Category: reunite

A little bit of heaven

Ruth Kirk

Image: John Woodman, Shrine Church,
Castletown, Isle of Man.

🍁

We have the Holy Spirit within as a foretaste of future glory
(Romans 8:23; NLT).

1. You make my church
A little bit of heaven –
A foretaste of the joy
That lies ahead.

2. You make my mind
A little bit of heaven –
A place that’s sometimes free
Of pain and dread.

3. You make my heart
A little bit of heaven –
A space where we can talk,
And share our love.

4. You make my soul
A little bit of heaven –
Until we reunite
In bliss, above.

🍁

References

1. There is wonderful joy ahead (1 Peter 1:6; NLT).

2. There will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever (Revelation 21:4; NLT).

3. God speaks again and again, though people do not recognise it (Job 33:14; NLT).

Pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done (Philippians 4:6; NLT).

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

I love you, Lord (Psalm 18:1; NLT).

My beloved is mine and I am his (Song of Songs 2:16; NIV).

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

Acknowledge and take to heart today that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other (Deuteronomy 4:39; NIV).

Life, death, and heaven

Ruth Kirk


Image: Lenka Novotná, Pixabay

 

1. Life means stretching thin our eternal oneness with God, in order to be born into a unique and fragile body, here, on earth.

2. Life means longing for our original union with him, and searching everywhere, until we find him at last, waiting within our soul.

3. Life means learning to love everyone, without exception, because God dwells in us all, and loves us all very deeply.

4. Death means leaving our failing, mortal body, to reunite with him for evermore –

5. And this is Heaven.

 

References

1. I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5; NLT).

2. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him? Psalm 42:2; NLT).

All night long I search for you; in the morning I earnestly seek for God (Isaiah 26:9; NLT).

The Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion (Isaiah 30:18; NLT).

You are the temple of the living God (2 Corinthians 6:16; NLT).

3. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love (Galatians 5:6; NIV).

Love your neighbour as yourself (Luke 10:27; NLT).

Love the stranger (Deuteronomy 10:19; NKJV).

Show love to foreigners (Deuteronomy 10:19; NLT).

Love your enemies (Matthew 5:44; NLT).

You are the temple of the living God (2 Corinthians 6:16; NLT).

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

You have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you (1 John 2:27; NLT).

God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16; NLT).

4. He knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust. Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. The wind blows, and we are gone – as though we had never been here. But the love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear him (Psalm 103:14-17; NLT).

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

I will live in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23:6; NLT).

Today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43; NLT).

Final tide

Ruth Kirk


Into your hands I commit my spirit (Psalm 31:5; NIV).

Father,

1. When my final tide
Has ebbed,

2. My soul, set free,
Will skim across the waves

3. To reunite with you
For evermore,

4. In primal bliss,
On some uncharted shore.

References

1. All our days ebb away (Psalm 90:9; CSB).

2. Free my soul (Psalm 6:4; DBY).

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

We can live with him forever (1 Thessalonians 5:10; NLT).

4. Your joy will be complete (John 16:24; NIV).

I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5; NLT).

Taking your right hand

Ruth Kirk

God will redeem me from the realm of the dead;
he will surely take me to himself
(Psalm 49:15; NIV).

1. I revel in your presence, Lord,
So tender, and so kind,
Taking your right hand
As I leave flesh and blood behind.

2. I revel in your brightness, Lord,
And praise your boundless might,
Taking your right hand
As you transform my mind with light.

3. I revel in your power, Lord,
And bless your holy name,
Taking your right hand
As you transmute my heart with flame.

4. I revel in your welcome, Lord,
For you make all things new,
Taking your right hand
To reunite, at last, with you.

References

1. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me (Psalm 23:4; NKJV).

He felt the hand of the Lord take hold of him (Ezekiel 1:3; NLT).

Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us (Luke 1:78; NLT).

2. Our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies (1 Corinthians 15:53; NLT).

God is light (1 John 1:5; NIV).

3. The Lord’s hand is powerful (Joshua 4:24; NLT).

God is a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24; NIV).

4. While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him (Luke 15:20; NIV).

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

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

Closer

Ruth Kirk


1. Help me lean towards you, Lord,
Closer to your thoughts,
So I may glimpse the wisdom
Of your mind.

2. Help me grow towards you, Lord,
Closer to your heart,
So I may share your love
For humankind.

3. Help me move towards you, Lord,
Closer to your soul,
So I may leave
My sinful self behind.

4. Help me run towards you, Lord,
So we may reunite,
For you have promised:
Seek, and you will find.

References

1. Come closer and listen to the words of the Lord your God (Joshua 3:9; CSB).

2. God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16; NLT).

3. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you (James 4:8; CSB).

Get rid of your sins, and leave all iniquity behind you (Job 11:14; NLT).

4. Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us (Hebrews 12:1; NLT).

If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you (Jeremiah 29:13-14; NLT).

Seek and you will find (Matthew 7:7; NIV).

When I quit this body

Ruth Kirk
Photo: WikiImages

1. Father,
When I quit this body
I will suffer no more pain.

2. Father,
When I cast aside this mind
I’ll never weep again.

3. Father,
When this heart stops beating
All that’s left will be my love,

4. Then my soul will reunite
With you, Lord God,
In heaven above.

References

1. There will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever (Revelation 21:4; NLT).

2. He will wipe every tear from their eyes (Revelation 21:4; NLT).

3. These three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13; NIV).

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

All I need to do

Ruth Kirk

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7; NIV).

1. All I need to do, Lord,
Is to seek you.

2. All I need to do
Is ask the way.

3. All I need to do, Lord,
Is to knock on my soul’s door,

4. Until you throw it open,
Every day.

5. For you are waiting there, Lord,
Always present,

6. Just to hear me say:
Forgive my sin.

7. Then we reunite, Lord,
As one spirit,

8. And dwell in love together,
Deep within.

References

1. Keep on seeking, and you will find (Matthew 7:7; NLT).

If you seek him, you will find him (1 Chronicles 28:9; NLT).

2. Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for (Matthew 7:7; NLT).

Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it (Jeremiah 6:16; NLT).

3. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7; NLT).

4. Never stop praying (1 Thessalonians 5:16; NLT).

5. The Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion (Isaiah 30:18; NLT).

6. Forgive us our sins as we have forgiven those who sin against us (Matthew 6:12; NLT).

7. I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one (John 17:22; NLT).

8. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them (1 John 4:16).

A little closer

Ruth Kirk


1. May I lean a little closer –
Closer, Lord, to you?
Then I will know your heart,
And soul, and mind.

2. May I come a little closer –
Closer, Lord, to you?
Then I will share your love
For humankind.

3. May I grow a little closer –
Closer, Lord, to you?
Then I will leave
My sinful self behind.

4. May I draw so close, Lord,
That I reunite with you?
For you have promised:
Seek, and you will find.

 References

1. Come closer and listen to the words of the Lord your God (Joshua 3:9; CSB).

2. God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16; NLT).

3. Get rid of your sins, and leave all iniquity behind you (Job 11:14; NLT).

4. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you (James 4:8; CSB).

If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you (Jeremiah 29:13-14; NLT).

Seek and you will find (Matthew 7:7; NIV).

Born again

Ruth Kirk

1. When you send us into exile
We are born of human flesh –
Our chance to seek your only Son,
Who shares all our distress.

2. When we give our lives to him, Lord,
We are born on earth anew,
But this time of your Spirit,
Who helps us to grow like you.

3. When we take our final breath
We are reborn in heaven above,
To rest with you forever,
Reunited, Lord, in love.

 

References

1. I sent them away to exile and brought them home again (Ezekiel 39:28; NLT).
Keep on seeking, and you will find (Matthew 7:7; NLT).
In all their suffering he also suffered (Isaiah 63:9; NLT).

2. If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me (Luke 9:23; NLT).
Unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3; NLT).
You can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit (John 3:8; NLT).
Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy (Ephesians 4:24; NLT).

3. The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).
Return, O my soul, to your rest (Psalm 116:7; ESV).
You have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God (1 Peter 1:23; NLT).

Exile

Ruth Kirk

I sent them away to exile and brought them home again
(Ezekiel 39:28; NLT).

1. Father, we are part of you,
Till, one by one, you give us birth,
Then we must leave your glory
To be exiled on this earth.

2. Here, you give us much to learn –
Faith, forgiveness, kindness, peace –
By following your only Son,
And praying without cease.

3. When it’s time, you bring us home,
There’s nothing left for us to do
Except to be re-born in love,
And reunite with you.

References

1. I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5; NLT).
He chose to give birth to us (James 1:18; NLT).
I will be a sanctuary to you during your time in exile (Ezekiel 11:16; NLT).

2. Put on your new nature, created to be like God (Ephesians 4:24; NLT).
The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-3; NLT).
Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me” (Mark 1:17; NLT).
Pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17; NIV).

3. You do not know the day or hour of my return (Matthew 25:13; NLT).
The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).