God Keeps All His Promises

September 12, 2017September 12, 2017 ~ Suzanne Davis Harden ~ 2 Comments

GOD KEEPS ALL HIS PROMISES

God keeps all His promises

Not one will He forget

The storm may be a bitter trial

But a rainbow’s at the end.

Though the journey through the land

Of pain can darken hope,

And faith can fail when all seems lost

Christ will not let go.

He holds us still throughout our storms

And He will see us through,

When all is dark, He’ll be our light

And guide us by His truth.

Not a humble sparrow falls

But our Father knows,

He counts the hairs upon our head

And all our tears He holds

In His special bottle,

He keeps for every soul.

His love for us is measureless,

From us He won’t depart,

None can separate our souls

From the love of God.

Christ, our promise and our hope

And if we could but know,

He’ll not forget after each storm

To send His promised rainbow.

Psalm 89:9 You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.

Psalm 107:29 He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.

Matthew 10:29-31 What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your beautiful Rainbow Promise that extends to Your whole creation. May You be with all who are suffering through any type of storms in their life today; hold them firmly beneath Your everlasting arms, give them Your peace and the assurance that through the dark clouds there will be a glorious rainbow awaiting them. May they know that their storm will pass and that You will restore them, thank You, Lord, In Jesus name, amen.

Angelsong Prayer Poem “God Keeps All His Promises” & Scripture Painting, & Piano Solo © 2017 Suzanne Davis Harden All Rights Reserved. Bible Quotations: King James Version Bible, English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. May our God be glorified throughout the earth!

Down To The Jordan Jesus Went

July 16, 2017 ~ Suzanne Davis Harden

DOWN TO THE JORDAN JESUS WENT

Down to the Jordan Jesus went

He went to be baptized,

While others went to leave their sins,

He’d none to leave behind.

Down to the Jordan Jesus went

To be baptized by John,

Pure and holy Jesus went

For he’d done nothing wrong.

Down to the Jordan people went

To be baptized, for sins repent,

Into the Jordan leave their sins,

And come up holy, pure within.

Down to the Jordan Jesus went,

Went with a heart his Father sent,

Went with a heart all pure within,

Plunged in a river all filled with sin.

Into the Jordan Jesus went,

And came up bearing all people’s sins;

Sins the people had all confessed

Clung to the Lamb of righteousness.

Up from the Jordan Jesus came

Bearing the sins of all,

All the sins of every soul

All the way to the cross.

Up from the Jordan Jesus came

Spotless, sinless bearing our shame,

And all our sins when he bled and died

On the cross when he was crucified.

Up from the cross, from death, and the grave,

Up rose Jesus mighty to save!

When he rose from the Jordan, he bore our woes,

He rose from death, so we’d die no more.

(Prayer Poem) © 2017 Suzanne Davis Harden All Rights Reserved.
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*Scripture References

That Inspired this Prayer Poem

Matthew 3:4-6 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
Matthew 3:11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

John 1:29-30 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’
Matthew 3:13-16 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;
Matthew 3:17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
John 3:16-17 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
Isaiah 53:4-6 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.
John 11:25-26 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die.

Prayer Poem “Down To The Jordan Jesus Went” & Illustration © 2017 Suzanne Davis Harden All Rights Reserved. Scripture Quotations: NLT © Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Tyndale House Publishers All Rights Reserved./ The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Angelsong © 2017 All Rights Reserved.

The Cherished Of The Lord

May 29, 2017May 29, 2017 ~ Suzanne Davis Harden

THE CHERISHED OF THE LORD

The cherished of the Lord

Shall dwell within His heart,

And God shall cover them with grace

And from them not depart.

They shall dwell between

God’s shoulders like a child,

And there shall they find peace and hope

Through every stormy trial.

God who robes Himself with light

And dwells in clouds above,

Will hide them from the wind and rain

And shield them with His love.

The cherished of the Lord

Will ever sing God’s praise

Extolling Him who gave them life,

They’ll worship Him always.

Psalm 68:4 (KJV) “Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name Jah, and rejoice before him.”

Psalm 104:1-3 (ERV) “My soul, praise the Lord! Lord my God, you are very great! You are clothed with glory and honor. You wear light like a robe. You spread out the skies like a curtain. You built your home above them. You use the thick clouds like a chariot and ride across the sky on the wings of the wind.”
Deuteronomy 33:12 (KJV) “The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.”

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, may You bless all who read this prayer, poem, and bible verse to know that You cherish them beyond anything they could ever imagine.

Your word says that Your thoughts toward us outnumber the grains of sand by the sea in Psalm 139: 18, and Psalm 40 says You are always thinking about us.

You don’t ever forget a single one of us though sometimes we may feel forgotten in our pain, loneliness, trial, or whatever challenge we may be facing. You are with us. The Bible is true.

Isaiah 49:16 reveals that You have engraved a picture of us on the palm of Your hand and that “our walls” are ever before You. You see all our needs and the challenges that we are facing. You will never fail or forsake us.

You love us without measure and that love is unconditional. You forgive all our sins and wash them as far away from us as far as the east is from the west according to Psalm 103: 12.

That same Psalm declares: “The Lord has always loved His followers and He will continue to love them forever and ever!” Psalm 103:17 (ERV) Lord, thank You for Your great love for each of us!

Lord, thank You for Your grace and mercy, and for sending Your Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins so that we could be saved and given eternal life with You. We love You. In Jesus name, amen.

Angelsong © 2017 SD Harden All Rights Reserved. “Cherished Of The Lord Prayer Poem” & Scripture Painting © 2017 SDHarden All Rights Reserved. Scripture Quotations from The King James Bible (Public Domain) and The Easy To Read Version Bible © 2006 Bible League International; Paths of Hope, He Loves Your More By Far, © 2017 SD Harden All Rights Reserved. All Glory To God

Waiting On The Lord

April 10, 2017April 10, 2017 ~ Suzanne Davis Harden ~ 2 Comments

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. ~ Revelation 3:20

When Miss Phee, our little Yorky, was a puppy, she would sit up on the edge of our bed every morning the minute she heard my
husband Mark in the kitchen preparing breakfast.
She loved to eat breakfast with him. Mark would feed Miss Phee bits of his oatmeal while he ate his breakfast. Our dog loved this special treat and the time they shared together.

Most of the time, Miss Phee would sit quietly on the edge of our bed and wait patiently, trusting that any minute Mark would come for her. Every so often if he didn’t show up soon enough, she would start whining ever so softly.

My little dog was not worried about annoying me, mind you. No, Miss Phee’s chief concern was that I might wake up and horn in on her private breakfast with her daddy. Ha! 🙂

Sooner or later Mark always came to reward her faith in him by gathering her up in his arms and carrying her to the kitchen for their special meal together.

Sometimes though, Mark would be running late and had to rush off to work without his breakfast. That meant no special Breakfast time with Phee. Somehow it was just not the same when I fed her breakfast, so whenever she couldn’t have her special breakfast time with Mark she would pout for the rest of the day and refuse to eat. 😦

I think of the parallels between Miss Phee’s morning meals with Mark and our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus said that we must abide in him and spend time with God each day
in worship and prayer.

John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Abiding in Christ is the same as eating at our Lord’s table, feeding on His word and allowing his Holy Spirit to teach us His wisdom and truth.

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” ~Matthew 4:4

Even as Miss Phee wanted Mark all to herself in her morning quiet time with him, the Lord wants us to come to Him without any distractions. He wants us all to Himself, coming into His Presence without our cell phones, IPads, IPods, or video games, novels, or our work on our minds or whatever distracts us from His heart.

Anything that takes God’s place in our hearts is a rival for God for our affections and is an idol.

That thing might be something that seems so innocent and even good, like our job, a hobby, or even our ministry. But if it takes our time and attention away from God, and replaces our affection for God in our hearts, it is an idol.

Examine me, God! Look at my heart!
Put me to the test! Know my anxious thoughts!
Look to see if there is any idolatrous way in me,
Then lead me on the eternal path! ~ Psalm 139:23-24 (CEB)

We draw closer to Christ and abide in Him through regular times of worship, prayer, and bible study. Often in those times, we must wait on God as Miss Phee waited for Mark to come get her each morning. We must learn to wait in faith on God by abiding steadfastly in prayer and worship.

There may be seasons in our journey with the Lord when God seems distant. We may feel as if He is ignoring us when things we’ve prayed over for months or years go unanswered without the slightest ray of hope that things will ever change.

At all times God asks that we trust Him and wait and walk by faith, just as little Miss Phee always waited in eager expectation for Mark to come for her, so certain that he would come. Even though he was sometimes delayed, she never stopped believing and hoping the next day that he would come for her. She was absolutely confident that he would not forget about her, would not disappoint her faith in him. And eventually he did show up again~just like she hoped and believed!
I always thought, if only I had the faith and trust of my little Yorkie!

Psalm 130:5-6 “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.”

We must be still before the Lord, contemplating His mercy and majesty, as we come to Him in faith, believing that we will receive what we need from Him in prayer.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (NIV)

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (NIV)

God is our creator, He is omnipotent, meaning He is all-powerful. He is in control
of all things.
God is omniscient: He knows all things, He knows all about us, He knows all our
needs before we even ask.
God is omnipresent: He is everywhere present. Wherever we are, God is there.
And by His spirit, God lives and dwells within us.

God cherishes us, He cares very much about us. God feels all of our pain, since He
indwells us through His Holy Spirit.
God wants to share life with us. He says in the book of Revelation, “Behold
I stand at the door and knock; if any one will open the door I will come in and I will
share a meal with him. “

Just as Miss Phee and Mark would share a meal and have their special time
together, God wants to have a special time with us every day, He wants us to be
excited about it just as Miss Phee was excited about her time alone with her daddy.

God will never fail us. He

delights in our fellowship. It is sacred to Him. May it be as sacred to us.

For it is a great honor to worship and serve the Sovereign Lord of the Universe.

Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” John 14:23

Prayer
Heavenly Father, please give us hearts that delight in worshiping and serving You.
May You give us hearts that will wait on You in faith and that will love You with all of our being, thank you, Lord, in Jesus name, amen.

Angelsong © 2017 SD Harden All Rights Reserved. Original Photos of Miss Phee & Mark from Suzanne Harden’s Photos/ Illustration of Jesus Knocking via Google/ Scripture Quotations: King James Version (Public Domain), Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible, New King James Version (NKJV) Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.