters rush into
A gaping waterfall
And suddenly a life can change
To what is there no more.
Ever rolling onward,
Onward to the sea,
With each dawn the River brings
Us to another journey.
And how we all respond
To what the River sends
Is all that really matters
When we come to the River’s end.
May we honor God
With all that the River brings
Wherever the River takes us
Till we reach Eternity.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, help us to understand that it’s not WHAT we endure in this life that matters, but HOW we choose to endure it. May You give us the grace to honor You in every situation, no matter what may come our way, thank You, Lord, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Poem “The River,” © 2014 Suzanne Davis Harden All Rights Reserved.
Photo by S.D. Harden © 2014 Angel Song © 2014 All Rights Reserved.
The Book of Life Prayer Song & Video Music & Lyrics © 2014 Suzanne Davis Harden
Revelation 3:5
“He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.”
Philippians 4:3
“And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.”
Revelation 20:11-15
“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” ~St. John writing in his vision
The Book of Life
God cherishes each one of us. The bible says that “God our Savior…wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3-4) Jesus Christ told Nicodemus, a religious leader who came to Him one night, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” ~(John 3:16-17)
The Lake of Fire mentioned by St. John in the book of Revelation was prepared by God as an eternal punishment for the devil and the angels that rebelled against Him.
It was never intended for man whom God made in His own image.
Yet, the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, fell away from God when they rebelled against His command. The result was spiritual death and a loss of divine fellowship.
All of their children would, like them, be sinners or rebels against God. They would never be able to enjoy perfect fellowship with God because God is holy and cannot dwell with sin.
God’s word says that sin must be paid for with a sacrifice. Hebrews 9:22 says: “In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.”
The only One worthy to pay for our sins, to redeem our souls from eternal destruction and to bring us back into fellowship with God, was God Himself, for He alone is perfect among all His creation. He is sinless, spotless, without blemish.
God the Son, Jesus Christ, came to earth clothed in flesh so that He could become a living sacrifice and shed His holy blood to pay for our sins. He loved us that much.
God could not die unless He became human. That is why He had to be made like us. He suffered a horrible death on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven and so that we could live in Paradise with Him forever.
Not only did He want us to enjoy eternity with Him, He wanted us to be able to enjoy fellowship with Him now.
Once we accept Jesus Christ into our hearts, we become God’s own children. The Father sends His Holy Spirit into our hearts to seal our salvation as a sure sign that we belong to Him. We will never be alone again from that point because He will never leave or forsake us. His love will keep us firmly in His strong grip. He will help us weather every storm. He will meet our every need. He does not promise freedom from trials-for “many are the afflictions of the righteous,“ God’s word says, “but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”
My Testimony
The moment I invited the Lord Jesus Christ into my heart I felt a beautiful peace envelop me and a warm glowing presence filled the room. I heard the Lord speak to my heart. “All will be well, You are going to be all right.” I was only 16 years old.
As I lay in my bed that night filled with Christ’s peace I saw an image in my heart of an angel writing my name in a huge book. Though I had gone to Catholic school, I had never heard about the Book of Life. I wondered what the vision meant.
Not until I began to read the bible on my own through the discipleship of our neighbor did I learn about the Book of Life and what that vision meant.
God was showing me that He had recorded my name in His book of life that night when I had accepted the Lord Jesus Christ into my heart.
It comforted me to know that my name was written up in Heaven.
When I grew up and my children were in Sunday school I created a picture of an Angel writing in the Book of Life. I made it into a Sunday school book cover for the children in the church we were attending. I wanted it to comfort them to know that after they had accepted the Lord as their Savior, their names were written in Heaven, and when the Last Day comes, and the books are read, they will be judged “Not Guilty,” because they are wearing the righteous robes that Jesus has given them. Their sins have been washed away by the blood of the spotless Lamb of God.
How do our names get into God’s Book of Life? The Book of Romans says: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” ~Romans 10:9-13
That night when I was 16 years old I simply called upon the name of the Lord and He came to me. God is no respecter of persons. The Lord Jesus said He would never reject anyone who called upon His name. (John 6:37) And once a person receives Him into their heart, He will write their names in His Book of Life.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, may You bless all those who call upon the name of Thy Son Jesus Christ and write their names in Thy Book of Life. May they live with You forever. Thank You, Lord, In Jesus’ name. Amen.
The Prayer Song “The Book of Life” is from my new Album “Paths of Peace”~available on Itunes, Amazon, CDBaby, and on my music website http://www.peacefulprayersongs.com
Prints of the Angel Writing in the Book of Life are available in my Etsy shop as Notecards and as a Triple Matted Fine Art Print.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/WingsPublications
Original Illustration © 2014 Suzanne Davis Harden All Rights Reserved.
O, I will trust the living God,
The Savior of my soul-
I may not understand His ways
But He is in control.
My path may be obscure
And in the darkness lie,
But I will hope in Jesus
Who holds me in His eye.
He will not forget me
For I have been engraved
Upon His holy hands;
For Him my soul is saved.
For Him I am redeemed,
For Him I am reserved;
For Him I am a trophy
Of His grace to be preserved.
And though I sit in darkness
With trees that will not bud,
I have a promise from the Lord
That spring will surely come.
Though winter struts along
Like it will never end;
It’s just a giant’s shadow~
The spring He soon will send.
God’s promises are sure
Though I must walk by faith;
Such wonder in believing;
Such hope it generates!
Oh I will trust the living God,
The Savior of my soul;
O Lord, you know the paths I take,
For You are in control.
Yes, You are in control;
You know what’s best for me;
You’ve set apart unto Your heart
Those who will but believe.
And you will keep your promises
To those who trust in You
Though they may not understand
The mysteries of Truth.
Though I sit in darkness
On a path I had not planned
I will trust I am engraved
Upon Your holy hand.
And You will keep Your promises,
For You are in control,
O You will not forget me,
O Savior of my soul.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the assurance that You are always in control of all things. Thy word says in Psalm 103:19, “The Lord has prepared His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom rules over all,” and in Hebrews 1:3 that You “uphold all things by the word of Your power.”Romans 8:8 assures me that every detail of my life is being orchestrated by You into something grand and beautiful and for my ultimate good because You care very much about each one of us. Psalm 138:8 promises that You will “fulfill Your plans for my life.” So I don’t need to worry about whether or not I am going to accomplish Your will for me. You will get me on the path I need to be on. And all I need to do is Trust You.
Lord, though this is often so hard to do, please help each of us to trust You when we cannot see past the bend in the road, when we cannot fathom Your purposes for us on the path You have chosen for us. Help us to trust You when nothing makes sense. Help us to keep our eyes on You anyway; to know that You are in control and that You cherish each of us beyond what we can imagine.
May the sense of Your abiding presence sustain every person praying this prayer. May they feel You with them as they never have before. May You renew their faith, fill them with new hope, and give them joy.
Thank You, dear Lord, I love You, In Jesus’ name. Amen.
*If you would like to listen to the Instrumental Music for my Prayer Song “Savior of My Soul” please follow the link to my Music Website where you will find the song at the top of the playlist in the music player at the bottom of the page.
http://www.peacefulprayersongs.com “Savior of My Soul” is one of the first instrumental pieces of music the Lord gave me for the piano and on my music blog I have written a message about my recording entitled “Not Perfect.” 🙂 I pray the music and my message will bless and inspire you~God bless! love and blessings, Suzanne 🙂
“Savior of My Soul” ~A Prayer Song © 2011 Suzanne Davis Harden All Rights Reserved. All Illustrations © 2014 Suzanne Davis Harden All Rights Reserved. Angel Song © 2014 Suzanne Davis Harden All Rights Reserved.
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