you do? If we are true to ourselves, each of us has had times when our ‘love for Christ’ has grown cold or weak. Is there something we can do, some where we could turn? Scripture should always be our first approach, followed by (and accompanied with) prayer. But personally, when Satan poisons my heart with lies and interferes with my walk, I tend to turn to the psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. “In Christ Alone” (Keith Getty, 2007), “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” (Helen Lemmel, 1922), “Day by Day” (Caroline Berg, 1865) and “I Need Thee Every Hour” (Annie Hawks, 1872) are just a few of my ‘go to psalms’ in times of distress. But today let me encourage you to follow the thought of a song written in 1837 by John R. Wreford…
Reading Your Own Future…Oct. 26th
What if you could tell the future? To know what’s coming up, would that be a good thing or would you be uncomfortable knowing there might be something not so pleasant just ahead of you? We take each day in stride because we trust in God’s providential power. But what if God Himself were to tell us what was coming? To know the future all we would need to do was read a message from Him. If the finger of God were to write you a note on the wall, would you read it?
Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase, “I can read the writing on the wall.” We use that statement 
to say we can see what’s about to happen. Not in a supernatural way, but that we can ‘read’ the situation. However, there was one man who really did see the hand writing on the wall. But for King Belshazzar, the message wasn’t very good (read Daniel chapter 5). Come worship with us on Sunday morning and we’ll give you a glimpse into ‘reading your own future.’
“…I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also.” I Corinthians 14:15
Sunday morning, October 26, 2014
The following songs are found in the hymnal, Songs of Faith & Praise.
“Soldiers of Christ, Arise” – 647
What a great spiritual song of encouragement as we inspire one another to get up and get ready for battle. Not a war between political parties or individual ideologies, but a battle against the spirit of darkness (Ephesians 6). Notice verse 3 in this song and ask yourself, ‘Am I putting on the panoply of God?’ The FULL armor of God, not some of the armor, not most of the armor, but all the armor of God.
“In Moments Like These” – 239
Staying with the same musical key we’ll segue from “…You may overcome through Christ alone and stand entire at last.” …to… “In moments like these, I sing out a song, I sing out a love song to Jesus…” Being soldiers in the Lord’s army should give us excitement beyond compare. Why? Because we have a King who has already won the battle. He has given us a look into our own personal future.
“When My Love to Christ Grows Weak” – 350
How do you cope with struggles in life? When your faith is weak and your love for mankind, and for 
Christ, seems to be wavering where do you turn? This song will remind us of His suffering and will perhaps strengthen our own resolve. “When my love to Christ grows weak, when for deeper faith I seek, then in thought I go to Thee (Jesus, to the…) Garden of Gethsemane!” In the garden, poetically, “I walk amid the shades, while the lingering twilight fades.” If you were there with Him in the garden, you would “see this suffering, friendless One, weeping, praying there alone.” So for those of us who struggle in our love for mankind, and desire a stronger faith, perhaps we should go again (poetically) to the “Hill of Calvary…to the scenes of fear and woe.” Because, “there (we will) behold His agony as He suffered on the bitter tree.” After taking this journey in our mind, we will be ready to turn back again to our lives having learned the worth of pain and the power that comes in a full self-sacrifice.
“Sweet Adoration” – 253
A contemporary song we’ll sing during the passing of the collection plate that speaks of our adoration to God. Sweet adoration, glory, praise and devotion are what we should be giving to our God. During the ‘contribution’ we give our money…but how much of our life are we contributing to God? Let’s give Him our all so we can say, it is ‘the Divine One who reigns in our hearts.’
“My Hope is Built on Nothing Less” – 538
We might not know the future events that will take place, but we do know what the future holds for God’s people. And knowing that we are His and He is victorious we have hope. Knowing that if we keep our hope (trust) in Christ and are ‘dressed in His righteousness alone,’ we’ll stand before His throne…faultless. Thanks be to God, we can read that handwriting on the wall.
“One Step at a Time” – no book
An older hymn written in the late 1800’s, we ask for Christ to walk with us one step at a time. In a world filled with terror and troubles, sickness and sin, we hold closest to the One who holds our future. That’s why we sing for patience in this first verse; “One step at a time, dear Savior: I can not take anymore, the flesh is so weak and hopeless, I know not what is before…” Though we know the outcome of this life, the promise that heaven’s mansions will appear, each day is still lived in uncertainty. Therefore we close our worship services with the following assurance…
“I Know Who Holds Tomorrow” – 463
“I don’t know about tomorrow, I just live from day to day…I don’t worry o’er the future, for I know what Jesus said, (Matthew 6:25-34) and today I’ll walk beside Him, for He knows what is ahead. Many things about tomorrow I don’t seem to understand, but I know who holds tomorrow, and I know who holds my hand.” King Belshazzar was reading his future as the finger of God wrote it out on a plaster wall. And it wasn’t until Daniel told him the meaning that He knew what it said. Today, spend some time…Reading Your Own Future!
How’s Your Memory?
On the first day of the week, every Sunday morning, Christians meet together to worship and fellowship with the family of God.
We sing, we pray, we read scripture and we listen to a message spoken from God’s Word. But our focus, every week, turns solemn as we remember our Savior’s death, burial and resurrection. We partake of the bread, and the fruit of the vine as we understand Christ’s words from Mark 14: 22-24, “While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, ‘Take it; this is My body’ And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from 
it. And He said to them, ‘This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.’ ” From the gospel account it is clear what Jesus was saying. He was initiating for us a memorial. A means by which we could remember His sacrifice for our salvation.
Why? Are we so forgetful that we can’t remember something as important as our Savior’s sacrifice? Allow me provide you with a few ‘loose’ illustrations. Gentlemen, when’s your wife’s birthday? Do you always remember to call dad on Father’s Day? What happened on March 6, 1836? (Let me help you with that last one…’Remember the Alamo’) In another time it was not uncommon for families to drive out to the cemetery and place a bouquet of flowers on a loved ones grave. Why?, because we love(d) them? Is it because we miss them, or simply…so we won’t forget them. The point is…we often forget. We remember and partake of the Lord’ Supper for one basic reason…so we won’t forget! Perhaps Paul explains it best when we read I Corinthians 11: 24-26, “and when He had given thanks, He broke it (the bread) and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ in the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, ‘This is the cup of the new covenant in My blood; do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”
We all have busy lives. Our days begin early and end late. The reason we have ‘fast food’ is because we want to eat it fast. We don’t have time to slow down, we’re busy. We don’t even have (more like ‘ta
ke’) the time to visit a grave site because we have slowly allowed the world to change our priorities. That’s why we have memorials. Without a constant reminder, our faith can become shallow and our love for God may slowly weaken.
In 1837 (the year after the Alamo fell), John R. Wreford penned a song of memory about our Savior’s death. A song that many still sing today as we meet on first day of the week and commemorate the Lord’s Supper.
When my love to Christ grows weak, when for deeper faith I seek,
Then in thought I go to Thee, Garden of Gethsemane.
There I walk amid the shades, while the evening twilight fades,
See that suffering, friendless One, weeping, praying there alone.
When my love for man grows weak, when for stronger faith I seek,
Hill of Calvary! I go to thy scenes of fear and woe.
There behold His agony, suffered on the bitter tree:
See His anguish, see His faith Love triumphant still in death.
Then to life I turn again, learning all the worth of pain,
Learning all the might that lies in a full self-sacrifice.
Continue to keep Christ close to your heart and always on the front of our mind. Remember the memorial is for us to remember Him, follow His will and prepare ourselves for His return. So let me ask you…
How’s Your Memory?