JUST KEEP ME NEAR THE CROSS

JUST KEEP ME NEAR THE CROSS

What a lovely day this is!  The sky is filled with fluffy clouds, and the wind is blowing and it is a cool day weather wise.  We can enjoy this day before the summer season and its heat begins.  I have been thinking about all that is going on in the world today, its tragic stories, violence in the land, and people are in pain emotionally, physically and spiritually, and this world needs Jesus and to know that they have a Heavenly Father who loves them.

And yesterday was Father’s Day, honoring our fathers and our husbands who have been such wonderful fathers to their children.  I am blessed to be married to a wonderful husband who has been such a good father to our three daughters, who has raised them to love the Lord.  He is to be honored.  But most of all it is his faith in His God that is to be honored.  And on this Father’s Day we honored our Heavenly Father most of all.  Our Precious Heavenly Father gave His only begotten Son so that we would have salvation and eternal life.  Our Heavenly Father created those clouds out there in that blue sky, and what we know of Him and His Mighty works is only a whisper of who God is. (Job  26:14).

As I look at the world around me, my heart goes back to the cross.  That is where it all begins, our salvation.  The cross stands in the midst of history, its arms reaching back to the Old Testament, where the signs in the various sacrifices pointed to the cross and to a coming Savior.  And it pointed to Calvary, where our Lord gave His life to redeem man.  I woke up with a song in my heart. 

And God promises in His Word to give us songs in the night. “I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, and my spirit makes diligent search” Psalm 77:6.  So I called to remembrance the following  hymn, and wondered what the Lord was trying to say to my heart, and I knew that He had a message for you and it was all about the cross.  We need to be reminded constantly about the cross and what it means in our lives.  Everything we do, our whole lives as His children resolve around the mighty cross and what it stands for.  And my prayer for you and for me is to keep us “Near the Cross”, even as the world seems to fall apart around us.

And I quote from the book “Then Sings My Soul” by Robert J. Morgan, the story of Fanny Crosby’s writing of this grand old hymn, “Near the Cross.”

“On November 20, 1850, as the altar call was given, Fanny went forward and found Christ as her Savior.  The congregation was singing Isaac Watts’ great hymn about the cross: At the Cross.  Shortly thereafter, Fanny turned her poetic skills to hymn writing, and many of her songs focused on the theme of the cross, and this one, “Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross.”  It was composed after Cincinnati businessman William Doane gave her a melody he had written.  Fanny, listening to it, felt is said “Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross,” and she promptly wrote the words.”

“Fanny Crosby wrote approximately 8,000 hymns.  We aren’t surprised, then, to discover that many of her later hymns were little more than rewritten versions of earlier ones.”

NEAR THE CROSS

Jesus, keep me near the cross, there a precious fountain, free to all a healing stream, flows from Calvary’s mountain.

In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever, ‘til my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river.

Near the cross, a trembling soul, love and mercy found me, there the bright and Morning Star shed its beams around me.

Near the cross, O Lamb of God, bring its scenes before me, help me walk from day to day, with its shadows o’er me.

Near the cross I’ll watch and wait, hoping trusting ever, ‘til I reach the golden strand just beyond the river.  (Fanny Crosby/William H. Doane)

And our prayer should daily be for Him to keep us near the cross.  There is a cleansing there by the blood of Jesus and its free to all who are willing to accept this precious gift and have all our sins washed away, and all our guilt, and we are clean, and made ready for eternal life, and made ready to walk with Him and serve Him.

And we are reminded to remember the cross, remember the suffering that He went through.  He calls us to go back into His Word, read the story of the Crucifixion in the Gospels, relive that day, not just on Easter, but often.  See His suffering in the Garden, see the soldiers come and His disciples scatter in fear.  See Him taken before the High Priest and Pilot.  See Him flogged, and beaten and mocked;  the crown of thorns pushed into his head, and see Him as He tries to carry His cross to Calvary.  See Him there on the cross, hear His final cry, as He suffers there, “It is Finished!”  God’s plan of redemption is finished, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world has been sacrificed, the victory has been won!  Oh, Praise the Lord!  And then remember He did not stay on that cross.  He arose a victor from the tomb on the third day, and is alive and well at the right hand of His Father in heaven, but He sent the Holy Spirit, who lives and dwells among us.

And then, with the cross ever before us, we watch and we wait for His return, or when He calls us home, to that land “just beyond the river.”  The place of eternal rest, and forever with our Lord and Savior, is waiting there for each one of us who love the Lord.

So, my friends out there, stay near the cross no matter what each day may bring.  And if you don’t know Jesus as your personal Savior, look to the cross and its “healing stream.”  He promises to cleanse you from all your sins and make you whole, just ask Him into your heart and life.  And O what joy awaits each one who bows the knee to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

In the Name of Jesus,

Pastor Sharon

LIFE IS LIKE.............

LIFE IS LIKE ……..

As I continue my journey on life’s pathway I ponder what life is really like.  What can I compare my travels as a pilgrim to?  Life is moving too fast.  It seems only yesterday that I was young and carefree, no worries or concern about the years ahead.  The future stretched out before me with its goals and challenges, but my senior years were never in my thoughts as they were many years down the road.  Now I find that I will become a great grandmother this summer.  I thought my grandparents were so old, and in looking back at pictures I find they were younger than I am now in many of those family pictures.  What is life like?

I love trains, although I have never taken a long journey on one, only a short day trip a few years back.  I remember trains as a child visiting a farm that was apparently along a railroad track.  I remember the passenger trains going by and the faces in the windows.  I remember the sounds of the train whistles in the night as I fell asleep.  I remember my cousins who had train sets and could spend hours playing there.  My dream has always been to take a long trip by train.  Maybe a train trip through the Canadian Rockies, sleeping and eating in the fancy dining car would be nice.

So what is life like?  Life is like a mountain railroad, speeding through the years.  A person could stand maybe in the last car and watch the tracks behind them as the miles go by.  I could not find any history on this wonderful old hymn.  The origin of this song is murky.  Charles D. Tillman may have written the original lyrics, with M. E. Abbey (a Baptist minister in Georgia in the 1890s).

LIFE IS LIKE A MOUNTAIN RAILROAD

Life is like a mountain railroad with an engineer that’s brave; we must make the run successful from the cradle to the grave.  Watch the curves, the fills, the tunnels, never falter quail; keep your hand upon the throttle and your eye upon the rail.

Refrain:

Bless’d Savior, Thou will guide us, till we reach that blissful shore; where the angels wait to join us in Thy praise forevermore.

You will roll up grades of trial, you will cross the bridge of strife; see that Christ is your Conductor on this lightning train of life; always mindful of obstructions, do your duty, never fail; keep your hand upon the throttle and your eye upon the rail.

Refrain:

You will often find obstructions; look for storms of wind and rain; on a fill, or curve, or trestle, they will almost ditch your train; put your trust alone in Jesus; never falter, never fail; keep your hand upon the throttle, and your eyes upon the rail.

Refrain:

As you roll across the trestle, spanning Jordan’s swelling tide, you behold the Union Depot into which your train will glide; there you’ll meet the Superintendent, God the Father, God the Son, with the hearty, joyous, plaudit, “Weary pilgrim, welcome home!”

So what is life like?  Life is like that train upon there on the mountain, going around those mountain curves, with drops down the mountain on one side.  And as your walk with Jesus, always watch those curves ahead, and maybe there is a dark tunnel you must go through up ahead on the mountain.  But never take your eyes off your Conductor, Jesus Christ.  And keep your hands busy for Jesus.

Yes, there are going to be those steep grades of trials, and I find them coming more frequent now in my senior years.  But, oh coming down the other side into the valley with Jesus is so precious!  And there are going to be obstructions, rocks and strife may try and trip you up.  And there will be days when you feel like just giving up as the storms of wind and rain continue to pound upon you. 

Keep your trust in Jesus, put on your armor every day by faith: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” Ephesians 6:10-11.  Keep close to Jesus in prayer and in His Word.

And someday, we who love Jesus will finally roll across that final trestle, spanning the Jordan, and there you will see the “Union Depot” and your train will finally glide right into God’s heaven.  I think of loved ones and friends who recently have finally finished their journey and what a welcome they must have received as they rolled to a final stop.  I think of a precious Pastor who recently completed his journey home, and what a welcome he must have received!  I can almost hear the angels singing, and I remember him as he played the piano and sang and I think of the song, “When all God’s Singers Get Home!”  And I think of him and all the memories we shared.  But someday, we will all be there and we will be welcomed home and finally meet our Father and see our Precious Lord face to face.

So keep your eyes straight ahead, whatever the future holes.  Watch those curves and those mountain storms that might be coming ahead, and someday your journey will end, and God calls us to be faithful, do our duty, tell others about Jesus.  I pray you are on the right “train.”  I pray you are on the “mountain railroad” that leads to eternity.  Don’t put off another day, as we never know what a day or night will bring.  Time is so short, and eternity has only two choices, which is your choice?

In Jesus’ Name,

Pastor Sharon