“Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, ‘Holy, holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.’ – And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, ‘You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power.”

I have to tell you, this song moves me in a way that no other worship song does. Since I first heard it, I don't believe a day has passed that I don't stop and listen to this song. It begins my personal time of worship and quiet time each day. The picture that revelation paints of worship comes alive in my heart and soul, and for a moment, I am transported to that heavenly place, for a moment I catch a glimpse of how awesome our GOD is.

A glimpse is all I can catch here on Earth. God is bigger than our limited minds can possibly fathem. I look forward to that day when I can stand before him in HIS kingdom and sing that song with no limitations of knowledge of how awesome HE is. So for today I am thankful for that glimpse as he inhabits the praises of his people. "And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of HIS gorry and grace".

‘You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power.”

Psalm 84:11 "For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly."

Proverbs 3:34, 35 "Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble. The wise shall inherit glory, But shame shall be the legacy of fools."

1 Corinthians 15:10 "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."

Watch this next video. Be inspired by the words and be moved by the images, and then climb up on the shoulders of the one who will make you strong. Then use that strength to go out into this world and make a difference.

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Connie and I were both born in Manchester CT. But both of our family’s lived in Enfield CT. and as it turned out, our family’s attended the same church but didn't know each other. Connie and I went to VBS together as toddlers. There’s even a few photos that we are both in, but we didn’t know each other then. Our family’s moved away to different towns, When I was 13, my family moved to Manchester, CT. Connie’s moved to Tolland CT and oddly enough we ended up going to the same church again, a different church. This time we met each other and became friends. We both accepted Jesus in our teen years.
Moving ahead several years, We fell in love and got married. We have been married for 32 years now.
The road of life for us has for the most part been a good one. We have had wounderful times and difficult times. When we married, it would never have occurred to us that we would one day live in New Hampshire or even attend a Congregational Church much less be on staff.
In this journey we call life, there has been a lot of turns, hills detours and potholes along the way. I turned 51 this year and I can’t help but wonder how I got to where I am now. It was a broken road for sure that we traveled which brought us here. It was a broken road we traveled that led us to the Lord, The road in front of us will certainly not be with out it’s pot holes and bumps, hairpin turns and even area’s that are washed out. Today our future looks uncertain to say the least.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "Don't be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too." (Matthew 6:4) "God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes." Jesus seems to be saying that we can trust God to help us, to take care of us, because he is the God of tomorrow as well as the God of the present. Therefore, we can trust him for the future.
So as I look at the road behind me and the road ahead of me, This much I know is true, “God blessed the broken road that led me straight to You” Thank You God !

Turn on the TV for a moment and you will be inundated with news about the declining economy, increasing foreclosures, company’s closing their doors, global terrorism, and Government corruption.
Within our own family’s, we may be dealing with alcoholism, drug addiction, pornography or our own financial crisis.
Sometimes it can seem that we are drowning in a sea of negativity.
Psalm 46:1 says: God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
It goes on to say in verse 10: "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." The LORD Almighty is with us…..

Take a moment and be still

This song says “In times of desperation, when I’m weary and afraid, I will cling to my salvation, and let it carry me away”

As a small child, I learned about Heaven through Bible stories. Back then it was just a nice story because I didn’t know anyone in heaven. As I grew, people I knew well and loved very much left this Earth and this is where the rubber meets the road as a Christian. Heaven is no longer just a bible story, It’s a real place. Mortality for all of us is 100%. I’ve not met any immortals.

In John 14:1-3 Jesus Comforts His Disciples saying 1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

In Revelation 22:5 it’s described this way, There will be no more night. No more pain or tears. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

This song by David Phelps gives us a glimpse of what the scriptures promise. There will be no more night.

It was October 2007. A long time since our last vacation. Connie and I were pretty burned out and desperately needing some rest. It’s a wonderful thing to love your job, to really enjoy your work. The flip side of that for me is that it’s hard to shut my mind off especially in this difficult economy where budgets are slashed and resources are few, we have to get creative in how we function as a ministry.
Gordon MacDonald was our interim pastor at that time and he had given me a book he had written years earlier called “Ordering Your Private World”. I thought it was the ideal book to read on vacation since my “private world” could use some order.
A few days before we left for Myrtle Beach, I heard a new song by Gordon Mote called “Don’t Let Me Miss The Glory”. It wasn’t the first time I heard the song, but it was the first time I listened to the words. I realized that the summer had come and gone and I hadn’t stopped to smell the roses (so to speak). I hadn’t taken time to notice the little things in life and so blessings also went un-noticed. I believe that God speaks to us often in the little things.
As my to-do list began to grow, my daily quiet times with God began to fall by the wayside. Could it be possible that I could get so busy doing ministry that I was ignoring God?
When we arrived at Myrtle Beach and walked into the condo on the 15th floor, there before us was a wall of glass and all you could see and hear was the ocean. We were both overwhelmed by the view. We walked out on the balcony and just stood there trying to take it all in. We took a moment to thank God for this gift of beauty and time he had given us, and we asked that He let us slow down, let us notice the little things, and that He would not let us miss the Glory. We opened our eyes, and there was the most beautiful butterfly, fifteen stories high, right in front of us. God’s way of saying, you got it. For the next ten days I looked for the little things and God never disappointed.
The sunrise in this video came from that balcony that week, Again, I was blown away. Pay attention to the little things and don’t miss His glory!

Rick

Going back to my earliest childhood memories, I can remember singing “Jesus Loves Me” this I know, for the bible tells me so. I didn’t question those words as a child, but as an adult I began to become more aware of my sinful nature and my imperfections. It became more and more difficult for me to understand how Jesus could love a guy like me. To this day the enemy loves to remind me of my past, he loves to remind me of my imperfections and failures, but all of that was paid for.
Romans 5:8 says: But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
In my thinking, I don’t deserve eternity, I need to fix everything first, I need to become worthy of being a child of God.
Ephesians 2:8 says: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
There is nothing I can do to make myself worthy. Jesus always accepts people as they are. In John 6, the people had come from miles around to hear Jesus. When the crowd became hungry, He miraculously fed them with a boy's unselfish gift of five loaves and two fish. Then the Lord offered Himself as "the bread of life," promising that He would not turn away anyone who came to Him.
It's still true today. No one who comes to Jesus will be turned away. Come to Him with all your sin. He'll accept you just as you are.

This next song is new. I just heard it the other day and with where my life is now it has taken on special meaning. In my life I have met a handful of people who have become very special to me. People who’s faith and passion for God blew me away. Some who asked me in their time of pain, how could they pray for me? These people became mentors to me with out even knowing it. When I came to a point of feeling I lost my way. They often lifted me up.
I saw Jesus in them.
Most of these people have gone home to be with the Lord and yet I still draw strength from their lives, words and compassion they had for me I still remember and feel.
Today I still find myself in tears as I worry about loved ones who are ailing. It can feel like your world is falling apart. This song speaks to me now. It says:

Makin’ a list of all of the good things You’ve done for me Lord, I’ve never been one to complain But right now I’m lost and I can’t find my wayMy world’s come apart and it’s breakin’ my heart But it helps to know Your heart is breakin’ too

When I cry, You cry When I hurt, You hurt When I’ve lost someone It takes a piece of You, too And when I fall on my faceYou fill me with grace ‘Cause nothin’ breaks Your heart Or tears You apart Like when I cry

What a wonderful time of year. Spring is here! New life begins to pop up through the ground, trees begin to bud. There’s a feeling of hope in the air.
This is also the time of year that my thoughts turn to the cross. I grew up reading the scriptures that tell the story of Easter, and yet each year it some how catches me off guard as I think about the cross and what Jesus did for us.
I try to imagine what it would have been like to be there, to have been a witness to it all. Would I have understood the meaning of what I saw? Would I have understood how much our Lord suffered great emotional stress in the garden of Gethsemane. Not even those closest to him fully grasped what he was feeling. They even denied knowing Him. Our savior understood the rejection and pain that would be coming but He also understood why it was to be. It was for you and me. He was the perfect lamb who would be sacrificed for my sins and yours. He took my punishment to secure my salvation.
So I come to the cross. I find myself surrounded by many people. Kings and presidents, The rich and poor, leaders of the church as well as those who just gave their lives to Jesus, even criminals are there because the ground is level at the foot of the cross regardless of who we are or what we’ve done. At the foot of the cross, there is no room for self-righteousness.
For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. (Isaiah 64:6)
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)
as it is written, "There is none righteous, not even one;" (Romans 3:10)
I have no advantage over the others who are there, so I come with a humble spirit because we all stand together on level ground before the cross. It is at the cross I find God’s Mercy, Grace and Forgiveness, it is at the cross that I am washed clean by the blood of Jesus.

I love all kinds of music. I am really enjoying the new music coming from Hillsong, Casting Crowns, Michael W. Smith and many more worship groups but I have to confess, My "musical roots" are deeply set in Southern Gospel.
OK, there, I said it, It's out. I'm a New England boy that should have been born in the south. You may have figured that out from the Gordon Mote videos and links.
As a young boy, I remember going with my parents to all night gospel sings (Southern Gospels version of Soul Fest) and to this day, I cant pass up a Gaither Concert when they come to the area.
Take a listen to a few of these songs and see if maybe you might have a little Southern gospel in your blood.
Enjoy, Rick

Have you ever stopped, for a moment, looked up into the sky and wondered what it was you were really rushing around so fast for?
Are you ever in a stressful situation, with a day piled high with problems? Does there ever seem to be enough time? Are you laden with other people’s burdens? Are you labouring intensely in God’s work without Him? Are you tired and worn out? Do you ever think that you’re more of a ‘human doing’ than a ‘human being’? Then stop for a moment, and look up, as I did, and know that the Lord is able to safely keep that which we’ve committed to Him. As the words of the hymn say, ‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace’.
Could the Lord be saying these words to you: ‘You’re part of My Creation, made to worship Me. I’m calling you now, just for this moment, to lift up your eyes and look beyond all that’s going on around you. Look into My heavenly world where all is peace, harmony and order, where there’s constant joy, peace and thanksgiving around my throne.
This is the place where My will is being fulfilled and My plans are working together for good for those who love Me. This is the place of beauty and splendour that transcends this world. Come for a while and look into these things, and as you gaze into My Eternal Kingdom, receive the truth of My glorious love into your heart. It will enable you to return to what you were doing, with my added peace and security, and enable you to bless those who’re searching for Me this day.'
Prayer: Lord I lift my eyes to you. May Your Kingdom come. May Your will be done on earth, in my life today, as it is in heaven. In jesus's name, Amen.

Isaiah 33:17 (New International Version)
Your eyes will see the king in his beauty and view a land that stretches afar.

Have you thought about the American flag and all that it stands for? It represents an emblem of the greatest nation on the earth. It has been carried through centuries in battle. It is placed on the graves of our honored dead who fought for the right for us to remain a free nation, and it flies high during peace times, as well as war.
There is another real freedom we can have. We can display it every day of the year, and that is our freedom “In Christ” to live a life to glorify Him, so that His banner of love, truth, and peace can be seen by all.
It is a flag flown high in the castle of my heart (taken from a song). We can be free in our spirit to serve the Creator of the whole universe and that my friends, is True Freedom.
Romans 8:2 says,
"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death." (ASV)
Just like the flag that represents freedom, Jesus is a banner over us, protecting and shielding us. He is the “Glory and the Lifter of our heads” at all times. Let freedom ring out in your heart today.