Cross Cultural Worship Experience
July 11, 2010 at 6:28 pm | Posted in hymns | Leave a commentTags: Charles W. Fry, hymn, The Lilly of the Valley
Sunday’s Hymn – The Lilly of the Valley
My wife and I were visiting a Korean Baptist Church this morning. The senior pastor is a friend of mine and my wife and his wife are friends also. We had this Sunday free and when we talked this week he asked me if we were going to come to his church. The entire service is in Korean and they have an interpreter for visitors who need one. We know very little Korean so we needed the interpreter. One of the songs this morning was The Lily of the Valley. We sang in English while everyone around us sang in Korean. It’s like a glimpse of what singing will be like in heaven.
There is much more I could share about the church service this morning. Our friend is a good preacher too. He preached from Acts 3:1-10 on a Proper Spiritual Diagnosis and Remedy. We were glad we attended. We also stayed and had lunch. Yes, we like kimchi and we can use chopsticks. It was a good morning of worship and fellowship.
Thursday’s Hymn is changing to Sunday’s Hymn. I do like a blended service, but I am hoping to teach a younger generation the value of some old hymns. I hope you have had a good Sunday and experienced the presence of God in your service to HIM today.
Stay faithful and hopeful,
Bill (a fellow-laborer)
Romans 15:13; Psalm 50:23
The Lily of the Valley
By Charles W. Fry (1837-1882) – sung in 4/4 time
1. I have found a friend in Jesus, He’s everything to me, He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul; The Lily of the Valley, in Him alone I see All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole. In sorrow He’s my comfort, in trouble He’s my stay; He tells me every care on Him to roll.
(Refrain) He’s the Lilly of the Valley, the bright and Morning Star, He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.
2. He all my griefs has taken and all my sorrows borne; In temptation He’s my strong and mighty tower; I have all for Him forsaken and all my idols torn From my heart, and now He keeps me by His power. Though all the world forsake me and Satan tempt me sore, Through Jesus I shall safely reach the goal.
(Refrain)
3. He will never, never leave me nor yet forsake me here, While I live by faith and do His blessed will; A wall of fire about me, I’ve nothing now to fear; With His manna He my hungry soul shall fill; then sweeping up to glory to see His blessed face, Where rivers of delight shall ever roll.
(Refrain)
Coffee Review – Nicaraguan Maragogype
July 10, 2010 at 3:25 pm | Posted in Coffee Reviews | Leave a commentTags: Care Cup International, Coffee Reviews, Hemisphere Coffee Roasters, Nicaraguan Maragogype review
This coffee is from Hemisphere Coffee Roasters (www.hemispherecoffees.com) and is described as a dark roast with lemon and chocolate notes. It is a unique smooth coffee that grows very scarcely in Central America. Many farmers have stopped cultivating it because doesn’t produce well.
Hemisphere Coffee Roasters (HCR) was started out of work with Rosedale Mennonite Missions with a vision to assist coffee farmers and their communities. Many of the farmers live in areas of extreme poverty and the relationships between the farmers and HCR is a practical way to help the farmers and their communities profit from the sale of the beans. In 2008 HCR worked to start a non-profit, Care Cup International (www.carecupinternational.com) to further assist the farmers through grants and agricultural consulting. In future blog posts I’ll share more about HCR and CCI, but I do want to encourage you to check them out.
Our first brew was with the French Press and there is a nice aroma that comes from these dark roasted beans. They have a deep roasted smell in the bag and after being ground. There is a distinct lemon flavor that spreads all over the tongue with a mild acidity. The body of the coffee is smooth and light. You really notice this coffee when you taste it. Two thumbs up.
We went with the auto-drip next and Kim remarked how good the aroma was when she came down stairs. Overall the flavor is well balanced and deep. There is a smooth feel and good aftertaste. This is a memorable cup of coffee. We would give it two thumbs up again.
Finally we used the Chemex coffee maker and there was a clean deep roasted flavor to enjoy. The taste of lemon was there along with a bittersweet or dark chocolate. It has a nice aftertaste and this is kind of where the dark chocolate comes out. As we sat down and talked about this coffee both of us simply liked the flavor we tasted. Two thumbs up again.
Kim liked drinking this coffee as she was eating some Asian food. It also tastes good with a chocolate oat bar. I made a cup in the single cup brewer and it tasted really good there as well. Both of us could say that we liked this coffee very much. If you have never tried a Nicaraguan coffee we highly recommend this Maragogype from Hemisphere Coffee Roasters. We received this coffee for free and offer objective feedback. Until next time, stop and enjoy the coffee and conversation.
Much GRACE and peace to you,
Bill and Kim
Romans 15:13; Psalm 34:1-10
Thursday’s Hymn – Washed in the Blood of the Lamb
July 8, 2010 at 11:22 am | Posted in hymns | Leave a commentTags: Elisha Hoffman, hymn, Washed in the Blood of the Lamb
This is a real good hand clapping, toe tapping song! Ideally the words can be projected so that people can have their hands free for clapping. We have sung this with many different instruments playing and at times with just a piano or just a guitar. It is a good song.
I may move the weekly hymn to Sunday’s and put a book review or coffee review on Thursdays. The blog is still developing and I have some changes in mind. I have to catch up on my reviewing responsibilities also. Enjoy the song and have a good day.
Stay faithful and hopeful,
Bill (a fellow-laborer)
Romans 15:13; Isaiah 66:2
Washed in the Blood of the Lamb
By Elisha Hoffman (1839-1929)
1. Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
(Refrain) Are you washed in the blood, in the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
2. Are you walking daily by the Saviour’s side? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Do you rest each moment in the Crucified? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
(Refrain)
3. When the Bridegroom cometh, will your robes be white, Pure and white in the blood of the Lamb? Will your souls be ready for the mansions bright And be washed in the blood of the Lamb?
(Refrain)
4. Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin And be washed in the blood of the Lamb; There’s a fountain flowing for the soul unclean; Oh, be washed in the blood of the Lamb.
(Refrain)
On Taking Too Much for Granted
July 7, 2010 at 3:16 pm | Posted in A. W. Tozer | Leave a commentTags: A. W. Tozer, Man the Dwelling Place of God, On Taking Too Much for Granted
Insight from A. W. Tozer – On Taking Too Much for Granted
There is a danger that we take Christ for granted. We “suppose” that because we hold New Testament beliefs we are therefore New Testament Christians; but it does not follow. The devil is a better theologian than any of us and is a devil still.
We may assume that salvation is possible without repentance…………
We are also in danger of assuming the value of religion without righteousness…….
We may also erroneously assume that we can experience justification without transformation. Justification and regeneration are not the same; they may be thought apart in theology but they can never be experienced apart in fact…….
Again, we may go astray by assuming that we can do spiritual work without spiritual power…..
David Brainerd once compared a man without the power of the Spirit trying to do spiritual work to a workman without fingers attempting to do manual labor…… The Holy Spirit is not a luxury meant to make deluxe Christians……. The Spirit is an imperative necessity. Only the Eternal Spirit can do eternal deeds.
Without exhausting the list of things wrongly taken for granted I would mention on more: Millions take for granted that it is possible to live for Christ without first having died with Christ. This is a serious error and we dare not leave it unchallenged.
The victorious Christian has known two lives. The first was his life in Adam which was motivated by the carnal mind and can never please God in any way. It can never be converted; it can only die (Romans 8:5-8).
The second life of the Christian is his new life in Christ (Romans 6:1-14). To live a Christian life with the life of Adam is wholly impossible. Yet multitudes take for granted that it can be done and go on year after year in defeat. And worst of all they accept this half-dead condition as normal.
For our own soul’s sake, let’s not take too much for granted. – Taken from Man: The Dwelling Place of God, pages 63-66.
Tozer gives us something to think about doesn’t he?
Stay faithful and hopeful,
Bill (a fellow-laborer),
Romans 15:13; Isaiah 66:2
Judgement of the Nation
July 6, 2010 at 9:36 am | Posted in William Gurnall | Leave a commentTags: Judgment of the Nation, William Gurnall
Wisdom from William Gurnall – Judgment of the Nation
Even when the righteous are men beloved of God like Noah and Daniel, sometimes God still denies bail for a people under the arrest of His judgment. Jeremiah, for instance, boldly testified against the sins of the times and interceded in earnest prayer for the people; but he could not convert them by preaching or divert God’s wrath by praying. Finally the Jews asked him not to prophesy against them any more and God commanded him to stop praying for the nation.
Judgment hovered like an eagle closing in on her prey. And the only thing that eased Jeremiah’s heart, swollen with grief for Israel’s sins, was his memory of sincerity to God and man: “Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them” (Jeremiah 18:20). It is as if he had said, “Lord, I cannot make this rebellious generation repent of their sins, and I cannot make this rebellious generation repent of their sins, and I cannot seem to prevail with You to reverse Your decree of punishment; but I have been faithful in my place both to You and to them.”
On the contrary, horror and a terrified spirit is the portion of hypocrites in seasons of judgments. Pashur, for example, was a bitter enemy of Jeremiah and of the prophet’s message from God. He put in long efforts to soothe the king with vain hope of golden days just ahead. And all this against the Word of the Lord at the mouth of Jeremiah! When the storm began to fall in torrents of judgment, Jeremiah tore away all such imaginary shelter by telling Pashur he would carry a personal brand of God’s anger, besides sharing in the common calamity of the people (Jeremiah 20).
Sincerity strengthens the Christian deprived of the chance to serve God. If a servant of Christ could choose any affliction, he would select everything else before he would endure the pain of being a broken instrument, unserviceable to God. A devoted servant values his life by the opportunities he has to glorify God. – Taken from The Christian In Complete Armour, July 4; edited by James S. Bell, Jr., Moody Publishers.
Review – Travel Mugs
July 5, 2010 at 3:49 pm | Posted in Coffee Travel Mug Reviews | 2 CommentsTags: eco cup, I am not a paper cup, travel mug review
We have practiced recycling for a long time, even before it was the cool thing to do. That is one of the reasons we use travel mugs. We spotted a unique eco friendly travel mug at one of the local stores we go to and thought it would be neat to try one out.
We received two porcelain mugs from Décor Craft Inc. (www.dcigift.com) to use and review. The white mug is called “I am not a paper cup…” and the green one is a color eco cup. Both of them have silicon lids that go with them. We used both of them several times to get an idea of how they were before reviewing them.
The “I am not a paper cup…” holds 10 ounces of liquid. It is a double walled insulated cup so it does keep your coffee hot and is not too hot to hold. It does get a little hot at the top but is comfortable. Kim thought the lid had a rubbery taste and smell even after a few cleanings. There are directions on the package on how to take away the smell and she followed them, but they didn’t help much. She soaked it in a 10% bleach/water solution and that seemed to help. I didn’t think there was much of rubbery smell or taste. The lid fits well and there was no problem with leaks when we used it.
The green eco cup is pretty cool looking and it holds 16 ounces of liquid. It is single walled and comes with a silicone sleeve that is to be used with it. This cup gets very hot when you put hot coffee into it. It also comes with warnings that it is not to be used without the silicone sleeve and is not for use by children under 8 years old. You really have to be careful when using this cup and I’m not sure I would let anyone younger than a teen use it. That being said if you use the silicone sleeve it is safe and it does hold the coffee’s heat well. The lid fits well and we had no problem with leaks. Kim thought the lid smelled and tasted rubbery, but she cleaned it the same way as the other lid and that took care of the problem. I didn’t have a problem with the lid’s smell or taste.
These cups are attention getters. We took them with us to one of our favorite coffee shops and they generated conversation among the employees and some customers. They look good and people notice them. They keep coffee hot and don’t leak. They are also eco friendly and we haven’t had a problem with getting them filled in coffee shops. If you want something that is pretty cool looking and will help the environment at the same time these cups are for you.
We use both of these cups on a regular basis now. Using these cups when we visit our favorite coffee shops helps us do our part in cutting down the use of both paper cups and sleeves. We received these cups for free and offer objective feedback. Until next time remember to stop and enjoy the coffee and conversation…and this time help the environment a little too.
Much GRACE and peace to you,
Bill and Kim
Romans 15:13; Psalm 34:1-10
Pray for Young Men
July 2, 2010 at 3:29 pm | Posted in hymns, prayer | Leave a commentTags: hymn, Pray for young men, stand up for Jesus
Will you join me in praying for some young men who are or will be leaders in the body of Christ? There is much in today’s culture that fights against manliness. Young men need help in knowing what it is to be a man in a Biblical sense not a worldly sense. We need mature godly male role models to help young men know the way to become a mature godly man. Maybe you know a young man that you could pray for. Maybe you know an older man that could and should be mentoring some young men. I have some suggestions for how you can pray.
Pray that:
1. They will always be completely surrendered to God (Rom. 12:1-2).
2. They will be in His Word to study and live it (2 Tim. 2:15).
3. They will learn to balance their private life and public life.
4. They will understand that God cares about character more than giftedness.
5. They will learn about diligence and self-discipline.
6. They will realize the presence of the God and His joy (Ps. 21:6)
7. They will stay faithful to God no matter what.
8. They will confidently know what God has “called” them to.
9. They will have older godly men to mentor them and younger godly men to mentor.
10. Their families (if they have them) will be protected from the evil one.
Thank you for looking around, seeing some young men with potential and for praying (interceding) for them. They may never know it, but God will and your prayers will make a difference.
“I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of His name. I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you young men, because you are strong, and the Word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” (1 John 2:12-14 NIV)
Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus
by George Duffield
1. Stand up, stand up for Jesus, Ye soldiers of the cross
Lift high His royal banner, It must not suffer loss.
From victory unto victory His army shall He lead,
Till every foe is vanquished And Christ is Lord indeed.
2. Stand up, stand up for Jesus, The trumpet call obey;
Forth to the mighty conflict, In this His glorious day!
Ye that are men, now serve Him Against unnumbered foes;
Let courage rise with danger And strength to strength oppose.
3. Stand up, stand up for Jesus, The trumpet call obey;
The arm of flesh will fail you, Ye dare not trust your own.
Put on the gospel armor, Each piece put on with prayer;
Where duty calls, or danger, Be never wanting there.
4. Stand up, stand up for Jesus- The strife will not be long;
This day the noise of battle, The next the victor’s song.
To him that overcometh A crown of life shall be;
He with the King of glory Shall reign eternally. Amen
Stay faithful and hopeful,
Bill (a fellow-laborer)
(Rom. 15:13; 1 Tim. 1:18-19)
Thursday’s Hymn – It Is Well with My Soul
July 1, 2010 at 9:47 am | Posted in hymns | Leave a commentTags: Horatio G. Spafford, hymn, It Is Well with My Soul
We heard this sung in church last Sunday in the part of the service we call “Worship Through Song.” It was sung acapella by a woman with a very nice voice, but who was very nervous. She is also part of a family that is going through difficulty and grieving. There are others in the congregation going through the death of a loved one, or a sudden traumatic injury from a car accident or cancer and the pain of chemo-therapy or being jobless with no benefits or unemployment checks. What was more moving still was when people in the congregation began singing along, especially during the chorus. It was worship in the Biblical definition of worship.
I hope the words minister to you today whatever you may be going through. I encourage you to say them out loud to God as a prayer of worship. God bless you.
Stay faithful and hopeful,
Bill (a fellow-laborer)
Romans 15:13
“…………He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.”
– Isaiah 50:4b
“Has not My hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the Lord. “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at My Word.
– Isaiah 66:2
It Is Well with My Soul
By Horatio G. Spafford (1826-1888)
1. When peace like a river attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll, Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, “It is well, it is well with my soul.”
(Refrain) It is well with my soul; it is well it is well with my soul!
2. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate, And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
(Refrain)
3. My sin – oh, the bliss of this glorious thought – My sin, not in part but the whole, Is nailed to His cross and I bear it no more! Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
(Refrain)
4. And, Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll, The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend! Even so – it is well with my soul!
(Refrain)
True Faith Is Active, Not Passive
June 30, 2010 at 10:41 am | Posted in A. W. Tozer | Leave a commentTags: A. W. Tozer, Man the Dwelling Place of God, True Faith Is Active Not Passive
Insight From A. W. Tozer – True Faith Is Active, Not Passive
A Christian is one who believes on Jesus Christ as Lord. With this statement every evangelical agrees. Indeed there would appear to be nothing else to do, since the New Testament is crystal clear about the matter.
This first acknowledgement of Christ as Lord and Saviour is usually followed by baptism and membership in a Protestant church….A few Christians shy away from organized religion, but the vast majority, while they recognize the imperfections of the churches, nevertheless feel that they can serve their Lord better in the church than out of it.
There is, however, one serious flaw in all this: it is that many – would I overstate the case if I said the majority? – of those who confess their faith in Christ and enter into association with the community of believers have little joy in their hearts, no peace in their minds, and from all external appearances are no better morally than the ordinary educated citizen who take no interest whatever in religion and, of course, who makes no profession of Christianity. Why is this?
I believe it is the result of an inadequate concept of Christianity and an imperfect understanding of the revolutionary character of Christian discipleship.
……….True faith brings a spiritual and moral transformation and an inward witness that cannot be mistaken. These come when we stop believing in belief and start believing in the Lord Jesus Christ indeed.
True faith is not passive but active. It requires that we meet certain conditions, that we allow the teachings of Christ to dominate our total lives from the moment we believe. The man of saving faith must be willing to be different from others. The effort to enjoy the benefits of redemption while enmeshed in the world is futile. We must choose one or the other; and faith quickly makes its choice, one from which there is no retreat.
………The regenerated soul feels no more at home in the world than Abraham felt when he left Ur of the Chaldees and set out for the land of promise.
……..Suddenly, or slowly but surely, he will develop a new pattern of life. Old things will pass away and behold, all things will become new, first inwardly and then outwardly; for the change within him will soon begin to express itself by corresponding changes in his manner of living.
The transformation will show itself in many ways and his former friends will begin to worry about him…………….
The genuinely renewed man will have a new life center………Things he once held to be of value may suddenly lose all their attraction for him and he may even hate some things he formerly loved.
The man who recoils from this revolutionary kind of Christianity is retreating before the cross. But thousands do so retreat, and they try to make things right by seeking baptism and church membership. No wonder they are dissatisfied. – Take from Man: The Dwelling Place of God, pages 60-63, Christian Publications: Harrisburg, PA 1966.
This was published three years after Tozer’s death. Does it make you think about the way we disciple new believers in our churches today? I would suggest that you compare Tozer’s thoughts about discipleship and living under the Lordship of Jesus Christ with Jonathan Edwards and his “Resolutions.” How do we live as growing, sanctified believers who are in the world, but not of the world?
Stay faithful and hopeful,
Bill (a fellow-laborer)
Romans 15:13; 2 Peter 3:18
Wait On God
June 29, 2010 at 9:40 am | Posted in William Gurnall | Leave a commentTags: Wait on God, William Gurnall
Wisdom from William Gurnall – Wait On God
You might search all over the field and still not discover the treasure hidden there. The only way we can “know the things that are freely given to us of God” is by God’s Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:12). He lives in God’s ordinances as a governor works in his graces – evidences for heaven – sealed to our consciences.
Go to God’s Spirit and wait. The fact that you are at the right door is comforting in itself. Even if you knock for a long time but do not hear anyone coming, you should not feel ashamed. Eglon’s servants waited for a dead man (Judges 3:25), but you are waiting for the living God, who hears your prayers and sees your tears. And even if He seems like a stranger, as Joseph appeared to his brothers, He is so big with mercy that He will soon fall on your neck and ease His heart by acknowledging and accepting you, and His grace in you.
Lift up your head, then – but remember, you cannot set times for God Almighty. The sun rises at its own hour, no matter what time you decide it should come up. Sometimes God comes to you in an ordinance and His heavenly light radiates into your innermost being while He quickens His Word to you. But have you not spent other nights on your face wrestling with God, wondering why He did not satisfy your soul? When someone brings a candle into the dark room we stir around and look for the thing we have lost and soon find what we had groped for in the darkness for hours. We can gauge more of our spiritual condition in a moment of His revelation than in days or weeks of His withdrawal.
Carefully watch for the seasons when God comes to you; take advantage of them. But even if God chooses to hide the treasure from your sight, comfort yourself. He knows your sincerity is real whether you see it or not. – take from The Christian In Complete Armour, Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare (June 28) by William Gurnall; edited by James S. Bell, Jr. Moody Publishers, 1994.
I hope you were encouraged and that you are helped to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to Him be the glory forever and ever, amen (2 Peter 3:18).
Stay faithful and hopeful,
Bill (a fellow-laborer)
Romans 15:13
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