Tag Archives: jesus

The Bible Believer’s UFO Debrief!

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THE BIBLE BELIEVER’S UFO DEBRIEF: WHAT YOU CAN KNOW ABOUT UFO’S FROM THE BIBLE.

1. According to the Bible, other than mankind and the animals, God created different classes of spiritual beings the Bible calls angels, seraphim and cherubim. Among these is the leader of the spiritual kingdom of darkness the Bible calls Satan, the devil, Lucifer, the great red dragon, the prince of the power of the air. Revelation 12, Ephesians 2:2, Job 1-2, Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28 KJV.

2. The Bible says that Satan was one of the cherubim in Ezekiel 28. This is very important to remember as the cherubim are a very special class of spiritual creature.

3. U.F.O. stands for Unidentified Flying Object. The United States Government now prefers Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon or U.A.P.’s for short. So technically speaking anything can be a UFO/UAP of its flying in the air and cannot be identified. Many of these are most likely natural phenomenon, living pterodactyls and dragons, or meteorological weather equipment.

4. However, some UFO/AUP activity is of such an obvious supernatural and sinister nature that a Biblical answer must be sought aside from natural explanations.

5. While the Bible does not acknowledge physical creatures in the way that humans think of physical life thriving on planets such as Venus, Mars, Pluto, Mercury etc., the Bible DOES acknowledge that man is NOT alone in the Universe. As a matter of fact, Satan and his angels frequent God’s Third Heaven everyday. See Revelation 12 KJV. In the Tribulation, they will come down to earth and will no longer have access to the Third Heaven that sits above our “Outer space”.

6. There is MUCH in the UFO literature that cannot and should not be taken seriously by the Bible believing Christian. However, since we judge everything by the word of God- Acts 17:11, Isaiah 8:20, John 5:39 KJB- there are times where UFO material does seem to have a Biblical connection to the principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in high places-Ephesians 6.

7. A major Biblical explanation can be applied to what one reads about the “flying saucer” and “spaceship” phenomenon. Based on the Bible’s account, I believe that these vessels or flying vehicles are real actual vehicles and that we can understand something of their Satanic and Biblical nature. Cherubim, of which Satan is a part, are flying creatures that fly around in what the Bible calls wheels and rings with eyes, with wheels spinning in the middle of a wheel in Ezekiel chapters 1, 10 and 28.

The modern nomenclature of flying discs and saucers have their counterpart in the Bible’s wheels and rings. According to one UFO researcher I read years ago, these flying discs are made of a peculiar metal that seems to be alive or sentient. The Bible often speaks of things being simultaneously spiritual with the ability of being seen in the physical realm. For example, the flying locusts of Revelation 9 that come up out of the bottomless pit are obviously spiritual beings but they can also be felt physically by mankind according to what we read in that chapter. So it is with some of the UFO phenomenon. It is of a spiritual nature that manifests itself in our physical world.

Ezekiel 1:20 says “Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.” See that? Those wheels had the spirit of the living creature inside of them. This obviously can be applied to what one reads in the UFO accounts, so the Bible believer has an edge that the United States Government does not have! The Government doesn’t have to declassify anything because we already have the Book on it!

The Bible believer recognizes the nature of Satan and his angels and unlike the NSA, U.S.A.F, CIA, FBI, the X-File researchers and others, we know what the UFO occupants are about. To us, they are fully identified! The UFO deception is only effective toward those who have not placed their trust and belief and knowledge in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Man Who Came From Heaven and the Creator of the Universe! John 3:13, 1 Timothy 3:16, Ephesians 3:9 KJV.

Nate Beck

For the Lord’s Day – I Love Thee Lord / My Jesus I Love Thee

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“I Love You, Lord”

I love you, Lord
And I lift my voice
To worship You
Oh, my soul, rejoice!

Take joy my King
In what You hear
Let it be a sweet, sweet sound
In Your ear

I love you, Lord
(I love you, Lord)
And I lift my voice
(And I lift my voice)
To worship You
(To worship You)
Oh, my soul, rejoice!
(Oh, my soul)

Take joy my King
(Take joy my King)
In what You hear
(In what You hear)
Let it be a sweet, sweet sound
(Let it be a sweet sound)
In Your ear

I love you, Lord
And I lift my voice
To worship You
Oh, my soul, rejoice!

Take joy my King
In what You hear
Let it be a sweet, sweet sound
In Your ear

I love you, Lord
(I love you, Lord)
I love you, Lord
(I love you, Lord)
(And I lift my voice)

I love you, Lord
(Take joy my King)
(Take joy my King)

I love you, Lord
(I love you, Lord)
I love you, Lord
(Let it be a sweet, sweet sound)

Words and music by Laurie B. Klein

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign.
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I love Thee because Thou has first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree.
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

Words: William R. Featherstone, 1864; Featherstone was only 16 years old at the time!!!!!!

Music: Gordon Adoniram J. Gordon, 1876

My Jesus I Love Thee,

The Song and the Story

William Ralph Featherstone Writes a Legacy of Love that Becomes My Jesus I Love Thee

The lives of most people are not captured in the history books. Memories are left to the hearts and minds of family and friends, and then all too soon fade into the tapestry of times past. And so it was with William Ralph Featherstone. He was born without fanfare on July 24, 1846, in Montreal Canada, and he died in the same city, just before his 27th birthday. Little else is known of his short life except for the fact that some time during his 16th year of life William put pen to paper to record a love poem. The love he expressed was deep and true. The words of that poem have lasted more than a century beyond Featherstone’s life and death.

In 1876, three years after Featherstone’s passing, Adoniram Gordon put music to this love poem and added it to a hymnal which was published that same year. Featherstone’s poem My Jesus I Love Thee has since been recorded in most evangelical hymnals of the past 130 years, and is loved and sung by millions of Christians yet today.

Psalm 116:1

I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications.

sage

Friday Proverb – What Comes After the Church is Taken?

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rapture23

Perhaps not many view the Proverbs and Psalms as being prophetic.  After so many decades of Bible study, I see Prophecy in almost every line of the Bible.  As is understood, the Lord reveals things to us in stages.  Most often, Old Testament events and poetry, describe an actual event such as Passover – which is a picture of something far more dramatic in the future.  Such is the case with this Proverb.  At face value, it does not seem to reveal much to the casual reader – but we are here to see what it really says.

Proverbs 11:8

The righteous is delivered out of trouble,

Only those who are truly born-again of the Holy Spirit of God, will be delivered – because only the truly born-again – are considered righteous.  When we repent, and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we obtain His righteousness – which guarantees our deliverance.  None of the troubles, trials and tribulations of this present life and time, can compare to the Great Tribulation, and the judgments that will befall everyone on earth at that time.

Please do not allow the recent crop of preterists to worm their way into your faith in the deliverance promised to you by God in His Holy Book.  It is described over and over again – even in this short Proverb.  Every Word of the King James Bible is true – and you can trust it implicitly.  Read it literally, and with faith.

and the wicked cometh in his stead.

That’s right.  As soon as the church is taken up – The Wicked One will swoop in. Just as a vacuum needs to be filled – this will happen in such a way – that it will not be readily apparent to those who are not alert.  Since mankind always seeks to worship something or someone they can see, it will happen all too easily.  The Holy Spirit that is indwelling believers here on earth, will leave along with the righteous that are being delivered.  Once this happens, the only thing that was restraining the power of anti-christ will be gone!  It will happen, but, we will NOT BE HERE TO SEE IT!

2 Thessalonians 2:6-8

6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only He who now letteth will let, until He be taken out of the way.

8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming.

sage

Paul, the Rapture Fanatic!

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PAUL, THE RAPTURE FANATIC!

I find that the Apostle Paul must’ve been as obsessed with the Rapture as much as I am. Why?

Well, let’s see……

Here are 33 different passages from just Paul himself, not even counting those of Peter, James, Jude, and John, that talk about the Rapture or some aspect thereof!!! Notice also that with the exception of Philemon, Paul mentions the Rapture in every single epistle and letter that he wrote!!!

Yes, I think about the Rapture everyday. It should be at least as important to us as it was to Paul, I would think.

  1. “Waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” Romans 8:23.
  2. “Waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 1:7.
  3. “they that are Christ’s at his coming.” 1 Corinthians 15:23.
  4. “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
    1 Corinthians 15:51-52.
  5. “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:”
    2 Corinthians 5:2.
  6. “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”
    2 Corinthians 5:8.
  7. “Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:”
    Galatians 1:4.
  8. “That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
    Ephesians 1:10-14.
  9. “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”
    Ephesians 5:31-32.
  10. “until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6.
  11. “till the day of Christ”. Philippians 1:10.
  12. “to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better.” Philippians 1:23.
  13. “the day of Christ.” Philippians 2:16.
  14. “If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.”
    Philippians 3:11.
  15. “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”
    Philippians 3:20-21.
  16. “The Lord is at hand.” Philippians 4:5.
  17. “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”
    Colossians 3:1-4.
  18. “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”
    1 Thessalonians 1:10.
  19. “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?”
    1 Thessalonians 2:19.
  20. “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thess. 3:13.
  21. “the coming of the Lord” 1 Thess. 4:15.
  22. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
    1 Thessalonians 4:16-18.
  23. “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.”
    1 Thessalonians 5:4.
  24. “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ ” 1 Thess. 5:23.
  25. “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him.” 2 Thess. 2:1.
  26. “the brightness of his coming.” 2 Thess. 2:8.
  27. “the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thess. 2:14.
  28. “the patient waiting for Christ” 2 Thess. 3:5.
  29. “the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Timothy 6:14.
  30. “His appearing and his kingdom.” 2 Timothy 4:1.
  31. “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
    2 Timothy 4:8.
  32. “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”
    Titus 2:13.
  33. “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”
    Hebrews 9:28.

Nate Beck

For the Lord’s Day – We Shall Behold Him

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The sky shall unfold
Preparing His entrance
The stars shall applaud Him
With thunders of praise

The sweet light in His eyes
Shall enhance those awaiting
And we shall behold Him
Then face to face

O, we shall behold Him
We shall behold Him
Face to face in all of His glory

O, we shall behold Him
Yes, we shall behold Him
Face to face, our Savior and Lord

The angel shall sound
The shout of His coming
And the sleeping shall rise
From their slumbering place

And those who remain
Shall be changed in a moment
And we shall behold Him
Then face to face

We shall behold Him
O yes we shall behold Him
Face to face in all of His glory

We shall behold Him
Yes, we shall behold Him
Face to face

Our Savior and Lord
And we shall behold Him
Our Savior and Lord
Savior and Lord

Southern Gospel legend Dottie Rambo died on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 11, 2008 when her tour bus ran off the highway and struck an embankment in Missouri. Dottie was on her way to North Richland Hills, Texas to perform a Mother’s Day show with Lulu Roman & Naomi Sego. Dottie was 74 at the time of her death and had spent 62 years of her life writing music and singing about her Savior.

Seven other people on the bus, including her manager Larry Ferguson and his wife and two children, were injured in the accident. They were hospitalized in Springfield, Missouri with moderate to severe injuries, according to the Missouri Highway Patrol. Representatives from her recording label confirmed that Dottie was asleep at the time of the accident.

Dottie Rambo, born Joyce Reba Lutrell in Madison, Kentucky on March 2, 1934, started writing songs at the age of 8 while sitting by a creek near her family home. By age 10 she was playing guitar and singing on local country radio. Her father dreamed of the day that young Dottie become a singer on Nashville’s WSM Grand Ole Opry. When Dottie gave her life to Christ at the age of 12, changing her path from country music to gospel, her father did not agree with the decision, fearing that she would spend her life singing in backwood churches for little or no pay. He gave her an ultimatum; either stop the Christian singing or leave his house. Dottie chose the path that Christ had laid in front of her and was taken to the bus stop by her mother with all of her belongings in a cardboard suitcase and her name and address on a tag around her neck in case she got lost.

By the 1950s she had married Buck Rambo and had her daughter, Reba. Dottie and Buck traveled across the region singing her songs in small churches. Other gospel groups, like the Happy Goodman Family, heard her songs and started singing them. The then- governor of Louisiana, Jimmy Davis, heard her music and flew her and her family to the governor’s mansion so that she could sing her songs for him. Governor Davis paid Dottie to publish her songs and soon after, Warner Brothers Records signed Dottie and her group, The Gospel Echoes, to a two-record deal. When they wanted Dottie and her group to move to folk and start singing Rhythm and Blues, Dottie declined.

1 John 3:2

 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.

sage

Friday Proverb – Deliverance and Direction

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Proverbs 11:6

 The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them:

Hmm.  Easier said than done – right?  Not really.  Of course, it is nigh impossible if one relies on their own righteousness, but the Bible implicitly states in many places, that only God is righteous, and that we, miserable sinners that we are,  may receive His righteousness through faith in the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  His perfect righteousness is given to us, by Grace.

Philippians 3:9

And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.

We are delivered from death and judgment only by recognizing and accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior.  He saves us from eternal death in the Lake of Fire, and promises us an eternity with Him.

but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.

Just as naughty children never think they will be found out – the sinner in rebellion refuses to acknowledge what needs to be done.  They willfully choose the darkness of this world, and the Proverb states they will be taken in their own naughtiness.  Not the misdeeds of another – but their very own  misdeeds.  Sinners in rebellion will not be able to blame anyone (as is the popular trend today) because the Word says the blame will be squarely laid at their own feet.

In the universities and satanically controlled media, herculean effort is made to convince the lost that their condition is not sin and damnation, but that their misery is caused by others.  Hence, the creation of the blame game.  The evil one does not want man to repent, and he will do everything in his considerable power to cause the sinner to either kill themselves before they can get saved – or  contrive to bedazzle the sinner with psychology and fleshly enticements.  But God, in His mercy, has given us a narrow pathway of escape. . .

2 Peter 1:3-4

3 According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

sage

For the Lord’s Day – I Have Decided to Follow Jesus

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  1. I have decided to follow Jesus;
    I have decided to follow Jesus;
    I have decided to follow Jesus;
    No turning back, no turning back.
  2. Though I may wonder, I still will follow;
    Though I may wonder, I still will follow;
    Though I may wonder, I still will follow;
    No turning back, no turning back.
  3. The world behind me, the cross before me;
    The world behind me, the cross before me;
    The world behind me, the cross before me;
    No turning back, no turning back.
  4. Though none go with me, still I will follow;
    Though none go with me, still I will follow;
    Though none go with me, still I will follow;
    No turning back, no turning back.
    • Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
      Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
      Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
      No turning back, no turning back.

I Have Decided to Follow Jesus

attr. to S. Sundar Singh

Copyright: Public Domain

Hindustani melody

Singh was raised a member of the Sikh religion. Prior to his conversion, Sundar attended a primary school run by the American Presbyterian Mission where the New Testament was read daily as a “textbook.” Sundar “refused to read the Bible at the daily lessons…To some extent the teaching of the Gospel on the love of God attracted me, but I still thought it was false.”

In the midst of such confusion and while only fourteen years old, his mother died, and Sundar underwent a crisis of faith. His mother was a loving saintly woman and they were very close. In his anger, Sundar burned a copy of one of the Gospels in public. Within three days Sundar Singh could bear his misery no longer. Late one night in December 1903, he rose from bed and prayed that God reveal himself to him if he really existed. Otherwise — “I planned to throw myself in front of the train which passed by our house.” For seven hours Sundar Singh prayed. “O God, if there is a God, reveal thyself to me tonight.” The next train was due at five o’clock in the morning. The hours passed. Suddenly the room filled with a glow. A man appeared before him. Sundar Singh heard a voice say, “How long will you deny me? I died for you; I have given my life for you.” He saw the man’s hands, pierced by nails.

Amazed that his vision had taken the unexpected form of Jesus, Sundar was convinced in his heart that Jesus was the true Savior, and that He was alive. Sundar fell on his knees before Him and experienced an astonishing peacefulness which he had never felt before. The vision disappeared, but peace and joy lingered within him.

Despite his family’s pleas, bribes, and threats, Sundar wanted to be baptized in the Christian faith. After his father spoke words of official rejection over him, Sundar became an outcast from his people. He cut off the hair he had worn long like every Sikh man. Against great opposition, he was baptized on his birthday in 1905, in an English church in Simla.

Conventional Indian churches were willing to grant him a pulpit, but their rules were foreign to his spirit. Indeed, he felt that a key reason the gospel was not accepted in India was because it came in a garb foreign to Indians. He decided to become a sadhu, so that he could dedicate himself to the Lord Jesus. He was convinced that this was the best way to introduce the Gospel to his people since it was the only way which his people were accustomed to. As a sadhu, he wore a yellow robe, lived on the charity of others, abandoned all possession and maintained celibacy. In this lifestyle, he was free to devote himself to the Lord. Dressed in his thin yellow robe, Sundar Singh took to the road and began a life of spreading the simple message of love and peace and rebirth through Jesus. He carried no money or other possessions, only a New Testament.

Sundar journeyed much. He traveled all over India and Ceylon. Between 1918-1919, he visited Malaysia, Japan and China. Between 1920-1922 he went to Western Europe, Australia and Israel. He preached in many cities; Jerusalem, Lima, Berlin and Amsterdam among others. Despite his growing fame, Sundar retained a modest nature, desiring only to follow Jesus’ example: to repay evil with kindness and to win over his enemies by love.

He was quite independent of outward Church authority in all his religious life, thought, and work. He dropped out of a Christian seminary that he briefly attended. Neither did he attach much importance to public worship because in his experience the heart prays better in solitude than in a congregation.

He traveled in India and Tibet, as well as the rest of the world, with the message that the modern interpretation of Jesus was sadly watered down. Sundar visited Tibet every summer and in 1929, he visited there and was never seen again.

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/singh

The story of the song is covered in the Book by Dr. P.P. Job and Indian preacher in His book “Why God Why”

An excerpt from the book is given below:About 150 years ago, there was a great revival in Wales, England. As a result of this, many missionaries came from England and Germany to North-East India to spread the Gospel. At the time, north-east India was not divided into many states as it is today. The region was known as Assam and comprised hundreds of tribes. The tribal communities were quite primitive and aggressive by nature. The tribals were also called head-hunters because of a social custom which required the male members of the community to collect as many heads as possible. A man’s strength and ability to protect his wife was assessed by the number of heads he had collected. Therefore, a youth of marriageable age would try and collect as many heads as possible and hang them on the walls of his house. The more heads a man had, the more eligible he was considered. Into this hostile and aggressive community, came a group of Welsh missionaries spreading the message of love, peace and hope of Jesus Christ. Naturally, they were not welcomed. One Welsh missionary succeeded in converting a man, his wife, and two children. This man’s faith proved contagious and many villagers began to accept Christianity. Angry, the village chief summoned all the villagers. He then called the family who had first converted to renounce their faith in public or face execution. Moved by the Holy Spirit, the man instantly composed a song which became famous down the years. He sang:

I have decided to follow Jesus. (3 times)
No turning back, no turning back.

Enraged at the refusal of the man, the chief ordered his archers to arrow down the two children. As both boys lay twitching on the floor, the chief asked, “Will you deny your faith? You have lost both your children. You will lose your wife too.”

But the man sang these words in reply:

Though no one joins me, still I will follow. (3 times)
No turning back, no turning back.

The chief was beside himself with fury and ordered his wife to be arrowed down. In a moment she joined her two children in death. Now he asked for the last time, “I will give you one more opportunity to deny your faith and live.”

In the face of death the man sang the final memorable lines:

The cross before me, the world behind me. (3 times)
No turning back, no turning back.

He was shot dead like the rest of his family. But with their deaths, a miracle took place. The chief who had ordered the killings was moved by the faith of the man. He wondered, “Why should this man, his wife and two children die for a Man who lived in a far-away land on another continent some 2,000 years ago? There must be some supernatural power behind the family, and I too want that supernatural power.”

In a spontaneous confession of faith, he declared, “I too belong to Jesus Christ!” When the crowd heard this from the mouth of their chief, the whole village accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. This is the power of [God in] demonstration.

John 12:26

 If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be: if any man serve Me, him will My Father honour.

sage

Friday Proverb – Riches Will Not Save Anyone

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Proverbs 11:4

 Riches profit not in the day of wrath:

A great many articles are written about the underground bunkers of the elites and super-rich.  These fortresses amount to vast underground cities, with every comfort known to man.  Even the not-so-rich, have succumbed to the notion, that they can “ride-out” Armageddon.  Bible believers should know, that those who are truly born again – will not need to “hide out,”  because they won’t be here.  Not only that – but it would be impossible to do so.   This is not to say that you should not be prepared for natural disasters, and not so natural ones like losing your job.  What is being discussed here is the Day of Wrath.

Revelation 6:16-17

16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

17 For the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Zephaniah 1:18

Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord‘s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy: for He shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

but righteousness delivereth from death.

rapture

It is of utmost importance to understand, that you have no righteousness of your own.  ZERO.  When you are born again – you can possess His righteousness, and it is overflowing and enough!  The good works and deeds you do after being saved, will gain you rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ.  And that is a wonderful thing to work for.

Philippians 3:9

And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.

Revelation 16:7

7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments.

 James 5:1-8

5 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.

2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.

3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.

5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.

6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.

7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.

sage

For the Lord’s Day – Redeemed

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Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed through His infinite mercy,
His child and forever I am.

Refrain

Redeemed, redeemed,
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed,
His child and forever I am.

Redeemed, and so happy in Jesus,
No language my rapture can tell;
I know that the light of His presence
With me doth continually dwell.

Refrain

I think of my blessèd Redeemer,
I think of Him all the day long:
I sing, for I cannot be silent;
His love is the theme of my song.

Refrain

I know there’s a crown that is waiting,
In yonder bright mansion for me,
And soon, with the spirits made perfect,
At home with the Lord I shall be.

Refrain

“Oh, what a happy child I am,

although I cannot see!

I am resolved that in this world,

contented I will be!”

Fanny Crosby, (March 24, 1820 – February 12, 1915)

1 Peter 1:18-19

18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

sage

For the Lord’s Day – Calvary Covers It All

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Calvary Covers It All

Verse1: Far dearer than all that the world can impart Was the message came to my heart. How that Jesus alone for my sin did atone, And Calvary covers it all.

Calvary covers it all, My past with its sin and stain; My guilt and despair Jesus took on Him there, And Calvary covers it all.

Verse 2: The stripes that He bore and the thorns that He wore Told His mercy and lover evermore And my heart bowed in shame as I called on His name, And Calvary covers it all.

 Calvary covers it all, My past with its sin and stain; My guilt and despair Jesus took on Him there, And Calvary covers it all.

Verse 3: How matchless the grace, when I looked in the face Of this Jesus, my crucified Lord; My redemption complete I then found at His feet, And Calvary covers it all.

 Calvary covers it all, My past with its sin and stain; My guilt and despair Jesus took on Him there, And Calvary covers it all.

Verse 4: How blessed the thought, that my soul by Him bought, Shall be His in the glory on high; Where with gladness and song, I’ll be one of the throng And Calvary covers it all.

 Calvary covers it all, My past with its sin and stain; My guilt and despair Jesus took on Him there, And Calvary covers it all.

Note: There is little information available on this fine song, written in 1934, or its author, but it’s worthy of consideration both for how it came to be written, and for the aptness of its message. The full story is found in Al Smith’s Hymn Histories (pp. 125-127).

The song relates to a dancer named Walter “Happy Mac” MacDonald, whom comedian Eddie Cantor said had the fastest feet in the world. Mac was talented, but he was also in bondage to sin, and addicted to alcohol. One night in the early 1930′s he stumbled into a meeting in the Pacific Garden Mission, in Chicago. When an invitation was given for those present to trust in Christ as Saviour, Mac did not respond. But, as he returned, night after night, workers gradually came to know more about him.

Taylor Walter
Taylor Ethelwyn

 Directing the mission in those days (1918-1936) were Walter Grand Taylor and his wife Ethelwyn, affectionately known as Pa and Ma Taylor. Ethel Taylor watched Mac, and her heart went out to him. She prayed, “Dear Lord, please help us say and do the right things, so that we may win Mac to Thee.” Finally, MacDonald did seek counseling, and Ma Taylor listened as he struggled with his past. “You don’t understand,” he prayed. “You don’t know how bad I am, Lord. Really I’m the worst man in the world. You can’t save me; I’m too bad.”

Mrs. Taylor recalled a message she had heard weeks before. Evangelist Percy Crawford had been a rebel in his youth. But one day he accepted Christ as his Saviour. The theme of Crawford’s testimony was, “Calvary covers it all,” and Ethel Taylor shared those words with MacDonald.

He asked her to repeat them, and suddenly the light dawned. “Oh! Mrs. Taylor, I’m so glad it’s true, and you told me. Calvary does cover it all! My whole past of sin and shame.” The former entertainer trusted in the Saviour that night in 1934, and lived to become an outstanding servant of Christ.

A few days later, Ethel Taylor went into the mission chapel, sat down at the piano, and created the words and music of a gospel song.  http://wordwisehymns.com/2013/06/19/calvary-covers-it-all/

Colossians 2:13

 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses. . .

sage

For the Lord’s Day – All People That On Earth Do Dwell

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This magnificent old hymn is pure praise from start to finish, and is chock full of solid doctrine.  Turn up your speakers and see His glory.  The chord progressions are spectacular. 

All people that on earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice.
Him serve with fear, His praise forth tell;
Come ye before Him and rejoice.

The Lord, ye know, is God indeed;
Without our aid He did us make;
We are His folk, He doth us feed,
And for His sheep He doth us take.

O enter then His gates with praise;
Approach with joy His courts unto;
Praise, laud, and bless His Name always,
For it is seemly so to do.

For why? the Lord our God is good;
His mercy is for ever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.

To Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
The God Whom Heaven and earth adore,
From men and from the angel host
Be praise and glory evermore.

Hymn Story

All People That on Earth Do Dwell

In the Reformation, there was a difference of opinion between Luther and Calvin concerning music for congregational singing.  Luther advocated the use of hymns and carols, and even wrote a number of those.  Calvin was concerned that hymns not clearly based on scripture might introduce false doctrine into the church, and so he advocated the singing of Psalms.  He said that there were “no better songs nor more appropriate to the purpose (of congregational singing) than the Psalms of David which the Holy Spirit made and spoke through him.”

Calvin, of course, was based in Geneva, Switzerland.  In 1551, a Psalter was published in Geneva that included a song based on Psalm 134 and set to a tune by Louis Bourgeois.  In 1561, the Anglo-Genevan Psalter (an English-language Psalter) was published in Geneva that included “All People That on Earth Do Dwell” set to that earlier tune by Bourgeois.

The words to “All People That on Earth Do Dwell” were written by William Kethe, a Scottish clergyman who had fled the persecutions of Queen Mary.  His exile took him first to Frankfurt, Germany and thence to Geneva.  Kethe helped with the translation of the Geneva Bible in 1560 and contributed 25 psalms to the Anglo-Genevan Psalter.

Kethe left Geneva for England in 1561, and took a copy of the Anglo-Genevan Psalter with him –– thereby introducing this music to the English.  A number of his psalms found their way into the English Psalter of 1562, which was published by Thomas Sternhold and John Hopkins.  All of his psalms were included in the Scottish Psalter two years later.

“All People That on Earth Do Dwell” is based on Psalm 100.  That Psalm is five verses in length, and the song is four verses.  The first verse of the song is based on verses 1 and 2 of the psalm, and each of the subsequent verses of the song is based on one verse of the psalm.  It is probably the oldest hymn in common use today.

The tune by Bourgeois is known today as “Old Hundredth,” and is one of the best-known tunes in modern hymnals –– in large measure because it is also sung to the Doxology, “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow.”

Copyright 2008, Richard Niell Donovan

Psalm 100 

 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing.

3 Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.

5 For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.

sage

p.s.  I post this as part of my continuous effort to point up the dangers of CCM, and hope and pray that God’s people will wake up to the serpent in the singing.  Can you see what is being lost as the old hymns are cast aside for simple lyrics and rhythmic melodies?  CCM  is now firmly in IFB churches everywhere.

2 Timothy 4:3

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears

Friday Proverb – Pride is Followed by Shame

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Proverbs 11:2

2 When pride cometh, then cometh shame: 

It is a fact – the bigger they are – the harder they fall.  The Pharisee in the illustration was full of himself, totally unaware that he was doomed.  We also, as believers,  can  fall to this sort of pride.

One pastor of a large and beautiful  church, was a very confident man.  He had a beautiful family, and was well received by his congregation.  He was a learned man, and gifted teacher.   This continued on for some time, and his pride grew along with his successes.  One day, his teenaged daughter ran away from home.  They had no idea where she was.  Then his church began to splinter as he attempted to accommodate both progressives and conservatives within his congregation.  The “blended” church service ensued, which was followed by uprisings within the sheepfold.  Half the congregation left to join a contemporary worship church, while another half left to join a traditional church.  His church went bankrupt, whereupon  he was fired by the board.

How about us?  Are we foolish and prideful enough to think we can accommodate the world in our hearts?  The pastor in the story,  is the story of each and everyone of us.  He allowed his daughter to closely associate with worldly teenagers.  He allowed young and fleshly people to hold sway in his congregation.  We all try in varying degrees to accommodate the world.  Perhaps our teenaged daughter has not run away from home, but put in perspective – we all have our own kind of  “runaways,” don’t we?  Take your pick – job? marriage? favorite sin? addiction?   Do you know where they are?

but with the lowly is wisdom.

Daily, minute by minute, moment by moment, we must strive to keep the world, the flesh, and the devil under complete subjection.  Any compromise or accommodation will lead to our shame.  If we think we can master the devil without copious prayer and Bible study – we give the evil one mastery over us because we are accommodating him.  Don’t think for one second that you can outfox the fox on your own.  Humble yourself, and rely only on God’s wisdom and knowledge.  Never attempting  to put your own thinking or understanding into what you think God thinks.  The only wisdom in this world is in God’s Holy Word – the Bible.

sage

Is Man an Animal?

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The prevailing trend is to put animals on the same level as man – making continual referrals to our “closest relative” – the chimpanzee. We see many well produced, heart-tugging, and expensive commercials for the Humane Society, or the ASPCA. All the while, crisis pregnancy centers struggle to keep their doors open, and private property owners are forced to surrender everything to an endangered animal.

Man is not an animal, man is God’s jewel of Creation

God. . .breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Genesis 2: 7

Man is special to God

God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion . . .upon the earth. Genesis 1: 26

Man is positionally important to God

Thou wast precious in My sight. . .and I have loved thee. . .Even every one that is called by My name: for I have created him for My glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him. Isaiah 43: 4, 7

Our God is a Triune God

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is One Lord. . .Deuteronomy 6: 4

Man was created a triune being

I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5: 23

The New Age Religion seeks to spread the blasphemy, that not only is man one with nature – but God is also one with everything.

“Swami Vivekkananda, a Hindu guru widely thought of in America, taught that because the Mother-Goddess Kali is all, all in one, and all is cyclical, God is both good and evil:

‘Who can say that God does not manifest Himself as Evil as well as Good? But only the Hindu dares to worship him in the evil. . .How few have dared to worship death, or Kali? Let us worship death!’

Likewise, Lucifer is said to be neither evil nor good. He simply is. Formerly a destroyer, Lucifer now becomes a god – perhaps the God – chosen to shepherd mankind into the brightness of a New Age.

He is the Shiva and Kali of the New Age.” (Dark Secrets of the New Age,p. 87, Texe Marrs)

When young boys and girls are told repeatedly in school that the human embryo is no different than a chicken embryo in the early days of development – this sets the stage for abortion later on. After all – we eat chickens – don’t we?

14 I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. 15 My substance was not hid from Thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in Thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. Psalm 139: 14-16

If you – or someone you know – is faced with an unplanned pregnancy – think about this one thing. . .ending the life that is growing, will not solve anything. Please, choose the miracle of life. Choose God’s way, not Satan’s way. God loves you so much, and you are so precious to Him, that He gave His life, so that you could live – you and your unborn child.

There are lovely and caring women, just waiting to help you, at crisis pregnancy centers all over America. Just look in the yellow pages. You will not be judged, you will be loved. You – and your child.

sage

The Reward of Heeding Wisdom – 2

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The reward of heeding wisdom, is God Himself. He is our reward! This is in direct contrast to what the prosperity ministries teach. If we seek after Him with the same intensity as a carnal person would seek after buried treasure – He will reveal Himself to us.

We continue on the same theme. This time finding out exactly what happens when we receive this Godly wisdom.

10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;

11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:

12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;

13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;

14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;

15 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:

This “evil man” can come in the guise of a co-worker, a friend, TV personality, a worldly book or magazine, employer, family member, class mate, neighbor, internet, or even a passing acquaintance.

16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;

17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.

18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.

19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.

Of course, the “strange woman” could be any woman. She could be the neighbor that dresses immodestly in front of your husband, the girl at work, the editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, one of the female false prophets on TV, your hairstylist, or even your kid’s Bible study teacher!

20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.

21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.

22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

Proverbs 2: 10-22

And this is the condemnation, that Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than Light, because their deeds were evil. John 3:19

sage

Hints for Homeschoolers – The Home Library

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Anyone may see, how electronics (via the prince of the power of the air) have captured the hearts and minds of an entire generation. A well stocked home library can effectively stem that evil tide! And via garage sales and thrift stores, the home library can be filled to the brim with books for every member of the family. Truly, the warm pages of a book are far superior and more intimate than a Kindle or lap top.

Our local Salvation Army has paperback books at two for $.99. And absolutely free – children’s books and Bibles. Hardback books are $1.99, and some are truly nice. I also have picked up many sheet music books (barely used) at the same price they charge for paperbacks.

Findings published in the journal Social Science Research show that raising a child in a home filled with books positively impacts her future academic growth and job attainment. Specifically, as Pacific Standard reported, the study found that when it comes to standardized tests, “Regardless of how many books the family already has, each addition to the home library helps children do better.” That makes sense: A book-filled home encourages a culture of reading for enjoyment and talking about books. 

https://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/raise-a-reader-blog/study-finds-benefits-of-childs-home-library.html

A growing body of evidence shows that growing up with home libraries boosts adult literacy, adult numeracy (math skills), and adult technological competence, with the greatest returns to the growth in smaller home libraries. In other words, adding just a few books to your home library can make a big difference.

Going from no books at home to some books at home. Going from some books to a few more. This is doable! That’s what we’re doing at BookGive all the time.

In this study, the researchers found that growing up with almost no books was associated with literacy levels at about 50% below average. Having at least 80 books raised the literacy levels to average. Once a home library hits the 300 range, the literary gains are not significant, although we’d never discourage folks from surrounding themselves with lots of books.

https://bookgivedenver.org/why-home-libraries-matter/

Our home library is significantly smaller now that our family has grown up and out, but we still feel that books are the gateway to knowledge. Some of my personal books are so well loved, they are more tape than paper… My sewing books are in the sewing room, cookbooks are in the kitchen, and and gardening books are all in a corner shelf near the piano. A full set of encyclopedias is stowed on a very high shelf in the linen closet. Because you never know!

The time you spend reading to and with your children, will be remembered with far greater clarity than any cartoons or games children play.

My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that incline thine ear unto wisdom, And apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, And liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, And searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 1:2-5 KJB

sage

What About the Heathen?

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Often the secular world will accuse Christians of being exclusionary – “Jesus can’t be the only way.” (Oprah Winfrey) What about that? Is He the only way?

Yes !

In reality, there have always been two Books. The Bible, and Creation. Creation has been around for 2,500 years before the Bible was given.

The outdoor book speaks to man about God through natural revelation. Every person born on this earth, is witness to God’s eternal power and Godhead, through nature. Common sense tells man that there is beauty, order, intelligence, and design.

Lift up your eyes on high, and behold Who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: He calleth them all by names by the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power; not one faileth. Isaiah 40:26

Are the heathen accountable? Yes.

19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Romans 1: 19-21

__________________________________________________________________

If the individual responds positively to the truth that is revealed in nature, God, who knows our very thoughts, will raise up a missionary to give that person the truth in the written Word.

For example, when Paul and Silas wanted to go to a certain area in Asia, they were “forbidden of the Holy Ghost” – Acts 16:6,7.

Instead, God sent them to Western Europe, where He knew they were waiting to receive the Word. If people do not respond to the outdoor Book – they are still responsible for rejecting it – even if they never hear the Written Word.

Rejecting the truth of Creation will eventually cause individuals, as well as entire nations to become perverted. It makes no difference if the person is living in a hut in a third world country, or a penthouse in a fabulous city – it still applies.

sage

For the Lord’s Day – Oh Love, That Will Not Let Me Go

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1 O love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
that in thine ocean depths its flow
may richer, fuller be.

2 O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
my heart restores its borrowed ray,
that in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
may brighter, fairer be.

3 O joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
and feel the promise is not vain
that morn shall tearless be.

4 O cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
and from the ground there blossoms red
life that shall endless be.

Lyrics: George Matheson 1842-1906

Music: Albert L. Peace

“Stabilizing lines, especially for those in darkness.

Do you know the story behind it?

At age 20 George Matheson (1842-1906) was engaged to be married but began going blind. When he broke the news to his fiancee, she decided she could not go through life with a blind husband. She left him. Before losing his sight he had written two books of theology and some feel that if he had retained his sight he could have been the greatest leader of the church of Scotland in his day.

A special providence was that George’s sister offered to care for him. With her help, George left the world of academia for pastoral ministry and wound up preaching to 1500 each week–blind.

The day came, however, in 1882, when his sister fell in love and prepared for marriage herself. The evening before the wedding, George’s whole family had left to get ready for the next day’s celebration. He was alone and facing the prospect of living the rest of his life without the one person who had come through for him. On top of this, he was doubtless reflecting on his own aborted wedding day twenty years earlier. It is not hard to imagine the fresh waves of grief washing over him that night.

In the darkness of that moment George Matheson wrote this hymn. He remarked afterward that it took him five minutes and that it was the only hymn he ever wrote that required no editing.

O love that will not let me go. Heartening hope for you and me.”

by Dane Ortlund

Romans 8:38-39

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

sage

Friday Proverb – Speak Softly and Carry a Big Bible!

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fish and wisdom

Oh – those loud, attention seekers.  They speak without thinking, and put their proverbial feet in their mouths at every opportunity.  Well, as annoying as they may be – the jabber mouths will not go on forever.  The ones who take delight in mocking and ridiculing the Lord and His people will not get the last laugh! 

Proverbs 10:31-32

31 The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out.

Recalling that only those who are under the Blood of Christ are considered “just” by God – it does not bode well for those who have a froward tongue!

adjective: froward

  1. (of a person) difficult to deal with; contrary.

In point of fact – our blessed Redeemer made mention of this very thing, while He was here in the flesh:

Matthew 12:36

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

32 The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness.

How do we know what is “acceptable?”  By reading, studying, and memorizing the Word of God.  Being a Christian does not automatically cause you to speak with wisdom!  This kind of righteousness comes only with having the mind of Christ, and making His thoughts and Words a part of you.  And to prove that our own words can not count as wisdom, we look to our Savior once again, and see how He responded to the Devil during the temptation.

Matthew 4:3-10

3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Notice that the Lord ONLY used Scripture to respond to the Devil.  This is especially important for those Christians who somehow think the Old Testament no longer has meaning or importance to the Church!  If the Living Christ thought it was important enough to quote – how are Christians confident in not doing so as well?  Are we responding to temptation with our own logic and reason?  Are we foolish enough to think that our own resources can outfox the Fox?  The Devil?  The Tempter?  This one thing – failing to use the Word of God against temptation – is the greatest weakness of the Church.

Don’t get bogged down in debate with the evil one and his minions – you can’t possibly win against a supernatural intelligence like that using your own abilities.   Use the Word of God as the sword of Truth!  Memorize it, inhale it, study it, devour it.  The wicked will flee. . .

sage

For the Lord’s Day – Yes I Know

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  1. Come, ye sinners, lost and hopeless, Jesus’ blood can make you free; For He saved the worst among you, When He saved a wretch like me.
    • Refrain: And I know, yes, I know Jesus’ blood can make the vilest sinner clean, And I know, yes, I know Jesus’ blood can make the vilest sinner clean.
  2. To the faint He giveth power, Through the mountains makes a way; Findeth water in the desert, Turns the night to golden day.
  3. In temptation He is near thee, Holds the pow’rs of hell at bay; Guides you to the path of safety, Gives you grace for every day.
  4. He will keep thee while the ages Roll throughout eternity; Though earth hinders and hell rages, All must work for good to thee.

We only know that the wonderful words and music to this hymn were written by a lady name Anna W. Waterman, in 1920. . .

From a home with one brother and one sister, Charles Waterman’s urge was to see the country. This took him to hitchhiking on the railroad to California. He was influenced by the worldly crowd and gave himself to become an alcoholic. Even as such, he worked his way up to become an engineer on the steam locomotive. He married Anna, who had a Christian background and did what she could to keep the testimony before him. Anna was discouraged at the path her husband followed because it was causing him to miss work on some of his hangovers. So she asked a lady in her town in California to meet with her and help her pray for Charles to be saved. His wild life went on for three or more years and one night he became frightened while under the influence and when he finally arrived at home, he told Anna he wanted to be saved. She immediately called her friend who came over to their home and they led him to the Lord. He begged the Lord for forgiveness and to clean up his life, which the Lord did. The happiness that followed caused Anna to write this song. A book with over 30 other songs was collected and published. They visited in Lodi, Fountain County, Indiana, and at the Baptist Church, later named Waterman Baptist Church. http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/y/e/s/yesiknow.htm

Hebrews 7:25

 Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.

sage

Hints for Home Schoolers – The Prodigal

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So, you’ve done everything right. You’ve home-schooled for years, surrounded your kids with the love of Christ, and after years of careful tending – your semi-adult child rebels. And not a little rebellion – we’re talking major rebellion. I’m not referring to the sullen eight year old who refuses to finish his math paper – what is on the table here is the child who morally rebels, and may even leave home. Can this happen in a Christian home school? Yes. Rarely, but it does happen.

Every person born in the world has the potential for rebellion within them. One only needs to hear that first NO! out of a toddler’s mouth to believe it. This is natural rebellion as a result of the fall of man that every parent must quell in their child, or the infant terrible will grow into an intolerable human being. But is teenage rebellion “natural?” Homeschool parents become defensive when overly helpful outsiders promise them, and none too kindly, that their teenagers are going to put them through hell. Is teenage rebellion inevitable?  

To answer that question, we must address what causes it.

  • Attention starvation – Ok, you have three younger children that need 100% supervision. Your 15 year old doesn’t need that much from you – right? Wrong. The teenager that is “acting out” is actually “crying out for attention.” 
  • Too much criticism from you– NEVER publicly chasten your teen. Bear in mind that teasing can be taken as mocking, and it is very, very painful. And please have a tender heart for other people’s teenagers.
  • Be informed – Always make every effort to be fully informed before you make a judgement on something. Often kids are so fearful of disappointing their parents they will compound what they have done by attempting to conceal it.
  • Making assumptions – Both teens and their parents make assumptions about each others’ motivations. And they are usually wrong!
  • The Golden Child – This is a toughie. It very frequently happens in multi-child households that one of them will seem “golden” to the other kids. They don’t seem to get disciplined, their grades are wondrous, they are talented, everyone loves them! Every person on this earth, including your “un-golden” child has something they can do well. Make it a priority to dig for that “gold.”

Alright, you did all that and you still have a rebel. What now? Cling to the Word of God like a life preserver in a stormy sea, and heed this promise:

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6  (This Proverb does not guarantee that your children will be saved.  Salvation is an individual choice that every person must make.  The Proverb does, however, assure us that what we teach our children regarding character stays with them – even through rebellion.)

True story time –

A conservative family with seven children, all raised the in the same fashion, had one child that chose the world. After twelve years of homeschool and careful nurturing, the unsuspecting parents were greeted by a note and an empty bed one morning. Their 18 1/2 year old daughter had simply moved out in the middle of the night.

In her note she said she wanted to “see the world.” For these parents, it was almost like a death. For the first time in her life, the parents did not know where she was. They did not know who had helped transport her, either. All of her clothing had been taken, so it was clear she had moved out.

This experience was so terrifying for the parents, they called the prayer chain, and began fasting and praying with all of their being. Days passed, then weeks, then months. Then years. Not a word. The toll on the mother’s health was drastic. They acted hopeful around each other, but inwardly carried it like a ten ton weight.

The one day, out of the blue, the daughter returned home. She was a broken person. She no longer had that sparkle in her eye they all loved. She looked more like a hunted animal. And – she was four months pregnant. But – she was penitent! She came into the home, and in front of the entire family, got down on her knees and begged forgiveness from her parents, saying that she had already asked the Lord for forgiveness. And, those blessed, weary parents embraced that child with all the love they could muster, praising God and giving thanks for her safe return.

Did they reprimand her? No, because they could see that she had already “paid the piper” several times over, and bore scars that would last a life time. The purpose of this story, is to know that there is restoration for the rebel and their families. With God – all things are possible.

I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

Luke 15: 7

If you are coping with a prodigal, try not to give way to consuming fear – it is not the Lord’s will that we live in fear – even for our children.  I have counseled women who are completely overtaken with thinking and fretting about their children.  Jesus must be our all-in-all, not our children.

And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Ephesians 6: 4

_____________________________________________

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sage

Friday Proverb – Holding the Line

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Proverbs 10:29   

The way of the Lord is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.

Once again, the Proverbs make a clear demarcation between the saved and the lost.  The pagan world is stymied when Christians repeatedly stand tall in the face of adversity.  They would prefer, if when faced with calamity, that we collapse and fall into the abyss of sinful behaviors that they are mired in.  But – the Proverb states that the Lord is our strength.  We do not need to resort to the world’s accepted methods – we have the Word of God.  Nothing more is required to see us through life’s darkest hours.

Psalm 1:6
For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Proverbs 10:30

The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.

That’s right all you Mother Earth worshipers, you do NOT inherit the earth.  No matter how much you do to “save the planet,” it won’t help – because it’s not yours to save.  The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it – and He will give it to whom He chooses.  It will not be given to the unrepentant, that is a fact.

Psalm 37:29

 The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.

Revelation 21:6-8

6 And He said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

sage

Friday Proverb – Our Life and Hope

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The fear of the Lord prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened. 

Proverbs 10:27

While the Word of God does not guarantee a long  earthly life to truly born again believers, it does follow reason that those who fear Him, and forsake sinful lifestyles will have better health and greater joy in life.  While we are in our flesh – we long to be with Him, and  having the knowledge of His omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence will prevent us from taking a detour into the dark side. 

Living the Holy Spirit filled life is a matter of surrendering our wills to His will.  It is a matter of getting rid of our household gods and fleshly desires,  and allowing the Holy Spirit to completely fill us.  And while it seems that the wicked are holding sway at this moment in time – remember – that to God – there is no time!  Time only exists here on earth – it is not a part of the heavenly realm. 

The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish. 

Proverbs 10:28

Yes – we must fear our Creator – but we must also hope in Him.  One need only see the hard, brittle, look in the eyes of the abrasive atheists when they are attacking the Bible and Bible believers.  It is a cold, dead expression – void of hope.  And if the eyes truly are the window to the soul – what does that tell us?   There is death where there is no hope – spiritual death.  And then in the not so far off future – eternal death in the Lake of Fire. 

We can be truly glad of heart, and take joy in the fact that our futures are already secure, and written down in the Lamb’s Book of Life.  There is no reason to fret over evil doers – because their future is already determined if they remain unrepentant.  What a terrible thought. 

The next time you hear news of murders, corruptions, and all the sundry evils that satan has in his arsenal, it would be wise to think where your hope is.  It is not here! not in America, not in anything other than our blessed savior – Jesus Christ. 

James 4:14

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

[Forgive me.  I so wanted to post a video with the classic hymn – “On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand,” but was unable to find one without a sensuous back-beat.]

sage

For the Lord’s Day – Whiter than Snow

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https://youtu.be/py1mm5Zrt3I?si=mxbyHtsfiZK67Xd3

Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole;
I want Thee forever to live in my soul.
Break down every idol, cast out every foe;
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Refrain

Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow.
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Lord Jesus, let nothing unholy remain,
Apply Thine own blood and extract every stain;
To get this blest cleansing, I all things forego—
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Refrain

Lord Jesus, look down from Thy throne in the skies,
And help me to make a complete sacrifice.
I give up myself, and whatever I know,
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Refrain

Lord Jesus, for this I most humbly entreat,
I wait, blessèd Lord, at Thy crucified feet.
By faith, for my cleansing, I see Thy blood flow,
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Refrain

Lord Jesus, Thou seest I patiently wait,
Come now, and within me a new heart create;
To those who have sought Thee, Thou never saidst No,
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Refrain

The blessing by faith, I receive from above;
O glory! my soul is made perfect in love;
My prayer has prevailed, and this moment I know,
The blood is applied, I am whiter than snow.

Refrain

This hymn was written in 1872 by James Nicholson, who lived in Washington D. C. He was a dedicated Christian and was active in the Wharton Street Methodist Episcopal Church as a Sunday school and evangelistic worker.

The tune was written by Philadelphia musician named William Gustavus Fischer who was a popular song leader for revival meetings. He also composed the tune for “I love to tell the story”.

The hymn is based on Ps51:7 – “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”

http://www.hymnpod.com/2009/06/04/whiter-than-snow/

This beautiful hymn tells the salvation story from start to finish.  It contains all three elements of true repentance:

  1. change of mind
  2. change of heart
  3. change of will

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, now is the time to get right with the Lord.  In all sincerity – there is no better time than right now.

https://thevinevigil.com/2014/07/24/repentance-introduction/

Psalm 51:6-8

6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

sage

Friday Proverb – The Wicked Fear Death

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Proverbs 10:24-25

24 The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.

Those that are unsaved and living for the world system, fear death to the point they will do almost anything to avoid it.  Because they have no hope for the future, and no concept of an eternity – they cling with fervor to this earthly realm.  Being completely self centered, they think  nothing of killing the unborn, or using their body parts to extend their own lives.

25 As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.

As believers, we know that our future is already sealed.  That is our hope – something the wicked couldn’t possibly understand.  With Jesus Christ as our Righteous and Everlasting foundation, we are known by name,  are built onto –   and permanently attached to Him.   Once we are in heaven with the Lord, the wicked will no more come to our minds.  Or to the Lord’s mind!   And how grateful we should be for that!  Not to think about what the evil are up to anymore – that sounds like heaven to me.

Isaiah 65:11-17

11 But ye are they that forsake the Lord, that forget My holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.

12 Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before Mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.

13 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, My servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, My servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, My servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:

14 Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.

15 And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto My chosen: for the Lord God shall slay thee, and call His servants by another name:

16 That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from Mine eyes.

17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

sage

For the Lord’s Day – If You Will Only Let God Guide You

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If you will only let God guide you,
And hope in Him through all your ways,
Whatever comes, He’ll stand beside you,
To bear you through the evil days;
Who trusts in God’s unchanging love
Builds on the Rock that cannot move.

Only be still, and wait His leisure
In cheerful hope, with heart content
To take whatever the Father’s pleasure
And all discerning love have sent;
Nor doubt our inmost wants are known
To Him Who chose us for His own.

Sing, pray, and swerve not from His ways,
But do your part in conscience true;
Trust His rich promises of grace,
So shall they be fulfilled in you;
God hears the call of those in need,
The souls that trust in Him indeed.

Winkworth’s original translation:

winkworth_c

If thou but suffer God to guide thee
And hope in Him through all thy ways,
He’ll give thee strength, whate’er betide thee,
And bear thee through the evil days.
Who trust in God’s unchanging love
Builds on the rock that naught can move.

What can these anxious cares avail thee
These never ceasing moans and sighs?
What can it help if thou bewail thee
O’er each dark moment as it flies?
Our cross and trials do but press
The heavier for our bitterness.

Be patient and await His leisure
In cheerful hope, with heart content
To take whatever thy Father’s pleasure
And His discerning love hath sent,
Nor doubt our inmost want are known
To Him who chose us for His own.

God knows full well when time of gladness
Shall be the needful thing for thee.
When He has tried thy soul with sadness
And from all guile has found thee free,
He comes to thee all unaware
And makes thee own His loving care.

Nor think amid the fiery trial
That God hath cast thee off unheard,
That he whose hopes meet no denial
Must surely be of God preferred.
Time passes and much change doth bring
And set a bound to everything.

All are alike before the Highest:
’Tis easy for our God, We know,
To raise thee up, though low thou liest,
To make the rich man poor and low.
True wonders still by Him are wrought
Who setteth up and brings to naught.

Sing, pray, and keep His ways unswerving,
Perform thy duties faithfully,
And trust His Word: though undeserving,
Thou yet shalt find it true for thee.
God never yet forsook in need
The soul that trusted Him indeed.

neumark_g2

Words:Georg Neu­mark, 1641 (Wer nur den lie­ben Gott lässt wal­ten); first pub­lished in his Fort­ge­pflantz­er mu­sik­al­isch-po­et­isch­er Lust­wald (Je­na, Ger­ma­ny: 1657). Ca­ther­ine Wink­worth trans­lat­ed the words from Ger­man to Eng­lish in 1855, and pub­lished them in the Cho­rale Book for Eng­land, 1863.

Music: Neumark, Georg Neu­mark, 1641 (MI­DI, score). The tune is said to have been used for 400 dif­fer­ent hymns.

http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/i/f/ifyouwil.htm

Things appeared desperate for Georg Neumark. Walking cross country in the early Autumn of 1641 to begin his studies at the University of Konigsberg, the young German scholar was robbed of virtually everything he owned. With no money left to pay for food or classes, George had to drop out of college and look for work. He was hungry, poorly clothed, forced to take whatever shelter he could find as the cold weather came on.

He went back to Magdeburg but could find no work there. However, he made friends easily, and they pointed him to different cities. But he had no more success in the next three cities he tried: Luneburg, Winsen or Hamburg. He passed on to Keil. The chief pastor of Keil, Nicolaus Becker took an interest in Georg. Like Georg, he was from Thuringia. However, he could find him no immediate work. It was now December. What was Georg to do?

At this darkest moment, a miracle happened. A tutor in a prominent family fell into disgrace and fled. Nicolaus Becker recommended Georg for the position and he was hired. Georg’s response was to burst into a hymn of praise, “on that very day.”

If thou but suffer God to guide thee
And hope in Him through all thy ways,
He’ll give thee strength, whate’er betide thee,
And bear thee through the evil days….
Sing, pray, and keep His ways unswerving,
Perform thy duties faithfully,
And trust His Word: though undeserving,
Thou yet shalt find it true for thee.
God never yet forsook in need
The soul that trusted Him indeed.

We remember George Neumark mainly because of that one hymn and the tune he composed for it. For two years he worked and saved his money, finally getting together enough to enter University. In 1646 he again lost everything he owned, this time to a fire.

However, he was able to complete his studies and return to his homeland. There Duke Wilhelm II of Sachse-Weimar recognized his merits and gave him a trusted position.

Georg went blind shortly before he died, but the court allowed him to keep his jobs with their badly-needed income right to the end. He died on this day, July 18, 1681, having turned 60 shortly before. He had performed his part faithfully and God did not forsake him, bearing him through the evil days.

Bibliography:

  1. Covert, William Chalmers and Laufer, Calvin Weiss, editors. Handbook to the Hymnal. (Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Christian Education, 1936).
  2. “Georg Neumark.” http://www.cyberhymnal.org
  3. Haeussler, Armin. The Handbook to the Hymnal of the Evangelical and Reformed Church. St. Louis, Missouri: Eden Publishing, 1952.
  4. Various encyclopedia and internet articles.

http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1601-1700/desperate-georg-neumark-let-god-guide-him-11630166.html

John 4:23-24

23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

sage

Friday Proverb – What Do You Trust In?

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How many of us think, that if we only had enough money in the bank, or enough food in storage, or enough gold coins, or enough whatever – that we would be safe from impending doom? 

Or conversely, how many of us rely on our poverty to sustain us?  Believing that some entity or other will always be there to pick us up after we fall, or feed, clothe, shelter, and educate us merely because we exist?  Assuming no harm can befall us because “they” will help? 

Proverbs 10:15

 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city:

destruction of city

This image applies to both aspects of the Proverb – because within a city or any metropolitan area like that – both the wealthy and the poor live within yards of each other.  Artificial insulation deceives the dwellers into thinking that all is well.  The wealthy thinks his high tower protects him, and the poor thinks the system will protect him.  And it doesn’t only apply to cities – think of the wealthy plantations in the South before the Civil War.  They were micro-complexes of supra-independence.  But many of them were razed and burned to the ground – lock, stock, and barrel.

the destruction of the poor is their poverty.

Do people trust in poverty?  Absolutely!  It is the same assumption that the wealthy make – trusting in the world.  Content to let others care for them – the poor will end in destruction says the Proverb.

Not everyone who is poor or wealthy must end this way.  It is a matter of where we put our trust. Trusting in ourselves, in money, in “prepping,” in the government, in family, in religion, in education, in the media, in anyone or anything other than Jesus Christ – is folly and destruction for both the rich and the poor.

Psalm 118:8-9

8 It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.

9 It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.

Please look at verse 8 above – putting confidence in man – includes yourself!  V. 9 – putting confidence in princes is the same as putting confidence in politicians.

Psalm 9:9-10

9 The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.

10 And they that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee: for Thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee.

sage

For the Lord’s Day – No One Understands Like Jesus

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1 No one understands like Jesus,
He’s a friend beyond compare;
Meet Him at the throne of mercy,
He is waiting for you there.

Chorus:
No one understands like Jesus,
When the days are dark and grim;
No one is so near, so dear as Jesus,
Cast your every care on Him.

2 No one understands like Jesus,
Every woe He sees and feels;
Tenderly He whispers comfort,
And the broken heart He heals. (Chorus)

3 No one understands like Jesus,
When the foes of life assail;
You should never be discouraged,
Jesus cares and will not fail (Chorus)

4 No one understands like Jesus,
When you falter on the way;
Tho’ you fail Him, sadly fail Him
He will pardon you today. (Chorus)

John W. Peterson (November 1, 1921 – September 20, 2006) was a songwriter who had a major influence on evangelical Christian music in the 1950s through the 1970s. He wrote over 1000 songs, and 35 cantatas.

Born in Lindsborg, Kansas, he served as an Army Air Force pilot flying the China Hump during World War II. Later, he attended Moody Bible Institute and served on the radio staff there for a number of years.

In 1953, he graduated from the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago and shortly thereafter settled in Pennsylvania to continue his songwriting career. He then moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where for over ten years he was President and Editor-in-Chief of Singspiration, a sacred music publishing company. While there, he compiled and edited a hymnal called “Great Hymns of the Faith”, (c) 1961. He also served on the board of Gospel Films, Inc. of Muskegon, Michigan.

He also had direct contact with popular Christian musicians of the day such as Bill Pearce and Dick Anthony. He resided in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he continued to write music. Peterson died September 20, 2006, aged 84, following a bout with prostate cancer.

Some of his more popular song titles include “It Took a Miracle”, “Over the Sunset Mountains”, “Heaven Came Down”, “So Send I You”, “Springs of Living Water”, “Jesus is Coming Again”, “Surely Goodness and Mercy” and “This is the day that the Lord hath made”. His cantatas include Night of Miracles and Down From His Glory.

In 1986, he was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

–www.wikipedia.org

John W. Peterson was a gifted composer of Christian music.  ALL of his music is Godly, reverent, melodic, harmonic, and devoid of spiritually dangerous back-beat.  I thank God for John W. Peterson, the last great writer of Christian music.  

Hebrews 4:14-16

14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

sage

For the Lord’s Day – Great Peace Have They

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ComposerRogers, James Hotchkiss
First Publication1908
LibrettistThe Bible (Psalm 119: 165,166, 175, 176)
LanguageEnglish
Piece StyleRomantic
InstrumentationSolo voice and Organ

For the Lord’s Day – O For a Thousand Tongues

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O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of His grace!

My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honors of Thy name.

Jesus! the name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease;
’Tis music in the sinner’s ears,
’Tis life, and health, and peace.

He breaks the power of canceled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me.

He speaks, and, listening to His voice,
New life the dead receive,
The mournful, broken hearts rejoice,
The humble poor believe.

Hear Him, ye deaf; His praise, ye dumb,
Your loosened tongues employ;
Ye blind, behold your Savior come,
And leap, ye lame, for joy.

In Christ your Head, you then shall know,
Shall feel your sins forgiven;
Anticipate your heaven below,
And own that love is heaven.

Glory to God, and praise and love
Be ever, ever given,
By saints below and saints above,
The church in earth and heaven.

On this glad day the glorious Sun
Of Righteousness arose;
On my benighted soul He shone
And filled it with repose.

Sudden expired the legal strife,
’Twas then I ceased to grieve;
My second, real, living life
I then began to live.

Then with my heart I first believed,
Believed with faith divine,
Power with the Holy Ghost received
To call the Savior mine.

I felt my Lord’s atoning blood
Close to my soul applied;
Me, me He loved, the Son of God,
For me, for me He died!

I found and owned His promise true,
Ascertained of my part,
My pardon passed in heaven I knew
When written on my heart.

Look unto Him, ye nations, own
Your God, ye fallen race;
Look, and be saved through faith alone,
Be justified by grace.

See all your sins on Jesus laid:
The Lamb of God was slain,
His soul was once an offering made
For every soul of man.

Awake from guilty nature’s sleep,
And Christ shall give you light,
Cast all your sins into the deep,
And wash the Æthiop white.

Harlots and publicans and thieves
In holy triumph join!
Saved is the sinner that believes
From crimes as great as mine.

Murderers and all ye hellish crew
In holy triumph join!
Believe the Savior died for you;
For me the Savior died.

With me, your chief, ye then shall know,
Shall feel your sins forgiven;
Anticipate your heaven below,
And own that love is heaven.

Charles Wesley 1739

Wesley wrote this hymn to com­mem­o­rate the first an­ni­ver­sa­ry of his con­ver­sion to Christ. This or­i­gin is re­flect­ed in the lyr­ics, “On this glad day the glor­i­ous Sun of Right­eous­ness arose.” The stanza that be­gins “O for a thou­sand tongues to sing” is verse seven of Wes­ley’s orig­in­al po­em. This work first ap­peared in Hymns and Sac­red Po­ems in 1740.

http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/o/f/o/ofor1000.htm

The majestic music for this breathtaking hymn was composed by Carl Glaser, 1828.

Psalm 35:27-28

27 Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.

28 And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long.

Psalm 119:171-173

171 My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught me thy statutes.

172 My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.

173 Let thine hand help me; for I have chosen thy precepts.