Saturday, September 27, 2008

He's Still Got The Whole World In His Hands (Poem)

He’s Still Got The Whole World In His Hands

I was worried and discouraged -
Life had me quite upset.
I was ready to give in and break down,
But a still small voice whispered, "Not yet."

I was reminded of God's love for me;
A gentle assurance brought me hope.
The Lord is not limited by my situations,
And that reminder helped me cope.

His Spirit lives within me,
And I know I have been born again.
Whatever happens to this old world
I know it is still held in His hands.

Yes, He's still got the whole world in His hands,
Though sometimes I may not see;
But Jesus reminds me from His Words of Life
That with those same gentle hands He still holds me.

I need not fear for my tomorrows,
And my past is all but gone,
But when I look toward my future,
His bright promises shine on!

July 29th, 2002
Jerry Bouey

John 10:28-30 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.

For a Bible study on this theme of being held by God's hands, please read: Upheld By The Lord

Friday, September 26, 2008

So Send I You (Hymn)

So Send I You

So send I you to labor unrewarded,
To serve unpaid, unloved, unsought, unknown,
To bear rebuke, to suffer scorn and scoffing -
So send I you to toil for Me alone.

So send I you to bind the bruised and broken,
O'er wand'ring souls to work, to weep, to wake,
To bear the burdens of a world aweary -
So send I you to suffer for My sake.

So send I you to loneliness and longing,
With heart ahung'ring for the loved and known,
Forsaking home and kindred, friend and dear one -
So send I you to know My love alone.

So send I you to leave your life's ambition,
To die to dear desire, self-will resign,
To labor long, and love where men revile you -
So send I you to love your life in Mine.

So send I you to hearts made hard by hatred,
To eyes made blind because they will not see,
To spend, tho' it be blood, to spend and spare not -
So send I you to taste of Calvary.

~Margaret Clarkson~

John 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

Acts 28:25-27 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Powerful poem! This poem was in my church bulletin this last Sunday, with these words as the introduction to it:

Margaret Clarkson, who was born in 1915, was a teacher in a gold-mining camp in northern Ontario, Canada. It was a lonely life for this woman, but she also knew that this is where God wanted her to serve Him. She had a great desire to be a missionary on a foreign field but because of her health was unable to go. One day she was reading again the verse John 20:21, "Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." While meditating on this verse she wrote the words to a hymn that has become a favorite during missionary conferences, "So Send I You." Maybe after reading the words to this hymn a person would fear the call to missions. But, what a person must understand is that when God calls, He gives such a great desire that all else is unsatisfying and empty.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

The End Of The Fight (Song)

Please let me know what you think about this poem - click on the title to go to a page on Home Of The Real McCoy I made for it today. I wanted to encourage one of my friends at the Mission who has been getting tired of the struggle with the world, the flesh, and the Devil - and I wanted him to look beyond that to the rapture (when we will no longer struggle with our sinful human nature), and then to the changes that will happen in eternity.

The End Of The Fight
(Dedicated to my friend, Tim Groom
- one day the fight will be over!)


This world is getting darker;
The saints are in disarray;
The trials seem almost endless,
And we long for the break of day -
A time of no more struggles,
No more warring with this world,
No more wrestling with the darkness -
Into Hell, Satan will be hurled.

Chorus:
Oh, Jesus is coming again
To judge the children of men;
Then our Saviour will reign -
The King of kings from Jerusalem.
There'll be no more reason to fight;
No more need to lead to higher ground.
That's the end of the night;
The final division of lost and found.
Faith will be turned into sight,
And we can lay our armour down;
All the wrongs will be made right,
When God's people dwell safe and sound.

One day we will see that lightning flash,
Shining from the east to the west;
The trumpet will sound at last,
And weary Christians will be at rest;
We'll be caught up to meet our Lord
At that time - whether night or noon.
Keep looking up to the skies -
Our Redeemer is coming soon!

Chorus

Evil will be no longer;
All tears will be wiped away;
God will dwell among His people
On that bright and glorious day;
Eternity is approaching
Fast on the wings of the wind;
Jesus Christ is returning -
Are you ready to meet with Him?

There'll be no more reason to fight;
No more need to lead to higher ground.
That's the end of the night,
The final division of lost and found;
Faith will be turned into sight,
And we can lay our armour down;
All the wrongs will be made right,
When God's people dwell safe and sound.

September 21st/08
Jerry Bouey

Matthew 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Luke 21:27-28 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Revelation 21:1-5 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Is The Cross You Wear Too Heavy To Bear? - Poem by Helen Steiner Rice

Is The Cross You Wear Too Heavy To Bear?


Complainingly I told myself,
“This cross was too heavy to wear!”
And I wondered discontentedly
Why God gave it to me to bear.

I looked with envy at others
Whose crosses seemed lighter than mine,
And wished that I could change my cross
For one of a lighter design.

Then in a dream I beheld the cross
I impulsively wanted to wear...
It was fashioned of pearls and diamonds,
And gems that are precious and rare.

And when I hung it around my neck,
The weight of the jewels and the gold
Was much too heavy and cumbersome
For my small, slender neck to hold.

So I tossed it aside, and before my eyes
Was a cross of rose-red flowers;
And I said with delight as I put it on,
"This cross I can wear for hours."

For it was so dainty and fragile,
So lovely and light and thin;
But I had forgotten about the thorns
That started to pierce my skin.

Then in a dream I saw my cross ...
Rugged and old and plain;
The clumsy old cross I had looked upon
With discontented disdain.

And at last I knew that God had made
This special cross for me;
For God in His great wisdom
Knew what I before could not see...

That often the loveliest crosses
Are the heaviest crosses to bear;
For only God is wise enough
To choose the cross each can wear.

So never complain about your cross,
For your cross has been blessed;
God made it just for you to wear
And remember... God knows best.

~ Helen Steiner Rice ~

(Note: this is not an endorsement of all this author has written, though I do appreciate this poem and several others.)

There seems to be several slightly different versions of this poem online. If anyone can email me a copy of this poem from a published book of her poems, I will edit this page to reflect the official version. Thank you.