If I Stand

I heard a song one time, and that was all it took for me to fall in love with it. The song is called If I Stand. It is sung by Rich Mullins, and I believe he also wrote it.

The melody is beautiful, and I love the bass that runs through it. I could sing it forever. Besides that, it sounds Irish, and I love Irish music.

But, perhaps more beautiful than anything else is the words.

It says if I stand, let me stand on His promises. But, if I can’t, let me fall on His grace. If I sing, let it be for His joy. If I weep, let it be as a man longing for his home. This song always brings tears to my eyes.

Those words are kind of me in a nutshell. When I sing it I say “When I stand”, “When I can’t”, “When I sing”, and “When I weep”, because I do all of that, and I do it often. When we can’t stand, falling on His grace is the softest landing we can have. That is what it is for.

I wish I could say I always stand without faltering, but like all of us, that will not happen until I am in heaven. Then God will never let me fall again, and I will no longer weep for my home. I will be there.

I was listening to this song on the way home from church today and I knew I had to share it with all of you. If you love it like I do, please pass it on to others.

Here is the link for you to listen to it. You will have to copy and paste it. I am also including the lyrics.

Think about it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jj0ZTzgmGM

If I Stand

There's more that rises in the morning
Than the sun
And more that shines in the night
Than just the moon
It's more than just this fire here
That keeps me warm
In a shelter that is larger
Than this room

And there's a loyalty that's deeper
Than mere sentiments
And a music higher than the songs
That I can sing
The stuff of Earth competes
For the allegiance
I owe only to the Giver
Of all good things

So if I stand let me stand on the promise
That you will pull me through
And if I can't, let me fall on the grace
That first brought me to You
And if I sing let me sing for the joy
That has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home

There's more that dances on the prairies
Than the wind
More that pulses in the ocean
Than the tide
There's a love that is fiercer
Than the love between friends
More gentle than a mother's
When her baby's at her side

And there's a loyalty that's deeper
Than mere sentiments
And a music higher than the songs
That I can sing
The stuff of Earth competes
For the allegiance
I owe only to the Giver
Of all good things

So if I stand let me stand on the promise
That you will pull me through
And if I can't let me fall on the grace
That first brought me to You
And if I sing let me sing for the joy
That has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home

And if I stand let me stand on the promise
That you will pull me through
And if I can't let me fall on the grace
That first brought me to You
And if I sing let me sing for the joy
That has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home

And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home

A Lifelong Commitment

 

Recently our pastor, Chris, was talking about how becoming a Christian, and what it really means.

For years Christians have told non-believers to say the sinners’ prayer and they will be saved.

Although that is true, many people go into Christianity thinking that is all they have to do and that life will be a bed of roses from now on. That is far from the truth.

The Bible says the rain falls on the just and the unjust. God never tells us He will take away all our problems for the rest of our life. We do receive miracles as an answer to prayer, but we don’t get a miracle every time we have a problem.

Sometimes we see the answer immediately, but other times we wait for years for it. What we do know is that whether God fixes the problem and takes it away, or we have to go through it, He is with us all the way.

Life sends many problems our way. On the other hand, we also create many of our own woes. God doesn’t automatically bail us out of every situation. Parents know that one way children learn about life is by fixing their own problems. When a parent fixes everything for their child and makes it all disappear, that child will grow up having no idea how to deal with life.

God, in His wisdom and love, takes care of some problems and walks through other problems with us, depending on what the situation is, and if we are capable of handling it. Many times, we don’t understand why God does the things He does, but in the end His way is always what we really needed.

What people who decide to become Christians need to realize is that Christianity is a lifelong commitment.

Have you ever seen people get a new puppy or kitten and then abandon it because owning a pet was not what they expected. They thought it would be all fun and games. Who knew they would have to feed it every day, take it to the vet and look after it when it got sick or hurt. They never thought about having to clean a litter box or the yard. This was supposed to be all fun and laughs. Wrong. They needed to weigh the cost before taking a pet into their family.

So, if being a pet owner is a lifelong commitment, why would giving your heart to God not require any commitment?

The Bible says, “He who endures to the end shall be saved.” It does not say we have to endure to the end of the sinners’ prayer. That is only the beginning.

We will gain new friends when we become Christians, but we will also lose some old friends. We will get pats on the back, as well as slaps in the face.

When I was not serving God I made a special friendship with a lady I just loved. We became instant best friends and were together several days every week. Then she moved to Florida and I moved back home to California to be with my family and childhood friends again.

My friend Linda and I kept in touch on Facebook all the time. When I came back to California I got right with God again and have served Him ever since. I made the lifelong commitment.

One day I posted something on FB that expressed my beliefs and got an immediate response from Linda. She said my beliefs were obnoxious and extreme. She told me she used to like me, but to unfriend her. That really hurt me but I felt like God told me to be gracious, so I told her I still loved her and was sorry she felt that way, but if she wanted me to unfriend her, I would. She never responded so two weeks later I unfriended her as she had asked.

That was painful to me, but I knew I had to stay true to God. To this day I am still praying for her. God still wants to save her no matter how much she hates Him.

Back when Jesus was here on earth He had His disciples who walked with Him. All but one of them made a full commitment, and most of them ended up paying for it with their life. We know what happened with Judas, the only one who did not make that commitment.  He sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, and ended up hanging himself.

In the world we live in now, most of us will not have to pay for our Christianity with our lives, but in some countries they still do, and someday it will probably come to that here also.

More than once I have told God that if I ever have to give my life for Him it would be very scary, but if it ever comes to that here in America I need Him to help me stay strong and never give in. After all, Jesus made the full commitment to us.

So, when you tell a person about God and invite them to give their heart to God, don’t make it sound like a bed of roses. They need to know that giving their heart to God also means giving their life to Him. Serving God includes enjoying exciting things, and enduring painful times. But they also need to know that the good far outweighs the difficult. What they will gain is so much better than what they will give up.

Making the commitment to God means we will get to enjoy the commitment He has made to us, which is eternity in heaven with Him.

Think about it.

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Anticipation

I have been really busy this week and didn't have a chance to write womething, so I am giving you another of my poems.

When I was young I remember my dad telling me that the angels had never experienced salvation since they had never sinned. He said they will probably be as excited to meet us and hear about salvation as we will be to hear what life as an angel has been like. 

That is what inspired this poem.  I hope you like it.

 I hope you like it.

Anticipation

I walked through the gates of pearl when my life on earth was through.

I viewed the Holy City as I had waited so long to do.

 

So many things I had read about that the Bible told me of

The beautiful light that comes from God and the city filled with love.

 

My family and my friends were there who had died and gone before.

There was Moses, Noah, Peter and Paul, Elijah and so many more.

 

I had heard about the streets of gold, ‘twas beyond my imagination.

I longed to hear the angels sing with great anticipation.

 

I stood beside the crystal sea, its beauty beyond compare.

I looked around and couldn’t believe that I was really there.

 

The city’s foundation of twelve precious stones I’d heard about on earth

Was beautiful past all description, no way could you measure its worth.

 

I wanted to speak to friends of old who had come here long ago,

To hear what life was like up here, I’d waited so long to know.

 

And, oh, the marriage supper of Christ, I couldn’t wait to attend.

The meat and bread and fruits and such, its bounty would never end.

 

Walking through the city I kept breaking into song

With words more glorious than I could describe, I sang it all day long.

 

The angels were awesome, so regal and tall, I followed them all around.

Their wings so mighty with snow white feathers, made a soft rustling sound.

 

And, I found I could fly, imagine that, just floating from here to there.

With merely a thought of my destination, I could be anywhere.

 

Then I found myself standing at the throne of the God of all creation.

The beauty and glory that filled the air, I cannot describe the sensation.

 

His voice was like nothing I’d ever heard, the powerful resonant tone

Filled my being with love and peace and joy like nothing I’d ever known.

 

Then I felt a great power surge through my soul giving strength beyond degree

For I was in the presence of the Holy Spirit who had always strengthened me.

 

 

But when I saw Jesus, my heart just stopped, how could I ever express

My love for Him for what He did, but He already knows that I guess.

 

As I turned around to walk away an angel was standing there,

And I realized I’d seen him all day long, he’d been with me everywhere.

 

“Are you my guardian angel”, I asked, “for you’re always by my side?”

“If so, I thank you for the things that you did, for many times I could have died.”

 

“No”, said the angel, “I’m a worker up here. I helped to build what you see.

Another angel was guarding your steps. Your guardian wasn’t me.”

 

“Then why have you stayed so close by my side ever since I walked through the gates?

Are you going to give me a tour of Heaven? If so, I can hardly wait.”

 

“No,” said the angel, “You don’t understand, I’ve waited so long for this day.

For Jesus has told us all about you, and said you were headed this way.”

 

“We have heard stories of salvation and healing and miracles you couldn’t explain.

Things that we never experience up here, we could listen again and again.”

 

“You see, we have been waiting with anticipation for you to arrive from earth

And tell us all just how it feels to have a spiritual rebirth.”

 

“So, I’ve been by your side, not to take care of you, as I know perhaps it has seemed,

For I’ve waited so long to hear you sing the song of the redeemed.

 

                                                                   Janice Austin

                                                                   July 20, 2003 5:41 PM

Think about it.

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