His Journey’s Just Begun

Posted by glennis on Sunday, November 25, 2012

Don’t think of him as gone away-

his journey’s just begun,

life holds so many facets-

this earth is only one.

Just think of him as resting

from the sorrows and the tears

in a place of warmth and comfort

where there are no days and years.

Think how he must be wishing

that we could know today

how nothing but our sadness

can really pass away.

And think of him as living

in the hearts of those he touched…

for nothing loved is ever lost-

and he was loved so much.

E. Brenneman

 

THE RHYME OF THE MODERN PARISHIONER

Posted by Scott-Glennis on Friday, May 14, 2010

by Dr. Michael Brown

It happened in the vestibule at ten one Sunday morn;
A haggard-looking church-goer sat plaintive and forlorn.

Then suddenly he rose and found a hungry-looking Christian;
He took his hand, took him aside, and asked him a straight question:

“You’ve read the Word; you know the Book; the promises are clear.
But have you seen the living God? Have you found Him here?

Have you experienced holy fire, the Spirit in His power,
A mighty wave, a rushing wind, a flame that does devour?

Is there something more you’re seeking, so high, so wide, so deep?
Do you find yourself frustrated? Is church putting you to sleep?

Then listen well, you heart is ripe; my tale I will tell.
This story is your story too, and it’s your tale as well.

For thirty years I’ve been in church, it seemed like a good show.
But now I’ve got to meet with God, do you know where to go?

I’m trapped in mundane worship times, the praises have grown cold;
The preaching’s dry and dusty. The teaching is stale like mold.

Each service feels like a rerun, the songs all sound the same;
The prophecies so hollow, not worthy of the name!

Words, more words, they’re everywhere, but oh there is a stink!
Words, more words, they’re everywhere, but none to make us think!

We lack the heavenly Presence, it’s clear we’re in a rut;
I’m desperate for revival, it burns within my gut!

I’m love-sick for my Jesus, so hungry for my Lord;
Just longing for my Savior; God knows that I’m so bored!

Is there someone who can help me, who’s touched the real thing?
A man who’s heard from heaven, with a word from God to bring?

Are there prophets burning with fire, servants who are ablaze?
Anointed and overflowing, appointed for these days?

Do they carry the Spirit’s burden, and breathe the Lord God’s breath?
Are they set apart and holy, obedient to death?

I hear the words of the Master, ‘Come follow Me,’ He said.
If some Christians go their own way; I’ll go with Him instead!

Oh please, don’t do as I have done, and waste so many years.
Don’t wait and wait for endless months; move on, outgrow your fears!

Forget the twelve step programs; a seminar won’t do.
You need a touch from heaven, to fill you through and through.

There must be change in your life, a work of God that’s real.
Don’t fool yourself with worn clichés, don’t let the devil steal!

Don’t miss out on God’s Presence or let those hours pass;
Don’t stop your soul from hungering, get out of the morass!

Dear friend, you are not crazy; dear saint, you are not mad;
There truly is a problem, it’s true, you have been had!

There’s more! There’s more, Believe it! There is that place in God.
There are holy visitations, new paths that must be trod.

Will you get up like old Pilgrim, and seek that better way?
Will you go forth on that journey no matter what men say?

Will you go out now and meet Him, and leave the crowd behind,
Forsaking dead traditions, if Jesus you will find?

It’s not in another meeting, a nicely packaged hour;
Another harmless service, devoid of heaven’s power.

It’s not in another teaching, three points to fill your head.
The Word is always vibrant; but this stuff is so dead!

We need God to send His Spirit, to fully take control,
To transform every member, to come and make them whole!

Enough with man’s religion; enough with earthly plans;
Enough with our new programs; produced by fleshly hands.”

Just then in strode the pastor his calling to fulfill;
Just doing his weekly duty, then he became frozen still.

For astir was that parishioner he grasped the preacher’s clothes,
And grasped the preacher’s soul as well, and in that grasp he froze.

“Oh pastor, enter the prayer room and shut yourself inside.
Be emptied of competition, and crucify your pride!

Pray for holy visitations, caught up alone with Him,
Consumed with heavenly vision, that’s where you must begin!

You won’t find Him in a textbook, buried on page twenty-two.
He is the living God who acts, He wants to move in you!

It’s not only the ‘apostles’, He’ll bless and send and use;
He will saturate your own soul, if you will not refuse.

So arise, get up, and pursue Him, Jesus your true best Friend!
He is worthy of devotion; He’s faithful to the end!

Why should you starve on crusty bread, and crawl along the ground?
Your Savior is your source of life, see Him, let joy abound!

Renew your life, refresh your heart, press in, take hold, pray through.
Put first things first, make God your goal; what else have you to do?

Your Bible schooling stole your zeal, church life has drained you dry;
You used to have such childlike faith, now budgets have your eye!

You used to be so passionate, so innocent and free.
Now you’ve become professional; you’ll preach for a good fee!

Oh, set your sights on higher goals and not on dollar bills,
Live in the light of Judgment Day; ambition always kills!

Let Jesus be your daily Guide, put Him where He belongs;
And soon His presence will arrive; His praise will fill your songs!

Simplicity will be your style, devotion your new goal:
Communion will become your aim, God’s life will flood your soul!

Oh, take your eyes off numbers, church growth can be a trap!
Go out and make disciples, go out and bridge the gap!

Pour out your life for broken lives, let God your heart break too.
Take up the cross, deny yourself; just live His will to do!

Wake up, be brave, be honest; today – oh hear His voice!
Be ruthless with your schedule; seek GOD. Make that your choice.

You won’t find Him in your planner, no committee has the key.
You’ll find Him when your soul cries out, ‘There must be more for me!’

‘There must be more than building funds, and sessions past midnight,
And endless talks with leadership, disputing who is right.

Somehow I know I’ve been misled; the model doesn’t work.
I’m not called as executive, nor should I be a clerk.

I’m called to be a man of God, a man who’s Spirit-led,
A healer of the sick and lame someday to raise the dead!’

And with that cry new life will rise, your heart will be revived;
Heaven’s light will flood your soul, you will not be denied!”

The parishioner then turned his gaze away from flesh and blood:
He looked to Him who sends the showers, to Him who sends the flood.

“Today, oh Lord, do you hear our voice, and pour Your Spirit out.
Saturate the thirsty ground. End this spiritual drought!

Revive us with Your Presence, renew us from above;
Touch the flock called by Your name; come fill us with Your love!

Do greater works in our day than that which you have done.
Bring the fullness of Your rains, and glorify Your Son!”

That old church-goer spoke no more. Another voice was heard.
Yet not the voice of flesh and blood: It was our Father’s word.

And if you listen closely, beyond this little rhyme,
You’ll hear Him speaking clearly: “MY CHILDREN, IT IS TIME.”

A Puritan’s Prayer

Posted by Scott-Glennis on Monday, April 26, 2010

scott-glennis-nhome-closeup4“Lord, thou dost show thy power by my frailty, so that the more feeble I am, the more fit to be used, for thou dost pitch a tent of grace in my weakness. Help me to rejoice in my infirmities and give thee praise, to acknowledge my deficiencies before others and not be discouraged by them, that they may see thy glory more clearly.”[1]


[1] From The Valley of Vision,  a collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. Banner of Truth Trust, 1975

A Creed For Those Who Have Suffered

Posted by Scott-Glennis on Sunday, January 17, 2010

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve,

I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey…

 

I asked for health, that I might do great things,

I was given infirmity, that I might do better things…

 

I asked God for riches, that I might be happy,

I was given poverty, that I might be wise…

 

I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men,

I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God…

 

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life,

I was given life, that I might enjoy all things…

 

I got nothing I asked for-but everything that I had hoped for.

Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.

 

I am, among men, most richly blessed!

 

A Fallen Confederate Soldier

 

Be My Valentine

Posted by glennis on Thursday, February 14, 2008

Scott finds many ways to show his love and appreciation for me, he wrote the following poem for Valentines Day:

Honey,

You want more time than a 24 hour day,

Maybe a 36 hour day would be OK.

Can you imagine a time where hours are not kept,

Where bottles are stored of all the tears you have wept.

A place filled with love and void of earthly sorrow,

Where no one knows if its today or tomorrow.

Let’s go there together with our Savior our King,

To a place called Narnia because death no longer has a sting,

We don’t have to wait for our bodies to sleep.

Jesus showed us the way by laying his life down for his sheep,

Thank you my love for showing me the way.

Through your endless self sacrifices and by extending my day,

You have stopped the clock with your love for me

By holding my hand and saying, “we have all eternity!”

Your loving husband,glennis-kissing-scott-april-2005.JPG

Forever Scott

YES!! I’ll be your Valentine, Here’s a BIG Kiss!

John 11:4

Posted by glennis on Saturday, September 01, 2007

“This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God,

  that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

                   scott-with-rainbow-2007.jpg

Faith Counts! Scriptures

Posted by glennis on Saturday, September 01, 2007

Luke 22:32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.

1 John 5:3-5 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. vs4 This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world?  Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Matthew 9:29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. 

Matthew 8:13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.

Matthew 15:28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Mark 9:23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe,  all things are possible to him who believes.” John 6:29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”Gal 2:20-21 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. 

Gal 3:1-7 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth,before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?  This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?  Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?  Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?—  just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”  Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.

Phil 3:9-14 …and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

1 Peter 1:7  So that [the genuineness] of your faith may be tested, [your faith] which is infinitely more precious than the perishable gold which is tested and purified by fire. [This proving of your faith is intended] to redound to [your] praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) is revealed.

more scriptures…..

Posted by glennis on Saturday, September 01, 2007

Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 53:4-5
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.  

Psalm 118:17
I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done.

Proverbs 4:20-23
My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body.

Proverbs 18:14 The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness,  But who can bear a broken spirit?

Psalm 27:13  I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.

Psalm 142:5  I cried out to You, O LORD:I said, “You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living.

Romans 8:11
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

II Timothy 1:7
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

Hebrews 10:23
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

Hebrews 10:35
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.

I John 3:21-22
Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.

III John 2
Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.  

Revelation 12:11
They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

Hebrews 11:1,2,6,32-40

Posted by glennis on Saturday, September 01, 2007

 1 NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].  2For by [faith–trust and holy fervor born of faith] the men of old had divine testimony borne to them and obtained a good report .                                                                                                                                                                                                  

6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him…

32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.                                                                                                                         

Romans 4:13-5:5

Posted by glennis on Saturday, September 01, 2007

vs.13 For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, 15 because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.vs 16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all 17 (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”  18) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; 18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” 19 And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. 22 And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”23 Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.  Chap 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.