Jennifer Douglas releases new single: Dance!

Jennifer Douglas' new single Dance! is now available on CD Baby. Just follow this link to listen to a sample and then download onto your iPod!

Dance! is a bright and bouncy song that will set your feet tapping and your whole being straing to get dancing to the rhythm, and Jennifer Douglas has made a great job of the song, putting her own stamp upon it. The track was produced and mastered by Darren Mullan at Wrapit Records in Adelaide, on behalf of Sheer Joy Music.

Hymn for today . . .

On That Holy Night 6655

In a stable so crude,
‘Neath the star shining bright,
Our Saviour was born
On that holy night.

Baby Jesus was placed
In a manger of hay,
Kings came to worship
The child where He lay.

Both the creatures and man
On that holiest night,
Raised up their voices
To God’s promised Light.

Then all those who were there
Songs of praises did bring,
On that holy night,
In praise of the King.

Now mankind, and angels
From the heavens above,
Praise the Lord Jesus;
God’s great gift of love.
© 2006 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh

Come, let us sing for joy ...

FBI Escorts Known Hamas Operative Through Top-Secret National Counterterrorism Center as “Outreach” to Muslim Community

The following report was posted by Patrick Poole an anti-terrorism consultant to law enforcement and the military, and a recognized expert on the international Muslim Brotherhood, on the Big Peace website.


A known Hamas operative and unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terrorism financing trial in U.S. history – Kifah Mustapha – was recently escorted into the top-secret National Counterterrorism Center and other secure government facilities, including the FBI’s training center at Quantico, during a six-week “Citizen’s Academy” hosted by the FBI as part of its “outreach” to the Muslim Community. The group was accompanied by reporter Ben Bradley of WLS-Chicago (ABC), who filed a report on the trip to Washington D.C. on Sunday, who observed:

Sheik Kifah Mustapha, who runs the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview, asked some of the most pointed questions during the six week FBI Citizens’ Academy and trip to Washington. He pushed agents to fully explain everything from the bureau’s use of deadly force policy to racial and ethnic profiling. “I saw a very interesting side of what the FBI does and I wanted to know more,” Sheik Mustapha explained after returning from D.C. He hopes the FBI’s outreach runs deeper than positive public relations.

Kifah Mustapha (third from left) touring the National Counterterrorism Center  (Photo: FBI)

Yes, I bet he wanted to know everything about the FBI’s policies.


Curiously, Bradley’s report on the Citizen’s Academy fails to make note Mustapha’s extensive terrorist ties and support for Hamas, including his former employment with the Holy Land Foundation, which was listed as a specially designated terrorist group by the U.S. government in December 2001, and whose executives were convicted of terrorism support in 2008 and sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Mustapha was personally named unindicted co-conspirator (#31) in the case and employment records submitted by federal prosecutors during the trial showed that he received more than $154,000 for his work for the Holy Land Foundation between 1996 and 2000. During the trial, FBI Special Agent Lara Burns testified that Mustapha also sang in a band sponsored by the Holy Land Foundation that regularly featured songs dedicated to killing Jews and glorifying Hamas. In a deposition he gave in a civil trial concerned with the murder of a Chicago teenager killed by Hamas while waiting for a bus in Israel, Mustapha admitted that he was the registered agent for the Holy Land Foundation in Illinois, and also to his involvement with other Hamas front groups, including the Islamic Association for Palestine. He was later hired as an imam by the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview, which the Chicago Tribune reported in 2004 has long been a hotbed of Hamas support.


Bradley’s omission of this information about Kifah Mustapha in his report on Sunday is all the more curious since his own station aired an extensive investigative report of Mustapha’s terrorist ties earlier this year.


The WLS investigation into Mustapha’s terrorist ties was prompted by a report published by the Investigative Project on Terrorism in January, which noted that Mustapha had been selected and trained as a chaplain by the Illinois State Police despite his documented terrorist support. The State Police eventually withdrew Mustapha’s appointment as chaplain and just last month he filed a lawsuit against the agency claiming discrimination aided by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, another FBI-identified Hamas front group.


There are several obvious problems with this episode, the first being the FBI’s “outreach” to a known Hamas operative (identified as such by federal prosecutors) and walking him through some of our country’s most sensitive counter-terrorism facilities. Why should terrorist operatives have to covertly case potential targets when the FBI will happily escort them and taken them into areas they would never be able to reach on their own? Who’s next on the FBI’s “outreach” calendar, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his fellow GITMO detainees?


This ongoing “outreach” to terror-linked individuals and leaders of known terrorist front groups by senior leaders of our national security, homeland security and law enforcement agencies is the kind of behavior criticized by my colleagues and I in the Team B II’s report released earlier this month, “Shariah: The Threat to America“. As I observed last week here at Big Peace, Matt Duss of the Center for America Progress and ThinkProgress.org demands that we continue this insane national policy of embracing the same individuals and organizations who have been caught openly cheerleading for Islamic terrorists and have called for the destruction of the U.S. and Western Civilization.


The other glaring problem is that a reporter working in one of the largest media markets in the country can travel to such an event and be unaware of or unwilling to mention his own station’s reporting on his travel partner’s terrorist support activities. Such is the state of the establishment media today. Sheikh

Salute to Returning Heroes

Returning Hero

Who will be there to remember,

when all has been said and done,

in the cold grey dawn of November,

with a flag and the sound of a gun?

When our heroes return in their coffins

to the bugler’s lonesome call;

and the wives and mothers are weeping

― for they have lost most of all.

Did they give their all in battle

for a brush with the news-hour fame;

for a medal and commendation,

of their soon forgotten name?

Was there purpose in their fighting

or did they die in vain?

Were they sent to war for no reason,

a pointless cause in the main?

When the day comes dawning,

and the final result is zero,

we will recall the brothers and sons,

who were named as returning hero.

We will stand and we'll remember,

and salute their forgotten youth;

each year, in the dawn of November,

as we consider the bitterest truth.

© 2010 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh

Poem for Today

Wiltshire Memories
Green trees look down in regal splendour
upon the lushness of prolific summer;
the gentle sweep of grassy slopes
echoing the soft lullaby of Nature.
Whispering leaves above the cricket’s chorus,
calling onward to the pink flush of sunset,
looking back with fond reflection
upon those pleasant Wiltshire summers
when life had just begun.


Rolling fields of golden corn
stretching far beyond the country Inn.
a place where farmhands rested tired feet,
and stopped to quaff a jug of English Ale.
Where the lustre of red-gold sunset
hangs deep into the velvet night,
carried onward into tomorrow
by the gentle breezes of the summer evening,
scented sweet by the new-mown swathes.


In the distance, past the sloping Downs,
where chalk beasts watch the closing day,
as the last fading rays of sunlight fall,
bringing the cool of silvered moon,
Then I will rest, safe till dawn breaks.
I’ll sleep sound, wrapped by dry stone walls,
the ancient stones supporting musty thatch,
dreaming of West Country life,
Where man can pleasant moments snatch.
© 1978 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh

As Autumn turns to Winter

The last few days have seen a slight change in the weather, with colder days and nights. In fact we've had to have the heating on low for a few hours on several occasions, and this serves to remind me that the Autumn, which I probably love the best, is slowly petering out in order to make way for Winter. 

Winter is rather a bully I think, in the manner in which it blusters and forces its way in to our lives, crushing the warmer days of Autumn, with the reds and golds being consigned to the scrap heap as the starkness of Winter takes over. Yet, despite this bullying attitude, there is something quite majestic about all that Winter brings with it. Cold days, yes, but then the cold clears away the many bugs and germs that would otherwise lay us low in our beds for days at a time, and so the cold  ---  which after all, we can wrap up against --- should perhaps be welcomed rather than shunned.


The onset of cold, darker evenings also brings to mind so many things and occasions from past years as well. Things like the way in which the neon lighting of the shops reflects on wet roads and pavements, and the manner in which your breath seems to hang in the air as you hurry about, much quicker than you did in the balmy days of Summer and Autumn, as though spurred on by the remembered thought of roaring fires in the hearth and a plate of hot soup on the table.


Do you remember, dear reader, (at least, those of you who live in Western climes), the way that ice would form on the inside of bedroom windows during the Winter months, back in the days before central heating. And what about travelling on the top of a double-decker bus when the heating either didn't work or was distinctly inadequate, allowing ice to form on the inside of the windows and causing you to shiver throughout your journey homeward. Jumping out of bed on a Winter's morning usually meant that you got cold feet on the linoleum, unless you were fortunate enough to enjoy the luxury of a rectangular rug alongside your bed. 


Even if the fire had been lit in the dining room and lounge it was unlikely that any heat from that would have travelled upward, and so bathing meant standing in a freezing cold bathroom, and certainly no lingering under a hot shower when we were children. Breakfast was more substantial as a child than it tends to be today, with many people now hurrying down a slice or two of toast and a cup of tea or coffee, before rushing to get to school or work in time. As a child, breakfast in the Winter was a steaming plate of hot porridge which would, so our mother informed us, put a good lining on our stomachs which would "set us up against the cold." Nor was that all, for it would be followed by a fried breakfast according to your taste, which included bacon, eggs, sausage, tomato and, on special occasions, perhaps a few mushrooms. 


Mushrooms! I recall many an Autumnal morning as a boy, spent walking across the nearby fields, paper bag in hand, looking for mushrooms, the clinging morning mist swirling around me and making my clothing damp. The dew was heavy on the grass which guaranteed cold hands as you reached down to pick the white buttons that promised such delight to your taste-buds in another hour. Once I got home and they were prepared and served up on a slice of toast, the experience of collecting them was one to be savoured for the joy it ultimately gave rather than remembered for the cold and the damp that accompanied the experience.


There was something very special about being out on the land in the early hours, at a time when often even the birds, after their jubilant dawn chorus, seemed to fall silent, perhaps cowed by the mist that enveloped everything. The feeling that you got as you walked across the fields was one of isolation from the world, and yet fearlessly at one with your surroundings. No longer were you an alien traveller, more just another integral part of the changing landscape, and that made you appreciate the world a little more.


What is it that makes us turn our thoughts back to our youth as we get older? Is it that, in retrospect, our youth often seems to be a more secure place to be, particularly nowadays, the way that the world has become a more violent place to be. Many folk now become part-time prisoners in their own homes as a result of the fear of venturing out at night, whether the fear is a necessary reality or an imagined one. Perhaps it's just that time tints our memories to rose-coloured so that we filter out the bad and recall only the good times, places and events. Whatever the reason, I guess that stored memories that can be recalled and that have the ability to allow us to relive times past for a few moments once again, are a valuable asset, bringing with them the feelings of love and warmth from early childhood once again. They allow you to recall, with comparative ease, parents and siblings, schoolteachers and shopkeepers, and the friends who helped to build you into the person you became by the influences that they had on your life.


Yes, it's true that I love the Autumn the best, with its ornate display of finery and flashes of Autumnal sunshine, but I guess that every other season is pretty close on Autumn's heels, because each season has something special to give to us. Learning how to find it and appreciate it is one of the greatest and yet simplest joys of living.

Hymn for today . . .

Saved for Glory 87 87
Tune: All to Jesus

Saved for glory by the Saviour,
Christ is all in all to me;
I will tell the wondrous story,
How He came to set us free.
Saved by Christ alone!
Saved by Christ alone!
Saved for glory by the Saviour,
Saved by Christ alone!

He came down to bring us freedom,
From man’s own self-righteous law;
Came to grant us free salvation,
Tell it out from door to door.

Saved by Christ alone! ...

Christ, the one Son of the Father,
God incarnate came to earth;
When you claim through Him redemption,
Through God’s Spirit get rebirth.

Saved by Christ alone! ...

You can claim this glorious blessing,
You receive the bounty free;
You can sing the Saviour’s story,
Tell it out aloud like me.

Saved by Christ alone! ...

Tell the world you’re saved for glory,
That in heav’n one day we’ll meet;
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
We will worship at their feet.

Saved by Christ alone! ...
© Colin Gordon-Farleigh, 2008

Keep focussed ...

Joanne Lowe's Meditations

GOD’S HEART RECOVERY

“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:”

1 John 2:1 (King James Version)

I had to do a complete system recovery on my computer yesterday. I’m not sure what happened. Things just stopped working right. Perhaps a virus got past my antivirus program. Everything is working great now.

As I was thinking about a virus attacking my computer, I was reminded of how satan attacks us with many viruses. One of the definitions for the word “virus” in Webster’s Dictionary is “something that poisons the mind or soul”.

There are times when we allow bitterness, criticism, hatred, jealousy and unforgiveness to remain in our hearts and those things poison our hearts. These things hurt Jesus and bring shame to Him and we need to ask God to forgive us.

When we sin, Jesus is our advocate. He pleads for us with our Heavenly Father. How does He plead for us with God? He prays for us. “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren” (Luke 22:32).

Does God need to do a heart recovery on your heart? Have you allowed the viruses that satan hurls at us to stay in your heart, things that hurt Jesus and bring shame to Him? If so, ask Him to forgive you and to help you so you won’t hurt Him again.

Heavenly Father, we confess that there are times when viruses of sin build up in our hearts. Please forgive us and cleanse our hearts. Jesus, thank You for praying for us. Amen.

Joanne Lowe

joannelowe8@cox.net

www.joanne-ourprecioussaviour.blogspot.com

Hymn for today . . .

A few days ago I heard somebody on television comment that it was only so many days until Christmas, and so I guess that it's not too soon to post an Advent Worship Song on the Blog. This is a lovely song for congregational or solo singing, but especially good for choral singing. Cantoris, the chorale ensemble who record my worship songs on the Sheer Joy Music label, sing this beautifully on their CD There is Joy, and you can download individual tracks from the major digital download sites such as CD Baby, iTunes and Amazon.

Whatever you choose to do, I hope that you get a great blessing from singing it. The words are printed below:

O Holy Night 4746

O holy night,

The Babe lies in the manger;

O holy night,

He sleeps there in the hay.

O holy night,

He’s watched by mother Mary;

O holy night,

He sleeps till break of day.

O holy night,

The star was brightly shining;

O holy night,

When angels sang their lay.

O holy night,

When shepherds came to worship;

O holy night,

In awe they came to pray.

O holy night,

The kings bowed low before Him;

That holy night,

The Babe smiles as they pray.

O holy night,

The brightest dawn is breaking,

Most holy night!

When Jesus came to stay.

© 2006 Colin Gordon-Farleigh

Retired to be Re-Tyred!

Yesterday,26th September 2010, will remain one of the dates fixed in my memory, for I retired from my job as Minister of St John's Presbyterian Church of Wales in Runcorn, as a result of reaching the mandatory retirement age of 67 recently.

The picture above shows the front cover of my retirement service brochure in which the service was printed. We sang five hymns during the service, which included one of my favourite hymns, All the way my Saviour leads me, and one of my own hymns, sung to the tune 'Dim Ond Iesu', called The Heavenly Choir, the words of which are:

There’s a sound of heav’nly singing

from the angelic choir above;

happy, joyful sounds are ringing

out the news of Jesus’ love.

That great love which, all embracing,

brings us joy and sets us free:

perfect love of Christ the Saviour,

there for all the world to see.

He came down to bring the message

of God’s overwhelming love;

of the power of forgiveness

coming down from up above.

He speaks of the Holy Spirit

who can set our hearts on fire;

and the news of God in heaven,

sung by His angelic choir.

© Colin Gordon-Farleigh, 2006

Although my age has meant that I should retire from my current Ministry, there is no such bar on my Ministry per se of course, and from 1st October I will be once more in full-time harness fulfilling my Ministry through Voice Ministries. I hope to be able to make an exciting announcement soon in this connection, although I need to keep the announcement silent for the moment. In other words, dear reader, 'Watch this space!'

I hate the 'R' word! When you are called by the Lord to serve in ministry there can never be any retirement until you are finally called home to be with Him. There is always work to be done for the everlasting Kingdom, and I look forward to being able to play whatever part I'm called to play for His purpose.

Psalm 103 verses 1-5

Hymn for today . . .

Hosanna! 66 66

Sing loud your songs of praise!
Your joyful songs now bring,
With heart and soul and voice,
Hosanna to the King!

Sing loud your songs of praise!
Let mountain, sea and sky,
Shout, with loudest praise,
Almighty God on high!

Sing loud your songs of praise!
Let earth all join as one,
To magnify His Holy Name,
To praise Him for His Son.

Sing loud your songs of praise!
Now clap, now dance, now sing,
In glory of the one true God,
Hosanna to the King!

Sing loud your songs of praise!
Pray soon the time will come,
When we can be, for evermore,
With the Father and the Son.

Sing loud your songs of praise!
Now let it ever be,
We’ll sing hosannas to Your Name
Through all eternity!
© Colin Gordon-Farleigh, 2006

Give credit where it's due

Christ came to set us free!

FREEDOM INDEED!

Read: Galatians 5

Some people believe that salvation can be achieved through the justification of works alone though, in that belief lies foolishness. Equally, we cannot be justified purely by faith, for Scripture teaches that " ... faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead!" (James 2: 17). Faith that's content merely to declare itself and go no further is not real faith at all. Simply declaring a basic belief in the existence of God is quite insufficient in salvation terms! Faith is only proved and developed when we act upon it. Works without the background of faith are empty works, and on their own they're spiritually meaningless. Equally, if faith alone is relied upon to achieve heaven's rewards then disappointment must surely follow. It's the combination of the two that is important. If, because of our faith, we do good works, then we shall see the Kingdom of God. Through faith we believe in the existence of the Triune God, the Three-in-One, Father - Son - Holy Spirit. It's because of our belief that we cherish the desire to do as Jesus taught us, in order that we can please God through our unfailing faith and belief in Him.

At Capernaum the people asked Jesus, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him who he has sent." (John 6 : 28/29) The only "work" that a man can do that is acceptable to God is to believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, accepting the purpose for which He came. This neither excludes nor exempts us from doing good work in His Name, for Christ teaches that we should care for others as for ourselves, looking after the needs of those who are more vulnerable, whatever the reason, because everyone is precious in God's sight. But we do these things because of the faith that we have in Christ Jesus, out of obedience both to His wishes and the wishes of our Father, God.

Many people in the world are bound by it's temptations and attractions. Speaking to people about the things they consider to be important often results in some pretty selfish answers. Bigger houses, better holidays, winning the lottery, more luxurious cars, and so on! Surely the top of our list should be freedom, though freedom means different things to different people. To some simply means the freedom that can be expressed through personal choice, to others the freedom to go where they want when they want. If you were locked up then I'm quite sure that the latter would fit your own wants! Note that I say "if you were locked up", but so many people are locked up in the goal that sin provides for them. Yet everyone has access to the key to freedom within their grasp, for ... it was for freedom that Christ set us free ...(Galatians 5:1). When Jesus gave His life upon the cross He did it for everyone, so that by believing on Him they might be freed from the yoke and burden of sin. More than that, we are freed from the Law, for once we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour then our lives will be led by the Holy Spirit who is given to us as Comforter and Guide, so that we might follow the Way in all things. If you are ... led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. (Galatians 5:18). The Law was given by God through Moses so that people might have a godly direction to guide their lifestyle, but once we have accepted Christ then we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and we should walk by the Spirit, and take notice of the Spirit's guidance in all that we do and say. And if we are truly led by the Holy Spirit then we will no longer carry out the desires of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16), and we will no longer need to be under the Law. The prompting of the Spirit in our lives and our obedience, recognising it as the Will of God, will be all that we need. This is real freedom!

Look through any newspaper and you will see report after report detailing offences committed by people who follow their fleshly desires. We find the horror of child abuse, murder, rape and immorality of all kinds, reported so often that it has become commonplace, only the more bizarre cases warranting headlines. The really frightening thing is perhaps the very ordinariness of the perpetrators of so many of these crimes. Looking at Galatians 5: 19-21 we see such a variety of sin that it's easy to see just why people get deeper and deeper into it, one thing often leading to another. Scripture is quite clear, that those who practice sin will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Quite bluntly, it means that people bound by the flesh, no matter how many `good works' they may appear to do, will not go to heaven when they die. It's strange how even the most ardent non-believer will talk quite glibly about people having `gone to a better place' when they've been bereaved, speaking of someone who spent much of their lives in a drunken stupor or immoral behaviour. All these people have remained locked up by their commitment to the flesh, remaining under the Law, and yet constantly and deliberately turning their backs on it. How can they expect to find themselves with their passage booked to Heaven! What they can expect, however, is to face the Day of Judgment on their own, with no one to speak up for them except themselves. What an unbearable and awful thought that must be!

By contrast, living a Spirit-led life and getting to know God in an intimate and glorious way through Christ's grace, must be a most wonderful thing. To know with the utmost surety, because of the certainty of our faith in His Saving Grace, that we will have Christ as mediator to intercede for us on that Day of Judgement. How wonderful that will be!

Look at the benefits of a life lived through the Spirit's leading. We see from Scripture that `the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control...' (Gal. 5: 22-23). Once we surrender ourselves to Jesus then we walk with Him, led by the Holy Spirit. No longer are we left to find our own way through life with all it's pitfalls and snares. Instead of fearing death we can look beyond it in glorious hope, knowing that death itself has been conquered. The glory of a hope that will never fade, will never diminish, that is the hope that we have in Christ Jesus! This is true freedom!

When we are experiencing the joys of the fruits of the Spirit then we'll have no need to boast of our cleverness or our prowess in this or that. As Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians, if we must boast then let us boast in the Lord.

Let us understand the freedom that Christ has given to us, the freedom that frees us from the world, the freedom that leads us on a direct path to our Heavenly Father. Once we can understand it, once we can appreciate it, once we can embrace it, then we shall surely shout out loudly: Yes, this is freedom indeed!

To God be all glory, honour and praise! Amen.

Poem for Today

Pirate Taxi

.

Cars and vans

filled beyond capacity

with passengers,

who hunch themselves

in dark interiors,

only the white

teeth and laughing eyes

peering from within.

Twenty cents, five k’s

each way, six days!

Occasionally stopped by

uniformed rank,

driver and passengers

spilling out onto

the grass verges.

The driver grins and

lays the claim that,

“All are my relations!”

Twenty cents, five k’s

each way, six days!

Soon a short appearance

a Court appearance

a disproportionate fine,

perhaps a scribbled line

in tomorrow’s Herald,

so much free advertising.

Back today in business

of transporting the smiling teeth.

Twenty cents, five k’s

each way, six days!

© 1978 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh

God is to Share!

Hymn for today . . .

Trusting You, Lord 669 D and refrain

TUNE: Trusting You
As I live every day
I will follow the Way,
Hand in hand I will go with You Lord.
In Your steps I will walk,
With Your words I will talk,
Trusting You, taking You at Your word.
Keep my heart, keep my soul,
You’ve set me free, made me whole.
Hold me close, O my Lord, take my hand.
Keep my heart, keep my soul,
You’ve set me free, made me whole.
Hold me close Lord, for You understand.

Help me serve as I go,
Teach me all I should know,
Hand in hand I will go with You Lord;
In Your steps I will walk,
With Your words I will talk,
Trusting You, taking You at Your word.
Keep my heart, keep my soul . . .

I will face every task,
Doing all that You ask,
Hand in hand I will go with You Lord;
In Your steps I will walk,
With Your words I will talk,
Trusting You, taking You at Your word.
Keep my heart, keep my soul, . . .
© 2006 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh

Poem for Today

Cats

.

Looking across the room

I see, like Prima Donnas,

a variety of cats,

relaxed,

alert,

sleeping,

purring,

overhanging chairs,

regally reclining

on cushioned tables.

Cats washing cats

who are busy

washing cats.

Singularly beautiful,

almost decadent in their

resplendent individuality,

their eyes squeezed tight

in ecstatic slumber.

© 1978 Colin Gordon-Farleigh

Joanne Lowe's Meditations

MY FAVOURITE VERSE

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

John 3:16 (King James Version)

This is my favorite verse in the Bible because real love started with the unconditional love of our Heavenly Father for us. It is because God loves us so much that He opened His heart of compassion and mercy and sent His only begotten Son into the world to die for our sins.

It is because Jesus loves us so much that He willingly walked that long lonely road to Calvary, there to be tortured and die for us. There is no love like the love that God and Jesus have for us. No one loves us like they love us, not even our families.

Someone asked me why I write about the love of our Heavenly Father and Jesus so often. It is because love, unconditional love, is the answer to all of our problems. Unconditional love started in the heart of God and was brought into the world by our precious Saviour.

We can’t change the hearts of our family and friends but Jesus can change them. We just need to get out of the way and let Him work in their hearts. There are times that we try to change them and that interferes with Jesus working in their hearts. We can trust Jesus to change their hearts.

Don’t keep trying to change the hearts of your family and friends. Allow Jesus to soften and change their hearts just as He softened and changed your heart. Jesus, thank You so much for loving us and for dying for us. You are worthy, precious Saviour! All hail, King Jesus!

Joanne Lowe

joannelowe8@cox.net

www.joanne-ourprecioussaviour.blogspot.com

Inspirational Meditation

1 Corinthians 13 (NIV)

1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,

10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Hymn for today . . .

Rejoice 86 86.

Forever in Your rest, I pray,
Your peace is all to me:
Forever in Your rest I’ll stay,
Since You have set me free.

My life is all I have to give,
All else is naught to Thee:
My Saviour, take me as I am,
Then Yours I’ll ever be.

Forever raise in songs of praise,
My hands, my heart and voice:
Forever Yours, I’ll praise You,
Rejoice, my soul, rejoice!
© 2006 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh

My Hymns & Meditations can be downloaded

Many of my Meditations and Worship Songs have been recorded, and as well as being available from the Sheer joy Music on-line shop via this link, they are also available from CD Baby, iTunes and Amazon, plus several other popular sites where you can download music.

'One Starlit Night' is the follow-up CD to the popular 'In Praise of Him', and features several seasonal tracks. All are set against a musical background, as the first CD was.

If you enjoy the beautiful sound of Russian Choral singing then you will surely enjoy this CD featuring the quartet of Russian singers known as LYRA, who perform under the musical directorship of Andrei Sysoev. This CD of my worship songs, sung in Russian, was released in 2008, and has proved to be very popular. To find them on CD Baby click here.

Recorded in Tallahassee and released in February this year, the rich voice of Charlotte Kerce singing this collection of Worship Songs is a great addition to your CD library. This CD, 'He's Always With Me' which is also the title of a beautiful song of affirmation, features the hit song 'Candle in the Window', with music by Warren Halstrom who also produced the tracks for Sheer Joy Music. To find this CD on CD Baby click here.

'There is Joy' features the beautiful choral sound of Cantoris, a chamber choir ensemble based in Cheshire, UK, under the Musical Directorship of Ken Fayle. This very popular CD is now available from all major digital download sites. To listen to samples of the songs and purchase from CD Baby click here.

Back in September 2007, I was invited to Tabernacle Chapel, Arddleen, Mid-Wales, for an evening to celebrate my contribution to hymn-writing. The result is gathered together on this CD, and features 12 of my Worship Songs sung by the 'Come & Sing' group at that Chapel. To download and enjoy the tracks for yourself from CD Baby, click here.

Hymn for today . . .

Glorious Kingdom 76 76
TUNE: St Alphege
I long to see the Kingdom,
Lit by the grace of God;
I long to walk in footsteps
Where heaven’s saints have trod.

I long to sing God’s praises,
To join the heav’nly throng,
Sing Glory! Alleluia!
Praise with angelic song.

As with my voice I praise Him,
Gaze at His glorious face,
In wonder, praise His glory,
I’m blessed by heaven’s grace.

© 2006 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh

Purr-fect resting place!

Poem for Today

Special Day
Written for the wedding of my secretary
and friend, Chido Chingwenza
.
Now today
we’re asking you
to be with us,
sharing
this moment
of special
caring.
Hoping you
will join us
dreaming
our very
special dreams
of love.

How much we care
to share these
precious moments
with you.

Moments when time
stands still awhile,
when we quietly
say ‘I do’,
declaring our love
before God,
before you,
to each other,
for always.
© 1978 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh

Inspirational Pictures for you ...

Here are a few images from the Voiceart files to inspire you. Check out Voiceart on the Voice Publications website by following this link and finding lots of images to download for use in your church bulletins or as posters for your notice board. (They are FREE to download.)

In Praise of Him: Book and CD of Meditations

If you are one of the many people who enjoy singing my hymns, then I'm sure that you would like my book of meditations, In Praise of Him, which is also available on CD, and now includes King of Kings as a bonus track. The book is available from Voice Publications at just UK£3.95 by following this link where you will also find other books in the same series.

The CD, which has 34 tracks, is priced at UK£8.75, and can be found at the Sheer Joy Music on-line shop by following this link. There are many other CDs by a variety of singers who have recorded my songs. Why not take a look for yourself today!

Hymn for today . . .

Praise the Lord! 87 87
TUNE: Sussex

Hallelujah! Let us praise Him!
Singing loud our hymns of praise,
Hallelujah! Praising Jesus,
Hands and voices to Him raise!

He has come to bring salvation
To the needy and the lost;
He has come to give the water
That brings life yet has no cost.

He brings light into the darkness,
Shining down from heav’n above;
He brings freedom to the sinner,
Comes proclaiming ‘God is love!’

Hallelujah! Let us praise Him!
Serving Him in every task.
Hallelujah! Praising Jesus!
Doing all that He may ask.
© 2010 Colin Gordon-Farleigh

Grace Bawden new release: 'If Only I Had Wings'

Yesterday, Sheer Joy Music released a digital download of Grace Bawden's new single, If Only I Had Wings. You can find it by going to CD Baby via this link. With your help we can make this a smash hit for Grace, whose amazing talent is being widely recognised across the globe. One of the six finalists in Australia's Got Talent 2008, aged just fifteen, Grace has gone on to prove her talent to a much wider audience, soon to be increased by her launch into Europe via Robin Hood Records of Italy.

I'll be meeting up with Grace and her mum in about ten days time, here in the UK, and am really looking forward to it. I hope that she will choose more of my songs to record in the future! This single was produced by Australian musical whiz, Darren Mullan of Wrapit Records in Adelaide. He is such a talented guy.

Well, the expression is that 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating' so why not follow the link and taste it for yourself.

Joanne Lowe's Meditations

ARE YOU READY TO GO

“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:”

1 John 2:1 (King James Version)

For those of us who have been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus, we are saved for all eternity. However, there are times when our hearts are not right before God. We criticize people and judge them and even say sarcastic things to them. These things stink in the nostrils of God.

Pastor Elisha Allbright Hoffman wrote one of my favorite songs “Is Thy Heart Right with God”. Can you say yes to the questions in this song? “Have thy affections been nailed to the cross? Is thy heart right with God? Dost thou count all things for Jesus but loss? Is thy heart right with God?”

It is very important that we keep our hearts in right standing with God. Not only because we don’t know when Jesus is coming back for us but also because it hurts God when we say cruel words and do cruel things to our families, to our loved ones and to our friends. Are you ready to go if Jesus comes back today?

Heavenly Father, please forgive us for criticizing people and for judging them. I pray, dear Father, that every word that comes from my mouth would be an encouragement to my family, to my loved ones and to my friends. Thank You for sending Jesus to be our Saviour so we may live with You in Heaven. Amen.

Joanne Lowe

joannelowe8@cox.net

www.joanne-ourprecioussaviour.blogspot.com

Hymn for today . . .

Every Need 7676 D
TUNE: Thornbury
.
Every need I have, Lord,
Each prayer that You fulfil,
I know it has been granted
By Your great love and will,
I need You, O Lord Jesus,
Each night and ev’ry day,
To guide me and to keep me,
Upon the narrow way.

As I walk on the pathway
Of my life’s narrow road,
Lord Jesus, by Your promise,
Help me to bear my load.
I need You, O Lord Jesus,
Each night and ev’ry day,
To guide me and to keep me,
Upon the narrow way.

O, my Lord, and Saviour,
Sent by God’s love and grace,
May I forever serve You,
My sight fixed on Your face.
I need You, O Lord Jesus,
Each night and ev’ry day,
To guide me and to keep me,
Upon the narrow way.
© 2010 Colin Gordon-Farleigh

Hymn for today . . .

Two versions of my hymn titled My Prayer, the first, with a refrain, is sung to the well-known tune "Jesus Loves Me" and the second, with slightly different words, is sung to the tune "Lübeck" Enjoy singing them both!

Firstly, the words to the tune "Jesus Loves Me":

My Prayer (With refrain) 7777
Tune: Jesus loves me
.
Father, hear me as I pray,
Jesus take my sins away;
Help me pass the darkest night,
Praise His glory in the Light.
Keep me, my Saviour,
Yes, keep me my Lord;
Keep me forever,
As promised in Your Word!

Though in sin I bow in shame,
Help me call upon His name;
Teach me how I should forgive,
As each day in Christ I live.
Keep me, my Saviour, . . .

Seeking always as I walk
Christ the Truth, the Life, the Way;
Serving Jesus in this world,
Praise Him always every day.
Keep me, my Saviour . . .

Helping others in His name,
Find salvation through the Son;
Till we stand in heaven’s light
Praising Him for battles won!
Keep me, my Saviour . . .
© 2007 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh

My Prayer 7777
TUNE: Lübeck

Father, hear me as I pray,
Jesus take my sins away;
Help me pass the darkest night,
Praise His glory in the Light.

Though in sin I bow in shame,
Help me call upon His name;
Help me learn how to forgive,
Each day teach me how to live.

Help me always as I walk
Live the life and talk the talk;
Know the Truth, the Life, the Way,
Serving Jesus ev’ry day.

Helping others in His name,
Till we stand in heaven’s light;
Find salvation through the Son,
Praise Him for the battle won!
© 2006: Colin Gordon-Farleigh