"Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest" Jn 4:35

There was great rejoicing among the Saints today as we celebrated the new birth of four friends. 

Each person has a unique story and each is very different from the other but one common thing is found to be true among them all, their refrain will no longer be "my glory and honor" but will forevermore be, "All glory and praise to the One whom my soul loves best, Jesus!"  

Today Thy mercy calls me,

To wash away my sin;

However great my trespass, 

Whatever I may have been,

However long from mercy 

I may have turned away

Thy blood, O Christ, can cleanse me, 

And make me white today.

Today Thy gate is open,

And all who enter in,

Shall find a Father's welcome, 

And pardon for their sin;

The past shall be forgotten,

A present joy be given,

A future grace be promised--

A glorious crown in heaven.

O all embracing mercy.

Thou ever open door,

What should I do without Thee,

When heart and eyes run o'er?

When all things seem against me,

To drive me to despair,

I know one gate is open,

One ear will hear my prayer.

                            ~Oswald Allen

The Name of Jesus

In the last 21 years, the Lord has been faithful to work in my life and to bring me unto Himself, yet there are times when the enemy comes in and causes my soul to be dismayed at how little I have actually grown and how much sin I still have.  It is in these times of heart-break and unrest that I find it hard to be soothed by the most encouraging verse, loving saint, or even prayer. I am bogged down by the fact that I have failed the One whom my heart loves the most and I begin to wonder if I ever loved Him at all.  I become overwhelmed by the most tedious of things, and I see every failing as if it were going to crush me to death.

My heart aches at the very thought of living out another moment in such a state, yet I see no other way than to drudge through the mire under a cloud waiting for the Sun to shine through and smoother roads to come ahead.  These times can last for days, weeks, months even.  I become parched and weary, no longer wanting to fight the good fight, no longer wanting to take one more step, only wanting to drift along in life by myself.

Then, through this dreary time, through the fogginess of my mind and heart comes the sweetest thing, a name, Jesus. His name alone has dispelled all darkness, brightened the once sorrowful heart, and granted life to dead bones.  His name has saved me from all of my sins, and though I fall, I will rise again, forgiven and standing clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

How sweet the name of Jesus sounds

in a believer's ear;

It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,

and drives away his fear.

It makes the wounded spirit whole,

and calms the troubled breast;

Tis manna to the hungry soul

and to weary rest.

Dear name, the Rock on which I build,

my shield and hiding place,

my never-failing treasury, filled

with boundless stores of grace.

Jesus, my Shepherd, Savior, Friend,

My Prophet, Priest, my King,

My Lord, my Life, my Way, my End,

Accept the praise I bring.

Weak is the effort of my heart, 

and cold my warmest thought;

but when I see Thee as Thou art

I'll praise Thee as I ought.

I would Thy boundless love proclaim

with every fleeting breath;

so shall the music of Thy name

refresh my soul in death.

~John Newton