Relying on God, for Present and Future

Dear comrades, look up to the joys set before thee,

And haste on thy way to the regions of glory,

A crown and a kingdom thy faith may discover,

Thy troubles are great, but they soon will be over,

For Jesus hath suffered, thy soul to deliver,

And open thy passage through Jordan’s dark river.

Christ is a sure help to the children of Zion,

But if thou hast any false props to rely on,

Thy soul is deluded; think what thou art doing;

O cast them away ere they sink thee to ruin.

For none but Jehovah has power to deliver

And bear up thy soul in the midst of the river.

The clouds gather blackness, the night is fast coming,

The river swells high and the billows are foaming;

On what wilt thou lean when thy strength is all wasted;

Thy reeds will all fail and thy hopes will be blasted;

O cry unto Jesus thy soul to deliver,

And there of thy spirit, when crossing the river.

But in thy true character am I mistaken?

Hast thou in that folly, thy Saviour forsaken?

O, come again to Him, for peace and for pardon,

Or soon thou must sink in the swellings of Jordan:

Thy soul from all danger He then will deliver,

And nothing shall harm thee in crossing the river.

But if on His mercy thy soul is relying,

Thou hast nothing to fear, neither living or dying;

The footmen and horses shall fall down before thee,

And Jordan shall open thy passage to glory;

And when thou art landed safe over the river,

We’ll sing of salvation for ever and ever.

William Booth

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Who are you searching for?

At the start of the new year, are you searching for that certain someone? Someone who will make you happy, be there for you during the good times and the bad, someone who loves you warts and all, that special friend who sees you as you really are, that certain someone who will make everything alright, someone you can trust, who won’t fail you, who will forgive you? There is only one person who will never fail you, there is only one person you can trust completely, who won’t let you down, who will not tell another living soul what truly goes on in your heart, mind and soul.

What are you searching for?

Someone “wonderful”?

Do you need a “counsellor “?

Are you searching for some almighty being?

Are searching for a god to make sense of your life?

Are you searching for something or someone that will be there forever?

Are you searching for a father?

Are searching for true peace?

Are searching for a prince?

Let me tell you where you can find all these things and more in one person.

Isaiah 9:6-7 

For unto us a child is born, 

unto us a Son is given; 

and the government will be upon His shoulder, 

and His name will be called Wonderful, 

Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end.

These are just a few of the titles and attributes of Jesus whose birth we celebrated at the end of 2017. He is also the only Saviour, the only one who can forgive our sins, because He took them upon Himself at Calvary when He died in our place. This is the free gift of God’s grace, we cannot earn it, we don’t deserve it, we don’t have to do anything except confess our sins to God and repent of them. Turning away from our old sinful life, and stepping out in faith into a new life with Christ. no wonder they cal Him Wonderful.

Romans 5:6-11

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die, But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

What a wonderful beginning of the year this would be for you if you don’t know Jesus as your personal Saviour, to do so now, ask God to forgive your sins, ask God to receive you into His family. Jesus by His death and resurrection reconciled us to God, and all who come to Him by faith belong to the family of God.

But as many as received Him, 

to them He gave the right to become children of God, 

to those who believe in His name: 

who were born, not of blood, 

nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, 

but of God.