Category Archives: Jesus

Soldiers of Christ, Arise ~ Hymn

I was going to narrow down the 16 stanzas of this hymn/poem that Charles Wesley wrote but on second thought decided to post it all. I’m putting the definitions of some of the ‘old’ words at the end for my benefit and maybe yours.

Soldiers of Christ, Arise

Soldiers of Christ, arise,
And put your armor on,
Strong in the strength which God supplies
Through His eternal Son.
Strong in the Lord of hosts,
And in His mighty power,
Who in the strength of Jesus trusts
Is more than conqueror.

Stand then in His great might,
With all His strength endued,
And take, to arm you for the fight,
The panoply of God;
That, having all things done,
And all your conflicts past,
Ye may o’ercome through Christ alone
And stand entire at last.

Stand then against your foes,
In close and firm array;
Legions of wily fiends oppose
Throughout the evil day;
But meet the sons of night,
And mock their vain design,
Armed in the arms of heavenly light,
Of righteousness divine.

Leave no unguarded place,
No weakness of the soul,
Take every virtue, every grace,
And fortify the whole;
Indissolubly joined,
To battle all proceed;
But arm yourselves with all the mind
That was in Christ, your head.

Let truth the girdle be,
That binds your armor on,
In faithful, firm sincerity
To Jesus cleave alone.
Let faith and love combine
To guard your valiant breast:
The plate be righteousness divine,
Imputed, and impressed.

Still let your feet be shod,
Ready His will to do,
Ready in all the ways of God
His glory to pursue:
Ruin is spread beneath,
The Gospel greaves put on,
And safe through all the snares of death
To life eternal run.

But, above all, lay hold
On faith’s victorious shield;
Armed with that adamant and gold,
Be sure to win the field:
If faith surround your heart,
Satan shall be subdued,
Repelled his every fiery dart,
And quenched with Jesus’ blood.

Jesus hath died for you!
What can His love withstand?
Believe, hold fast your shield, and who
Shall pluck you from His hand?
Believe that Jesus reigns,
All power to Him is given:
Believe, till freed from sin’s remains;
Believe yourselves to Heaven.

Your Rock can never shake:
Hither, He saith, come up!
The helmet of salvation take,
The confidence of hope:
Hope for His perfect love,
Hope for His people’s rest,
Hope to sit down with Christ above,
And share the marriage feast.

Brandish in faith till then
The Spirit’s two-edged sword,
Hew all the snares of fiends and men
In pieces with the Word;
’Tis written; This applied
Baffles their strength and art;
Spirit and soul with this divide,
And joints and marrow part.

To keep your armor bright,
Attend with constant care,
Still walking in your captain’s sight,
And watching unto prayer.
Ready for all alarms,
Steadfastly set your face,
And always exercise your arms,
And use your every grace.

Pray without ceasing, pray,
Your captain gives the word;
His summons cheerfully obey
And call upon the Lord;
To God your every want
In instant prayer display,
Pray always; pray and never faint,
Pray, without ceasing, pray!

In fellowship; alone,
To God with faith draw near;
Approach His courts, besiege His throne
With all the powers of prayer:
Go to His temple, go,
Nor from His altar move;
Let every house His worship know,
And every heart His love.

To God your spirits dart,
Your souls in words declare,
Or groan, to Him who reads the heart,
The unutterable prayer.
His mercy now implore,
And now show forth His praise,
In shouts, or silent awe, adore
His miracles of grace.

Pour out your souls to God,
And bow them with your knees,
And spread your hearts and hands abroad,
And pray for Sion’s peace;
Your guides, and brethren, bear
For ever on your mind;
Extend the arms of mighty prayer,
In grasping all mankind.

From strength to strength go on,
Wrestle, and fight, and pray,
Tread all the powers of darkness down,
And win the well-fought day;
Still let the Spirit cry
In all His soldiers, Come!
Till Christ the Lord descends from high
And takes the conquerors home.

Words: Charles Wesley, 1741.

endued: endow or provide with a quality or ability (past tense)

Panoply: a complete set of arms or suit of armor.

Indissolubly: in a way that is impossible to take apart or bring to an end, or exists for a very long time.

Imputed: Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardons all our sins, and accepts us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.

greaves: a piece of armor used to protect the shin

Truth for Today #191

Friday June 12th

On Fridays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s continue to dig deep into God’s truth.

The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you! 

1 John 2:28-29

And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

From Maristella:

Romans 12:17-18.

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

From Vera:

‭‭Colossians‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬-‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

From Leonard:

 Jeremiah 17:7-8

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

From Karen:

James 1:22

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Life is Blooming Hodgepodge

It is once again time for Wednesday Hodgepodge with thanks to Joyce From This Side of the Pond. 

1.  How would you define ‘the good life’? 

“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:4-7

2.  What’s the most used app on your phone (and are you proud of that)? 

(WhatsApp) It is the app we use with the Mennonite Girls and also with our immediate family. It is easier to send videos and photos with this app than with text messages.

I’m proud of myself when I figure out how to use any app!!

3. ‘Every rose has it’s thorn’, ‘everything’s coming up roses’, ‘looking through rose-colored glasses’, ‘it’s no bed of roses’ or ‘stop and smell the roses’…which rose idiom best relates to something in your life currently. Explain. 

‘everything’s coming up roses’ (or peonies)

It’s a busy and good time of year with so much happening all at the same time including flowers blooming on our property. We’ve had performances, visitors, events, meals in, meals out, preparations for a community garage sale this coming weekend. Life is blooming!!

4. How do you feel about floral flavorings in food or drink (rose, hibiscus, elderflower, lavender)? 

No, thank you. Elderflower has been acceptable in the past.

5. Over the course of your life what have you probably spent more time pondering than anything else? 

This is a tough one. It is not my habit to be introspective. I know I’ve laid awake at night pondering things but it has been a variety of things over the course of my life.

When I was young I remember pondering whether my parents would die and being sad about that prospect. They did die but not until they were in their 90’s so that was a waste of emotions.

In my teen years I probably pondered too much about myself and whether people or certain boys liked me. That was a waste of time and emotions, too.

I’ve spent a lot of time pondering what to make for dinner.

I’ve also spent a lot of time pondering what to do and see on any given trip we’ve enjoyed over the years.

In my older years, I’ve pondered how and why friends that I used to worship Christ with and who I’ve served Christ with have walked away in disobedience to His Word and how they have embraced the world and the ways and philosophy of this world.

Right now I’m pondering what else I should try to get rid of at the garage sale this Thursday/Friday/Saturday.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

The 2026 World Cup begins tomorrow. I’m excited and have set our DVR to record many of the games. We were at the last World Cup in the USA in 1994. This Cup I’ll be watching from home. Josh and Laura will be attending the USA v. Australia game in Seattle a week from this Friday!

img024

Dan and I were able to attend the Brazil v. Cameroon game at Stanford in 1994.

We have great memories from the ’94 World Cup and I’ll share more on another day. In between games, I’ll be working on the new 2026 World Cup puzzle our Josh and Laura gifted me.

My Song is Love Unknown ~Hymn

 

 

My Song is Love Unknown

My song is love un­known,
My Sav­ior’s love to me;
Love to the love­less shown,
That they might love­ly be.
O who am I, that for my sake
My Lord should take frail flesh and die?

He came from His blest throne
Salvation to be­stow;
But men made strange, and none
The longed for Christ would know:
But O! my friend, my friend in­deed,
Who at my need His life did spend.

Sometimes they strew His way,
And His sweet prais­es sing;
Resounding all the day
Hosannas to their king:
Then Cru­ci­fy! is all their breath,
And for His death they thirst and cry.

Why, what hath my Lord done?
What makes this rage and spite?
He made the lame to run,
He gave the blind their sight,
Sweet in­ju­ries! Yet they at these
Themselves dis­please, and ’gainst Him rise.

They rise and needs will have
My dear Lord made away;
A mur­der­er they saved,
The Prince of Life they slay,
Yet cheer­ful He to suf­fer­ing goes,
That He His foes from thence might free.

In life, no house, no home
My Lord on earth might have;
In death no friend­ly tomb
But what a strang­er gave.
What may I say? Heav’n was His home;
But mine the tomb where­in He lay.

Here might I stay and sing,
No sto­ry so di­vine;
Never was love, dear King!
Never was grief like Thine.
This is my friend, in whose sweet praise
I all my days could glad­ly spend.

Words: Samuel Crossman, 1664.

Truth for Today #190

Friday June 5th

On Fridays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s continue to dig deep into God’s truth.

The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you! 

2 Timothy 1:8-12

Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.

From Vera:

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭6‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” ‭‭

From Susanne:

Galatians 5:1 (AMP)

“In [this] freedom Christ has made us free [and completely liberated us]; stand fast then, and do not be hampered and held ensnared and submit again to a yoke of slavery [which you have once put off].”

From Karen:

Isaiah 5:20

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

From Willow:

 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:11-13.

It was part of my Bible reading last night and has stuck with me all day, especially v. 13.

Moment by Moment ~ Hymn

Moment by Moment

Dying with Je­sus, by death reck­oned mine;
Living with Je­sus, a new life di­vine;
Looking to Je­sus till glo­ry doth shine,
Moment by mo­ment, O Lord, I am Thine.

Refrain

Moment by mo­ment I’m kept in His love;
Moment by mo­ment I’ve life from ab­ove;
Looking to Je­sus till glo­ry doth shine;
Moment by mo­ment, O Lord, I am Thine.

Never a tri­al that He is not there,
Never a bur­den that He doth not bear,
Never a sor­row that He doth not share,
Moment by mo­ment, I’m un­der His care.

Refrain

Never a heart­ache, and nev­er a groan,
Never a tear­drop and nev­er a moan;
Never a dan­ger but there on the throne,
Moment by mo­ment He thinks of His own.

Refrain

Never a weak­ness that He doth not feel,
Never a sick­ness that He can­not heal;
Moment by mo­ment, in woe or in weal,
Jesus my Sav­ior, ab­ides with me still.

Refrain

Words: Daniel W. Whittle, 1893.

While I was attending the World’s Fair in Chicago, Henry Varley, a lay preacher from London, said to Major Whittle: “I do not like the hymn ‘I need Thee every hour’ very well, because I need Him every moment of the day. Soon after Major Whittle wrote this sweet hymn…[He] brought the hymn to me in manuscript a little later, saying that he would give me the copyright of both the words and music if I would print for him five hundred copies on fine paper, for distributing among his friends. His daughter, May Whittle, who later became the wife of Will R. Moody, composed the music. I did as Mr. Whittle wished; and I sent the hymn to England, where it was copyrighted on the same day as at Washington.

In England the hymn became very popular. Falling into the hands of the well-known Rev. Andrew Murray, of South Africa, then visiting London, he adopted it as his favorite hymn. A year later Mr. Murray visited Northfield [Massachusetts], and while holding a meeting for men in the church he remarked, If Sankey only knew a hymn which I found in London, and would sing it, he would find that it embraces my entire creed.

I was very anxious to know what hymn it was, and when he had recited it I said to him: Doctor, that hymn was written within five hundred yards of where we are standing.

For years Dr. Murray had his wife sing this hymn in nearly all his meetings. It also became a great favorite in South Africa during the war.

Sankey, pp. 190-91

ht: Cyberhymnal

Truth for Today #189

Friday May 29th

On Fridays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s continue to dig deep into God’s truth.

The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you! 

Deuteronomy 4:2

 You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.

Revelation 22:18-19

 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book,  and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

From Vera:

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” ‭‭

1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

From Leonard:

John 14:27

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand ~ Hymn

Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand

Ten thou­sand times ten thou­sand
In spark­ling rai­ment bright,
The ar­mies of the ran­somed saints
Throng up the steeps of light;
’Tis fin­ished, all is fin­ished,
Their fight with death and sin;
Fling op­en wide the gold­en gates,
And let the vic­tors in.

What rush of al­le­lu­ias
Fills all the earth and sky!
What ring­ing of a thou­sand harps
Bespeaks the tri­umph nigh!
O day, for which cre­ation
And all its tribes were made;
O joy, for all its for­mer woes
A thou­sand­fold re­paid!

O then what rap­tured greet­ings
On Ca­naan’s hap­py shore;
What knit­ting sev­ered friend­ships up,
Where part­ings are no more!
Then eyes with joy shall spar­kle,
That brimmed with tears of late;
Orphans no long­er fa­ther­less,
Nor wi­dows de­so­late.

Bring near Thy great sal­va­tion,
Thou Lamb for sin­ners slain;
Fill up the roll of Thine elect,
Then take Thy pow­er, and reign;
Appear, De­sire of na­tions,
Thine ex­iles long for home;
Show in the heav’n Thy pro­mised sign;
Thou Prince and Sav­ior, come.

Words: Henry Alford, 1867.

Truth for Today #188

Friday May 22nd

On Fridays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s continue to dig deep into God’s truth.

The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you! 

Isaiah 45:22 ~Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

Isaiah 12:2 ~ Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.

Psalm 56:3-4 ~ When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?

Joshua 1:9 ~ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

From Vera:

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭58‬:‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” ‭‭

From Karen:

Not with eye service, as menpleasers: but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.

Ephesians 6:6 KJV

Our Friend Ken

Ken’s Memorial Service was held on May 8th, 2026. We traveled to Southern California for the service.

Ken and Heidi’s son, son in law, daughter and grandsons all spoke, read scripture, in honor of their dad’s, pop pop’s, memory. They spoke much of Ken’s love for his Savior, Jesus Christ.

Old Testament Readings:

Isaiah 40:31 ~ …but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 45:22 ~Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

Isaiah 12:2 ~ Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.

Psalm 56:3-4 ~ When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?

Joshua 1:9 ~ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

New Testament Readings:

John 14:1~ Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

1 Peter 5:7 ~ …casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Philippians 3:20-21 ~ But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

My brother-in-law led the congregation in singing. We sang, How Great Thou Art, It is Well with my Soul, and “God be with you till we meet again”.

God be with you till we meet again;
By His counsels guide, uphold you,
With His sheep securely fold you;
God be with you till we meet again.

Refrain

Till we meet, till we meet,
Till we meet at Jesus’ feet;
Till we meet, till we meet,
God be with you till we meet again.

Our kids and our nieces with Ken’s daughter.

After the beautiful service we had time to catch up with friends and family at a reception at the church. It was so good to see old friends we haven’t seen for ages. I should have taken more photos.

All my sisters in order of birth.

My college bestie who was married to my cousin.

My dear friend, Ken’s beloved wife, Heidi.

The memorial for Ken was held at the same church that Ken and Heidi got married in back in November of 1978. I was the matron of honor, pregnant with our firstborn son. Greg and I were both in the wedding. We met Ken when he started dating Heidi.

The photo above is after the wedding reception at our home in Huntington Beach. Ken and Heidi opened wedding gifts and then changed and headed off for their honeymoon. That’s my dear old Pop watching on. Heidi and I spent so much time together that she was part of the family.

The upper photo in the collage was Christmas 1979 when they were expecting their first baby and the two lower photos were of our last time together as couples in November of 2025. Ken and Heidi traveled to our home to visit. It was a precious time of catching up and of also understanding that these were Ken’s final months on this earth. We had a glimpse of the suffering that they were in the midst of. It helped us to know how to pray for them in the months after this visit and leading up to Ken’s death.

This next song was one that Ken listened to the last months of his struggle and one that comforted him. He shared it with his dear family. It was played at the end of his memorial service.

It is such a comfort to know that Ken is with his Savior, Jesus Christ and that his suffering on earth is over.

Till we meet again, Ken, at Jesus’ feet!