Category Archives: Hymns

What a Friend We Have in Jesus; The Story behind the Hymn

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I have written several “story-behind-the-hymn” posts over the years and somehow missed this one! Surely, What a Friend We Have in Jesus is a song we have all related to at some point in our lives. If we grew up around church or gospel music, we can probably at least sing the chorus.


Joseph Scriven was born in Ireland in 1819. He was educated and received a degree from Trinity College in Dublin and became a teacher. With plans to settle down and soon to marry, life was good for Joseph. Unfortunately, the day before his wedding, his future wife drowned. 

The grief was more than he could bear, so Joseph moved to Canada to start over. There, he met and fell in love again, with Eliza Rice, and planned to be married, again. It is unthinkable that you could lose so much in one young lifetime but weeks before they were to be wed, Eliza became sick and died from her illness. Joseph was only 25.

From this heartache, and through faith in his God, a mission was born. Joseph took a vow of poverty and began to help the poor and the handicapped in any way he could. For ten years he made himself available to come alongside those that were in need and he found comfort and purpose in serving.

Then, unbelievably, heartache would strike again! His mother, still in Ireland and Scriven in Canada, became very ill and he did not have the funds to help her or to go and be with her. He penned the words to this poem for her and it has since comforted, encouraged and uplifted generations!

What a friend we have in Jesus

All our sins and griefs to bear

What a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer

Oh what peace we often forfeit!

Oh, what needless pain we bear

All because we do not carry 

Everything to God in prayer

Have we trials and temptations

Is there trouble anywhere

We should never be discouraged

Take it to the Lord in prayer

Can we find a friend so faithful

Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness

Take it to the Lord in prayer

Are we weak and heavy-laden,

Cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior, still our refuge

Take it to the Lord in prayer

Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?

Take it to the Lord in prayer

In His arms He’ll take and shield thee

Thou wilt find a solace there

Today, we find America in a crisis like none we have ever seen. Yet, people are coming together around the world to remind each other and to reach out to those who have not heard that Jesus is still near. Prayer still works! He has not forsaken us; He never will. 

Let us, as The Church, not let this opportunity be wasted! There is so much hope in our God, so much hope for our eternal future and so much hope right this very minute that we will see Jesus intervene on our behalf and answer unbelievable prayers. We can see thousands upon thousands come to know the Peace Speaker by Name, Jesus, if we talk positive, think positive and pray like we have never prayed before. 

Are we cumbered with a load of care? Sure, we are uncertain of what tomorrow will bring but Precious Savior, still our refuge!! We take it to Him in prayer, bind together to encourage and pray for one another and continue our wonderful online opportunities of worship, which have been such a blessing to so many. 

Oh, what peace we often forfeit, what needless pain we bear when we neglect to turn over our fears and worries to the One who holds our future in His hands. But when we take it to Him in prayer, He will meet us in our despair and we will find solace, or comfort in His presence. 

God sent YOU, not the disciples, not the Apostle Paul or even John the Baptist to share this Good News in these difficult days. This tells me that if we have His Spirit,  we have all we need to be salt and light right now and bring hope to those around us.

Be encouraged!

You can read previous posts of hymns and their origins here!

Jesus, Lover of my Soul, Everywhere He Leads Me I will Follow On, Stand Up for Jesus, America the Beautiful, Pray for Peace, People Everywhere, O Little Town of Bethlehem, O Holy Night,


Never discount what a child can accomplish for the Kingdom!

Never discount what a child can accomplish for the Kingdom!

The only person who dares wake up a king for glass of water at 3 a.m. is a child.                                 We have that kind of access. ~Tim Keller

I am so excited to bring you a soul-stirring, true story from my friend, Kim Buerky. I met Kim when we pastored in NW Missouri and she was truly a bright spot in my life at that time. She and her husband were also pastors in the same city and they were instrumental in bringing several ministers and their wives together for fellowship, all different denominations! Kim opened her home and her heart and just loved on us all. Several days ago, on Facebook, I posted the following: “Does anyone else turn up the radio when the song gets to “What a POWERFUL Name it is!”?? In reference to the song by Hillsong Worship, “What a Beautiful Name it is”. Kim private messaged me with the following true story. I promise you won’t want to start reading without a box of tissues; you have been warned! Be blessed…

My husband and I recently traveled to Louisville, Kentucky for a family reunion on my dad’s side of the family.  We have family in Georgia, Kentucky and Missouri.  Louisville is the middle location for all of us to gather.  It is also the home of my uncle, aunt, his two grown sons and their families.  One of his sons, Darren, and his wife Jenna, pastor a multi-cultural church in Louisville.

Darren and Jenna have two teenagers of their own but felt a great calling to also be adoptive parents.  A couple years back, they adopted a seven year old girl from the Philippines and then, just seven months ago, adoption was final and they brought a seven year old little boy from China, who also is blind!

Joshua adapted to his new family and America immediately.  He has embraced the language and culture change successfully.  He attends regular classes at school.  They have many resources for the visually impaired so Joshua has learned braille and to speak English very well in his short time in America.

Joshua loves to go to church and has asked Jesus into his heart!  This little boy has such a sweet, gentle spirit about him.  He has learned many songs at home, and in church, with one of his favorites being, What A Beautiful Name It Is.  He loves to sing!  Joshua rides a school bus to and from school with just one other visually impaired boy.

On the last day of school this year, Darren went to meet Joshua at the bus stop.  The bus driver told Darren how much he had enjoyed having Joshua ride his bus.  He said, “I can tell from all the songs he sings that you all are a Christian family.”  He and Darren talked some more and the bus driver began to share some of the songs that Joshua would sing on the bus. He had even gone home and looked some of them up to see who sang them.

While sharing his heart, the driver started to cry and said, “I was raised in a Christian home but have walked away from God, but when Joshua would sing the song, What A Beautiful Name It Is…….What a Powerful Name It Is……The Name Of Jesus, I could feel something stir inside of me telling me I needed to get back into church and start serving God again!”

“People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.” Mark 10:13-16 NIV

So, at our family reunion we started the weekend off with family worship and communion.  We sang What A Beautiful Name It Is with Joshua up front helping lead.  There were tears throughout the family.  I could hear his precious little voice singing his very favorite song that he has learned since being with his new family in America and it has great meaning to him because he now knows who Jesus is!

I hope your heart has been touched by this story of how God can work even through a child.  He brought a child from China to lead a bus driver in Kentucky back to God!

Never discount what a child can accomplish for the Kingdom!

Kim Buerky has been married to her wonderful husband, Tim, for 39 years. She is a mother of two married children and “Meena” to three beautiful, fun, creative grandkids: An eleven year old boy, six year old girl and a 16 month old girl.

In her spare time, Kim loves shopping for bargains, having the grandkids over and absolutely loves to cook and entertain. Kim says, “Probably one of my favorite things to do is cook a good meal up for my kids and grandkids and have them over for dinner.  I like to make their favorite things on each of their birthdays.  My son who lives in Michigan gets his favorites when he and his family are coming for a visit.  I love spending time with family!!” Kim and Tim attend Cornerstone Church in Chillicothe, Mo., where their son-in-law and daughter pastor.

 

When the Cross was the Attraction

When the Cross was the attraction

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sue“God Hold us to that which drew us first, when the Cross was the attraction, and we wanted nothing else.” ~ Amy Carmichael

When the Cross was the attraction….Today I am happy to have my sister-in-law, Sue Elkins, sharing with us!  Sue is a mother of four, a grandmother of three, a long time Broker/Associate with Re/Max Realty Professionals, and was a pastor’s wife for many years. She and her husband, Dexter, are still very active in their church, aptly teaching, ministering and being helpers as the Bible calls us to be. She keeps the highways busy traveling to see her grandbabies as often as she can. God gave this to her this week and I know it will bless you as it has me. You can read her other guest posts, Still I Will Trust You, Go, Surprise Jesus and Who was Hur, by clicking on the titles!

My God Is Awesome, Every Praise, I Won’t Go Back, Break Every Chain….the list of new songs is unending and inspiring. But an old one from the past really touched my heart during altar call a few nights ago.

Move me with Your message once again

It’s been so long since I have broke within

Take me back once more to Calvary 

Where one more time, Your message moves me. 

I have heard this song many times, but not for years, and this night it was speaking to me in a different way.

So often, when a song like this is sung, we tend to be moved by shortcomings, problems, failures or needs within our lives.  There is nothing wrong with that and Jesus understands those times, but this time my spirit was broken for a different reason.

Luke 23:33.  “And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him.”  

The phrase “take me back once more to Calvary”  just kept flowing over and over in my mind.

Back to Calvary….

Where I first met You, Jesus, where I first realized what You had done for me.  I still remember those first feelings of sadness when I realized that Jesus had given His life for me!   The complete THANKFULNESS I felt that Jesus loved me so much that He would die for me.  The humbleness that overwhelmed my soul that He loved me even before I knew and loved Him.

With Calvary as a vision before me, as the song says, I should be broken for Your sacrifice. Lord.  I should be broken because of how much I love You, Lord.  I should be broken because You gave me newness of life here and life eternal over there.  My problems, my shortcomings, my failures or needs will be met if I keep going back to Calvary and the message it brings to all of us….

Christ is our Redeemer.   

When the Cross was the Attraction

How long has it been since I bowed more than just my knees, but really bowed my spirit to remember Calvary and what it brought to me?   As the words came flooding back into my mind, I was reminded that the message of Jesus and the cost of that message still needs to break us from time to time.  It is so easy with all the things that are going on around us to become overwhelmed and broken by the problems that face us.   But the message….the message that Jesus loves us, that He is the Provider, the Healer, the Counselor, the Deliverer, the Savior, the One True God, that came, died and was resurrected for us….that message can never be forgotten!  Because, if we forget that message, then we may forget to pass it on to others who need to hear it.   It needs to still move us, move us to be broken and thankful that we know Him and have the privilege of walking with Him.

Oh, Lord, let me not forget to let your message move me once again!

 

Sharing with Making your home sing, Modest Mondays