Mountain Climbing

Over these past few weeks we have heard a lot about reaching a peak in this illness. Once we reach the top of this peak, or shall we say mountain, we will begin to descend into normal life again. But we have to reach the peak first.

It makes me think of mountain climbing. Up front I have to tell  you  I have never scaled a climbing wall let alone a mountain. Not for wanting but because of health. I, however, love to watch movies and etc. about mountain climbing. I am always fascinated by the courage and strength that it takes to reach the summit and the slowness of the process as in the patient persistence.

The reason for anyone to attempt to scale the heights of a mountain is to reach the top and that for two reasons–the view and personal accomplishment.

Some years back when going through some really tough trials I began to see the accumulation of problems as a very high mountain. I also began to equate each challenge to conquer that mountain as grabbing for one more hand hold to pull myself up.

For instance once on the phone with the Light Co. about our bill that we were unable pay, I waited in agony to find someone there that could help me. As I waited I  imagined myself reaching for that next handhold. Stretching with all the faith and prayer in me to grab a hold of it and pull myself up by God’s grace and strength. Amazingly I was actually able to talk to some one who had the ability to help me with my need.

So I think that the days ahead will be like this. Climbing this mountain of Covid-19 little by little. There will be no quick resolution. No known in the midst of so much unknown and definitely fear which, I think, has to be a part of mountain climbing. The fear that you can’t reach the next hand hold. The fear that your feet will slip out from under  you plunging you into the depths of the valley below. The fear that your strength will give out. The fear that you aren’t up to this challenge. The fear of defeat.

Our lives have been upended, if not by the illness itself, by financial challenges. We have no idea what will come next. Most of us are just reaching up to grab that next hand hold pushing with all our might to do the right thing to keep ourselves and our families healthy. Reaching up to find a crevice that we can find and by our fingernails pull ourselves up for another day or week. And alone we cannot. We need God’s help.

So I plan to do some posts on mountain climbing because today we are all mountain climbers. We all desire to reach that summit and breath the rare air at the top with the relief that it will all be down hill from here.

I plan to uses verses as my handholds to pull me up just as I did in that time of my distress.  So in each post I will share a verse and a thought for the next hand hold and the next foot hold. We need foot holds as well. When the scripture records that His Word is a lamp unto my feet it speaks of the dark times when my feet fear to step forward because of the unknown and the unseen.  By the way, this verse refers to the practice in that long ago day of wearing lamps on their ankles to show the way.

Today we stand at the foot of the mountain looking up at a towering mountain filled with  dark and foreboding crevices.  I would say to you at this day and hour to set your heart on things above to seek the LORD.

Mountain climbing is rough and challenging work. So is walking with God at times.  The reason is because of a world filled with sin around us and our own sinful nature. Reaching up to God requires something of us. I am not talking about works to impress God of how good we are because none of us can ever be “good.” We were conceived and born into sin and we are sinners from the cradle to the grave. It is in our nature to want our own way and to rebel against God and His commandments. Hence the reason Jesus died on the cross for our sins so that we can have forgiveness of sins. He was the perfect sinless Son of God and He endured great suffering and pain to make the perfect sacrifice for our sins.

Once we have asked Him to forgive us for our sins and come into our heart and life we become one with Him as His Holy Spirit indwells in us. While our soul is redeemed and we have a new spirit in Him; our flesh is still fallen and sinful. That is why we still deal with temptations and lusts that we know are not acceptable to Him.

It is so easy in daily life to just go along with the crowd, the media,  and life itself without stopping to  reflect on our actions. We know it is important to spend time in the Word and in prayer but we find ourselves making excuses. We are too busy. We are not a morning person. Our children are a constant interruption. There are just not enough hours in a day. I experienced this many years ago when I was raising a family and working outside the home and within. You ladies know what I mean. I heard all the sermons about getting up early in the morning before daylight and spending time in the Word. Very Proverbs 31 woman. A  good goal but a lofty one for some of us. I would make a commitment to do that and fail. Again and again until I realized one day I had stopped reading my Bible altogether because I couldn’t wake up at 5 AM and make sense of anything let alone read Scripture. I felt like a failure. The truth was that God did not design me this way. I am a night person. So I went back to reading the Word and spending time in meditation at a time that worked for me. Since I worked half day I generally went to grab some lunch and eat in the park. There I would unwind, read my Bible, walk and meditate. Yes it is good to start  your day with the Word and I congratulate all of you that can; but I found what worked for me. We are all individuals and we need to take that into account when we make a commitment like this and find the way that works best for us. As far as mornings, later in life I found just reading a few passages that I could reflect upon on my way to work( by then I lived in the country and had more of a drive) was also very beneficial.

Back to my point– by not including God in our thoughts and prayers daily we begin to become callous to sin. If we don’t attend church on a regular basis or listen to preaching on line our  hearts quickly grow cold and distracted with earthly things. Things down here at the bottom of the mountain we wander.

I do find it interesting that this disease began to take hold in our nation during Lent a time of reflection on Jesus’s sacrifice don’t  you? Now as we come to the celebration of that event this year will be very different than any other we have known.  Those that thought church etc was a bore are probably wishing now just to be able to attend a church in the midst of others as they worship Him.

So I encourage you to look up and reach up for that first hand hold. Every journey begins with one step, one movement, one reaching out to the unknown ahead.

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” Acts 16:31

IS MY SIN TOO GREAT?

Speaking of Jesus the apostle John wrote–

“BUT AS MANY AS RECEIVED HIM, TO THEM GAVE HE THE POWER TO BEOME THE SONS OF GOD, EVEN TO THEM THAT BELIEVE ON HIS NAME,”  JOHN 1:12

I want to share an excerpt from the Baptist Bread written my Dr. Tim Green—–

“Sir James Simpson was a famous Edinburgh chemist. In the course of his distinguished career he had discovered chloroform, among other notable accomplishments.

Near the end of his life he was asked what he felt was his greatest discovery. His prompt reply was, “My greatest discovery was when I discovered what Jesus would be unto me.”

Simpson had accepted Christ as his Savior, Lord and Master, and now resides with Him in Glory.

 

 

There is a two-fold discovery I’d like to consider today, one is in our text, “–AS MANY AS RECEIVED HIM—” The other is the fact that not only do we receive Him, but HE RECEIVES US!

In Romans 15:7 we read this ” CHRIST HAS ALSO RECEIVED US–”

Surely one can see that we got the best of this transaction:)

WE GOT HIM AND HE GOT US!

However the “shouting ground” with the realization that he received us–you and me—

 

To think that a holy God would stoop to receive us from the trash heaps and garbage dumps of our earthly existence is WONDERFUL!!!!

His life added to our lives, make life livable. Our lives added to His life, make us fit for Glory, as He,  “—RECEIVED US, TO THE GLORY OF GOD.”

I always thought it smacked a little of pride to way, “I accepted Christ.”

The grand thing was that He accepted me!

What a day of discovery when Jesus and you received one another!”

 

This thought amazes me. HE RECEIVED ME!   and each of you that is reading this–if you have put your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior can echo the same thing:) How wonderful!

 

The hymn I’d like to share today was written by James McGranahan  who lived in the 19th century America, He was a musician and composer composing over 250 hymns.

CHRIST RECEIVETH SINFUL MEN

Sinners Jesus will receive;

Sound this word of grace to all 

Who the heavenly pathway leave,

All who linger, all who fall.

 

Come and He will give you rest;

Trust Him, for His word is plain;

He will take the sinfulest;

Christ receiveth sinful men.

 

 

Now my heart condemns me not,

Pure before the law I stand;

He who cleansed me from all spot,

Satisfied its last demand.

 

 

Christ receiveth sinful men,

Even me with all my sin;

Purged from every spot and stain,

                          Heaven with Him I enter in.

 

 

Sing it o’er and o’er again;

Christ receiveth sinful men;

Make the message clear and plain:

Christ receiveth sinful men.

 

James McGranahan  July 4, 1840-July 9, 1907

SO NEVER THINK YOUR SIN IS TOO GREAT FOR JESUS’ PRECIOUS BLOOD TO CLEANSE. NEVER FEEL THAT IF YOU CAME TO HIM ASKING FORGIVENESS THAT HE IS NOT BIG ENOUGH AND POWERFUL ENOUGH TO FORGIVE. FORGIVE YOU–OF ANY AND ALL SIN—-YES HE CAN!!

 

 

 

 

THERE IS A FOUNTAIN PART II

I’M sorry to have not finished the first post on the topic THERE IS A FOUNTAIN FILLED WITH BLOOD–I had some issues –again–with something when I was uploading a picture–so this is the hymn that I want to share with you today–

There is a fountain filled with blood

Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;

And sinners plunged beneath that flood,

Lose all their guilty stains—-

the dying thief rejoiced to see

That fountain in his day;

And there may I, though vile as he,

Wash all my sins away—

Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood

Shall never lose its power,

Till all the ransomed church of God

Be saved, to sin no more—-

E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream

Thy flowing wounds supply,

Redeeming love has been my theme,

And shall be till I die:——-

Then in a nobler, sweeter song,

I’ll sing Thy power to save,

When this poor lisping, stammering tongue

Lies silent in the grave—-

William Cowper 1731-1800

If you have never asked Jesus to forgive your sins and enter your heart I urge you to do it today. He is waiting for you to make that next move and He will embrace you in His love forever.

 

 

RESOLVED WITH A PURPOSE

The word RESOLVED means –FIRM DETERMINATION–

Often in our Christian walk it will take firm DETERMINATION to stay the course. It is so easy to be distracted by the world’s attractions. We look around us and are enticed to follow another path than the one that Jesus would have us to tread.

The path of success and fame is enticing. The sparkling path to pleasure and enjoyment calls to us.  The Road of wrong attitudes of the world– that  we don’t need boundaries in our lives– just come and enjoy the fruits that materialism can afford us. Feast the eyes upon forbidden things. No one, who is human, will deny that sin has pleasure for a time. But the twisted pathway of sin will lead us to sure heartache and destruction.

Our effectiveness as believers depends on our COMMITMENT to our Lord and Savior.  The road to eternal riches is a road we must RESOLVE to put our feet upon every day. It is a constant upward climb but well worth the effort. Often our path will be intersected again and again by the other roads therefore we must RESOLVE–we must PURPOSE–not to be tempted off the course that Jesus has mapped for us.

In the King James Bible the word often used for resolved is “purpose.” David purposed in his heart to serve God. IN Acts 11:23b we find Barnabas encouraging the believers at Antioch–“that with PURPOSE they would cleave unto the Lord.”

The hymn I’d like to share with you today is “I AM RESOLVED”

It was written by Palmer Hartsough . He lived from 1844-1932. He anointing was music. We see that in his life as he begins as a music teacher and ends belonging to a music company. He also became an ordained Baptist minister along the way.

I am resolved no longer to linger,

Charmed by the world’s delight;

Things that are higher,

Things that are nobler,

These have allured my sight.

 

I am resolved to go to the Savior,

Leaving my sin and strife;

He is the true One,

He is the just One,

He hath the Words of Life.

 

I am resolved to follow the Savior,

Faithful and true each day;

Heed what He sayeth,

Do what He willeth,

He is the living way.

 

I am resolved to enter the Kingdom,

Leaving the paths of sin;

Friends may oppose me,

Foes may beset me,

Still will I enter in.

 

I will hasten to Him, Hasten so glad and free;

Jesus, Greatest, Highest, I will come to Thee.

Palmer Hartsough                                                  James H. Gilmore

STRENGTH DAY BY DAY

I woke up to Winter AGAIN!!! Maybe you did too. What a discouragement to realize that Winter didn’t just come for a visit this year it moved in with a heart full of malice. I know –I know–winter has it’s beauty. No one would deny that watching the snow gently falling has a calming sensation. And when I think of the wondrous things about snow that only a marvelous and wise Creator could accomplish I find myself praising Him.

Did you know that each and every snowflake has six points? No more and no less. And yes each and every one. While they all have six points they each have their own distinct pattern. It is sort of like people. We know we are “a people” because we have all the requirements but each and every one of us is different. I find it amazing what God can do and even more amazing that He uses that same finesse on each and every tiny snowflake.

The white snow covering the ground looks like frosting on a wedding cake which reminds me that those of us who know HIm as our personal Savior make up the Bride of Christ, and He will be returning soon to take us to His heavenly home. ” I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments,—” Isaiah 61:10  “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.” Rev. 22: 17 

 Also that great expanse of white  reminds us of Christ’s redeeming blood that washes our dirty, sin filled hearts clean, “Come now, and let us reason together , saith the LORD: thought your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow;–Isaiah 1:18 Jesus blood makes us righteous in God’s eyes.  When I lived in the country the snow was mostly white and beautiful but now that I live in the city it often gets gray and dirty just like, even though we know Christ as our Savior, we are not immune to sin. We sin and our hearts lose their peaceful white until we confess our sins to Him, and then just like the new falling snow covers the dirty snow and makes it white once again, Jesus blood cleanses our hearts, and purifies us for a closer walk with Him.

So I don’t like the snow because it means that driving anywhere is dangerous. When it gets this cold it means another long day shut up in the house. But just like all of God’s other seasons it has much to teach us if we are willing to put aside our complaints and meditate a while on our Great Creator. 

It seems like winter days drag on and on.  I know that if you are going through a trial or an illness the days may drag by for you as well.–so I chose this song today–“Day by Day ” to share with you today.

Carolina Sandell Berg wrote this song. She was not a very strong child so she grew up spending much time in her father’s study as he prepared sermons for his church. When she was  twenty six she  lost her father. They were traveling on a ship when it lurched and he was thrown overboard. She watched in horror as her father drowned before her eyes. At the loss of her earthly father she grew closer still to her heavenly Father. She had already, by this time, written many hymns but she went on to write many more in spite of her great pain and loss.

Day by day and with each passing moment,

Strength I find to meet my trials here;

Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,

I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.

He whose heart is kind beyond all measure,

Gives unto each day what He deems best–

Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,

Mingling toil with peace and rest.

 

Every day the Lord Himself is near me

With a special mercy for each hour;

All my cares He fain would bear,and cheer me

He whose name is Counselor and Power.

The protection of His child and treasure

Is a charge which upon Himself He laid;

“As thy days thy strength shall be in measure,”

This the pledge to me He made.

 

Help me then in every tribulation

So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,

That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation

Offered me with in Thy Holy Word.

Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,

E’er to take as from a father’s hand,

One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,

Till I reach the promised land.”

Carolina Sandell Berg 1832-1903—translated by–Andrew L. Skoog 1856-1934

 

 

WATER IS THE UNIVERSAL SOLVENT

SIN EDITAR (Photo credit: angel almanzo grupo 52)

Did you know that? I have to admit that I didn’t or maybe I just didn’t think of it. What this means is that most substances dissolve in water.                                                             

Again we can parallel this with the Holy Spirit in that  God‘s love is the “Universal Solvent” for all people. The word solvent is defined in the dictionary this way–For one it means he is able to pay all debts and in another place ,”something that provides a solution.”  Yes– to give us a solution to our problematic, sin wracked life. Jesus died on the cross and shed His precious blood to pay our sin debt. The Bible tells us that all have sinned and that the wages or payment for that sin is death in hell. Eternally separated from God. Romans 6:23  We all have a huge sin debt that we have been racking up ever since birth. Even the most “angelic” and good person that we know still is a sinner by nature. We are born in sin and we will die in sin unable to face a holy and righteous God who demands a payment for our sins.

God in His great mercy realized that there is no way we could be good enough or work hard enough doing good to pay this debt and sent His Son to pay the debt for us. All we simply need to do is come to Him and bow before Him asking forgiveness for our sins and He freely gives it to us and erases our debt forever. All sin past and present and future is under the blood of Jesus. It is gone and God promises us He will remember it no more.

Only Jesus can give us this freedom. If you struggle with sin He has the answer. If you are weighed down by the past and all the harm you have caused others by your sinful behavior He is the answer. You don’t have to carry that guilt any longer He wishes to take it from you and present you righteous before God. He will wipe you slate clean forever and you can indeed “start over” with a clean slate. And know what it is like to experience freedom and hope for a brighter future.

Now there are some substances that will not dissolve in water those are –fats and oils. They are called ‘hydrophobic” in other words water fearing.

In spite of the “enlightened” technological world in which we live people are still walking in spiritual darkness and know it not. They are grasping for material possessions and looking for happiness in the bitter “wells” of this world. These wells are broken cisterns that hold no water and the people come away thirsting for they know not want. Others deny God’s existence or dismiss it because they want to continue in their sinful ways. They are unaware that they are just a step away from eternity. That is why it is so important that we as believers are diligent to share the “good news” with those we meet on life’s journey. This can be as simple as leaving a Bible tract somewhere. But it takes an awareness on our part everyday of what our duty is and the terrible consequences in someone else’s life if we don’t practice our faith. 

 Hell is a real place–according to an old time preacher over every doorway is written “No Escape.” There are no second chances. Mark 9:47 Jesus describes it as a place where “the worm dieth not” and the fire is not quench. Other places such as Matthew 8:12 it is referred to as a place of utter darkness where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. If you wonder how it is that a loving God could cast someone into eternal darkness the answer it that hell was not created for mankind it was made for the devil and his angels.  II Peter 2:4 As a punishment for their sin. Unfortunately when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit at the Tempter’s enticement sin entered into them, into their very bloodstream, and therefore all children born, just as they would inherit physical characteristics from their parents, would also inherit the sin nature.

This is why He made a way for us to escape the terrors of hell. In the Old Testament it was the sacrificial lamb and in the New Testament  and for us today it is the Lamb of God(Jesus) that taketh away the sins of the world.

I pray that this has been helpful in giving you a deeper understanding of spiritual things as according to what is taught in the Word. I know I didn’t speak much about “wells” today other than you can get the jist of the lesson that— if you are a born again blood bought believer– you have a well of spiritual living water( the Holy Spirit) springing up in you onto eternal life. And it is your duty to share that water with 

God Bless:)

JUST AS I AM

Just As I am (Photo credit: Wikipedia)If you sing invitation hymns at the end of the service in your church you’ve probably sang ‘Just As I Am.” Maybe you’ve sung it so often that you don’t really pay attention to the words anymore. I’ve done that. I certainly have never thought so much about who wrote the hymns   before writing this blog but I have shall we say”met’ a lot of people that I previously knew nothing about. I saw their name on a hymn but the name did not have the power to convey anything about the individual.  I found in researching the writers of these hymns people with flaws, failures, disappointments, trials, hardships, people I can truly empathize with. People just like me and no doubt you who struggled on life’s weary plain. Though their struggles are over and they enjoy sitting in the presence of their Lord and Savior  today their struggles were not unique to the century in which they lived. The human condition remains the same in the 21st century as it did in centuries past. 

 

The hymn “Just As I Am” was written by Charlotte Elliot. 

She lived from 1789-1871. In her youth she became a gifted portrait artist and writer of humorous verse. Then in her thirties she suffered a serious illness that left her weak and depressed. During her illness Dr. Caesar Milan from Switzerland came to visit her. He noticed how depressed she was and asked if she had peace with God. Yes sometimes– depression stems from known sin in our lives.  Her response was blunt–he had no business asking that question and she didn’t want to talk about it. 

A few days later, however, she went to Dr. Malan and apologized. She explained that she wanted to become a Christian but she was waiting to “clean up” some things in her life first to make her more presentable to God. Malan looked at her and said”Come just as you are.”  That day Charlotte Elliot had her name written down in the Book of Life as she humbled herself, confessed her sin and allowed Jesus to do the spiritual cleansing that only He can do. 

However it would be 14 years before she penned this hymn as she remembered her futile efforts to “clean up” her own sin replaced by the epiphany  that she could never accomplish that in her own efforts. Only the blood of Jesus could cleanse her from sin as she confessed it to Him. 

 

Just as I am, without one plea,

But that Thy blood was shed for me,

And that thou biddest me come to Thee,         

O, Lamb of God, I come! I come!

 

Just as I am, and waiting not,

To rid my soul of one dark blot,

To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,

O, Lamb of God, I come! I come!

 

Just as I am, tho tossed about

With many a conflict, many a doubt,

Fightings within, and fears without,

O, Lamb of God, I Come! I come!

 

Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind,

Sight, riches, healing of the mind,

Yea, all I need, in Thee, I find,

O, Lamb of God, I come! I come!

 

Just as I am, thou wilt receive,

Wilt welcome,  pardon,cleanse, relieve;

Because Thy promises I believe,

O, Lamb of God, I come! I come!

 

Just as I am, Thou love unknown,

Hath broken every barrier down;

Now to be Thine, yea Thine alone,

O, Lamb of God, I come! I come!

 

Just as I am, of that free love

The breadth, length, depth, the height to prove,

Here for a season and then above,

O, Lamb of God ,I come! I come!

Do you need to come to Jesus today–The Lamb of God–and have your sins forgiven and experience the eternal life that only He can give? Don’t hesitate one more moment–“Today is the day of Salvation!”

CASTING OFF HIS GARMENT

THE GARMENT OF BARTIMAEUS

English: Felt Polski: Filc Magyar: Nemez (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There is a story in Mark 10:46-52 that is familiar to every Sunday School teacher. It is the story of Blind Bartimaeus. While certain aspects of the story stand out in the retelling. I  noticed something interesting in verse 50. ‘And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.” It is this verse fromwhich I hope to draw you a picture of salvation. Yes I am about to fictionalize some of this story but the main content of redemption through Jesus blood still remains.

Some years before the incident on the Jericho Road Bartimaeus was a wealthy young man with 20/20 vision. During that  period in his life he purchased a beautiful garment of the richest hues of purple and gold. He loved the garment and wore it often as he entertained friends and family in his opulent home. In fact he wore it so often that people began to identify him by his colorful garment. They would say to one another–” Here comes Bartimaeus!” and grin and then “It’s party time!!” Barimaeus had a very full and pleasure-filled life in those sun drenched days of his youth.

But one day he woke up, after a particularly lavish party night, and opened his eyes only to see darkness. a flicker of panic rose in his chest but he quieted it. Surely it was still night and the candle had gone out, he thought, as he jumped from his bed and then stumbled over a chair. Picking himself up he felt his way to the door and opened it. He could hear the hustle and bustle of daily life, he could feel the sun warming his face but he couldn’t see!! He was terrified!! How could this be? It was a tragedy beyond belief to the viral young man. He went frantically from physicians to physician spending all of his wealth only to hear the words. No hope.

Years passed in darkness for Bartimaeus. The sun that rose peeking above the horizon heralding another day did not lighten his darkness. The beauty of sunset passed into night without his notice. He only knew it was morning by the rooster crow and the coming of twilight by his nephew’s hand pulling him up to trudge home at the end of another day with only a few pennies in his cup. He often went to bed hungry and dreamed of the banquets he used to feast upon only to awake to gnawing hunger barely relieved by a stale piece of bread from his cupboard.

The one possession he still owned was his beautiful garment. He clutched it to his fragile frame each day and huddled in its warmth on his bed at night. The garment was –his identity–all he had left. As it had once defined him with it’s wealth it now defined him in poverty and want. 

As time went on dust from the roadside began to fade it’s brilliant colors. The hard toiling footsteps of life had imprinted dust among it’s folds. Often, in his hurry to fill his empty stomach, he had accidentally spilled food and drink upon it’s purple expanse. Staining it forever. There were times when he arrived at his spot along the city wall when he had sat down into something unbearably filthy and the stench was overwhelming. He had quickly crawled to another spot but the damage to his garment had already been done. Once in a while some scoffer would pass by and spit upon him; adding even more filth to his garment that was becoming more repulsive with each day.

But Bartimaeus was blind and  he couldn’t see the fate that had befallen his beautiful garment. He still perceived it in his mind’s eye to be bright and beautiful and one of his most favored possessions. It comforted him on chilly nights, and he felt protected by it’s folds against the harshness of each new day.. He would clasp it around his fragile frame like a drowning man grasping a lifesaver. It was the one thing he could cling. to It was his security against the ravages of time that swept all but his breath away. 

Yes he noticed the wear and tear as he caressed its fabric and found yet another hole. His fingers felt the threadbare character of it’s fabric. There were even times when an old friend or two would pass by and instead of praising his beautiful garment; utter disgust at its condition.

Little by little he began to realize it was no longer as he had remembered it.  It was old and used and ugly just as he was; but still he clung to it’s smelly rags. When some dogs had struggled over its hem one day he’d chanced being bitten before he’d relinquish even one thread of it. 

His plight was pitiful but he knew no way out, and he sunk into the deepest despair as he still clutched the garment around him.

But then one day he sensed an excitement in the crowd that was coming up the Jericho Road. The feeling of change and hope was almost palpable. What could it be? he wondered as he turned his head towards the sound of excited voices and rushing feet. 

“Jesus is coming!! Jesus is coming!!” He heard the words borne upon the air.

“Jesus!’ his mind could hardly take it in. When Jesus passed by the blind received their sight, and sinners were changed! Before he knew it he cried out in a loud voice–“Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me!” Someone nearby told him to “shut up” but he called even louder as he felt the desperation to be freed from his life of darkness and sin rise up in his chest.  “Jesus , Master, have mercy on me!” 

“Stop it old Bartimaeus do not trouble the Master with your pathetic cries He has better things to do then stop for you.” A woman sneered. A sudden hopelessness and defeat swept over him as deep as an ocean wave sweeping him out to sea lost forever in his miserable condition. But then as he heard the crowd come closer he decided like a drowning person coming up for air to cry out one more time. “Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me!”

Then he heard the most beautiful voice say these most beautiful words. Someone near by touched him gently and said,”listen Bartimaeus he calls for you.” 

Jesus was calling him?!! He arose and knowing, feeling, believing that his life was about to be changed forever. Knowing in his heart of hearts that he needed to cling no longer to that old familiar garment. He cast it aside and went towards Jesus baring his heart and soul to the One that could heal him of his blindness and his sinful past. Jesus who said to him–“Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole.” Immediately light flooded his eyes and his soul. He could feel new life throbbing through his veins! The filthy garment was forgotten as someone reached out and placed a new wonderful smelling garment around him. “You are on of His now.” they softly whispered in his ear and he went away rejoicing!!

“Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin and be washed in the blood of the Lamb.

There is a fountain flowing for the soul unclean, O be washed in the blood of the Lamb.” Elisha A. Hoffman

WONDERFUL GRACE OF JESUS

Grace is God‘s unmerited favor towards us. “In that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8. Even in our most miserable and deplorable state of sinfulness He still looks upon us with Love and urges us to confess our sins and enter into a closer relationship with Him.  Here is a hymn that I think aptly describes this Wonderful Grace of Jesus. 

This hymn was written by Haldor Lillenas 1885-1959. He and his wife were both hymn writers. When he took the pastorate of the Nazarene  Church in Auburn, Illinois in 1917 there was little money for furnishing. But desperately needed a musical instrument on which to compose songs they purchase an old “wheezy” organ for five dollars.  It was upon this instrument that this song was written. It’s climbing melody and rolling chorus became popular at the evangelistic meetings which he often held. 

Wonderful Grace of Jesus,

Greater than all my sin;

How can my tongue describe it? 

Where shall it’s praise begin?

Taking away my burden,

Setting my spirit free,

For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.

 

Wonderful grace of Jesus,

Reaching to all the lost,

By it I have been pardoned,

Saved to the uttermost;

Chains have been torn asunder,

Giving me liberty,

For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.

 

Wonderful grace of Jesus,

Reaching the most defiled,

By its transforming power

Making me God’s dear child,

Purchasing peace and heaven

For all eternity——-

And the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.

Chorus–

Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus

Deeper than the mighty rolling sea;

Higher than the mountain, sparkling like a fountain,

All sufficient grace for even me;

Broader than the scope of my transgressions.

Greater far than all my sin and shame;

O magnify the precious name of Jesus,

Praise His name! 

RED LIKE CRIMSON, WHITE AS SNOW

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: (Jehovah) though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18

Verse 15– Wash you, make you clean: put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease do do evil.”

The story of redemption(freed from the captivity of sin by His payment of His precious blood) courses through the veins of the scriptures. It is indeed a living Word inspired by a living God. A letter written to every man, woman, and child on earth. The redeeming blood of Christ is evidence of God’s great love for all mankind and His desire to have renewed fellowship with him.

in the Garden of Eden mankind made a choice of disobedience to God which would have terrible consequences for all people born afterward. But man’s disobedience did not stop God’s love. God’s love still rested upon him. Even after sin entered into man; God promised a Redeemer. His Son who would shed His blood so that all mankind might be bought back from their sin into fellowship with their Loving Creator. Speaking to that old deceitful serpent, Satan, in the Garden the promise is found Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head,, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

Again and again God repeats His promise through the books of the Old Testament to the revealing of His Son in the New Testament. God had a plan to purchase us back from the captivity of sin and death. 

All around us today people are laboring under the bondage of sin. Oh they wouldn’t describe it as that. During the brief pleasure it provides; sinfulness entertains the flesh and no one feels enslaved. It’s afterwards that it becomes evident. The drug user becomes the addict. The beer drinker becomes the drunkard. The viewer of pornography lusts for more and more until in frustration he destroys his family and everything that is good in his life. The corporate thief is never satisfied until the day of reckoning when he’s caught with his hand in the till. Sin is a hard task master. It has no mercy for its victims and will take them on a swift ride to an afterlife in hell. 

Can a person free themselves from sin on their own? Some think so–they might “clean up their act” overcome their addictions–get their life back on track–but that is not true redemption. All man’s good works and efforts to be “right” with God and others will never be enough because there will always been sin dwelling within. One sin is conquered –another raises its ugly head. There is no escape. If God did not love us so much that He would give up His own Son as a sacrifice for our sin we’d be in a hopeless state. 

So what must a sinner do to be freed from sin? The Bible says–“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We are washed and made clean. Redeemed and made white as snow. We are made righteous in God’s sight as He views us through the blood of His Son. Satan comes to the heavenly courtroom to accuse a man or woman of their sins that God surely must punish them for and Jesus steps up to the bar and says “Father I paid for that sin. It is under the blood.” and Satan has to skulk away into the hole he came from. The man or woman walks away a freed human being able to live out their full potential in this life and the next. 

I have another hymn I’d like to share with you today. Why do I share these hymns when so many of us have sang them time and time again? Because in many churches today these hymns are never sung. I know for years, even though I was in a church that sang them, I didn’t really appreciate them but now I’ve come see the deeper meaning of the hymns and how rich they are. So I think that they truly need to be shared so they are not lost. 

THERE IS POWER IN THE BLOOD

BY LEWIS E. JONES

“would you be free from your burden of sin?

There’s pow’r in the blood, pow’r in the blood;

Would you o’er evil a victory win?

There’s wonderful pow’r in the blood.

 

Would you be free from your passion and pride?

There’s pow’r in the blood. pow’r in the blood;

Come for a cleansing to Calvary’s tide;

There is wonderful pow’r in the blood.

 

Would you be whiter, much whiter, than snow?

There’s pow’r in the blood, pow’r in the blood;

Sin stains are lost in its life-giving flow;

There’s wonderful pow’r in the blood.

 

Would you do service for Jesus your King?

There’s pow’r in the blood, pow’r in the blood;

Would you live daily His praises to sing?

There’s wonderful pow’r in the blood.

 

there is pow’r, pow’r, Wonder working pow’r

In the blood of the Lamb 

There is pow’r pow’r, Wonder working pow’r

In the precious blood of the Lamb.