Sons of consolation follow Captain of salvation

O Son of God, our Captain of salvation

Words: John Ellerton, 1871
Tune: Strength and Stay

O Son of God, our Captain of salvation,
thyself by suffering schooled to human grief,
we bless thee for thy sons of consolation,
who follow in the steps of thee their Chief.

Those whom thy Spirit's dread vocation severs
to lead the vanguard of thy conquering host;
whose toilsome years are spent in brave endeavors
to bear thy saving Name from coast to coast.

Those whose bright faith makes feeble hearts grow stronger,
and sends fresh warriors to the great campaign,
bids the lone convert feel estranged no longer,
and wins the sundered to be one again;

And all true helpers, patient, kind, and skillful,
who shed thy light across our darkened earth,
counsel the doubting, and restrain the willful,
soothe the sick bed, and share the children's mirth.

Such was thy Levite, strong in self-oblation
to cast his all at thine apostles' feet;
he whose new name, through every Christian nation,
from age to age our thankful strains repeat.

Thus, Lord, thy saint in holy memory keeping,
still be thy Church's watchword, "Comfort ye,"
till in our Father's house shall end our weeping,
and all our wants be satisfied in thee.

Selah.

Awake, my soul, and with the sun

Awake, my soul, and with the sun

Words: Thomas Ken, 1695, 1709
Tune: Morning Hymn

Awake, my soul, and with the sun
thy daily stage of duty run;
shake off dull sloth, and joyful rise
to pay thy morning sacrifice.

Lord, I my vows to thee renew;
disperse my sins as morning dew;
guard my first springs of thought and will,
and with thyself my spirit fill.

Direct, control, suggest, this day,
all I design or do or say;
that all my powers, with all their might,
in thy sole glory may unite.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise him, all creatures here below;
praise him above, ye heavenly host:
praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Selah.

Massive blood on the hands of self-righteous activists

Goo-goo genocidaires

Walter Russell Mead turns the spotlight on unreflective activists and moral relativists, showing a portion of the the overwhelming guilt they bear, tens of millions of innocents dead because of their so-called virtue.

Of all the mass murderers, genocidaires and enablers of the twentieth century, one group of collaborators does not get its fair share of condemnation and moral loathing. Unfortunately Americans have never really come to terms with the terrible things they did, we have never really named and shamed them, and we have never diagnosed and exposed the bad ideas that led to some of America’s most fateful and costly blunders. Until we do, our society is at risk of repeating these errors. The people I have in mind are the ‘goo-goo genocidaires,’ the willfully blind reformers, civil society activists, clergy, students and others whose foolishness and ignorance was a necessary condition for tens of millions of deaths in the last hundred years. Unreflective, self-righteous ‘activists’ thought that to espouse peace was the same thing as to create or safeguard it. As a result, tens of millions died.

Read it all here. Hat tip, Glenn Reynolds. Thanks, Glenn.

Read and consider. Be honest about what has gone on with a wide swath of peace proponents in this country -- exactly what they have enabled in history, and whom they are enabling as we speak. Be wise. Be convicted. Repent.

Save the future from repeated false destruction.

Selah.

Definition for the day: sar·chasm

Sar·chasm

sar·chasm ('sär-"ka-z&m):(n.) The abyss between the creator of witticisms and the intended recipient who does not find the humor in it.

:-) too good, lol.

And remember: the ultimate compliment for a pun is a groan!

Enjoy, lol.

Does Israel have the right to legitimate self-defense?

The world vs. Israel

At no point has world opinion been so anti-Zionist [merely modern code for anti-Jew] as now. The strongest and most zealous forms of antisemitism are flourishing now -- in our time -- as virulently and with potentially deadlier results than in the Third Reich.

Krauthammer: Those troublesome Jews: A relentless international campaign to deprive Israel of any legitimate form of self-defense:

The whole point of this relentless international campaign is to deprive Israel of any legitimate form of self-defense... The world is tired of these troublesome Jews, 6 million — that number again — hard by the Mediterranean, refusing every invitation to national suicide. For which they are relentlessly demonized, ghettoized and constrained from defending themselves, even as the more committed anti-Zionists — Iranian in particular — openly prepare a more final solution.

Consider this.

Realize that America is posturing itself [via its current administration] as no longer a key ally to Israel. At this point when they are in greater national danger than any time since 1948. Consider. Ponder. Be wise.

Selah.

In living echoes of thy tone

Lord, speak to me, that I may speak

Words: Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-1879)
Tune: Deus tuorum militum

Lord, speak to me, that I may speak
In living echoes of thy tone;
As you have sought, so let me seek
Thy erring children lost and lone.

O lead me, Lord, that I may lead
The wandering and the wavering feet;
O feed me, Lord, that I may feed
Thy hungering ones with manna sweet.

O strengthen me, that, while I stand
Firm on the rock, and strong in thee,
I may stretch out a loving hand
To wrestlers with the troubled sea.

O teach me, Lord, that I may teach
The precious things thou dost impart;
And wing my words, that they may reach
The hidden depths of many a heart.

O give thine own sweet rest to me,
That I may speak with soothing power
A word in season, as from thee,
To weary ones in needful hour.

O fill me with thy fullness, Lord,
Until my very heart o'erflow
In kindling thought and glowing word,
Thy love to tell, thy praise to show.

O use me, Lord, use even me,
Just as thou wilt, and when, and where,
Until thy blessèd face I see,
Thy rest, thy joy, thy glory share.

Selah

Shocking boating accident -- seconds before death!

Edit

In all my Lord's appointed ways

In all my Lord's appointed ways

Words: John Ryland (1753-1825)
Tune: Saint Frances (CM)

In all my Lord's appointed ways,
My journey I'll pursue;
Hinder me not, ye much-loved saints,
For I must go with you.

Through floods and flames, if Jesus lead,
I'll follow where He goes;
Hinder me not, shall be my cry,
Though earth and hell oppose.

Through duty, and through trials too,
I'll go at His command;
Hinder me not, for I am bound
To my Immanuel's land.

And when my Savior calls me home,
Still this my cry shall be,
Hinder me not, come, welcome death,
I'll gladly go with thee.

Selah

Marvanne: A seven year old gospel singer

CLICK HERE to listen.

Listen and be blessed! Rhema Marvanne does Whitney Houston and the Georgia Choir.

God bless this little girl. Powerful. Beautiful praise.

Enjoy!

The real Kentucky Derby!

Unbelievable, lol. Some drunks decide to race across a line of porta-potties on the infield of the Churchill Downs -- all while getting pelted with bottles and cans of beer, some full. Too stupid, gotta watch it -- and the porta potties that cave in just happen to be the ones in use, lol.

I guess a person should beware watching the horse races while drinking... one might begin to view a perfectly good line of porta johns like a wannabe race track! :-)

If this doesn't make your day, as in, things aren't as bad as they seem, why, try again! watch it again, lol.

Smile!

Hope, and be undismayed

Put thou thy trust in God

Words: Mitre Hymn Book, 1836 based on John Wesley's 1739 paraphrase of a text by Paul Gerhardt, 1653 ("Befiehl du deine Wege")
Tune: Doncaster

Put thou thy trust in God,
in duty's path go on;
walk in his strength with faith and hope,
so shall thy work be done.

Commit thy ways to him,
thy works into his hands,
and rest on his unchanging word,
who heaven and earth commands.

Though years on years roll on,
his covenant shall endure;
though clouds and darkness hide his path,
the promised grace is sure.

Give to the winds thy fears;
hope, and be undismayed:
God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears;
God shall lift up thy head.

Through waves and clouds and storms
his power will clear thy way:
wait thou his time; the darkest night
shall end in brightest day.

Leave to his sovereign sway
to choose and to command;
so shalt thou, wondering, own his way,
how wise, how strong his hand.

Selah.

God chooses unimpressive things

God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him. 1 Cor. 1:27-29

He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire Him. Isa. 53:2

It's pretty incredible, this theme of Scripture, that God often chooses things that appear lesser, things seemingly small and unimpressive in human terms, to accomplish the great, kingdom changes.

He chooses a little brook stone, in the hands of a nobody shepherd, carrying a small sling against the latest technology -- a fully armored Philistine tank-giant -- to bring about great victory for Israel. And the meme is not incidental: He actually refused to let Israel number the people and use human strength as their basis of decision. He intentionally pared down the army of the humble warrior Gideon in one of the most counter-intuitive battle strategies ever devised, where a couple hundred Israeli warriors took on a hundred thousand Midianites [give or take a dozen, some were not picked up on Google satellite maps because of cloud cover, lol :-)].

This theme is woven throughout Scripture: Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Deborah, Jericho, Judah, Elijah, et al. It never gets old... it is the divine Judo that culminates in the utter weakness of the Cross of Christ overturning the stranglehold of darkness; the moment of ultimate, conscious sacrifice that breaks the power of evil over the human race.

I must confess though, this theme of such glory doesn't feel so great from the inside: when God is doing a great work, He invariably chooses weakness and allows imperfection of circumstance. Great struggle. Hopeless odds. Few resources to meet overwhelming demands.

Then He does the work.

This is one reason why I don't trust the glitzy, glam presentations currently promoted in America as gospel success. And a reason why the rise of the megachurch is inexplicably accompanied by the greatest loss of faith this country has ever known. The slick rock concerts of professional worship leaders and packaged small groups still leave human souls empty and barren, after the thrill and micromanaged emotional outcomes are through. Humans want Woodstock; God desires humble worship... we choose the latter and call it the former, but our nation goes begging, spiritual beggars feeding on the husks of worldly swine.

God chooses the weak things, yet we want the powerful things. God chooses the incongruous things, but we want the glamorous things. Less is more in the kingdom...

Selah.

God's Messiah even refused the physical beauty that we now call paramount; He had no form or comeliness that we should desire Him in pride. His beauty was first of the spirit; the power and beauty of His eyes was from His inner fire. If He were walking here today, He'd be rejected by the postmodern church gurus as too physically unimpressive, with a ragamuffin membership of twelve. Jesus wouldn't look good in a 1,200 dollar suit on cable TV, with fawning masses... Jesus would not be someone to whom physically attuned women would flock. The wounded would love Him, but the self-involved would pass Him by... Just not handsome enough to stroke their ego when seen with Him in public. Reality TV would choose someone else.

Selah.

It is in weakness that God destroys false power. He will not, indeed cannot, change the world in ego appeal...

So, dear heart, carry on! If you are weak enough to hold a sling, the giant will yet fall. If you are strong enough to choose divine weakness, you will conquer all!

Selah.

Jesus, Master, whose I am

Jesus, Master, whose I am

Words: Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-1879)
Tune: Heathlands

Jesus, Master, whose I am,
Purchased, Thine alone to be,
By Thy blood, O spotless Lamb,
Shed so willingly for me,
Let my heart be all Thine own,
Let me live to Thee alone.

Other lords have long held sway;
Now, Thy name alone to bear,
Thy dear voice alone obey,
Is my daily, hourly prayer:
Whom have I in heaven but Thee?
Nothing else my joy can be.

Jesus, Master, whom I serve,
Though so feebly and so ill,
Strengthen hand and heart and nerve
All Thy bidding to fulfill;
Open Thou mine eyes to see
All the work Thou hast for me.

Jesus, Master, wilt Thou use
One who owes Thee more than all?
As Thou wilt! I would not choose;
Only let me hear Thy call.
Jesus, let me always be
In Thy service, glad and free.

Selah.

In the hands of the Potter

Jeremiah 18:1-6 The word came from the LORD, saying: “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.” Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again... “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the LORD. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!”

Isaiah 64:8 But now, O LORD, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand.

Isaiah 43:19

Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.

Selah.

Sweet with eternal good

All as God wills, who wisely heeds

John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892)

All as God wills, who wisely heeds
To give or to withhold,
And knoweth more of all my needs
Than all my prayers have told.

Enough that blessings undeserved
Have marked my erring track;
That whereso'er my feet have swerved,
His chastening turned me back;

That more and more a providence
Of love is understood,
Making the springs of time and sense
Sweet with eternal good;

That death seems but a covered way
Which opens into light
Wherein no blinded child can stray
Beyond the Father's sight;

That care and trial seem at last,
Through memory's sunset air,
Like mountain ranges overpast,
In purple distance fair;

That all the jarring notes of life
Seem blending in a psalm,
And all the angles of its strife
Slow rounding into calm.

And so the shadows fall apart,
And so the west winds play;
And all the windows of my heart
I open to the day.

Selah.

Florida humor

Only in Florida, lol. Who says gators can't read and write? :-)

Note: Click to enlarge.

A miracle-free zone

Gethsemane

by Patricia Sprinkle

Gethsemane is not always a garden.

It may be a dusty road that dead ends
at a coliseum full of lions
Or a soggy pillow in solitary darkness.

Gethsemane is the grotto of the silent scream
where an excruciating future
is frantically re-examined
for non-existent loopholes,
and the only rational prayer of faith is
“I need a miracle, God! Get me out of here!”

But Gethsemane is a miracle-free zone,
never depicted on posters
at God’s recruiting stations.

It is the crucible where sweat turns to blood
and fear wrestles faith
until we collapse in submission
and gasp, “Okay. Whatever you say.”

Gethsemane is faith’s ultimate classroom,
Where we learn the hardest lesson of all:
It is not all about me.
It is all about You.

Selah

- Patricia Sprinkle, April 2010 Presbyterians Today.

p.s. And never forget that miracle-free zones, with all their abandonment and loss, may become the context, the preview of the greatest miracle ever. Selah.