“HE’S OUR FRIEND”
Series: How do you see Jesus?

Over the last six weeks, we’ve been talking about the subject (series title) “How do you see Jesus?”
We started on Christmas Eve, looking at Baby Jesus’ birth, then progressed to “New beginnings/resolutions, and forgiving others.
Next, we saw Him as our Helper/Miracle worker during rough times, our Personal Guide, Provider, and last week, Our Deliverer.
Today we’re going to see how He can actually be OUR FRIEND - not just A friend, but our BFF ! I’m not going to try to explain how this works, but instead, relay a true story about the origin of an old hymn, a recording of that song by Alabama, and a short (24 min.) message by Robert Morris, that will explain how Jesus can really become “OUR FRIEND”.
Here’s the story:


Early Life
Joseph Medlicott Scriven was born in 1819 in Banbridge, County Down, Northern Ireland, in a well-to-do family. His father was a captain in the British Royal Marines, and Scriven had the prospects of a great life with a devoted family in his native country.
He enrolled in Trinity College in Dublin and graduated in 1842 with a bachelor's degree. His ambition was to become an army officer, and so he joined the Addiscombe Military College near London, England, training for service in India.
However, he had to abandon his military career because of his poor health condition. However, Scriven became a teacher and planned to settle in his hometown.

Tragedy in Ireland

He fell in love with a beautiful woman and was
engaged to be married. On the evening before the wedding, tragedy struck. His fiancee fell from the horse while crossing the bridge over the River Bann. She drowned in the water and died in a dreadful accident. Scriven was traveling to meet her on the day before the planned wedding. However, he came upon this horrible scene as he saw the woman who stole his heart was harrowingly lying under the water in a creek bed. Heartbroken, he stood helplessly and was plunged into the deepest sorrow.
Being overwhelmed with grief due to his fiancee's death, he began to follow the practices and teachings of the Plymouth Brethren, a nonconformist and evangelical Christian movement, which believed in the priesthood of all male believers, and the adequacy of mercy for justification and redemption.
He left his native country, Ireland, in 1845 to start a new life in Canada, settling in Woodstock, Ontario.

He began to wander and moved to Port Hope, Canada, where he tutored school children to make a living. Scriven organized a private school in 1850 in Brantford and also preached in the area. Scriven met Eliza Catherine Roche, a relative of one of his students, and fell in love.
Scriven was engaged to be married. Once again disaster struck. Eliza developed pneumonia, became very sick, and died shortly a few weeks before the wedding.
With his hopes and dreams shattered, Scriven was shocked, depressed, and devastated. It was unbelievable that so much misfortune would befall anyone in such a short period. These adversities paved the way for Scriven to consecrate his life for Christ. He never married and chose to live as a preacher and helper of the poor and the downtrodden.

A Life of Service andCompassion

He leaned on his faith in the Heavenly Father during these dark days of his life and started a mission of helping the poor and disabled. He spent a substantial time studying the Bible and
praying and made a vow of poverty. Selling all his possessions, he spent his time and money, the next ten years, helping those in need.
Finding solace and purpose in serving, he joined the local Plymouth Brethren and assisted those less fortunate than himself by cutting wood for their stoves. Known as The Good Samaritan of Port Hope, he spread the love and compassion of Jesus, helping the elderly, impoverished widows, sick people, and the mentally challenged.



Ten years after his second fiancee died, catastrophe struck again. Scriven came to know that his mother, who was still in Ireland, had become very ill. Since he did not have any money to go home and be with her, he wrote a comforting letter to her, including the words of
the poem “Pray Without Ceasing” to remind her that she had a reliable friend in Jesus no matter
what happens.
The poem written in 1855 explained the intimate friendship the author had cultivated with Jesus through the perils of his life and how he cherished that relationship.
In 1869, Scriven published an anthology of 115 hymns. However, it did not include, Pray Without Ceasing, as it was a personal poem.
On one occasion, when Scriven was sick, a friend visited him. He saw the poem scribbled on a piece of paper lying near his bed and inquired about the poet who wrote these beautiful words.
Scriven answered that he and the Lord had authored it. It was a personal poem not intended to be noticed by anyone else. It was the story of his life in three stanzas. Some of Scriven's friends got a copy of the poem, and one of them gave it to a publisher.
However, some scholars say that Scriven wrote the poem when he was residing at the home of his friend Sackville, near Rice Lake. He sent one copy to his ailing mother and gave the other to the wife of his friend. It is believed that his mother gave it to a publisher.
Whatever the real story is, the poem was published incognito under the title, Pray Without Ceasing. Scriven was finally acknowledged as its author in the 1880s. In 1868, attorney Charles Crozat Converse (1832-1918) put music to one of the poems transforming it into a melodious song. He renamed it What a Friend We Have in Jesus.

Death and Memorial

Scriven's last years were plagued by poor health, meager finances, and depression. He became seriously ill in August 1886. In a demented state, he went outdoors and fell into a small creek and
drowned. He was buried next to Eliza, his second fiancée, in Bewdley.

The citizens of Port Hope, Ontario, erected a monument in honor of this humble man, who had led a painful, sad, grieving, and obscure life.
The monolith has the first stanza of his song engraved on it.

Worldwide Recognition

It is unbelievable that a simple poem that was written to provide solace to an indisposed mother has encouraged, uplifted, and blessed thousands of believers for more than 160 years.
The great American evangelist Dwight L. Moody who heard the song What a Friend We Have in Jesus in 1875, incorporated the hymn in his writings and sermons. The song became a national phenomenon when Ira D. Sankey, Moody's song leader, sang it in his crusades.

During World War I and II, What a Friend We Have in Jesus became one of the most commonly sung hymns of American forces when young men were sent off to war or commemorate when they died on the battlefield.
The lyrics of this hymn, which was spurred by the tragic events in the life of the writer, serves as an anthem in times of trouble, uncertainty, sacrifice, and insecurity.

The Hymn Discussion- What a
Friend We Have in Jesus

Stanza 1 of the hymn illustrates that Jesus is the only true friend who bears our burdens and transgressions. It expresses the author's personal friendship with Jesus. Jesus has not forsaken us, and He patiently hears our prayers.
Our Savior intervenes on our behalf, meets us in our despair, and blesses us way beyond what we expect or deserve. Failure to pray leads to loss of peace and results in pain and suffering as we neglect to hand over our deepest fears, regrets, and worries to the redeemer who holds our future in His everlasting hands.

Stanza 2 of the hymn provides the answer to people's ills and issues. We all fall into trials and temptations and witness trouble in our lives. We should take everything to the Almighty One in prayer as Jesus, as the faithful friend, intercedes on our behalf to His Father. Jesus knows our intimate secrets and weaknesses, and He is the only source of solace and comfort on this Earth.

Stanza 3 of the hymn poses a variety of questions, with the theme remaining the same.
Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Do your friends despise, forsake you?
The answer to all these questions is
Take it to the Lord in prayer. Jesus embracing and protecting His friend in His arms gives us the picture of comfort in sorrow, misfortune, or trouble.
We come to know that despite his great calamity, Scriven realized that Jesus is the only one who can positively impact his life even in the
worst of circumstances. He discerned that Jesus, his dearest friend, is the only point of support he could find, and his life only has meaning through God and for him.
What a Friend We Have in Jesus reminds us that it is indeed a privilege to approach our Heavenly Father every day and cast our burdens, worries, and fears on Him. What a Friend We Have in Jesus illustrates that God protects and strengthens us. What a Friend We Have in Jesus encourages us to pray and confide in Jesus no matter the circumstances. What a Friend We Have in Jesus stresses the fact that Jesus is the only true friend, and we are never alone during the darkest seasons of our life.

Here are the lyrics to the song, followed by the song:

WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS

What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O 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.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cXPOP3cqdTY

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lNpJvtZOZ-w

Please excuse the pop-up ads; you can delete them when the timed box says “skip ads”.

Thanks for reading and watching and May God bless y’all! 🙏🏻

I came across this, and thought it worth sharing...

Posted by Richard Strachan on January 30th:

In 2006 a high school English teacher asked students to write a famous author and ask for advice. Kurt Vonnegut was the only one to respond - and his response is magnificent:

“Dear Xavier High School, and Ms. Lockwood, and Messrs Perin, McFeely, Batten, Maurer and Congiusta:

I thank you for your friendly letters. You sure know how to cheer up a really old geezer (84) in his sunset years. I don’t make public appearances anymore because I now resemble nothing so much as an iguana.

What I had to say to you, moreover, would not take long, to wit: Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what’s inside you, to make your soul grow.

Seriously! I mean starting right now, do art and do it for the rest of your lives. Draw a funny or nice picture of Ms. Lockwood and give it to her. Dance home after school and sing in the shower and on and on. Make a face in your mashed potatoes. Pretend you’re Count Dracula.

Here’s an assignment for tonight, and I hope Ms. Lockwood will flunk you if you don’t do it: Write a six-line poem, about anything, but rhymed. No fair tennis without a net. Make it as good as you possibly can. But don’t tell anybody what you’re doing. Don’t show it or recite it to anybody, not even your girlfriend or parents or whatever, or Ms. Lockwood. OK?

Tear it up into teeny-weeny pieces and discard them into widely separated trash receptacles. You will find that you have already been gloriously rewarded for your poem. You have experienced becoming, learned a lot more about what’s inside you, and you have made your soul grow.

God bless you all!"

Kurt Vonnegut

Greetings everyone,
I’m an old codger that loves to fish. Primarily fish around the Corpus Christi, Port Aransas area when I am able to go down there. My favorite two spots are the Packery Channel and Charlie’s Pasture pier. I fish for whatever’s biting and always share my catch with friends in Corpus Christi.

I truly enjoy reading the fish stories from folks all around the country. Fishing reports regarding my favorite areas are greatly appreciated.

Have a great day everyone and lines tight for all.

It’s 2023. Am I the only one who realizes the balloon was a distraction? It’s a dang balloon!! It’s not 1950! While we were fixated on this stupid balloon they probably used real modern technology to do something much worse we are currently unaware of!! If you don’t think we are spying on China in way more advanced ways then a balloon and they are doing the same right back you’re delusional. You know they can look at you in your bedroom through your window with satellites in space. Just sayin it sure seems like an elite of hand move to me.

Tight lines
J