Look straight ahead,
and fix your eyes on what lies before you. (Proverbs 4:25; NLT).
I fix my eyes Beyond this world –
On Christ,
Who shares my life.
I fix my mind Beyond this grief –
On Christ,
Who shares my loss.
I fix my heart
Beyond this fear –
On Christ,
Who shares my dread.
I fix my soul
Beyond this pain –
On Christ,
Who shares my cross.
🧡
I focus on this one thing:
Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us (Philippians 3:13-14; NLT).
He himself gives life and breath to everything,
and he satisfies every need (Acts 17:25; NLT).
Lord God,
1. When you created us,
You furnished everything we need:
A body; breath; a mind; a heart;
Your Spirit, Lord, to help us plead.
2. But all we are, and all we have,
Is only lent, for life, on trust,
And bit by bit, you take it back,
Till all that’s left of us is dust.
3. Yes, all we are, and all we have,
Belongs to you, Lord God, we know,
So help us, please, to face each loss:
To grieve; endure; accept; let go.
4. For exile is a journey
To reunion, in bliss, with you:
From paradise to earthly life,
Then back, once more, to be made new.
5. Yes, exile is a journey
On which losses are a precious gain:
When all you lent has been returned, Lord God,
We will be whole, again.
He will take our weak mortal bodies
and change them into glorious bodies
like his own (Philippians 3:21; NLT).
References
1. I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5; NLT).
The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7; KJV).
Thine incorruptible Spirit is in all things (Wisdom of Solomon 12:1; KJV).
The Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words (Romans 8:26; RSV).
2. He is a human being who was himself formed from earth only a short while earlier, and after a little while, when he must return the soul that was lent to him, he will go back to the same earth (Wisdom of Solomon 15:8; GNT).
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised (Job 1:21; NIV).
You were made from dust, and to dust you will return (Genesis 3:19; NLT).
The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).
3. Everything we have has come from you (1 Chronicles 29:14; NLT).
4. He who sat upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5; RSV).
5. He wounds, but his hands make whole (Job 5:18; NKJV).
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).
All glory to him who alone is God, our Saviour through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time (Jude 1:25; NLT).
1. Beyond all time,
Beyond all space,
Is God, who makes
The human race.
2. Amidst all gain,
Amidst all loss,
Is God, who suffers
On the cross.
3. Within all love,
Within all hate,
Is God, who saves
The desolate.
4. Beneath all depth,
Above all height,
Concealed in darkness, God is light.
References
1. He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth (Isaiah 42:5; NLT).
2. Praise be to the Lord, to God our Saviour, who daily bears our burdens
(Psalm 68:19; NIV).
3. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed
(Psalm 34:18; NLT).
4. Clouds and thick darkness surround him
(Psalm 97:2; NIV).
1. Life brings trials and suffering,
But hardest of them all
Is living without faith in God
When we reject his call.
2. Life brings riches, fame, success;
We think these things are good,
But we don’t see how poor we are
When we reject his love.
3. Life brings failure, loss, regret,
Which we will have to bear,
And we must face them all alone
When we reject his care.
4. Life brings battles, thrills, and spills —
We think we’re doing well,
But when we spurn the Lord, our God,
We truly live in hell.
🤎
References
1. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows (John 16:33; NLT).
Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honour him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant any more” (Ecclesiastes 12:1; NLT).
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God” (Psalm 14:1; NIV).
2. You say, “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.” But you do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked (Revelation 3:17; NIV).
3. When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other (Ecclesiastes 7:14; NIV).
Remember him – before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:6-7; NIV).
They do not fear God (Psalm 55:19; NLT).
The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on the Lord (Psalm 14:2-4; NIV).
4. The people replied, “Don’t waste your breath. We will continue to live as we want to, stubbornly following our own evil desires (Jeremiah 18:12; NLT).
You lived in this world without God and without hope (Ephesians 2:12; NLT).
She says to him, “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of hell (Proverbs 9:16-18; NKJV).
You will see what an evil, bitter thing it is to abandon the Lord your God (Jeremiah 2:19; NLT).
There is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there (Luke 16:27; NLT).
Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28; NLT).
