Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. Matthew 16:24 KJV
The words to this hymn were the last words of Sadhu Singh as he and his family were martyred for Christ in India in the 1800’s. Though not all of us will die a martyr’s death, we must all follow Jesus, wherever he leads us to go. When He made this call to his disciples, they didn’t know all the answers, or what the future would hold. If that is where you are, do not give up or turn back. Christ never asked us to understand, to always keep a smile or to succeed at everything we do. He asks us to follow so that we may be with Him when He leads us all the way home!
Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” Matthew 25:36 NKJV
When Hurricane Milton passed through, everyone in our area, including all the residents at Life Care Center, were evacuated. This first service since we returned featured a new appreciation for how God preserved us and brought us back together. There is no better hymn to sing in celebration than “The Beautiful Garden of Prayer.” We passed through a time of anxiety, difficulty and testing and as we prayed, God drew us closer to His heart and deeper into the Beautiful Garden of Prayer! “The lyrics for The Beautiful Garden of Prayer were written by Eleanor Schroll and first published in 1920. The wonderful lilting melody was composed by James Filmore. This little-known hymn is one of my favorites and it reminds me of when Jesus invited His disciples to join Him in prayer, in the Garden of Gethsemane. Though they did not know it, this was the last time they would be able to pray with Jesus before His crucifixion. That invitation remains today for all of us who follow Christ. He is already in the garden, and He is calling us to join Him. No matter what situation we are facing, He will open the gates and welcome us to kneel by His side and pray. Won’t you come to His side whether in praise or in sorrow and tarry there an hour? What better place could we ever wait, than in the presence of the Savior?
You might think people at the nursing home, just want to hear a few quiet hymns, pray and go back to their rooms. But nothing could be further from the truth! Not only do they like some hand clapping and foot stomping music, but they also LOVE Sunday School songs! This was a recent session from Life Care Center, that we recorded last Friday. I hope you will not only enjoy the music and story, but that you will be inspired to trust God and pray and stand firmly on the B-I-B-L-E through every storm!
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life Matthew 6:26-27 NIV
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