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Third Verse Devotion: On Jordan’s Stormy Banks

Old age is the leveling field for all of us, and it is not kind. We all reach an age when our bodies will not allow us to do what we did in our youth. Our minds tell us we can still do what we did in our twenties or thirties, but our bodies tell us no way.  

Ecclesiastes 12 paints a picture of old age. Take a moment a read Ecclesiastes 12: 1-8. What are some of the words and phrases used to describe old age?  

Solomon paints a dreary picture of old age and aging in these verses. He speaks of things those of us of a certain age can relate to. He speaks of eyes growing dim, unsteady feet, stooped posture, missing teeth, poor hearing, poor sleep, fear of falling, fear of travel, slower steps, white hair and low energy. The caper berry was used as a stimulant to increase appetite and pleasure. So, when the caper berry was ineffective, Solomon was referring to the fact that life’s pleasures were gone. He took no pleasure in food, sex, or other physical activities. He had no energy for them.  

The hymn “On Jordan’s Stormy Bank” has a view that might put things in perspective. Verse three reassures us one day the sickness, pain, ailments and suffering we experience as we age and even as we just experience life will not touch “that healthful shore.” None of the negative emotions felt over loss, pain and death will be felt and feared again.   

No chilling winds or poisonous breath 
can reach that healthful shore; 
sickness and sorrow, pain and death, 
are felt and feared no more.  
Refrain: 
I am bound for the promised land, 
I am bound for the promised land; 
oh, who will come and go with me? 
I am bound for the promised land. 
 

While we are here, we must experience grief, sorrow, and pain. It is part of life. We live in a fallen world. As a result, we all suffer in some way. We all grieve and sorrow. We all have pain.  

If we want to someday find a place of no more suffering and no more pain. A place where death cannot be found. If we want to find a land where there is no sorrow or grieving. We must look to Jesus. He suffered in our place on the cross for the sins of the whole world so that He might erase our suffering for eternity.  

Revelation 14:13 assures us  

“…Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on! “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.” (NASB) 

John continues to record in Revelation 21, 

“and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” (v4 NASB) 

There is hope at the end of aging and sickness. We have hope that eternal life exists for those who trust in Christ. Whatever you might be going through now is hard. Whether it is part of the aging process or an illness, it is hard. Maybe it is a family member or loved one and there is nothing you can do. Now is the time to experience the assurance that you are bound for the promised land. Stand strong in the hard days. The rest our bodies crave at the end of aging and illness is found on that healthful shore. Are you bound for the promised land?  

“Oh, who will come and go with me? I am bound for the promised land” 

All for One  

Angela 

Posted on by Angela

Third Verse Devotion: Down at the Cross

We are humans born into sin. We are all sinners in need of salvation. When we accept Jesus’s precious gift of salvation, that gift is eternal. We will stumble. We will fall. Stumbling and falling doesn’t mean we have to start over in our salvation. It means we must confess our sin and seek forgiveness in repentance and strive to walk in faithfulness. The third verse of the hymn Down at the Cross gives us hope in our eternal security.  

O PRECIOUS FOUNTAIN THAT SAVES FROM SIN 

Jesus gave His blood as an atonement for our sin. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, there had to be atonement. Remember, after their eyes were opened what did they do? They sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. After God confronted them and punishment was given, God himself clothed them with animal skins. There had to be shedding of blood to cover their sin. “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22).  

From those earliest days we understood there had to be a sacrifice. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice for our sin. He did this once for all time. Paul wrote to the Romans, “for the death that he dies, He died to sin once for all time: but the life that He lives, He lives to God.” Romans 6:10 NASB. The writer of Hebrews also reflected this in 7:27 and in 9:12. Peter, also, in 1 Peter 3:18 says, “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit…”  

Jesus’s sacrifice was enough to save us eternally. He does not have to repeatedly sacrifice himself to save us from our sin. His sacrifice was once for all time, and we are saved once for all time. Our response is to put our trust in Him. The choice is ours. 

I AM SO GLAD THAT I ENTERED IN 

When God placed Adam in the Garden he told him he could eat from any tree in the garden except one. The tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was the only one Adam was told not to eat from. From that moment on God gave Adam a choice. Would he obey what God told him?  

Eve was created and the same command was given to her. Soon temptation slithered in and the rest is history. From that first bite till now mankind has been given the choice to obey God or not.  

We have free will. When Jesus gave His life on the cross as an atonement for our sins, He gave us a choice. Accept Him and His free offer of salvation or not. The choice is still ours. What is your choice? Can you say you are so glad you entered His salvation? If you have breath, you still have a choice. Make the choice today to enter the salvation that is freely offered.  

THERE JESUS SAVES ME AND KEEPS ME CLEAN 

When we make the choice to accept the work of salvation Jesus has done on the cross, the process is continuous and eternal. We are sealed forever in His presence. The work of the cross cannot be undone. We may wander away from the teaching of Christ and follow our own way, and many have done so, yet their lives are unfulfilled and empty, they have no satisfaction or peace, until the moment they return to Christ. It is far better to remain in Christ than to wander away into lifestyles that we know are not meant for us. When we remain in Christ, we are continually kept clean and know the joy of His salvation.  

For example, suppose you are hiking, and the trail is well marked and clean. Off to the side, you see a beautiful flower. It is not on the trail, but some distance away. You can see it from the trail, so you decide it is safe to leave the trail to go examine this lovely flower. So, you step off the trail into the forest and brambles. You walk several feet and look back. Yes, you can see the trail clearly. You see the flower and soon forget about the trail. You want the flower.  

You stumble through the undergrowth and over the fallen logs and brambles you didn’t see when you were on the trail and have had to make several detours and now you cannot see the flower or the trail. You are still in the park but are lost. You don’t panic you have a compass. You take it out only to discover it is broken.  

Now you start to worry. You try to retrace your steps. All you want now is the trail. The flower is forgotten. You regret ever leaving the safety of the trail. You are sweaty and dirty and … was that a snake? The sun is starting to set and you really don’t want to be in these woods overnight.  

Finally, you hear a motor. A park ranger is nearby. You cry out for help. He comes to your aid and though he scolds you for leaving the trail, he takes you back to the safety of the trail. It was right where you left it. Waiting to take you back to your cabin. As you follow along, you see the flower again. It is still beautiful in the evening light, but this time you have no desire to leave the safety of the trail to pursue it.  

When we accept Jesus, we are still in the park but sometimes we leave the safety of the trail he has us on and decide to chase after something else. This is where we get into trouble. Often, we need help finding our way back. When we get back, Jesus is still waiting. Exactly at the point where we walked away.  

Sadly, there are some who decide to completely turn their backs on the salvation they have heard about. They follow along for a while but are determined to walk away. These have never accepted the free gift of salvation to begin with. For true believers, salvation is not something to be won or lost. Salvation is a gift freely given based on nothing but the shed blood of Jesus. We accept His gift and He keeps us continually and eternally. Even when we chase flowers in the forest and lose sight of the trail.  

GLORY TO HIS NAME 

The realization of this security leads us to praise and adoration. We praise the One who is able to save us so completely. We rejoice in the Name of the One who is able to bring us back when we wander off and stumble and fall. He loves us through it all. And He saves us eternally.  

Jesus assures us in John 10:28, 

And I give them eternal live, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. (NASB) 

What hope would we have if every time we chased pretty flowers and lost our way, there was no hope of restoration, no chance of forgiveness? God calls us to return to Him. He had many times to un-choose Israel. Yet He never did. He called them and they were His and they remain His to this day. It is no different for those who have accepted the salvation of Jesus.  

Bring glory to His name by living your life in a way that pleases Him. Call on His name. Rejoice in Him. Celebrate Him. Tell of His goodness to those around you. Let Him shine through you. Praise His name forever.  

CONCLUSION 

While I believe in the eternal security of the believer. I also know that there are those who have never entered into this security I hold so dear. Or maybe at one time they believed but now have turned away from the faith. They have decided not to follow Jesus. All I can say to them is repent of your way. Return to Him. Believe in Him.  

For those of us who are in Christ, but we stumble and fall on our way. Get up and press on. Get back on the path. Pretty flowers soon fade. The path we are on leads to a place that will never fade and a hope that never passes away. Stay on the path, my friend. It may not be easy, but you are not alone.  

To reassure you this coming week, I challenge you to read the book of 1 John. It assures us of eternal life. Also, go to www.hymnary.org and look up Down at the Cross. It was written by E.A. Hoffman. Read the words of the entire song and listen to the music. If you already know the song, sing along. Let the words wash over your heart this week.  

All for One 

Angela 

Posted on by Angela

Third Verse Devotion: There is Power in the Blood

There has been a movement in recent years to remove the word “blood” from the language of churches and church music. Yet when we remove the blood the sacrifice of Jesus is meaningless. Our salvation is based on the shed blood of Jesus as a substitution for the debt of sin we could not pay. Romans 6:23 reminds us that “the wages of sin is death…” Jesus took those wages upon Himself and gave us “…the gift of God …eternal life…” I hope we never find ourselves wanting to remove something so precious from our faith as the shed blood of Jesus. Our hymn today reminds us “There is Power in the Blood.” 

Would you be whiter, much whiter than snow? 
There’s power in the blood, power in the blood. 
Sin-stains are lost in its life-giving flow; 
there’s wonderful power in the blood.  

There are four verses to the hymn, and each verse begins by asking a question? Our focus verse, verse three, asks, “Would you be whiter much whiter than snow?” This question reflects Isaiah1:18 in which the Lord states, 

 “Come now, and let us debate your case,” 
Says the Lord, 
“Though your sins are as scarlet, 
They shall become as white as snow; 
Though they are red like crimson, 
They shall be like wool. 

The question is followed by the reminder that there is “power in the blood” The next line tells us that in the blood our stains are washed away. Each of the first three verses build on the fact that we can be cleansed from our sins in the blood of Jesus.  

Sin leaves a stain on our heart and soul. We cannot wash it away on our own. Our good works will not remove it. Church attendance will not take it away. Singing in the choir will not touch it. Volunteering for the nursery will not even remove the stain of our sin. The only remedy for the removal of the stain of our sin is the blood of Jesus. There is no other religion that can offer so bold a claim. There’s wonderful power in the blood. It’s only by the blood of Jesus we can be made clean.  

You may be asking, “What about in the Old Testament, before Jesus came?” That is a fair question, but even then, God had the sacrificial law in place for the cleansing of sin. The writer of Hebrew reminds us, 

And almost all things are cleansed with blood, according to the Law, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Hebrews 9:22 NASB 

After Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden and covered themselves the best they could with fig leaves sown together, God taught them about sacrifice and offering and redemption. Genesis 3:21 tells us,  

And the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. (NASB) 

One of the animals that Adam loved and named and cared for gave its life so that the man and woman could be clothed and their sin covered. Did you ever wonder how the people knew what offering to bring before the law was given and the Levitical was established? It was taught to Adam and Eve in the garden as God made clothes for them. They carried it with them and taught it to their children.  

Now because of Jesus, we can come directly to the throne of grace and confess our sin to the Father and find the same forgiveness and redemption that Adam and Eve found. We no longer have a need to offer an animal sacrifice; Jesus was our sacrifice. We find in Ephesians, in the first chapter, the basis for our hope of redemption. 

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace. Ephesians 1:7 NASB 

There is power in the blood. I will gladly sing and write about the blood because without the blood of Jesus, I am still lost in my sins with no hope for eternity. My prayer for you as you read this is that you also find the salvation that comes from the blood of Jesus which was given for you. It is in accepting His sacrifice we begin to truly understand that we live for an audience of One. 

All for One 

Angela 

Posted on by Angela

Third Verse Devotion: I Am Thine, O Lord

This week’s hymn is “I am Thine, O Lord.” It is one I can still hear my grandfather singing and one of many favorite Fanny Crosby songs. So, let’s explore the third verse,  

O, the pure delight of a single hour 
that before Thy throne I spend, 
when I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God, 
I commune as friend with friend!  

 
There are four stanzas to the hymn, and each seems to have a different theme. However, when you come to the refrain (chorus) they are all bound together.  

Refrain: 
Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, 
to the cross where Thou hast died; 
draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, 
to Thy precious, bleeding side. 
 

They are all about being drawn closer to Christ. This particular stanza is about drawing deeper in prayer. What does prayer mean to you? How much time do you dedicate to prayer? Can you say you spend a single hour in prayer? I tend to relate more to the disciples when Jesus was in the garden, and He took the disciples with Him. He asked them to watch and pray. What did they do? They fell asleep. He came back and found them sleeping. His response? “Could you not keep watch for one hour?” (Mark 14:37) He asked the question to Simon Peter, but He might as well have asked me. I doubt I could have done much better. This account is found in Matthew 26 and Mark 14 if you need a refresher.  

Crosby calls it a “pure delight” to spend an hour in prayer. Some of us can barely manage fifteen minutes in prayer before our minds start to wander. So how can we spend an hour in prayer? I think it is a learned practice. It is something you build up to. It becomes a spiritual discipline. We begin to delight ourselves in the Lord (Psalm 37:4) and watch as His desires become our desires. At first distractions are everywhere then over time they come to a minimum as we learn to focus on Him and he becomes our heart’s desire.  

It is also important to remember that we are coming before the throne of Almighty God. We are not calling 1-800-I WANT NOW. We often need to change our attitude before we begin our prayer time. Our stanza talks about the delight of spending an hour before His throne. It is Him we are seeking. His presence. When we come with a list of Christmas wants, of course we can’t focus on much more than just those few things. He wants to spend time with us. He wants to commune with us. He wants us to want to commune with Him. Notice the last line, “as friend with friend.” You can’t say that when you meet with a friend you rush in with that friend and say something like, “I can only give fifteen minutes, so much to do, but here is what I need, by the way, I love you. You are my best friend. See you soon. Gotta run. Bye.” Before long that friend won’t want to meet with you and you can hardly call yourself friends. Friends talk and share. They listen to each other. They spend time together. They enjoy each other’s company. This is the relationship described in the hymn, “I commune as friend with friend.” 

I don’t know what your relationship with God is like. You may have a depth that others can only dream about. You may be more like the friend I just described. You may be somewhere in between. I hope wherever you are in your relationship you long to go deeper. You long for an ever-closer relationship with Him. I can say that with confidence because our God is so awesome in scope and power that just when we think we know Him He reveals another layer of His nature and character to us and we are blown away by Him and His greatness. 

I challenge you in this next week to change the way you think about your prayer life. Maybe you need to just begin to pray. So, five minutes is a challenge, and an hour is an eternity. So, start with the five minutes you do have. Maybe you are more like the friend I described earlier. Slow down and focus on Him who sits on the throne. He loves you and gave Himself for you. Leave your list and worship Him. Try something different. It is not too late to begin to draw nearer to God. In fact, He desires a relationship with you. Prayer is a conversation between you and God. He is waiting for you.  

 My prayer for all of us is that we would reach a place where our delight is a single hour in prayer talking with our God as friends.  

“Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord.” 

All for One 

Angela 

Posted on by Angela

Third Verse Devotion: The Old Rugged Cross

The cherished hymn “The Old Rugged Cross” was written by a Methodist Episcopal minister. He wrote the words in 1913, and it is his best-known hymn.  

For our purposes, we will look at verse three. The hymn is in the public domain, and you can find it as always at www.hymnary.org. Here is the third verse for reference.  

 In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine, 
a wondrous beauty I see, 
for ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died, 
to pardon and sanctify me.  

There is a key word in this beautiful verse that I want us to focus on for a while. Sanctify. The word comes from Latin, and it means, “to make holy”, or “to set apart.” It is first used in the Bible in Genesis chapter 2 and verse 3 where God sanctified the seventh day. He set apart the seventh day and made it holy.  

Yet our hymnal verse is talking about us as being sanctified. Jesus died to “…sanctify me.” We have been sanctified. What does that mean? It means that once we have accepted Jesus’s gift of salvation, we too have been set apart. We have been made holy. When Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins, He bought our redemption. So, when we give ourselves to Him, we are set apart from the rest of the world. We are His.  

The first thing we need to understand about sanctification is that it is the work of Christ in us. He is the one who sanctifies. Consider the following verses: 

Hebrews 13:12 

Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the gate, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood. 

Hebrews 10:10 

By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time. 

Hebrews 10:14 

For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. 

So, since the blood of Jesus sanctifies us by His sacrifice on the cross what is our response? Since salvation is by grace through faith and we are not saved by works, what are we now to do? We remember we are changed. We are set free from the entanglements of the world. We no longer are slaves to our old selves and the old habits. We have been set apart. The blood of Christ has made us holy. Yes, holy. We have been bought at a great price. The Son of God gave His life on a cross for our sins. The price could not have been greater. He paid that price for you and me. Our acceptance and belief in that singular act set us apart from the rest of the world. It sanctifies us.  

Now we live by new guidelines. The old way of thinking is gone. The old way of talking is gone. Sometimes the old friendships we had are gone. Here are some more verses to consider: 

Romans 6:22 

But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. 

2 Timothy 2:21 

Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be an implement for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. 

Romans 12: 1-2 

Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 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. 

Sometimes it happens quickly. Other times it happens slowly. But we begin to change. The way we conduct business changes. Our interaction with family changes. The way we talk changes. The way we dress might even change. Everything about us is new. We are set apart for God’s use. We represent Him to the world.  

Does that mean we always get it right? Of course not. Think about some who were set apart by God yet messed up terribly. Samson, David, Moses, the disciples, Israel, yes, the list could go on. Also add my name to the list, yours too. God set each of these apart for a special work. All of them had a different task. They all knew God and had witnessed his power and majesty. David was a man after God’s own heart. Moses had to wear a veil over his face after being in God’s presence. The disciples walked daily with Jesus for three years.  

It could be assumed that if anyone could get the idea of what God had in mind it would be these individuals, but some of the greatest failures came through them. David slept with Bathsheba and when he learned she was pregnant tried to cover it up, but when that didn’t work had her husband killed. Moses disobeyed God and did what had worked before, striking a rock instead of speaking to it. He didn’t enter the promised land as a result. The disciples were competitive and slow to understand Jesus’s teaching then fled when Jesus needed them most. One betrayed Him. One denied he even knew Him. Israel is still God’s chosen people, the apple of His eye even though they have rebelled time and time again.  

From this we understand once we have been sanctified, God does not rescind that covering. The above examples were still set apart despite their failures. There were consequences certainly. But they were still set apart for God’s purposes. And so are we.  

We have a responsibility once we realize the importance of what it means to be sanctified, to be set apart. We no longer can look like the rest of the world. We still live in the world, but we don’t look like the world. We are supposed to be different. We talk differently. We dress differently. God now convicts us about what we watch on television or at the movies or what we read. Put away the filthy language. Change your clothes. Change the channel. Put down the book. Remember, you are set apart. You are sanctified. Instead, “…cling to the old rugged cross, and exchange it someday for a crown.” 

If you need a little more convincing, let me leave you with a few more scriptures that might help. 

1 Corinthians 6:11 

But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 

1 Thessalonians 5:23 

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

1 Peter 3:15 

but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, but with gentleness and respect 

Have you stumbled? Have you fallen? Look to the Father. He is waiting to restore you. Jesus died on the cross to pardon and sanctify us. Cling to Him. Remember the Old Rugged Cross today.  

All for One  

Angela 

Posted on by Angela

Third Verse Devotion: Abide with Me

In John 15, Jesus admonishes His followers to abide in Him. In all things, we as his followers are to spend our lives abiding in Him. It is through this abiding that we find our strength and rest.  

The writer of our hymn “Abide With Me” takes a slightly different angle. Here the writer implores our Heavenly Father to abide with us. Or specifically, to abide with me. The Father has promised never to leave us or forsake us. So, why would we need to implore the Father to abide with us?  

The hymn contains four or five verses depending on which hymnal you are using. I will focus on verse three. The entire hymn speaks about the close of life.  Each of the verses contains a finality of life that would make it appropriate for the end of life. Verse three gives us four instances in our lives when we need to be reminded that we need our Father to abide with us.  

I need Thy presence ev’ry passing hour; 
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r? 
Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be? 
Thro’ cloud and sunshine, O abide with me! 
 

EVERY PASSING HOUR 

The writer stipulated that we need God’s presence every passing hour. Indeed, this is a true word. How many times have we tried to handle a situation on our own only to realize that it didn’t work out so well? Then we do what we should have done in the first place. We ask God to guide us through the problem and fill us with His presence. We truly need His presence every passing hour. Often, every passing minute, but I get the author’s point here. The line takes us back to John 15:5  

I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. (NASB) (emphasis mine) 

We need His presence every hour because without Him we “can do nothing.” It doesn’t work. It is flat and lifeless and without color. But, when we rely on Him, the colors come alive and we can accomplish things we only dreamed of and more. We need His presence every passing hour.  

GRACE CAN FOIL THE TEMPTER’S POW’R 

If not for God’s grace, we would not be able to withstand the tempter. His grace gives us the strength we need to endure the temptation.  1 Corinthians 10:13 reminds us that in temptation there is a way out:  

No temptation has overtaken you except something common to mankind; and God is faithful, so He 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. (NASB) 

Do you see where God’s grace lies? He provides a way of escape. Temptation comes to all of us.  Our temptations may be different for each of us, meaning what tempts you may not trouble me and what tempts me may not trouble you. The common denominator is that we are all tempted. We don’t have to give in to the temptation. When we give in to temptation, it is by choice. His grace foils the tempter’s power. We have a way out, by God’s grace as we abide in Him and He abides with us.  

MY GUIDE AND STAY 

He is our guide and stay. He leads us through dark places and light. He is with us when it feels like we are going nowhere. He is the one who tells us, “Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left.” (Isaiah 30:21 NASB) He also tells us, “Stop striving and know that I am God…” (Psalm46:10 NASB) We need to spend time in His word and in prayer so when He prompts us to move or to stay, we will understand. Remember John 15:5? We can do nothing apart from Him. Learning to let Him be our guide and stay is not easy, I will admit, but it is essential to abiding with Him and Him abiding with us. And I daresay it is a lifetime process. There is no one better able to lead us than our God and Savior. There is no one better able to stay with us in the dark times than Himself. Are you striving? Are you allowing Him to be your guide and stay? It isn’t too late to begin. Why not start now? 

THROUGH CLOUD AND SUNSHINE 

We tend to notice we need God more when it is cloudy, don’t we? The overcast skies get to us after a while, and we can’t seem to break free from the dreariness. But when the sun comes out suddenly, we are on top of the world and we put our hand up and say to God, “I got this.” Take a big step forward and… fall flat on our face. It is then that we realize we need Him in the clouds and the sunshine. The cloudy days and darkness may physically affect our mood, creating depression. We don’t think of it so much when the sun shines bright. Yet we need our Heavenly Father just as much in sunny days as in the cloudy. The writer of this hymn was wise to include the phrase “through cloud and sunshine.” It wasn’t a literary tactic because he needed his song to rhyme or needed to complete the meter.  I know we have all had days and seasons when the sun was shining but there seemed to be a dark cloud following us wherever we went. Anything we tried turned into dust. New ventures failed. Relationships soured. We felt we were a failure and our self-worth plummeted. It is in these dark days that we know we need God to be with us. The more we abide in Him, the more we know He is with us.  

WHERE ARE YOU? 

When Adam and Eve fell in the garden, they hid themselves from the Lord. It was, of course, a vain attempt. They knew the fellowship had been damaged by what they had done. So, when the Lord came in the cool of the day to walk with them as He always did, they hid. They failed to abide in what they knew of their Creator and believed the lies of the tempter. Since that day, we have all done much the same. We bear the curse of their actions. In fact, had we been in their place, I imagine the outcome would have been the same.  

But now there is hope. Jesus paid the price for what began in the garden when he gave His life on the cross for you and me and everyone who ever lived or ever will live. Now we have the hope of abiding in Him.  

So, where are you? Are you caught in the grip of the tempter’s power? Are you abiding in Him? Is He your guide and stay? Have you learned to lean on Him in cloud and sunshine? Do you understand that you need Him every hour?  

This hymn has so much truth to offer, so much hope. This one verse has given us so much to think about. Take some time today to meditate on the scriptures I have given us here and visit www.hymnary.org to hear and read Abide with Me. Let it be the beginning of something wondrous. 

All for One 

Angela 

Posted on by Angela

Third Verse Devotion: Joy to the World

Joy to the World is one of my favorite Christmas songs. Yet it isn’t really about the birth of the baby in the manger. Advent points in celebration to the birth of the Messiah but also to the promise of the second coming of Jesus. We celebrate both comings of Jesus during this season. The first in celebration and the second in hopeful anticipation. This is what makes Joy to the World appropriate for the Christmas season.  

No more let sins and sorrows grow, 
Nor thorns infest the ground; 
He comes to make his blessings flow 
Far as the curse is found. 
 

Our focus is on the third verse and specifically on the curse brought on by Adam and Eve in the Garden. We go to the beginning of Creation to celebrate the end of all things. God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. He created a wonderful garden and placed man and woman there and gave them the job to tend the garden. When we come to chapter three of Genesis, the serpent shows up and tempts Eve. Eve falls for the temptation and Adam with her. Judgment soon follows, and all receive punishment. To Adam, God tells him this in chapter 3: 17-19 

Cursed is the ground because of you; 
With hard labor you shall eat from it 
All the days of your life. 
Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; 
Yet you shall eat the plants of the field; 
By the sweat of your face 
You shall eat bread, 
Until you return to the ground, 
Because from it you were taken; 
For you are dust, 
And to dust you shall return. 

Since that time, man has lived in sin and condemned to death. Isaac Watts, the writer of Joy to the World, reflected this in the third verse of our carol today.  Watts based his song on Psalm 98, the last verse of that psalm points to the coming Judge who will “judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with fairness.” (v9)  

Where are you this Christmas? Are you still gazing at the baby in the manger? Do you see the blood stained man on the cross who died for you? Are your eyes fixed on the return of that man who rose from the dead and is coming again?  

This Christmas season, let us sing joyfully this song of the Savior’s coming. The first and the second. Let us look back at the Child in the manger in awe and wonder that the God of all creation would humble himself to live among us as one of us to take our place on a cross for our sins. Let us also look ahead to the second coming of the Christ, no longer a child, but the King of Kings and Lord of Lords coming to rule and judge in power and glory. We have much to celebrate this Christmas. Whatever our circumstances are this year, we can joyfully look ahead with peace and hope because he is coming again. Let us put our trust in Him and sing Joy to the World the Lord is Come. 

All for One 

Angela 

Posted on by Angela

Third Verse Devotion: O Come, O Come Emmanuel

O come, O come, Immanuel, 
and ransom captive Israel 
that mourns in lonely exile here 
until the Son of God appear. 

The people of Israel seemed to stay in captivity. First in Egypt, then in Babylon. In modern times, they have been scattered around the globe. Now they have a country, though unsettled and divided. Yet they are in the land God gave to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob millennia ago. They know what it means to mourn in exile. At the same time, they know what it means to hope. Through all of Israel’s captivity and exile, they remained full of hope. They believed in the promise God gave Abraham that they would be settled in the land God gave to them.  

What many of them do not understand or yet realize is that the Son of God has appeared. Immanuel has come to ransom captive Israel. Israel is still captive in many ways. They may be moving back in the land God promised them through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but they fail to recognize their Messiah.  

Isaiah 7:14 tells us, 

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will name Him Immanuel. 

I imagine only those close to Mary and her family knew of the scandal surrounding her and Joseph. They knew she was discovered pregnant before they were married. They knew the disgrace that was on them all. What they didn’t know, despite what Mary might have told them, was that Mary was chosen for a special purpose that no other woman could have matched. Of all the young women in Israel at that time, God chose Mary. This Child was prophesied about more than any other in history. Isaiah 9: 6 tells us, 

For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us; 
And the government will rest on His shoulders; 
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, 
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 

And still Israel missed it.  

I don’t know what you are going through right now. As we journey through this advent season, you may find yourself in your own form of captivity. Maybe you are trying to break free, but you just can’t. Let me encourage you to seek Immanuel. Seek the Prince of Peace. He came to deliver you. He came to ransom you. Whatever entangles you today, you can find release through Him. I will not tell you that everything will be instantly better. That would be a lie. We still must walk through the muck and mire of life. And sometimes captivity is our own doing. Israel had been warned time and again to turn back to their God and they would not. So, they endured captivity at the hands of the Babylonians. For seventy years. But God promised them restoration. There is a limit. God will bring you through it. But He wants your attention. He wants you. Are you mourning in lonely exile? Rejoice! Immanuel shall come to you as well.  

All for One  

Angela 

Posted on by Angela

Third Verse Devotion: Onward Christian Soldiers

I remember this hymn from when I was a kid in Vacation Bible School, back before the big production it is today. The song following the pledge to the Christian flag was almost always this hymn, Onward Christian Soldiers. We sang it from a small booklet that had all the pledges and the songs and a little about each of the missionaries for all five days. After, we marched out by classes, youngest to oldest for four hours of fun and crafts and lemon cookies and weak Kool-Aid. 

The first verse was all that was sung at that time. If you have ever tried to keep 75 to 100 or more kids contained during Onward Christian Soldiers played on an upright piano, then you understand why. So, I am the most familiar with the first verse. There have been times as an adult when we have sung the other verses but not often. I don’t know if it falls on many people’s list of favorite hymns. However, it is a good anthem to get the blood pumping and remind us that we are in a spiritual battle.   

Paul reminds us time and again that we are in a spiritual conflict. He tells Timothy to “fight the good fight.” I have been in churches where the fight became very verbal and very painful. It is easy to forget that our fight is not against flesh and blood. What we see is tangible. What we are fighting against is not. We cannot see it or touch it. We only see the effect of where it lingers or where it has been. We must remember that we are unified in the blood of Christ. Unity is the theme of the third stanza of our hymn.  

Like a might army moves the church of God 

Brothers we are treading where the saints have trod; 

We are not divided; all one body are we; 

One in hope and doctrine, one in charity. 

This verse reminds us that we are one body in Christ.  

There are examples of churches coming together for the good of the community. Working together for the needs of the people they serve. This is the church united. We are separated by denomination and doctrine and practice, so sometimes it is difficult to see what brings us together.  

Psalm 133:1 says, 

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to live together in unity! 

My husband and I had the privilege many years ago to be part of some prayer walks. I was the prayer coordinator at our church at the time and thought it would be a good idea to go to the other churches in our area and just stand in the parking lot and pray for the church. I wanted to be unobtrusive and not draw attention to what we were doing. So, we began to gather on Saturday mornings. Soon though a Methodist minister close to us caught wind of what we were doing and joined us every time we gathered. Our unobtrusive gatherings  culminated in a community wide prayer walk from the local convenience store to the school, about a two-and-a-half-mile walk praying for our community, our churches, our school, our state and our nation. It was a wonderful time of a community of churches. 

Let me encourage you today not to let anything distract you from the common faith we have. The apostles and writers of the New Testament faced this as much as we do today. Two thousand years have not solved the things that divide us. Believers still squabble over doctrine and Jesus’s words. Yet unity for believers is the very thing Jesus prayed for in John 17. 

I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and You loved them, just as You loved Me. John 17:23 

Jesus prayed for us to be unified not divided. It is Christ that unifies us and in heaven we are all one in Him. We are reminded by Paul that we are one in Christ when he writes in Ephesians, 

Ephesians 4:4-6 

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. 

Brothers and sisters, we are one in Christ. So let us pray for our world, our individual nation, our community, our church, our family. We are soldiers in battle. If you have opportunity in the coming weeks to join with other Bible believing, Christ redeemed churches take advantage of the opportunity. Let us fight the good fight as soldiers and remain united to the end.  

Onward Christian Soldiers! 

Angela 

Posted on by Angela

Third Verse Devotion: He Leadeth Me

This song was written by a Baptist minister on the back of his sermon notes following an evening service. You can find the story on www.hymnary.org as usual, but he had been speaking on Psalm 23 and got caught on the phrase “he leads me.” This was the genesis of the hymn.

The third stanza is one of contentment. Contentment is something that is lacking in society. We are always looking for the next big thing. We have a hard time separating need from want. I think we can take away three ways to be content from this stanza of “He Leadeth Me”: put our trust in Him, be content with what we have, and starting with the basics.

Lord, I would clasp thy hand in mine,
nor ever murmur nor repine;
content, whatever lot I see,
since ’tis my God that leadeth me.

First, the best way to find contentment is to put our hand in the hand of the Lord. This means to put our trust in Him. It is not focusing on our circumstances but focusing on God. We can do this in three ways: regular bible reading, prayer, and church attendance. There may be other ways to help focus our attention on God, but I believe these are the three biggest things we can do to keep our attention on him and not on our circumstances.

We need to be daily engaged with the Word of God. There are plenty of systematic readings you can choose from and several bible apps that can assist. Bible Gateway, Bible, Blue Letter Bible, Bible Hub, are a few online apps that you may find useful. Following daily bible reading is prayer and is a natural flow from reading the bible. Keep your focus on God through prayer and adoration. Be sure to carve time alone with God. These two, bible reading and prayer lead naturally to church attendance. We need the fellowship of other believers. We have the opportunity each week to celebrate and worship with other Christians.

The second way to find contentment is to be content with what we have. I must confess I was not familiar with the word repine, so I looked it up. The online Mirriam-Webster dictionary defined it this way:” to feel or express dejection or discontent – complain.” Websters 1928 had three explanations:

“1. To fret one’s self; to be discontented; to feel inward discontent which preys on the spirits; with at or against. It is our duty never to repine at the allotments of Providence.

2. To complain discontentedly; to murmur.

Multitudes repine at the want of that which nothing, but idleness hinders them from enjoying.

3. To envy.”

There is a line from a song I heard years ago. I am not sure of the artist or the song title, but the line has stayed with me since. It was something like “have what you want but want what you have.” Can you look at your life and your things and say honestly that you have what you want and want what you have?  Paul found this place. If anyone had reason to complain, it would have been Paul. He had been jailed, beaten, shipwrecked, bitten by a snake, stoned, left for dead, abandoned by those he called friends, unjustly accused and on it goes. Yet in Philippians 4: 11-13 he says this,

“Not that I speak from need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

It is only by holding to the hand of Christ we find our contentment and we find our strength. When we are holding on to him and better yet, when he is holding on to us, our complaints and murmurs just seem to fade away. Our envies, discontentment, and complaining have no place when we are looking at him.

The third way to find contentment is to start with the basics. All we really need is food, clothing and shelter.  What that looks like and anything beyond that is where discontentment come into play. A bigger house, better clothes, a well-stocked pantry, these are what we look for as basics. They are nice, I will not lie. It is nice to not have to wonder where your next meal is coming from or worry about the holes in your shoes or the holes in your clothes, or if your roof leaks. However, for many people in the world this is their lot in life. Remember what Paul said earlier? He found himself in both situations. Neither gave him reason to complain. He could find contentment in both. He writes to Timothy:

1 Timothy 6:8

If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.

You may argue that this is easier said that done. We need money to get by in this world even if we are content with our situation. We still have bills to pay, you argue. Yes, we do. I agree. We have a responsibility to take care of ourselves to the fullest of our ability. We were not made to be idle. We were made to work. So certainly, find a job and work at it with all your heart as to the Lord. We all have something to contribute to humanity through our job. It may be serving food in a restaurant, gathering trash at a the end of a driveway, digging a ditch for a roadcrew, assisting a doctor in an office, preparing for surgery, filing in an office, teaching children to read and write, the list goes on. There are millions of jobs available. If you need one, you can find one to help provide for your basic needs. Beyond that the writer of Hebrews said,

Hebrews 13:5

Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, I will never desert you, nor will I ever abandon you,”

We don’t have to be wealthy to be content. Neither do we have to be poor to be content. We just need to find contentment in whatever situation we find ourselves. I think that is the point the writer of our song today is trying to make. Whatever lot we are in we find contentment knowing “‘tis God’s hand that leadeth me.”

I encourage you to search your life and see where you are most discontent. Is there an area God has been calling you to give to him and you have been reluctant? Will you give it over to him today? Put your hand in his and be content with what you have and be content with the basics of food, clothing and shelter. He will not leave you or forsake you. Have you found your contentment in Him? Today is a good day to begin.  

Angela