Hope

"These two things cannot change: God cannot lie when He says something, 

and He cannot lie when He makes an oath.

So these two things are a great help to us who have come to God for safety. 

They encourage us to hold on to the hope that is ours. 

This hope is like an anchor for us. It is strong and sure and keeps us safe." 

~Hebrews 6:18-19

Hope

Lord, I pray for hope,

Though love's the greatest gift,

May You send me hope, oh Lord,

For love cannot come in

Without its sister hope,

Nor its sister faith,

Send me both, Lord Jesus, 

So that I might face

The battles on my journey,

With courage and Thy grace,

And may You send me love, Oh Lord,

To drown my fears with faith. 

The way of life is narrow,

And none can sojourn there

Without the gifts of faith and love

And plenty of hope to share.

For none can hoard their hope,

Nor their love or faith,

They only grow once they are shared

And given all away.

They only grow in narrow paths,

Or dark and howling storms~

Hope and Faith will always come

When we cling to You, Lord.

Lord, I pray for hope,

To trust You on my path,

For Faith and Love to follow;

Oh hold me in Thy hand.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Unto the Least of These, Prayer Poem~"Hope" © 2014 S.D. Harden All Rights Reserved. Photo:Google

God Will Bless

 "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, 

because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." ~1 John 4:4

 "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. 

And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith." ~1John 4:18-19

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear...

We love Him because He first loved us." 1 John 5:4

Thank You Lord...

Lord, Thank You that You're in control;

Help me trust You with my soul.

Help me give You all my fears

So You can wipe away my tears;

And trust You'll give me victory

And faith enough for every need.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Unto The Least of These, Prayer Poem © 2014 S.D. Harden /Photo Source: Google

Don't Be Afraid

Deuteronomy 31:8 

The Lord will lead you. He himself is with you. 

He will not fail you or leave you. Don’t worry. Don’t be afraid!” 

Prayer

Lord Jesus, hold me close today

At home, at work, in all my ways;

Lord, hold me close in all I do,

Lord Jesus hold me close to You. 

In Jesus' name, Amen

Unto The Least of These, Prayer Poem, © 2014 S.D.Harden, Photo Illustration Source: Internet

Christ Is Praying For You

Hebrews 7:25 

"Therefore Christ is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."

Romans 8:34 

"Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, 

who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us."

Thank You, Lord, For Praying...

Thank You, Christ, my Savior,

Though none may know my name,

You are up in Heaven, Lord,

And there for me You pray.

You know all of my needs,

You're with me everywhere,

You love me more than I could know

And for me deeply care.

And every night and day

You're praying for my needs,

You know them all, yes every one,

Not one can hide from Thee.

And when I sometimes fall

You come and help me stand;

You don't condemn, you just forgive

And wash me clean again.

Oh Jesus, this I know,

Though none might for me pray 

You are praying for me, Lord,

Yes, every night and day.

And I will thank You, Lord,

For You know all my cares,

And You are ever in control,

Who prays and hears our prayers.

In Jesus' Name, Amen. 

Prayer Poem

© S.D.Harden 2014 All Rights Reserved.

Unto The Least of These © 2014 S. D. Harden "Thank You Lord"~ Prayer Poem by S.D. Harden © 2014 All rights Reserved. Scripture Quotations: NKJV Bible/ 

God Will Meet Your Need

Psalm 104:24, 27-34 

O Lord, how manifold are Your works!

In wisdom You have made them all.

The earth is full of Your possessions— 

These all wait for You,

That You may give them their food in due season. 

What You give them they gather in; 

You open Your hand, they are filled with good. 

You hide Your face, they are troubled;

You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. 

You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; 

And You renew the face of the earth. 

May the glory of the Lord endure forever; 

May the Lord rejoice in His works...

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; 

I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. 

May my meditation be sweet to Him;

I will be glad in the Lord. 

Prayer: 

I wait on The Lord,

My soul, it waits,

And in my Lord I hope;

Thank You, Lord,

You hear my prayers;

You'll meet my needs,

I know.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Unto The Least Of These, Prayer Poem, © 2014 S.D. Harden, 

Scripture Quotation: NKJV Bible © 1982 Thomas Nelson Inc.; 

Photo Illustration Source/ Google

The Lost Sheep

 “If a man has 100 sheep, but one of the sheep is lost, what will he do? 

He will leave the other 99 sheep on the hill and go look for the lost sheep...

And if he finds the lost sheep, he is happier about that one sheep than about the 99 sheep that were never lost. I can assure you, in the same way your Father in heaven does not want any of these little children to be lost." ~Matthew 18:12-14 (ERV)

THE LOST SHEEP

I sketched the illustration above last night as I meditated on Jesus' parable of the lost sheep. The Bible compares us all to lost sheep that have gone astray and says that is why Christ had to die for our sins. 

Isaiah 53:6 "We had all wandered away like sheep. We had gone our own way. And yet the Lord put all our guilt on him."

In Christ's parable a wayward sheep cuts loose from the fold leaving his 99 fellow sheep behind while he goes out wandering among the dangerous mountains. The Good Shepherd discovers him missing and spares nothing to go and find his lost sheep. He will even risk his own life. Each one of his sheep are very valuable to him. 

Jesus said in the preceding verse "Don't think these children (His own precious lambs) are not important. I tell you that these children have angels in heaven. And those angels are always with my Father in heaven. ~Matthew 18:10

God cherishes each one of us so much that He sent His only Son to die for our sins that we might be saved.

Just like the the little lost lamb in my sketch will surely perish unless the Shepherd rescues it, we will all surely perish unless Christ rescues us from the dangerous place we are in spiritually. We have no hope apart from Him.

Jesus took the punishment we deserved for our sins by suffering and dying for us on the cross. God the Father then raised Him from the dead and and gave all who would believe in Christ as their Savior Christ's perfect righteousness~for He never sinned.

  

God puts His Holy Spirit into new believers to mark them as His very own children and He writes their name in His Lamb's Book of Life. All who's names are recorded there will live forever with God the Father and Jesus their Savior in Heaven for eternity.

Dear Heavenly Father, on this Valentine's Day I pray that You will fill each soul reading this message with a deep awareness of Your immeasurable love for them. May You draw each one closer to Your heart. May they know that they are not insignificant, but are cherished and valued beyond anything they could comprehend.

May they know that there lives are a precious blessing to You and that You have a beautiful purpose planned for them. In Jesus' name. Thank You, Lord. I love You, Amen.

Unto the Least of These, © 2014 Suzanne Davis Harden All Rights Reserved.

Illustration: "The Lost Lamb"~Pen & Ink Sketch by Suzanne Davis Harden~then photographed in Instagram

My sketchbook with the sketch of the Lost Lamb and my favorite multicolored pen.

The Importance of God's Word

"Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, 

bless his holy name." ~Psalm 103:1

Bless The Lord

Oh my soul, thank the Lord

For all He gives to me;

He forgives all of my sins

And heals all my disease.

Thank you Lord, 

I'll praise you Lord, 

For all eternity!

Thank you, Lord, you crown my soul

With love and You redeemed

My life with Jesus' precious blood;

You saved and set me free.

Oh thank You, Lord, for loving me

Oh bless the Lord, my soul!

You gave to me eternal life,

I'll praise You evermore!

Bless The Lord

© 2014 Prayer Song S.D. Harden All Rights Reserved. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF GOD'S WORD

The prayer song "Bless The Lord" was inspired by Psalm 103, a psalm that King David wrote.

It's one of my favorite Psalms. Some of my favorite verses from this psalm are beautiful promises from God that have been etched in the minds of believers for thousands of years~ ever since David first penned the words:

Psalm 103:11-12, 17 (ERV)

 "God's love for His followers is as high above us as heaven is above the earth. 

And He has taken our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west." 

"But the Lord has always loved His followers, and He will continue to love them forever and ever! He will be good to all their descendants..."  

These words comfort and encourage me at all times. God asks us to learn the promises in His word and then to hide them in our heart like precious jewels that we would want to protect from thieves. Because there is a thief, Jesus told His followers, whose sole mission is to "steal, kill, and destroy..." (John 10:10) And his target is God's precious children. 

Jesus said that the devil is "a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44)  Deciet is the main weapon he uses for stealing God's precious promises from His people. He was successful with our first parents in the Garden of Eden by directly challenging God's word to Adam and Eve. The serpent said to them, "Yea, hath God said?" (Genesis 3:1) Then he lied about God by twisting His word. ( Genesis 3:4-6) He succeeded in stealing Paradise from them through his power of deceit. 

God's word says: "My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge." ~ Hosea 4:6

Jesus told a parable about a sower who sowed some seed. He said the seed was the word of God. He said the seed will only produce fruit depending upon where it lands. 

In Matthew 13:19 Jesus said, "The seed that fell by the path...is like the people who hear the teaching about God’s kingdom but do not understand it. The Evil One comes and takes away what was planted in their hearts." 

It is very important that we regularly study and meditate on God's word. "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)

If we don't hide God's word in our hearts, when trouble comes our way, or any time of suffering or trial, it will be very difficult to maintain our faith or gain any understanding or insight into our experience. We will also become easy targets for false teachings. (Deceptions)

We can never know God's truth unless we study it for ourselves. Jesus gave us this beautiful promise: "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth." (John 16:13) 

As we hide God's word in our hearts our faith will grow. We will grow closer to our Lord Jesus. We will become stronger spiritually. Then, no matter how dark the night, no matter how fierce the storm, we will be able to sing with David who suffered many severe trials, "Bless The Lord, oh my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name..."

Thank You Heavenly Father, for Your measureless love towards us. We would not know You apart from Your word or apart from Your Holy Son Jesus Christ, the living Word of God. Thank You for filling us with Your Holy Spirit who teaches us how to understand Your word and helps us obey You. We love You! In Jesus' name, Amen.

"The Importance of God's Word" © 2014 S.D. Harden "Bless The Lord" Prayer Song © 2014 S.D. Harden All Rights Reserved. Unto The Least of These © 2014

Christ My Shepherd

The Lord is my shepherd;

I have all that I need. (Psalm 23:1 NLT)

CHRIST, MY SHEPHERD

Psalm 23 begins, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I have all that I need."

Jesus said in John 10:11 "I am the Good Shepherd."  

In Christ God's word abounds with assurances that all our needs are met for He is and has everything we could ever want.  He told His disciples. "The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life." (John 10:10)

"In Christ, God has given us every spiritual blessing in heaven."

(Ephesians 1:3)

In Christ I have access to all wisdom and insight through His Holy Spirit dwelling within me!

"In Christ lie hidden all the mighty, untapped treasures of wisdom and knowledge." (Colossians 2:3)

In Christ we have a Mighty Savior. He said,

"I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved. They will be able to come in and go out. They will find everything they need." (John 10:9)

My Good Shepherd has led me out of the bad pastures and transferred me into His Kingdom of light where there are abundant good pastures. My Savior knows how to set me free from all the things that held me captive in the old pastures; He provides everything I need for deliverance, healing, success, and blessing!

"God has rescued us from the power of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of His Son, whom He loves. His Son paid the price to free us, which means that our sins are forgiven." (Colossians 1:13-14)

In Christ we have a Savior who's voice we can hear and who will never leave or forsake us~One who will not let anything or anyone snatch us out of His Almighty grip. 

"My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 

I give my sheep eternal life. They will never die, and no one can take them out of my hand. My Father is the one who gave them to me, and He is greater than all. No one can steal my sheep out of His hand. The Father and I are one.” (John 10:27-30)

Here is a profound promise to Christ's sheep:

“Who has known the mind of the Lord so that he can teach Him?”However, we have the mind of Christ." (1 Corinthians 2:16)

How can we possibly have the mind of Christ? Through His indwelling Holy Spirit. Our Good Shepherd wants us to listen to His voice every day and walk in the way His Spirit leads us. 

  "Certainly, all who are guided by God’s Spirit are God’s children." (Romans 8:14)

"You haven’t received the spirit of slaves that leads you into fear again. Instead, you have received the spirit of God’s adopted children by which we call out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children."(Romans 8:15-16)

As we worship the Lord, pray and study God's word each day, we will get to know our Good Shepherd better. He's a wonderful Friend~one who "sticks closer than a brother."

But what about our material needs? Will The Lord provide for those as well as our spiritual needs?  Our Good Shepherd will provide for every need His sheep has, physical, emotional, material, spiritual...whatever the need. The bible says, "God has made you complete in Christ." (Colossians 2:10) in other words, Jesus satisfies our EVERY need and He knows just what they are.

He will always provide for us. He once said to His disciples,

“So I tell you to stop worrying about what you will eat, drink, or wear. 

Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes? 

Everyone is concerned about these things, and your heavenly Father certainly knows you need all of them. 

But first, be concerned about his kingdom and what has his approval. 

Then all these things will be provided for you. 

“So don’t ever worry about tomorrow. After all, tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

 (Matthew 6:25, 32-34)

King David, who wrote Psalm 23, also wrote these comforting words to assure us of God's faithfulness:

"Through my whole life young and old,

I have never witnessed God forsaking those who do right, 

nor have I seen their children begging for crumbs, 

Because they are always giving and sharing;

truly, their children are a joyful blessing." (Psalm 37:25-26 The Voice)

In Christ, we have so much to be thankful for! 

Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Son to bear our sins to redeem our souls that we might have eternal fellowship with You. Thank You for our Good Shepherd who knows and meets our every need. I love You! In Jesus' name. Amen.

Christ, My Shepherd, © 2014 S.D. Harden, Unto The Least Of These, Illustration Source/Internet 

God Will Take Care Of You

God Will Take Care Of You

"If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 

If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. 

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to You; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with You."~ Psalm 139:8-12

Wherever we are on our journey, God is there with us. He knows our every need. He who measures the sand on the shore and calls all the stars by name, knows where I am at every moment and the words I am going to speak before I even open my mouth! (Psalm 139:4) 

Even in difficult times God's word assures us that He will provide for His children:

"Once I was young, and now I am old.Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread." (Psalm 37:25)

God's love for each of us is measureless. He demonstrated His amazing love by sending His Son Jesus Christ to suffer and die on the cross for our sins so that we might know Him and gain eternal life. He loves us as a Father loves His little ones:

"God's love for His followers is as high above us as heaven is above the earth. 

And He has taken our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west. 

The Lord is as kind to His followers as a father is to his children." ~ Psalm 103:11-14

God will take care of us. We may not have all we want in this life, but God will always provide everything His children need. He will never fail or forsake us in any moment of our life. 

Jesus said, "Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” ~ Matthew 28:20

"Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him! 

Fear the Lord, you His godly people, for those who fear Him will have all they need." 

~ Psalm 34:8-9

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your faithfulness to always provide for us. You have never let a single one of Your children down and You never will. When we are tempted to worry, help us to recall all the times when You have been faithful and have come through for us. May we ever praise You! In Jesus' name. Amen.

"God Will Take Care Of You" ©2014 S.D. Harden Unto The Least of These/Photo Illustration Source/Pinterest