IN THE GARDEN

Austin Miles 1868-1946

(Joh 20:14) When she had said this, she turned around and *saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.

(Joh 20:16) Jesus *said to her, "Mary!" She turned and *said to Him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means, Teacher).

Just the other day we were riding in the car headed back from Pensacola and I heard a preacher on the radio reverently and beautifully read the lyrics to the hymn, “In the Garden”. No music, just a wonderful presentation that brought a flood of memories to my mind and heart.

This hymn paints for me such a landscape of childhood visions of a homestead, built with blood and sweat out in the middle of the Colorado high desert. Grand parents raising a flock of kids in a three room hand built homestead home. Farmers. Just dirt farmers. Scraping out a meager living resting their complete trust on the Good Lord to bless them with the right amount of rain at the right time and bring a good crop to harvest from the field.

Grandpa Thompson had no indoor plumbing right up to the very day he died in the late 50's. It was out-houses and thunder mugs. Water was carried in buckets from the well to the house; heat was from a tin lined wood burner that we would stretch the wood overnight by adding a chunk or two of coal. Oh the sweet smell of cottonwood, oak or pine mixed with a smidgen of coal smoke on a frosty winter night....

The hymn below was Grampa Thompson and my dad's favorite and I remember fondly hearing them sing it after a huge farmer's Sunday dinner of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, snap beans and home hand-churned and hand formed fresh butter. The harmonies in the refrain brings tears to my eyes all these years later. I love this hymn!

I know that your memories will take a different journey when you read these words. Our mental travels, however different, will bring us all to the very same place. That cool, peaceful, fragrant place that quietly generates an intense love of our Creator.....In the Garden.

I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses,
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.
He speaks, and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.
I’d stay in the garden with Him,
Though the night around me be falling,
But He bids me go; through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling.

Refrain:
And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

HAVE YOU READ YOUR HYMNAL TODAY?

IN THE GARDEN

Austin Miles 1868-1946

(Joh 20:14) When she had said this, she turned around and *saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.

(Joh 20:16) Jesus *said to her, "Mary!" She turned and *said to Him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means, Teacher).

Just the other day we were riding in the car headed back from Pensacola and I heard a preacher on the radio reverently and beautifully read the lyrics to the hymn, “In the Garden”. No music, just a wonderful presentation that brought a flood of memories to my mind and heart.

This hymn paints for me such a landscape of childhood visions of a homestead, built with blood and sweat out in the middle of the Colorado high desert. Grand parents raising a flock of kids in a three room hand built homestead home. Farmers. Just dirt farmers. Scraping out a meager living resting their complete trust on the Good Lord to bless them with the right amount of rain at the right time and bring a good crop to harvest from the field.

Grandpa Thompson had no indoor plumbing right up to the very day he died in the late 50's. It was out-houses and thunder mugs. Water was carried in buckets from the well to the house; heat was from a tin lined wood burner that we would stretch the wood overnight by adding a chunk or two of coal. Oh the sweet smell of cottonwood, oak or pine mixed with a smidgen of coal smoke on a frosty winter night....

The hymn below was Grampa Thompson and my dad's favorite and I remember fondly hearing them sing it after a huge farmer's Sunday dinner of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, snap beans and home hand-churned and hand formed fresh butter. The harmonies in the refrain brings tears to my eyes all these years later. I love this hymn!

I know that your memories will take a different journey when you read these words. Our mental travels, however different, will bring us all to the very same place. That cool, peaceful, fragrant place that quietly generates an intense love of our Creator.....In the Garden.

I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses,
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.
He speaks, and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.
I’d stay in the garden with Him,
Though the night around me be falling,
But He bids me go; through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling.

Refrain:
And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

HAVE YOU READ YOUR HYMNAL TODAY?

JUDGEMENT AND THE LOVE OF GOD
Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest



(1Pe 4:17) For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? --NASB



[ Are you saved? Do you sin? Is your burden heavy on your heart? Read with me the beautiful and powerful words of Oswald Chambers as he guides us to the very foot of the cross-- Brother Gary ]



The Christian servant must never forget that salvation is God’s idea, not man’s; therefore, it has an unfathomable depth. Salvation is the great thought of God, not an experience. Experience is simply the door through which salvation comes into the conscious level of our life so that we are aware of what has taken place on a much deeper level. Never preach the experience— preach the great thought of God behind the experience. When we preach, we are not simply proclaiming how people can be saved from hell and be made moral and pure; we are conveying good news about God.
In the teachings of Jesus Christ the element of judgment is always brought out— it is the sign of the love of God. Never sympathize with someone who finds it difficult to get to God; God is not to blame. It is not for us to figure out the reason for the difficulty, but only to present the truth of God so that the Spirit of God will reveal what is wrong. The greatest test of the quality of our preaching is whether or not it brings everyone to judgment. When the truth is preached, the Spirit of God brings each person face to face with God Himself.
If Jesus ever commanded us to do something that He was unable to equip us to accomplish, He would be a liar. And if we make our own inability a stumbling block or an excuse not to be obedient, it means that we are telling God that there is something which He has not yet taken into account. Every element of our own self-reliance must be put to death by the power of God. The moment we recognize our complete weakness and our dependence upon Him will be the very moment that the Spirit of God will exhibit His power.



HAVE YOU READ YOUR BIBLE TODAY?

JUDGEMENT AND THE LOVE OF GOD
Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest



(1Pe 4:17) For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? --NASB



[ Are you saved? Do you sin? Is your burden heavy on your heart? Read with me the beautiful and powerful words of Oswald Chambers as he guides us to the very foot of the cross-- Brother Gary ]



The Christian servant must never forget that salvation is God’s idea, not man’s; therefore, it has an unfathomable depth. Salvation is the great thought of God, not an experience. Experience is simply the door through which salvation comes into the conscious level of our life so that we are aware of what has taken place on a much deeper level. Never preach the experience— preach the great thought of God behind the experience. When we preach, we are not simply proclaiming how people can be saved from hell and be made moral and pure; we are conveying good news about God.
In the teachings of Jesus Christ the element of judgment is always brought out— it is the sign of the love of God. Never sympathize with someone who finds it difficult to get to God; God is not to blame. It is not for us to figure out the reason for the difficulty, but only to present the truth of God so that the Spirit of God will reveal what is wrong. The greatest test of the quality of our preaching is whether or not it brings everyone to judgment. When the truth is preached, the Spirit of God brings each person face to face with God Himself.
If Jesus ever commanded us to do something that He was unable to equip us to accomplish, He would be a liar. And if we make our own inability a stumbling block or an excuse not to be obedient, it means that we are telling God that there is something which He has not yet taken into account. Every element of our own self-reliance must be put to death by the power of God. The moment we recognize our complete weakness and our dependence upon Him will be the very moment that the Spirit of God will exhibit His power.



HAVE YOU READ YOUR BIBLE TODAY?

ATTENDING CHURCH DAILY

A WEEKLY Christian is a WEAKLY Christian. I don't know who it was that coined that phrase but I certainly agree and here is why:

In Acts 2: 46-47, Luke paints us a picture of what church life was like on a daily basis in the days and years following the ascension of our Christ;

(Act 2:46) Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,

(Act 2:47) praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

I talk with many in our own congregation who exclaim how wonderful it is to be in the church Sunday morning to “Re-charge their Spiritual Batteries”. For me, if I waited for an entire week to to “Recharge the Spiritual batteries”, Satan would have a field day messing with me!!

God designed us to be a “Daily” church. He made us to operate on the daily clock, so-to-speak. [I'm sure you have noticed that our Almighty Father does not wear a wrist watch.....] Humans are the slaves to the clock, and by our own design we have carved out the following template that governs how and what we do. Observe: we have eight hours for sleep, eight hours for our regular professions and eight hours for rest and relaxation. [I know.....I can hear some of you saying “I Wish that were so!]

We are daily by design. The sun comes up, we go. The sun goes down, we stop. Calendars for weeks and months and years, well that we can only blame on ourselves. In this context lies the issue.

If we only get “Churched” one time a week, what happens on the 6 other days? Do we become “Unchurched?” We are taught by scripture to ENCOURAGE each other every day. To PRAY every day, to FORGIVE every day, and to WITNESS to others every day. If we wait until Sunday each week, who do we end up witnessing to? Mostly, ourselves.

Sunday worship and fellowship, Wednesday fellowship, small group gatherings are vital. This is how we grow, and how we remain accountable not only to each other, but to He who made us. We NEED collective fellowship!

(Heb 4:7) He again fixes a certain day, "Today," saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, "TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS."

The author in Hebrews points to where we should be in our expected walk with our Lord and Savior. He also tells us on which day this should be occurring, TODAY!

Each and every day we must strive to attend church. Where ever we are, we are (or should be) the very reflection of the Christ Jesus. In school, at Wally World, over at Lowes, at the Tom Thumb, we have a constant flow of precious souls who need to be ENCOURAGED. Who can receive great benefit from PRAYER. The individual who is so in need of being FORGIVEN. Whether we do so verbally or through our actions, we are His WITNESS, His reflection and so often, we become the only Bible many of these souls will ever see. YOU!

(Heb 3:13) But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

If you simply carved out five minutes from each of the 16 hours that are not devoted to sleep, just FIVE minutes each hour to ENCOURAGE, PRAY, FORGIVE or WITNESS, WOW! Thats one hour and twenty minutes. How long does it take for you to say to someone, “Thank-you, I appreciate what you are doing”. How difficult would it be to offer, “May I pray for you today?” Oh, and “I forgive you”.

Go ahead, time yourself uttering each of these examples. I'll bet that if you spoke all three examples the time it would take would be less than one minute out of the five minutes you could devote to your Lord each hour. That leaves four minutes for a WITNESS, or the reaction to your WITNESS. How beautiful is that?

Lets all be in church every day, just as God designed us to be! Not just on Sundays.

HAVE YOU READ YOUR BIBLE TODAY?

ATTENDING CHURCH DAILY

A WEEKLY Christian is a WEAKLY Christian. I don't know who it was that coined that phrase but I certainly agree and here is why:

In Acts 2: 46-47, Luke paints us a picture of what church life was like on a daily basis in the days and years following the ascension of our Christ;

(Act 2:46) Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,

(Act 2:47) praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

I talk with many in our own congregation who exclaim how wonderful it is to be in the church Sunday morning to “Re-charge their Spiritual Batteries”. For me, if I waited for an entire week to to “Recharge the Spiritual batteries”, Satan would have a field day messing with me!!

God designed us to be a “Daily” church. He made us to operate on the daily clock, so-to-speak. [I'm sure you have noticed that our Almighty Father does not wear a wrist watch.....] Humans are the slaves to the clock, and by our own design we have carved out the following template that governs how and what we do. Observe: we have eight hours for sleep, eight hours for our regular professions and eight hours for rest and relaxation. [I know.....I can hear some of you saying “I Wish that were so!]

We are daily by design. The sun comes up, we go. The sun goes down, we stop. Calendars for weeks and months and years, well that we can only blame on ourselves. In this context lies the issue.

If we only get “Churched” one time a week, what happens on the 6 other days? Do we become “Unchurched?” We are taught by scripture to ENCOURAGE each other every day. To PRAY every day, to FORGIVE every day, and to WITNESS to others every day. If we wait until Sunday each week, who do we end up witnessing to? Mostly, ourselves.

Sunday worship and fellowship, Wednesday fellowship, small group gatherings are vital. This is how we grow, and how we remain accountable not only to each other, but to He who made us. We NEED collective fellowship!

(Heb 4:7) He again fixes a certain day, "Today," saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, "TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS."

The author in Hebrews points to where we should be in our expected walk with our Lord and Savior. He also tells us on which day this should be occurring, TODAY!

Each and every day we must strive to attend church. Where ever we are, we are (or should be) the very reflection of the Christ Jesus. In school, at Wally World, over at Lowes, at the Tom Thumb, we have a constant flow of precious souls who need to be ENCOURAGED. Who can receive great benefit from PRAYER. The individual who is so in need of being FORGIVEN. Whether we do so verbally or through our actions, we are His WITNESS, His reflection and so often, we become the only Bible many of these souls will ever see. YOU!

(Heb 3:13) But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

If you simply carved out five minutes from each of the 16 hours that are not devoted to sleep, just FIVE minutes each hour to ENCOURAGE, PRAY, FORGIVE or WITNESS, WOW! Thats one hour and twenty minutes. How long does it take for you to say to someone, “Thank-you, I appreciate what you are doing”. How difficult would it be to offer, “May I pray for you today?” Oh, and “I forgive you”.

Go ahead, time yourself uttering each of these examples. I'll bet that if you spoke all three examples the time it would take would be less than one minute out of the five minutes you could devote to your Lord each hour. That leaves four minutes for a WITNESS, or the reaction to your WITNESS. How beautiful is that?

Lets all be in church every day, just as God designed us to be! Not just on Sundays.

HAVE YOU READ YOUR BIBLE TODAY?