"Who Will Go?"

"But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd (Matthew 9:36).  Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few (v. 37); Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest (v.38).

The title for today's blog entry comes from a hymn printed in Melodies of Praise (copyright 1957)  written by Jesse A. Barney in 1913.  The first verse of the hymn makes a good parallel accompaniment to the Bible verses listed:

Hark! I hear a sound from o'er the water,
'Tis the cry of anguish and despair;.  .
'Tis the cry of precious souls in darkness,
While waiting for the light of Jesus, there;. .
Hear the idle laborers near us saying,
"Master, what wilt Thou have me to do?"
The harvest now is great, oh! haste, my brother,
The Reapers few.

Chorus (for 1st and 2nd verses).

Who will go?. . Who will go?. .
To the ends. . of the earth,
Hast thou a passion for the lost? . .
Dost thou realize what a soul is worth?. .
Who will go?. . . Who will go?. . .
Tell of Jesus's death upon the tree?
Oh! who will answer quickly, "Here am I, O Lord, send me"?    

Jesus Calls Tax Collectors and Sinners

Jesus had made known His power to forgive sins through healing a paralyzed man (Matthew 9:5,6).  When He and His disciples went to the house to eat, many publicans (tax collectors) and sinners sat with them.  This action stirred the Pharisees to ask the disciples, " Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners" (Matthew 9:11)? Jesus heard and responded, "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick" (9:12).  Likening Himself to a physician and demonstrating mercy, Jesus said "I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (9:13).  Sin is a sickness in need of healing through the Great Physician, Jesus.  Healing or wholeness comes when Jesus forgives us of our sins.

Is Jesus calling you today? How about repenting and turning all your sins over to Him! Here is a helpful verse from a hymn by Fanny J. Crosby called "Healing at the Fountain":

There is healing at the fountain
Come and find it weary soul,
There your sins may all be covered;
Jesus waits to make you whole.

Are You Fearful or Faithful?

The detours of the Holy Spirit have returned me to chapter eight in the gospel of Matthew.  This chapter has many miracles performed by Jesus.  Of particular interest at this time are the verses of twenty-three thru twenty-seven where the waters and wind were calmed by Jesus.

The disciples were afraid for their lives so they turned to Jesus for help.  Jesus asked them, ""Why are you fearful, O ye of little faith (v.26)?  The portion of "O ye of little faith" reminds me of a friend of mine who often said before passing away that she was not afraid of dying, but she expressed concern about what was going to happen while she lived until the time of her death.

During a visit with my friend while she was in the hospital, our conversation turned toward the struggles that come along with the Christian walk.  "O ye of little faith" were words she uttered to steer her back to faith to get through those tough times of her Christian walk.  Each time I come across those words in searching the scriptures, I am reminded of my friend's testimony of the Lord.   How powerful those words of Jesus are to move me to supplication for an increase in faith.

Jesus gives the directive to have faith in God in the eleventh chapter of Mark verse twenty-two.  There is a hymn by B.B. McKinney with the title of Jesus' words that you may find encouraging.  God is with you every step of the way!  Here are the words of the hymn:

Have faith in God when your pathway is lonely, He sees and knows all the way you have trod; Never alone are the least of His children; Have faith in God, have faith in God.

Have faith in God when your pray'rs are unanswered, Your earnest plea He will never forget; Wait on the Lord, trust His Word and be patient, Have faith in God, He'll answer yet. 

Have faith in God in your pain and your sorrow, His heart is touched with your grief and despair; Cast all your cares and your burdens upon Him, And leave them there, oh, leave them there.

Have faith in God tho all else fail about you; Have faith in God, He provides for His own; He cannot fail tho all kingdoms shall perish, He rules, He reigns upon His throne.

Refrain

Have faith in God, He's on His throne; Have faith in God, He watches o'er His own; He cannot fail, He must prevail; Have faith in God, have faith in God.

Death Swallowed in Victory--1 Corinthians 15:54

A coworker of mine shared the following hymn with me a number of years ago.  It was special to her for she had sung it at the funeral of a family member.  For this Easter holiday, I thought I would share it with you.  The title is "Thine is the Glory".  The words are by Edmund L. Budry and the music is by George Frederick Handel :

Thine is the Glory

Thine is the glory, Risen, conqu'ring Son; Endless is the vict'ry Thou o'er death hast won.  Angels in bright raiment Rolled the stone away, Kept the folded grave-clothes Where Thy body lay.

Lo! Jesus meets us, Risen, from the tomb; Lovingly He greets us, Scatters fear and gloom; Let His church with gladness Hymns of triumph sing, For her Lord now liveth; Death hath lost its sting. 

No more we doubt Thee, Glorious Prince of Life! Life is naught without Thee; Aid us in our strife; Make us more than conqu'rors, Through Thy death-less love; Bring us safe through Jordan With Thy power and love.

Refrain

Thine is the glory, Risen, conqu'ring Son; Endless is the vict'ry Thou o'er death hast won.  Amen.

God's Presence/God's Consuming Fire

In addition to His Holy Word, God still speaks to us through writings, songs and experiences of others.  One such person through whom God has spoken is Nicolas Herman also known as Brother Lawrence.  Brother Lawrence's writings date back to the seventeenth century and can be found in the book called Practice of the Presence of God which was rewritten by Harold J. Chadwick.

In Psalms 16:11, David said in reference to the Lord, "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."  Similarly, when Brother Lawrence's soul was firmly fixed upon God, "[i]t is then his soul's joy is full--what he calls the actual presence of God..." (p. 132).  "The presence of God is thus the life and nourishment of the soul" (p. 133).

Clearly the Comforter abided with Brother Lawrence (John 14:16).  It was through love that the Lord manifested Himself.  Love toward the Son resulted in love received from the Father and Son (John 14:21).  Brother Lawrence said, "...God's love is truly a consuming fire, burning to ashes all that is contrary to His will.  The soul that is thus kindled cannot live except in the presence of God.  This presence also works within the heart a consecrated zeal, a holy ardor, a violent passion to see this God become known and loved and served and worshiped by all His creatures" (p. 135).

The Christian music group Third Day relates to the experience of the presence of the Lord in their song "Consuming Fire" with music and lyrics written by band member Mac Powell.  Amen!  Here are the words to their song:

Set this place on fire
Send Your Spirit, Savior
Rescue from the mire
Show Your servant favor

Yesterday was the day that I was alone
Now I'm in the presence of Almighty God

And yes, our God, He is a consuming fire
And the flames burn down deep in my soul
Yes, our God, He is a consuming fire
He reaches inside and He melts down this cold heart of stone

Set this place on fire
Send Your Spirit, Savior
Rescue from the mire
Show Your servant favor

Yesterday was the day that I was alone
Now I'm in the presence of Almight God

Did you realize that inside of you there is a flame?
Did you ever try to let it burn, let it burn, let it burn?

Sacred Presence

From my previous post, you know that it is by God's grace that I have my current job which is a blessing indeed!  Prior to my current employment, God permitted evil to come into my life for His good reasons.  This has been hard for me to accept and understand, but I would not be where I am today had God not permitted it.  With this said, I am brought back to write about my current work.

 There is certainly nothing glamorous about my work.  You can imagine--I work in the soil department in the textile industry.  Let me tell you, though, God can be found in the most unexpected places.  Like Brother Lawrence in the book  The Practice of the Presence of God which was rewritten by Harold J. Chadwick "...[my] soul has been filled with joys so continual, and sometimes so great, that [I am] forced to use means to moderate them, and to hinder their appearing outwardly" (p. 73).  I know that my management and coworkers have seen my smiling expression and wondered what was up.  If so, they have done so without passing judgment.  As a matter-of-fact, a coworker recently said that I always come in the morning with a smile.  This smile is the joy of the Lord coming with me in the morning!

More closely to the point that I am trying to make is that I am blessed with the Presence of God in my work as well as wonderful management and coworkers.  For these reasons, I find my job one of the best! You can make your job one of the best also by inviting God's presence.  Listen closely to the words of the song above called "In the Presence of Jehovah".  Glory to God!

Much Ado about Grace

God continues to have me search for the treasures in the book of Ruth.  One of the treasures found is that of grace.  Ruth finds grace in the eyes of Boaz.  Ruth asked Boaz, "Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me seeing I am a stranger?" (v. 10).  It turns out that Boaz was kin to Ruth.

I can closely relate to Ruth because of the grace I found in my temporary employer's eyes I was led to my current permanent employer.  Even while I worked as a temporary employee, there was something about the work environment that made me feel a sense of kinship.  A sense of family.  A sense of belonging.  I was so thankful to become a permanent employee.  The only thing I can attribute it to is grace.  God's amazing grace in action!  Amen.  This calls for Chris Tomlin's version of Amazing Grace above!