The Seasons, and provision

~ rhiannonshymns ~ Leave a comment

Through the winter’s cold and snows,
trees are leafless, nothing grows,
– God has promised he will bring,
welcome warmth, return of spring!
DOWN come the showers,
UP come the flowers,
peas, fruit, potatoes,            
and crops the farmer grows!

Times of famine, time to share
all God gives, if we can spare,
we can help those who need more,
if we’ve plenty in our store.

Now it’s autumn, and we’re glad
for the harvest we have had,
crops, potatoes, wheat have grown,
– thank the Lord for kindness shown.
Tune: Jesus loves me

alternative ending for chorus:
OUT soon, the ploughers!
give thanks for all the food!

or,  if revert to last 2 lines of verse tune
peas, tomatoes, apples, wheat,
– so much food for us to eat!

Opportunities and Opposition

~ rhiannonshymns ~ Leave a comment

Acts 19:8-41
Great opportunities to spread the Word,
great opposition when it’s heard
by those who do not want to change,
which is so sad, and very strange,
and then they often tell such lies,
about the message they despise,
and get more angry if their purse
grows light because of righteousness,
for some want just an easy brush
with truth, a gloss that will not touch
the core, the heart, their life’s direction,
and some would like to use his name
to give them honour, skill and fame.

Trumpkin meets Aslan

~ rhiannonshymns ~ Leave a comment

(based on a passage from Prince Caspian)
With hint of roar, ‘Now, where’s that one
who has so firmly said,
he hasn’t seen, does not believe
in lions – I must be dead!’

Devoid of speech, with trembling knees,
attracted, yet with fear,
he thought to flee, but tumbled on,
– he had to hope, come near.

The Lion pounced, with tender hold,
he tossed him in the air,
and deftly caught and put him down, –
‘now, would you really care

to be my friend, and I be yours?’
and Trumpkin gulped, and stuttered
acceptance, he had found a King
whose love could not be bettered.

Running away

~ rhiannonshymns ~ Leave a comment

They run away and shake a fist.
They do not want him to exist.
[not understanding him aright,
– deficiency of knowledge, sight.]

But when they see him come, one day,
they’ll realise they can’t run away,
or hide, and wish they had come near
before, repentantly, for grace
and welcome, when they need not fear,
only submit, and listen, learn,
so that with joy they’d see his face.

Psalm 9: 1,2

~ rhiannonshymns ~ Leave a comment

Wholehearted praise,
through all my days;
look on his ways,
reflective gaze:

his great creation,
and preservation,
gracious salvation,
regeneration.

We taste each day
help as we pray,
by grace we stay,
and want his way;

his love has taught,
our life he’s bought,
and so we sought,
our love he caught.

I need not fear
when you are near,
from guilt I’m clear,
in Christ, I’m dear;

and so rejoice
in heart and voice,
pardoned and glad,
cannot be sad.

Now songs will swell,
from hearts so full,
his church will tell,
and praise full well.

Building Philosophical houses of cards

~ rhiannonshymns ~ Leave a comment

In days of yore they trimmed their wood,
creating idols that looked good,
but nowadays we realise
a lifeless doll no help supplies.
Instead we sift ideas, build
a house on sand, with bubbles filled,
which cannot last, or satisfy
not now, nor soon, nor when we die.

An edifice may stand awhile,
but soon will be a rocky pile,
if not on lasting pillars founded:
false notions disappoint, confounded.

The truth that claims it will not fail,
must not give transient appeal;
and never crumble, bear all stress,
worthy of trust, not just a guess.

For human words are all so fallible,
but words from God are wholly credible.

But some are angry, and can’t see
why if he’s God, he won’t decree
at once the things they feel he should,
that seem to them so very good;
they do not feel that he can be
a help to those in agony,
nor see the need for this delay
before all evil’s swept away,
and we all meet him on his day.

Their choosing to believe, or not,
won’t change the facts if true, a jot
Will they just toss it in the waste,
without investigative taste?

The Limitations of Science to study the past

~ rhiannonshymns ~ Leave a comment

Science is investigation
of recorded information,
experimenting, testing theories,
giving thought to awkward queries,
and alternative suggestions,
never jumping to conclusions.

When considering the past,
science has got limitations,
looks for traces that remain,
tries to think what they may mean. –

Many fossils show death-agony,
speaking of a great catastrophe,
which makes calculations harder
for we must admit, with wonder,
age-assessment needs more knowledge,
since the modes of rock formation,
and the rates of degradation
of the chemicals we measure,
may have varied in such epochs;
also content of the rocks
when first formed, cannot be known;

– tree-trunk-fossils crossing strata
show how quickly rocky matter
was laid down around to bury them;

in some ‘fossils’ they are finding
protein, tissue still surviving,
bone unfossilised – impossible
if they’d lain there for a multiple
of millions and millions of years.

What framework for interpretation
fits this new accumulation
of unearthed facts, – Darwin’s suggestion,
or the Creator’s revelation? –
the former brings no obligation,
the latter duty and salvation.

How many molecular switches in your brain?

~ rhiannonshymns ~ Leave a comment

How many stars in the Milky Way?
How many nerve links in part of my brain?
How many switches, – well, now they can say
more than the number of computers and routers,
and internet connections all over the earth,
a thousand times more than that number of stars,
– and all so transportable, useful, compact,
– amazing, impossible, miraculous fact!
(ref: “Human brain has more switches than all computers on Earth” – news.cnet)

Today is the Day of Pentecost

~ rhiannonshymns ~ Leave a comment

With signs of power, – of wind and flame,
the promised Holy Spirit came:
Astonishment, bewilderment:
these Jews who from afar had come,
could hear these simple Galileans
now speak of wonders God had done:
in their own language, each one heard –
by miracle, – foretelling sign
that this divine redemption Word
was meant for every people, nation;
the Spirit had been sent to dwell,
equip and strengthen, bring conviction –
and many would accept salvation:

that day 3000 came to faith,
a world-wide church had come to birth.
Acts 2:1-41

‘Ascension Day’

~ rhiannonshymns ~ Leave a comment

Acts 1:1-11
Arising up and out of sight,
a cloud obscured,
angels assured
he will return as he has gone,
so go and tell and make him known,
his lordship many more will own:

for forty days he’d been supplying
abundantly full confirmation
of his astounding resurrection:
they now must wait his new empowering.