Is God in Charge?

March 5, 2010 by bonlou

Isaiah 46: 9-10 (NIV) 
 
Remember the former things, those of long ago;
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God and there is none like me.
I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.
 
God is talking to Israel here and it is a marvelous picture of who He is and what He is like.  You read this and you have to believe that God is in control.  It doesn’t matter how we feel, He is still in control because He is God. 
 
God is Sovereign!  What does that mean?  It means He is God and He can do whatever pleases Him. He has absolute rule.  Just think about that for awhile.  Nothing in this world can change what He wants to do.  You can’t, and I can’t.  We are truly at His mercy.
 
Now, knowing that, how does it make you feel?  Do you feel out of control?  Do you want to be in control?  We need to take a good look at our own lives and see who is in charge.  If we are in charge, then we have to worry and struggle over every detail of our lives.  We have to make sure we are doing things right.  We have to fight all the fears and anxiety that come our way.  It is all up to us.  What a heavy burden rests on our shoulders.  Can we handle all of that?
 
But, on the other hand, if we realize we don’t have to be in charge, think of the weight that is lifted.  If we truly understand that God is Sovereign and is in charge of every detail of our lives then we can rest in His love and in His arms. 
 
So, where would you rather be?  In charge and under stress all the time? Or are you willing to give up your self to God and let Him take the reins and carry your burdens?  You can, you know.
 
Mat 11:28-30 NASB “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  

What a wonderful passage that is.  If we step out of the way, take on the yoke of God’s kingdom, get into the Word and learn from God we WILL find rest for our souls.  He says so!

When farmers put a yoke on a pair of oxen it makes the load lighter for them to haul.  When we put on the yoke of God’s kingdom our burden or load becomes light.  Praise God!

Just a note:  Remember Satan is not sovereign!  God is!  Satan can only do what God permits him to. 

 1Jn 4:4 NASB You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world

 

 

Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Bible Study, Christian, devotional, inspirational, Panic Disorder Support, Scripture | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

What About Hell?

February 22, 2010 by bonlou

For the past few weeks my pastor has preached sermons on what the Bible says about Hell.

After listening to them I must say I feel very upset.  I struggle with what I’ve learned.  Have you ever really taken a good look at how the Bible describes Hell?  Here are some of the descriptions:

  • A bottomless pit
  • Eternal torment
  • Weeping and gnashing of teeth
  • Eternal destruction
  • Gehenna
  • Fire
  • Outer darkness
  • Loss and regret
  • Second death
  • Everlasting

The pastor went into detail on all of these items.  We also learned why God created a place like Hell in the first place; what it is like; and why a loving God would send anyone to a place like that.

I know often times when ever the subject of Hell comes up in a conversation someone asks this question, “Why would a loving God send anyone to Hell?”  It is a good question and does make one wonder why. It just doesn’t seem like a kind and loving thing to do, does it?  We can’t understand from our own human logic because we are not God and can’t see things from His perspective.

Isa 55:9 NASB
(9)  “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Do you know that God is Holy, Holy, Holy?

Rev 4:8 NASB
(8)  And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME.”

God is completely holy.  We don’t have anything to compare his holiness to.  He is holy and pure and cannot even look upon sin.  Sin cannot be in His presence, period.  That is why sinful people cannot go to Heaven.  We have to first be washed with the blood of Christ.  He took on our sins and paid our death penalty on the cross.  Only those who repent and call upon the Lord will be sin free.

Hell is real according to the bible.  Many people don’t believe there is a real Hell.  They think that all we do is live this life the best we can and then die,  are buried, and that’s the end of it.  For people who believe that way, life should be: eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.  I know people like that, and I must admit years ago I would have joined in with their chorus.  It’s really sad if this life is all there is. Wouldn’t you agree?

But, the truth is, this life is not all there is.  This is only a tiny part of what God has planned for each of us.  The Bible says, this life is only a vapor, and it vanishes.

Jas 4:14 NASB
(14)  Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.

But, we have eternal life.  In fact, everyone has eternal life.  Those who during this lifetime come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior will spend eternity in Heaven, and those who reject Him will spend eternity in Hell.  It is that simple.  And that is why these messages on Hell upset me. Hell is a very nasty place to spend even a second in, let alone eternity.

Oh, there are so many people I know in my own family, neighborhood, and  circle of friends who are in the second category.  They are on the road that leads to destruction.  They are on their way to Hell. And, some of these people are very religious folks who attend church regularly and think they are alright. That breaks my heart! 

Could you ever wish ANYONE to spend eternity in Hell?  No way!  Remember, some of those descriptive words:  fire, but not a consuming fire. A fire that burns forever, and the stench of sulfur (brimstone); constant and never ending torment; weeping and gnashing of teeth; a constant falling into a bottomless pit; horrible sounds and smells; a constant deep sorrow that they rejected the Savior; the awful loneliness of solitude, and loss of all friends (there won’t be any partying with friends in Hell as some say) and loss of loved ones; and a eternal separation from God.  Oh, my, to think anyone who I love would have to go through that.  It makes me very sad.

I know you have been to funerals where the speaker or a family member of the deceased said things like this:  “Well, he is in a better place now, we can take comfort in that.”  Really?  Or, “At least he isn’t suffering anymore.”  Really?  That all sounds nice but is it true?  We don’t know. That person may not be in a better place, and may be suffering much worse than when he was alive.  I don’t like hearing those kind of things because I know they are not usually true.  They say that about everyone not matter what kind of a life they have lived. 

It is very difficult to think about my own dear mother.  Did she make it to Heaven?  Or is she suffering in Hell?  I wonder.  I know she was a good person.  She always did nice things for others.  Later in life after I became a Christian, I talked to her about the things of the Lord.  I tried to live my life in a way that showed her a Christian life.  I do believe she became a Christian in her old age, but I DO NOT KNOW for sure.  I cannot know her heart, only God can. But, I cannot bear to think of her in that awful place called Hell.  It brings tears to my eyes just pondering it.  My mom in Hell? No! No! No!  I truly hope not.  I will never know for sure until I get to Heaven and look for her.  For now, I have to leave it in God’s hands.

If a Christian I loved was captured by a terrorist, tortured, and beheaded, it would be much better than going to Hell.  At least it would be over with.  But Hell is far worse than that and it never ever ends.

So, now that I’m all upset about the awfulness of Hell and the thought of anyone I know going there what should I do?  I want to cry.

I know I will pray more that God will reveal to them the fact that they are sinners and need Him.  I will pray more, and I need to talk to people about their eternal security.  I need to ask them if they are right with God, and if not, encourage them to get right with Him.  I need boldness of spirit and courage to do this.  Please pray for me.  I need to tell them what God has done in my own life and how He has saved me from an eternity in Hell.

Oh, I’m so grateful for that.  Why me Lord?  Why me?  For some reason, only God knows, I came to the realization that I needed Christ as my Lord and Savior.  I repented of my sin and accepted the free gift Jesus offers to sinners. I made Him Lord of my life.  I’m so thankful! 

If you have any suggestions of what else I can do please share with me.

If you would like to hear some of these stirring messages by Pastor Ron click on this site:

Faith Bible Church

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Meditation on Psalm 16

February 20, 2010 by bonlou

Here is a Psalm that has blessed my heart.  I will insert my meditations along the way.

Psalm 16:1-11 NASB

Ps.(1) A Mikhtam of David. Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.

Isn’t it wonderful to know that we have a God who will preserve us?  A God that we can run to and take refuge in? He is our protector! David was a warrior and this sounds like warrior talk.  He needed to be preserved in battle and depended on God to take care of him.  We are also in a battle.  We fight a spiritual battle every day.  Our wonderful Father will preserve us and hide us in the palm of His hand.

Ps.(2) I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good besides You.”

Jas 1:17 NASB

(17)” Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

We have nothing good apart from God.  He gave us our very being.  Think about all the good things we have and realize that God has given them to us.

He is LORD and MASTER:

Jud 1:4 NASB

(4) …deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Ps.(3) As for the saints who are in the earth, They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.

1Jn 3:23 NASB

(23) This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. (italics mine)

Do we love the brethren?  This is one of the tests of a true Christian.  David delighted in those who were like minded with him.

Ps.(4) The sorrows of those who have bartered for another god will be multiplied; I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood, Nor will I take their names upon my lips.

Here David talks about those who have turned from the true God and followed after other gods.  He said they will be filled with sorrows.  He would not have anything to do with them and their religious practices.  He wouldn’t even mention their god’s names.  Isn’t it still true today?  There are false teachers out there who wait to trap us in their snares.  They don’t serve the God of the Bible, and they will be full of sorrow when they wind up in Hell.  We too, should be like David and have nothing to do with them.

Ps.(5) The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot.

The Lord supports us and our inheritance is with Him.  And, what an inheritance that is!  Whatever He pours out for us to go through we can depend on Him for support.

Ps.(6) The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.

Is our heritage beautiful to us?  That is something to think about.  God has given us a wonderful heritage in Jesus Christ and the church.

Ps.(7) I will bless the LORD who has counseled me; Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.

Yes, the Lord is our counselor.  His Word is true and sure.  We renew our minds as we study the  Word.  Sometimes I have a problem that I need to solve.  It could be a computer problem, or something about scripture I just can’t get straight in my mind.  Often when I wake up in the morning it is as though the answer just comes to me.  I know the Lord has something to do with that!  Have you ever had that happen?

Ps.(8) I have set the LORD continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

We can depend on God.  He is there at our right hand all the time. He will never leave us or forsake us.  He is dependable.  Who else can we depend on ALWAYS?  No one! Knowing He is there with us we do not have to be fearful. He loves us and will take care of any and all situations that crop up.

Ps.(9) Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely.

Again, David says that he is secure in the Lord.  That makes his heart glad and he can rejoice.  He is not afraid for his life as his enemies set out to destroy him.

Ps.(10) For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.

He also knows that when he dies his soul will not go to Hell.  He knows without a shadow of a doubt that he will go to be with the Lord.  Then he adds, that God will not allow “Your Holy One,” to undergo decay.  What a statement to be coming from David right there.  Do you see it?  This is the resurrection!  “Your Holy One,” refers to  Christ, and God would raise Him from the dead.  His body didn’t decay.  That is an amazing prophesy.

Ps.(11) You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

David ends this Psalm as he talks about how God will lead him in the path of life.  Do you allow God to lead you in your life?  Stay in the Word and you can. When David does this he finds the fullness of joy in God’s presence.   That is wonderful! 

Our joy does not come from the world.  It isn’t about having more things;  a bigger car, the latest electronics, or a splendid home.  Those things are nice and may make us feel happy for a time, but real joy comes when we spend time with God.  I hope you make that one of your habits.  You won’t regret it. 

Finally, he says in God’s right hand there are pleasures forever.  Have you ever thought what our Christian walk is going to be like down the road?  We cannot even imagine how wonderful it will be.  We will walk with the Lord Jesus Christ, serve Him, and praise Him.  God will just keep dealing out pleasures forever.  Forever must refer to our eternal life and there is no end to what God has for us.  Just one thing that comes to my mind is the fact that after the Rapture of the church when the Millennium period comes in, Jesus will be reigning as King on Earth and guess what?  We will be reigning with him! 

Rev 20:6 NASB

(6) Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years. (Italics mine)

That’s us folks!  I don’t know exactly how that will all work but I’m getting excited!  Come Lord Jesus!

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Jesus Paid It All

February 17, 2010 by bonlou

JESUS PAID IT ALL

“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow.” Isaiah 1:18

Click on MIDI to hear this hymn.

Words: Elvina M. Hall, 1865.

Music: John T. Grape (MI­DI, score):

Our church was un­der­go­ing re­pairs, and the cab­i­net or­gan was placed in my care. Thus af­ford­ed a plea­sure not be­fore en­joyed, I de­light­ed my­self in play­ing over some of our Sun­day school hymns. I de­ter­mined to give tan­gi­ble shape to a theme that had been run­ning in my mind for some time, to write, if pos­si­ble, an an­swer to Brad­bu­ry’s beau­ti­ful piece, “Jesus Paid It All.” I made it a matter of pray­er and stu­dy and gave to the pub­lic the mu­sic now known as “All to Christ I Owe.” It was pro­nounced ve­ry poor by my choir and friends, but my dear wife per­sist­ent­ly de­clared that it was a good piece of mu­sic and would live. Time has proved the cor­rect­ness of her jud­gment. Soon af­ter, the Rev. George W. Schreck called on me to se­lect an­y­thing new that I had to of­fer. On hear­ing this piece he ex­pressed his plea­sure with it and stat­ed that Mrs. El­vi­na M. Hall had writ­ten some words that would just suit the mu­sic. I gave him a co­py of it and it was soon sung in sev­er­al church­es here in Bal­ti­more [Mar­y­land] and well re­ceived. At the sug­gest­ion of friends I sent a co­py to Pro­fess­or The­o­dore Perk­ins and it was pub­lished in Sab­bath Car­ols. Un­der the pro­vi­dence of God it has been go­ing ev­er since. I trust that it has not failed to ac­comp­lish some good to my fel­low-men for the glo­ry of God.

Here’s a story about the song:

On New Year’s night, 1886, some mis­sion­ar­ies were hold­ing open-air serv­ic­es in or­der to att­ract pass­ers­-by to a near-by miss­ion, where meet­ings were to be held later. “All to Christ I owe” was sung, and af­ter a gen­tle­man had giv­en a short ad­dress he hast­ened away to the miss­ion. He soon heard foot­steps close be­hind him and a young wo­man caught up with him and said:

“I heard you ad­dress­ing the open-air meet­ing just now; do you think, sir, that Je­sus could save a sin­ner like me?”

The gen­tle­man re­plied that there was no doubt about that, if she was anx­ious to be saved. She told him that she was a serv­ant girl, and had left her place that morn­ing after a dis­a­gree­ment with her mis­tress. As she had been wan­der­ing about the streets in the dark, won­der­ing where she was to spend the night, the sweet mel­o­dies of this hymn had at­tract­ed her, and she drew near and listened at­tent­ive­ly. As the dif­fer­ent vers­es were be­ing sung, she felt that the words sure­ly had some­thing to do with her. Through the whole serv­ice she seemed to hear what met her op­pressed soul’s need at that mo­ment. God’s Spir­it had showed her what a poor, sin­ful and wretch­ed crea­ture she was, and had led her to ask what she must do. On hear­ing her ex­per­i­ence, the gen­tle­man took her back to the mis­sion and left her with the la­dies in charge. The young, way­ward woman was brought to Christ that night. A si­tu­a­tion was se­cured for her in a min­is­ter’s fam­i­ly. There she be­came ill and had to be tak­en to a hos­pi­tal. She ra­pid­ly failed and it became ev­i­dent that she would not be long on earth. One day the gen­tle­man whom she had met on New Year’s night was vis­it­ing her in the ward. Af­ter quot­ing a few suit­a­ble vers­es of Script­ure, he re­peat­ed her fa­vo­rite hymn, “All to Christ I owe”…and she seemed over­whelmed with the thought of com­ing to glo­ry…Two hours af­ter­ward she passed away.

Sankey, pp. 110-1

If you have ac­cess to a pic­ture of El­vi­na Hall or John Grape that we could put on­line, please click here.

I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.”

Refrain

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

For nothing good have I
Whereby Thy grace to claim,
I’ll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.

Refrain

And now complete in Him
My robe His righteousness,
Close sheltered ’neath His side,
I am divinely blest.

Refrain

Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone.

Refrain

When from my dying bed
My ransomed soul shall rise,
“Jesus died my soul to save,”
Shall rend the vaulted skies.

Refrain

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
I’ll lay my trophies down
All down at Jesus’ feet.

Refrain

10/21/2007 15:40:11

For more hymns and stories visit the site: www.cyberhymnal.org

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Sanctification: What is it?

January 29, 2010 by bonlou

Many times in church or when we are listen to Bible teaching we hear words that we don’t really understand. I believe some pastors and teachers simply take it for granted that we all know them.  Sanctification is one of those words.  Do you know what it is?

According to Webster’s Dictionary:

“Sanctification

SANCTIFICA’TION, n. [See Sanctify.]

1. The act of making holy. In an evangelical sense, the act of God’s grace by which the affections of men are purified or alienated from sin and the world, and exalted to a supreme love to God.

God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. 2 Th 2. 1 Pet 1.”

Sanctification is very important for us to understand.  You will see that word, and also sanctify, and sanctified in the Bible and we need to know what they mean so we can understand the scripture.

In my own words:

Sanctification is a process which begins when we get saved. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us right then and sets us apart as something different from what we were.   When we are saved we are actually made a new person by the Holy Spirit.  But, that is not the end of it. All during the time we are alive here on earth we are continually shaped and molded into the image of Christ. This is God’s desire for us. This is a process which continues on until we reach Heaven, and reach perfection.  So, if you are a Christian you are somewhere on the road of sanctification.  You are being sanctified.

Let’s look at some scriptures that show us that:

1Co 6:11 NASB Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Here we see right from the Word of God that we were washed, sanctified, and justified when we were saved. 

2Co 5:17 NASB Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

One of the first things we must get a hold of is the fact that now that we are believers we are actually and truly a new person.  We are not the person we were when we were born.  Then we were dead (spiritually) in trespasses and sin.  We were dead because of Adam and Eve’s sin of disobedience which was passed down to us.  We could not please a holy God. A holy God cannot look upon sin.

I don’t think I realized at first after I was saved that I was actually a new person.  It wasn’t until I read the verse above that it sunk in.  It doesn’t matter what has gone on in your past, what your life was like, you are now a NEW person inside.  Do you get that!  It is so important and wonderful.  You don’t have to live like you did in the past.  You don’t have to continue in the old habits that dragged you down. God in His mercy has given you a second chance. You have been set free! 

Joh 8:36 NASB “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

Gal 2:20 NASB “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

You see we died (our old person) when we accepted Christ and were saved.  Then the Holy Spirit came to live inside us.  He gave us a new spirit (new person inside us) so now we have the ability to live as God would want us to.  We could not please God before. We live this new life by faith in Christ.  He loved us enough to take our sin penalty and die for us, therefore, we can love Him as we give our lives to Him.

So, how does this sanctification process work in our everyday lives? 

We must die to our old self.  You may say, I thought you said we died with Christ when we were saved.  That is true our old person did die and we were recreated a new person inside.  But, we still live in this old physical body with it’s desires, and it can and does influence us. 

See what Paul says in, 1Co 15:31 NASB I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

He said he dies daily.  He had to die to his flesh everyday, and so do we.  Otherwise, we will be tempted to follow the desires of the flesh and live in disobedience to God.  When we were saved we were made alive spiritually, but we still do have our same minds and memories.  We still can stray away from pleasing God.  I think you will agree with me on that.  We are far from being perfect.  And where does temptation to sin start?  In our minds.  That is Satan’s playground.

Mat 16:24 NASB Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.

Jesus said to deny self and take up your cross and follow Him.  The cross speaks of death and to deny self is to die to our old selfish desires.  We are naturally self-centered.  We need to take our eyes and mind off from self and get them on things above. 

We are a work in process.  God has given us the Word that tells us how to live a Christian live.  We need to keep in the  Word and obey what it tells us.  When we do, we grow in Christ.  God has told us to renew our minds.  As we do we can resist the devil and he will flee from us.  We do not have to live in sin as a Christian.  Sure there will be a constant battle, but we can overcome by God’s grace and power.

Rom 12:2 NASB And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

As we renew our minds we become transformed, and we know God’s will for us.  We can only renew our minds by our study of the Word of God.  When we read the Bible and obey it, we become transformed.  We change.  Again this is a process.  Look back to the time you were saved and compare yourself to now. Do you see any change for the good?  If so, you are being transformed.  If not, you should revisit whether you are truly saved.

So, we die to ourselves and our selfish desires, we renew our minds and become transformed.

Rom 8:28-29 NASB And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (29) For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;

“to become conformed to the image of His Son.”  That’s God’s goal for our lives. 

If you always wanted to know what God’s will is for you, well there it is.  He is now, right now, working in your life to make you more and more like Jesus.  You have a choice.  You can obey God and grow in grace toward that goal, or you can disobey God and live a miserable Christian life, always fighting it, not wanting to die to self.  Yield to God and let Him live His life through you.

Now we are being sanctified as we live the Christian life according to God’s will, and finally we will be totally sanctified when we get to Heaven and see that we are like Christ.  Rom 8:29 “…He would be the firstborn among many breathern;” Just think how wonderful that will be!  All true Christians will be fully sanctified, and we will have the same kind of bodies as He has, we will have the same kind of mind and attitude that He has.  We will be joint heirs in all that He has. Oh, it is more than I can comprehend!  All I can say is “Thank you dear Heavenly Father, that you chose me to be a part of this great eternal adventure!

“

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What a Friend we Have in Jesus

January 25, 2010 by bonlou

We sang this in church yesterday and the words just made my heart leap with joy that we have such a wonderful, trustworthy friend in Jesus.  The words are more than beautiful.  If you want to hear the music just click on MIDI.  –  Bonnie 

WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS

  “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

Charles C. Converse (1834-1918)

Words: Jo­seph M. Scriv­en, 1855. Scriv­en wrote this hymn to com­fort his mo­ther, who was across the sea from him in Ire­land. It was orig­in­al­ly pub­lished anon­y­mous­ly, and Scriv­en did not re­ceive full cred­it for al­most 30 years.

Music: Erie, Charles C. Con­verse, 1868 (MI­DI, score). In World War I, the tune was paired with the words to “When This Bloody War is Over.” Al­ter­nate tunes:

If you have ac­cess to a better pho­to of Jo­seph Scriv­en or Charles Con­verse that we could put on­line, please click here.

Joseph M. Scriven (1819-1886)

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield you; you will find a solace there.

Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear
May we ever, Lord, be bringing all to Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright unclouded there will be no need for prayer
Rapture, praise and endless worship will be our sweet portion there.

Shqip | Creole | Español | Français | Русский | 汉语 | Yorùbá

   Provided my NetHymnal at: http://www.nethymnal.org.

Posted in Christian, Hymns, inspirational, Praise, Worship | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Relief or Victory?

January 9, 2010 by bonlou

As I listened to a sermon this past week something stuck in my mind.  The speaker talked about how we think, and said, “Today the focus is on self, which is all about relief, instead of victory in spite of their circumstances.”  He also mentioned the fact that we are today a medicated society.

I’ve pondered that for a few days now.  “relief instead of victory.”  At first, I didn’t get it.  I thought relief would be victory.  Then, I thought deeper, and realized what he said is actually true. 

We are a society who want quick fixes.  We take a pill for just about everything that ails us.  And, we don’t want to wait for anything.  We have fast food, instant coffee, microwaveable meals, instant soup, phones on our ears, fast cars, instant news, the Internet, instant messaging, and fast texting. 

Everything is speeded up in our lives today, and when we have problems we want quick fixes.  We don’t think we should suffer at all.  We look for that magic bullet that will fix everything.  We buy the latest self-help books, videos, tapes, CD’s and DVD’s.  We go to the latest guru or therapist.  We simply want quick relief.  We pop whatever pill is in vogue. Have you noticed all the television ads for prescription drugs lately?  It seems there is a pill for every thing imaginable that could happen to us.  But, you’d better not listen to the disclaimers or you will not take anything. 🙂

We have problems with relationships, and we want things to be instantly fixed.  But, it doesn’t work that way.  So many times people turn to the wrong things for relief. 

I know a girl who lost her fiance in an accident.  This girl is in her 30’s I believe.  She took it very hard, and rightly so.  It is not bad to grieve, but how you handle it is another thing.  Two years have gone by.  

She desperately wanted relief from the pain of losing the person she loved and  was about to spend the rest of her life with. So, she began drinking even more and did not get the relief she desired so began medication for depression.  Alcohol and anti-depressants are a bad and dangerous mix.  She still hasn’t found the relief she wanted. 

What this person needs is victory.  But, how can she find that?  First, she needs to become a Christian.  Then, as she studies and learns from the Bible she will find that God will comfort her and give her a supernatural strength to get through the tough times. 

1Co 10:13 NASB  No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

This verse is talking about trials and temptations that come into all our lives.  If we are Christians God will be in control of the situation and will not allow it to overwhelm you.  He will provide a way for you to endure.  Isn’t that a wonderful promise?  I loved it when I first found that verse.

Now, that would be victory for this girl!  We are not to eliminate the bad circumstances that come our way in life, but instead learn how to live through them with Christ at our side.  I’m sad to see this poor soul suffer when she could be praising God, and get on with her life.  God has something for her if she would only realize she needs to turn to Him.

Another example of how people want relief instead of victory is of a Christian married couple who have had many problems and they end up with a divorce.  Why does that happen?  They want relief from the misery they live in.   Relief instead of victory is not the answer. 

Victory would be if that couple who are Christians would get into the Word and apply it to their lives.  They could change how they see and treat each other.  They could fall in love all over again.  They could with God’s help have victory if they would only do it God’s way.  The man needed to become the leader in that home and the woman needed to step back and be submissive to her husband instead of trying to run him and bad mouth him all the time.  You see there is a difference between relief and victory.

Eph 5:22-25 NASB  Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.  (23)  For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.  (24)  But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.  (25)  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,

God knows everything.  Nothing happens to us that He doesn’t allow.  Everything that comes our way is passed through God’s grid.  Nothing happens by chance.   God is Sovereign, and He can allow bad things to come into our lives.  But, there is always a reason.  He is either teaching us or chastising us.  He wants us to grow more in the likeness of Christ as we mature in the faith. 

Rom 8:28-29 NASB  And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.  (29)  For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;

Well, I guess it comes down to this.  We have a choice.  Do we want to live our lives our own way, living by emotions and feelings.? If we do we will find ourselves full of stress and anxiety and looking for relief, not victory. We will turn to medication, or something to numb our brains, perhaps alcohol, or illegal drugs.  We will say, “God, please just take these horrible feelings away.  I’m tired of the suffering.”  Instead we should say, “God, you know how I feel.  Please give me the wisdom to learn how to live in a way that I can handle adversity with you at my side. Help me Lord to see the lessons in this that you want me to learn.  Help me to judge my own heart and expose any unconfessed sin so that I may confess it and repent of it.”   

Or, do we want to live our lives God’s way.  Obeying everything He commands us to do in the Bible.  If we choose God’s way we will have victory in all our trials and tribulations.  God truly is good and I’m so thankful that He has given us the Bible as a standard to live by.  We live in an age where people want to say the Bible is out-dated, and that it is too hard for any of us to really understand.  Yes, we hear that. But, that is not true.  God is not a God of confusion, but of logic, and reason.  He is rational. 

The key to not merely find relief but to gain victory is when we choose God’s way and our focus is turned from ourselves and toward Christ.  Do you see that?

Posted in American culture, Anxiety & Stress, Bible Study, Christian, inspirational, Panic Attacks, Panic Disorder Support, Scripture | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

God’s Christmas Gifts!

December 17, 2009 by bonlou

nativity62 

It’s Christmas time again and we focus on the babe in the manger.  Yes, that baby, Jesus, came to die on the old rugged cross. He sacrificed His life so that spiritually dead sinners could have new life.  Jesus was truly God’s gift to us. 

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Sometimes that is about as deep as our thoughts go.  I would like to unwrap some other gifts that are under God’s Christmas tree.

I’ve thought the last few days about the greatness of God.  He is absolutely gigantic, humongous, and so huge that I cannot fully comprehend it.  God is enormous.  Just take a minute right now to stop and think about how big God is.  Doesn’t it boggle your mind?  He is out there and has been out there forever.  He created everything and everyone and is in complete control of it all.  He is Sovereign!

1Ti 6:15a NASB …He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

And He can do whatever He wants in any situation.  It certainly does boggle my mind.

Then, think about how huge He is in comparison to us.  That is truly amazing! Dump out a few grains of salt from a salt shaker into your hand.  Then pick out one of those tiny grains and really look at it.  From God’s perspective we must look something like a grain of salt.  We are so teeny tiny compared to Him.  We can simply blow on that little grain of salt in our hand and it will fly away never to be found again.  God could just blow us away in an instant too.  That is sobering!  We are at His complete mercy.  And, he is a merciful God! 

With that in mind, the Bible teaches us how much God loves us. Actually, He is Love.

1Jn 4:16b NASB …God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

We are His own creation and are fearfully and wonderfully made! 

Psa 139:14 NASB I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.

How intricate our bodies are.  It’s amazing how all the different parts of our bodies work together to make us stay alive.  That is all God’s doing to this tiny grain of salt.  Amazing!

Now, do you think this huge God can keep us?  Do you think He can take care of us?  There is no question about that.  His Word is full of promises about how he will provide all our needs. 

Php 4:19 NASB And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

He tells us not to worry or be anxious about anything. 

Php 4:6 NASB Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Do you think that is harsh of Him to tell us to not be anxious about anything?  I say no, because when we are believers He has promised to carry the load for us.  We do not have to worry or fret about anything.  He is truly in control, even when we feel out of control.  You see He is never out of control.  Our problem is that we go according to our feelings, and forget He is there.  That is our downfall!  We have to rise about our feelings and look at the facts.

When we were saved along with the promise of forgiveness of sins and a future home in Heaven came many other gifts that we can unwrap.  In fact, I’ve written about a few of them in the past few months.  Just as a reminder I’ll list some of them here.

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1.  We are forgiven all of our sins.

2.  We are a new creation.  (inside)

3.  We are adopted into God’s family

4.  We are citizens of Heaven

5.  Our Father will take care of all of our needs.

6.  We are more than conquerors because we now have God’s power of the Holy Spirit living within us.

7.  We will have peace of God, and peace with God.

Those are just a few of the gifts that God has so graciously provided for believers.  They are not for the people of this world, only His special children.  Those who have the family resemblance. 

I believe that we need to take a step back from ourselves.  We need to see ourselves the way God sees us.  When we do we realize all of our problems are really very small even though they don’t seem like it.  If we get our eyes off our circumstances and focus our minds on God, we allow Him to flow through us, and we have the power to make it through our problems.  We will still have trials, but they will not overwhelm us.

We can still be defeated Christians even with all those gifts if we fail to unwrap them use them. We can’t continue to live our lives the way the people of the world do.  Those ways don’t apply to us anymore.  Unbelievers only have themselves to work for them.  I remember before I was a Christian how “I” had to figure everything out, every detail, and I wasn’t always right in my decisions either. I messed things up a lot of the time.  Now, we don’t have to control every situation.  We don’t have to control others. We don’t have to be perfect.  We don’t have to please everyone, only God.  We can relax and know that God is taking care of things for us.  He IS big enough you know! 

I praise God for the wonderful gift of that little baby in the manger.  And I thank Him for all the other gifts under God’s Christmas tree that He has lavished upon us.  Unwrap them for yourself this year.

Eph 1:7-8 NASB In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace (8-a) which He lavished on us.

Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Bible Study, Christian, Holidays, inspirational, Praise, Scripture | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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