Sunday's Hymn: The King of Love My Shepherd Is

The King of Love my Shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am his
And he is mine for ever.

Where streams of living water flow
My ransomed soul he leadeth,
And, where the verdant pastures grow,
With food celestial feedeth.

Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
But yet in love he sought me,
And on his shoulder gently laid,
And home, rejoicing, brought me.

In death’s dark vale I fear no ill
With thee, dear Lord, beside me;
Thy rod and staff my comfort still,
Thy cross before to guide me.

Thou spread’st a table in my sight;
Thine unction grace bestoweth;
And O what transport of delight
From thy pure chalice floweth.

And so through all the length of days
Thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing thy praise
Within thy house for ever.

—Henry W. Baker

There are two commonly used tunes for this hymn.

St. Columba

Dominus Regit Me

Other hymns, worship songs, prayers, sermons excerpts, or quotes posted today:

• Blest Be the Tie That Binds at Graces Daily
• Be Thou My Vision at Theology for Girls
• Jesus Is the Answer at The Happy Wonderer
• Walking With God at The Upward Call
• I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say at Triablogue
• May I Be Rich in the Riches of Your Word from Trevin Wax
• Your weekly dose of Spurgeon: Our Heavenly heritage at Pyromaniacs
• The Redeemer’s Intercession at Tried With Fire

Have you posted a hymn (or sermon, sermon notes, prayer, etc.) today and I missed it? Let me know by leaving a link in the comments or by contacting me using the contact form linked above, and I’ll add your post to the list.

Adopted by God

It’s my turn to post at Out of the Ordinary. I’ve written on the believer’s adoption, adding one more to my list of truths every Christian woman should know.

When you believed the gospel, you were adopted by God. He became your father and you became his child. Before you believed, you were estranged from God, but with adoption, you come into a loving father/child relationship with him. J. I. Packer explains that our “adopted status means that in and through Christ God loves [us] as he loves his only begotten Son and will share with [us] all the glory that is Christ’s now.”

Adoption is one of the saving benefits that comes to us through Christ’s work. The believer’s sins have been forgiven and they have been given right standing with God, so they can be adopted by him. Or to think of it another way, believers have been united with Christ, and the relationship they have with God the Father is in many ways similar to his. He is the unique Son of God, but those united to him, as his siblings, are also God’s sons and daughters—sons and daughters by adoption. 

Read the rest.

Here are the previous posts in this series: 

1. God Has Spoken (posted at the True Woman Blog) 
2. God Is Three and God Is One
3. God Is Who He Is
4. God Had a Plan
5. God Created the Universe
6. We Are Made in God’s Image
7. We Are All Sinners
8. God Saves
9. The Son Came
10. Jesus Lived and Died
11. Jesus Is Risen
12. Jesus Is Lord
13. We Must Believe
14. Believers Have New Life

Thankful Thursday

Today I’m thankful for

• a few dreaded tasks finished—and they weren’t so bad after all. 
• warmer winter weather. We had a cold spell that ended today and the forecast for next week okay. Anytime Yukon January weather looks decent, it’s something to be thankful for. 
• for the busyness that keeps the cold, dark days flying by. And while I’m at it, I’m thankful that one week of January 2015 is crossed off the calendar. One week down, three and a bit to go.
• smelly candles and an African violet in bloom, two things to brighten the darkness of the winter days.
• God’s daily faithfulness (Where would I be without it?) and God’s rule in world history (Where would we be without it?)
• adoption into God’s family. 

Also thankful today:

• Kim Shay
• Persis

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment with your thanksgiving, post your thanksgiving on your blog, or tweet it. Give me the link by email or in a comment and I’ll add your thanksgiving to the list in the post.