This Is My Father's World

This Is My Father's World

Maltbie D. Babcock

1901

The earth and everything in it belongs to the LORD.
Psalm 24:1

...For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.
Psalm 50:12b

- This song came to my mind as my family spent several days camping in the North Georgia Mountains enjoying God's creation.  Seeing the changing of the seasons as the leaves are full of vibrant colors, listening to the songbirds sing, watching the kids play, hearing the wind blow through the mountains at night in the tent, all were reminders of God's grace and the care He put in creation.  Also the 3rd verse is very applicable to the situation in America with the election coming up Tuesday,  it is a reminder that no matter the outcome God is in control:  O let me ne'er forget that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.... 
The LORD is King; Let the heavens ring! God reigns; Let the earth be glad!
ah


1. This is my Father's world,
and to my listening ears
all nature sings, and round me rings
the music of the spheres. 
This is my Father's world: 
I rest me in the thought
of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
his hand the wonders wrought.

2. This is my Father's world,
the birds their carols raise,
the morning light, the lily white,
declare their maker's praise. 
This is my Father's world: 
he shines in all that's fair;
in the rustling grass I hear him pass;
he speaks to me everywhere.


3. This is my Father's world. 
O let me ne'er forget
that though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet. 
This is my Father's world: 
why should my heart be sad? 
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring! 
God reigns; let the earth be glad!

Worth A Read: from week ending 10/30/2010

Highlights from last weeks reading:

• Jude writes to his church that they are to “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” He wanted to write to them about their common salvation, but because evil people had snuck into the church, he was forced to write a different kind of letter.  Click on the link below to read the complete article by Bill Mounce:

Click to read: Fight For The Faith: Jude 3 by Bill Mounce

Don’t Fool Yourself; God’s Gets Angry

We must never flatter ourselves that God cannot be angry. He is indeed a God of infinite grace and compassion. But it is also written, that He is “a consuming fire.” (Heb. 12:29.) His spirit will not always strive with men. (Gen. 6:3.) There will be a day when His patience will come to an end, and when He will arise to dreadfully judge the earth. Happy will they be who are found hidden in the ark, in the day of the Lord’s anger! Of all wrath, none can be conceived so dreadful as “the wrath of the Lamb.”

~ J.C. Ryle

Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke volume 2 , [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1998], 328.

God’s Glorious Plan of Salvation

How glorious and soul-satisfying is the description the Bible gives us of God’s plan of salvation, and the way by which our sins can be forgiven! The coming into the world of Jesus Christ, the God-man, to save sinners—the redemption He has accomplished for man by His suffering, in our place, the just for the unjust—the complete payment He has made for our sins by His own blood—the justification of every sinner who simply believes on Jesus—the readiness of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to receive, pardon, and save to the uttermost—how unspeakably grand and comforting are all these truths! We would know nothing of them without the Bible.

~ J.C. Ryle

Practical Religion, “Bible Reading”, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1998], 103.

Click to read more about God's Plan of Salvation

• Even though I gave my heart to the Lord a long time ago, I always struggle with thoughts that when I die, I will find I am not saved. That produces a lot of fear. I know the Bible says to believe, but how do you know what is really in your heart, since only God can see and know what is in our hearts?  Click on the link below to read Randy Alcorn's answer to this question:

Click to read: How Can You Have Assurance of Your Own Salvation? by Randy Alcorn

• The “Christian” music industry is often, I think, more damaging to children than some secular forms of musical expression. Much of what plays on commercial Christian radio presents an antiseptic view of life, and often as well a trivialized vision of Jesus and the gospel.  Click the link below for Russel Moore's answer to Is My Music Warping My Child?:

Click to read: Is My Music Warping My Child? My Response by Russell Moore

• Professor Giberson asserts that to believe in the truthfulness and historicity of the entire Bible is to paddle in an “intellectual backwater.” Christians committed to biblical authority should ponder that statement deeply, even as they keep paddling.  Click on the link below to read Al Mohler's complete article:

Click to read: Science Trumps the Bible? - An Amazingly Candid (and Disastrous) Argument by Albert Mohler

Since today is October 31, here are a few links to some articles concerning Halloween:

Making Peace with Halloween by Jason Gray

Why All Good Christians Should Celebrate Halloween by George Robinson

Halloween by Henry M Morris

Seducing Spirits by Henry M Morris

-

Have a blessed week!

Don't forget to vote on Tuesday.

Sola Deo Gloria

ah

The Message of Salvation

According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: - Eph 1:4 (KJV)

And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.  - Rev 22:17 (KJV)


The famous American Bible teacher Donald Grey Barnhouse (1895–1960) often used an illustration to help people make sense of election. He asked them to imagine a cross like the one on which Jesus died, only so large that it had a door in it. Over the door were these words from Revelation: “Whosoever will may come.” These words represent the free and universal offer of the gospel. By God’s grace, the message of salvation is for everyone. Every man, woman, and child who will come to the cross is invited to believe in Jesus Christ and enter eternal life.

On the other side of the door a happy surprise awaits the one who believes and enters. From the inside, anyone glancing back can see these words from Ephesians written above the door: “Chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.” Election is best understood in hindsight, for it is only after coming to Christ that one can know whether one has been chosen in Christ. Those who make a decision for Christ find that God made a decision for them in eternity past.

Phil Ryken : The Message of Salvation

Click Here to Learn More about the Message of Salvation

How Deep The Father's Love For Us

God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!  - Romans 5:8 Great modern hymn written by Stuart Townend in 1995.  He says about writing it: "I'd been meditating on the cross, and in particular what it cost the Father to give up his beloved Son to a torturous death on a cross. And what was my part in it? Not only was it my sin that put him there, but if I'd lived at that time, it would probably have been me in that crowd, shouting with everyone else 'crucify him'. It just makes his sacrifice all the more personal, all the more amazing, and all the more humbling." - ah HOW DEEP THE FATHER'S LOVE FOR US Verse 1

How deep the Father's love for us, How vast beyond all measure; That He should give His only Son To make a wretch His treasure. How great the pain of searing loss; The Father turns His face away As wounds which mar the chosen One, Bring many sons to glory. Verse 2 Behold the Man upon a cross, My sin upon His shoulders; Ashamed I hear my mocking voice, Call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held Him there Until it was accomplished. His dying breath has brought me life; I know that it is finished. Verse 3 I will not boast in anything: No gifts, no power, no wisdom; But I will boast in Jesus Christ; His death and resurrection. Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer. But this I know with all my heart: His wounds have paid my ransom.

WORTH A READ: from Week Ending 10/23/2010

WORTH A READ:

You HAVE a Bible, But Do You READ It?

There is more Bible buying, Bible selling, Bible printing and Bible distributing than ever before in our nation. We see Bibles in every bookstore; Bibles of every size, price and style. There are Bibles in almost every house in the land. But all this time I fear we are in danger of forgetting that to HAVE the Bible is one thing, and to READ it quite another.

~ J.C. Ryle

Practical Religion, “Bible Reading”, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1998], 98.

Young Souls in Transition: Emerging Adults and the Church

Christian Smith and Patricia Snell have offered the church and today’s generation of evangelical leaders, pastors, educators, and parents an invaluable portrait of today’s emerging adults in Souls in Transition. This generation is looking for help, guidance, and friendship. They reflect the culture into which they have emerged and the tensions of modern life. They are remaking the world even as they are being made by it.

They know that they are emerging into adulthood later than did their parents, and they know that they are engaging the world of adulthood in their own awkward way. As Smith and Snell assert, these emerging adults cannot be reached by “ramping up” religious programs. They are reached mainly, if not exclusively, by relationships with others, especially older adults.

In other words, the real question for today’s evangelicals is not what this emerging generation will mean, but what we are prepared to do. We can sit idly by and watch these young people emerge on their own, or we can step in as friends, guides, and fellow strugglers.    

Click on the link below to read the complete article by Dr. Albert Mohler:

CLICK TO READ: Young Souls in Transition: Emerging Adults and the Church

From the White House to the Jail House to the Pulpit: Chuck Colson On Being Wrong

"In 1973, as the waters of Watergate rose around him, Colson simultaneously found God and found himself in prison for obstruction of justice. Below, he and I talk about why he converted, what he regrets most about his involvement with Watergate, and why Christianity is "the religion of second chances." 

Click on the link below to continue reading Kathryn Schultz's interview with Chuck Colson:

CLICK TO READ: From the White House to the Jail House to the Pulpit: Chuck Colson on Being Wrong

How Do We Work For Justice and Not Undermine Evangelism?

"Some evangelicals talk as though personal evangelism and public justice are contradictory concerns, or, at least, that one is part of the mission of the church and the other isn’t. I think otherwise, and I think the issue is one of the most important facing the church these days." 

Click on the link below to continue reading how Dr. Russell Moore answers the question:

CLICK TO READ: How Do We Work For Justice and Not Undermine Evangelism? by Dr.Russell Moore

____

 

Soli Deo Gloria!

ah

The Bible Says: Out of Nothing, God Created Everything! (in six days)

The Bible Says:

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Gen 1:1 (ESV)

Create (To) - "to create, make." This verb is of profound theological significance, since it has only God as its subject. Only God can "create" in the sense implied by bara'. The verb expresses creation out of nothing, an idea seen clearly in passages having to do with creation on a cosmic scale:—Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words

bārā’ - Hebrew word meaning "to create out of nothing"—Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary

ex nihilo - Latin phrase for "out of nothing".

God in His wisdom, sovereignty, power and majesty created all things that exist out of nothing!   He created everything out of nothing!

In the New Testament the writer of Hebrews writes:

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. 
Hebrews 11:3 (ESV)

and in the Revelation to John on the isle of Patmos we read:

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”
Revelation 4:11 (ESV)

R. C. Sproul says “Some modern theorists believe that the world was created by nothing. Note the difference between saying that the world was created from nothing and saying that the universe was created by nothing. In this modern view the rabbit comes out of the hat without a rabbit, a hat, or even a magician. The modern view is far more miraculous than the biblical view. It suggests that nothing created something. More than that, it holds that nothing created everything—quite a feat indeed!”

Sproul continues, “The God we worship is the God who has always been. He alone can create beings, because He alone has the power of being. He is not nothing. He is not chance. He is pure Being, the One who has the power to be all by Himself. He alone is eternal. He alone has the power over death. He alone can call worlds into being by fiat, by the power of His command. Such power is staggering, awesome. It is deserving of respect, of humble adoration.”

God created everything is six 24 hour days and on day six He created Adam and Ever. He gives us the details in Genesis 1:2 - 2:3.  After six days of creation he rested on day seven:

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.  And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.  So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. Gen 2:1-3 (ESV)

Alot of people want to say that Genesis 1 is describing long periods of time (i.e. evolution) and not 24 hour days.  If God was not talking about literal 24 hours days then why did He use the creation week as an example when he gave the Ten Commandments to Moses in Exodus 20?

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor, and do all your work,  but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."
Exodus 20:8-11 (ESV)

God's Word is true and it never changes. Scientists are constantly having to revise their theories based on new discoveries from God's awesome creation. Remember at one time scientists believed the world was flat, the Sun revolved around the Earth, etc.

So who are you going to believe, God who never changes or science that is constantly having to revise it theories?

You can find alot more information from men and women much smarter than me at Answers in Genesis and  The Institute for Creation Research.

Remember, you can trust God and the Bible.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
Isaiah 40:8 (ESV)

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,  that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
2 Tim 3:16-17 (ESV)

I believe in six days of creation because the Bible tells me so!  If God created everything out of nothing why is it so hard to believe that He chose to do it in six 24 hour days?

Soli Deo Gloria
ah

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. John 1:16 (ESV)

Great time of worship tonight. We sang another one of my favorite old hymns.  Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing was written in 1758 by Robert Robinson, a Methodist minister. Read his words and reflect on what they express. Powerful! - ah

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Verses by Robert Robinson

1758

Chorus by Thomas Miller

2005

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.

CHORUS:

Come, Thou Fount, come, Thou King;
Come, Thou precious Prince of Peace
Hear Your bride, to You we sing,
come, Thou Fount of our blessing
Come, Thou Fount, come, Thou King;
Come, Thou precious Prince of Peace
Hear Your bride, to You we sing,
come, Thou Fount of our blessing

WORTH A READ: from the week ending 10/16/10

Some things I have read this week that I recommend to you (it will not be a waste of your time):

• "GOLD, GIRLS and GLORY: Though I never heard him say it personally, this phrase has been credited to Billy Graham.  "If a man of God falls, it is usually one of the 3 G's: Gold, girls, or glory."  Whatever the source of this sentence, I think is pretty accurate."  Click on the link below to continue reading: 

Gold, Girls and Glory by Clayton King

• "Today there are more than 40 million problem drinkers in America.  Alcohol is the number one drug problem among teenagers.  One in three American families suspects that one or more family members have a drinking problem.  Misuse of alcohol costs our nation $100 billion a year in quantifiable cost.  Because of these experiences and many more, I have often said that even if I were not a Christian I would have nothing to do with alcohol.  There is simply too much sorrow and heartache connected to it.  Avoiding this devastating drug is simply the wise thing to do."  Click on the link below to continue reading:

The Case for Alcohol Abstinence by Daniel Akin

• "Nancy Leigh DeMoss prepared this article, a look at the way spiritual change takes place in the life of the Christian."   Click on the link below to read the article: 

Transformed by Nancy Leigh DeMoss 

• "Miley's Dad is An Idiot" - Rick Hermann is the Minister for Young Families/Single Adults at Blackshear Place Baptist Church .  Earlier this week he posted a note on his Facebook page titled "Miley's Dad is An Idiot".   Every Dad needs to read and heed Rick's challenge!  I have copied his note below:

Miley’s Dad Is An Idiot

by Rick Hermann on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 at 3:57pm

              I am called a lot of things by many different people but I think perhaps my favorite title is “da-da.”  I have twin girls that are now 9 months old.  When I come home their beautiful little faces light up when they see me.  They make a crawling mad dash towards me while repeating “da-da” in a very high pitched tone.  I pick them up and barrage them with hugs and kisses.  Needless to say my heart has melted and I am completely in love with these two little girls.  This is why I am so upset.  Every young lady is someone’s little girl.
               
Yesterday my wife informed me that 17 year old Miley Cyrus has a new music video out that is quite provocative and has many parents upset.  In the video she is rolling around a bed in her under pants and proactively dancing with guys and girls in a dark overly crowded club.   Did I mention she is only 17!!?  Could it really happen again?  Yes!  Miley has gone the same direction as Jessica Simpson, Brittney Spears and a host of other young girls that started out someone wholesome and have turned into sexual icons.  My heart breaks for the result of where this path will take all of these young ladies (see Britney Spears’ life).  The first thought that pops into my head when I see situations like 17 year old Miley’s is this, “Where is her dad?”  How in the world could a loving father allow his teenage daughter to expose herself in a way that will encourage young men, old men, and perverts everywhere to lust after her?  Before you agree with me too much let me remind you that Billy Ray is just an easy target to a problem that is nationwide.  Here are a few examples that I see regularly that break my heart as a daddy of little girls:

• Young girls wearing short shorts that say something like “bootylichious” across the back
• Young girls running around the mall with clothes that are too tight and too short
•  Tweens and teens wearing in Bikinis (I know what you are thinking.  Rick you are such a prude!  Surely it is ok if you are swimming.  To that I answer with a question, do guys lust less at swimming holes?  To me a bikini is equivalent to a woman walking around in her bra and panties…just sayin)  
• Little girls dressing like grown prostitutes. 

These are just a few examples of young ladies who are setting themselves up for promiscuity and heartbreak.  As a husband and father there are really three roles that I am responsible for in my family.  Those three roles are protector, provider, and pastor of my home.  Most dads are failing as protectors.  One of the main things, if not the main thing, a dad should protect is his daughters purity.  When your daughter wears clothing that is provocative she is basically saying to the world, whether she knows it or not, my value is in what I look like.  Please look at me and give me attention.  The problem is that the attention these young girls are garnering is strictly sexual.  Young men do not care about them but see them as a piece of meat and as a prize.  I don’t know about you but that is NOT how I want my daughter to be seen and that is not where I want her to get her value from.  Dads STAND UP FOR YOUR DAUGHTERS!  Stop allowing the culture and popular opinion to tell you what your daughter should be able to wear.  She can be attractive and modest at the same time.

Daddies With Daughters Food For Thought

• Remember what you thought about as a teenage boy.  Here is a really scary thought: teenage boys are worse today than you were because of the infiltration of pornography.
• Remember your daughter and your wife does not think like a man.  Your wife may tell your daughter something is perfectly fine to wear when you know it is not.  You are responsible and you need to speak with your wife about the issues and present a unified front to your daughter.
• Talk to your daughter about how men think.  Many girls have no idea how a man’s mind works and simply want to be fashionable.  Explain to your daughter how men are visual and how certain clothing or lack thereof can open a man’s mind to impure thoughts. 
• You are responsible!  One day God is going to hold you responsible for how you raised your children.  Are you doing everything you can to help your daughter live a life that is pleasing to Jesus? 

Daughters are such a blessing and a gift from God.  Dads let’s do all we can to protect their purity and innocence!!

___
Have a great weekend!
SOLI DEO GLORIA
ah

My Jesus, I Love Thee

We love because he first loved us.

1 John 4:19 (ESV)

We sang this great old hymn in worhsip Sunday evening.  It was written by William Featherstone in 1864 when he was only 16 years old.  Powerful truth in the lyrics. Truth is timeless. - ah

My Jesus, I Love Thee

William R. Featherstone

1864

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree;
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

Worth A Read: from week ending 10/09/10

No Fruit, No Converstion by J. C. Ryles

Let it be a settled principle in our religion that when a man brings forth no fruits of the Spirit, he has not the Holy Spirit within him. Let us resist as a deadly error the common idea, that all baptized people are born again, and that all members of the Church, as a matter of course, have the Holy Spirit. One simple question must be our rule: What fruit does a man bring forth? Does he repent? Does he believe with the heart on Jesus? Does he live a holy life? Does he overcome the world? Habits like these are what Scripture calls “fruit.” When these “fruits” are lacking, it is profane to talk of a man having the Spirit of God within him.

~ J.C. Ryle

Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke volume 1, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1986], 192.

 

The only kind of faith that matters

“The only kind of faith that matters in the end is saving faith — the faith that unites us to Christ so that his righteousness is counted as ours in justification, and his power flows into us for sanctification. In other words, . . . I am not interested in faith in general — the faith of other religions, or the faith of science in the validity of its first principles, or the faith of children in their parents, or any other kind of faith that is not in Christ. I am only interested in the faith that obtains eternal life. The faith faith that saves (Acts 16:31; Rom. 10:9). The faith that justifies (Rom. 3:28; Gal. 2:16) and sanctifies (Acts 26:18; 1 Pet. 4:11).”

- John Piper, Think: The life of the Mind and the Love of God (Wheaton, Ill.; Crossway, 2010), 69-70.

Click Here for more information on Conversion and Saving Faith

Against yoga, not stretching or exercising

• "When Christians practice yoga, they must either deny the reality of what yoga represents or fail to see the contradictions between their Christian commitments and their embrace of yoga. The contradictions are not few, nor are they peripheral." 

• "I have heard from a myriad of Christians who insist that their practice of yoga involves absolutely no meditation, no spiritual direction, no inward concentration, and no thought element. Well, if so, you are simply not practicing yoga. You may be twisting yourselves into pretzels or grasshoppers, but if there is no meditation or direction of consciousness, you are not practicing yoga, you are simply performing a physical exercise. Don’t call it yoga."

Click on the links below to read more:

The Subtle Body - Should Christians Practice Yoga? by Albert Mohler

 

 

Southern Baptist Leader on Yoga: Not Christianity by Dylan Lovan AP writer

 

 

Yahoo, Yoga and Yours Truly by Albert Mohler

 

 

 

What is the biggest threat to the Chinese Church

• At last weekend’s services, I asked our special guest Pastor John, a leader in the underground Church in China, a question: “What is the biggest threat to the Chinese Church, which is experiencing one of the greatest moves of the Holy Spirit in history?” His answer shocked us.  Pastor John said, “After China opened up to American businesses and financial prosperity arrived in my country, materialism has become the biggest threat to the Chinese Church.” 

Click the link below to read more:

Materialism: The Biggest Threat by Derwin L. Gray

Faith's Review and Expectation: Amazing Grace

"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace"            Ephesians 1:7 (ESV)

Here are some things you may not know about John Newton's most famous hymn. His title for it wasn't  originally "Amazing Grace" but "Faith's Review and Expectation."  It is based on his study of 1 Chronicles 17:16-17:  "Then King David went in and sat before the LORD; and he said: "Who am I, O LORD God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far?  "And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O God; and You have also spoken of Your servant's house for a great while to come, and have regarded me according to the rank of a man of high degree, O LORD God."

1 Chronicles 17:16-17 (NKJV) - Robert J. Morgan

Amazing Grace

John Newton (1725-1807) Stanzas 1 - 6
Stanza 7 anon.

Chris Tomlin, Louie Giglio (chorus added in 2006)

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine
But God, Who called me here below,
Shall be forever mine

When we've been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.

(chorus)

My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy rains
Unending love, Amazing grace

WORTH A LOOK: some things I read last week

The links below are worth a look:

• "You can be spiritual on the surface and be a complete idiot. I know because I have been that myself too often. I see it all the time. No, not every young adult I know is like that. Most are not. But those that are can fool their peers and tragically are most successful at fooling themselves." To read more click below:

Uberspiritual Yet Hyperstupid: a Word Especially to Young Men by Alvin Reid

• 
  
  "Evangelical Christians are gravely concerned about the family, and this is good and necessary. But our credibility on the issue of marriage is significantly discounted by our acceptance of divorce. To our shame, the culture war is not the only place that an honest confrontation with the divorce culture is missing. Divorce is now the scandal of the evangelical conscience." To read more click below:

Divorce — The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience by Albert Mohler

• 
  
  "There is indeed a war going on in Afghanistan. In fact, there are two. One is being fought with bullets, bombs, and boots on the ground. The other war (the one with more lasting importance) is being fought in an entirely different theater. In this other war, the real enemy of the Afghan people is..." To read more click below:

The Real War in Afghanistan by Voddie Baucham

• 
  
   Ecclesiastes 3:11, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

Beautiful in its time: a Story of Perception by Randy Alcorn

• "This could be an ordinary week. We could each go about our normal routines: going to work, cooking dinner, making it to practice, going to church. Ordinary is not bad, but it is nothing compared to extraordinary. During Homes of Hope, we as a church have become living representatives of Christ's love in our communities. This week, we are offering more than cookies, batteries, and acts of kindness. This week, we are recognizing the real need that our neighbors have for a savior — Jesus Christ."  To read more click below:

Invite to Communiy Impact Day and Day of Hope by Pastor Jeff Crook

Day of Hope at Blackshear Place Baptist Church

Sunday October 3 at 8:08, 9:30 & 11:00a.m.

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  "Atheists and agnostics, Jews and Mormons are among the highest-scoring groups on a new survey of religious knowledge, outperforming evangelical Protestants, mainline Protestants and Catholics on questions about the core teachings, history and leading figures of major world religions."  To read more click below:

Pew Forum: Americans do not know much about Religion