Tuesday, June 24, 2008
"It Is Well" Legacy
Recently, the wife of the grandson of Horatio Spafford passed away. Horatio Spafford is widely known as the author of the beautiful hymn "It Is Well With My Soul" (number 530 in our hymnal if I'm correct in guessing).
Having never heard anything more than the moving story of the tragic event that gave him the hymn prose, I was interested to read this article about the legacy he and his family left in the Middle East.
After such painful life-events, what a beautiful story his children and grandchildren have created, all because of a dedicated father & follower of Christ.
When peace, like a river,
Though Satan should buffet,
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
For me, be it Christ,
But, Lord, ’tis for Thee,
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
Having never heard anything more than the moving story of the tragic event that gave him the hymn prose, I was interested to read this article about the legacy he and his family left in the Middle East.
After such painful life-events, what a beautiful story his children and grandchildren have created, all because of a dedicated father & follower of Christ.
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.
But, Lord, ’tis for Thee,
for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel!
Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of 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.
On a slightly different but mildly related subject (that being: living our lives inside Christ's shadow) I found this post very interesting. Wouldn't it be great if we all behaved with this approach all of the time? He did leave quite a legacy didn't he?
Labels: boldness, spirituality, unity
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Interesting guy, bolder than I
I don't know if any of you have heard much about the "People of Peru" project but there was a recent article in the local conference publication that reminded me of it again. My cousin is a filmmaker and has just finished a film about this guy's ministry and how it all came about. It's very moving and inspirational. (I'm hoping to score a DVD here in the next few weeks to play at church!) Basically, he didn't have any "missionary" skills, but realized his own personal passion for helping these children of Christ who had so much less than he. What I like most about his style is that he's a non-conformist, outside-the-box kind of guy. Don't have a sponsoring agency? "Who cares!" Don't have any special training? "I've got love!" Don't have an official "call"? "I heard the people calling!" He was willing to leave a pretty comfortable life and just let God play out His plan. Because of some recent publicity and sponsorship, he has been able to afford more and create quite an incredible from-the-ground-up ministry for young women and children there in Peru.
Not all of us have the ability to just pick up and "go", but we can definitely be ready to serve wherever we are. I'm sure there are quite a few more people like him following Christ where they see a need. I'd like to hear about them if you know of some stories.
**just saw that his site is down, so check back again in a few days**
Not all of us have the ability to just pick up and "go", but we can definitely be ready to serve wherever we are. I'm sure there are quite a few more people like him following Christ where they see a need. I'd like to hear about them if you know of some stories.
**just saw that his site is down, so check back again in a few days**
Labels: boldness, missionary, Peru
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