Hymns

Message in a Sundial

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You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Isaiah 26:3 NIV

“Every joy or trial, falleth from above: Traced upon our dial, by the sun of love.” When I sing those lines from, Like a River Glorious, I often picture the old sundial that sat at the end of my Great-grandmother’s garden. I remember that garden distinctly because I spent so many hours weeding it! My great-grandmother is now no longer here to see her garden, but the lessons about how the sundial tells time remind me of this hymn. The shadows of the trials as well as the joys that ebb and flow each day, tell the story of the time we are at in our lives. As believers in our Lord Jesus, we know that we belong to Him, we are bought with a price, and nothing touches our lives that He has not allowed. Though some days are bitter, and filled with trials, Jesus leads us through and the shadow that they cast on our hearts, tell us also that the sun of His love is shining. He is still in control, no matter what is happening. He knows the depth of our difficulties as well as the height of our joys. Do not despair, because at the end of the day, we can find as He promised, His perfect peace and rest!

A River Glorious

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You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3 NKJV

“Like a river glorious, flows God’s perfect peace.” This opening line of Frances Havergal’s hymn was written as she lay in her sickbed, while doctors suggested to her that she might not survive. Instead of allowing depression or panic to set in, Francis is famously quoted as saying, “If I am really going, it is too good to be true!” I wish I always had that kind of experience with God’s peace, when I am suffering. I am learning that the key to peace that flows like a glorious river, is that it has its source in God. As today’s verse says, we can have that peace when our mind is “stayed on” God. Instead of frittering away our time with useless activities, God invites us to come to His river, whose flow cannot be interrupted by circumstances, situations, or disasters. It is a stream of eternal hope. It is a peace that leads calmly on, when floods of sorrow are overwhelming, just as the Red Sea was held back as the children of Israel crossed. It is a peace that cools the flames of anger and persecution, just as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came safely out of the fiery furnace, with only their bonds burned away. What a great hope we have, and what strength flows from God’s river which flows freely, without fail from the foot of the cross, where our Lord Jesus poured out His blood for us. Will you look to Him and trust Him today? Will you fix your eyes on the beautiful face of Jesus, who offers us His perfect peace, if we will only trust in Him?

Meet You in the Morning!

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But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
John 21:4 NKJV

Have you ever wondered what we would look like, sound like, or feel like in Heaven? Will we recognize each other in our transformed eternal bodies? Will the old be young? Will children be full grown? Will the plain among us be beautiful and the short ones tall? Even here on earth, the disciples did not recognize Jesus, until He gave them something to do, “Cast your nets on the other side of the boat.” Where had they heard that before? It had such a familiar ring: and then it clicked, at least in John’s memory, “It is the Lord!” Though I don’t know how theologically accurate these lyrics are, I love how Alfred Brumley sums up our meeting in Heaven. “You will know me in the morning, by the smile that I wear.”

Jesus revealed Himself to Thomas by His wounds, and in the book of Revelation He is still called, “The Lamb that was slain.” (See Revelation 5:6; 5:12; & 13:8) But, we will be changed, our tears dried, wounds healed and sorrows will flee away. All that will be left behind will be the joy of our faith in Jesus and our love for Him and one another. So, maybe, just maybe, you will know me in the morning, by the smile that I wear! Have a blessed weekend all, and I hope you enjoy this rendition of the chorus from that hymn which we sang at Life Care this Friday.