Category: judgement

Nothing can prepare us

Ruth Kirk

They will see his face
(Revelation 22:4; NLT).

Nothing can prepare us, Lord,
For when we see your face:
Shining like the sun with love,
With mercy, truth, and grace.

Nothing can prepare us, Lord,
For when we meet your eyes,
Which blaze with your consuming fire:
All-seeing; holy; wise.

Nothing can prepare us, Lord,
For when we hear your voice
Declaring judgement on our lives:
Each fault; each sin; each choice.

đź’™

We must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body
(2 Corinthians 5:10; NLT). 

They chose to rebel against him, and they were finally destroyed by their sin (Psalm 106:43; NLT).

Like you

Ruth Kirk

Live a life filled with love,
following the example of Christ
(Ephesians 5:2; NLT).

My Lord, my God, my Brother,
May I grow more like you,
By treating my emotions with acceptance,
And with care.

My Lord, my God, my Teacher,
May I grow more like you,
By mending each judgemental thought
Immediately, in prayer.

My Lord, my God, my Shepherd,
May I grow more like you,
By speaking kindly, making sure
That all I say is true.

My Lord, my God, my Saviour,
May I grow more like you,
By doing everything with love –
Then I’ll be more like you.

Do everything with love
(1 Corinthians 16:14; NLT).

The Lord – who is the Spirit – makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image (2 Corinthians 3:18; NLT).

 

My hands are soiled

Ruth Kirk

From within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you
(Mark 7:20-23; NLT).

My hands are soiled.
My tongue has lied.
My feet have followed
Foolish ways.

My heart is cold;
My judgments, harsh.
My thoughts betray you
All my days.

My faith is weak.
My hope has gone.
My love for you, and all,
Falls short.

Lord, rescue me!
Forgive my sins,
And lead me on
The way you taught. 

Follow the way of love
(1 Corinthians 14:1; NIV).

Despite my pride

Ruth Kirk

You deserve to be punished. But I will treat you in a way that will bring honour to my name, and you will know that I am the Lord God
(Ezekiel 20:44; CEV).

Despite my pride
And ignorance,
Despite my envy, Lord;

Despite my greed
And foolishness,
Despite my judgements, Lord;

Despite my hate
And selfishness,
Despite my anger, Lord;

Despite my guilt
And sinfulness:
You love me.

He loves us with unfailing love
(Psalm 117:2; NLT).

Rest

Ruth Kirk

I have suffered from Chronic Fatigue since 2005. This means that my energy is always very limited. Exhaustion often forces me to rest, regardless of what I want, or need, to do.

Until today, I have always understood ‘rest’ as time spent sitting down, or being in bed.

However, to my astonishment, God has now shown me that rest can also be a state of mind, and even a way of life.

With this approach, whether or not I am active, living restfully means noticing my sensations, thoughts, and emotions as they occur, acknowledging their reality without judgement, then sharing them simply and honestly with God.

Hopefully, this process will teach me how I need to change in order to live more restfully, so I can be at peace with myself, with God, with others, and the world. 

References

My soul finds rest in God (Palm 62:1; NIV). 

Transformation (with thanks to A.K.)

Ruth Kirk


“Only God can turn the dark night into glorious heavenly light”
(Alan Kearns).

Lord,

1. Turn our anguish
Into peace;
Our darkness
Into dazzling light.

2. Turn our sorrow
Into joy;
Our blindness
Into perfect sight.

3. Turn our judgements
Into love;
Our sickness
Into welcome rest,

4. And turn our dying
Into life eternal,
When we’ve faced
Each test.


References

1. Lord, see my anguish! My heart is broken and my soul despairs (Lamentations 1:20; NLT).

The Lord turns my darkness into light (2 Samuel 22:29; NIV).

2. Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me – now let me rejoice (Psalm 51:8; NLT).

The Lord gives sight to the blind (Psalm 146:8; NIV).

3. Do not judge others, and you will not be judged (Luke 6:37; NLT).

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them (Romans 12:9; NLT).

The Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “You will be delivered by returning and resting; your strength will lie in quiet confidence” (Isaiah 30:15; CSB).

4. Our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies (1 Corinthians 15:53; NLT).

Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying” (John 11:25; NLT).

The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul (Deuteronomy 13:3; NIV).

Completion

Ruth Kirk

Image: Gamopy, Pixabay

🤎

No one knows when their hour will come
(Ecclesiastes 9:12; NIV).

1. Lord,
When we die,
You call us home,
Whether or not we think
Our work is done –

For, long, or short,
Our exile is complete,
The moment you decide
Our end has come.

2. Lord,
When we die,
You take us back,
Whether or not we think
The time is right –

For, good, or bad,
Our record is complete,
The moment we face judgement
In your sight.

3. Lord,
When we die,
You claim our souls,
Whether or not we’ve tried
To do our best –

For, rough or smooth,
Our journey is complete,
The moment you conclude
Our earthly test.

🤎

References

1. Soon I must go down that road from which I never will return (Job 16:22; NLT).

2. The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

3. The Lord gives both death and life (1 Samuel 2:6; NLT).

Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows (John 16:33; NLT).

The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul (Deuteronomy 13:3; NIV).

Anger

Ruth Kirk


Image: annaost29, Pixabay

Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires
(James 1:20; NLT).

1. Anger is so dangerous:
It makes me think I should proceed
To voice my hasty judgements,
Though I crush the weakest reed.

2. Anger is so damaging:
It makes me feel I have a right
To vent my heedless blame,
Though I put out a dying light.

3. Help me, Lord, to curb my tongue,
My rash assumptions, too,
Then I’ll treat everyone with love,
And grow much more like you.

 

References

1. Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: you must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires (James 1:19-20; NLT).

Do not judge others, and you will not be judged (Luke 6:37; NLT).

He will not crush the weakest reed (Matthew 12:20; NLT).

2. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you (Luke 6:37; NLT).

He will not […] put out a flickering candle (Matthew 12:20, NLT).

3. If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless (James 1:26; NLT).

Fools base their thoughts on foolish assumptions (Ecclesiastes 10:13; NLT).

We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5; NIV).

Love your neighbour as yourself (Matthew 22:39; NLT).

Do everything with love (1 Corinthians 16:14; NLT).

The Lord – who is the Spirit – makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image (2 Corinthians 3:18; NLT).

It’s always the Beginning

Ruth Kirk

Image: WikiImages, Pixabay

His mercies begin afresh each morning
(Lamentations 3:22; NLT).

1. It’s always the Beginning, Lord:
Each day you make me new.

2. It’s always Advent,
While you wait for me to turn to you.

3. It’s always Christmas, Lord:
You’re born again in my poor soul.

4. It’s always Holy Week,
When you face death to make me whole.

5. It’s always Easter, Lord:
You rise again to give me faith.

6. It’s always Pentecost,
When your great Spirit gives me grace.

7. It’s always Harvest, Lord:
Each night we probe the day that’s past –

8. So it’s always Judgement Day,
Lord, may I see your face, at last?

 

References

1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1; NLT).

He who sat upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5; RSV).

2. The Lord must wait for you to come to him (Isaiah 30:18; NLT).

3. She gave birth to her first-born son (Luke 2:6; RSV).

I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3; NLT).

4. He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole (Isaiah 53:5; RSV).

5. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! (Mark 16:6; NLT).

I pray [that] Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (Ephesians 3:16-17; NET).

6. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you (Acts 1:8; NLT).

God saved you by his grace when you believed (Ephesians 2:8; NLT).

7. You must celebrate the Festival of Harvest (Exodus 34:22; NLT).

The harvest is the end of the world (Matthew 13:39; NLT).

8. As we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgement (1 John 4:17; NLT).

Now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12; NRSV).

Take away

Ruth Kirk

Image: birgl, Pixabay

Look, I am making everything new (Revelation 21:5; NLT).

Lord,

1. Take away my fault-finding,
And give me a new mind.

2. Take away my bitterness,
And give me a new heart.

3. Take away my wretchedness,
And give me a new soul.

4. Take away my sinfulness, Lord God,
And make me whole.

Be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him (Colossians 3:10; NLT).

References

1. Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you (Luke 6:37; NLT).

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5; NKJV).

2. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander (Ephesians 4:31; NLT).

Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you (Hebrews 12:15; NLT).

I will give you a new heart […]. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26; NIV).

3. What a wretched man I am! (Romans 7:24; CSB).

I will […] put a new spirit in you (Ezekiel 36:26; NIV).

4. An evil man is trapped by sinfulness of lips (Proverbs 12:13; HNV).

He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5; RSV).