Oh Love that wilt not let me go

O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.


O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.
                                         George Matheson

This is my favorite Hymn
When this shows up on the screens at church,
If you are sitting near me, you will hear an audible, yet respectful
"Yesss!"
It brings me so much joy.
Every word is dripping with the Gospel.

 Matheson himself wrote of the composition:

Forgetting the Gospel

We need to hear the gospel.

Most christians think they know it inside and out.

Like the back of their hand

But we don't.

At least we don't live like it.

Derek Webb, on his House Show album tells a story

he says:

There’s a great quote by Martin Luther in the sixteenth century. He had a church that he was the pastor of and some came to him and said, “Pastor, why is it that week after week after week all you ever preach to us is the gospel?” – implying that “we’re ready to move on to something else. Certainly we know this by now.” Luther’s response was, “Well, because week after week you forget it, because week after week you walk in here looking like a people who don’t believe the gospel. And until you walk in looking like people who are truly liberated by the truth of the gospel, I’m going to continue to preach it to you.” And, until his dying day, he did.

I don't know how historically accurate that is,
and wouldn't know where to find that in a book
But the fact is we do forget
We forget that we have been bought with a price
We forget that we have been raised from the dead
We forget that we once were blind, and have received sight
That we once were lame, paralyzed and broken, but now we can walk
and it is only by His grace

And we need to be reminded of that.
We need to remember what we are saved from
and what has been done for us
We need to understand the depth of our sin
that every inch of us is depraved from the bottom to the top
It overtakes us and we don't even try to stop it sometimes
all of the time.

We need the Gospel preached to us on a regular basis
because we need to be reminded of the sacrifice
That blood was shed on our behalf
so that we could be made clean
washed white as snow
A debt was paid for us
a ransom for sin
We need to see the beauty of Propitiation
that Gods wrath towards our sin was quenched
by his son on  a cross

We need the Gospel because we need to know that we are not alone
that we have a Helper in the Holy Spirit
that he Lives and breaths in us and through us
and it is only through him that we live and breath
He directs our paths
He lights our way

I forget the gospel all the time
sometimes for long periods of time
We need to be reminded that even in that
he still holds us
We are still His
Adopted as sons and daughters

For the glory of God
and the good of His people

23 Months Gone

I know what you are thinking.
"You can't just disappear for almost 2 years and then come back like nothing happened."
Right, i know.
I have not been a good blogger, better yet i have not been a blogger at all for the past 23 months.
It is an atrocity that i am severely sorry for.

But i feel like i have learned a whole lot in these last 23 months that will make me better on this side of it.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder, is that the saying?
That means all three of you that read this must really love me now.

I had toyed with the idea of starting fresh with a brand new blog, new URL, new everything.
But, i got to reading some of my old posts, and i think there are a few gems in there that are worth hanging on to.
Have you ever read something you wrote a long time ago, which at this point for me is everything, and said to yourself  "where in the world did that come from, who stole my keyboard and posted that gem.  I know i'm not smart enough to write that"
That happened to me.  I still can't find that keyboard thief, but the words are on my website, and has my name under them so i will take the credit for them if i must.

So a Recap of the past 23 months just to catch you up.
2012, or twentydozen as i affectionately referred to it
was...
well, it was "meh."
that's all you get.
Part of it was fun and had some bright spots but i was for the most part broke, and Jobless for the last 4 months.
2013 has been much better, the Lord has seen fit to bless me indeed. But i don't know that i would be aware of it without the pit that 2012 was.  I am more aware of the small things than i would have been if i would have floated through 2012 with no trouble
So now that you are caught up,
2014 is right around the corner.
Maybe i can let you in on more of the Journey

20-Dozen

I guess this is a yearly thing for me now.  After the first of the year reflecting on what has come my way. As it should be for most. These few days are like a new beginning to us all.  I started the 2011 with new friends and getting ready to go back to Mexico City.  Oh, how i miss that place, and those people.  Sometimes when i walk down the streets here in Texas, my mind takes me back to the streets of Mexico City, the sights, and sounds, i remember them vividly.  But the Lord shut the door there, and by his grace will i be able to return one day. As i look over the last year, i see it as a year of Trust.  Trusting that God has prepared a way for me, and even though it is hard, walking with him down that way.  I read the Pilgrims Progress recently, it is all about that.  If you haven't read that book, or it has been a really long time since you have read it, pick it up, read it again.  There is so much to glean from that story.  The Lord provided much for me this year, through 5 months of unemployment, things would come in just as i needed them.  A friend would have work for me to do, or someone would randomly hand me money.  I don't count those acts as random, but as the hand of God himself providing for his children.  The lord is gracious and merciful... I am thankful for the experiences i had this past year in twentye11even.  The lord has set his eyes toward me favorably, and i pray that i will continue to trust in him alone in 2012

The Death Gargle of a beaten foe.

Just as the Son of man was raised
the evil one was at his end
while his defeat hung on a tree
The beast began to wail

Evil thought itself victorious
as death overtook the King
Hanging Limp our celebration
death had been destroyed

Resurection 
temple's rebuilt after three days
the earth groaned with praise
as the foe began to gargle