The Call and Pull of Home

   I just read an op/ed piece by a native West Virginian. (Click here if you'd like to read it too.)  I began to feel a little bit of nostalgia and pull of the old homestead as I read.  I recalled wandering over the hills and wading through creeks, digging up rocks and making "forts" from sticks and honeysuckle vines.  I remembered also the beauty of the woods as the rain had just stopped, the last drippings from the leaves were still heard occasionally and the mist began to rise as the sun came out and began evaporating the moisture.

   I read all that and then wondered.

   What about Heaven?  Yes, it's a handy segue that West Virginia's unofficial motto is "Almost Heaven, West Virginia!"  (Thank you, John Denver!)  But if West Virginia is almost as in not quite the real thing and I am feeling a little bit of wanting to experience it again, how much more would and should the REAL Heaven bend my soul and my affections to want to come home.

   How did I get a bit attached to West Virginia?  I lived there.  I experienced it.  I was in its hills and breathed the crisp air of its Autumn.  Each morning I woke up in it left a mark on me and upon my mind.  Each night I went to sleep there helped seal its hold on my memories.

   In the same way I become attached to Heaven.  Of course, I don't live in Heaven.  Not yet, at least.  But to the extent that I "live" in the Bible and "live" in God's presence, I will be experiencing more and more of Heaven which will be my home some glad day.  I should wake up in the presence of Heaven by reading God's Word—which is His love letter to me, describing Himself and His Heaven where I'll live.  I should go to sleep each night, bathing my soul in the beauty of His holiness and His presence so that it will cement Heaven's transcendent realities indelibly upon my soul.

   Truly, all my memories should gather around Heaven.  I should hear Heaven's voice in the morning as she calls me to partake of that Heavenly Bread called the Word of God.  I should have that feeling that anticipates that great day when my faith becomes sight, then on that day, my vision clear, I will pass from here to life.  I realize all this and recognize that I am so far from that reality.  Yet, by God's grace, there is the call and the pull of my Heavenly Home within my heart.


- D. Benning

Following Christ

   Let us run the race before us,
   Let us follow Christ our Guide,
   Let us grasp the Grace that's for us,
   With each worldly zeal denied.
      Foll'wing Christ the Great Amen,
      He shall bring us up to heav'n.
  
   We will fix our eyes on Jesus,
   Who's the Author of our Faith;
   With a joy that then shall seize us
   We shall run through Heaven's Gate.
      Foll'wing Christ who went before,
      Him we worship and adore.
  
   Praise the Lord, our Great Example,
   Praise Him, Mighty Potentate,
   Worship Him whose strength is ample
   We can run the narrow and straight!
      Foll'wing Christ our Mighty God,
      Boldly go where He has trod.

- D. Benning

This can be sung to the tune All Saints Old, or any tune with a 8.7.8.7.7.7 meter.
You can see the hymn in the score on Score Exchange.

And the Sun Stood Still

Joshua fought the long, hard conflict,
  Fought it long throughout the day;
But the day proved short to inflict
  Victory on the foes and fray.
So turned to heav'n imploring,
  Asking sun and moon to halt;
God replied with grace outpouring,
  Pausing things within their vault!
 
  And the Sun stood still!
  For it was God's will;
  And His people thrilled
     At the Mercy that He gave.



There the king had lain in sickness,
  Near he drew to death's cold door;
Then he cried with soul's dread bleakness,
  And to the Lord his soul did pour.
"After all I have done for You
  Will I now to death draw nigh?"
God replied in answer true,
  "See your answer's in the sky!"
 
  And the Sun reversed!
  God undid that curse;
  Illness was reversed
     Ah, the Mercy that He gave!



Long the blind man sat in darkness,
  Coveting his daily bread;
Dearth was real, the utter starkness,
  He must gather or he'd be dead.
Then the noise grabbed his attention,
  Crowds approach—Oh, it was Jesus!
He shouted loud against convention;
  They hushed him, "Don't displease us!"
 
  And the Son stood still!
  For it was God's will;
  Bartemaeus thrilled
     At the Mercy that He gave.

- D. Benning

Remember the Sabbath

"Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy."
Here are a couple of quotes


==>  from Dwight L. Moody

I believe that the sabbath question to-day is a vital one for the whole country. It is the burning question of the present time. If you give up the sabbath the church goes; if you give up the church the home goes; and if the home goes the nation goes. That is the direction in which we are traveling....
No nation has ever prospered that has trampled the sabbath in the dust. Show me a nation that has done this, and I will show you a nation that has got in it the seeds of ruin and decay.
http://articles.ochristian.com/article18044.shtml


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==>  and John Bunyan

John Bunyan's character 'Wiseman' in his book, Journey to Hell, correctly points out, The Lord's Day is a kind of symbol of the heavenly Sabbath above, and it clearly reveals the heart's attitude toward eternal holiness. More is seen in one's observance of the Sabbath than one's performance of earthly activities

http://www.banneroftruth.org/pages/articles/article_detail.php?1403

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==>   And two additional references:
http://www.apuritansmind.com/thelordsday/JohnMurraySabbath.htm
http://www.newhopefairfax.org/files/30.%20Sabbath%20by%20Murray.pdf