DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU HAVE BELIEVED?

DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU HAVE BELIEVED?

I ask you that question, “Do you know who you have believed?”  I have searched my own heart and have asked that question myself.  This past week several of us attended a Senior Retreat with seniors from all over the state and part of Washington.  It was a joy to all to be together, saints in the Lord and thinking that some of those gathered there will be with Jesus before next retreat.  And oh, the worship, singing those wonderful gospel hymns that we all love so much, and hearing the teaching of God’s Word and how to apply it our hearts in our daily lives.

 And it was wonderful to gather around the tables at mealtime and get to know our brothers and sisters in the Lord and to know that they, too, know who they have believed.  And many of these dear saints have known Him for many, many years.  It gives one an idea of what it will be like when we are all gathered together one day with Jesus and never have to pack into our cars and head for home again, we will be home at last.

As we reflect back on our own lives and our walk with the Lord, we can affirm Who we know by our lives and our testimony and the many prayers the Lord has answered.  Here is a wonderful old hymn, one of my mother’s favorite hymns and I remember singing it as a child in my home church.  “I Know Whom I have believed.”

“For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that day” 2 Timothy 1:11.

“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” That’s what we say when job hunting, but it’s also a foundational Christian truth.  You can study an entire lifetime to try to discover who God is and how to reach Him.  But it all comes down to one question: Do you know Jesus?

As a POW during the Civil War, Daniel Whittle began reading the New Testament his mother had given him as he marched off to war, and he committed his life to Jesus Christ.

After the war, Whittle was promoted to the rank of major and then became a successful businessman.  In 1873 he began preaching in evangelistic services, and for a quarter century he led revivals throughout the United States.  He also encouraged some of the leading songwriters of his time and wrote many hymns himself, including “Showers of Blessing” and “Moment by Moment.”  Whittle penned this hymn in 1883, perhaps thinking back to questions he had asked during this imprisonment.  There were still many things he didn’t know, but he certainly did know Jesus.” (Hymns by Petersen).

I KNOW WHOM I HAVE BELIEVED

I know not why God’s wondrous grace to me He hath made known, nor why, unworthy, Christ in love redeemed me for His own.

But “I know whom I have believed, and man persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto Him against that day.

I know not how this saving faith to me He did impart, nor how believing in His Word wrought peace within my heart.

I know not how the Spirit moves, convincing men of sin, revealing Jesus through the Word, creating faith in Him.

I know not when my Lord may come, at night or noonday fair, nor if I’ll walk the vale with Him or “meet Him in the air.”  (Daniel Webster Whittle (1840-1901).

Do you know who you have believed?  Just as Daniel Whittle had those questions when he was a prisoner of war, we often ask those questions ourselves.  I don’t understand why God would love me and die for me on the cross and save me when a little girl of 9 years old.  But over the years I have learned of His marvelous grace and love no matter what the trial.

And all my hopes and dreams, all my desires to live a holy life, become a Pastor and lead people to Him and being comfort to the sick and dying, He has kept for me against that day when I am at last at home with Him.  What a beautiful picture?

But I do know that He imparted faith in His Word and in His Word I have found peace and joy.  I don’t understand how the Spirit moves convicting men of sin, but I have seen the “light” come on in faces with great joy, as He came into their heart.

And I don’t know when Jesus will come back, or if I will go home to be with Him, but I know that someday I will see Him face to face.  How about you, do you know whom you have believed? 

This very old hymn, found in a very old hymnbook speaks of believing in His love so great.  The writer of this hymn certainly knew in whom He believed.

DIDST THOU, DEAR JESUS, PRAY FOR ME?

Didst Thou, dear Jesus, pray for me in that dread night of old, when Thou didst gather in farewell Thy chosen little fold?

May I believe Thy love so great could compass even me, when Thou didst plead in tender love for all those trust in Thee?

Was there a place in Thy dear Heart for such a one as I; and dost Thou still remember me before the throne on high?

O wondrous love beyond compare, O mercy, full and free; my heart shall e’er rejoice in this, that Jesus prays for me!  Amen  (Gloria Dei, C.M.)

Blessings in Jesus’ Name,

Pastor Sharon

YES, HE IS RISEN INDEED!

YES, HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Easter Sunday, here in our part of the country it is chilly and a bit on the cloudy side, and we may even get a few snow showers.  But it is always sunshine in my heart when we sing those glorious songs of our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I remember those days when I was a child when we dressed up for Easter Sunday.  There were bonnets, new shoes and pretty dresses.  And we always had our Easter baskets to collect those beautiful colored eggs which were hidden in the lawn in the nearby park.  Then there were Sunrise Services, remember those?  We met out in the park as the sun was rising remembering our Lord and His glorious resurrection.

I carried those traditions over with my own children, but now times are different, but some of the old traditions remain.  I do miss the Good Friday Services and the Sunrise Services, but there is still a time to rejoice in the old hymn s as we sing on Sunday morning.  And these old hymns seem to be ageless, sung by the generations past.  As you know, I love to share the history of the old hymns.  And these stories are unique in the message they bring and the circumstances in which they were written.  I remember this one in particular from the days of my childhood, and we continue to worship our Lord today with this hymn, “He Lives.”

“By training, Alfred Ackley was a cellist who had studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London.  But he was also a minister of the gospel, serving churches in Pennsylvania and California.

The gospel song, “He Lives” was written after a question was posed to Ackley by a young Jewish student: Why should I worship a dead Jew?

Ackley answered quickly, “He lives! I tell you he is not dead, but lives here and now!  Jesus Christ is more alive today than ever before.  I can prove it by my own experience, as well as the testimony of countless thousands.”

Ackley talked to the man further and then went home to reread the Resurrection stores of the Gospels.  As he read, the words “He is risen” struck him with new meaning.  Then, from the combination of the scriptural evidence, his own heart, and the experience of the innumerable cloud of witnesses, he sat down at the piano and wrote the song.  He once said, “The thought of his ever-living presence brought the music promptly and easily.”  (HYMNS by Petersen)

HE LIVES

I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today;

I know that He is living, whatever men may say;

I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,

And just the time I need Him He’s always near.

He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!

He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.

He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!

You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.

In all the world around me I see His loving care,

And tho’ my heart grows weary I never will despair,

I know that He is leading through all the stormy blast;

The day of His appearing will come at last.

Rejoice, rejoice O Christian, lift up your voice and sing

Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ the King!

The hope of all who seek Him, the help of all who find,

None other is so loving , do good and kind.

Alfred H. Ackley (1887-1960)

This wonderful hymn truly is a song of great joy and hope.  In all the seasons of life, we can rejoice in the glorious Resurrection of our wonderful Savior, Jesus Christ.  We live in a world that seemingly is growing darker and darker and sin and evil abounds.  But we know that our Savior lives no matter what the world may say.  Many have rejected the message of the Gospel,  but the message is alive and well.  We continually hear testimonies of changed lives, of miracles of answered prayer.  And we serve a Savior that is always with us, never leaving nor forsaking His people (Hebrews 13:5).

All we have to do is look up into those clouds, see those beautiful trees and mountains and see those beautiful birds and animals He creates, and our hearts are filled with wonder.  I could go on and on here as His creation is boundless. 

My own heart does grow weary with continued trials and sometimes the storms seem to hit with a “stormy blast”.  Sometimes those trials seem to go on and on and we wonder when we will be able to stand on the mountain top in the sunshine again.  But there is coming a day when He will come again.  The days seem long and we look to the heavens wondering when He will come back, but His Word promises a day when the sky will roll back and our King Jesus will descend and call His people home.  What a glorious day that will be!

So He calls us to “Rejoice, rejoice O Christian, lift up your voice and sing!”  Worship the Lord, shout His praises, and sing to Him in joyful song.  He is the One who brings us hope, is our help in all our struggles, as we seek His face continually, no matter what the days ahead may hold for each of us.  Praise God, He Lives!

“O Come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.  Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.  For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all Gods” Psalm 95:1-3.

Blessings on this Easter Day,

Pastor Sharon