Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

1. Come Thou Fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
Mount of God's unchanging love.

2. Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I'm come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.

3. O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let that grace now like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

So I am a contemporary worship kind of girl. I like modern praise and worship, but you can't deny the power of the words of some hymns. Whoever wrote Great is Thy Faithfulness or Holy, Holy, Holy or Victory in Jesus...man, those guys knew how to praise! So, yesterday driving to church I heard a beautiful version of Come Thou Fount I was mesmerized.

The line that I couldn't get out of my head was "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love" Wow. Isn't that how we feel so much of the time? What is interesting is the deeper you get with God the more you feel the tendency to wander. When we first meet Christ and begin the process of becoming more like him everyday, it is easy to make a list of the things that we need to stop doing (maybe not so easy to actually stop). When we rid ourselves of obvious sin, He doesn't stop expecting us to change. That is when He gets into our business and asks us to really commit to being completely Christ-like. Even nominal Christians will stop drinking or using foul language or whatever. It is hard to transform or renew our minds...our thoughts and feelings... The 'prone to wander' feelings become as much sin as the act. Jesus says that adultery is committed when we lust and murder when we hate. What sin my thoughts have gotten me into! UGH!
But this hymn is so obviously about victory. When I heard the song on the radio (SpiritFM), I was so struck but the one line that I didn't get that at first. I had decided to share my thoughts on that one line so I looked up the lyrics to the rest of the song. They are profound. What an amazing prayer. "Tune my heart to sing Your grace." Can you imagine a heart filled with the grace of God? "Streams of mercy never ceasing call for songs of loudest praise." When you truly examine the mercy freely given without end...if you aren't praising, you don't get it (the big picture, not the mercy. He freely offers that to all of us - just one reason to praise). "Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wandering from the fold of God; He, to rescue me from danger, Interposed His precious blood." The greatest display of our sweet Savior's love. "Let that grace now like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to Thee." Grace is what allows us to be loved by a holy God. Isn't it amazing...truly awesome that He knows us intimately and still wants anything to do with us. He knows that we are prone to wander even though we love Him. What a God we serve!

My heart longs to be more faithful. My head knows I won't be. I love Him so much for loving me anyway.

You do all things well.

Goodness, I needed encouragement today about what is going on in our country. I cried taking my son to school when I saw a bunch of Obama supporters (I had a very stress-filled day so the crying may have been a by-product of those things but still). I just cried out to God. My exact words were "You can fix this. You can change this. Make this turn out right."

I just checked the Living Proof Ministries blog - like I do at least twice a day. Thank you Lord for providing the encouragement I needed. I have been reminded so often in the past few weeks how present God is in our lives. He sees us. He knows. Here is what I read:


Psalm 118:24

A few things I'm so thankful for on this election day, regardless of the outcome:

*We live in a democracy where we have the right to a vote and a voice. We have the God-given responsibility to use both wisely and in the way that best reflects what God conveys through Scripture.

*God "works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will" and "according to the plan." Ephesians 1:11

*Not only does God work out everything in conformity with His will, He has promised to work out everything for the GOOD of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

*God sets up kings and deposes them and gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. Daniel 2:21

*We, the beautifully diverse family of God, are never - not at any time - powerless. Nor are we ever victims of a system. Believing prayer takes us through doors we'll never be invited to enter and into judges chambers we'll never grace. Take a look back at Genesis 18 once again with astonishment over the dialogue between God and His servant and friend, Abraham. Rejoice that God is ever mindful of a faithful remnant. The Judge of the Earth will always do right.

*Even if persecution should await believers in Christ or harrowing circumstances hound us, God will use hardship to bring unity and purity to a people who need it desperately. The best of circumstances do not always produce the best in the Bride of Christ.

*The living God is firmly established upon His Throne and there at His holy feet we can always find grace and mercy in our time of need.

*No matter what happens today, we are GOD'S elect. He has elected us to show His heart and to walk in His ways in the culture that surrounds us. We are called to walk in the challenging balance of grace and truth.

May we be filled with Christ's Spirit today and our mouths given to praise and to believing, receiving prayer. God IS faithful and He has us firmly in His hand. We will not fear. We will not doubt. We will not hate.

"Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him, for He shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders." Deuteronomy 33:12

I remain your servant,
Beth

I am so reminded of the fact that He does all things well. It calls me to praise.

Life After Church

SO, I am reading the book Life After Church. It is written by Brian Sanders whom I know and very much respect. He was on staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship while I was involved first as member and then as a student leader. Some of his teaching from 10 years ago, not only do I still remember, but it still affects my walk with the Lord. I would definitely say he thinks out of the box. He is a profoundly moving speaker...one of my favorites and I have heard many. He is thought-provoking and in love with Jesus. I am trying to say that I would put myself under his teaching in a heartbeat. In fact, I did. Troy ordered the book to read through with Justin and as soon as the box arrived at the church, I stole one copy...(it helps to work in the church office...I will get it back for Justin soon.)
The premise of the book is that there are people who hunger for Christ who feel called to leave the church. He was one of them. He is affirming that call. He is offering hope to people who feel it necessary to pursue Christ outside of the current church culture.
So, I am about half way through the book and just like a close mutual friend described...it is very Brian. My problem with it then is I love the church. Not just my church. I love church. I have been part of bad churches...ones Brian would say are better off people-less. I am currently part of an amazingly healthy, good church that I love. I just don't find myself agreeing with him on the issues that leavers have. I guess that just makes me not a leaver. Brian says that leavers leave because they want deep teaching, or questions answered, or feel irrelevant. He says people want purpose and need to feel like when they give, it is used by God. Maybe being married to a minister helps because I am heard (whether my husband likes it or not). But I think also a lot of the reasons Brian mentions that people leave could be avoided if you find a healthy church and get involved. Join a small group. Come to Sunday School. Help with the homeless or with the food pantry.
I am looking forward to the hope in his book. I can't wait to finish it.

Personality Test

I took a personality test on Facebook. Here's my results. *Grain of salt, people - this is a Dr. Phil test!

Lively Center of Attention

Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing, practical, and always interesting; someone who's constantly in the center of attention, but sufficiently well-balanced not one to let it go to their head. They also see you as kind, considerate, and understanding; someone who'll always cheer them up and help them out.

A Special Moment

I am all about Beloved Disciple right now!

Beth is talking about Jesus appearing to the disciples in the upper room after the resurrection. Picture this:

Somehow I imagine young John's eyebrows pinned to his hairline, eyes as big as saucers. I think he probably froze until the love of Christ melted him like butter. I wonder if he broke out in such a toothy grin that Jesus wanted to laugh.

We read the Bible with such a reverent detachment. It is interesting to really imagine these scenes as they might have happened.

I chuckle as I think about this scene because I can imagine it so clearly now. My mind automatically thinks about how often I have seen something similar with my dad and my children. Papaw will show Abigail, Nathanael, or Ian something they have never seen or done before. Their amazement is palpable, and he just chuckles. It warms my heart to think Jesus had those kind of dear moments.

Abby

Two Fridays ago we went to a publishing party for Abby's class...

Abby: Do you want me to show you the boy I have a crush on?

Troy and I look at each other.

Troy: Sure.

Abby: His name is Tyler. He's over there. He has been in second grade 2 times. That is why he is a little bit taller than everyone else. He must really like second grade.

Troy and I look at each other....

Troy: Abby...

Kelly: Maybe you should find a new boy to like.


SO TODAY...

Abby gets in the van after school.

Abby: I found a new boy to like. His name is David.

Kelly: Good. I think.


Anybody know where we can get a time machine to skip the teenage years?

Beloved

So, I am having a really difficult month. Basically, wondering what God is up to...why hasn't He shown Himself mighty in my situation yet...

I am desperately trying to KNOW HIM in this time. Today, while doing some homework in Beloved Disciple by Beth Moore, I read this.

THE HEART OF THE BELOVED

John remained nearby Jesus, whether his leader was on the mount of transfiguration or in the depths of Gethsemane's suffering...

We cannot claim to know anyone intimately whom we've not known in the intensity of both agony and elation. Anyone with eyes willing to truly behold Jesus will at times be confused and shocked by what she sees. You see, if we're willing to be taken to the extreme of His glory where we gain intimate knowledge, we will undoubtedly see Him in situations that we cannot explain and that sometimes disturb. Then comes the question: Will we walk away from Jesus when our human understanding sees Him look weak and defeated? Do you know what I mean by that question?
What will we do when we can't explain what Jesus is doing? Will we remain nearby when He doesn't stop a tragedy? Based on earthly evidence, human reasoning concludes that He is either mean or weak. Think, Beloved, about what I am saying. Will we cling when our human reasoning implies that evil has defeated Him? Or that evil seems to be found in Him? Will we stand by faith when human logic says to run?
That's what will make us different.

Beloved Disciple is about the apostle John. She is teaching about what he saw at the crucifiction. He went with Jesus through as much of the difficult night leading up to His death as possible. He went further than any other disciple and was probably younger than all of them. We can read the account of the crucifiction with a bit of distance...really, with a lot of distance. We love and know Jesus, but we didn't "know" him. We can picture the horror that happened to Jesus, but we didn't watch it. But we do know the whoosh of pain that weighs us down in sudden tragedy. Can you imagine...your best friend, mentor, leader being betrayed by another friend, arrested by a mob, tried, convicted, beaten beyond recognition, and brutally killed in the span of a mere day? Me either. But I know what means for Jesus to ask me to follow Him through pain...fear...despair...sorrow. I know what its like to think "WHAT is going on here? Where are You?" Beth says that John, like Caleb in the Old Testament, had a "different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly" (Num. 14:24). Both John and Caleb had a human spirit that made them unique. They had a spirit to follow Jesus anywhere.

The struggle for me is wanting a spirit like that...intellectually, I know it is what I want. But if I ask for a spirit willing to follow in pain does that mean Jesus will take me on the path straight to it? Truth is pain/fear/despair/sorrow will come. Life just happens...sometimes we make life painful with our sin...sometimes we are not at fault. If trials will come...and they will (James 1:2 and many more promise that) the only way to survive much less consider them joy...is to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. I want to know Him intimately. Goodness, I love my Savior...even now. Especially now.