Month: November 2024

Every way I turn

Ruth Kirk

There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called into one hope when you were called. There is one Savior, one faith, one baptism, one God and Creator of all, who is over all, who works through all and is within all (Ephesians 4:4-6; TIB).

Every way I turn,
I see you.

Everywhere I go,
You’re there.

Everyone I meet,
You’re with them.

Every moment, Lord,
You care.

Cast all your cares on God, who cares for you (1 Peter 5:7; TIB).

Be sure of this: I am with you always (Matthew 28:20; NLT).

Hebrew names

Ruth Kirk

Yahweh is our God (Deuteronomy 6:4; LSB).

Yahweh, our God,
Our Mother and Father:
We are your home
And we love you alone.

Yeshua, Brother,
Our God’s much-loved Son:
We gaze on your face:
May we grow in your grace.

Ruach, our Sister,
God’s Wisdom and Truth:
We plead for your peace,
As we pray without cease.

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion (Ephesians 6:18; NLT).

References 

Yahweh: This is a Hebrew name for God. Grammatically, Yah is feminine, and Weh is masculine.

God is our Mother: Will I, who causes others to give birth, not also give birth myself, says the Lord? Will I, who bestows generation upon others, be barren myself, says the Lord your God? (Isaiah 66:9; CPDV).

God is our Father: O LORD, you are our Father (Isaiah 64:8; NLT).

Yeshua: This is the Hebrew word for Jesus.

Christ is our Brother: Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother (Mark 3:35; NLT).

Ruach: This is the Hebrew word for the Holy Spirit. Grammatically, it is feminine.

The Holy Spirit is our Sister: God has revealed this wisdom to us through the Holy Spirit. She searches out all things, even the deep things of God (1 Corinthians 2:10; TIB).

The Spirit, too, comes to help us in our weakness. For we don’t know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit expresses our plea with groanings too deep for words. And God, who knows everything in our hearts, knows perfectly well what the Spirit is saying, because her intercessions for God’s holy people are made according to the mind of God (Romans 8:26-7; TIB).

The Spirit of YHWH will rest on you – a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and reverence for YHWH (Isaiah 11:2; TIB).

The Spirit is truth (1 John 5:6; GNT).

Please heal me

Ruth Kirk

Send out your light and your truth; let them guide me. Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to the place where you live (Psalm 43:3; NLT).

Lord Jesus,
Send your holy truth
To heal my fragile mind,
Which weeps with fear.

Lord Jesus,
Send your faithful love
To heal my anguished heart,
Which aches with dread.

Lord Jesus,
Send your perfect peace
To heal my captive soul,
Which longs to flee.

Lord Jesus,
Send your sacred touch
To heal my damaged life:
Then I’ll be free.

If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36; NIV).

Leaving a church

Ruth Kirk

“Yes,” said Jesus, “what sorrow also awaits you experts in religious law! For you crush people with unbearable religious demands, and you never lift a finger to ease the burden” (Luke 11:46; NLT).

Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy (Luke 12:1; NIV).

Not every Christian group
Is right for me –
It has to be okay
To disagree,

And, if I have issues
With its creed,
I won’t conform to rules
I don’t believe.

Gender apartheid?
Only straights allowed?
There must be room
For all those out and proud.

Authority gripped firmly
In men’s hands?
A jail for women
Bound by their commands.

When dogma is, at last,
Too great a load,
God saves my faith,
And gives me a new road!

You cried to me in trouble, and I saved you (Psalm 81:7; NLT).

Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert (Isaiah 43:19; NKJV).

We adore you

Ruth Kirk

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things (1 Chronicles 29:11; NLT).

We adore you,
Here, in stillness:
Always changing,
Yet the same.

We adore you,
Here, in silence:
Still, small voice,
We praise your Name.

We adore you,
Here, in darkness:
Lord, our world, our life,
Our breath,

In every body,
Mind, heart, soul:
The Christ, who conquers
Sin and death.

Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us (Colossians 3:11; NLT).

The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57-8; NKJV).

So close

Ruth Kirk

Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me (Psalm 23:4; NLT).

Lord Jesus,
You’re so close to me
That I can always
Take your hand,
And hear your voice,
And see your face,
And talk with you,
And share your strength,
And listen as you teach
And guide –
For you are always
At my side.

Behold, I am with you every day, even unto the end of time (Matthew 28:20; ABPE).

Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us (Colossians 3:11; NLT).

A prayer for all

Ruth Kirk

The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers (1 Peter 4:7; NLT).

Lord,
It’s clear this world is doomed:
Please help us all to pray for peace.

Lord,
Our hearts are cold and dark:
Please help us all to beg for light.

Lord,
Our eyes are closed and blind:
Please help us all to seek your face.

Lord,
Our lives are so corrupt:
Please help us all to plead for grace.

We are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus (Acts 15:11; NLT).

References

Then YHWH took the earth creature and settled it in the garden of Eden so that it might cultivate and care for the land (Genesis 2:15; TIB).

The earth will be empty, plundered, and stripped bare, for YHWH has spoken. The earth dries up and withers; the world languishes and withers. The most exalted people of the earth simply fade away. The earth lies polluted by its inhabitants, for they disobeyed the Law, violated its statutes, and broke the everlasting Covenant. Consequently, a curse fell over the face of the earth. Its people must bear the consequences of their guilt. And so earth’s inhabitants are consumed by fire and few of them remain (Isaiah 24:3-6; NLT).

All have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one! Will those who do evil never learn? They eat up my people like bread and wouldn’t think of praying (Psalm 14:3-4; NLT).

He gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5; AMP).

Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most (Hebrews 4:16; NLT).

 

In the air

Ruth Kirk

There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called into one hope when you were called. There is one Savior, one faith, one baptism, one God and Creator of all, who is over all, who works through all and is within all (Ephesians 4:4-6; TIB).

You are in the air I breathe,
In all I eat and drink;
Here in all my words and deeds,
In all I feel and think;

You are here in all I see,
In all I taste and touch;
Here in all I meet each day:
I love you, Lord, so much.

I love you, LORD; you are my strength (Psalm 18:1; NLT).

References

Taste and see that the LORD is good (Psalm 34:8; NLT).

Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us (Colossians 3:11; NLT).

Thine incorruptible spirit is in all things (Wisdom of Solomon 12:1; KJV).

Fellowship

Ruth Kirk

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you (Romans 8:11; NLT).

Holy Spirit, come what may:
You’re within me, night and day.
Spirit of the Living God:
You guide me with your staff and rod.

Spirit of God’s much-loved Son:
I’m your temple: we are one.
Spirit of the Trinity,
I worship you, and you love me.

Spirit of God’s truth and grace:
You hold me in your warm embrace.
Spirit of God’s boundless might:
You keep me, always, in your sight.

Spirit of God’s faithfulness:
You’re quick to help me, chide, or bless.
Spirit of God’s joy and peace:
Your fellowship will never cease. 

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Corinthians 13:14; NLT).

Imprisoned

Ruth Kirk

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour (Luke 4:18-19; NIV).

Lord Jesus Christ,
Deliverer,
Please help me to become
My self.
Don’t leave me
In this narrow cell,
Afraid to learn
What I can be,
Imprisoned by
My childhood hell.

Immanuel,
You hold me fast,
And you alone
Can rescue me.
Please heal my mind,
My heart, my past,
For you can give
The dead new life!
Lord Jesus,
Set me free, at last.

Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!” (John 11:43-4; NLT).

If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36; NIV).

References

Thou hast laid fast hold on me (Job 16:8; ASV).

Your right hand will hold me fast (Psalm 139:10; NIV).

It is I, the LORD, who cuts the tall tree down and makes the short tree grow tall. It is I who makes the green tree wither and gives the dead tree new life. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do what I said! (Ezekiel 17:24; NLT).

In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry, and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” And immediately the fig tree withered up. The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it” (Matthew 21:18-22; NLT).

I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief! (Mark 9:24; NLT).