Saved Alone

Life had been good to this family.  No, really I guess I should say ... God had been good to them.  A loving Christian husband and wife together raising five children in a north side suburb of Chicago in the late 1860's ... all is well.  They were active in their church, and evangelical leaders like Dwight L. Moody were often guests in their home.  But their faith would soon be tested.

Tragedy came ... in 1870 their four year old son, Horatio, Jr. died of scarlet fever.  The following year the Great Chicago Fire destroyed most of the city including all the real estate holdings the family had invested in.  Horatio G. Spafford was considered a wealthy man ... but no longer.

Their home had been spared, but 90,000 others were homeless in the city.  For the next two years the Spafford family used what resources they had left to feed the hungry and care for their neighbors.  That's what Jesus would have done.

In 1873, with Horatio's wife Anna's health failing, they decided to take their four daughters on a trip to Europe hoping to put all their pain and tragedy behind them.  Perhaps a new start, after all ... God would go with them.  They would sail across the Atlantic on a French steamer and meet up with their old friend Dwight L. Moody who was conducting revivals in England.  But once again tragedy would test their faith in God.

The day they were to set sail for Europe, Horatio had a business emergency and couldn't leave.  Not wanting to disappoint Anna and his four girls he sent them on ahead planing to take another ship in a few days.

On November 22, 1873 the steamer Anna and the girls were on was struck broadside by a British iron sailing ship and sank within twelve minutes in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.  Only 81 of the 307 souls on board survived.  The ship that struck them picked up those who survived.  Anna was one of them, but her four beautiful daughters weren't with her ... they had drowned.

Anna Spafford was taken to Cardiff, Wales where she telegraphed her husband Horatio.  Anna's cable was brief and heartbreaking ...

"Saved alone.  What shall I do?"

Without delay Horatio headed across the Atlantic to his wife.  He asked the captain of the ship to please let him know when they were at the spot where his girls were lost.  Horatio's faith never faltered ... that night, alone in his cabin Horatio G. Spafford penned the words to his famous hymn ... "It Is Well With My Soul."

I don't believe I could have brought myself to write anything as I sailed over the watery grave of my children ... but this man of God found the strength to put into words one of the most beloved songs of all time.

The first two words of Anna's telegraph message caught my attention ... Saved Alone.

These words are so very true.  We are alone.  I am so thankful that God gave me my faithful loving wife Peggy.  She is my companion, my friend, my lover, and my partner in this life.  And I emphasize ... this life.

I will someday stand before God ... alone ... Peggy won't be there to stand beside me as she has done in this life.  I will be on my own.  Thank God for Jesus ... He will be there as my Savior and Lord.

When Peggy accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior at the age of fourteen, she was ... "Saved Alone."  The Holy Spirit dealt with her heart ... by itself.  It's a one on one deal.  Just you and Jesus.

You don't get "saved" as a group.  You may be in a group setting like in a revival, but you get ... saved alone. 

There's something else you are required to do alone ... die.  If I die before Peggy, I would hope we can say good-bye before I take my last breath and shut my eyes.  Even though she most likely would be at my bedside holding my hand ... when God calls me home ... she will be left behind.  I will go alone.

These four girls that were lost at sea in that shipwreck may have plunged into the cold icy north Atlantic water together ... but I assure you ... each of them died alone.  They each died their own death even though it seemed premature.  God only knows when.

I often quote  Nicholas Herman, the seventeenth century Carmelite monk from French Lorraine, known as Brother Lawrence.  Concerning his own death he said ... "I know not how God will dispose of me.  So I abandon myself in His hands that He may do with me what He pleases."

We should all do the same.

"Saved alone. What shall I do?" ... was the message Anna sent to her husband.  I'm not sure what she did, but Horatio G. Spafford looked to God and wrote the following ...


"When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.



Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood for my soul.


My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.


And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, it is well, with my soul."


Praise the Lord ...

Visitation vs Habitation

When we look at God's people in the Old Testament, the ones who seem to stand out were usually those who had the Holy Spirit's presence at work in their lives for a particular purpose.  They weren't special, just willing to be used because God was with them.

The fact that God was with them made a difference in the saints of old, and He still makes a difference in our lives today.  I want to look at what this presence by the Holy Spirit was then, and compare it to what we have today.  I'll begin with some Hebrew saints of old and what the scripture has to say about their lives.

In the sixth chapter of Acts, we find Steven entering into a dialog with certain Greek speaking Jews called "Hellenists," which were disputing and arguing over how the ministry of the church was being run.  So Steven was chosen to speak to these argumentative men ... and the dialog continues into the seventh chapter with Steven giving them a history lesson including how Jacob's own children sold their brother Joseph into Egypt as a slave.

And then Steven, speaking about Joseph says in Acts 7:9, "... but God was with him."

After the Lord established David as King over Israel, it states in 2nd Samuel 5:10 ... "And David went on, and grew great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him."    

When Solomon became King, he called for the congregation of Israel to gather together with him as he prays for God ... "who dwells in heaven" ... to keep the promises He made to his father David.  So Solomon prays in 1st Kings 8:26-27 ...

"And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father.  But will God indeed dwell on the earth?"  

As Solomon comes to the end of his prayer, he stands and proclaims this blessing upon Israel ... "The Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers: let Him not leave us, nor forsake us."  (1st Kings 8:57)

Solomon's prayer was answered by God as we see in 2nd Chronicles 1:1 ... "And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly."

I'm sure that by now you have noticed that in these scriptures about Joseph, David, and Solomon, there is a recurring theme, that God was ... with them.

But there is one more person of interest and perhaps of more importance ... Samson.

He's not more important than the others, but it's what the scripture says about him that I want to point out.  Everyone knows the story of Delilah and how she finally talked Samson into telling her the secret of his super-natural strength.  So she had his hair shaved off and then woke him out of his sleep with the cry ... "The Philistines be upon you Samson."

And then we have one of the saddest verses in the Word of God.  I pray this never happens to any of us.  Judges 16:20 ... "And Samson wist not that the Lord was departed from him."

His strength didn't come from his hair ... it was the presence of the Spirit of the Lord.  (Judges 13:25)  When the Holy Spirit left him, his strength became that of a normal man.  The lesson to be learned here is ... our dependence upon the Holy Spirit must not be overlooked.

I am so glad that today as believers in Jesus, we have an advantage over the saints of old.  The patriarchs, even though they were real men of God, had only the presence of God placed upon them ... hence the recurring theme in scripture ... God was with them. 

The Holy Spirit did not dwell in their hearts, or if you prefer, their spirits and souls as He does today in born-again believers of Jesus.  It was only a "visitation" on them, not a "habitation" or the indwelling, abiding presence of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus told His followers that when He is no longer with them on the earth, that God the Father would send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit (or as I prefer to say, the Spirit of Christ) to replace His presence with them, and that the Holy Spirit would abide with them for ever ... and when the Spirit comes, He will not only dwell with them ... He shall be in them.  (John 14:16-17)

The Apostle Paul spoke often about the Holy Spirit living in us, saying one time that we even have the mind of Christ.  (1st Corinthians 2:16)  Knowing this ... having the Spirit not only with us, but in us ... should give us a spiritual advantage the saints of old didn't have.  Paul puts it this way in Romans 8:9-11 ...
 
"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.  Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.  And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.  But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken (make alive) your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you."

This in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit is what the saints of old didn't have.  They only had, as wonderful as it was, a ... "visitation" ... of God's Spirit upon their lives.

We are blessed today because we have a ... "habitation" ... of God's Spirit within our heart and soul.  God in the form of the Spirit of Christ is dwelling inside of us.

Wow ... so now we don't have an excuse for sin, do we.


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To Give Praise Unto God

Man can only imagine what the throne room of Heaven must be like.  I do not know when God created this place where He dwells, but I'm pretty sure it was in the very far distance of the dateless past.  But we do have a hint in the Word of God of what Heaven must sound like. 

We do know that the universe, including our Milky Way galaxy and our tiny little Earth is hundreds of millions of years old.  I know ... some Christians believe that the earth is only 6,000 years old.  That's the recreation spoken of in Genesis 1:2 after the fall of Satan.  I believe if it takes millions of light years for a distant star or galaxy's light to reach earth ... then the universe must be at least that old.

I only bring this up as a base line profile to help us consider the length of time that angels, called in scripture living creatures or living things ... who rest not day and night, have been crying out continual praise in the throne room of Heaven, saying ... "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come."  That's found in Revelation 4:8.

I've been in worship services where the music, the singing and the heart felt praise almost lifts you right into the presence of the Lord.  But I wonder what it would be like if you were actually standing around God's throne.  Can you imagine yourself there ... where these four living creatures are praising God, and by extension, Jesus, the Lamb of God ... hearing their praise that has never ceased up to now.

Music and singing were created not by man ... but for man ... so he could worship and praise God with real meaning, with real depth, giving God his utmost thanksgiving and worship.  Did you know that the Christian religion is the only religion with a song book?  Do you know why none of the others have one?  It's real simple ...

They have nothing to sing about.     

So continuing ... Heaven has never been without the sound of these living creature's voices in praise.  Evidently that's all they do or have ever done.  It's why they were created ... to give praise unto God ... because He is worthy, and His holiness demands it.

But these living creatures will become silent as will all of Heaven during the middle of the 7 year tribulation.  Revelation 8:1 ... "And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour."  This silence marks a notable change ... something is going to take place in the middle of this 7 year period.

Could it be ... that the One these living creatures are singing praise too ... Jesus, the Lamb of God ... is no longer in heaven, but has left to rapture His bride, His believers before judgment is poured out during the last 3-1/2 years of the "Great Tribulation" coming upon the earth.  (Food for thought.)     

Holiness ... what these living creatures are singing about is something we really can't completely understand.  The closest we can come to being holy, is living out our salvation in the righteousness of Christ.  We can only live holy, meaning living as free from sin as we can ... after ... we have received the gift of Christ's righteousness.

If you are born again ... you are righteous ... but only in Christ.  But it's up to you to live ... holy.  Holiness is a lifestyle.

"But as He which hath called you is Holy, so be ye Holy ... because it is written, Be ye Holy; for I am Holy."  1st Peter 1:15-16  (edited)

I don't know about you ... but for me, if I have unconfessed sin in my life, something, anything I haven't dealt with ... I find I can't worship as I should.  I find it hard to open my mouth and praise the Lord, or raise my heart in my hands unto Jesus during a worship service ... or even when I am alone with Him.  It's as if something is in the way.

The Apostle Peter had the answer.  "... so be ye Holy ..." 

Warning ... do not confuse self-righteousness with the righteousness Jesus gave you.  It won't work.  You don't have any of your own.  

So ... give God your utmost as you live daily, and especially your utmost in worship and praise.

The results will begin to amaze you.

 
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Representing Jesus

Christians often say that they are believers in Jesus.  But how deep is that belief?  How much of a commitment are most Christians actually making?  I'm asking myself these same questions.  Are we following the last statement Jesus committed us too?

Read what He expected of believers ... or at least what I assume was His desire and purpose for His followers to carry out. 

Mark 16:17 ... "These signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues."

What did Jesus mean by saying ... "In my name" ...?   

Before the average believer ends prayer and seals it with a hearty amen, they usually close with something like ... "and we ask it in the name of Jesus."

This type of closing is common place in most churches.  "In my name" ... so we say, "in the name of Jesus" or "in Jesus' name."  Either phrase is acceptable and rightly so.  That is the basic meaning I suppose for what Jesus was asking us to do ... in prayer.

But here in Mark 16:17, Jesus isn't speaking of prayer.  Prayer is I believe, talking to God, where we ask God the Father in Heaven to heal, or save, or any of a hundred other things believers need or want to see done through our prayer as we ... pray in the name of Jesus.

So why is Mark 16:17 different?  If I'm not mistaken ... this portion of Scripture has been labeled as, "The Great Commission" ... the sending out of the disciples and others to win the world for Christ.  This is where Jesus gave them their marching orders to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."

And then He said, when you do, these signs shall follow them that believe ... "In my name" ... the following will happen.  Things like demons cast out, the sick healed and lives changed by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Why did Jesus say "In my name" rather than "just speak my name?"

"In my name" gives you the authority ... whereas speaking the name "Jesus" is the authority.

When the disciples and the other followers of Jesus went out unto the world preaching the good news, they were operating with the very same legal authority that Jesus had.

Today we draw up a Legal Document called ... "A Power of Attorney" ... that allows the person named in this document to conduct any and all business on behalf of the person that gave them that authority.

A person with a legal Power of Attorney can buy and sell, operate business, delegate personal affairs and/or speak with the same legal standing, with the same authority ... as if ... the one he is representing is present.

By Jesus saying ... "In my name" ... He gave the disciples (and by extension believers today) the legal authority to operate in and through His name as though He was the one doing it.  They were representing Jesus. 

We not only can, but should operate "in His name" whenever we are moved or directed by the Holy Spirit to act like Jesus with compassion and love in this world. 

Isn't this what Peter did in Acts3:1-7 when he and John went to the temple to pray?  But when they got to the gate of the temple grounds they were confronted by a lame man. 

They had heard Jesus say, "In my name" the sick will be healed.  So Peter says ... "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk."

Peter was operating as though he had the power of attorney document in his hand.  But it wasn't in his hand.  Instead he had Jesus' words ... "in my name" ... in his heart and soul representing Jesus as he walked by that lame man and acted on the authority those three words gave him.

I wonder, just how much the world would be changed if we all walked in love, and operated in the authority we have been given by those three words ... "in my name."

Representing Jesus.

Isn't that really what He wanted?