Coming Again

...so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of 
many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but 
to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
Hebrews 9:28

Most are not thinking in these terms. Life continues to be
fairly normal, and, after all, He hasn't come in the past
2,000 years! The verse above speaks of His appearing and
the saving of those who are eagerly waiting for him. What
is He saving us from? I would say that He is coming for
His bride, to rescue her from the coming tribulation. The
Second Coming will be when Jesus comes to deal with
His enemies and to set up His 1,000 year kingdom. And,
yes, Reader, I know that I am in the minority!


Thou Art Coming, O My Savior

Thou art coming, O my Savior, Thou art coming, O my King,
In Thy beauty all resplendent, In Thy glory all transcendent;
Well may we rejoice and sing: Coming in the opening east
Herald brightness slowly swells; Coming, O my glorious 
   priest,
Here we not Thy golden bells?

Thou art coming, Thou art coming; We shall meet Thee on
   Thy way,
We shall see Thee, We shall know Thee, We shall bless Thee 
We shall show Thee, All our hearts could never say:
What an anthem that will be, Ringing our our love to Thee,
Pouring out our rapture sweet At Thine own all glorious
   feet.

Thou art coming; at Thy table we are witnesses for this;
While remembering hearts Thou meetest In communion 
   clearest, sweetest,
Earnest of our coming bliss, Showing not Thy death alone,
And Thy love exceeding great, But Thy coming and Thy 
   throne, 
All for which we long and wait.

O the joy to see Thee reigning, Thee, my own beloved Lord!
Every tongue Thy Name confessing, Worship, honor, glory,
   Blessing
Brought to Thee with glad accord;
Thee my Master and my Friend, Vindicated and enthroned;
Unto earth's remotest end, Glorified, adored and owned. 
Frances R Havergal--1800's

Any moment, dear reader!

Crown Him!

Our Lord Jesus Christ...the King of kings, 

and Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:14,15)

After the cross comes--RESURRECTION!

Crown Him!

Look, ye saints! The sight is glorious;

See the Man of Sorrows now,

From the fight returned victorious,

   Every knee to Him shall bow:

     Crown Him! Crown Him!

Crowns become the Victor's brow.

Crown the Savior! Angels crown Him!

   Rich the trophies Jesus brings;

In the seat of power enthrone Him,

   While the vault of heaven rings:

     Crown Him! Crown Him!

Crown the Savior King of Kings!

Sinners in derision crowned Him,

   Mocking thus the Savior's claim;

Saints and angels crowd around Him,

   Own His title, praise His name"

     Crown Him! Crown Him!

Spread abroad the Victor's fame.

Hark, those bursts of acclamation!

   Hark, those loud triumphant chords!

Jesus takes the highest station:

   O what joy the sight affords!

     Crown Him! Crown Him!

King of kings, and Lord of lords!

Thomas Kelly

Teach Me

'...God shows his love for us in that while we were 
still sinners, Christ died for us.' (Romans 5:9)

This one was one that I read over frequently when
I was at the University. I like hymns because they
tell a story.

O, Teach Me What it Meaneth

O, teach me what it meaneth--
   That cross uplifted high,
With One--the Man of Sorrows--
   Condemned to bleed and die!
O, teach me what it cost Thee
   To make a sinner whole, teach me
     The value of a soul!

O, teach me what it meaneth--
   That sacred crimson tide--
The Blood and water flowing,
   Form Thine own wounded side
Teach me that if none other
   Had sinned, but I alone,
Yet still, Thy blood, Lord Jesus,
   Thine only, must atone.

O, teach me what it meaneth--
   Thy love beyond compare,
The love that reacheth deeper
   Than depths of self-despair!
Yea, teach me, till there growth
   in this cold heart of mine
Some feeble, pale reflection
   Of that pure love divine.

O, infinite Redeemer!
   I bring no other plea,
Because Thou dost invite me,
   I cast myself on Thee.
Because Thou dost accept me,
   I love and I adore;
Because Thy love constraineth,
   I'll praise Thee evermore!
Lucy Bennett. 

Everlasting Love

'See what kind of love the Father has given to us,
that we should be called the children of God.
(1 John 3:1)

Today ends our week of hymns from the old
Intervarsity Hymn book. We attended the 1968
Missions Conference with 18,000 students put
on by IVCF each student generation. Glen and
I had not yet met, lived in different parts of the
country. This hymn along with others sounded
forth with 18,000 voices fully engaged!

Loved With Everlasting Love

Loved with everlasting love, 
Led by grace that love to know;
Spirit breathing from above, 
Thou hast taught me it is so!
O this full and perfect peace! 
O this transport all divine!
In a love which cannot cease, 
I am His and He is mine.

Heav'n above is softer blue, 
earth around is sweeter green!
Something lives in every hue 
Christless eyes have never seen:
Birds with gladder songs o'er-flow, 
Flowers with deeper beauties shine,
Since I know as now I know, 
I am His and He is mine.

His forever only His; 
Who the Lord and me shall part?
Ah, with what a rest of bliss, 
Christ can fill the loving heart.
Heav'n and earth may fade and flee, 
First born light in gloom decline;
But while God and I shall be, 
I am His and He is mine.
Wade Robinson

A Very Special Day

'We love because he first loved us.' (1 John 4:19)

Forty six years ago, Glen and I pledged to stay together until
'death do us part.' I will post some of the hymns that we sang
when we were in college and were part of IVCF
(Intervarsity Christian Fellowship.) I attended  CU in Boulder.
(University of Colorado); Glen was at Columbia University in
NYC, and God brought us together! We love these old hymns
because each one tells a story. The one below was sung at
our wedding.

I Am the Lord's! O Joy Beyond Expression

They are the Lord's! O joy beyond expression,
O sweet response to voice of love Divine;
Faith's joyous "yes" to the assuring whisper,
"Fear not I have redeemed thee, thou art mine."

They are the Lord's! It is the glad confession,
where-with the Bride recalls the happy day.
When love's "I will" accepted Him forever,
"The Lord's, to love, to honor, and obey."

They are the Lord's! Yet teach them all it
          meaneth,
All it involves of love and loyalty,
Of holy service, absolute surrender,
And unreserved obedience unto Thee.

They are the Lord's! Yes, body soul, and spirit,
O seal them irrecoverably Thine;
As Thou, Beloved, in Thy grace and fullness,
Forever and forever more art mine.
Lucy A Bennett

Love you Honey! Happy Anniversary!

The Giver

'If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink. He that 
believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of him 
shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the 
Spirit, which they that believed on him were to receive: 
for the Spirit was not yet given; because Jesus was not 
yet glorified.' (John 7:37-39

Here we find out who is the Giver of the flow of such
refreshment and life. An old saint by the name of
T Austin-Sparks says this about God's intention for
His people:

'God's intention is that the Holy Spirit should be as
'rivers of living water.' That is the mind of God. 
Anything other than that is either short of, or contrary
to, the mind of God. In a certain sense, the whole Bible 
is gathered into this: God's thought and God's mind is 
that which is meant by rivers of living water. That is, 
what we may call the 'givingness' of God. God is set 
forth as one who desires to give, whose inclination is 
to give, and to give abundantly. That is the simple, 
basic fact about God, to be taken hold of by faith.'

Reader, I have but touched the surface of the awesome
abundance we have in God. His very nature is that of
a giver. He gave His only Son as a love offering on our
behalf. He gives to us His Holy Spirit that we may be
filled with God, His thought and mind.
'We have the mind of Christ.' (1 Corinthians 2:16)
What a God we serve!

Rivers of Living Water

'Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus 
stood and cried saying, 'If any man thirsts, let him 
come to me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as 
the scripture hath said, out of him shall flow rivers 
of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit, which
they that believed on him were to receive: for the
Spirit was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet
glorified.'

'... He that believeth on me...out of him shall flow 
rivers of living water.'

This promise is to those who put their trust in Him.
So, what is the promise? That out of each individual
Christian living water shall flow. Thirst-- then the
coming to and believing in--, is followed by a river!

'Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty
again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will
give him will never be thirsty again. The water 
that I will give him will become in him a spring 
of water welling up to eternal life. Jn 4:14

Reader, our God is a God of abundance. He is not
speaking of a little stream, but a torrent. Our lives
are not to be lived under law, but immersed in the
Living Water that flows from within to those around
us, which brings cool refreshment to those who live
in a parched place. It is supposed to be the norm,
but so many believers are living a very dry life.

I love this song:
There's a river of life flowing out of me.
Makes the lame to walk and the blind to see.
Opens prison doors sets the captives free!
There's a river of life flowing out of me.

Spring up O well, within my soul...