Who was, Who Is, and Is to Come

What a wonderful time of looking at the face of Christ in the eyes of my brothers this weekend. It was a time of remembering, renewing, and restoring. Alleluia, praise our King of Glory!

I was standing in the pouring rain
One dark November night
Fighting off the bitter cold
When she caught my eye
Her face was taught and her eyes were filled
And then to my surprise
She pulled out a photograph
And my heart just stopped inside
She said He would have been three today
I miss his smile, I miss his face
What was I supposed to say

But I believe always always
Our Savior never fails
Even when all hope is gone
God knows our pain and His promise remains
He will be with you always

He was living in a broken world dreaming of a home
His heart was barely keeping pace
When I found him all alone
Remembering the way he felt
When his daddy said goodbye
Fighting just to keep the tears
And the anger locked inside
He's barely holding on to faith
But deliverance is on its way

'Cause I believe always always
Our Savior never fails
Even when all hope is gone
God knows our pain and His promise remains
He will be with you always

Friend I don't know where you are
And I don't know where you've been
Maybe you're fighting for your life
Or just about to throw the towel in
But if you're crying out for mercy
If there's no hope left at all
If you've given everything you've got
And you're still about to fall
Well hold on, hold on, hold on

'Cause I believe always always
Our Savior never fails
Even when all faith is gone
God knows our pain and His promise remains
Always, Always
He will be with you always
He will be with you always
He will be with you

Lyrics from "Always " by Building 429

Hymns vs. Choruses

Gotta laugh at this one! Hope you enjoy :)

Old farmer Joe went to the city one weekend and attended the big city church. He came home and his wife asked him how it was.

"Well," said the farmer, "it was good. They did something different,
however. They sang praise choruses instead of hymns."

"Praise choruses?" said his wife. "What are those?"

"Oh, they're okay. They are sort of like hymns, only different," said the farmer.

"Well, what's the difference?" asked his wife.

Joe said, "Well, it's like this - if I were to say to you, 'Martha, the cows are in the corn' - well, that would be a hymn. If on the other hand, I were to say to you:

"Martha, Martha, Martha,
Oh Martha, MARTHA, MARTHA,
the cows, the big cows, the brown cows, the black cows
the white cows,
the black and white cows,
the COWS, COWS, COWS
are in the corn,
are in the corn, are in the corn, are in the corn,
the CORN, CORN, CORN.

"Then, if I were to repeat the whole thing two or three times, well, that would be a praise chorus."

The next weekend, his nephew, a young, new Christian from the city came to visit his Uncle Joe and Aunt Martha. He attended their local church in the small town. When he went home his mother asked him how it was.

"Well," said the young man, "it was good. They did something different however. They sang hymns instead of praise choruses."

"Hymns?" asked his mother. "What are those?"

"Oh, they're okay. They are sort of like praise choruses, only different," said the young man.

"Well, what's the difference?" asked his mother.

The young man said, "Well, it's like this - if Uncle Joe were to say to his wife, 'Martha, the cows are in the corn' - well, that would be a praise chorus. If on the other hand, he were to say to her:

"Oh Martha, dear Martha, hear thou my cry
Inclinest thine ear to the words of my mouth
Turn thou thy whole wondrous ear by and by
To the righteous, inimitable, glorious truth.

"For the way of the animals who can explain
There in their heads is no shadow of sense
Harkenest they in God's sun or His rain
Unless from the mild, tempting corn they are fenced.

"Yea those cows in glad bovine, rebellious delight
Have broke free their shackles, their warm pens eschewed
Then goaded by minions of darkness and night
They all my mild Chilliwack sweet corn have chewed.

"So look to the bright shining day by and by
Where all foul corruptions of earth are reborn
Where no vicious animals make my soul cry
And I no longer see those foul cows in the corn.'

"Then if he were to do only verses one, three and four and do a key change on the last verse, well that would be a hymn."

Isn't it such a blessing to be a part of the body of Christ, to be together in all our differences and our familiarity? Praise God!

"Sing to the LORD, you saints of his;
praise his holy name." ~ Psalm 30:4

Me? faith? What you talkin' bout?

Recently I had a conversation with someone who said to me, "I wish I had your faith." I didn't know if I should laugh, cry, or continue to stand there with my mouth open and my jaw hanging to the ground! Me? faith? You have to be kidding? I mean, sure I recognize God in those moments when it really matters. Don't we all? But, do I have the kind of faith that matters, the kind of faith that can lead someone else to a life of fullness and hope? As I read the following piece, I realized that I have enough faith. Enough faith to offer someone else a glimpse of God's peace in the midst of today's concerns. Enough faith to share hope in a future with Christ. Enough faith to recognize that God is using me to light a step on someone else's path.

"Each of us has been given a measure of faith (faith the size of a mustard seed is sufficient), and now is the opportunity for us to commend the faith that is in us. In the words of the prayer attributed to St. Francis (Book of Common Prayer, p. 833), each of us in our small way can be an instrument of God's peace. "Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair hope; where there is darkness light; where there is sadness, joy..."

In effect, Jesus turns the disciples' request around on them. "Increase our faith," they ask, and he points out to them that they have enough already. In spite of their fears, anxieties, they have what is needed, and each of his hearers is encouraged to take their rightful place in the exercise of spiritual authority."

“The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ The Lord replied, ‘If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea”, and it would obey you.” – Luke 17: 5-6