Tried With Fire

I journey forth rejoicing From this dark vale of tears To heavenly joy and freedom From earthly bonds and fears Where Christ our Lord shall gather All His redeemed again, His kingdom to inherit-- Goodnight, goodnight till then Why thus so sadly weeping Beloved ones of my heart? The Lord is good and gracious Though now He bids us part Oft have we met in gladness And we shall meet again All sorrow left behind us-- Goodnight, goodnight till then I go to see His glory Whom we have loved below I go, the blessed angels The holy saints to know. Our lovely ones departed I go to find again And wait for you to join us-- Goodnight, goodnight till then I hear the Savior calling-- The joyful hour has come The angel-guards are ready To guide me to our home Where Christ our Lord shall gather All His redeemed again, His kingdom to inherit-- Goodnight, goodnight till then

he two great links between earth and Heaven are the two advents of our Lord, or rather, He is Himself, by His two appearings, the great bond of union between earth and Heaven. When the world had revolted against its Maker and the Creator had been defied by His own creatures, a great gulf was opened between God and man. The first coming of Christ was like a bridge which crossed the chasm, and made a way of access from God to man and then from man to God. Our Lord’s second advent will make that bridge far broader until Heaven shall come down to earth, and ultimately earth shall go up to Heaven. Here, too, is the place for us to build a grand suspension bridge by which, through faith, we ourselves may cross from this side to the other of the stormy river of time. The cross, at whose foot we stand, is the massive column which supports the structure on this side, and as we look forward to the glory, the second advent of our Lord is t...

This past week was a contrast between great joy and sorrow for our church. We witnessed a young couple exchange their vows and celebrated their marriage. We also learned of the loss of a precious baby and wept for the parents. The latter situation made me long for Christ's return. This world is such a sad and broken place. We groan for the day when we will no longer feel the effects of sin. One day, every tear will be wiped away, and all that has been ruined by the fall will be renewed. But as I was reflecting on the wedding ceremony and the words pointing us to Christ and the church, this also makes me long for Christ's return. As much as I pray that this couple has a long and happy marriage, there will be a day when the shadow gives way to reality, the day when we will be forever with the Lord. God was sovereign in drawing this man and woman together, and He was sovereign in bringing this little one home. He hasn't changed. He's the same loving God and Father wh...

When we were in Manhattan last week, I noticed a very unusual vehicle that stood out amid the Christmas decorations. It was the Chabad Lubavitch Mitzvah Tank .  This is part of a campaign to seek out American Jews and encourage them to do mitzvah, which means: “commandment”. A mitzvah is one of the 613 divine instructions to the Jew contained in the  Torah . The word also means “connection”: a deed that connects the human being who performs it with  G-d , who commanded it. As a connection between man and G-d, as a bridge between Creator and creation, a mitzvah is a deed of cosmic significance, a deed of infinite value unto itself.   [And] a single person performing a single mitzvah, could be the deed that tips the scales and brings redemption to the entire world and all creation.  The tank also proclaimed "Moshiach is coming now!"  Being curious about what this meant, I found   that Moshiach is a leader who will redeem mankind from me...