December 23, 2024

Grace Flows Down

April 22, 2015 by

Many of you have gone on Spring Break or are anticipating taking a vacation this summer.  It is a time to refresh spirit, soul, and body.  Over the next couple of weeks, our faithful bloggers will be taking a ‘spring break’ from writing so that they can come back to us refreshed and freshly anointed.
However, Girlfriends’ Coffee Hour website won’t ‘go black’!  We will be revisiting some of our favorite blogs and daily devotions which have blessed us in the past.  We pray that each of you, our faithful friends and readers, will continue to start your day meditating on the devotionals and songblogs, and be encouraged and blessed.

Let’s give each of our bloggers a big round of applause,
a hug, and the rest they so deserve.  God bless you, ladies!

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
Amazing love
Now flowing down
From hands and feet
That were nailed to the tree
As grace flows down and covers me

It covers me, it covers me
It covers me, and it covers me

It covers me….

Grace flows down it covers me
All of my sin, all of my sin, it covers all of my sin
It covers my heart, it covers my heart
Thank You, Jesus…Thank You, Jesus…sweet Jesus

Christie Nockels
Songwriters: Louie Giglio, David Bell, Rod Padgett

*  ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~  *

Y’know, I think that grace and love must be intertwined in the heart of God…what do you think?  It seems to me that, whenever we see the grace of our Father being poured out, His love is evident also.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16

God had a plan…He made a way…for the redemption of all mankind.  Nothing but the grace (and, oh yes, the mercy!) of God manifested through the sacrifice of Jesus could have ever been enough to give us eternal, everlasting life.   Throughout the ages, God’s love and grace kept His plan from being destroyed.

He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done
but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus
before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed
through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death
and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
2 Timothy 1:9-10

The apostle Paul was a man who purposed to magnify and speak well of the grace and mercy which he had received. Paul was humbly and completely aware that ‘grace flowed down and covered’ him!

…and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance,
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost,
Jesus Christ might display His perfect patience as an example
to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life.
1 Timothy 1:14-16

In all of Paul’s encouragement and admonition through each of the Epistles, he wrote over and over again to the first century believers of the greatness of God’s grace. Paul seemed always to endeavor to help the people (and us, too!) to remain aware and thankful for God’s love and grace!

According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love:
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved.
In whom we have redemption through His blood,
the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace;
Ephesians 1:4-7

But God—so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy
the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us,
Even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses,
He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ;
[He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life
with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved
(delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation).
And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together
[giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere
[by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
He did this that He might clearly demonstrate through the ages to come
the immeasurable (limitless, surpassing) riches of His free grace
(His unmerited favor) in [His] kindness and goodness of heart toward us in Christ Jesus.
For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved
(delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith.
And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing,
it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God;
Ephesians 2:4-8 AMP

Take a moment, would you, and just read that out loud to yourself…or go here and listen to it in a few different versions.

You and I have been so overwhelmingly covered by God’s free grace!  Each of us, I am sure, has story after story to relate of the love and grace that God has shown to us.  Would you share with us one time when God’s grace (and love) flowed down upon you?  Please tell us below in the comments; we will all be so encouraged!

May I finish here today, speaking a blessing (written in the book of 2nd John)  over each of you!

Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father
and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.
verse 3

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Grace Flows Down

April 27, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
Amazing love
Now flowing down
From hands and feet
That were nailed to the tree
As grace flows down and covers me

It covers me, it covers me
It covers me, and it covers me

It covers me….

Grace flows down it covers me
All of my sin, all of my sin, it covers all of my sin
It covers my heart, it covers my heart
Thank You, Jesus…Thank You, Jesus…sweet Jesus

Songwriters: Louie Giglio, David Bell, Rod Padgett
Sung by Christie Nockels

*  ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~  *

Y’know, I think that grace and love must be intertwined in the heart of God…what do you think? It seems that, whenever we see the grace of our Father being poured out, His love is so evident also.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16

God had a plan…He made a way…for the redemption of all mankind. Nothing but the grace (and, oh yes, the mercy!) of God manifested through the sacrifice of Jesus could have ever been enough to give us eternal, everlasting life. Throughout the ages, God’s love and grace kept His plan from being destroyed.

He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done
but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus
before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed
through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death
and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
2 Timothy 1:9-10

The apostle Paul was a man who always purposed to magnify and speak well of the grace and mercy which he had received. Paul was humbly and completely aware that ‘grace flowed down and covered’ him!

…and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance,
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost,
Jesus Christ might display His perfect patience as an example
to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life.
1 Timothy 1:14-16

In all of Paul’s encouragement and admonition through each of the Epistles, he wrote over and over again to the first century believers of the greatness of God’s grace. Paul seemed always to endeavor to help the people (and us, too!) to remain aware and thankful for God’s love and grace!

According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love:
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved.
In whom we have redemption through His blood,
the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace;
Ephesians 1:4-7

But God—so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy
the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us,
Even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses,
He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ;
[He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life
with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved
(delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation).
And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together
[giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere
[by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
He did this that He might clearly demonstrate through the ages to come
the immeasurable (limitless, surpassing) riches of His free grace
(His unmerited favor) in [His] kindness and goodness of heart toward us in Christ Jesus.
For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved
(delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith.
And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing,
it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God;
Ephesians 2:4-8 AMP

Take a moment, would you, and just read that out loud to yourself…or go here and listen to it in a few different versions.

You and I have been so overwhelmingly covered by God’s free grace! Each of us, I am sure, has story after story to relate of the love and grace that God has shown to us. Would you share with us one time when God’s grace (and love) flowed down upon you? You can tell us either below in the comments, or come over into our Fellowship Group and share your praise for His grace there! We will all be so encouraged!

May I finish here today, speaking a blessing (written in the book of 2nd John)  over each of you!

Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father
and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.
verse 3

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

In Your Hands

March 2, 2014 by

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

 ~  Listen while you read, please!  ~

The dawn is breaking and I can hear Your whisper on the breeze
The world is waking and I am here to meet You on my knees
When I’m with You my soul finds rest ‘cause I can leave it in Your hands

The day keeps coming pulling me a million different ways
I’m always running but never seem to catch the things I chase
When I’m with You my soul finds rest ‘cause I can leave it in Your hands

Every sorrow, I leave it in Your hands
Every sickness, I leave it in Your hands
All my failures, I leave ‘em in Your hands
Amen. (I leave it in Your hands)

So I am laying the weight of all these burdens at Your feet
No more waiting ‘cause You’ve already won my victories
In Jesus my soul finds rest ‘cause I can leave it in Your hands

Every promise, I leave it in Your hands
Every healing, I leave it in Your hands
And my future, I leave it in Your hands
Amen. (I can leave it in Your hands)

It’s Your hands that form the mountains
Your hands set boundaries for the seas
And in Your hands You hold tomorrow
The same hands that took the nails for me

Every sorrow, I leave it in Your hands
Every sickness, I leave it in Your hands
All my failures, I leave them in Your hands
Amen. (I can leave it in Your hands)

Every promise, I leave it in Your hands
Every healing, I leave it in Your hands
And my future, I leave it in Your hands
Amen. (I can leave it in Your hands)
…I can leave it in Your hands

~  Performed by Unspoken  ~
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
I love this song for the confession of the Truth that it is!  Where would we be if it were not for choosing to ‘leave it in His hands’?  We can proclaim our trust as the psalmist did.

But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord,
I say, “You are my God.”
My times are in Your hand…
Psalms 31:14 and 15

These could easily have been similar words to what Ezra voiced in his prayers to his God.  Ezra was a man “uncompromisingly righteous” (I Kings 8:32).  God worked many things through the life and ministry of the priest Ezra and it was very apparent that Ezra’s life was in God’s hand (verses 6, 9, 28).  Most notably were the events which led to Ezra being commanded to come before King Artaxerxes (the son of Ahaseurus (Xerxes)—yes! THAT Ahaseurus…the husband of Esther!) to write a most important letter to be carried throughout the kingdom which determined that much wealth and “things” were acquired for the beautifying of the Temple in Jerusalem. (You can read the whole amazing record here.)

On the first of the first month he started out from Babylon, and on the first of the fifth month he arrived in Jerusalem, for upon him was the good hand of his God.
For Ezra had prepared and set his heart to seek the Law of the Lord [to inquire for it and of it, to require and yearn for it], and to do and teach in Israel its statutes and its ordinances.

Ezra 7:9 and 10

Ezra wrote (“scribed”) the king’s decree and also accompanied the letter throughout the kingdom. He thoroughly understood the magnitude of this event and praised God saying,

Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers [said Ezra], Who put such a thing as this into the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, and Who has extended His mercy and steadfast love to me before the king, his counselors, and all the king’s mighty officers. I was strengthened and encouraged, for the hand of the Lord my God was upon me, and I gathered together outstanding men of Israel to go with me to Jerusalem.

Verses 27 and 28

God’s hand accomplishes small and mighty things!  The point is not in the enormity of His blessing but the point is His sovereignty!  Our God has had the entire world and the lives of every person ever born ‘in His hand’ all along.

The prophet Isaiah was given many strong encouraging AND admonishing words to speak to God’s people.  He had told them just how to pursue God when fasting and they chose to do it their own way…and they did not receive the things they were asking of the Lord.  And Isaiah plainly told them why “the Lord’s hand” was against them.

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened at all, that it cannot save,
nor His ear dull with deafness, that it cannot hear.
But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.
Isaiah 59:1 and 2

We, as well, must always have the true fear of the Lord in our hearts compelling us to believe (and obey!).

Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest,
any one of you may seem to have come short of it.
For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word
they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.
For we who have believed enter that rest….
Hebrews 4:1-3

God’s heart (and His accompanying hand of provision and blessing) is to always provide what is good and best for those who seek Him. As Unspoken sings, “every sorrow…sickness…failure as well as every promise…healing…and our future” are best left in His hand.  Amen?

Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind
and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.
In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him,
and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.
Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord
and turn [entirely] away from evil.

Proverbs 3:5-7

Filed Under: Psalms Hymns and Spiritual Songs Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,