Draw Me Nearer (Hymn by Frances J. Crosby)

Draw Me Nearer

I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,

And it told Thy love to me;

But I long to rise in the arms of faith

And be closer drawn to Thee.

Refrain:

Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord,

To the cross where Thou hast died;

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord,

To Thy precious, bleeding side.

Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,

By the pow’r of grace divine;

Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,

And my will be lost in Thine.

Oh, the pure delight of a single hour

That before Thy throne I spend,

When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God

I commune as friend with friend!

There are depths of love that I cannot know

Till I cross the narrow sea;

There are heights of joy that I may not reach

Till I rest in peace with Thee.

~Frances J. Crosby~

Does Jesus Care? (Hymn)

Does Jesus Care?

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained
Too deeply for mirth or song,
As the burdens press, and the cares distress,
And the way grows weary and long?

Refrain:
Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

Does Jesus care when my way is dark
With a nameless dread and fear?
As the daylight fades into deep night shades,
Does He care enough to be near?

Does Jesus care when I’ve tried and failed
To resist some temptation strong;
When for my deep grief there is no relief,
Though my tears flow all the night long?

Does Jesus care when I’ve said “goodbye”
To the dearest on earth to me,
And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks—
Is it aught to Him? Does He see?

~Frank E. Graeff~

Grace Greater than Our Sin (Hymn)

Grace Greater than Our Sin

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.

Refrain:
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin!

Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
Points to the refuge, the mighty cross.

Dark is the stain that we cannot hide;
What can we do to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,
Brighter than snow you may be today.

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive?

~Julia H. Johnston~

God In Heaven Hath A Treasure (Hymn by Frances J. Crosby)

God In Heaven Hath A Treasure

God in heaven hath a treasure,
Riches none may count or tell;
Hath a deep eternal pleasure,
Christ, the Son, He loveth well.
God hath here on earth a treasure,
None but He its price may know—
Deep, unfathomable pleasure,
Christ revealed in saints below.

Christ, the Light that fills the heavens,
Shining forth on earth beneath,
Through His Spirit freely given,
Light of life ’midst shades of death.
Down from heav’n’s unclouded glory
God Himself the treasure brought,
Closing thus His love’s sweet story
With His sweetest, deepest thought.

God in tongues of fire descending,
Chosen vessels thus to fill
With the treasure never ending,
Ever spent — unfailing still.
Still unwasted, undiminished,
Though the days of dearth wear on,
Store eternally unfinished,
Fresh, as if but now begun.

Earthen vessels, marred, unsightly,
But the treasure as of old,
Fresh from glory, gleaming brightly,
Heav’n’s undimmed, unchanging gold.
God’s own hand the vessel filling
From the glory far above,
Longing hearts forever stilling
With those riches of His love.

Thus, through earthen vessels only,
Shining forth in ceaseless grace,
Reaching weary hearts and lonely,
Beams the light in Jesus’ face.
Vessels worthless, broken, bearing
Through the hungry ages on,
Riches giv’n with hand unsparing,
God’s great gift, His precious Son.

Thus though worn, and tried, and tempted,
Glorious calling, saint, is thine;
Let the Lord but find thee emptied,
Living branch in Christ the Vine!
Vessels of the world’s despising,
Vessels weak, and poor, and base;
Bearing wealth God’s heart is prizing,
Glory from Christ’s blessed face.

Oh, to be but emptier, lowlier,
Mean, unnoticed, and unknown,
And to God a vessel holier,
Filled with Christ, and Christ alone!
Naught of earth to cloud the glory,
Naught of self the light to dim,
Telling forth His wondrous story,
Emptied — to be filled with Him.

~Emma Frances Bevan~

Only God Is Able - Poem by Deb Bolack

Only God Is Able

I search out pearls of wisdom, and gladly them impart,
praying I will find the ones to touch a heart.
Words that tell of Jesus, the way, the truth, and life,
in whom we have redemption; his blood has paid the price.
I search out songs of praise, and gladly them impart,
praying I will sing the ones to touch a heart.
Songs about the Saviour, who intercedes above,
and calls us to repentance by his redeeming love.
I take what I discover, and lift them to the Lord,
praying he will use them as a mighty sword,
for only God is able to pierce the heart within,
and use his holy word to turn man from his sin.

~By Deb Bolack~
Used With Permission.

2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Psalms 45:1 My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

Recently I came across Deb's website, Songs From My Journey, and have been tremendously blessed by her Scriptural poetry and songs. She recently also started a second blog to post recordings of her songs. It is called Songs Of Faith. This song of Deb's that I have posted above can be listened to by clicking on the appropriate title in the margin to the right of each page. I ordered the two books she has available on her website and have been reading through them the last couple of days as well. Stepping Stones Along My Journey is presented much like the entries on her blog, personal stories in her walk with the Lord, and poems or songs that she has written in response to those times of trial and growth. If you love Bible-based poetry and songs, why not stop by for a visit?

Recently Deb posted this on her blog:

"I'm going to give away three signed copies of my book, "Stepping Stones Along My Journey." To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post. To have your name entered twice, post about my giveaway on your blog, with a link back, then come and leave a second comment to let me know. Tell your readers to mention that they heard about the giveaway on your blog, and I will enter your name again each time you are mentioned by someone in a comment here. The person who's name or blog is mentioned most frequently will receive one of my music cds. You may post about the giveaway more than once to increase your chances of being mentioned."

The contest will run until September 9th. If you stop by her blog, make sure you leave a comment here, stating that you came from my blog.

The Night Before Outreach (Poem)

The Night Before Outreach

Twas the night before outreach and throughout the church walls
Not a creature was stirring to the preacher's altar calls.
The people were nestled all snug in their seats,
In the hopes that he'd finish, so they could go home and eat.
Outside a community on a straight road to hell,
Inside a community unwilling to tell
That Jesus has risen and all who are lost
Could come and have life, without money or cost.
But like walls on a prison that are heavy and stout,
The Christians stayed in and the lost stayed out.
"For who has built this inseparable wall?
And who is the one resisting the call,
To go to the fields where the harvest is white
And shine in the place where He made us light?"
While the preacher was pleading to get out of the pews,
And into the fields where we could be used,
All of a sudden, in the blink of an eye,
With the blast of a trumpet, the Lord appeared in the sky.
And all those who slumbered awoke with a fright,
And instead of rejoicing began to shrink from His sight.
As we rose to meet the Lord in the air,
We could see friends and neighbors left behind down there.
Suddenly reality hit with a shock,
That we never thought to stop and consider God's clock.
For all that time we had lived for ourselves,
God's spiritual watch read "one minute till twelve."
While a people at war had continued to sleep,
The second hand to midnight had continued to creep.
We cried, "If we'd known the time was so late,
We'd have warned those poor souls of their terrible fate."
But now in hindsight we finally see clear.
If we'd only stopped and realized the time was so near.
But now as we stand to recieve our reward,
Not much is being said about our communities and boards.
The emphasis now is on "Who did you tell?"
And, "How many souls did you keep out of hell?"
As I searched for a reason or a person to blame,
I could not find excuses or escape from my shame.
I could think of the people I had chances to win,
Whose fate was now sealed and would die in their sin.
And I hung my head and started to cry
As I thought of the thousands who would now surely die.
Then all of a sudden I awoke with a fright
And realized it had all been a dream in the night.
But like Scrooge who awoke to find Christmas day,
I rushed to my closet and started to pray;
"Lord, thank you for waking me out of my slumber,
For one day I know I'll be in that number.
And when I hear my name called by your Son,
I want Him to smile and tell me, "Well done."
So, People please listen before it's too late,
We must hurry, get busy for we don't know the date.
Let us determine that like never before,
To get back in the battle and fight all the more.
Let's determine that day will cause us no shame,
By heeding His warnings and promises claim.
And consider the worth of one single soul,
And get our priority and make it our goal
To win every soul with the life-changing news,
And go to the fields where we can be used.
And as the day nears when He will step through the door
We can say, "Lord, come quickly" and rejoice all the more.

Written by Loyd Baker, then, minister of education/administration Northport Baptist Church, Northport, Alabama - 1996 Sunday School Leader Magazine