COME AS YOU ARE: HOPE FOR THE HOPELESS

Contemporary Christian songs can have lyrics that touch hearts just as traditional hymns have done in years past. One that speaks to me is “Come As You Are” by Crowder.

I noticed that it includes these words: “There’s hope for the hopeless.” (Hopeful truths just jump out at me….) My life has met the Hope referred to in this song. I invite you to find the song, listen with an open heart, and see if it speaks to you.

Even more importantly, I invite you to come to the Hope that is to be found in Jesus Christ. He’s ready, willing, and able to be your hope if you are hopeless. Come to Him now. Come as you are.

Come As You Are

“Come out of sadness
From wherever you’ve been.
Come, broken hearted,
Let rescue begin.
Come find His mercy.
Oh, sinner, come kneel.
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can’t heal.
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can’t heal.

So lay down your burdens,
Lay down your shame.
All who are broken,
Lift up your face.
Oh, wanderer, come home.
You’re not too far,
So lay down your hurt,
Lay down your heart.
Come as you are.

There’s hope for the hopeless
And all those who’ve strayed.
Come sit at the table,
Come taste the grace.
There’s rest for the weary,
Rest that endures.
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can’t cure.

So lay down your burdens,
Lay down your shame.
All who are broken,
Lift up your face.
Oh, wanderer, come home.
You’re not too far,
So lay down your hurt,
Lay down your heart.
Come as you are,
Come as you are,
Fall in His arms,
Come as you are.
There’s joy for the morning.
Oh, sinner, be still.
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can’t heal.
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can’t heal.

(Crowder)

Thank you, Crowder, for reminding us that there is no sorrow here on earth that God of heaven cannot heal when we come to Him as we are. That reality can bring hope to a hopeless heart.

“‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the Lord,
‘Though your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool.'” (Isaiah 1:18)

“You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)

“Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.” (St. Thomas More)

January 15, 2019December 27, 2019

JOHN NEWTON: BEYOND HOPE to AMAZING GRACE

John Newton was a cruel and vile man who seemed beyond hope, but he became an example of God’s amazing grace. His true story gives me hope, because his heart and life were so radically changed. The same amazing grace that transformed Newton brought hope to his contemporaries and still reaches our generation with hope today. Newton was a man of whom I could believe that if God would give him a hope and a future, then He will do the same for me.

In Newton’s own words from his diary…(March 21, 1748): “On that day the Lord sent from on high and delivered me out of deep waters.”

And 57 years to the day later… (March 21, 1805): “Not well able to write; but I endeavor to observe the return of this day with humiliation, prayer, and praise.”

Of Newton and his ministry… from Christianity.com:

“Only God’s amazing grace could and would take a rude, profane, slave-trading sailor and transform him into a child of God. Newton never ceased to stand in awe of God’s work in his life.

…in 1764, at the age of thirty-nine, John Newton began forty-three years of preaching the Gospel of Christ.

In 1779 Newton left Olney to become rector of St. Mary Woolnoth in London. His ministry included not only the London poor and the merchant class but also the wealthy and influential. William Wilberforce, a member of Parliament and a prime mover in the abolition of slavery, was strongly influenced by John Newton’s life and preaching. Newton’s ‘Thoughts on the African Slave Trade,’ based on his own experiences as a slave trader, was very important in securing British abolition of slavery. Missionaries William Carey and Henry Martyn also gained strength from Newton’s counsel.

For the Sunday evening services, Newton often composed a hymn which developed the lessons and Scripture for the evening. In 1779, two hundred and eighty of these were collected and combined with sixty-eight hymns by Newton’s friend and parishioner, William Cowper, and published as the Olney Hymns.

The most famous of all the Olney Hymns, ‘Faith’s Review and Expectation,’ grew out of David’s exclamation in 1 Chronicles 17:16-17.* We know it today as ‘Amazing Grace.’

Newton lived to be eighty-two years old and continued to preach and have an active ministry until beset by fading health in the last two or three years of his life. Even then, Newton never ceased to be amazed by God’s grace and told his friends, ‘My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things: That I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior.'”

The words of the beloved hymn penned by John Newton acknowledges God’s amazing grace as he experienced in his own life.

AMAZING GRACE

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but now am found, was blind, but now I see.

T’was grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.

Thru many dangers, toils, and snares I have already come ‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we first begun.” (John Newton)

“Although my memory’s fading, I remember two things clearly: I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior.” (John Newton)

“For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, … to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” (2 Peter 1:2)

* “And David the king came and sat before the Lord and said, ‘Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house that You have brought me to here? And yet this was a small thing in Your eyes, O God; for You have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come and have regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree, O Lord God.’” (I Chronicles 17:16, 17)

December 17, 2018April 3, 2019

MEANING OF CHRISTMAS: GOD WITH US BRINGS HOPE

As the Christian holy day nears, will you spend time pondering the true meaning of CHRISTmas?

In the book of Matthew in the New Testament we are told that the name of God’s gift to the world in the form of a baby was to be called Immanuel.

Immanuel means “God with us.” This name brings hope to our lost world. Surely there is no more hopeful reality than God Who loves the world enough to come be with us. He came to redeem us despite our falling short of His glory. He came to provide God’s salvation so we can be with Him throughout Eternity!

What could bring more hope than God with us? Yet too many people choose to ignore the awesome reality of the first CHRISTmas. Does it make sense to celebrate a birthday without inviting the Guest of Honor?

A “Scrooge” closes his (or her) eyes to the meaning of CHRISTmas. This results in being stressed and depressed and having too little peace in one’s own heart and no good will toward the rest of humanity.

In the busyness of life you may not give a thought to the One Who is CHRISTmas personified… God with us. Jesus Christ should be included in CHRISTmas of course. Even more than a passing thought, He should be our primary focus!

If you don’t know Jesus and want to… He is found in God’s Holy Bible, in God’s natural creation, in loving hearts of true believers. He can be found in your own personal life when you seek Him with your whole heart.

He came… He brings hope that makes our lives worth living… He is God with us!

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which translated means, ‘God with us.’” (Matthew 1:23 nasb)

“You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13 nasb)

“Emmanuel, Emmanuel,
His name is called Emmanuel.
God with us, revealed in us,
His name is called Emmanuel.
We love Him so, we love Him so,
His name is called Emmanuel.” (Bob McGee)

September 21, 2018April 3, 2019

COLLEGE of OZARKS GRAD: HOPE and a FUTURE

Here’s a true story of hope that begins with a newborn girl found abandoned in a trashcan in China. With this nearly hopeless beginning would she have a future?

The infant was found by a family who provided care for five years until she was passed on to a different family. In their “care” for the next six years she took care of herself mostly on the streets of China. Had she gone from little hope to no hope? Surely there was no future for her!

Then at age 11 she was placed in an orphanage. How much hope could be in this situation now? What about her future?

Just prior to turning 14 she was adopted and brought to America, which seemed like heaven to her. Her life’s vastly different situation brought changes where hope could be found and dreams of a positive future finally could be realized.

Speaking no English and barely literate, she was now homeschooled by her “forever” family who provided not just an education but love and care. She earned an Associate’s degree at a community college, dreamed of a Christian education, and applied for College of the Ozarks, where she was placed on a waiting list.

Although it didn’t appear hopeful that she would be accepted right away, she was. It wasn’t easy, but she faced the struggles, which already had been so much a part of her life.

“While at College of the Ozarks there were a couple of times I felt like giving up, but I gained a lot of perseverance…. I learned to ask for help even when I didn’t want others to see me struggling,” she expressed and acknowledged the support and prayers of others that helped her succeed.

She studied. She learned. She worked. She became stronger. She experienced growing hope and enjoyed planning for her future.

She graduated from College of the Ozarks with honors in May 2018. It was a worthy accomplishment but even more importantly, she had learned to trust God who spoke these words found in Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord… plans to give you hope and a future.”

Congratulations, Katelynn Corkern!

(Did you know that C of O students participate in a Work Education Program to pay for their education and an opportunity to graduate with a 4-year degree without student debt? For more info about College of the Ozarks — called “Hard Work U” by Wall Street Journal — go to www.cofo.edu.)