“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed” 1 Peter 4:12,13.
I’m surprised. Perhaps you’re experiencing a great trial as well. Our minds are in a battle to focus on faith in God, our physical bodies are taxed beyond understanding. But God is greater than anything we can face.
“My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing our God cannot do!” I pray God enables us to stand in faith and not enter fear.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind” 2nd Timothy 1:7.
Join me to fight this battle on our knees.
What is our comfort in this time? Psalm 119:50 tells us, “Your Word has given me life.”
I share an hour’s worth of prayer to meditate on so we can think on “things above, not on things of the earth,” and because we have believed in Jesus, and have “died” to this world, “our life is now hidden with Christ in God” Colossians 3:3.
Together, today, all who are in great trial, we choose to:
“Therefore humble (y)ourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
casting all (y)our care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” 1 Peter 5:7-8.
But God is greter. We will seek His presence and choose to think on His truth.
“This is the voctory that overcomes the world, even our faith” 1 John 5″4.
Jesus alone is our peace. Our hope. Our everything.
Let’s keep our minds in a safe place, “rejoiocing in hope, praying without ceasing, and giving thanks in everything, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for us” 1 Thessalonians 5: 16 & 17.
Prayers for our souls to take comfort when our heart is overwhelmed
“Stay safe!” Multiple urgent warnings, minute upon minute reporting, and hour upon hour projections come our way when satellite images prove a storm is near.
Plans are made to prepare.
Well, there’s a storm on the horizon. Haven’t you heard?
Are you in search of proof? A visual image?
The Bible recorded a “test” for Jesus when the religious leaders asked Him for a “sign from heaven.”
Jesus answered, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.
Jesus, not so “mild and meek,” continued,
A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.”
Jesus then left them and went away (Matthew 16:2-4).
The sign of Jonah? (Does this indicate the Bible account is actual and not a fairy tale. This is the only sign we get, according to Jesus.)
I see five pictures in this “sign of Jonah,”
Five Pictures:
Jonah disobeys God and runs in the opposite direction. (We all have disobeyed God and run in the opposite direction, Romans 3:23).
Jonah’s rescue: A great storm and realization. “Throw me overboard,” cried Jonah. (When we “see” our waywardness brought a storm.)
God’s grace and salvation is given through a very large fish who swallows Jonah. (“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is . . . )
Three days of revelation for Jonah to bring about repentance. God gave life to Jonah, undeserved, unearned favor. (“. . . the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord, Romans 6:23.)
Regurgitated resurrection life in Jonah and a call to obey God for hope and peace!
We see 1. A storm. 2. A gracious whale. 3. Hot revelations and repentance. 4. A resurrected life.
This is all we get, minus the gracious whale. Instead, when we believe, we’re received and accepted by a gracious Lord Jesus.
He’s the only safe place for you and me and all the people of the world, today. Jesus, He’s the Rock we can stand on. He never changes.
To be saved, or un-saved, this is the “safe” question:
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” Matthew 7:24-27, NIV.
There’s a storm coming. Make wise plans. God’s report is 100% accurate!
The king had a gold statue made and set up in the middle of the large city. Every leader and official of the province gathered for its dedication.
A loud voice announced, “People of all nations, races, and languages! You will hear the sound of the trumpets, followed by the playing of . . . lyres, and harps; and then all the other instruments will join in.
As soon as the music starts, you are to bow down and worship the gold statue the king has set up” (Daniel 3, GNBUK).
The warning for anyone in rebellion to the king’s order would immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.
What if this was you or me in this situation? Would we fear the king or the King of Kings who gave His command through Moses?
Fear of the king would bring people to bow down and worship the statue.
What is the command of the King of all kings given through Moses?
Those who knew this King’s command had a decision to make.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego remembered the Word of the Lord,
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before me . . . You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, . . . showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20: 2-6).
“And so, as soon as (the people) heard the sound of the instruments, the people of all the nations, races, and languages bowed down and worshipped the gold statue which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. “
It was told the king, “There are some Jews whom you put in charge of the province of Babylon — Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego — who are disobeying Your Majesty’s orders. They do not worship your god or bow down to the statue you set up.”
Daniel 3:4-18 proclaims the ancient story: The king “flew into a rage and ordered the three men to be brought before him.” They were given another chance to bow to the statue, or, “you will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”
The king asked a very good question to the three, “Do you think there is any god who can save you?”
This day is now. Who is our king, or King? Of whom do we worship and bow?
“Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways.
When you eat the labor of your hands, You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you” Psalm 128.
Do we know this King of Love? Do we know His Son? Who is this King of glory? Higher than all kings of the earth, what is His nature? His character whom we should trust?
“The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth . . . ” (Exodus 34:6,7). Do we know this King the Bible proclaims?
Let’s take a look at king Nebuchadnezzar:
He “. . . lost his temper, and his face turned red with anger at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So he ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual. And he commanded the strongest men in his army to tie the three men up and throw them into the blazing furnace. So they tied them up, fully dressed — shirts, robes, caps, and all — and threw them into the blazing furnace.”
What character did the king of the day possess? “My rule or the fire?”
What is the character of the King of Kings?
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine In the very heart of your house, Your children like olive plants All around your table.
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed Who fears the LORD (Psalm 128).
Let’s witness in Daniel 3 the actions of the King above all kings:
The king asked, “Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the blazing furnace?”
They answered, “Yes, we did, Your Majesty.”
“Then why do I see four men walking about in the fire?” he asked.
“They are not tied up, and they show no sign of being hurt — and the fourth one looks like an angel.”
Is not the King of Kings faithful to His Word always? Has the LORD promised,
“I will never [under any circumstances] desert you [nor give you up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you helpless], nor will I forsake or let you down or relax My hold on you [assuredly not]!” Hebrews 13: 5, AMP.
Do we know the Lord as these three men? Their position was as Psalm 118:6, “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
The Lord loves each of us. However, we’re ALL separated from Him because of our sin. Yes, every single person in the world.
That is why He loved us so much to give us His Son, and to all who believe on Him, everlasting life is given from this time and forevermore.
Do we fear the LORD, Jesus? Turn to Him today, He is not only “Faithful and True,” . . . It is also said of Jesus,
“And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” Revelation 19:16.
The LORD bless you out of Zion, And may you see the good of Jerusalem All the days of your life. Yes, may you see your children’s children.
Peace be upon Israel!
Tell someone, (or me) if today is the day you gave your life to the KING of KINGS!
December has begun, and people are . . . not all jolly. How do we overcome and move forward when life is filled with loss,
or sickness, or falls,
and pressures, and messes,
and great amount of cares?
Is there a rescue place? Well, those who believe in God take comfort in spending time and thinking on His love and sufficient gift in His Son.
But what about when the song is gone when the holiday season has begun? Like a tire gone flat? Where’s the lift?
I’m telling you, it’s in the hymn-book! One that’s opened and read aloud that is.
This is the one-stringed guitar that I play, so-to-speak: the hymnal has amazing power. But my favorite of all time are Robert J. Morgan’s Then Sings My Soul editions.
I brought one of the editions into the infusion room many years ago when I was undergoing chemotherapy. The cancer patients in close vicinity to my voice were lifted immediately by the hymns and the stories of the writers.
We were changed. A deep joy, courage, and most important, hope returned to our sick bodies.
Many were reminded that God’s gracious love never left their side, even though they had nothing to do with Him for long and past years.
Yesterday, I was thinking of my elderly neighbor while I was able to be at church on Dec. 1. She’s unable to get to church because of many reasons, and struggling in many ways.
Thank you Robert. J. Morgan, for writing Then Sings My Soul Special Edition. I scooped up this book and went on my way to pay a short visit to my neighbor.
Coffee came first, but then pages were opened:
His Eye is on the Sparrow by Civilla D. Martin, 1905.
The Scripture of choice for this hymn was, “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will”Matthew 10:29.
Always to the left was the hymn, to the right, a story. With nomelody at all, just the words of the hymn read aloud, “Why should I feel discouraged? Why should the shadows come? Why should my heart be lonely And long for heaven and home.
When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He: His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me . . . “
Yes, it’s true, the Word has been told us, “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”) Matthew 1;23.
Isn’t this one of the most precious promises of God? My eyes scroll up for verse 2 with anticipation of the thoughts: “Whenever I am tempted, Whenever clouds arise, When song gives place to sighing, When hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him; From care He sets me free; His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me . . . “
Hope is restored with the speaking, (or singing, if you choose) of a hymn. Change comes. The promises of God fill the mind instead of troubles and pain. For example,
“. . . God has chosen to make known . . . the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
And then my eyes roamed to Morgan’s writing in regards to this hymn by Civilla Durfee Martin, and I was reminded of other verses regarding God’s faithfulness within this theme:
“Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will” Matthew 10:29.
“Do not fear . . . you are of more value than many sparrows” Luke 12:7.
What a wonderful gift this book is to me over and over again. Perhaps, this year the most meaningful gift you might give yourself, or others, is a Robert J. Morgan’s, Then Sings my Soul edition.
“Tune up my heart strings, Lord.” She prays, as her heart beats in a flat, minor chord.
“All things are possible with You by my side,” she believes.
“Help my unbelief,” she asks ready to defeat the perfectionist, the giant enemy of thought.
“Change me. C-H-A-N-G-E me!” She pleads with the One who is able.
In stillness, a gentle voice reminds:
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord you God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9.
Faith has new breath, and a word of direction: “Sing a new song. Praise God as the victory is won. Sing praise!”
A hymn comes to mind.
The hymn tunes the heart’s theme for hope.
With a prayer for mercy and power of God.
Read aloud. Yes, sing aloud:
Come thou fount of every blessing Tune my heart to sing thy grace
Streams of mercy never ceasing Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet Sung by flaming tongues above
I’ll praise the mount I’m fixed upon it Mount of thy redeeming love”
Change happens in a moments time. God’s Word comes to mind:
“I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber;”Psalm 121,
Lifted. Transformed, through the speaking of a psalm.
What comes next? Her heart needs to know, she reads aloud:
The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
This is how the hymn is sung. By the help of the Living Word giving persevering strength to the weary saint.
Here I raise my Ebenezer Hither by thy help I come
And I hope by thy good pleasure Safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me when a stranger Wondering from the fold of God
He, to rescue me from danger Interposed His precious blood
She receives the Spirit’s Comfort and Hope and thankfulness pours forth:
O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be! Let thy goodness like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee
Prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.
Victory is won in her heart this moment. A new song is sung. Prayers have been answered and change for good themes continues on . . .
Will we choose to read aloud and sing? “Yes, because ‘new’ is a glorious thing.”
An empty glove can’t move. But with a hand in it, the glove is fluid to move in marvelous ways.
What’s natural in human nature, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy” (Matthew 5:43), is evident all around.
But “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you?” this is hard stuff in Matthew 5:44.
What if Jesus could sit with us this morning and have our ear and our whole heart for a bit: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your Father in heaven.
He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous Matthew 43-45.
Is there evidence of God in Christ Jesus in us? Are we “children of our Father in heaven,” (Matthew 5:45).
Do we love those who love us? Naturally, yes. This is easy. The Bible tells us that even tax collectors do that.
But God calls us to impossible standards: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” Matthew 5:48.
There’s no way, nada. Especially if we’ve been deeply hurt, there is often no willingness.
We can’t naturally love our enemy. We’re much like the glove with no hand.
Jesus said multiple times, “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible” Matthew 19:26.
“If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believes” Mark 9:23.
“With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.” Mark 10:27.
Who’s ready to believe big with me? Unity is what Jesus desires. Oneness of the Body of Christ, and salvation to the lost souls of the world.
Time is short. Jesus is coming back again.
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.
May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—
I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the worldJohn 17:21-24.
I want to believe God to work miracles of unity that “the world will know” that God sent His Son, and see that God loves everyone. His desire is that all should know Him and receive Salvation and grace in His name.
I want to believe in a revival of love and forgiveness one person at a time.
This is big, but not too hard for God.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace Ephesians 1:7
If I don’t have a heart willing to forgive, God sees and He understands the struggle. He’s been hurt more than any human being through all of time, as He laid His life down at the cross.
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” Luke 23:34.
How can we get to such a place?
“Christ in us is our hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
He rose from the dead. Jesus is alive.
Christ in me. . . my only hope to love in a “perfect” way.
The Potter adds the water of the Spirit and repairs dried-up clay to create a vessel fit for the Master’s use.
What’s impossible in ourselves, is possible in Him.
Let’s go to God for our “impossibles.” His hand in our empty gloves = possibility of amazing grace and His love spread in all dark places.
“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:9-13.
“We pray dear Lord, ‘let there be peace and love on this earth, and let it begin with me. You are our only hope. Christ in us, our hope of glory.’ In Jesus Name, Amen.”
Occupy, watch, wait some more, being nourished by daily water in His Word.
With continual Love from the Son, and grace sufficient for each day to abide, rejoice that He produces the fruit of joy in our soul.
Rejoice always. He alone is good.
He will do what He has said He would.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love” John 15:5-9.
A Psalm of David, so long ago, was penned and written for the Chief Musician.
Psalm 139, I pray will stay close to my heart as I take hold of His hand.
Before my feet hit the floor, may I meditate on who He is, and by His help better understand.
My walk is as a messy poem, but God in His great mercy never leaves me alone:
O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it.
If these words be true, (You have pronounced Your Word as truth), help me today to believe.
Help me remember . . .You.
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth, John 17:17 states.
So, in knowing and seeing it all, You can see clearly, I often make many mistakes.
You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. John15:3.
I don’t completely understand, but I receive a washing in the morning as I read.
Let this Word be a continual song I sing:
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
Yesterday’s pain, struggle, and loss feel like heaviness falling on me, but if even the night shall be light about me; . . . and the night shines as the day;
I receive Your Word that I don’t completely know, but when I look at a candle, only light surrounds it, so . . .
I can see that You are with me, and light even my night.
You are greater than all of my anxiety, ugliness, and fright. Your Word, the powerful sounds, are healing the doubt that so often surrounds.
For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.
Deep calls to deep. These thoughts are not as man’s. These Words pierce me through. My days you write in a book? Truly from beginning to end? I clearly see, I want more faith, more faith each day to trust You!
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.
Clearly, a lifetime it will take to comprehend such thoughts. Give me wisdom and knowledge. Help me understand the price You paid on the cross.
A Love so real. You laid down Your life for me. Even though You knew how wretched many of my steps would be.
I want to be on Your side, dear Lord.
Please keep me from being an enemy. With doubt, and unbelief. Making excuses to sin.
Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. Psalm 119.
Get my eyes in Your Word, more and more, dear Lord.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
This is a hard prayer to pray in the morning, and even more so, at night.
Dear Lord Jesus, I thank You for covering my sin with Your blood. I thank You for showing me You walk with me and know, every step that I take, and every word I speak, and even the thoughts that I think. And You still love . . .
You knew me in the beginning and promise to know my end days as well. Today, let me be new, tear down, rebuild, clean up and move.
Help me walk more closely. Help me let You lead. Let this be my song that I continually sing, making the choice each day, to acknowledge You, King:
Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
In Jesus Name, I, and all who believe ask, “Let it be, yes, let it be. Amen.”
The media of this day is filled with . . . words, words, and endless words of man. Our hearts feel oppression of lies, cruelty, hate. Confusion comes and every evil thing.
The Bible says, “if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice”James 3:14-16.
This describes our day. People are confused. Out-of-order is the loud message of many people with microphones of this day.
We are restless.
Those who believe God is greater than all this, pray.
We seek His Word. Be amazed as He speaks in Isaiah 29:
Woe to those . . . who do their work in darkness and think, “Who sees us? Who will know?” You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, “You did not make me”? Can the pot say to the potter, “You know nothing”? . . .
Professional people today are ruthless with each other, they are mockers of good. They, “with a word make someone out to be guilty, . . . with false testimony deprive the innocent of justice” Isaiah 29:13-21.
But believers in an Almighty God Who sees and knows, pray.
We ask God to encourage our hearts. We read His Word and He is faithful to speak and comfort:
“Therefore this is what the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, says to the descendants of Jacob:
“No longer will Jacob be ashamed; no longer will their faces grow pale. When they see among them their children, the work of my hands, they will keep my name holy; they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. Those who are wayward in spirit will gain understanding; those who complain will accept instruction” Isaiah 29:22-24.
These are words of hope.
The Word of God is filled with woes and stories hard to understand, but the spirit of man is fed and encouraged when the Spirit of God is invited in.
“Lord, give us hearts soft and ears open to receive and understand Your Word:”
“People of Zion, . . . you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you.Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more;
with your own eyes you will see them.
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, “Away with you!”
He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful . . . The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted” Isaiah 30:19-26.
“Speak, Lord. Your servants are hungry for Your Word. We have read.
Show us our attitudes that must go.
Reveal to us Your ways, unlike ours.
We wait and believe You are able to accomplish all that You say to Your people who believe.
A young college graduate on graduation day spoke to a crowd about the eye:
“I would like to say that now that we have our degree, we will not run into problems that we can’t handle, but truthfully no matter the type of degree, the number of years of experience, no matter the location, the support groups, the family, or the friendships, there will always come a time when we just don’t know the answer. It’s inevitable, so I want to encourage you with a little anatomy lesson:
Did you know that there are 47 different structures that make up the human eye that all have a unique function?
Did you know that there are 6 extra-ocular muscles, 4 cranial nerves, and 1.2 million nerve fibers in each optic nerve?
Did you know that when light waves touch my eye, without even thinking about it I blink to protect them from too much exposure? And when the amount of light changes, my pupillary -light response reacts without a thought so that only the right amount of light is let into my eye.
Did you know that there are four out of twelve cranial nerves that work specifically for the eye so that they can not only allow me to focus on a object and read it but also so that they can move in different directions.
There are 9 different structures that all play a specific role in receiving light messages before they even get to the brain! And it is not until those messages get to the occipital lobe of the brain that I can interpret what I am actually seeing.
The eyes receive millions of light waves and messages everyday, but my brain has a specific area that let’s only the important and significant messages through so that the brain doesn’t get over-stimulated.
And did you know that the God who told me to cast all my cares upon Him, and that He will never leave me nor forsake me, that I should be anxious for nothing, was the very One who designed this whole system and hundreds like it so that we can live and move and breathe every second.
And did you know that He didn’t have to lift a finger and didn’t sweat a drop to think of it, He just breathed on one man and He said that He knit us together and formed us in our mother’s womb before you were even a thought in her mind.
And now you tell me, what are you worried about?
What will you be worried about when you come up to those hurdles that are bound to cross you path?
I want you to think of your eye and tell me, that your situation, your problem, your worry is TOO big for the GOD who created you and the world you live in to handle.”
( Carolyn Rypkema at Lamplighting Ceremony at PBAU May 3,2012).
So today, I confess, I am much like a sheep that tends to forget these wonderful thoughts.
So, I take a moment, to think of my eye. What a marvelous creation of God.
My anxious heart is put to rest, and my thoughts are tested now to trust and let go.
Let go of worry, strife, pain, and fear and to think of my eye, and the Creator who knows all that I need. Oh, yes, He knows . . . much more than I.
In the old church hymnal, Frances Havergal, paints a moving picture with song, yet with a constant under-girding of calm.
Like a river glorious, Is God’s perfect peace, Over all victorious In it’s bright increase;
Perfect, yet it floweth Fuller every day, Perfect, yet it groweth Deeper all the way.
Stayed upon Jehovah, Hearts are fully blest; Finding as He promised, Perfect peace and rest.
Like a river glorious, is God’s perfect peace! Hidden in the hollow Of His blessed hand, Never foe can follow Never traitor stand;
Not a surge of worry, Not a shade of care, Not a blast of hurry Touch the Spirit there.
“Then, like a river glorious I desire to be. Moving steadily on, Dear Lord, in trust of Your security. Hide me in the hollow of Your great hand, mighty.
Reliable and more.
This world spins out of control leaving me fatigued and confused. Take me the way I am. Move me, like a river glorious.
Transform me, because You can—through Your gracious and gentle Hand.
Perfect, yet it floweth Fuller every day, Perfect, yet it groweth Deeper all the way.
Peace. Rest. Victorious. Bright increase. Words speak. As the stars across the heavens at night. As an abundance of roses on a stem. Wherever I may be, Lord, let this hymn energize me to believe.”
Could it be? Words, lead me, to my refuge and help? The pages in a hymnal read aloud. A remedy constant to revive. I turn to it’s page. I find Rock of Ages, on the other side.
Rock of Ages, cleft for me let me hide myself in Thee.”
The Lord is speaking. He is ministering to me. Like a River Glorious, a Rock of Ages that I might hide. Two different pictures, bringing about a solid theme, that wherever I go, I am being held and protected from Fear and Anxiety, two of my greatest foes.
Peace came to this furious world. Willing to allow the water and the blood from His wounded side to flow. . . His death gives life to me, and all the people of the world, who see.
Like a River Glorious.
These words are living. Hymns teach of hope! Refreshment and revival. “Stayed on Jehovah, hearts fully blest! Finding, as He promised, Perfect peace and rest!”
Moving forward, constant. Like a River Glorious. Yet, Stayed on Jehovah, our mighty God, Hidden in the hollow Of His blessed hand, Never foe can follow, Never traitor stand.
To this morning meditation, let all the people say, “Amen.”
“This world, this wilderness, this desert place— where You watch our steps, it’s ruthless and rough, scary and often-times, a disgrace. This world, O Lord, that You ‘so loved.’ You sent Your precious Son that the people might see with their eyes, and experience Love.
But at each turn, moment by moment, for us, (and 2,000 years ago, for You, Jesus), there’s strife, accusing, and distrust. This world is broken with edges that are sharp. So often, Lord, our hearts are left bleeding all over the place.
You know all about that, and remind us: My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. (1)
Pour out that ‘sufficient grace’, Lord. Give us ears open, for listening. Give our hearts increased understanding: I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one may rob you and deprive you of your crown. Revelation 3:11.
God, these words seem at times, foreign and distant. What do we have? How do we hold fast? Remind me of the crown. What’s the meaning of all this?
The old folks are weary, fighting to persevere. The children are caught in a cultural fast-paced race. Your Book is open. We will be still, and hear:
These are the words of the Holy One, the True One, He Who has the key of David, Who opens and no one shall shut, Who shuts and no one shall open.
Oh, Lord, in awe and reverence, we are listening, with the Book open in Revelation 3:
I know your [record of] works and what you are doing. See! I have set before you a door wide open, which no one is able to shut; I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept My Word and guarded My message, and have not renounced or denied My name. (2)
But God, You can see that I have not always kept Your Word. Please forgive me. You see my shame. Wash me new, today. Help my eyes acknowledge the work You have done for me:
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, Psalm 103. (3)
Yes, I see a door in my mind, open, with Your nail-pierced hands before me. You speak ever gently, Remember Me.
Flooding now in my memory from Your Word: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, all the days of my life . . . Psalm 23. (4)
And then a hymn comes cleansing me:
I will arise and go to Jesus He will embrace me in His arms In the arms of my dear Savior Oh, there are ten thousand charms (5)
Dear Lord, the Welcome mat to Your house of Love is often an Hymn from so long ago:
Come, ye thirsty, come and welcome God’s free bounty glorify True belief and true repentance Every grace that brings you nigh
Come, ye weary, heavy-laden Lost and ruined by the fall If you tarry ’til you’re better You will never come at all
He who overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God], I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God; he will most certainly never be put out of it, and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My [own] new name.
He who has an ear, let him hear and heed what the Spirit says to the churches.’ (6)
Today, as if it were my first. Today, as if it were my last:
I will arise and go to Jesus He will embrace me in His arms In the arms of my dear Savior Oh, there are ten thousand charms (5)
(1) 2 Corinthians 12:9.
(2) Revelation 3:7-8.
(3) Psalm 103:2-4.
(4) Psalm 23:6.
(5) I Will Arise and Go To Jesus/ Joseph Hart/ 1759.
(6) Revelation 3:12,13.
Do we smell of fear and let doubt lead the way?
Like a skunk that’s afraid, pray we are not near.
Or as a pig slopping in a muddy mess, doing only as he pleases, “Dear Lord, save us from the stench of selfishness. May displeasing You, be our greatest dread and fear.”
“Dear Lord, give those who claim to know Your name, a cleansing stream, an emptying. That newness of life and acceptance with joy, peace like a river would splash on us a fragrance of Light.”
Today, a meditation on words penned almost a hundred years ago; Ina D. Ogden, “Speak your exhortation to ears ‘poor in spirit'”:
Do not wait until some deed of greatness you may do, Do not wait to shed your light afar; To the many duties ever near you now be true, Brighten the corner where you are.
Brighten the corner where you are! Brighten the corner where you are! Someone far from harbor you may guide across the bar; Brighten the corner where you are!
What kind of fragrance do we bring in the room? Is it a critical spirit. Thinking we know what’s right? “Dear Lord, reveal to us our failure and sin, that we might ask forgiveness and let Your light shine in us again.”
Perhaps the brokenness and deep hurts will prove to be, a place where we might have a gentle spirit and compassion. Perhaps God will help us have a tender spirit, gracious, gentle, a-c-c-e-p-t-i-n-g.
When pain comes, and darkness, we are tested and tried. Are we going to believe the Good Word only, when things go right?
Oh, to believe that “The LORD is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does,” Psalm 145:17.
Oh, how we are tested during times of loss, to believe:
Just above are clouded skies that you may help to clear, Let not narrow self your way debar; Though into one heart alone may fall your song of cheer, Brighten the corner where you are.
The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation, Psalm 118:14.
This is the phrase I must sing. Let us today, wake up in faith, knowing, that God is with us. Let’s forget about ourselves and allow His light to beam:
Here for all your talent you may surely find a need, Here reflect the bright and Morning Star; Even from your humble hand the Bread of Life may feed, Brighten the corner where you are.
A fragrance of light. A fragrance of peace. The Lord Jesus will take our burdens so today, we are free to sing: Brighten the corner where you are! Brighten the corner where you are! Someone far from harbor you may guide across the bar; Brighten the corner where you are!
Let us go now, in increased faith, to love and consider others and be a fragrance worth . . . remembering.
A blind woman could see much more than most of us dream. She couldn’t see color, or line, or form, but she had eyes to see the Lord.
Her heart would write scores of words to increase our vision and understanding of the Lord.
Fanny Crosby teaches devotion to God as we open old hymns and speak them and sing.
We weep on earth when loved ones pass, but in the LORD, hope continues on. Saved by Grace, 1891, Fanny’s chorus repeats confident and strong:
And I shall see Him face to face, And tell the story—-Saved by grace; And I shall see Him face to face, And tell the story—-Saved by grace.
Who is He that she longs to see. Our hearts long to read on and hear her words because we are born into this broken world, and in the midst of happy moments and and fun and life, there are great hurts. Great losses threaten to shadow all delight.
But God, He’s there. He asks quietly, “Do you believe?”
“Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit,” John 3:5-9.
With God, at times it seems all mystery. But Fanny writes of her Lord to show us the end before the beginning:
Some day the silver cord will break, And I no more as now shall sing; But oh, the joy when I shall wake Within the palace of the King!
This is hope. What does it all mean? Does God put this hunger in us all that we search for answers that we might see and know?
Some day my earthly house will fall, I cannot tell how soon ’twill be; But this I know-—my All in All Has now a place in heav’n for me.
Can I know? Without a doubt? How can I know that I will see the Lord face to face. How could Fanny write with such confidence of God’s grace?
And I shall see Him face to face, And tell the story—-Saved by grace; And I shall see Him face to face, And tell the story—-Saved by grace.
We are born as a baby, but before our death, is there a birth that must take place? Is this the meaning of this mystery?
A day in our life, either early or late, we must look up to Jesus, God’s Son Whom He has sent. A second birth? It is on that day, we look up and choose to say, “I believe in all You did for me on the cross.”
“Take my sin and all my misery. Empty me that I might be filled with You. Give me new life today. Fill me with Your Spirit now, and for every day.”
Then the chorus Fanny wrote will be our song of hope that we sing with heart’s strong.
Some day, when fades the golden sun Beneath the rosy-tinted west, My blessed Lord will say, “Well done!” And I shall enter into rest.
All because of the grace of God through Jesus.
Fanny wrote, that years later I could remain confident and sing until the very end:
Some day: till then I’ll watch and wait, My lamp all trimmed and burning bright, That when my Savior opes the gate, My soul to Him may take its flight.
Amen, Amen. Fanny would have us speak joyfully her chorus again: And I shall see Him face to face, And tell the story—-Saved by grace; And I shall see Him face to face, And tell the story—-Saved by grace.
Earthly riches we see and often desire. And once acquired, there is almost always, the let down: “Is that all there is?”
But Jesus, who came to be Savior, was also the unparalleled Teacher. He, Wisdom came down and spoke to ears that would hear:
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” Matthew 6:19-21.
The heavenly treasure of faith in God through Jesus His Son is higher and deeper, richer and forever. “Blessed—happy, fortunate, prosperous and enviable—is the man . . . whose delight and desire are . . .
What comes next? What’s this key to happiness? What makes a man “fortunate?”
What is possessed by the man or woman who is “prosperous and enviable?”
The possession of the glorious key to open the closed-door of Peace is faith in God through Jesus His Son.
Lasting. Forever. Promises enduring:
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God,” Romans 5:1,2.
This sounds rich. This rings glorious, but can we understand what it all means?”
“Give us faith. Help us understand the glory of God!” We pray. And . . .
He does.
Having faith to call out to God and pray, the Bible says, is all pleasing:
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him,” Hebrews 11:6.
Heavenly riches, heavenly rewards—this is what I desire. You and me alike?
Just as if I have never sinned, my Jesus sees me now. Faith in what He did for me on the cross is the beginning of riches and glory and hope for all eternity for me, and you, and anyone who believes.
The Bible says it. The Bible is truth.
“Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him,” Proverbs 30:5.
Let us sing in our hearts, even in the midst of sorrow and loss, praises to God, because God will build in us a character that counts:
“Faith God, in Your Son who suffered and died. We stand at the foot of the cross and ask for help that we may at this time,
“glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us,” Romans 5:3-5.
To the One whose name is “Faithful and True,” (Revelation 19:11), no matter what happens, help us remember time and again, that the greatest of riches is faith and trust in You. Thank You for giving us the key of faith to unlock the door of Peace with each breath we take.
Amen, and Amen. Shall we continually say, “Let it be, and to Your glory. Let it be.
Blessed is the man whose, “delight is in the law of the Lord, And on His law [His precepts and teachings] he [habitually] meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted [and fed] by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season; Its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers [and comes to maturity], Psalm 1, Amplified.”
Believing. In God. According to His Word, indeed reaps True riches. Lasting. Forever.
“Tune up my heart strings, Lord.” She prays, as her heart beats in a flat, minor chord.
Justice?
I don’t need to worry. Plain and simple. Why? 
Like a River Glorious
A blind woman could see much more than most of us dream. She couldn’t see color, or line, or form, but she had eyes to see the Lord.
And I shall see Him face to face,
Earthly riches we see and often desire. And once acquired, there is almost always, the let down: “Is that all there is?”