Category: salvation

The less I am: #1

Ruth Kirk

He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less (John 3:30; NLT). 

The less I am,
The more you mean to me:

You are my way, my truth,
And my vocation.

The less I am,
The more I love you, Lord:

You are my life, my God,
And my salvation.

O LORD, You are my God! (Isaiah 25:1; MSB). 

The LORD is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him (Exodus 15:2; NIV).

References 

Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him (Philippians 3:8; NLT).

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6; NLT).

Walk in a manner worthy of the vocation to which you have been called (Ephesians 4:1; CPDV). 

I am nothing but dust and ashes (Genesis 18:27; NIV). 

I love you, LORD (Psalm 18:1; NLT). 

God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation (Isaiah 12:2; NIV). 

May the God of my salvation be exalted! (Psalm 18:46; NLT).

11.12.23: Sharing

Ruth Kirk

Day after day he bears our burdens.
(Psalm 68:19; CSB).

1. You bear all our burdens;
We help with your cross.

2. You yielded your body;
We give you each loss.

3. You send us your Spirit;
We share in your blood.

4. You grant us salvation;
We live in your love.

Anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.
(1 John 4:8,16; NLT).

References 

Verse 1:

As they led Jesus away, a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, happened to be coming in from the countryside. The soldiers seized him and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus (Luke 23:26; NLT). 

Verse 2:

My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done (Matthew 26:42; NLT). 

Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last (Mark 15:37; NLT). 

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you (1 Peter 5:7; NLT).

Verse 3:

Now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised (Luke 24:49; NLT).

The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? (1 Corinthians 10:16; CSB).

Verse 4:

The grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people (Titus 2:11; NIV).

God is our salvation (Psalm 68:19; CSB).

Jesus is “the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.” Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved (Acts 4:11-12; NIV).

14.10.23: Infirmity

Ruth Kirk
Using my powered wheelchair for the first time.

I said, This is my infirmity (Psalm 77:10; KJV).

I want your will to be done, not mine (Luke 22:42; NLT).

This is my infirmity –
Your will; the path
You’re giving me;
The way, Lord God,
You set me free
To love you.

This is my vocation, Lord –
Your wisdom and desire
Outpoured;
My cross, salvation,
And reward:
To serve you.

Serve only him (Luke 4:8; NLT).

References

O love the LORD (Psalm 31:23; KJV).

Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad? (Job 2:10; NLT).

We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them (Romans 8:28; NLT).

6.8.23: The hands of God

Ruth Kirk
Alexas_Fotos: Pixabay.

This simple prayer came to me so sweetly and easily yesterday morning that it was a great pleasure to write.

Our lives are in his hands.
(Psalm 66:9; NLT). 

Wake in the hands of God, and pray;
Rise in the hands of God.

Walk in the hands of God: obey;
Live in the hands of God.

Laugh in the hands of God each day;
Weep in the hands of God.

Sleep in the hands of God, and stay
Safe in the hands of God.

I am in the hands of the Lord,
the Most High is my safe resting-place.
(Psalm 91:9; BBE). 

8.5.23: My hope, my way

Ruth Kirk
Stations of the Cross in Althofen; painted by Consuelo Mels-Colloredo, 1983. Neithan90, Wikimedia.

Yesterday I felt very tired, which had its up-side, as I was able to spend time putting the morning’s notes into words whilst resting. The lines in italics form a prayer within a prayer:

O Lord, you alone are my hope (Psalm 71:5; NLT). 

My hope, my way,
My light each day:
I want to do your bidding;
My peace, my Lamb,
My great “I AM”:
For you are God’s dear Son. 

My truth, my life,
My purchase-price:
You, Lord, are my salvation;
My strength, my blood,
My longed-for love:
May you and I be one.

My Lord, my God,
My staff, my rod:
My body is your temple;
My Guide, my Friend,
My start, my end:
My mind is yours, Lord, too.

My bread, my wine,
My living vine:
My heart is yours forever;
My Shepherd King,
My everything:
My soul belongs to you.

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).

Our bodies will return to the dust of the earth, and the breath of life will go back to God, who gave it to us (Ecclesiastes 12:7; GNT).

14.4.23: Glance in the mirror

Ruth Kirk
As soon as I surfaced from sleep yesterday, and before I had even begun to pray, these verses started to arrive. Their background is that a day or two ago I looked at myself in a mirror, and, for the first time ever, smiled spontaneously at myself with a degree of love and acceptance.

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

I glance in the mirror,
And see you within,
Ready to save me
From weakness and sin.

I look in the mirror,
And greet you within:
My Light, my Redeemer,
My Shepherd and King.

I watch in the mirror,
And meet you within:
My Guide and my Teacher,
My Healer, my kin.

I smile in the mirror,
And love you within.
My heart is content, Lord:
No wonder I sing!

My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart! (Psalm 108:1; NLT).

References 

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

The person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him (1 Corinthians 6:17; NLT).

Don’t you realise that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16; NLT).

Don’t you know that your bodies are a part of Christ’s body? (1 Corinthians 6:15; CSB).

You …are complete through your union with Christ (Colossians 2:10; NLT).

A reading from 1 Corinthians 13:9-13; NLT.

Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless. 

When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. 

All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. Three things will last forever – faith, hope, and love – and the greatest of these is love.

The Rosary Hospital

This is the Fiat rosary I started yesterday. It’s now finished, and ready for packing.

14.4.23: Glance in the mirror

Ruth Kirk
As soon as I surfaced from sleep yesterday, and before I had even begun to pray, these verses started to arrive. Their background is that a day or two ago I looked at myself in a mirror, and, for the first time ever, smiled spontaneously at myself with a degree of love and acceptance.

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

I glance in the mirror,
And see you within,
Ready to save me
From weakness and sin.

I look in the mirror,
And greet you within:
My Light, my Redeemer,
My Shepherd and King.

I watch in the mirror,
And meet you within:
My Guide and my Teacher,
My Healer, my kin.

I smile in the mirror,
And love you within.
My heart is content, Lord:
No wonder I sing!

My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart! (Psalm 108:1; NLT).

References 

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

The person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him (1 Corinthians 6:17; NLT).

Don’t you realise that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16; NLT).

Don’t you know that your bodies are a part of Christ’s body? (1 Corinthians 6:15; CSB).

You …are complete through your union with Christ (Colossians 2:10; NLT).

A reading from 1 Corinthians 13:9-13; NLT.

Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless. 

When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. 

All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. Three things will last forever – faith, hope, and love – and the greatest of these is love.

The Rosary Hospital

This is the Fiat rosary I started yesterday. It’s now finished, and ready for packing.

27.11.22: Better than life

Ruth Kirk

Context: Today’s prayer arrived early yesterday morning when I woke at around 4am with a migraine. After taking my medications, I sat propped up in bed, alternately dozing and writing. These verses slowly emerged over the course of the day, finishing late in the evening:

What is sweeter than honey? (Judges 14:18; NLT). 

What’s sweeter than honey,
And choicer than wine?
Higher than knowledge,
And vaster than time?

What’s brighter than sunlight,
And greater than wealth?
Warmer than friendship,
And finer than health?

What’s stronger than sharing,
And deeper than love?
Kinder than giving,
And richer than blood?

What’s wiser than serving,
And dearer than breath?
Simpler than worship,
And closer than death?

What’s better than living,
And makes us all one?
It’s Christ, our salvation,
God’s dearly-loved Son.

There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12; NLT).

This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy (2 Peter 1 17; NLT).

References

I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him (Philippians 3:7; NLT).

There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28; NLT).

Your unfailing love is better than life itself (Psalm 63:3; 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).

2.11.22: All Souls’ Day

Ruth Kirk

Context: This little prayer came to me on 28.10.22, well before I consciously registered that All Souls’ Day was fast approaching. I had to smile at God’s advance planning! It forms a pair with yesterday’s blog (https://wp.me/p45bCr-cIe).

The Messiah also died once for the sake of our sins, the Righteous One in the place of sinners, to bring you to God, and he died in body and lived in his Spirit. And he preached to those souls who were held in Sheol, those who from the first were not convinced (1 Peter 3; 18-19; PHBT).

Lord,

Heal the souls
Of all the dead –

Don’t punish them:
Forgive, I beg.

Lord, surely
They have cried

Enough? Your arms
Are open wide,

For you, alone,
Are love and grace:

Please welcome all
With your embrace.

I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.” So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him (Luke 15:18-20; NLT). 

References

The Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost (Luke 19:10; NLT).

God wants everyone to be saved and to know the whole truth (1 Timothy 2:4; CEV).

Then I called on the name of Yahweh: “Yahweh, I beg you, deliver my soul” (Psalm 116:4; WEB).

God is love (1 John 4:16; NLT).

By God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone (Hebrews 2:9; NLT).

First reading: Psalm 16:7-11; NLT

I will bless the LORD who guides me;
Even at night my heart instructs me.
I know the LORD is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.
No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice.
My body rests in safety.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead
Or allow your holy one to rot in the grave.
You will show me the way of life,
Granting me the joy of your presence
And the pleasures of living with you forever.

Second reading: Psalm 103:1-4; NLT

Let all that I am praise the LORD;
With my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
Let all that I am praise the LORD;
May I never forget the good things he does for me.
He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.
He redeems me from death,

And crowns me with love and tender mercies.

Rosary-making update: