Treasuring Our Identity

Many people are proud of their homeland.
Many are proud of their family name.
Some people like to be identified with
Celebrities of great fortune and fame.

Those of us who profess to be Christians
Should want to be identified with Christ.
Jesus Christ loved us and died for us.
For all our sins, Jesus was sacrificed.

Christians, let us treasure our identity.
For Christ, let us stand loyal and true.
Let us treasure doing what is right
In everything that we say and what we do.

Let us bypass the pleasures for a season,
And let us strive for an eternal reward.
Let us obey and serve our Savior daily,
And let's worship together in one accord.

Jan Bagwell

God Bless !

 

God Answers Prayer

God answers our prayers
not because we pray so good
but because He is a great God
and answers like He said He would
It's not flowery words or phrasing
that gets His attention to hear
but a sincere heart that seeks Him
is when He draws near
God listens to all our groanings
and knows our every need
He hears the cry of the poor and needy
and with compassion will take heed

God Answers Prayer

by Cindy Wyatt

God answers our prayers
not because we pray so good
but because He is a great God
and answers like He said He would
It's not flowery words or phrasing
that gets His attention to hear
but a sincere heart that seeks Him
is when He draws near
God listens to all our groanings
and knows our every need
He hears the cry of the poor and needy
and with compassion will take heed

- See more at: http://www.christart.com/poetry/poem6497.htm#sthash.hQFeqd3u.dpuf

Child Of God

I ask myself, child of God, do you see the pure beauty He puts before your eyes,
Those twinkling stars shining at night and the blue filling the daylight skies.
In beholding this spectacular scene, has there been gratitude that you shared,
To it's Marvelous Creator, to whom there is no other that can ever be compared.

I ask myself, child of God, do you see those about you that have a special need,
That God's placed in your path and can be helped if you take time to intercede.
Perhaps you should pray with them or for them, either way, God hears the prayer,
That will give spiritual encouragement to help them overcome a burden they bear.

I ask myself, child of God, are you aware of the lost you pass by most ever day,
Then are you very faithful in presenting their condition to God when you pray.
Whenever the opportunity is given, are you quick to tell of The God you serve,
Of how He richly blesses you and gives you far more in life than you deserve.

I say to myself, child of God, there's been many things in life you didn't see,
Therefore, instead of being a help to God, you failed these rather miserably.
Today, God has strengthened me, made me wiser, giving me a clear vision to see,
With every life that He allows me to encourage, He'll gain the final victory.

Jan Bagwell

God Bless !

The Shekinah glory came shining through

There is a Light, an Uncreated Beam
In which the Glory of God can be seen
This pure and holy and Eternal light
is seen in Jesus Christ shining so bright

A light brighter than the noonday sun
Shines from the Lord, the Righteous One
He's King of kings and Lord of all
And beneath His feet all men shall fall

Great mystery of Godliness none can tell
How in Christ the fullness of God could dwell
But the glory of God came shining through
There on the mountain before their view

There is a wondrous light that shines so bright.
that darkness is banished before its' sight.
This uncreated Light on earth did shine
and our life was enriched by the Divine.

With glorious beauty His life unfurled
blazing out holiness in this dark world.
The Shekinah glory comes shining through
as Jesus reaches out to me and you.

Jan Bagwell

God Bless

The Glorious Appearing

I gazed at the eastern sky today
Thinking, "How blissful it will be
If Jesus should come for me today
And set my awaiting spirit free."

It will be a glorious appearing
As He breaks through the eastern sky,
Announced by the trumpet sound
As His glorious coming draws nigh.

Like a huge magnet, He will draw
All the believers to His side
And escort them all up to Heaven
Where with Him they will abide.

Those dead in Christ shall rise
And meet the Savior in the air.
Then those who are alive in Christ
Will be caught up together there.

Oh what a glad, glorious appearing!
I am looking forward to that day
When Jesus, the Bridegroom appears
To usher His Bride, the Church, away! 

Jan Bagwell

God Bless !!

Brothers and Sisters in Christ , are you ready ? Have you got your family ready  ? Are we doing all we can , to win others to Jesus ?  Is there time ?

Flower Bud

The child is very precious. She smiles and so enjoys
to play with sticks and little stones, because she has no toys.
She lives inside a little hut of thatch, palm leaves and mud.
Appreciates, she does, so much a little flower bud.

She tries to educate herself. She cannot spell or read.
She questions other villagers determined to succeed.
Her time is not eventful and no schedule she must keep.
Each day is like the other ones until she goes to sleep.

The sounds at night are scary so she spends much time in prayer.
In Africa, it's not the same. There's terror everywhere.
The rebels have machetes and they do what they will.
Disgusting things and ugly things, they terrorize and kill.

And then one day it happened. They came with knives and guns.
And many had machetes, killed fathers, mothers, sons.
They even killed the little girls. How many, she's not sure.
They tortured, killed her parents while they were holding her.

She screamed and cried and screamed some more. They threw her to the ground.
but then this girl escaped them all with rebels all around.
She did survive two bullet wounds (left ankle and right side),
but many, many, many more cried painfully and died.

Now only God protected her in coma for two weeks,
so she can tell the rest of us life's answers that we seek.
We often do not listen though, for ignorance is bliss,
but we are so mistaken. What matters most is this:

Please choose the day you change your wish to live a life of ease
to focus on our Lord's command to help the "least of these".
Do not forget, that for us, Jesus spilled his blood.
So change your days and help another precious 'flower bud'. 

Jan bagwell

God Bless !

ALONE ?

Alone? 

In the cool of the night
There's no body in sight
As you sing a quiet song
Another night all alone

You walk thru the mall
See couples enthralled
Holding hands as they walk
Gazing deep as they talk

By the store window you stand
An answer you demand
In a soul searching tone
"Why am I alone?"

At night no one cuddles along by your side
An empty passenger seat stares at you as you ride
Your favorite movie is playing on cable
One meal stands alone at your dinner table

Again you ask to what seems empty air
Why there's no one to listen, no one to share
My dreams and my hopes
As I'm climbing the ropes

Even in victory
It's still just me
Who stands in the light
No partner in sight

Why must I walk in complete solitude?
Why must the master be so rude?
Is it too much to ask?
Is that too hard a task?

To have someone with whom to share
Someone about whom I really care
Someone to mingle my life
Someone to ease the strife

You stand in the window thinking it's only me
A ship by itself in the midst of the sea

Open your eyes and gaze hard in the glass
See what's really true about now and the past

If you ride all alone and no one is there
How do you explain the car that you missed by a hair
You felt something pull you in the nick of time
For the tragedy on the news could have been thine

Or the time that you were up against the wall
And didn't know how you'd make it at all
Up all night you didn't know what to do
But at the very last moment came the breakthrough

Remember the thing that scared you so bad
Terrible thoughts of what you had
Then the report that reached your ear
No need to worry for all was clear

And the little voice that gave you advice
The voice that was right more than once or twice
It urges you on and sometimes says stop
Slow down be careful, around that corner's a flop

Gaze in the window
See what eyes cannot
Look hard, see the shadows
Look hard at the plot

A brush of wind around you clings
Unseen but felt, those are angels' wings

The movement seen from the corner of your eye
Angels that catch each tear that you cry

If you knew the truth you’d wonder out loud
How could I have been lonely in the midst of this crowd?
For God has sent you a host of protectors
Directors, objectors, connectors, inspectors.

As you leave the window to continue your stroll
Invisible hands are there for you to hold

How could you have ever been so wrong
To think that God would leave you alone.

It’s not that you were ever alone at all
Your eyes open as you move down the mall
You were never one in the sea
You simply couldn't see reality.

If you knew the loving and caring that surrounds
If you knew the warmth and softness that abounds

If you knew the truth about what really is
You’d see the hands that catch all of your tears.

Jan Bagwell

God Bless !

Praise

I praise you Lord for the things you do
For you're with me every day
I praise you for the love you give
As you show me how to pray.

I praise you for the gift you gave
Through your suffering and sacrifice
I praise you for all the things you did
For the Love you give is nice.

I praise you for the blood you shed
As you cleansed me of my sin
You changed my life from what it was
You redeemed me from within.

I love you Lord with all my soul
Let me be faithful in all my ways
So I can enter your gates with thanksgiving
And, your courts with all my praise.

Jan Bagwell 
God Bless