Gold or God?

“What our church could do –

                   if we had enough gold.”

 

No, no.  “What our church could do –

                                       if we had enough of God.” – eab, 3/13/09

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He Is Risen!

Every week the Lord has given,

A Day to remember; “His is risen!”

Christians rejoice, not just once a year,

(Sinners don’t do that, I sadly fear.)

That Christ came and lived our life,

Knew sweat, thirst, saw our strife,

Was rejected by those He called His own,

Sold by a disciple He had known,

Tried – what a “trial” it must have seemed,

Who knew Justice before Adam’s sun beamed,

He was nailed to wood, placed between two thieves,

(One dies in sin – one believes.)

Christ died as dead as any mortal man,

The Perfect Sacrifice, the Perfect Plan.

Was that all – He lived like us and died?

Had earthly lambs dying, all grief satisfied?

Death was the end for wooly little sheep;

Not for Christ – He had a promise to keep.

And keep it He did – He left that new grave.

He arose victorious, He arose man to save.

He triumphed over our last enemy, death.

His victory gives the soul spiritual breath.

Birth was necessary to have life,

Life was necessary to face dying strife,

Death was necessary to Resurrect,

Resurrect He did – Romans and Jews could detect

An empty grave, a tomb now unneeded,

A stone rolled, Rome’s seal unheeded.

Oh, the victory, Oh the glory, Oh the might.

Gone, for God’s men – forever gone is the night! – eab, 3/18/08

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Seth C Rees – converted, Mar. 17, 1873

I called to mind a lot of my own preaching, times when I had swung across the platform and gesticulated furiously, preaching from the text, “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound,” or the text, “And the iron did swim.” “Well,” I said, “the preaching was all right; and though it doesn’t seem that the iron is swimming, things are not as they seem to be.” Then I would announce to the powers of darkness: “The iron does swim!” and quote texts to support it. “All things work together for good!” “All things are possible to him that believ­eth!” “He shall abide with you forever!”

 

Then I was reminded how I had pranced about in the pulpit, and told the saints how they could “smile through their tears, and span the darkest cloud with a rainbow.” Then I yanked myself up and said, “Are you doing that? Here is a chance to practice your own preaching.” I said, “Yes, I may not look like it, but I am,” and away down in my soul I laughed aloud. I faced the regiments of hell, and declared that though “weeping may endure for a night, joy cometh in the morning.” I rose up in the strength of Jehovah.

                                – Rees, Paul, The Warrior Saint (Salem, OH: Schmul Publishing Co.), 107.

 

 

Seth Cook Rees was converted this date (3/17/1873), second day (Monday) morning.  Rees was born in Westfield, IN, 8/6/1854.  He died 5/22/1933 in Pasadena, CA.

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